"doyle, deborah - mcdonald, james d - circle of magic 02 - The Secret of The Tower" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doyle Debra)

youth wore the belt, spurs, and chain of a
knight, and rested one gloved hand on the hilt of a
sword.
So this is what they'
re making knights
out of these days,
thought Randal.
Sir Palamon
was right
about
chivalry
going downhill in a greased handcart.
The young man wasn't amused by Randal's appraising
glance. "Look at me that way again, boy, and
I'll slap your eyes out. Now take the horses
and be quick about it, their comfort's worth more than your
miserable life."
Randal looked away. He took the bridles of the
horses as they were given to him and kept his thoughts
to himself. The Basilisk's regular hostler, the one
Randal was supposed to be assisting, came running
up to help with the task, all the while bow ing to the
lordlings and muttering a stream of flat tering
phrases.
In spite of the hostler's show of eagerness, most of the
work still fell to Randal. He walked the
horses down, dried them, and curried them. When that
task was finished, the hostler had Randal spread new
straw and set out hay. By the time the work in the stable was
done, the sun had almost set, and Randal had to help
close the gates of the inn yard.
With its gates closed and barred, the inn resem bled
a small fortress more than it did a place where
hospitality might be found. Nobody inside the
walls complained, however-no honest man went
abroad in this country by night. Some folk claimed
that in the old days, before the death of the High King,
wild beasts were never seen outside of the deepest for
ests, and a man could walk alone from one side of the
realm to the other with a sack of gold tied to his
belt, and never fear a thief. But if those days had
ever truly existed, they were long gone. When they could,
travelers spent the night behind locked doors.
After the gates were shut, Randal went to the kitchen behind
the main room of the, inn. These days, as he made his
way to Tattinham as a traveling laborer, he
never got to walk into any place by the front door.
In the kitchen, the cook set Randal to
scouring out the pots and pans from dinner. Finally, almost
two hours later, Randal got his own share of the