Sky's Dark Labyrinth Read Online Free PDF

an embroidered bodice.
    â€˜And the ruff,’ said Barbara, oblivious to the maid’s smirks as she secured the cartwheel of fabric.
    â€˜Come, husband, we should be downstairs by now.’
    Kepler reluctantly put down Harmony and blew out his reading flame. He ran a cursory hand through his hair.
    â€˜Better than that.’ Barbara pointed to the brushes on the mantelpiece . Kepler smoothed his hair backwards with the wiry implements. ‘There, am I presentable?’ He was wearing his best black jacket, as befitted a formal occasion, to which Barbara had sewn lace cuffs that picked out the white of his new hose.
    â€˜You’ll do,’ she said.
    They made their way downstairs, drawn by voices and music, to where Baron Hoffman’s grand reception room was already full of visitors. Everything sparkled in the candlelight: the wine glasses, the jewellery and the men’s buttons. Gentlemen were in earnest discussion. The women were nodding politely or clustering in little groups of their own to exchange confidences. In the corner of the room, a quartet of musicians plucked and blew their way through a selection of airy melodies.
    Their host met them at the door. ‘Welcome to the Feast of the Hunters’ Moon.’
    â€˜What better omen for an astronomer’s first weekend in the new city?’ smiled Kepler. The lively babble of conversation enveloped them. Almost at once, men eager to be introduced to the new arrival besieged Kepler. He was driven deeper into the room, leaving Barbara stranded. Self-consciously she scanned the assembly. The women were wearing high collars that plunged downwards to the swell of their décolletages . A further glance around the room confirmed the ubiquity of the fashion; each woman was revealing skin, in fact flaunting it.
    â€˜You must be Mrs Stargazer,’ said one of the guests, older than Barbara but taller and slimmer.
    â€˜Barbara Kepler, madam.’
    â€˜I hear that your husband is a clever man. His arrival is the talk of the town.’
    Barbara stopped short. ‘Really?’
    â€˜Oh, yes, another for Rudolph’s inner circle, no doubt.’
    â€˜The Emperor?’
    â€˜He collects thinkers the way a small boy hunts for spiders. I say! Is that what they are wearing in Graz these days?’ She favoured Barbara with an unnerving smile. ‘I haven’t seen such a ruff in Prague for years. Still, it’s good to know the old ideas live on in other places.’
    Barbara touched the starched fabric standing proud of her neck by some four inches, each point culminating in a bead. She forced herself to laugh as though she had been caught in a moment of forgetfulness. ‘I am unused to Prague’s customs, having only just arrived.’
    â€˜Oh, my dear, a little rustic charm is welcome. It reminds us who we are.’ Again that smile flashed.
    â€˜Would you excuse me for a moment?’ Barbara ignored her companion’s puzzled expression and retreated to the quiet hall, all but tearing the ruff from her neck. Flushed with embarrassment, she was about to thrust the offending garment behind a chair cushion when another thought struck her. She loosened the drawstring on her chemise and tugged down the neckline as much as she dared. Then she turned the ruff around, so that the opening was in front of her throat and tucked the open ends underneath the shoulders of her bodice, forcing the ruff to stand up like a collar. Catching her faint reflection in a windowpane, she squared her shoulders and returned to the party.
    She spied her acquaintance and walked straight up to her. ‘I’m back,’ said Barbara.
    She received a cold look at first but watched it transform into surprise and then warmth as the older woman registered Barbara’s altered appearance . ‘I am Frau Dietrich. Now, let me introduce you to my friends.’
    In the gentlemen’s quarter, Kepler sipped a rich wine, delighted to