Palace Council [antikvár]

prologueThe CouncilThe lawyer was nervous, and that was odd. His hands trembled;on the steering wheel, and that was odder still. He had learned in theI'lwar that there was no sin in being afiraid as long as the others never, iknew. He understood that courage was a discipline. As was confidence. In the marble caverns of Wall Street, the lawyer intimidated all around'him with his breadth of knowledge and speed of mind. In the boardrooms of his chents, he had no equal. On his rare forays into the courtroom, he charmed the judges with his wit and persuaded them with his, force. He had commanded a company of Rangers in North Africa and i Europe. He provided his adoring wife and children with a house in the I j suburbs, equipped with every modern convenience. It was the summer of 1952, the era of such men as himself. The United States was about to elect a mihtary man its President. The nation's steelmakers had just crushed a nationwide strike. The Congress was about to add the words "Under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. American science had invented a way to phone from CaUfornia to New York without using an ' operator. Some people insisted on calling attention to the nation's \ imperfections. But the lawyer believed in quiet progress. Quiet, grad- 1 ual progress. The nation would move forward in its good time. So calm down, he conmianded himself, aimoyed to discover that he was drumming his fingers on the dash.He tightened his grip on the wheel.The driveway was full of cars. The house was long and low. Golden light spilled invitingly from the windows. Still the lawyer hesitated. August air, loamy and rich, drifted into the car. Clouds hid the moon, but the forecasted rain had yet to arrive. The lawyer glanced at the glowering sky and endured a shivering premonition of death. FightingI I I'1!,