"Kerr, Katharine - Deverry 01 - Daggerspell v1.1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

УIndeed?Ф Braedd rose from his chair. УNow, this is a handy thing. Come join me.Ф
Without ceremony Braedd sat Jill and Cullyn down on a bench, sent the boy, Abryn, to fetch more ale all round, and introduced the older man as Glyn, his councillor. When the Tieryn sat down again, his chair creaked alarmingly, but he ignored the sound.
УI met a pair of your men in the oak wood, Your Grace,Ф Cullyn said. УThey told me of your feud.Ф
УAh Ynydd, that bastard-born son of a slug.Ф Braedd had a moody sip of ale. УTruly, I want to offer you a hire, but my treasury matches my dun walls.Ф He glanced at Glyn. УCould we squeeze out something?Ф
УA horse, I suppose,Ф Glyn said. УHe could always sell it in town for the coin.Ф
УTrue,Ф Braedd said, grinning. УOr here, what about cabbages? IТve got fields and fields of those. Here, silver dagger, think of all the uses cabbages have. You can let them rot, then throw them at enemies in the street, or if youТre courting a wench, you can give her a bouquet of fresh ones, and thatТs something sheТd never have seen before, orЧФ
УYour Grace?Ф Glyn said wearily.
УWell, truly, I ramble a bit.Ф Braedd had another long swallow of ale. УBut if youТll take a horse, and your maintenance, and maintenance for your page, of course?Ф
УI will,Ф Cullyn said. УDone, Your GraceЧIТm on. But this is my daughter, actually, not a page.Ф
УSo she is,Ф Braedd said, leaning closer. УDo you honor your father, child?Ф
УMore than any man in the world,Ф Jill said. УExcept the King, of course, but IТve never even met him.Ф
УWell spoken.Ф Braedd belched profoundly. УWhat a pity that the pusboil Ynydd doesnТt have the respect for the King that we see in this innocent little lass.Ф
Cullyn turned to address his questions to Councillor Glyn.
УWhatТs this feud about, good sir? The riders only told me that the woods were in dispute.Ф
УWell, more or less.Ф Glyn stroked his beard thoughtfully. УThe feud goes back a long time, when Lord YnyddТs grandfather declared war on his graceТs grandfather. In those days, they were fighting over who should be Tieryn, and many other grave matters, but bit by bit, the thingТs gotten itself settled. The woods, you see, lie on the border of the two demesnes. TheyТre the last thing left to squabble over.Ф
УSo Ynydd thinks.Ф Braedd slammed his hand onto the table. УA councillor from the High King himself judged the matter and awarded the claim to me.Ф
УNow Your Grace,Ф Glyn said soothingly. УYnyddТs only disputing part of the judgment. HeТs ceded you the trees.Ф
УBut the bastard!Ф Braedd snapped. УInsisting he has ancient and prior claim to swine rights.Ф
УSwine rights?Ф Cullyn said.
УSwine rights,Ф Glyn said. УIn the fall, you see, the peasants take the swine into the woods to eat the acorns. Now, thereТs only enough acorns for one herd of swineЧhis or ours.Ф
УAnd the withered testicle of a sterile donkey says itТs his,Ф Braedd broke in. УHis men killed one of my riders when the lad turned YnyddТs hogs out of the woods last fall.Ф
Cullyn sighed and had a very long swallow of ale.
УDa, I donТt understand,Ф Jill said. УYou mean someone was killed over pig food?Ф
УItТs the honor of the thing!Ф Braedd slammed his tankard the table so hard that the ale jumped out and spilled. УNever will I let a man take whatТs rightfully mine! The honor of my warband calls out for vengeance! WeТll fight to the last man.Ф
УPity we canТt arm the swine,Ф Cullyn said. УEveryone will fight for their own food.Ф
УNow, splendid.Ф Braedd gave him a delighted grin. УThey shall have little helms, with their tusks for swords, and we shall teach them to trot at the sound of a horn.Ф
УYour Grace?Ф Glyn said.
УWell, truly, I ramble again.Ф
Glyn and Abryn, the councillorТs son as it turned out, took Jill and Cullyn out to the last building standing in the ward, the barracks. As was usually the case, the warband slept directly above the stables. In the winter, the body heat from the horses helped keep the men warm, but now, on this warm summer day, the smell of horse was overwhelming. Glyn showed Cullyn a pair of unoccupied bunks, then lingered to watch as Cullyn began to stow away their gear.
УYou know, silver dagger,Ф Glyn said. УI donТt mind admitting that it gladdens my heart to have a man of your experience joining the warband.Ф
УMy thanks,Ф Cullyn said. УHave you served the Tieryn long, good sir?Ф
УAll his life. I served his father first, you see, and truly, he was a great man. HeТs the one who settled the war, and more by law than the sword. I fear me that Tieryn Braedd takes more after his grandfather.Ф Glyn paused, turning to Abryn. УNow, Abryn, Jill is our guest, so be courteous to her and take her outside to play.Ф
УThat means youТre going to say something interesting,Ф Abryn said.
УJill,Ф Cullyn said. УOut.Ф
Jill grabbed AbrynТs arm and hustled him out of the barracks fast. They lingered by the stables and watched the geese waddling through the rubble.
УDo those geese bite?Ф Jill said.
УThey do. Huh, I bet youТre scared.Ф
УOh, do you now?Ф
УYouТre a lass. Lasses are always scared. You shouldnТt be wearing those brigga, either.Ф
УOh, are we now? And my da gave me these brigga.Ф
УYour daТs a silver dagger, and theyТre all scum.Ф
Jill hauled back and hit him in the face as hard as she could. Abryn shrieked and hit back, but she dodged and punched him on the ear. With a howl, he leapt for her and knocked her down, but she shoved her elbow into his stomach until he let go. They wrestled, kicking, punching, and writhing, until Jill heard Cullyn and Glyn yelling at them to stop. Suddenly Cullyn grabbed Jill by the shoulders and pulled her off the helpless Abryn.
УNow whatТs all this?Ф Cullyn snapped.
УHe said silver daggers were all scum,Ф Jill said. УSo I hit him.Ф
Abryn sat up sniveling and wiping his bloody nose. Cullyn gave Jill a broad grin, then hastily looked stern again.
УNow here, Abryn!Ф Glyn said, grabbing him. УThatТs a nasty way to treat a guest! If you donТt learn courtesy, how can you serve a great lord someday?Ф
Berating him all the while, Glyn hauled Abryn off into the broch. Cullyn began brushing the dirt off JillТs clothes.
УBy the asses of the gods, my sweet,Ф he said. УHow did you learn to fight like that?Ф
УBack in Bobyr, you know? All the children always called me a bastard, and they said you were scum, and so IТd hit them, and then I learned how to win.Ф
УWell, so you did. Ye gods, youТre Cullyn of CerrmorТs daughter, sure enough.Ф