"Dave Duncan - A Man Of His Word 1 - Magic Casement" - читать интересную книгу автора (Duncan Dave)

the shorter spires. She had taken it over the previous year and loved it,
although it was much too cold to use in winter. It was circular and bright, with
walls so low so that the high conical ceiling swooped almost to the floor. There
were four pointed dormer windows and from here she could look down on all of
Krasnegar. She laid her precious packet of silk on the bed and started pulling
off her riding clothes and dropping them on the rug.
To the north lay the Winter Ocean, sparkling blue now and smiling under the
caress of summer. The swell broke lazily over the reefs, showing hardly any
white at all, and seabirds swooped. To the west stood the castle's towers and


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yards, roofs and terraces, a thicket of black masonry. Southward she could see
the town, falling away steeply to the harbor. Beyond that lay the beach and then
the hills, rounded and grassy. Those hills were certainly part of her father's
demesne. He also claimed the moors that lay beyond the horizon, although she had
seen those only rarely, when she had gone hunting with her parents.
Stripped to her linen, Inos grabbed up the silk and attempted to drape it over
herself as Mistress Meolorne had done for her. She did not succeed very well,
but the effect was still spectacular. Never had she seen such a fabric. She had
not known that threads could be so fine, so soft, so cunningly woven; nor that
it was possible to make such pictures with a loom. Gold and green and bronze-the
colors shone even brighter in her room than they had in the dingy little store.
And there was so much of it! She tried arranging a train and almost fell over,
making the golden dragons writhe. Originally it must have come from distant
Guwush, on the shores of the Spring Sea, Meolorne had said-a great rarity in
these parts. She had bought it many years ago from a jotunn sailor, who had
probably looted it in a trifling act of piracy. Or perhaps it had come over the
great trade routes and been pillaged from some unfortunate city. But it was old
and very splendid and obviously destined to display the royal beauty of the
Princess Inosolan of Krasnegar. Three and a half imperials!
Inos sighed to the mirror. Her father must be made to understand. Suicide was
the only possible alternative.
But why had she promised that the money would be sent that very day? She should
have left herself more time for strategy. Yet a gown fashioned from this glory
would be worn only on special occasions, so it would last for years. She had
stopped growing taller, so she would not grow out of it. She still had to grow
more in other directions-she certainly hoped she had more to grow in other
directions-but that could be handled with a little discreet padding that could
be removed when it was no longer required. She wondered how much padding Aunt
Kade would allow.
Well, there was nothing to be gained by standing in front of the mirror. She
must talk to her father. She began to fold the silk again, while pondering what
to wear for the interview. Probably her dowdy brown worsted, too small now and
patched. That would do very well.

3
It took Inos some time to locate her father, but she was eventually informed