"Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time 11 - Knife of Dreams" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jordan Robert)

except for a few servants who appeared to be watching while pretending
to sweep. Six Questioners, big men with the scarlet shepherdТs crook
upright behind the sunflare on their cloaks, stood close around Rhadam
Asunawa like a bodyguard, away from the others. The Hand of the Light
always stood apart from the rest of the Children, a choice the rest of
the Children approved. Gray-haired Asunawa, his sorrowful face making
Byar look fully fleshed, was the only Child present not in armor, and
his snowy cloak carried just the brilliant red crook, another way of
standing apart. But aside from marking who was present, Galad had eyes
for only one man in the courtyard. Asunawa might have been involved in
some wayЧthat remained unclearЧyet only the Lord Captain Commander could
call the High Inquisitor to account.

Eamon Valda was not a large man, yet his dark, hard face had the look of
one who expected obedience as his due. As the very least he was due.
Standing with his booted feet apart and his head high, command in every
inch of him, he wore the white-and-gold tabard of the Lord Captain
Commander over his gilded breast- and backplates, a silk tabard more
richly embroidered than any Pedron Niall had worn. His white cloak, the
flaring sun large on either breast in thread-of-gold, was silk as well,
and his gold-embroidered white coat. The helmet beneath his arm was
gilded and worked with the flaring sun on the brow, and a heavy gold
ring on his left hand, worn outside his steel-backed gauntlet, held a
large yellow sapphire carved with the sunburst. Another mark of favor
received from the Seanchan.

Valda frowned slightly as Galad and his companions dismounted and
offered their salutes, arm across the chest. Obsequious grooms came
running to take their reins.

УWhy arenТt you on your way to Nassad, Trom?Ф Disapproval colored
ValdaТs words. УThe other Lords Captain will be halfway there by now.Ф
He himself always arrived late when meeting the Seanchan, perhaps to
assert that some shred of independence remained to the ChildrenЧfinding
him already preparing to depart was a surprise; this meeting must be
very importantЧbut he always made sure the other high-ranking officers
arrived on time even when that required setting out before dawn.
Apparently it was best not to press their new masters too far. Distrust
of the Children was always strong in the Seanchan.

Trom displayed none of the uncertainty that might have been expected
from a man who had held his present rank barely a month. УAn urgent
matter, my Lord Captain Commander,Ф he said smoothly, making a very
precise bow, neither a hair deeper nor higher than protocol demanded. УA
Child of my command charges another of the Children with abusing a
female relative of his, and claims the right of Trial Beneath the Light,
which by law you must grant or deny.Ф

УA strange request, my son,Ф Asunawa said, tilting his head quizzically
above clasped hands, before Valda could speak. Even the High