"Andre Norton & Lackey, Mercedes - Elvenbane 1 -The Elvenbane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

care; Lord Rathekrel's last five wives had perished in childbirth, and there
were very few elven lords these days willing to risk their own precious
offspring to whatever lethality Rathekrel carried in his seed. Alara had heard
rumors that he was considering seeking a bride among the hangers-on and
subordinates of his estate.

With the dessert came the proposal, in the form of a white sugar swan that
flew to her plate and proffered something it held hidden in its beak. She
looked up at Rathekrel inquisitively.

"Take it, my dear,", he said, sure now of his reception. "Take it. It is not my
heart, but let it stand as a fitting substitute."
Did he really say that? she thought, astonished, Would even a fool like me
fall for something than patently fatuous?

Oh well, she supposed she would.

She held her palm out to the sparkling sugar bird, and it inclined its neck and
dropped a silver marriage band in her outstretched hand.

She accepted the band, placed it carefully on the index finger of her right
hand to indicate that the proposal had been accepted with the ring, and
calmly ate the swan.

That concluded the meal. Lord Rathekrel bid her good night with carefully
restrained glee, and she made her solitary way back over the calming sea to
the light of the open corridor door.

The humans descended upon her again and she permitted them to undress
her, envelop her in a silken sleeping robe, braid up her hair, and conduct her
to her bed. The fact that the white-and-silver walls and furnishings were no
longer stark, but held a delicate undertone of warm pink, did not escape her
notice, nor that the subtly uncomfortable chair and bed were now
mysteriously soft and welcoming. The humans vanished, the last one pausing
just long enough to murmur an unheard congratulation speech, and the lights
extinguished themselves.

She waited for the sounds of the house to settle, and when she was certain
she could hear nothing, shifted her form and made her escape, using the
same door the humans had taken when they left her.

Draconic memory was precise, and as vivid as the first-time reality. The look
on Rathekrel's face when he discovered that his bride-to-be had vanished had
been well worth all the trouble and the year-long setup. Alara laughed
silently to herself--one thing she still could do as a rock.

He thought he had protected himself in every way possible. He had warded
his rooms against elven magic and even against another of elvenkind
crossing the threshold, but not against a human servant moving about; and,
she reflected smugly, he had never thought for a moment about checking