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

sinking into the CommanderтАЩs famous hot baths.

тАЬThatтАЩs long enough,тАЭ Margg barked, startling me out of a light doze. тАЬHere are your uniforms. Get
dressed.тАЭ Her stiff face radiated disapproval.

As I dried myself, I felt MarggтАЩs impatience.

Along with some undergarments, the food tasterтАЩs uniform consisted of black pants, a wide red satin belt
and a red satin shirt with a line of small black diamond-shapes connected end to end down each of the
sleeves. The clothes were obviously sized for a man. Malnourished and measuring only four inches past
five feet, I looked like a child playing pretend with her fatherтАЩs clothes. I wrapped the belt three times
around my waist and rolled up the sleeves and pant legs.

Margg snorted. тАЬValek only told me to feed you and show you to your room. But I think weтАЩll stop by
the seamstressтАЩs first.тАЭ Pausing at the open door, Margg pursed her lips and added, тАЬYouтАЩll need boots
too.тАЭ

Obediently, I followed Margg like a lost puppy.
The seamstress, Dilana, laughed gaily at my appearance. Her heart-shaped face had a halo of curly blond
hair. Honey-colored eyes and long eyelashes enhanced her beauty.

тАЬThe stable boys wear the same pants and the kitchen maids wear the red shirts,тАЭ Dilana said when she
had stifled her giggles. She admonished Margg for not spending the time to find me better-size uniforms.
Margg pushed her lips together tighter.

Fussing around me like a grandmother instead of a young woman, DilanaтАЩs attentions warmed me, pulling
me toward her. I envisioned us becoming friends. She probably had many acquaintances and suitors who
came to bask in her attentions like cave dwellers drawn to a blazing hearth. I found myself aching to
reach out to her.

After writing my measurements down, Dilana searched through the piles of red, black and white clothing
stacked around the room.

Everyone who worked in Ixia wore a uniform. The CommanderтАЩs castle servants and guards wore a
variation of black, white and red color clothes with vertical diamond-shapes either down the sleeves of
the shirts or down the sides of the pants. Advisers and higher-ranking officers usually wore all black with
small red diamonds stitched on the collars to show rank. The uniform system became mandatory when
the Commander gained power so everyone knew at a glance who they were dealing with.

Black and red were Commander AmbroseтАЩs colors. The Territory of Ixia had been separated into eight
Military Districts each ruled by a General. The uniforms of the eight districts were identical to the
CommanderтАЩs except for the color. A housekeeper wearing black with small purple diamond-shapes on
her apron therefore worked in Military District 3 or MDтАУ3.

тАЬI think these should fit better.тАЭ She handed me some clothes, gesturing to the privacy screen at the far
end of the room.

While I was changing, I heard Dilana say, тАЬSheтАЩll need boots.тАЭ Feeling less foolish in my new clothes, I
picked up the old uniforms and gave them to Dilana.