"Elizabeth Moon - Paksenarrion 2 - Divided Allegiance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

"Yes, I know. He wasn't thinking clearly, perhaps. Then he hired a lot of local toughs, dressed
them in the old colors of Immer, and tried to parley with the Duke of Fall."
"Huh. And came out with a whole skin?"
"He wasn't stupid enough to put it in jeopardyтАФthis took place on the borders of Fallo. The Duke
reacted as you might expect, butтАФwellтАФhe didn't much care what happened in the southern forest, as
long as it didn't bother him. And, so his men say, he's longsightedтАФwon't make an enemy
unnecessarily."
"But what about Siniava?"
"Well, Alured wasn't being accepted as Duke of Immer any more than Siniava was accepted as Count
of the South Marches. Now this bit I got from one of Alured's men. Siniava promised Alured the
dukedom if he'd break up the Immer River shipping, and protect Siniava's movements in the area.
Thats why no one could trace him after Rotengre."
"Yes, butтАФ"
"But a couple of things happened. First, Andressat. Andressat didn't accept Alured's claim, but he
was polite:
DIVIDED ALLEGIANCE 7
read the scroll, said he could understand Alured's feelings, but pushed the decision off on the
Duke of Fall. He let Alured look at his archives, and said if Fallo was ever convinced, he'd back
him. So when Siniava tried to get Alured to move on Andressat's flank, he wouldn't. Then the wood-
wanderers: you remember that old man we met in Kodaly, that time?' Stammel nodded. "Alured had
befriended them when he moved into the forest, so they were on his side. Same time, our Duke had
befriended them for years in the north, and northern Aarenis. From that, our Duke knew what Alured
wanted. And he knew what Fallo wanted, which was to marry into a northern kingdomтАФand he knew that
Sofi Ganarrion had a marriageable childтАФ"
"But Soft's not a kingтАФ"
"Yet. Remember what he's always said. And with Fallo behind himтАФ"
"Gods above! You meanтАФ"
"Somehow our Duke and the Halveric convinced the Duke of Fall that Alured's help in this campaign
was worth that much to him. So the Duke of Fall agreed to back Alured's claim, and Andressat fell
into line, and we got passage through the forest and Siniava didn't."
Paks shivered. She had never thought of the maneuvering that occurred off the battlefield. "But is
Alured really the Duke of Immer?"
Vossik shrugged. "He has the title. He will be ruling. What else?"
"But if he's not reallyтАФby blood, I meanтАФ"
"I don't see that it matters. He'll be better as a duke than a pirate: he'll have to govern,
expand trade, stop robbingтАФ"
"Will he?" Haben looked around the whole group before going on. "I wouldn't think, myself, that a
pirate-turned-brigand would make a very good duke. >Vhat's the difference between taxes and
robbery, if it comes to that?"
"He's not stupid, Haben." Vossik looked worried. "It will have to be better than SiniavaтАФ"
"That's my point. Siniava claimed a titleтАФclaimed to be governing his landsтАФbut we all saw what
that meant in
8
Elizabeth Moon
Cha and Sibili. He didn't cut off trade entirely, as Alured has done on the Immer, noтАФbut would


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