"Tamora Pierce - Protector Of The Small 4 - Lady Knight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pierce Tamora)

Mindelan?"
Kel shrugged. "I need a servant. Tobe seemed to want a change, so I hired him away from the
innkeeper."
"You mean he's another of your strays," Neal pointed out. "Didn't that griffin teach you anything?"
"Griffin?" Tobe asked, scooting a little forward of Peachblossom's legs. "You saw a griffin?"
Kel smiled. "I'll tell you about it if you'll let Neal have a look at you."
Tobe eyed Neal with considerable suspicion. "Folk like him don't touch the likes of me."
"If you knew how I spent my squiredom, you'd know the likes of you are most of what I ended up
touching," Neal informed him. "I can get rid of your lice and fleas," he added as Tobe scratched himself.
"Cannot," retorted the boy.
"Can too," Neal replied. "The handiest spell I ever learned."
Convinced that Neal would talk the boy around, Kel went to see about having a hot bath drawn and
carried up to her room.
"Miss, you shouldna bother with that un," the maid she paid for the service commented. "He's a gutter
rat, as like to bite a helpin' hand as not."
Thinking of Peachblossom and the baby griffin she'd once cared for, Kel replied, "If he does, it won't
be the first time."
When Neal brought Tobe to her room, Kel was just donning the oiled canvas cloak and the
broadbrimmed hat she used to keep off the rain. Under the cloak she wore a quilted coat made by her
former maid Lalasa, now a dressmaker. Lalasa had spared no effort on the coat for the mistress who had
given her a start. By the time Kel had tied the cloak around her neck, she was sweating.
"Here he is." Neal pushed open Kel's door to admit Jump and Tobe. "Did you order supper for him?"
"I remember that much from my own healings, thank you," Kel replied. "I appreciate your seeing to
him, Neal."
Her friend waved a hand in dismissal and left, closing the door. Kel regarded her new servant. "You
see that?" She pointed to the tub that sat squarely in front of the hearth. "It's a bath. You climb in and you
don't climb out and eat before you're clean. Scrub all over, understand?" She saw that Neal had done
well: the boy's weals and scabbed-over cuts showed now as pink, healthy, new skin. "There's soap in
that bowl. Use it," she continued. "The little pick is to clean under your nails. Remember your hair, your
ears and your private parts."
The boy went to the tub, stuck a finger in the water, and glared at Kel. "It's hot!" he exclaimed.
"Don't expect hot baths every night," she told him, straight-faced. She could see that he was dismayed
at the thought of washing in hot water. "But you'll do this on your own, or I'll do it for you, with a scrub
brush. My servants are clean."
Tobe hung his head. "Yes, lady."
Kel pointed to the bed, where she had set out drying cloths and one of her spare shirts. "Dry with
those and put that on for now," she said. "Don't wear your old things."
"Not even me loincloth?" he asked, horrified.
"You're getting fresh ones. Clean ones," she said, immovable. "I'm off to take care of that now. When
you're dry, wrap up in a blanket and look outside - the maid will leave a tray with your supper by the
door. I got a pallet for you -" she pointed to it, on the side of the hearth opposite the table - "so you can
go to bed. You'll be sleepy after a decent supper and Neal's magicking."
 "Yes, lady," replied the boy. He was glum but resigned to fresh clothes and a bath. He glanced around
the room, his eyes widening at the sight of her glaive propped in a corner. "What pig-sticker is that?"
Kel smiled. "It's a Yamani naginata - we call it a glaive. I learned to use one in the islands, and it's the
weapon I'm best with. Clothes, off. Bath, now, Tobe."
He gaped, then exclaimed, "With a girl lookin' on? Lady, some places a fellow's got to draw the line!"
"Very true," Kel replied solemnly, trying not to grin. "Don't give Jump any food. He's had one good
meal tonight already."
Jump, sprawled between the tub and the fire, belched and scratched an ear. His belly was plump with