"Sharon Green - [ebel 01 - Rebel" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Sharon)

opened that door and pushed her inside. When he closed the door again she was alone, in a more
comfortable cell than the earlier one but still a cell.тАЬThe stone and bars were more honest,тАЭ Adair stated,
fairly certain that Zinder was listening at the door, then she went and sat down in a chair.
There was nothing else to do in that place, there was never anything else to doтАж
Which meant it was only a minute or two before Adair stopped being able to avoid thinking about what
her father had said. It was his opinion that Adair thought about no one but herself, and to a certain extent
that was true. With no one else thinking about her, what choice had she been left with? But the part about
his being worried about herтАж
That part almost made Adair want to cry, but not for the obvious reason. She hadnтАЩt expected her father
to worry because she hadnтАЩt expected him to notice she was gone, and that was the part which brought
her close to tears. The only reason her father had noticed was because of the kingтАЩs command, otherwise
he probably would have simply enjoyed the peace and quiet her being gone would have produced.
So there was only one thing she could do now, and that was to make absolutely certain no one decided
to choose her as one of the brides. SheтАЩd agreed to go through with the idiocy everyone was demanding,
but the way she went through with it was still no oneтАЩs choice but hers. When she got back she would
take her fatherтАЩs gold but not his guardsmen, and then she would never have to see this prison of a house
againтАж
***
Mayne Toram, prince of his fatherтАЩs house, sipped tea in the sitting room of the apartment Duke Elden
had given him. When word had been sent to the king that there might be a delay in getting Duke EldenтАЩs
daughter sent to the palace, MayneтАЩs father had asked him to find out what the problem was. Since the
dukeтАЩs girl was meant to be one of the ones chosen by him and his brothers, Mayne had known the
matter was serious.
And when heтАЩd arrived, Mayne was very glad no details had been sent to his father about the problem.
King Rodick wasnтАЩt a man who accepted opposition at all gracefully, most especially not from a slip of a
girl with a mind of her own. If MayneтАЩs father had found out that Adair had run awayтАж To say the
roaring would have deafened everyone in hearing would be an understatement.
Because Adair Cantlen was very much a part of the plan the king had come up with to teach his
overstepping dukes a lesson. Only two of the dukes were trying to push themselves forward and grab for
more power, which left four dukes unquestionably loyal to their king. One of those four had proven to be
very much a nonentity when he wasnтАЩt leading fighters on a battlefield, but the remaining three were
intelligent, capable supporters King Rodick knew he could count on.
So the king had commanded all his dukes to send their daughters, but privately had arranged that his sons
would marry the three daughters of his other loyal supporters. The two errant dukes would find their
daughters out in the cold, and themselves along with the girls. If the two then decided to try an uprising,
they would find themselves opposed by four other duchies as well as the kingтАЩs own troops.
And my father probably means to goad those two into trying to rebel, Mayne thought with amusement.
After the dust settles down the rebels will be gone, and my father will have large estates to give the two
of his sons who arenтАЩt chosen as his heir. A neat solution where one problemтАЩs answer also solves
another problem.
But Duke EldenтАЩs girl had almost messed things up by running away. If it had become necessary Duke
RaylтАЩs daughter could have been substituted for Adair, but then there would have been no reinforcement
of the bond between Duke Elden and his king. Part of that reinforcement was to be six months worth of
freedom from having to pay taxes to the crown, something that would allow Elden and the other dukes
the necessary gold to back their king with troops. As far as Duke Rayl went, the man enjoyed fighting so
much he would be willing to do the paying himself in order to indulge his greatest passion.
Also, Mayne had to admit that he would have been disappointed if the substitution had had to be made.
Adair Cantlen had grown up to be a beautiful woman with her black hair and bright black eyes, but there
had always been something more to attract Mayne to her. They hadnтАЩt really gotten along as children, but
the older Mayne got the more he began to value AdairтАЩs differences. All the other girls and women