"Katherine Kerr - Deverry 08 - A Time Of Justice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kerr Katherine)

'Well, then, could we pay you to let us water our horses in your trough?'

тАШThere's plenty of streams in the forest down the road. But here, that forest is our lord's hunting
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preserve. Don't you silver daggers go poaching in it.'

'And who is your lord?'

'Tieryn Dwaen of Bringerun, but he's too good a man to have any truck with the likes of you.'

At that the farmer picked up his bucket and turned back to his hogs. As they rode off, Rhodry was
swearing under his breath.

About a mile further on, the forest sprang up abruptly at the edge of cleared land, a dark, cool stand of
ancient oaks, thick with underbrush along the road. In the warmth of a spring day Jill found it pleasant,
riding through the dappled shade and listening to the bird-song and all the rustling, scrabbling music of the
lives of wild things - the chatter of a squirrel here, the creak of branches there, the occasional scratching
in the bracken that indicated some small animal was beating a retreat as the horses passed by. That she
would be riding through this splendour with her Rhodry at her side seemed to her the most glorious thing
in the world.

'Shall we stop and eat soon?' Jill said. 'We've got cheese, even if hat whoreson piss-pot bastard
wouldn't sell us any bread. I hear water running nearby.тАЩ

Sure enough, the road took a twist and brought them to the deep, broad Belaver, which paralleled the
road. At the bank they found a grassy clearing that sported a tall stone, carved with writing. Since
Rhodry knew how to read, he told Jill that it served notice that no one could hunt without permission of
the tieryn at Bringerun. After they watered their horses, they ate their cheese and apples standing up,
stretching after the long morning's ride, and idly watched the river flowing past, dappled with sun like gold
coins. All at once Jill felt uneasy. She walked away from the river and stood listening by the road, but she
heard nothing. That was the trouble: the normal forest noise had stopped.

'Rhodry? We'd best be on our way.'

'Why?'

тАШDon't you hear how quiet it is? That means there's men prowling round, and IтАЩll wager they're the
tieryn's gamekeepers. We'd best stay on the public road if we don't want trouble.'

They mounted and rode out, but as they let the horses amble down the road, Jill realized that she was
still listening for something, hunting horns, barking dogs, some normal noise that should accompany
gamekeepers on their rounds, but she heard nothing. In about a mile the bird-song picked up again.

As they rounded a bend, they met another party of riders ambling toward them. Two women led the
way, a pretty lass in a rich blue dress and an older person in grey who seemed to be her serving woman