"Juliet E. McKenna - Aldabreshin 2 - Northern Storm" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKenna Juliet E)

shipmaster's shouts of command and the piper's signals. Some glanced up at the stern platform with
discreet curiosity. Kheda kept his face impassive as he made a covert survey of the crew's bearded
faces.
They're as curious as everyone else to see what kind of pearl harvest will mark the turn of my first year as
unexpected lord of this Chazen domain. And I can see a measure of private anticipation, naturally, in their
hopes that serving the warlord in person will win them some share in the bounty.
What can they see in you? Very little, hopefully. 'Show no more emotion than a statue of the finest
marble' that's what your father used to say. Because people looking at a statue see in it what they want to
see more often than not.
to see my rule sanctioned by the best possible omens?
'I've brought swords and archers to keep your harvest safe,' Kheda called out to the pearl skiffs. 'Carry
water to my ships to refill their barrels, if you please.'
Leaving behind a robust chorus of earnest assurances, the rowing boat soon reached the shallows. The
boatman shipped his oars and jumped lithely over the side, grabbing for the bow rope to begin hauling
the boat up on to the drier sand.
'This will do.' Kheda raised a hand, inclining his head courteously to the boatman as he got out. 'Make
yourself known to my slave before we leave.' The cool ruffles of surf around his shins were refreshing
after the sun-baked wood of the galley's deck beneath his bare feet. 'Remember that boatman and give
him a few pearls,' he said quietly to Dev as they walked up the beach.
'Naturally, my lord,' murmured Dev with a touch of sarcasm. 'A memory for faces is essential in my
proper trade.'
Kheda's spine stiffened despite himself. Before he could find a reprimand for the barbarian,, a handful of
men advanced down the beach towards them, leaving more waiting in a respectful half-circle where the
white coral sands gave way to dusty soil and sparse coils of parched, grey midar stems. Dev had been
walking a pace behind Kheda on his open side, one hand resting lightly on the twin hilts thrust through his
double-looped sword belt. As the islanders approached, the barbarian moved swiftly to stand between
the warlord and these newcomers, stony faced, until Kheda gave him the nod to stand aside, his smile
one of nicely calculated superiority.
You can feign this much of a true body slave's duties at least.
The leader of the delegation bowed low. The bold yellow cloth of his simply cut cotton tunic and trousers
was rich with embroidery mimicking turtleshell. He had a darker complexion than his companions and the
more tightly curled hair of a hill-dweller, showing that blood from some larger domain had mingled with
his more local ancestry. 'My lord Chazen Kheda.'
'Borha.' Kheda smiled widely to conceal how much that new title still grated on his ears.
Get used to it, fool. You're not Daish Kheda, nor ever will be again.
'I see you've brought plenty of strong arms to reap the pearl harvest,' Kheda continued smoothly.
'We left plenty of men to continue our rebuilding.' The man beamed with pleasure at being recognised but
fingered a white crab-shell talisman on a cord around his neck, betraying an unconscious anxiety.
'I know - we've just come from Salgaru. Your village is certainly prospering, and all the others besides.'
Kheda widened his smile and looked beyond Borha to include all the waiting men in his approval.
One of the others spoke up. 'Will you take some refreshment while we wait for our fishermen to return,
my lord?'
'Thank you.' Kheda walked on up the beach and the islanders moved to either side, giving Dev a
respectful distance. A few had darker skin and curly hair like Borha. More had the rich brown
complexion and straighter hair prevalent in these southerly reaches. All wore crisp new cottons in reds,
blues and yellows decorated with skilful embroidery. Some bore vivid butterflies across their shoulders or
patterns echoing any one of the myriad bright birds that graced the bigger islands. Other decorations
recalled the intricate traceries of thorn coral or the spirals of seashells. A couple wore bracelets of
twisted silver wire and one boasted a chain of gold lozenge links around his neck. Most wore more
simple talismans -- a plaited wristband of the silky fibres from a tandra seed pod or a string