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

almost enjoyed herself. She was comfortable enough that she was beginning to
suffer from the most chronic condition of slaveryЧ boredom.

Darran was as she remembered it, though she'd never dealt with nobility in their
own element before. The place she'd spent most of her time as a slave was a private
club where all the young, rich men went to sow their wild oats, away from proper
company.

Rialla snorted softly to herself. Darranians did even that in a very civilized
manner; they had a customary procedure for breaking society's edicts.

She and Laeth had been at Westhold for over a week, and Rialla had learned
nothing about the political situation here that Ren probably didn't already know. If it
weren't for the entertainment she found in watching the properly trained Darranian
nobles deal with Laeth, she would have been really bored.

He was well connected, and no one wanted to offend him; on the other hand, his
complete disregard for propriety could not be ignored. Noblemen just did not
become mercenaries; and if they did, they should have the good sense to be
defensive about it.

Laeth was more than happy to scandalize his listeners with stories that Rialla
suspected he made up on the spot. Second Division General Tyborn had carried
the head of a fallen enemy to Sianim, but he didn't hang it over his dining tableЧat
least Rialla had never seen it there.

Laeth took care to insure Rialla knew who was whoЧ greeting people by their
full names. She in turn made a great effort to remember people's identities and what
faction they were with. The latter had been simple up to this point, since most of the
people who were invited for the full week of festivities were staunch supporters of
Lord Karsten.

At the thought of Laeth's brother, Rialla suppressed a smile. Who would have
conceived a wildman like Laeth could have a brother like Lord Karsten?


They looked alike enough, though to Rialla most Darranians had that tendency.
They even had a few of the same characteristics. Lord Karsten was eloquent and
intelligent, if even more bound by the rules of society than most
DarraniansЧsomething that Rialla would have sworn was impossible. He was so
charming it would have been difficult not to like him, if one weren't a slave or
peasant. He was unfailingly courteous to even the most menial of servants, but
Karsten was unconcerned, not unaware, that his overseer was an animal who abused
servants, peasants and slaves alike.

He talked of change and the importance of reforms, working for them with the
dedication of a zealot. The revisions that Lord Karsten had made in Darran law
would do a tremendous amount of good for the peasants and middle-class citizens
of Darran; but his own serfs were starving.