"02 - The Wyvern's Spur - Jeff Grubb & Kate Novak [4.0]" - читать интересную книгу автора (Finder's Stone)

until a gasp from Aunt Dorath alerted them.
"Giogioni! Sweet Selune! Just what are you doing in those ridiculous boots?"
Aunt Dorath demanded. Her voice boomed like the thunder of a god's wrath. That
part of Dorath had not changed in the least.
"These boots?" Giogi replied, his voice cracking slightly. "They're just
something I threw on to walk over."
"You should consider throwing them away. Whatever did you walk for? What
happened to your carriage?"
"Nothing. I just felt like walking."
"The idea! Sinister forces have dealt our family a tragic blow while you've been
gadding about the Realms. I summon the family together, and you just stroll over
here as if nothing's wrong. It's just like you. You are a fool," Aunt Dorath
chided.
Giogi stood frozen, afraid that anything else he might say would only dig him
deeper into his great-aunt's contempt.
"Well, don't just stand there," Dorath ordered. "Come take a seat."
Giogi bowed before Gaylyn and Julia and positioned himself in a chair where he
could attend to Aunt Dorath as well as address the younger women, should they
address him.
Giogi glanced at his Cousin Julia. Her tall, well-proportioned body was clad in
the latest velvet fashions, jewels glistened in her silky black hair, and gold
rings flashed from her long, slender fingers. She, too, had the aristocratic
Wyvernspur tea tures, which were more striking on her youthful face than they
were on Aunt Dorath's. In addition, she sported, from her mother's side of the
family, a tiny mole to the right of her mouth. As far as Giogi was concerned,
though, Julia was too haughty to be beautiful.
The nobleman preferred to gaze on Gaylyn. Her golden hair-lit up the room, and
her pink, glowing complexion reminded him of a wild rose. Her gown and jewels
were as remarkable as Julia's but Giogi didn't notice them. It was impossible,
though, for him to miss her swollen abdomen. According to Thomas, Freffie and
Gaylyn's firstborn was due any time now. So, Giogi thought, the family is going
to continue another generation despite the loss of the wyvern's spur.
Gaylyn, unaware that the tradition of her new family was to generally ignore
Giogi, turned her sweet smile on him and asked, "How was your journey home,
Cousin?"
"Just marvelous. Very exciting," Giogi replied, grinning back at the young
woman.
"Exciting," Aunt Dorath scoffed. "Traveling is never exciting. Only tedious.
Waits, delays, ruffians, strangers, and highwaymen. Only someone as foolish as
yourself would revel in it. You'll end up like your father," she added darkly.
Giogi debated asking his aunt exactly what she meant by that, trying to work in
some reference to what he'd just learned from Sudacar, but just then the parlor
door swun^ open and the gentlemen entered. Frefford made a beeline to Gaylyn's
side and took her hand in his own, looking down on her with solicitous devotion.
Uncle Drone scuffled over to a tomcat in the window seat and began feeding it
drippy tidbits of venison from his cupped hand. Steele remained in the doorway,
leaning against the jamb and sizing up Giogi with an evil grin.
Like his sister, Julia, Steele had the Wyvernspur face with a mole to the right
of his mouth. Many people would have called him tall, dark, and handsome, but
his grin reminded Giogi of the red dragon MistЧan impression heightened by the