"Julian May - Boreal Moon 2 - Ironcrown Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (May Julian)

all parts of Cathra, becoming Sir Deveron Austrey. We received the accolade at the traditional ceremony at noon on Midsummer Eve. To
my surprise, I was not made a simple Bachelor like the others but was created a Knight Banneret of the Royal Household in recognition
of my confidential services to the Crown. The commanderтАЩs honors included a velvet purse containing a hundred gold double-marks,
twice the boon vouchsafed to the Knights Bachelor; a smallish fortified manor house called Buttonoaks with a freehold of six hundred
goodly acres, situated in the rolling hills below Swan Lake, which was supposed to provide me with a decent income and a place to live
when I was not needed at the palace; and the services of two armigers rather than one, together with an apprentice windvoice who would
ostensibly enable me to communicate with my superiors via the arcane network of Zeth Brethren. (My own windtalents were, of course, a
state secret.)

After the dubbing ceremony, High King Conrig kindly suggested that I quit the court for several weeks and visit my new demesne, which
lay less than three daysтАЩ easy journey to the north. With the realm at peace and likely to remain so for some time to come, the king
anticipated no immediate need for my particular services.

I agreed to the idea eagerly and made ready to leave at once, glad of the chance to avoid the elaborate Solstice banquet and the many
entertainments that would take place over the next several days. I found the pomp and splendor of court festivities tedious. In my role of
Royal Intelligencer, I often moved among the great ones of the Sovereignty; but I had been born a commoner of low estate, the son of a
palace harnessmaker, and preferred more modest pleasures.

I invited a close friend, Sir Gavlok Whitfell, to accompany me on my tour of inspection. He was another who esteemed the simple life
and was glad of a chance to spend time in the country. Together with our youthful attendants, Gavlok and I left Gala Blenholme city
along about the sixth hour on Solstice Eve, heading north toward the Swan Lake region. My armigers Val and Wil, and my windvoice
Vra-Mattis, newly come to the palace from Vanguard and Blackhorse Duchies and Zeth Abbey respectively, were still unfamiliar to me.
But they all seemed to be biddable lads and I looked forward to getting to know them better.

I was in a fine humor, anticipating exploration of my manor in the company of congenial men. For a short time at least, I would answer to
no master but myself.




one
The great outdoor feast in the Gala Palace gardens had come to its conclusion by the tenth hour of Solstice Eve. While servitors
dismantled the banquet boards, rearranged the chairs and benches, and laid out the hardwood dancing floor with its flower-decked
standards and strings of twinkling lanterns, the throng of highborn guests slipped away to chambers of ease inside Gala Palace to refresh
themselves before the music began.

In the royal retirement room adjacent to the great hall, High Queen Risalla sat at a dressing table enduring the attentions of her personal
maid, who was rearranging her hair. The Sovereign himself rested on a padded long chair, seeming to be lost in deep thought. He had
hardly exchanged a dozen words with the queen since they had left the gardens. The room was warm and he wore only his black
undertunic, hose, and soft ankle boots, having shed his ornate overrobe of black-tissue velvet with white-gold ornamentation. His valet
was busy daubing spirits of wine on a grease spot on one of the sleeves.



file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/May,%20Julian%20-%20[Bor...0-%20Boreal%20Moon%202%20-%20Ironcrown%20Moon.html (10 of 228)2-2-2007 18:46:18
 May, Julian - Boreal Moon 2 - Ironcrown Moon


тАЬSire,тАЭ the queen said, тАЬI have a special request to make of you.тАЭ