Read Online Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie - Free Book Online Page B

from her glass. “Aren’t you going to give me a clue?”
    “Alright, I will.” Glokta winced as he lowered himself into a chair, stretching his aching leg out in front of him. “A young officer in the King’s Own, no doubt with a scintillating future ahead of him.” Though we can all hope otherwise.
    Ardee glared at him over the rim. “There are so many officers in the King’s Own I can scarcely tell one from another.”
    “Really? This one won last year’s Contest, I believe.”
    “I hardly remember who was in the final. Every year is like the last, don’t you find?”
    “True. Since I competed it’s been straight downhill. But I thought you might remember this particular fellow. Looked as if someone might have hit him in the face since we last met. Quite hard, I would say.” Though not half as hard as I’d have liked.
    “You’re angry with me,” she said, but without the appearance of the slightest concern.
    “I’d say disappointed. But what would you expect? I thought you were cleverer than this.”
    “Cleverness is no guarantee of sensible behaviour. My father used to say so all the time.” She finished her wine with a practised flick of her head. “Don’t worry. I can look after myself.”
    “No you can’t. You’ve made that abundantly clear. You realise what will happen if people find out? You’ll be shunned.”
    “What would be the difference?” she sneered at him. “Perhaps you’ll be surprised to learn I get few invitations to the palace now. I barely even qualify as an embarrassment. No one speaks to me.” Apart from me, of course, but I’m hardly the type of company young women hope for. “No one cares a shit what I do. If they find out it will be no worse than they expect from a slattern like me. Damn commoners, no more self-control than animals, don’t you know. Anyway, didn’t you tell me I could fuck who I pleased?”
    “I also told you the less fucking the better.”
    “And I suppose that’s what you told all your conquests, is it?”
    Glokta grimaced. Not exactly. I coaxed and I pleaded, I threatened and I bullied. Your beauty has wounded me, wounded me in the heart! I am wretched, I will die without you! Have you no pity? Do you not love me? I did everything short of display the instruments, then when I got what I wanted I tossed them aside and went merrily on to the next with never a backward glance.
    “Hah!” snorted Ardee, as though she guessed what he was thinking. “Sand dan Glokta, giving lectures on the benefits of chastity? Please! How many women did you ruin before the Gurkish ruined you? You were notorious!”
    A muscle began to tremble in his neck, and he worked his shoulder round until he felt it soften. She makes a fair point. Perhaps a soft word with the gentleman in question will do the trick. A soft word, or a hard night with Practical Frost. “Your bed, your business, I suppose, as they say in Styria. How does the great Captain Luthar come to be among the civilians in any case? Doesn’t he have Northmen to rout? Who will save Angland, while he’s here?”
    “He wasn’t in Angland.”
    “No?” Father find him a nice, out of the way spot, did he?
    “He’s been in the Old Empire, or some such. Across the sea to the west and far away.” She sighed as though she had heard a great deal about it and was now thoroughly bored of the subject.
    “Old Empire? What the hell was he up to out there?”
    “Why don’t you ask him? Some journey. He talked a lot about a Northman. Ninefingers, or something.”
    Glokta’s head jerked up. “Ninefingers?”
    “Mmm. Him and some old bald man.”
    A flurry of twitches ran down Glokta’s face. “Bayaz.” Ardee shrugged and swigged from her glass again, already developing a slight drunken clumsiness to her movements. Bayaz. All we need, with an election coming, is that old liar sticking his hairless head in. “Is he here, now, in the city?”
    “How should I know?” grumbled Ardee. “Nobody tells me