"Briggs, Patricia - Sianim 2 - Steal the Dragon.text" - читать интересную книгу автора (Briggs Patricia)

Rialla thought a moment and came to a halt. "Not the big Southwood man, the
one who used to be a tanner?" she asked incredulously.

Laeth nodded, tugging her forward with a light grip on her upper arm. "The one
that hides in the corners when a woman comes by. He's so dedicated to avoiding
women that I don't think the two women in his troop have ever seen him. Last night
I thought that he was going to choke to death when Letty rubbed up against him. If I
weren't so busy being thankful that it's not me anymore, I'd feel sorry for him."

"Ha," snorted Rialla. "You enjoyed it almost as much as she did. You didn't run
away so fast she didn't catch you a time or two."

He sent her a meek look and said, "What can I say? I'm only a man. Besides,
she's got great"ЧRialla raised her eyebrows warninglyЧ"teeth."

Rialla laughed and shook her head as they came within sight of the Lost Pig.


The bottom half of the bar was built from old stone blocks set one on top of the
other; the top half was made of wooden planks of various sizes and ages. Rialla had
heard that fifty or so years ago the Seventy-first troop of a hundred and six men,
drunk on victory and alcohol, lifted the wooden half off the stone and set it in the
middle of the road on a lark.

They replaced the top after extracting a bargain from the owner. The wooden
half was now held down securely by thick rusted chains on all four corners of the
building, and the Seventy-first still got their drinks for half what other people were
charged.

Being the source of food and drink nearest to the stables and to the training
ground that serviced a number of troops, the Lost Pig was usually busy. Rialla and
Laeth were waved at by several acquaintances as they squeezed through in an
attempt to find an empty table.

As Rialla slipped too near one of the tables, she felt a hand pat her on the hip.
Without stopping to see who it was, she grabbed his wrist and caught the leg of his
chair with her foot, sweeping the wooden legs forward as she pushed him back. The
man and his chair made a satisfying commotion that rose over the general din that
filled the tavern.

More than a little drunk, the man started up with a growl, but Laeth caught his
shoulder under the pretext of helping him up. Helpfully, Laeth dusted off the man's
coat and generally distracted him, until the drunk's initial hostility subsided into
bewilderment at all the attention.

When it became obvious that the stranger was no longer a threat, Laeth said
congenially, "She doesn't like it when men touch her without an invitation. You're
lucky that she's in a good mood or she'd have just cut your hand offЧthat's what
she did to the last man who tried it."