The Immorality Engine nahi-3
Page 28
“Where is she, Physician? We cannot see her.”
He realised that the child, scared, was hiding behind his legs. He coaxed her out, leading her forward towards the light-and, he thought, toward the monster waiting at the heart of it.
He watched the little girl as she approached the monarch. She was pretty, if a little undernourished, with long dark hair and big, frightened eyes. If he hadn’t known better, he would have said she looked around six or seven years old. But this girl had not been born of natural means, and had not lived for more than a week.
“She’s a pretty little thing,” said the Queen, making it sound as much like a threat as like a compliment.
“She has your eyes, Majesty.”
The Queen emitted a wet, rasping chuckle. “You have done well, Physician. You shall be rewarded for your loyalty.”
Victoria turned to the girl, holding the lantern high so that the child squealed and covered her face from the sudden glare. “Do not be afraid, girl. You must learn never to be afraid. Fear will be an emotion you inspire in others, a tool for achieving your aims. It will not form part of your own emotional vocabulary.”
The man frowned at her words, and wondered, not for the first time, whether he had done something calamitous in aiding her in her machinations.
Victoria regarded the child coolly. “You shall be named Alberta. We shall teach you many things. You shall know glory and power, and you shall understand the importance of Empire. You shall refrain from knowing men, for you shall be married only to your country. One day, Alberta, you shall be Queen.”
The child nodded, but remained silent.
“We have arranged a nanny for you, Alberta, and she will show you to your room. There will be time later to discuss your education.” The Queen turned to look at him. “Take her to Sandford, Physician. He will make the necessary arrangements.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” He turned to leave, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder as if to shepherd her towards the door.
“Oh, and Warrander?”
“Yes, Majesty?”
“There is a switch embedded in this chair that we require you to disable-a legacy of the unfortunate Dr. Fabian.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Of course,” Warrander replied. “I’ll attend to it directly.”
He led the girl away from the seated Queen and into the darkness of the audience chamber. He felt a smile twitch at the corners of his mouth. A new era was dawning, and when the time eventually came, he’d have no need of a switch. Unlike Fabian, Warrander had never minded getting his hands dirty.
FB2 document info
Document ID: fbd-230478-cbb4-2046-029f-1a04-d9d0-cf9d0b
Document version: 1
Document creation date: 22.10.2011
Created using: Fiction Book Designer, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6 software
Document authors :
About
This file was generated by Lord KiRon's FB2EPUB converter version 1.1.5.0.
(This book might contain copyrighted material, author of the converter bears no responsibility for it's usage)
Этот файл создан при помощи конвертера FB2EPUB версии 1.1.5.0 написанного Lord KiRon.
(Эта книга может содержать материал который защищен авторским правом, автор конвертера не несет ответственности за его использование)
http://www.fb2epub.net
https://code.google.com/p/fb2epub/