1632 Snippets

1636 The Flight Of The Nightingale - Snippet 13 Chapter 9 "Your Grace," was said in a quiet voice. Ferdinando looked up from where he was comparing two of the lenses to each other, to find Roberto Del Migliore standing two paces away from his desk. As soon as the other man saw that he had the duke's attention, he gave a bow, somewhat deeper than the bow he had given earlier in the day. Ferdinando sighed. It was going to be bad news -- he could already tell that. He set the lenses down on the velvet with care, then folded his hands together...

Council Of Fire - Snippet 36 Chapter 25 The trees themselves were not consulted New France The Marquis de Montcalm had ordered more extensive patrols of the area, particularly between Québec and Montréal. All of the staff officers were assigned turns at leading patrols, and Olivier D'Egremont was no exception. It was always an invigorating experience to leave the safety and quiet of the habitations and travel out into the wilderness, like a courier de bois--but better armed, and with a limited and particular mission--to make sure there were...

1636 The Flight Of The Nightingale - Snippet 12 Chapter 8 "Watch your step, Maestra," the drover said as Francesca edged down the steps. If the wagon was stable, it would have been no problem to descend the steps, but the wagon was not stable. It was moving, and that made Francesca very nervous. The fact that Marco had skipped down the steps and alit on his feet with no problems was no comfort. He was walking beside the bottom step now, holding his hand out to her. "Come on," he called. "You can do it. You walk faster than these oxen every...

1636 The Flight Of The Nightingale - Snippet 11 They went down the hallway in the other direction and turned into a different cross-corridor. Roberto looked to Alessandro. "So how long has the Maestra been a part of the palace musicians?" "Oh, for years," his assistant replied. "Way before my time here. She started as a child, if I remember what someone told me correctly. The dowager duchess liked her so much that she even refused to let the king of France hire her when her family was touring there a long time ago." He shrugged. "Or at least,...

Council Of Fire - Snippet 35 "We are no longer in contact with the mother country, Bigot. We will be receiving no further supplies from France. We are on our own, which means that the considerable wealth of goods you have stolen from the people of New France will have to be made available for our continued survival." The smirk vanished. Bigot lowered his hands to his sides, though he continued to clutch the handkerchief. "I object to being characterized as a thief," he said. "We will see what the governor has to say about this." "He will say...