The Fire Court: A gripping historical thriller from the bestselling author of The Ashes of London. Andrew Taylor. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Andrew Taylor
Издательство: HarperCollins
Серия:
Жанр произведения: Современная зарубежная литература
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9780008119126
Скачать книгу

      The servant unlatched the inner door, and the pair of them manhandled Chelling into a chamber little larger than a cupboard. They dropped him on the unmade bed. His legs dangled over the side. One shoe fell with a clatter on to the floor. His round face was turned up to the ceiling, and his hair made a grey and ragged halo on the dirty pillow. His mouth was open. The lips were as pink and as delicate as a rosebud on a compost heap.

      ‘Friend of his, sir?’ the porter asked. ‘Ain’t seen you before, I think.’

      ‘Yes.’ I paused, and then, as the man was looking expectantly at me, added: ‘Mr Gromwell will vouch for me. My name’s Marwood.’

      The porter nodded, giving the impression that he had done everything and more that duty required him to do. ‘Will that be all, then?’

      I felt for my purse. ‘Thank you, yes.’

      I gave the men sixpence apiece. I went back into the study and listened to their footsteps on the stairs. Snoring came from the bedroom, gradually building in volume. I glanced around the cramped chamber. It was very warm up here, directly under the roof. The windows were closed and the air was fetid. There were few books in sight. An unwashed mug and platter of pewter stood on the table.

      Chelling had fallen on hard times. Perhaps Gromwell was not the only man at Clifford’s Inn who survived on the kindness of friends. Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be unanswered questions, large and small. After the efforts I had made, the time I had spent, the money I had paid, all I had to show was a cloud of uncertainties.

      Suddenly I was angry, and anger drove me to act. I could at least make the most of my opportunities while I was here. There was a cupboard set into an alcove by the chimney breast. It was locked, but one of Chelling’s keys soon dealt with that. When I opened its door, the hinges squealed for want of grease.

      The smell of old leather and musty paper greeted me. The cupboard was shelved. In the bottom section were rows of books in a variety of bindings. The upper section held clothing, much of it frayed and well-worn. On the very top shelf, a leather flask rested on a pile of loose papers an inch thick, with writing materials beside them.

      I uncorked the flask and sniffed its contents. The tang of spirituous liquor rose up from it, with a hint of something else, perhaps juniper. So Chelling had a taste for Dutch gin as well as for wine. As for the papers, they were notes, by the look of them, and written in a surprisingly fine hand, the letters well formed and delicately inscribed. I glanced at the top sheets. They were written in Latin. Every other word seemed to be an abbreviation.

      I leafed further down the pile and found a page that was written in English. It was an unfinished letter, though its contents made no more sense than the others.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD//gA+Q1JFQVRPUjogZ2QtanBlZyB2MS4wICh1c2luZyBJSkcg SlBFRyB2OTApLCBkZWZhdWx0IHF1YWxpdHkK/9sAQwAIBgYHBgUIBwcHCQkICgwUDQwLCwwZEhMP FB0aHx4dGhwcICQuJyAiLCMcHCg3KSwwMTQ0NB8nOT04MjwuMzQy/9sAQwEJCQkMCwwYDQ0YMiEc ITIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIyMjIy/8AAEQgE gQLuAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/EAB8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEBQYHCAkKC//EALUQAAIBAwMC BAMFBQQEAAABfQECAwAEEQUSITFBBhNRYQcicRQygZGhCCNCscEVUtHwJDNicoIJChYXGBkaJSYn KCkqNDU2Nzg5OkNERUZHSElKU1RVVldYWVpjZGVmZ2hpanN0dXZ3eHl6g4SFhoeIiYqSk5SVlpeY mZqio6Slpqeoqaqys7S1tre4ubrCw8TFxsfIycrS09TV1tfY2drh4uPk5ebn6Onq8fLz9PX29/j5 +v/EAB8BAAMBAQEBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAABAgMEBQYHCAkKC//EALURAAIBAgQEAwQHBQQEAAECdwAB AgMRBAUhMQYSQVEHYXETIjKBCBRCkaGxwQkjM1LwFWJy0QoWJDThJfEXGBkaJicoKSo1Njc4OTpD REVGR0hJSlNUVVZXWFlaY2RlZmdoaWpzdHV2d3h5eoKDhIWGh4iJipKTlJWWl5iZmqKjpKWmp6ip qrKztLW2t7i5usLDxMXGx8jJytLT1NXW19jZ2uLj5OXm5+jp6vLz9PX29/j5+v/aAAwDAQACEQMR AD8A4Mh9ij93vzgD7c/P47fp271G10yFka4tY26Y+25IOfdKmhmO8FWhZeQp+1sxPI7bfelac79i NDlfW4Od2eh+U8e/6V6foeR5DZbuNUTOoQqSucmZOR6jK89D+tItxuEey9MgPdZIzu55PTtUb3Cx q+dRjjfeTt+0JwOf7y8fT260z7XmNT/aEhJbb8kkJz+Y7cfnS5h8mn9f5DpL+Ns7b+Nef+e8Y/oa rvfbo8HUFbjpHcRE/qoqdZpQjb7i4DD7wZofl/IU03yhgrXZyCcgyxZ+mMUm/MpK2yIxIXUuHupR jkD7OaCjSrvFtO2eQSkBH86VG3rkJPIGA+b9wcflURttzhvsQI774Ym/k1SMT7FkEtaLz2a1jJH5 GkMMaEL9mgB7n+zWP8jQ1qEXm1tQPT7Du/k1N8tAuBFCuDzjT3/oaVi73HPHGVx5EBHtpj/40Rr5 ajAiz2I02TP6GjJLfP0PXbZTL/WpN6leBJgf9O8uaPML9BM5HMkn/ALWdf5Gl+U9Tck49Z0H/wBa hXVW5M//AAGGam4Q5OLo+h3Tr+lAhfmU/cbpn5r6Yf0pPNKDkwj0LX8n9VqXDIpAXkDnfdScfpUb ysoUsYEBHBN64/pT2BaiLeANxdW6/wC7eBv0ZaUyNMOLi4mGf4DAwH5gU03acsNSUf7Mc0Z/9CWm +eJSSGmlX3MBH86Vx8pOLdXUZscsD96WKJv/AEE0uTCQBsQYwRHZv/NTTRbq682UasP4pYUb/wBB amBFjbawwT/zxt5E/UE0xD96ZyfPx1JaSaMfrSC7WJ9pltk7/PesT+RWm8KNwDhfWW5lT9CKgS62 /KL1Rz/Ddq5/8eWpvYajcti6WTC/b8kngRyRN/MU9g+eEuJfcCH+uKjWSfGRJdyfTyf/AK1Ixm5J tp2yMfMsR/kaq5Nga3Z+Ws068GSBGI/JqBbbVwILUc9Psf8A9lSfZ0Y71trdG9XtcnP4NSGJg27Z b7jzn7Gf/iqVh3JPJfpstsEf8+Zx0/3qjeMrwfKGf7tlIefwagwsW5S2JHf7Gf8A4qkMTLzthB45 Fq3/AMVQCI8L5hcFjnj5bWdTj86euSxCrOeO8k6ComTbLyx/4BbTD9Q1L+7HGbo/jOKRRLudBjaB 7teS/wBVqL7XtYbbq3QegvAf0ZaFcbgPLuOe5ln/AKipt5jXJfy2PQNMT/MUXFYZ9qVjk6iP+Ayx H/2Wm+erPtF/n3EkR/8AZaT7U4fH2qLjt5y5/wDQKJX28y3ipnn78fP5rRcOX+v6QlzLMmVBmlwM gqzj/wBAQD9agEkxJws5+klx/hTWaFmz9ojPPJZ4f/iahbyN/LW7A9w8JP6oKls0S8i0TLjG25Hv 5lx/8TQGk/uXAHbDXH+FVkkt0bpBwTyDD/8AWoLWrdohz1/cf/XpXDlLKtOve5/77m/qhqAsFUl/ uk87yvP/AH1GKYDbAE5iJ9Mwf4U5ZVAIRl5P8LL/AOyyCi4WEzbf9MsehW3P9RSgwKyn9zxzylvz /wCPVKPPBOTN6j/WkfozUheXPPmj8ZB/NDQFwR9xIiKrkZPlgD/0CWrc2278tQqsy/eDBefzVv5i qS7vm+Vmz6hjj84qasUbSZKRjHUlVGPziFF9BNK5ZeB0PMGFzgNHCf8A2R8/jilIII2/aMd8/aKr 4to8BkgY+4h/+xpwdCNiJCO+FCf0lp3CzJA5wdwnz/vXA/pQZm5Cu6f780n/ALMlIqM0eUA2joFj Y/ykp2WByVmPHP8Ar48fzoFZERlhZRvnjY9xvhI/VRU0clmpDRpHuUDJHknH5EVGZ2VSRKyjPQ3T cf8AfS04XUisM3a4Ppcof5rRcGmakUvmR7wVcdtuP8TSvErnJL5xjhyP5GqUVwCw2SySk9QGiI6+ 2KsZcSblAVWGSNmTn6g1qpXRi42ZKm5AQ2Ao7lyT+tLhWGeGyOvWomkBwwDkAkHhh+mOacHbIyuO OevH6VVxWIZ4Au6QO6juqrHgD/gQ/rUCMjK2yeX0wDDz+laBOQQcEdCKpF2WUhTO4zwqmLH64NTJ FR10GiHkZince6w4/SnrAigqNP4f7xKR4/HB5pGefLbIJPb5Yz/7NUDQMQWNkhdickwRn/2apKJt 5MgiW0eMoQd3kjafTBz6UGOF3ZpoEd/X7Kf/AK9Rrbkj/j0gX62w/o1PaLaQUjjQEDdttzn9Gpaj 06CFISAEgiUHsbJv/rU/yAsLEFAMZKmNgMemC2Kr42j707c9hOo/malWeVVJERH+/JJ/VaLoGmRJ BAy7/IjcdgkcWP5n+dKY4VYE2yRjqPki6f8AfVSiWdiAzxqCf+eoyPzSmmdVY+ZeJxkY8yPr/wB8 0tB6ipNbqud21ugXdFn6jtSy3cDDaXLjPTfF+fJphuDnP2uQD1DxY/lR9pO0j7eu49AZo/8A4mnz C5QMkSrlQ6e4MFNW6OSPtMq/9tIP8KUTgnJ1BSfRZYyf/QaPOVQD9tIHu8QH/oNFx2HPclFVheSO G6Ykhx+opEmMgYbpnz3DQHFH2zk4v4hnniZOPb7tRtJExz9rRvpJCf5rSv5go+X9fcTmJmQKIJzz ySsJz+tRG1He0bPr5cH+NIDEWC4eRuuP3H/1qjZ4R93cpB9bcUOwK5MFO5sLcD8LehjMGHyMATgK Y4jn/wAepm0yLgrK6+n7gj+VOW2+YH