"Norton, Andre - Mercedes Lackey - Elvenblood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

'Turn a little more, please."

It had been nearly a year since Lord Dyran and his son and heir had died, and the
inheritance had fallen into dispute. But the Council--Lord Tylar among
them--had eventually ruled that the estate and title could only be inherited by the
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 Norton, Andre & Lackey, Mercedes - Elvenblood


oldest surviving son--unless there were no surviving sons to inherit. And while it
was presumed (since there were two bodies) that Dyran's heir Valyn had gone up
in smoke with his father, there being no evidence to the contrary, there was still
Valyn's twin alive, of sound mind and body, living in, and the designated heir to,
the house of his grandfather.

That made young Ardeyn a double heir, and doubly desirable in a marriage
alliance. Little matter that Lord Edres was quite vigorous and unlikely to make
Ardeyn a double-Lord any time in the next several centuries; Ardeyn now had all
of Lord Dyran's considerable holdings in his own right. That made him the equal
of his grandfather in status and standing. Lord Tylar's support of Ardeyn's claim
had been noted, and now would be rewarded--though it was vanishingly unlikely
that the reward would be a wedding to Sheyrena. Lord Ardeyn was too highplaced
for that, and Lord Tylar still an upstart, though a valued upstart.

"Lower your arm now, my lady, please."

And no doubt, every unpledged elven maiden of appropriate rank has gotten an
invitation to come and show her paces for the benefit of Lord Ardeyn--or rather,
his grandfather. There was no doubt in Sheyrena's mind who was going to be
making the choice of a bride for Ardeyn. Only those who were fortunate enough to
have no parents or guardians ever made the choice of a spouse for themselves. If
the young Lord was lucky, his grandfather might consult him--but the probability
was that he was so ruled by Lord Edres that he would tamely accept a wedding to
a mule if that was what his grandfather dictated.

Just as I will tamely accept a wedding to a mule if that is what my father dictates,
no matter how I feel about it, for my feelings are of no consequence, she reflected
with resignation, as the maids laced the bodice of the undergown so tightly as to
make it a second silken skin. The effect was not to make her somewhat meager
charms seem more generous, but rather the opposite.

Although the invitation had said nothing about other maidens being presented at
this fete, it didn't have to. It was the word of every bower across the land that Lord

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 Norton, Andre & Lackey, Mercedes - Elvenblood


Ardeyn was looking for a bride and a profitable alliance, not necessarily in that