"Elizabeth Moon - Gird 01 - Surrender None" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

other trouble.
тАЬItтАЩs not the name I want, a man who argues every measure of his
fee,тАЭ said his father, leaning heavily on the table. тАЬNo. ItтАЩs better to
pay high one year, and have the lordтАЩs opinion. тАЩTis not as if we were
hungry.тАЭ
Gird had listened silently. They had been hungry, two years before;
he still remembered the pain in his belly, and his brotherтАЩs gifts of
food. Anything was better than that. Now, as he walked the lane, his
belly grumbled; the smell of the plums seemed to go straight from his
nose to his gut. He squinted against the bright light, trying not to
think of it. Underfoot the dust was hot on the surface, but his feet
sank into a coolnessтАФwas it damp? Why did wet and cold feel the

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Elizabeth Moon - Surrender None


same? He saw a puddle left from the rain a week ago, and headed for
it before remembering his motherтАЩs detailed warnings. No puddles,
sheтАЩd said; you donтАЩt come into the lordтАЩs court with dirty feet.
The lane past his fatherтАЩs house curved around a clump of pick-oak
and into the village proper. Gird shifted his basket to the other side,
and stumped on. Up ahead, just beyond the great stone barn where
the whole village stored hay and grain was the corner of the lordтАЩs
wall. The lane was choked with people waiting to go in the gate,
children younger than Gird with handbaskets, those his own age with
armbaskets, older ones with ruckbaskets like his. He joined the line,
edging forward as those who had paid their fee came out and left
room within.
Once inside the gate, he could just see over taller heads one corner of
the awning over the stewardтАЩs table. As he tried to peek between
those ahead of him, and see more, someone tapped his head with a
hard knuckle. He looked around.
тАЬGood looking plums,тАЭ said Rauf, Oreg the pigherdтАЩs son. тАЬBetter
than ours.тАЭ Rauf was a hand taller than Gird, and mean besides. Gird
nodded, but said nothing. That was safer with Rauf. тАЬTheyтАЩd look
better in my basket, I think. Eh, Sig?тАЭ Rauf nudged his friend Sikan
in the ribs, and they both grinned at Gird. тАЬYouтАЩve more than you
need, little boy; that basketтАЩs too heavy anyway.тАЭ Rauf took a
handful of plums off the top of the basket, and Sikan did the same.
тАЬYou stop!тАЭ Gird forgot that loud voices were not allowed in the
lordтАЩs court. тАЬThose are my plums!тАЭ
тАЬThey may have been once, but I found them.тАЭ Rauf shoved Gird
hard; he stumbled, and more plums rolled out of the basket. тАЬFound
them all over the ground, I did; whatтАЩs down is anyoneтАЩs, right?тАЭ
Gird tried to snatch for the rolling plums. Sikan kicked him lightly in
the arm, while Rauf tipped his basket all the way over. Gird heard
some of the other boys laughing, a woman nearby crying shame to
them all. The back of his neck felt hot, and he heard a wind in his
ears. Before he thought, he grabbed the basket and slammed it into