"Katherine Kerr - Deverry 06 - A Time Of Omens" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kerr Katherine)

enough ale tankards for the mercenary troop as the men strode in, laughing and talking, each with a
dagger hilt made of silver gleaming at his belt. Bellyra hovered uncertainly behind Tieryn Elyc and waited
for a chance to deliver her speech of thanks until, at last, the old merchant happened to look her way.

тАЬAh, the Princess of the Blood, no doubt,тАЭ he said with an amazingly deep and agile bow. тАЬI do have the
honor of addressing Bellyra of Cerrmor, do I not?тАЭ

тАЬYou do, good sir.тАЭ Bellyra drew herself up to full height and held out her hand for him to kiss. тАЬYou
have our royal thanks for the risk youтАЩve run to bring us this black iron more precious than shining gold.тАЭ

тАЬYour Highness is welcome from the bottom of my heart.тАЭ

Bellyra was annoyed to see Elyc smiling again, but the old man didnтАЩt seem to notice.
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тАЬAnd your name, good sir?тАЭ

тАЬMy name, Your Highness, contains a jest, but itтАЩs a name nonetheless. ItтАЩs Nevyn.тАЭ

тАЬJust like the sorcerer!тАЭ She blushed, hating herself for blurting like a child. тАЬI mean, IтАЩve read of a
sorcerer faith that name.тАЭ

Elyc was downright laughing at her by then, and she decided she hated him, too, loyal regent or not.

тАЬYouтАЩll forgive the princess, good sir.тАЭ He stepped forward to take command of the situation. тАЬSheтАЩs a
bit young for her position, truly, andтАФтАЭ

тАЬToo young? Oh, sheтАЩs not that, Your Grace, but unusually attentive to her lessons, IтАЩd say. IтАЩve read
the same book myself, IтАЩll wager, because there was indeed a sorcerer named Nevyn who once lived in
this very cityтАФor so I heard.тАЭ He gave Bellyra a conspiratorial wink. тАЬPerhaps thatтАЩs why my mother
gave me that name, Your Highness, because it was famous in its own small way.тАЭ

Elyc arranged a polite smile. Nevyn bowed and made room for the two young merchants to continue
their earnest talk of due recompense. Bellyra could only hope that the treasury held enough silver to pay
them; she rather doubted it. By then the royal warband was piling into the hall to see what all the
excitement was about. Even though it was early in the spring, some of the lords faithful to Cerrmor had
already brought their warbands to court, and they too appeared, the noble-born sitting down at tables on
the dais, their men finding places on the lower level. Bellyra collared a couple of pages and told them to
run tell Cook to get some sort of refreshments for the noble-born and to find the cellarer and fetch
another barrel of ale for the warbands. As they trotted off she noticed that Elyc had left the discussion
about payment to the chamberlain and wandered over to the edge of the dais. He seemed to be staring at
one of the mercenaries sitting below. All at once he laughed and jumped down from the dais.

тАЬCaradoc! It is you, by every god and his wife!тАЭ

Grinning in a stunned kind of delight, a man was working his way through the tables, a tall man with
blond hair heavily laced with gray and hard blue eyes. Although he was filthy and unshaven from the