"Robin Hobb - The Inheritance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hobb Robin)

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from being good friends. She had two small children and was big with
her third. She was glad to offer me a bed by the fire and a hot supper in
exchange for help with her chores, тАШfor as long as you want.тАЩ I tidied the
house as we talked, while she was relieved to sit down, put her feet up
and put the last stitches into a quilt. I showed her both my ring and my
pendant and chain. She exclaimed at the sight of the pendant and
pushed it away from her.
тАШThe chain will bring you some coin, and maybe the empty ring.
But that pendant is an evil thing. IтАЩd get rid of it if I were you. Throw it
in the sea. ItтАЩs wizardwood, the stuff a liveship is made from. I wouldnтАЩt
wear it next to my skin for the world.тАЩ
I picked up the pendant and looked at it more closely. In the
candlelight, I could see faint colours on it, as if it had once been
painted but had faded. The grain of the wood seemed finer, the features
of the face more distinct than I recalled. тАШWhy is it evil?тАЩ I demanded of
Hetta. тАШLiveships arenтАЩt evil. Their figureheads come to life and talk and
guide the boat on its way. TheyтАЩre magic, but IтАЩve never heard them
called evil.тАЩ
Hetta shook her head stubbornly. тАШItтАЩs Rain Wild magic, and all
know no good ever came down the Rain Wild River. A lot of folk say that
thatтАЩs where the Blood Plague came from. Leave magic like that to those
Trader folk who are born to it. ItтАЩs not for you and me. ItтАЩs bound to
bring you bad luck, Cerise, same as it brought your grandmother. Get
rid of it.тАЩ
тАШShe came from Trader stock,тАЩ I reply stoutly. тАШMaybe thatтАЩs how it
came to Grandma. Maybe she inherited from the days when we were
Traders.тАЩ
Hetta pursed her mouth in disapproval as I put the chain back
around my neck. I heard HettaтАЩs husband at the door and hastily
slipped the pendant inside my shirt again. IтАЩd always liked Hetta, but
her husband made me edgy.
Tonight was no exception. He grinned to see me there, and
grinned broader when Hetta said sheтАЩd invited me to stay the night.


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тАШYouтАЩre always welcome here, Cerise, for as long as you want to stay.
ThereтАЩs many a wifely chore that Hetta hasnтАЩt been able to do for a time.
You could take them on for room and board here.тАЩ
I smiled stiffly as I shook my head. тАШThank you all the same, but I
think I need to find a future for myself. I think IтАЩll go to Bingtown and
see what work I can find there.тАЩ
тАШBingtown!тАЩ Hetta was horrified. тАШThat den of vice? Stay in the
country, girl, where folks have hearts. No one will treat you well in the
city.тАЩ
тАШStay,тАЩ her husband urged me. His eyes decided me as he
declared, тАШLive here, and IтАЩll treat you just like one of my own.тАЩ
And that night, he was as good as his word. As I slept on the