Farnham's Freehold by Heinlein Robert A
Author:Heinlein, Robert A. [Heinlein, Robert A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure
ISBN: 9781416520931
Amazon: 1416520937
Goodreads: 50840
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 1964-11-01T08:00:00+00:00
12
Although he had been bathed that day, Hugh was rushed through another bath, rubbed down with fragrant cream, and issued a fresh robe, before being whizzed to the lordâs private apartments. There he was bounced past a series of receptionists close on Memtokâs heels, and into a large and very sumptuous retiring room.
The lord was not there; Joseph and Dr.-Livingstone-I-Presume were. Joe called out, âHugh! Wonderful!â and added to the Chief Domestic, âYou may go.â
Memtok hesitated, then backed away and left. Joe ignored him, slipped his arm in Hughâs, and led him to a divan. âGosh, itâs good to see you! Sit down, weâll talk until Ponse gets here. You look well.â Doctor Livingstone checked Hughâs ankles, purred and stropped against them.
âI am well. âPonseâ?â Hugh scratched the catâs ears.
âDonât you know his name? The Lord Protector, I mean. No, I guess you wouldnât. Thatâs one of his names, one he uses en famille. Never mind, have they been treating you right?â
âI suppose so.â
âThey had better. Ponse gave orders for you to be pampered. Look, if you arenât treated okay, you tell me. I can fix it.â
Hugh hesitated. âJoe, have you had one of those odd whips used on you?â
âMe?â Joe seemed astonished. âOf course not. Hugh, have they been abusing you? Peel off that Mother Hubbard and let me have a look.â
Hugh shook his head. âThere are no marks on me. I havenât been hurt. But I donât like it.â
âBut if youâve been stroked for no reasonâHugh, thatâs one thing that Ponse does not tolerate. Heâs a very humane sort of guy. All he wants is discipline. If anybodyâanybody at all, even Memtokâhas been cruel to you, somebody is going to catch it.â
Hugh thought about it. He rather liked his teachers. They had worked hard and patiently and had been sparing of him once it became possible to talk instead of using the whip. âI havenât been hurt. Just reminded.â
âIâm glad to hear it. Actually, Hugh, I didnât see how you could be. That quirt Ponse carriesâyou could kill a man with it at a thousand feet; it takes skill to use it gently. But those toys the upper servants carry, all they do is tingle and thatâs all they are supposed to do.â
Hugh decided not to argue over what constituted a tingle; he had urgent things on his mind. âJoe, how are the others? Have you seen them?â
âOh, theyâre all right. You heard about Barbara?â
âI havenât heard a damn thing! What about Barbara?â
âSlow down. Having her babies, I mean.â
âShe had her baby?â
ââBabies.â Twin boys, identical. A week ago.â
âHow is she? How is she?â
âEasy, man! Sheâs fine, couldnât be better. Of course. They are way ahead of us in medicine; losing a mother, or a baby, is unheard of.â Joe suddenly looked sad. âItâs a shame they didnât run across us months back.â He brightened. âBarbara told me that she had intended to name it Karen, if it was a girl. When it turned out to be twin boys, she named oneâthe one five minutes the elderââHughâ and the other âKarl Joseph.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Sita - Warrior of Mithila (Book 2 of the Ram Chandra Series) by Amish(53749)
The Crystal Crypt by Dick Philip K(36389)
Cat's cradle by Kurt Vonnegut(14721)
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han(14433)
Ready Player One by Cline Ernest(13926)
The Last by Hanna Jameson(9774)
Year One by Nora Roberts(9274)
Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey(8920)
The remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro(8349)
Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro(8262)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown(8217)
Dark Space: The Second Trilogy (Books 4-6) (Dark Space Trilogies Book 2) by Jasper T. Scott(7885)
The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood(7415)
The Circle by Dave Eggers(6814)
Frank Herbert's Dune Saga Collection: Books 1 - 6 by Frank Herbert(6670)
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood(6452)
Legacy by Ellery Kane(6371)
Pandemic (The Extinction Files Book 1) by A.G. Riddle(6156)
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty(5791)
