"Robin McKinley - Damar 1 - The Blue Sword" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinley Robin)

on the Border here, and everyone is very aware that Freemen live in those Hills you see out your
windows every day. The Darians that do work for you, or with you, are very anxious to prove how
Homelander they really are, and loyal to all things Homelander, so they won't talk; and the others won't
for the opposite reasons."
"You're beginning to sound like Daddy," said Beth.
"We've heard him say it all often enough," Cassie responded.
"But the Hillfolk," said Harry.
"Yes. The one thing I suppose we all have in common is a joy in those three short weeks of spring.
So a few Hillfolk come to our Fair."
"They don't act very happy, though," said Beth. "They come in those long robes they always
wearover their faces too, so you can't see if they're smiling or frowning; and some of them with those
funny patched sashes around their waists. But they do come, and they stay several daysthey have the
grandest horses you've ever seen. They pitch camp outside the station, and they always set guards, quite
openly, as if we weren't to be trusted"
"Maybe we aren't," murmured Cassie.
"but they never sell their horses. They bring the most gorgeous tapestries, though, and embroidered
sashesmuch nicer than the cut-up ones they wear themselves. These they sell. They stalk around the edge
of the big central square, the old marketplace, carrying all this vivid stuff, while the rest of us are laughing
and talking and running around. It's a bit eerie."
"No it's not," said Cassie. "You listen to the stories too much."
Beth blushed. After a pause she said, "Do you see anything at the Residency?"
"No," said Harry. "What stories?"
There was another pause while Cassie looked at Beth and Beth looked at her pony's mane. "My
fault," said Cassie presently. "We're not supposed to talk about them. Daddy gets really annoyed if he
catches us. The stories are mostly about magic. Corlath and his people are supposed to be rotten with it,
even in this day and age, and Corlath himself is supposed to be more than a little mad."
"Magic?" said Harry, remembering what Dedham had said earlier. "Mad?" He hadn't said anything
about madness. "How?"
They both shrugged. "We've never managed to find out," said Cassie.
"And we can usually wring what we want to know out of Daddy eventually," said Beth, "so it must be
something pretty dreadful."
Cassie laughed. "You read too many novels, Beth. It's just as likely that Daddy won't talk about it
because he refuses to admit it might be realthe magic, I mean. Jack Dedham believes ithe and Daddy
argue about it sometimes, when they don't think anyone else is around. The madness, if that's what it is, is
tied up somehow in the king's strengthin return for having power beyond mortal men or some such, he
has to pay a price of some kind of mad fits."
"Who reads too many novels?" said Beth, and Cassie grinned. "It does rather catch the imagination,"
she said, and Beth nodded.
"No wonder you're so eager to set eyes on him," said Harry.
"Yes. I know it's silly of me, but I feel maybe it'll show somehow. He'll be eight feet tall and have a
third eye in the middle of his forehead," said Beth.
"Heavens," said Harry.
"I hope not," said Cassie.
 "Well, you know how the legends go," said Beth.
"No, not really," said her sister repressively. "Even when Daddy is willing to translate some, you can
tell by the pauses that he's leaving a lot out."
"Yes, but even so," persisted Beth. "The old kings and queens were supposed to be taller than
mortal"
"The Darians are mostly shorter than we are, at least the ones we see," interrupted Cassie. "A king
could look quite ordinary to us and be very tall for them."