"Fool's Fate" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hobb Robin)

ELEVEN Wuislington

We were guests at Wuislington at the Narcheska's mothershouse for twelve days. It was a strange hospitality they offered us. Chade and Prince Dutiful were allotted sleeping space on the benches in the lower level of the house. The Witted coterie was housed alongside the guardsmen outside the walls. Thick and I continued in our cottage, with Swift and Riddle as frequent visitors. Every day, Chade sent two of the guards into the village to purchase victuals. They brought a share to us in the cottage, some to the guards and the rest back to the mothershouse. Although Blackwater had promised to feed us, Chade had chosen this tactic shrewdly. To be seen as dependent on the Narwhal mothershouse largesse would be seen as a weakness and a foolish lack of planning.

There were good aspects to our extended stay. Thick began to recover his health. He still coughed and was short of breath if he went for a walk, but he slept more naturally, took an interest in his surroundings, ate and drank, and generally recovered some of his spirits. He still held it against me that I had forced him to travel there in a ship and that he would eventually have to leave in the same way. Every effort at casual conversation that I made always seemed to lead us back to that bone of contention. Sometimes it seemed easier not to speak to him at all, but then I sensed his anger for me as a simmering displeasure. I hated that things had become uncomfortable between us when I had worked so hard to gain his trust. When I said as much to Chade during one of our brief meetings, he dismissed it as necessary. 'It would be far worse if he blamed it on Dutiful, you see. In this, you will have to be the whipping boy, Fitz.' I knew it was so, and yet his words were no comfort.

Riddle spent several hours daily with Thick, usually when Chade wanted me to keep an unobtrusive eye on Dutiful. Web and Swift often came to the cottage. Swift seemed chastened by Web's rebuke and appeared generally more respectful to both Web and myself. I kept the lad busy with daily lessons and demanded that he practise his bow as well as his swordsmanship. Thick would come to sit outside the cottage and watch our mock battles in the sheep enclosure. He always cheered for Swift, bellowing his pleasure every time the boy landed a blow with the bound swords we used. I confess that bruised my feelings as much as Swift's thwacks bruised my flesh. It was my own skills more than his that I wished to keep sharp, but teaching the boy not only gave me an excuse to practise, it also allowed me to demonstrate my proficiency to the Outislanders. They did not gather to watch, but from time to time I would glimpse a lad or two perched on a nearby wall, eyeing us. I

resolved that if I must he spied upon, I would see that the reports of me were that I was not easy prey. 1 did not think that their scrutiny was casual curiosity.

I felt constantly watched in that place. Wherever I went, always it seemed there was someone nearby, idly lingering. 1 could not have pointed to a single boy or old woman that spied on me, and yet there were always eyes on my back, I felt, too, a sense of danger to Thick. It was in the glances he received whenever we went out, and in the reaction of the folk we encountered. They drew back from him as if he carried contagion, and stared after us as if he were a two-headed calf. Even Thick seemed aware of it. I realized that, without consciously thinking of it, he seemed to use the Skill to be less noticed. It was not like his blast of "You don't see me!" that had once nearly laid me low, but more a constant announcement of his unimportance. I stored the knowledge away as something worth discussing with Chade.

I had little true time with my old mentor, and the Skill-messages I relayed to him were brief. We all felt it was more important that he use his Ski 11-strength in being available to Dutiful. Chade had also decided that as Peottre Blackwater had already discerned that I was a bodyguard for the Prince, there was no harm in my more openly pursuing that role. 'As long as he does not realize you are any more than that,' Chade cautioned me.

I tried to be an unobtrusive observer and guard to the Prince. Although Dutiful never complained I think he was uncomfortable with my constant lurking presence. The rest of the settlement regarded Dutiful and Elliania as a married couple now. There was no effort to chaperone them in any way. Only Peottre's presence, as subtle as a standing stone, reminded us that some in the Narcheska's family would see that their relationship remained chaste until Dutiful had fulfilled his end of the bargain. I think Peottre and I watched one another as much as we watched Dutiful and the Narcheska. In a strange way, we became partners.

I discovered in that time one of the reasons why the Narcheska was held in such regard by all of the clans, not just Narwhal. This was a culture in which women owned the land and what it produced. I had assumed the wealth of the Wuislington Isle was in its sheep. It

was only when I trailed Dutiful and Elliania on one of their hikes across the rocky hills of the island that 1 came to discover its true wealth. They crested a ridge, with Peottre a discreet distance away from them and me a distant fourth. As I too reached the rise and then looked down into the next valley, I gasped.

There were three lakes in the valley, and two of them steamed even in the height of the summer day. Greenery was lush all around them, as were the precisely planted and tended fields that patchworked the valley. As I followed them down into the valley, the constant cooling wind faded. I walked down into cupped warmth and the smell of mineral-rich water. The boulders and stones had been cleared from the fields to neatly divide the crops as stone fences. Not only did the crops grow better in this warmer valley, but there I saw plants and trees that I would have judged too tender to flourish this far north. Here, in the harsh Out Islands, was an island mellowed by bubbling hot springs into an oasis of gentle warmth and plenty. No wonder the winning of the Narcheska was seen as such a prize. An alliance with she who controlled the food produced here was a valuable thing indeed in these harsh lands.

Yet I also had to note that, even in the midst of the summer, many of the fields were left fallow, and workers on the land were not as numerous as I would have expected. Again, the women and girls outnumbered the men and boys, and few of the males were in their prime years. It presented a mystery to me. Here were women, wealthy in land and lacking the workers to farm it. Why were there not more men courting here from other clans, seeking to contribute children to this island of plenty/

One early evening, Dutiful and Elliania were jumping two of the scrawny little island ponies that her people used for a multitude of tasks on Mayle. Their course was a stony meadow at the gently sloping base of a hill littered with boulders, and their makeshift jumps were cut saplings laid across paired boulders. The little ponies amazed me with how high they could leap when badgered into jumping. Sheep had cropped the grass short and scrub brush fringed the meadow. The deepening blue of the sky arched over us, and soon the first stars would show. They were riding bareback, and Dutiful had already taken two tumbles from his scrawny and

wilful steed in his attempts to keep pace with his fearless consort. The girl was wholeheartedly enjoying herself. She rode astride; her yellow skirts bunched and blossomed around her legs. From the knee down, her legs were bare, even her feet. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair wild and she rode with a disregard for everything except showing the Prince she could excel him at this. The first time he fell, ElUania had ridden on, her mocking laughter reaching all of us. The second time, she actually rode back to see if he was injured while Peottre caught the nasty little beast and led it back to them. Most of my attention was focused on Dutiful; I felt proud of him for how genial he had been about both falls.

These ponies are as skinny and bony as calves. Trying to keep a seat on one is more bruising than taking the fall when it hops sideways.

ElUania seems to manage it well enough, I pointed out teasingly. At the look he shot me, I hastily added, It doesn't look easy. 1 think she admires your tenacity.

I think she admires my bruises, the little vixen. I caught a note of fondness in the epithet. As if to distract me from that, the Prince added, Glance to your left and tell me if you see someone behind the boulders at the edge of the scrub brush.

I flicked my eyes that way without turning my head. Something was there. I was not sure if it was a person or a large animal crouched there. The Prince re-mounted, and clung to his seat while the pony did a series of wild crow-hops across the meadow. His mount was obviously weary of the game, but Elliania's merry laughter rewarded Dutiful's efforts to stay on top. He cleared the jump that had previously defeated him, and she saluted him with a flourish. Her enjoyment of the spectacle seemed genuine, and a glance at Peottre showed that a grudging smile lit even bis dour face. I joined my laughter to theirs and walked closer to them.

Ride toward that area and take a tumble. And when you do, make sure the pony flees toward the boulders.

He Skilled a disgusted groan at me, but did as I asked. And when the pony bolted, I sprang up and raced after it full speed, deliberately more chasing him than attempting to catch the creature. Together we flushed a woman, clad all in moss green and brown from her hiding place. She fled with no pretence of doing anything else, and

I recognized not only how she moved but the very faint scent of her that I caught. Much as I longed to chase after her, I did not. Instead I Skilled what I now knew to both Chade and Dutiful.

That was Henja! The Narcheska's servant from Buckkeep. She's here on the island, spying on us.

Neither replied to me save with a wave of dread.

I was deliberately awkward at catching the pony. Finally Peottre came to help me. 'We gave that old woman quite a fright!' I observed to him as I herded the pony toward him.

He seized the recalcitrant little animal by the forelock and looked up at the sky. He never met my gaze. 'It grows dark. We are fortunate the Prince did not take a worse fall and severely injure himself.' Then, to our wards, 'We should go back now. The ponies are tired of jumping and night draws on.'

I wondered if he had tried to warn me of a worse danger to the Prince than falling from a pony's back. I took him around again. 'Do you think that poor old woman is all right? Should we look for her? She seemed quite frightened. I wonder what she was doing behind those boulders.'

Face and voice impassive, he replied, 'She was probably just gathering kindling. Or herbs or roots. I do not think we need bother about her.' He lifted his voice. 'Elliania! The time for fun is over. We should return to the mothershouse.'

I saw Elliania s face when you made Henja run. The Narcheska was startled. And now she is frightened.

The brusque nod she gave to Peottre's words confirmed the Prince's opinion. She slid immediately from her pony's back, and then lifted the hackamore from his head, turning him loose on the hillside. Peottre did the same for the beast the Prince had been riding, and suddenly I found myself walking back to the mothershouse alongside them. Elliania and Dutiful led the way, and the silence between them contrasted sadly with their earlier merriment. My heart was heavy for him. He was learning to love this Outislander girl, but every time they drew closer to one another, the damned politics of throne and power wedged them apart. I felt a sudden rush of anger, and spoke rashly.

That was Henja, wasn't it? That woman hiding in the bushes.

She was the Narcheska's servant in Buckkeep Castle, if I recall correctly.'

I give the man credit for his composure. Although he could not look at me, his voice was calm. 'I doubt it. She left our service before

we departed Buckkeep. We both believed she might be happier in the Six Duchies, and thus were glad to release her.'

'Perhaps she returned to Wuislington on her own. Perhaps she became homesick.'

'This is not her home: she is not of our mothershouse,' Peottre announced firmly.

'How odd.' I was determined to be relentless. As a mere guardsman, I would not be expected to possess tact, only curiosity. 'I thought that in this country, the mother's family was all important, so anyone attending the Narcheska would be of her mothers' line.'

'Ordinarily, yes.' Peottre's voice was growing stiffen 'No woman of the family could be spared at the time we sailed. So we hired her.'

'I see.' I shrugged. 'I have wondered, why do not Elliania's mother and sisters attend her now? Are they dead?'

He shuddered as if I'd stuck a dart in him. 'No. They aren't.' Bitterness came into his voice. 'Her two older brothers are. They died in Kebal Rawbread's War. Her mother and her younger sister live but they are . . . detained elsewhere, on an important matter. If they could be here with her now, they would.'

'Oh, I'm sure of that,' I replied blandly. I was convinced of the truth of every word he had uttered, and just as certain that I did not have the entire truth.

Late that night, while Thick slept heavily, I Skilled as much to Chade. 1 tried to keep my thoughts to the old man private and separate from my Skill-link to the Prince. I could sense his restless sleep. The undercurrent of the boy's frustration and impatience set my nerves on edge. I tried to set his emotions aside as I communicated to Chade all that had passed between Peottre and me. Chade was annoyed with my bluntness with Peottre even as he was avidly interested in the man's responses. There are designs within designs here, like one of the Fool's wooden puzzle balls. I am convinced that he and the Narcheska have an agenda of their own, and that not all in her mothershouse knows of it. Some do. Almata for example. And the Narches]lt;a's great-grandmother has been told, but 1 do not think she can hold the significance in her mind. Lestra and her mother interest me. Lestra stands to become Narcheska when Elliania goes off to Buckkeep to wed Dutiful. Yet, she seems to vie with Ellianiafor DuUfuVs attention, and I suspect her mother encourages it. Does she grasp that eventually becoming Queen of the Six Duchies might be a loftier ambition than stealing the Narcheska title from Elliania? I do not think Lestra and her mother attach any importance to Elliania's demand for the dragon's head. 1 think that Lestra''s ambitions should give both Elliania and Peottre concern, yet they seem to remain aloof, their thoughts elsewhere. Elliania only drives Lestra off when the challenge becomes too blatant to ignore.

Like their fistfight on the night of the wedding?

Betrothal, Fitz- Betrothal. We do not recognize that ceremony as a true wedding. The Prince must be wed at home, in Buckkeep, and the marriage must be consummated. But no, not just that confrontation. Lestra has made several attempts at him since then, usually when the Narcheska is not about.

Does Elliania know?

How could she?

He might tell her, 1 speculated. I wonder what would happen if she knew?

1 have no desire to find out. The situation is quite complicated enough as it is. Perhaps this is just a rivalry between girl-cousins. I wish I understood Henja's role in all this. Is she just some dotty old woman? Or more? Are you quite sure it was her?

Quite. It had not been just my eyes that confirmed it, but I would not tell Chade I had scented her, and that enough of the wolf remained in me to be certain of that sense.

Our conversation had wearied Chade and I let him go to his rest. I checked to be sure the cottage door was latched, and then regretfully closed the window shutters as well. I did not like sleeping in such a tightly closed place. I always slept best when I could feel air moving freely on my face, but after my sighting of Henja that day, I would not give anyone the opportunity to have a clear shot at me.

Such was my frame of mind as I settled myself for sleep, and the

next morning, I tried to use it to account for my nightmares. Yet it was not fair to call my dreams that. There was nothing of terror in them, only uneasiness, and a vividness that was not Skill-walking, but something else. I dreamed of the Fool as he had been once, not as Lord Golden but as a pale, frail lad with colourless eyes. In that guise, he bestrode the stone dragon behind Girl on a Dragon, and together they rose into the blue skies. But then suddenly he became Lord Golden, and as he rode behind the carved and soulless girl that was a part of the dragon sculpture that he had called back to wakefulness and life, a black and white cloak fluttered out on the wind behind him. His hair was pulled back sleek and tight from his face and bound back like a warrior's tail. His expression was so set and stern that he looked as soulless as the Girl whose slender waist he clasped. His hands were bare, I saw in surprise, for it had been a very long time since I had seen him do anything ungloved. Higher they rose into the sky, and higher still, and then suddenly he lifted his hand and pointed, and the girl kneed the dragon to fly in the direction of that slender, pointing finger. Then clouds cloaked them as if mist enfolded them. I stirred from sleep to find my own fingers set to my wrist in the pale prints he had once left there. 1 shifted in my bedding but could not seem to come back to full wakefulness. Pulling my blanket more tightly around me, I surrendered to sleep again.

And then I did Skill-walk in my dreams, to a most disturbing scene. Nettle sat and chatted with Tintaglia on a grassy hillside. I knew it was a dream of Nettle's making, for never had flowers blossomed so brightly, nor bloomed so evenly throughout the grass. It reminded me of a carefully worked tapestry. The dragon was the size of a horse, and crouched in a way that was not quite threatening. I stepped into the dream. Nettle's back was very straight and her voice nearly brittle as she demanded of the dragon, 'And what has any of that to do with me?'

And in a silent aside to me, Why did you delay? Didn't you feel me summoning you?

'I can hear that, you know,' Tintaglia pointed out calmly. 'And he did not hear you summoning him because I did not wish him to. So, you see, you are quite alone, if I decide you are.' The dragon

suddenly turned her cold gaze on me. Beauty had fled her reptile eyes, leaving them spinning gems of fury. 'A fact that does not escape you, either, I assume.'

'What do you want?' I demanded of her.

'You know what I want. I want to know what you know of a black dragon. Is he real? Does another dragon, grown and whole, still exist in the world?'

'I don't know,' I answered her truthfully. 1 could feel her mind plucking at mine, trying to get past the words I gave her to see if I was hiding anything. It was like having cold rat feet run over you in a prison cell at night. Then she seized that memory and tried to turn it against me. I slammed my walls tighter. Unfortunately that meant that Nettle was also outside them. They both became like shadows dimly cast on a wavering curtain.

Tintaglia spoke, and her voice reached me like a whisper of doom. 'Accept that your kind will serve mine. It is the natural order of things. Serve me in this and I will see that you and yours prosper. Defy me, and you and yours will be swept aside.' Suddenly the image of the dragon loomed large and towered over Nettle. 'Or devoured,' she offered knowingly.

Dread prickled at me. On some fundamental level, the dragon associated me with Nettle. Was it simply that she had always reached me through my daughter, or did she sense our kinship? Did it matter? My daughter was in danger, and it was my fault. Again. And I had no idea how to protect her.

It did not matter. A moment ago the flower-studded meadow had reminded me of a tapestry. Then Nettle abruptly stood up, bent and seized her dream, then shook it as if she sought to shake dust from a rug. The dragon's presence was flung from it and went spinning off into nothingness, dwindling as it went. In that nothingness, Nettle stood and wadded up her dream and tucked it into her apron pocket. I no longer knew where or what I was in her dream, but she sent the words to me. You'll have to learn to stand up to her and drive her off, not just curl up in a ball and hide. Remember, Shadow Wolf, that you are a wolf. Not a mouse. Or so 1 thought. She began to fade.

Wait! The Prince Skilled with desperate determination. In some

way I did not understand, he caught at her and detained her. Who are you?

Nettle's shock went through me like a wave. She struggled a moment, but when his grip held, she demanded, Who am I? Who are you, who dare to intrude here so rudely! Let go of me.

Dutiful did not react well to her rebuke. Who am 1? I am the Prince of all the Six Duchies. I go wherever I will.

For a moment, she was stunned to silence. Then, You are the Prince? Her disbelief was as evident as her scorn.

Yes, 1 am. And now you will stop wasting my time and tell me who you are! I winced at the snap of command in his voice. A terrible silent void stretched all around me. Then Nettle reacted as I had known she would.

Oh. Well, of course I will, since you ask me so nicely. Prince Mannerless, I am Queen l-Doubt-It-Very-Much of the Seven Dungheaps. And perhaps you go "wherever you will", but when the where belongs to me, I will that you do not ever go there. Changer, you should cultivate nicer friends.

I saw what she had done. In the pause, she had seen exactly how he had fastened himself to her. And now, effortlessly, she shook herself free of him. And vanished.

I jolted awake with her disdain rattling against me like flung pebbles. Torn between awe for my daughter and dread of the dragon, 1 tried to recover myself. I needed to think what I could do. Instead, Chade pushed his way into my mind.

We need to talk. Privately. His Skill trembled with excitement.

Privately? Are you sure you know what the word means? Why, tonight of all nights, did he have to spy on me?

Not privately. Dutiful was furious with both of us as he broke in on our Skilling. Who is she? How long has this been going on? I demand to know. How dare you train another Skilled one and keep her existence concealed from me!

Go back to sleep! Thick's ponderous Skilling was between a moan and a command. Go back to sleep and stop shouting. It was only Nettle and her dragon. Go back to sleep.

Everyone knows of her except me? This is intolerable. Dutiful's Skilling held fury and frustration, and that terrible sense of betrayal

when one discovers one has been excluded from a secret. 1 demand to know who she is. Right now.

I fenced my thoughts tightly and prayed, even though I knew it would avail me nothing.

Chade? The Prince drove him out of his silence.

I do not know, my lord. The old man lied gracefully and without remorse- I both damned and admired him.

FitzChivalry.

Truly, there is a power to the naming of a man by his true name. I shuddered at the impact, and then swiftly begged, Do not call me by that name. Not here, not now, lest the dragon be listening. It was not the dragon I feared, but my daughter. Too many bits of my secrets were falling into her hands.

Tell me, Tom.

Not this way. If we must speak of this, let us speak voice to ear only. Near me in the dark, Thick pulled his blankets up over his head, groaning.

Meet me now. The Prince's voice was grim.

This isn't wise. Chade counselled us both. Let it wait until morning, my prince. There is no sense in inviting questions by summoning a man-at-arms to you in the middle of the night.

No. Now. What was truly unwise was for both of you to deceive me about this Nettle person. 1 will know now what is going on behind my back and why. It was almost as if I were in the mothershouse by the bed-benches. 1 could feel how his anger chased the chill from his bared chest as he threw his covers aside, sense how furiously he thrust his feet into his shoes.

Give me time to dress then, Chade conceded wearily.

No. Stay where you are, Councillor Chade. You say you know nothing? Then there is no sense in your bothering to come. I'll meet Fitz . . . Tom alone for this.

His anger roared like a fire now, and yet he still had refrained from saying my name. In some corner of my mind, I admired his restraint. But the greater part of my thoughts was taken up with a dilemma. This was my prince who was angry with me, and to his way of thinking, he was justified. How would I react to his questions? Who was I to him tonight? Friend, mentor, uncle or

subject? I became aware that Thick was sitting up on his blankets, watching me dress.

'I'll only be gone a short time. You'll be fine here alone,' I reassured him even as I wondered if that was so.

I don't want to leave Thick alone here. I Skilled to the Prince, hoping this excuse would spare me.

Then bring him. The Prince bit off his succinct order.

'Do you want to come?1

'I heard him,' Thick replied wearily. He heaved a huge sigh. 'You're always making me go places I don't want to go,' he complained as he rummaged for clothing in the dark.

I felt a year had passed before he was dressed. He huffily refused any offer of assistance from me. Together we finally left the cottage and wound our way through the village. The odd twilight that passes for night in that part of the world lent its grey aspect to the world. It was oddly restful to my eyes and I finally identified the sensations. These dimmed colours reminded me of how Nighteyes had perceived the world on the evenings and dawns when we had hunted together. It was a gentle light, and undistracted by colour, the eye was free to pick up the small movements of game. I walked light as the wind, but Thick shuffled disconsolately along beside me. Every now and then, he coughed. I reminded myself that he was still not completely well and tried to find patience with his slow pace.

Little bats flickered through the air over the town. I caught the furtive glide of a robber-rat as it slunk from a rain barrel to a doorstep. I wondered if it was the same one that Swift had tried to befriend, then put it out of my mind. We were drawing closer to the mothershouse. The courtyard was deserted. They posted no guard here, though they kept a lookout over the coast and harbour. Evidently they feared no attacks from within their own folk. I wondered then if Peottre had told me all he knew of Henja. Certainly he and the Narcheska seemed wary of the woman and he had said she was an outsider. Why, then, did he not post a guard against her?

I led Thick away from the main door. We approached the mothershouse from behind, past the stone walls and hedges that confined the sheep. Around the corner of a shed, the Prince was

waiting for us near some bushes beside the privies. He shifted restlessly as he watched us approach, and I sensed his impatience. I lifted a silent hand to him to gesture to him to join us in the concealment of the hedge. Then:

Don't come to me. Stand still. No, hide. Or go away.

I halted, confused by the Prince's sudden command. And then I saw what had rattled him. Elliania wore a cloak over her nightgown as she leaned out from the door and glanced around. I barely had time to put a hand on Thick's chest and urge him back out of sight behind the hedge-line. The little man angrily slapped my hand from his chest. 'I heard him,' he complained to me as I shushed him in vain.

We have to be very quiet, Thick. The Prince doesn't want Elliania to know we are here.

Why not?

He just doesn't, that's all. We need just to hide here and be very quiet. I crouched down on the earth behind the hedge and patted the ground by me invitingly. Thick, hunched in the greyness, scowled down at me. I longed simply to take him home but I was sure Elliania would hear his shuffling tread if we tried to leave. It was better to wait. Surely she wouldn't be long. She probably only needed to use the back house. I peered around the trunks of the hedge through a gap in the branches. Come join us here before she sees you, I Skill-suggested to the Prince.

No. She's seen me. Go away. I'll talk to you later. Then, disbelieving, I felt him raise his Skill-walls against me. He had grown stronger. It was by the Wit that I sensed him, poised and quivering in her steady-eyed regard as she came to him in the dusky light of^ a sun that scraped along the edge of the horizon, refusing to set.

I felt a lurch of dismay as I saw how swiftly she went to him and how close she stood to him in the dimness. This was not the first time these two had met clandestinely. I wanted to turn my eyes away and yet I stared avidly, peering at them through the bushes. Her words barely reached me. 'I heard the door open and close, and when I looked out of the window, I saw you waiting here.'

'I couldn't sleep.' He reached out as if to take her hands, but then dropped his hands back to his sides. I felt more than saw the sharp glance he sent my direction.

Go away. I'll speak to you tomorrow. His Skill-sending was tight and small. I doubted that even Thick was aware of it. Royal command was in his tone. He expected me to obey him.

I cant. You know this is dangerous. Send her back to her room, Dutiful.

I had no sense that he had received my thought. He had closed himself off to focus only on the girl. Behind me, Thick stood up, yawning and gaping. 'I'm going back,' he announced sleepily.

Sshh. No. We have to stay here and be very quiet. Don't talk out loud. I peered at the young couple anxiously, but if Elliania had heard Thick, she gave no sign. I wondered uneasily where Peottre was, and what he would do to Dutiful if he found them together like this.

Thick sighed heavily. He crouched back down, and then sat flat on the ground. This is stupid. 1 want to go back to bed.

Elliania glanced down at Dutiful's hands at his side, and then, cocking her head, looked up at his face. 'So. Who arc you waiting for?' Her eyes narrowed. 'Lestra? Did she invite you to meet her here?'

A very odd smile appeared on Dutiful's face. Was he pleased that he had pricked her to jealousy? He spoke more softly than she did, but I could watch his lips form the words. 'Lestra? Why would I wait by moonlight for Lestra?'

'There is no moon tonight,' Elliania pointed out sharply. 'And as for why Lestra, why, because she would willingly give you her body to use as you wished. More for the sake of spiting me than because she found you handsome.'

He crossed his arms on his chest. I wondered if he did so to hold in his satisfaction or to keep from taking her in his arms. She was slender as a willow, and her night braids fell to her hips. 1 could almost smell the warmth of her rising up to him. 'So. Do you think she rinds me handsome?'

'Who knows? She likes odd things. She has a cat with a crooked tail and too many toes. She thinks it's pretty.' She shrugged. 'But she would tell you that you were handsome, simply to win you.'

'Would she? But perhaps I don't want Lestra to win me. She is pretty, but perhaps I don't want Lestra at all,' he suggested to her.

All the night held its breath as she looked up at him. I saw the rise and fall of her breasts as she took a deeper breath, daring herself. 'Then what do you want?' she asked, soft as a breeze-He didn't try to take her in his arms. I think she would have resisted that. Instead, he freed one hand from his crossed arms and with the tip of one finger, lifted her chin. He leaned forward, bending down to take the kiss he stole from her. Stole? But she did not flee. Instead, she rose on her toes as only their mouths touched in the soft dimness.

I felt a lecherous old man, sprawled in the darkness of the hedge, spying on them. I knew he plunged himself into danger, that they both took foolish chances, but my heart leapt at the thought that my lad might know love as well as an arranged marriage. When their kiss finally broke, I hoped he would send her back to her bedchamber. I wanted him to have this moment, but I also knew that I'd have to intervene if it looked as if their experiment was going to venture past a kiss. I cringed at the thought, but steeled myself to the necessity of it.

With dread, I heard her breathless question. 'A kiss. That was all you wanted?'

'It is all I'll take now,' he countered. His chest was rising and falling as if he'd run a race. Til wait until I've earned more to take more.'

An uncertain smile crossed her face. 'You need not earn it if I choose to give myself to you.'

'But . . . you said you would not be my wife until I brought you the dragon's head.'

'In my land, a woman gives herself where she will. It is different from being married. Or a wife, as you call it. Once a girl is a woman, she can-take whatever man she wishes into her bedskins. It does not mean she is wed to each of them.' She glanced aside and added carefully, 'You would be my first. Some consider that more special than to he vowed to one another. It would not make me your wife, of course. I will not be wife or wedded to you until you have brought the dragon's head here, to my mothershouse.'

'I would like you to be my first, as well,' Dutiful said carefully. Then, as if uttering the words were as difficult as dragging a tree up by the roots, he added, 'But not now. Not until I've done what I've said I'd do.'

She was shocked, but not that he would keep his promise. 'Your first? Truly? You've known no woman yet?'

It took him a long moment to admit it. 'It is the custom of my land, though not all follow it. To wait until we are wed.' He spoke stiffly, as if fearing she would mock him for his chastity.

'I would like to be your first,' she admitted. She stepped closer to htm, and this time his arms settled around her. She melted her body against him as his mouth found hers.

My Wit made me aware of Peottre before they were. Engrossed as they were, I doubt either of them would have been aware of a herd of sheep passing around them, but I came to my feet as I saw the old warrior step around the corner of the mothershouse. His sword was on his hip and his eyes were dangerous. 'Elliania.'

She leapt out of Dutiful's embrace. One guilty hand wiped her mouth as if to conceal the kiss she had taken. I give Dutiful full credit that he stood his ground. He swung his head to look steadily at Peottre. There was nothing of remorse or disgrace in his stance, nor anything of boyishness. He looked like a man interrupted while kissing a woman who belonged to him. I held my breath, wondering if I would better or worsen the situation by stepping into plain view.

The silence was as still and watchful as the night. The gaze held between Peottre and Dutiful. It was a measuring look, not quite a challenge. When Peottre spoke, his words were for Elliania. 'You should go back to your bedchamber.'

At his suggestion, she spun and fled. Her bare feet were silent on the dust of the courtyard. Even aftet she was gone, Dutiful and Peottre continued to regard one another. At last Peottre spoke. 'The dragon's head. You promised. As a man, you gave your word.'

Dutiful inclined his head once, gravely. 'I did. As a man, I promised.'

Peottre started to turn away. Dutiful spoke again.

'What Elliania offered me, she offered as a woman, not as the Narcheska. Is she free to offer that, by your customs?'

Peottre's spine stiffened. He turned slowly and spoke unwillingly. 'Who else can offer that to you, save a woman? Her body belongs to her. She can share that with you. But she will not truly be your wife until you bring her the head of Icefyre.'

'Ah.'

Again, Peottre slowly turned to go, and again Dutiful's voice stopped him.

'Then she is more free than I am. My body and my seed belong to the Six Duchies. I am not free to share it where I would choose, but only with my wife. That is our custom.' I almost heard him swallow. 'I would that she knew that. That, by our customs, I cannot accept what she offers, except dishonourably.' His voice dropped, and his next words were a request. 'I would ask that she not tempt nor taunt me with what I cannot honourably take. I am a man but ... I am a man.' His explanation was both awkward and honest.

So was Peottre's response. There was grudging respect in his voice as he said, '1 will see that she knows that.'

'Will she . . . will she think less of me? Will she think me less of a man?'

7 do not. And I will see that she understands what it costs a man to hold back from such an offer.' He stood looking at Dutiful as if seeing him for the first time. When he spoke, there was great sadness in his words. 'You are a man. You would be a good match for my sister-daughter. The grand-daughters of your mother would enrich my line.' He spoke the last as if it were a proverb rather than something that he could truly hope for. Then he turned and silently left.

I saw Dutiful draw a deep breath and sigh it out again. I dreaded that he would reach for me with the Skill, but he did not- Instead, head bent, he walked back into Elliania's mothershouse.

Thick had fallen asleep sitting on the ground, his head bowed heavily onto his chest. He moaned lightly as I gently shook him to wakefulness and helped him to his feet. 'I want to go home,' he muttered as he tottered down the road beside me.

'Me, too,' I told him. And yet it was not Buckkeep that came to my mind, but a meadow overlooking the sea, and a girl in bright red skirts that beckoned me. A time, rather than a place. No road led there any more.