"Patricia C. Wrede - Magician 1 - Mairelon the Magicia" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wrede Patricia C)

apple seller was promptly surrounded by hopeful customers,
but his remaining wares proved disappointingly ordinary.

Meanwhile, the magician went smoothly on with his act.
He borrowed a hat from one of the men in the crowd, boiled
an egg in it, and returned the hat to its owner unharmed.

Then he brought out a pack of playing cards and ran through
a series of increasingly elaborate tricks,
Kirn was so enthralled by the show that she almost missed
seeing a small door open near the front of the wagon. The
jingling noise of the tambourine caught her attention at last,
Hastily she mashed herself flat against the side ofJamie's stall,
holding one ragged sleeve up to obscure her face. Mairelon's
droopy henchman glanced in her direction as he passed, but


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his eyes moved on once her dirty and impecunious appear-
ance sank in-

As soon as the man had been absorbed into the audience,
Kirn darted for the wagon door, hoping Mairelon's show and
the growing shadows would keep her from being noticed.
Her luck held; no shouts followed her down the narrow aisle,
and when she reached it, the door was unlocked. Kirn pushed
it open and half jumped, half fell into the wagon's interior,
the first chorus of "Darlin' Jenny" echoing through her mind.
She paused briefly to get her breath back and look around-
Once again, she found herself staring in surprise- The
wagon's interior was paneled in dark wood, polished to a high
gloss. Rows of cupboards ran down one side, topped by a
shelf of smooth grey tile. A long chest was built into the
other wall, from the neat roll of blankets at one end, Kim
guessed that it doubled as a bed- Presumably the droopy man
slept on the Hoor, or perhaps under the wagon, for she saw
no sign of a second bed.

A small lamp, which K.im decided had to be pewter be-
cause it could not possibly be silver, hung near the door. Its
light threw back rich highlights from the walls and cupboard
doors. A wool carpet, deep red with strange designs in black
and cream, covered the floor. Kim had never been anywhere
half so elegant in her entire life; even the back room of Gen-
tleman Jerry's was nothing to it.

The faded curtain at the far end of the wagon swayed as
Mairelon crossed his little stage. Kim came out of her daze as