"Bujold, Lois McMaster - Chalion 3 - The Hallowed Hunt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bujold Lois McMaster)

WencelТs sandy brows twitched up. УCan you not guess?Ф
УNo. I did not sense yourЕdifference, in HetwarТs chamber. Nor at BiastТs installation, which was the last time IТd seen you before.Ф
УTruly? I was not sure if I had managed to conceal my affliction from you, or you had merely chosen to be discreet. I was grateful, if so.Ф
УI did not sense it.Ф He almost added, My wolf was bound, but to do so would be to admit that it now was not. And he had no idea where he presently stood with Wencel.
УThatТs a comfort. Well. It came to me at much the same time as yours, if you must know. At the time of your fatherТs deathЧor perhaps, I should say, of my motherТs.Ф At IjadaТs look and half-voiced query, he added aside to her, УMy mother was sister to IngreyТs father. Which would make me half a Wolfcliff, except for all the Horseriver brides that went to his clan in earlier generations. I should need a pen and paper to map out all the complications of our cousinship.Ф
УI knew you had a tie, but I did not realize it was so close.Ф
УClose and tangled. And I have long suspected that all those tragedies falling together like that were somehow bound up one in another.Ф
Ingrey said slowly, УI knew my aunt had died sometime during my illness, but I had not realized it was so near to my fatherТs death. No one spoke of it to me. IТd assumed it was grief, or one of those mysterious wastings that happen to women in middle age.Ф
УNo. It was an accident. Strangely timed.Ф
Ingrey hesitated. УTiesЕDid you meet the sorcerer who placed your beast in you? Was it Cumril for you, too?Ф
Wencel shook his head. УWhatever was done to me was done while I was sleeping. And if you think that wasnТt the most confusing awakening of my lifeЕ!Ф
УDid it not sicken you, or drive you mad?Ф
УNot so much as yours, apparently. There was clearly something wrong with yours. I mean, over and above the horror that happened to your father.Ф
УWhy did you never say anything to me? My disaster was no secret. I wish I had known I was not alone!Ф
УIngrey, I was thirteen, and terrified! Not least that if my defilement were discovered, they would do to me what they were doing to you! I didnТt think I could survive it. I was never strong and athletic, like you. The thought of such torture as you endured sickened me. My only hope seemed concealment, at all costs. By the time I was sure of my own sanity again, and I began to regain my courage, you were gone, exiled, shuffled out of the Weald by your embarrassed uncle. And how could I have communicated? A letter? It would certainly have been intercepted and read, by your keepers or mine.Ф He breathed deeply, and brought his rapid and shaky voice back under control. УHow odd it is to find us roped together now. We could all burn jointly, you know. Back to back to back.Ф
УNot me,Ф Ingrey asserted, and cursed the nervous quaver in his voice. УI have a dispensation from the Temple.Ф
УPowers that can grant such mercies can also rescind them,Ф said Wencel darkly. УIjada and I, then. Not the relation, front to front, that my wife feared, but a holy union of sorts.Ф
Ijada did not flinch from this remark, but stared at Wencel with a tense new interest, her brows drawn in. Reassessing, perhaps, a man sheТd thought sheТd known, that she was discovering she had not known at all? As I am?
Wencel focused on IngreyТs grubby bandages. УWhat happened to your hands?Ф
УTripped over a table. Cut myself with a carving knife,Ф Ingrey answered, as indifferently as possible. He caught IjadaТs curious look, out of the corner of his eye, and prayed she would not see fit to expand upon the tale. Not yet, anyway.
Instead, she asked the earl, УWhat is your beast? Do you know?Ф
He shrugged. УI had always thought it was a horse, for the Horserivers. That made sense to me, as much as anything in this could.Ф He drew a long, thoughtful breath, and his chill blue eyes rose to meet theirs. УThere have been no spirit warriors in the Weald for centuries, unless maybe some remnant survived hidden in remote refuges. Now there are three new-made, not just in the same generation, but in the same room. Ingrey and I, I have long suspected were of a piece. But you, Lady IjadaЕI do not understand. You do not fit. I would urge you search for this missing sorcerer, Ingrey. At the very least, the hunt for such a vital witness might delay proceedings against Ijada.Ф
УThat would be a good thing,Ф Ingrey conceded readily.
WencelТs hands spread flat on the table in unease. УWe are all in each otherТs hands now. I had imagined my secret safe with you, Ingrey, but now it seems you were merely ignorant of it. IТve been alone so long. It is hard for me to learn trust, so late.Ф
Ingrey bent his head in wry agreement.
Wencel pulled his shoulders back, wincing as though they ached. УWell. I must refresh myself, and pay my respects to my late brother-in-lawТs remains. How are they preserved, by the way?Ф
УHeТs packed in salt,Ф said Ingrey. УThey had a plentiful supply at BoarТs Head, for keeping game.Ф
A bleak amusement flashed in WencelТs face. УHow very direct of you.Ф
УI didnТt have him properly skinned and gutted, though, so I expect the effect will be imperfect.Ф
УItТs as well the weather is no warmer, then. But it seems weТd best not delay.Ф Wencel let out a sigh, planted both palms on the tabletop, and pushed himself wearily to his feet. For an instant, the blackness of his spirit seemed to strike Ingrey like a blow, then he was just a tired young man again, burdened too soon in life with dangerous dilemmas. УWeТll speak again.Ф
The earl made his way out to the porch, where his retainers jumped alertly to their feet to escort him toward the town temple. In the door of the taproom, Ingrey touched IjadaТs arm. She turned, her lips tight.
УWhat do you make of WencelТs beast?Ф he asked her, low-voiced.
She murmured back, УTo quote Learned Hallana, if thatТs a stallion, IТm the queen of Darthaca.Ф Her eyes rose to meet his, level and intent. УYour wolf is not much like a wolf. And his horse is not much like a horse. But I will say this, Ingrey; they are both a lot like each other.Ф
CHAPTER EIGHT
I NGREY RETURNED UPSTAIRS TO PACK HIS SADDLEBAGS, THEN sought Gesca. The lieutenantТs gear was gone from the corner of the taproom. Ingrey walked down the muddy street of MiddletownЧbetter named Middlehamlet, in his viewЧto the small wooden temple, in hopes of finding him. He reviewed which of the half dozen village stables they had commandeered for their horses and equipment Gesca was likely to have gone to next, but the plan proved unnecessary; Gesca was standing in the shade of the templeТs wide porch. Speaking, or being spoken to, by Earl Horseriver.
Gesca glanced up at Ingrey, twitched, and fell silent; Wencel merely gave him a nod.
УIngrey,Ф said Wencel. УWhere is Rider Ulkra and the rest of BolesoТs household now? Still at BoarТs Head, or do they follow you?Ф
УThey follow, or so I ordered. How swiftly, I do not know. Ulkra cannot expect much joy to await him in Easthome.Ф
УNo matter. By the time I have leisure to attend to them, they will have arrived there, no doubt.Ф He sighed. УMy horses could use a little rest. Arrange things, if you will, to depart at noon. WeТll still reach Oxmeade before dark.Ф
УCertainly, my lord,Ф said Ingrey formally. He jerked his head at the unhappy-looking Gesca, and Wencel gave them a short wave of farewell and turned for the temple.
УAnd what did Earl Horseriver have to say to you?Ф Ingrey inquired of Gesca, low-voiced, as they trod down the street again.
УHeТs not a glad man. I cringe to think how black things would be if heТd actually liked his brother-in-law. But itТs plain he does not love this mess.Ф
УThat, I had already gathered.Ф
УStill, an impressive young fellow, in his way, despite his looks. I thought so back at Princess FaraТs wedding.Ф
УHow so?Ф
УEh. It wasnТt that he did anything special. He just neverЕФ
УNever what?Ф
GescaТs lips twisted. УIЕitТs hard to say. He never made a mistake, or looked nervous, never late or earlyЕnever drunk. It just crept up on you. Formidable, thatТs the word I want. In a way, he reminds me of you, if it was brains and not brawn that was wanted.Ф Gesca hesitated, then, perhaps prudently, declined to pursue this comparison any farther down the slope into the swamp.
УWe are cousins,Ф Ingrey observed blandly.
УIndeed, mТlord.Ф Gesca gave him a sideways glance. УHe was very interested in Learned Hallana.Ф