"McCarty, Dennis - Thlassa Mey 01 - Flight to Thlassa Mey UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCarty Dennis)

where she wore the ring marking her as Princess Beren-
geria's personal attendant.

The host was a poor man of humble birth. He did not
recognize the ring, nor did he have any concept of the
office it represented. But he noted the rich garb of the
woman he faced and he could see her attendants watching
through the outer doorway; he saw the ring, which was
large and of great value. So he realized the ring must have
meant something. "Yes, of course, my Lady."

"Then answer me at once." Her voice was still gentle.
It cushioned the harshness of her words.

"That description fits the man who works for me, yes."
There was an interruption just then; a noise from a shad-
owy comer of the chamber turned the host's head and a
gravelly voice called for wine. "One moment. Lady." The
host grasped a worn pitcher and dipped into the open
amphora below the counter. He hurried to the table where

DENNIS MCCARTY 9

the men were calling; they were a scnrify pair of vaga-
bonds if ever Aelia had seen such. He poured the wine
into their clay bowls and accepted a coin from each man,
all the while watching his stately visitor over one shoulder.
But instead of returning to the counter, he vanished through
a doorway on the far side of the room-
Nothing happened for a moment- Aelia waited with the
slave, the two men at the table conversed in low voices,
and the attendants peered in through the street door. Then
die host came back into the chamber, this time with another
man.

Aelia looked at the newcomer. His appearance did fit
the stories she had heard about an imposing figure work-
ing in one ofBuerdaunt's waterfront taverns, a man whose
bearing, speech, and prowess revealed some greater past
than the life of a handyman. He was feared and respected
by the denizens of these dingy streets. His hair was laced
with the first tracings of gray, as was his mustache. His
eyes were blue, his nose long and straight, his jaw angular.
He showed no sign of the restless night he had spent.

There were questions in those blue eyes- She noted
that. But she could see more than simple curiosity in his
expression; she also sensed a certain ill-concealed knowl-
edge of the reason for her interest in him. She displayed
the ring that had so impressed the host. "I show you this,