"Deborah Doyle - Circle of Magic 02 - The Secret of The Tower" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doyle Debra)

II. SQUIRE RANDAL SAT ON the floor of the small room that Walter had rented for the night. The
young wizard dabbed at his cut cheek with a wet rag and looked up at his cousin.
"When did you get here, anyway?" Randal asked.
He wrung out the rag into the wooden bowl on the floor in front of him, dampened the scrap of cloth with
fresh water from the pottery jug beside the bowl, and dabbed at his cheek again.
"I came in after dark," Walter said. "They had to open the gates for me. I'd barely gotten done seeing to
my horses when I heard that racket outside the stable."
Walter sat on the lumpy pallet that served as the room's only mattress, his long legs stretched out in front
of him. The smoky light of the tallow candle cast flickering shadows across his face.
As soon as he'd latched the door of the room behind Randal and himself, he'd stripped off his surcoat.
Like the surcoats worn by most knights, Walter's outer garment was blazed with his heraldic device, the
same design that he bore on his shield. Walter had chosen a simple pattern of the family colors of red and
gold, divided along a line from his right shoulder to his left hip, with a green pine tree in the forefront.
After the surcoat, he removed his chain mail and his arming coat-the quilted tunic he wore underneath the
mail. Now he was dressed in just a light linen undertunic, almost as stained by sweat and travel as
Randal's was.
He's been on the road for quite a while, too, thought Randal, and Walter's next words confirmed his
guess.
"I'm heading for Tattinham," said Walter. "I'll be fighting in the tourney there."
Randal wasn't surprised. Even before he left Doun to study wizardry, he'd known that Walter would be
following the tournaments as soon as Lord Alyen would let him go. If Walter had remained at Doun until
his father died, with no work of his own, he could only have grown restless and possibly troublesome.
Sending him out to fight in the tournaments was dangerous, but in the long run kinder to everybody.
Such a course wasn't uncommon. Randal himself might have done the same if he hadn't chosen the path
to wizardry instead.
"Have you been on the road long?" Randal asked.
Walter nodded. "I was knighted last year. At first I traveled with Sir Palamon, but now I'm on my own.
He paused, and fixed Randal with a knowing gaze. "But what I'm doing here doesn't matter. The
question, cousin, is what are you doing here?"
Randal dropped the damp rag back into the bowl and shrugged. "It's a long story."
"I didn't think it'd be a short one," said Walter dryly. "But I don't have anything else to do tonight. How
long have you been living like this?"
"Working my way?" asked Randal. "Since spring. I was in Tarnsberg before that, studying wizardry."
"I suppose that traveling magician what's his name took you there."
"Wizard," corrected Randal. "Madoc's a wizard, not a magician. Yes, I left with Master Madoc."
"That's what Father said," Walter told him, smiling a little. "Sir Palamon and Sir Lohan-now, those two
were in a rare fit. They were saddled and bridled and ready to ride after you. The man-at-arms who'd
seen you go but hadn't stopped you was quaking at the look on their faces."
"Then what happened?" Randal asked.
"Not much," said Walter. "Father called Sir Palamon and Sir Lohan to him, and after he'd done talking
with them, they sent their mounts back to the stable and never spoke of you again."
Madoc said he'd told Lord Alyen, Randal remembered. It must have been an interesting conversation.
But Walter's brief amusement had already died away. "You shouldn't have left without saying goodbye to
me, at least. You know I wouldn't have told anyone."
Randal looked away from his cousin, and down at the bowl of water. "I didn't think you'd understand."
Walter didn't say anything. After a moment, a knock on the door broke the uncomfortable silence.
"That'll be the food," Walter said, sounding relieved at the interruption. "Are you hungry?"
Randal nodded. Walter went to the door and opened it.
Outside lay a wooden platter with a meat pie and a loaf of bread. A leather bottle of water rested on the
floor beside the platter.