"Mercedes Lackey - It Takes A Thief" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

head
outside into the cold.
Where 'ud it hurt if 'e bought for a week? Wouldn' 'e get it cheaper that way?
Skif ran out into the courtyard to unload the wagonтАФhired for the purpose by
the
candlemark, together with a boy to drive it. The quicker Skif unloaded the
thing, the less Uncle Londer would be chargedтАФand if he didn't save Uncle
Londer
every possible pennybit, he'd learn about it when Kalchan's fist connected
with
his head.
The boy stared at the ears of his donkey, studiously ignoring Skif, who was so
much lower in the social scale than he was. This boy had a coat, new boots,
both
clean.
Ah, stuck up! Skif thought, and stuck out his tongue at the unresponsive back.
First off, a half-sack of flour, followed by a tub of tallow grease thriftily
saved from cookshops where they skimmed off the grease from roasting and
frying,
and resold to those who could not afford butter and candles. Maisie would be
put
to taking peeled rushes and dipping them in the melted grease to make the
tallow
dips that served the tavern as lights, and the cook would use the same grease
in
baking and on the bread.
Skif moved it carefully and set it down beside the flour; sometimes the stuff
was still liquid underneath, and he didn't dare spill it.
Then came a bucket of meat scraps, which would serve for the soup and meat
pies.
I don' wanna know what that meat came from. Reckon it might meowтАж
Next, a peck of withered, spotty turnips, another of dried beans and peas that
were past their best and smelled of mold. Last of all, two barrels of beer and
one of wine. Both represented the collected dregs from barrels all over the
city, collected last night from one of the large merchants who supplied goods
to
other inns and taverns. Needless to say, this was the cheapest conceivable
form
of beverage; it even cost less than the sweet spring water collected from
outside Haven. It was so awful that Guild cooks wouldn't even use the stuff in
sauces; stale and loaded with sediment, it smelled sour even through the wood
of
the barrel. Skif got the barrels off the wagon quickly, and the boy turned the
wagon just as quickly and sent his donkey trotting out into the street. Skif
lugged the food into the kitchen where old Moll, the cook, took charge of it
all. Only she or Kalchan were allowed to touch the food and drink once it came
off the wagon.
Skif had no intention of touching any of it. He never ate hereтАФnot that Uncle
Londer encouraged him to.
He wasn't done yet; he had to bring in enough water from the courtyard pump to