"Bujold, Lois McMaster - Chalion 2 - Paladin of Souls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bujold Lois McMaster)

УCertainly not, sir.Ф Ferda gave him a little bow. УWe brought our full troop. I left them down in town to batten upon the templeТs larder, except for the two men I dispatched to another task. They should return tomorrow, to complete our numbers.Ф
УOther task?Ф said dy Ferrej.
УMarshal dy Palliar seized our going this way to add a chore. He sent up a fine Roknari stallion that we captured in the Gotorget campaign last fall, to cover the mares at our orderТs breeding farm at Palma.Ф FerdaТs face grew animated. УOh, I wish youТd had a chance to see him, Royina! He bounds from the earth and trots on airЧthe most glorious silver coatЧsilk merchants would swoon in envy. Hooves that ring like cymbals when they strike the ground, tail like a banner flying, mane like a maidenТs hair, a marvel of natureЧФ
His brother cleared his throat.
УEr,Ф concluded Ferda, Уa very fine horse, withal.Ф
УI suppose,Ф dy Ferrej said, staring into the middle distance with the chancellorТs note still in his hand, Уwe could write to your brother dy Baocia in Taryoon for a detachment of his provincial cavalry, in addition. And ladies of his household, to wait upon you in full panoply. Your good sister-in-law, perhapsЧor some of your nieces may be old enough . . . ladies of his court, and your own attendants, of course, and all the necessary maids and grooms. And we must send down to the temple for a suitable spiritual conductor. No, betterЧwe should write to Cardegoss and ask Archdivine Mendenal to recommend a divine of high scholarship.Ф
УThat would take another ten days,Ф said Ista in alarm. At least. Her thrill at dy FerrejТs forced reversal sank in dismay. If he had his way, so far from escaping, she would be constrained to crawl over the countryside trailed by a veritable army. УI wish no such delay. The weather and the roads are much improved now,Ф she threw in a little desperately. УI would prefer to take advantage of the clear skies.Ф
УWell, well, we can discuss that,Ф he said, glancing up at the fair blue day as if allowing her the point, safely minor. УIТll speak with your ladies and write to your brother.Ф His mouth turned down in thought. УIselle and Bergon plainly mean some message by that purse. Perhaps, Royina, they intend for you to pray for a grandson on your pilgrimage? That would indeed be a great blessing to the royacy of Chalion, and a very befitting purpose for your prayers.Ф The idea clearly held more charm for him than it did for her, as heТd been enormously pleased recently by the birth of his own first grandson. But since it was the first positive remark heТd yet made about her . . . venture, she forbore to wrest it from him.
The dy Gura brothers and their horses were led off to the hospitality of the castle and its stables, respectively, and dy Ferrej hurried about his self-imposed tasks. IstaТs woman promptly began gabbling about all the problems of selecting clothing for such an arduous journey, for all the world as if Ista proposed an expedition across the mountains to Darthaca or beyond, instead of a pious amble around Baocia. Ista considered pleading a headache to make her stop her chatter, concluded it would ill serve her purposes, and set her teeth to endure.
***
The woman was still prattling and worrying by late afternoon. Trailed by three maids, she dodged about IstaТs rooms in the old keep, sorting and re-sorting piles of gowns, robes, cloaks, and shoes, trading off the need for colors appropriate for IstaТs high mourning with preparation for every likely or unlikely contingency. Ista sat in a window seat overlooking the entry court, letting the endless words flow over her like a drip from a gutter spout. Her headache was now quite real, she decided.
A clatter and bustle at the castle gate announced, unusually, another visitor. Ista sat up and peered through the casement. A tall bay horse clopped in through the archway; its rider wore the castle-and-leopard tabard of the chancellery of Chalion over more faded clothing. The rider swung down, bouncing onЧoh, her toes; the courier was a fresh-faced young woman with her hair in a black braid down her back. She pulled a bundle from behind her saddle and unrolled it with a snap to reveal a skirt. With decidedly perfunctory modesty, she hitched up her tunic and wrapped the garment around her trousers at her slim waist, shaking out the hem around her booted ankles with a cheerful swing of her hips.
De Ferrej appeared below; the girl unsealed her chancellery pouch and held it upside down to drop out a single letter. Dy Ferrej read the direction and tore it open then and there, by which Ista deduced it was a personal missive from his beloved daughter Lady Betriz, attendant upon the Royina Iselle at court. Perhaps it contained news of his grandson, for his face softened. Was it time yet for first teeth? If so, Ista would hear of the infantТs achievement in due course. She had to smile a little.
The girl stretched, restored her pouch, checked her horseТs legs and hooves, and turned the animal over to the castle groom with some string of instructions. Ista became conscious of her own lady-in-waiting peering over her shoulder.
Ista said impulsively, УI would speak to that courier girl. Fetch her to me.Ф
УMy lady, she had only the one letter.Ф
УWell, then, IТll have to hear the news of court from her lips.Ф
Her woman snorted. УSuch a rude girl is not likely to be in the confidence of the court ladies at Cardegoss.Ф
УNonetheless, fetch her.Ф
It might have been the sharp tone of voice, in any case, the woman moved off.
At length, a firm tread and an aroma of horses and leather announced the girlТs arrival in IstaТs sitting room, even before her womanТs dubious, УMy lady, here is the courier as you asked.Ф Ista swung round in the casement seat and stared up, waving her woman out, she departed with a disapproving frown.
The girl stared back with slightly daunted curiosity. She managed an awkward bob, halfway between a bow and a curtsey. УRoyina. How may I serve you?Ф
Ista scarcely knew УWhatТs your name, girl?Ф
УLiss, my lady.Ф After a moment of rather empty silence she offered, УShort for Annaliss.Ф
УWhere do you come from?Ф
УToday? I picked up my dispatch case at the station inЧФ
УNoЧaltogether.Ф
УOh. Um. My father had a little estate near the town of Teneret, in the province of Labra. He raised horses for the BrotherТs Order, and sheep for the wool market. Still does, as far as I know.Ф
A man of substance, she was not escaping some dire poverty, then. УHow did you become a courier?Ф
УI had not thought about it, till one day my sister and I came to town to deliver some horses to the temple, and I saw a girl gallop in riding courier for the DaughterТs Order.Ф She smiled as if in some happy memory. УI was on fire from that moment.Ф
Perhaps it was the confidence of her calling, or of her youth and strength, the girl, while very polite, was by no means tongue-tied in the royinaТs presence, Ista noted with relief. УArenТt you afraid, out there alone on the roads?Ф
She tossed her head, making her braid swing. УI out-ride all danger. So far, anyway.Ф
Ista could believe it. The girl was taller than Ista, but still shorter and slighter than the average man, even the wiry fellows favored for couriers. She would sit her horse lightly. УOr . . . or uncomfortable? You must ride in heat, cold, all weather . . .Ф
УI donТt melt in the rain. And the riding keeps me warm in the snow. If I have to, I can sleep wrapped in my cloak on the ground under a tree. Or up it, if the place seems chancy. ItТs true the courier station bunks are warmer and less bumpy.Ф Her eyes crinkled with humor. УSlightly.Ф
Ista sighed in faint awe of such boundless energy. УHow long have you been riding for the chancellery?Ф
УThree years, now. Since I was fifteen.Ф
What had Ista been doing at age fifteen? Training to be a great lordТs wife, she supposed. When Roya IasТs eye had fallen on her, at about the age this girl was now, the schooling had seemed to succeed beyond her familyТs wildest dreamsЧtill the dream had melted into the long nightmare of IasТs great curse. Now broken, thank the gods and Lord dy Cazaril, now broken these three years gone. The choking fog of it had lifted from her mind that day. The dullness of her life, the stalemate of her soul since then was just long habit.
УHow came your family to let you leave home so young?Ф
The girlТs flickering amusement warmed her face like the sun through green leaves. УI believe I forgot to ask, come to think on it.Ф
УAnd the dispatcher allowed you to sign on without your fatherТs word?Ф
УI believe he forgot to ask, too, being in great need of riders just then. ItТs amazing how the rules change in a pinch. But with four other daughters to dower, I didnТt expect my father and brothers to run down the road to drag me back.Ф
УYou went that very day?Ф asked Ista, startled.
The white grin widenedЧshe had healthy teeth, too, Ista noted. УOf course. I figured if I had to go home and spin one more skein of yarn, IТd scream and fall down in a fit. Besides, my mother never liked my yarn anyway. She said it was too lumpy.Ф
Ista could sympathize with that statement. A reluctant answering smile lifted her lips. УMy daughter is a great rider.Ф
УSo all Chalion has heard, my lady.Ф LissТs eyes brightened. УFrom Valenda to Taryoon in one night, and dodging enemy troops the whileЧIТve never had such an adventure. Nor won such a prize at the end of it.Ф
УLet us hope the wings of war will not brush Valenda so close again. Where do you go next?Ф
Liss shrugged. УWho knows? IТll ride back to my station to await the next pouch my dispatcher hands to me, and go where it takes me. Swiftly if Ser dy Ferrej writes some reply, or slowly to spare my horse if he does not.Ф
УHe will not write tonight.Ф Ista scarcely wanted to let her go, but the girl looked disheveled and dirty from the road. Surely she would wish to wash and take refreshment. УAttend on me again, Liss of Labra. The castle takes dinner in an hour or so. Wait upon me there and dine at my table.Ф
The girlТs dark brows rose in brief surprise. She bow-curtseyed again. УAt your command, Royina.Ф
***