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

order. There would be dozens of unwedded and unpledged elven women there
tonight, from children still playing with dolls to widows with power and property
of their own. There was only one Lord Ardeyn, however, which meant that it was
inevitable that many other unwedded elven lords or their parents or representatives
would be appearing at this fete as well, looking for prospective brides. It wasn't
often that there was an occasion grand enough that all the houses could put aside
their various feuds and pretend civility for one short night. Any number of
alliances might come out of this fete; old conflicts might be resolved--

"--the train, my lady, please to lift your foot."

And entirely new ones created. The maids indicated that she should turn a full
circle; the silken folds of the skirt swirled around her and settled again with a sigh.
They held up the overgown, and once again she held still while they eased it over
her head, for all the world like a giant doll they were all dressing. The heavier silk
of the overgown poured down over her body and added its weight to the invisible
burden of misery on her shoulders.

So I am to be trotted out like one of Father's prize mares, for all the unattached
lords to check my paces and my teeth. Just as Lorryn is trotted about like a prize
stallion, displayed to the fathers of all the maidens in our circle. Father's will is
everything. She was too well schooled to show her distaste, but her unhappiness
sat in her middle, a lump of sour ice, and made her throat ache with tension. The
maids fussed with the lacings on the side of the overgown as she closed her
burning eyes for a moment to fight for control and serenity.

It was hard, hard, to maintain that well-schooled serenity, especially in light of the
ordeal to come. She had never been comfortable with strangers; the few times that
her father had summoned her to be displayed--presumably with an eye to a
possible marriage--she had wanted to crawl under the rug and hide. The prospect
of being trussed into this torture device disguised as a gown and spending the
entire evening displaying herself to dozens, hundreds, of strangers was enough to
make her physically ill.

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 Norton, Andre & Lackey, Mercedes - Elvenblood


"--and this lacing must be tighter, please try not to breathe heavily--"

Her mother had been trying to convince her for weeks that this was going to be a
golden opportunity for her. This would be her one, perhaps her only, chance to
make a marriage that would satisfy her father and herself. This was a rare chance
to actually meet some of the lords looking for brides before one of them was
foisted on her. She might actually find some young elven lord there that she liked',
someone who would allow her to continue her excursions outside the bower,
rather than confining her to the space within the walls of the women's quarters as
so many elven lords insisted was proper.

Her mother's arguments had included those, and many other persuasive