"Maria V. Snyder - Poison 1 - Poison Study" - читать интересную книгу автора (Snyder Maria V)

An obvious dismissal, but I paused at the door with all the questions I should have asked poised on my
lips. I swallowed them. They sank like stones to my stomach, then I closed the door and hurried after
Margg, who hadnтАЩt stopped to wait.

Margg never slowed her pace. I found myself panting with the effort to keep up. Trying to remember the
various corridors and turns, I soon gave up as my whole world shrank to the sight of MarggтАЩs broad
back and efficient stride. Her long black skirt seemed to float above the floor. The housekeeper uniform
included a black shirt and white apron that hung from the neck down to the ankle and was cinched tight
around the waist. The apron had two vertical rows of small red diamond-shapes connected end to end.
When Margg finally stopped at the baths, I had to sit on the floor to clear my spinning head.

тАЬYou stink,тАЭ Margg said, disgust creasing her wide face. She pointed to the far side of the baths in a
manner that indicated she was used to being obeyed. тАЬWash twice, then soak. IтАЩll bring you some
uniforms.тАЭ She left the room.
The overpowering desire to bathe flashed like fire on my skin. Energized, I ripped the prison robe off and
raced to the washing area. Hot water poured down in a cascade when I opened the duct above my
head. The CommanderтАЩs castle was equipped with heated water tanks located one floor above the
baths, a luxury even BrazellтАЩs extravagant manor house didnтАЩt have.

I stood for a long time, hoping the drumming on my head would erase all thoughts of poisons. Obediently
I washed my hair and body twice. My neck, wrists and ankles burned from the soap, but I didnтАЩt care. I
scrubbed two more times, rubbing hard at the stubborn spots of dirt on my skin, stopping only when I
realized they were bruises.

I felt unconnected to the body under the waterfall. The pain and humiliation of being arrested and locked
away had been inflicted on this body, but my soul had long since been driven out during the last two
years I had lived in BrazellтАЩs manor house.

An image of BrazellтАЩs son suddenly flashed before me. ReyadтАЩs handsome face distorted with rage. I
stepped back, reflexively jerking my hands up to block him. The image disappeared, leaving me shaking.

It was an effort to dry off and wrap a towel around me. I tried to focus on finding a comb instead of the
ugly memories ReyadтАЩs image called forth.

Even clean, my snarled hair resisted the comb. As I searched for a pair of scissors, I spotted another
person in the baths from the corner of my eye. I stared at the body. A corpse looked back at me. The
green eyes were the only signs of life in the gaunt, oval face. Thin stick legs looked incapable of holding
the rest of the body up.

Recognition shot through me like a cold splash of fear. It was my body. I averted my eyes from the
mirror, having no desire to assess the damage. Coward, I thought, returning my gaze with a purpose.
Had ReyadтАЩs death released my soul from where it had fled? In my mind I tried to reconnect my spirit to
my body. Why did I think my soul would return if my body was still not mine? It belonged to
Commander Ambrose to be used as a tool for filtering and testing poisons. I turned away.

Pulling clumps of knotted hair out with the comb, I arranged the rest into a single long braid down my
back.

Not long ago all I had hoped for was a clean prison robe before my execution, and now here I was