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Bren would be superior to Lord Baralis'." A tiny smile graced the queen's pale
lips.
This was certainly unexpected, thought Maybor. The queen was turning out to be
a most ingenious woman. In one simple offer she was seeking to retain his
loyalty, monitor Baralis, and very probably have
Baralis monitor him.
It was tempting, though; to go to Bren, to be at the forefront of such a
historic event and at the same time be a source of provocation and annoyance
to Baralis-the man would detest his being in Bren and loathe his superior
rank.
The queen took his silence for misgiving. "Lord Maybor, I must stress the fact
that I cannot let you represent the Crown in Bren unless you can assure me
that you will not allow personal enmity to cloud your judgment. I am most
anxious for this match to go through and will tolerate no attempts at
interference."
"Your Highness does me great honor with this proposal." Maybor spoke
plaintively, hoping to ease the queen's doubts.
"What do you say then, Maybor?" She dropped his title in an attempt at
rakishness.
"I will be pleased to serve as Crown's Envoy in Bren." He bowed slightly and
the queen rushed over and kissed him affectionately on his cheek.
"Good. I am glad you agreed." There was unmistakable relief on the queen's
face; she had successfully brought him back into the fold. "Here," she said,
handing him a small object. "Look upon the future queen of the Four Kingdoms."
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He took it from her. It was a miniature portrait showing a picture of a
golden-haired girl. She was undeniably beautiful, but a little insipid when
compared to his own daughter.
He could not bring himself to praise the girl. "When do we set off for Bren?"
he asked, handing the portrait back. "Within ten days. Baralis has already
started making the arrangments."
"It will be a hard journey. The weather is bad and there's the Halcus to
attend to." Maybor's mind was already racing ahead. He would have the queen
agree to allow him to take some of his own men with him. He would feel safer
at night knowing loyal men were around him.
"You will have an escort of five score Royal Guard."
"I would feel happier if I could take a score of my own men."
"Done!" The queen smiled widely, showing her small, white teeth. She moved
over to a low table where a flagon of wine was waiting with two glasses. Had
she been that sure of him? She saw Maybor comprehend the significance of the
two glasses. "You cannot blame a woman for hoping," she said by way of an
explanation as she poured the wine.
She handed him a glass and took the other for herself.
"To Bren," she said, raising the glass. "May it prove to be a most
advantageous partner."
"To Bren," echoed Maybor.
Jack had not slept well since the incident at the hunting lodge, but over the
past two nights things had gotten worse. He had been plagued by unsettling
nightmares. They were unusually vivid. He had dreams of one man stabbing
another in the moonlight. Even now, in daylight, with a pale sun glimmering,
he shuddered to think of the images.
They had been on the eastern road for many days. Jack was beginning to think
that their pursuers had given up on them, for they had seen no signs of them
in the past days and the only people that traveled the road were farmers,
tinkers, and tradesmen. The road itself was now in better condition, packed
snow lay firmly atop the mud, and Jack and Melli had taken to walking it now
that the threat of pursuit had lessened. They still dived into the nearest
ditch or bush whenever they heard a rider approaching, though.
Jack decided that the snow was probably making them harder to track-their
footsteps were covered over and if the men were using dogs it would be
difficult for them to follow a scent buried beneath deep snow.
Unfortunately the snow was making it increasingly difficult for them to find
places to spend the night.
They risked frostbite and exposure by sleeping on the ground under such
conditions. Last night they'd sneaked into a dairy farmer's barn and slept
amongst the cows and hay. Melli had awakened early and found the farmer's
store of winter cheeses. The large, red wheels had looked incredibly tempting
to them.
Jack had not wanted to take any, but Melli had insisted, telling him that she
was already a convicted horse thief and one round of cheese would make little
difference. He could find no argument with that and consequently his pack was
now heavier than it had been in some time.
Yesterday they had passed close to a small village. They saw the turn-off and
then later the smoke above the treetops. Jack had considered slipping into the
town to buy some badly needed food, but Melli had pleaded with him not to go.
She was afraid, but Jack suspected it wasn't for herself, but for him. He
could understand why: she didn't want to risk another incident. What happened
to the mercenaries had shocked Melli badly. Every now and then Jack would
catch her looking at him, and there was wariness on her face.
What must she think of him? Was she scared of him? He doubted that. Melli was
not the type of girl to be afraid of a mere baker's boy. But he was more than
that now; she knew it, and ever since the mercenaries' attack, she'd treated
him differently. Almost with respect.
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The kind of respect he'd seen hunters use on trapped bears. Jack smiled. Is
that what his powers had made of him-a dangerous animal? Still, he had to
admit, it was rather nice to have Melli treat him with more regard. In fact,
things weren't really that bad: he was off on an adventure to find a new life,
perhaps learning something about his mother on the way, he was free from
Master Frallit's temper tantrums, and there was a beautiful girl at his side.
Jack laughed out loud: he sounded just like a hero from one of Baralis' books.
Some men might even consider him lucky.
Melli came running back at the sound of his laughter. She'd been fetching
water from a stream. "What's the matter?"
"I'll be the only hero who knows how to roll shortening." Melli appeared so
worried that he might have lost his mind, he forced himself to stop laughing.
"I'm all right. I was just considering how lucky I was."
Melli gave him a withering look. "Next time you're considering yourself lucky,
I'd appreciate it if you didn't do it so loudly. You made me spill the water."
She peered into the flask, and smiling sweetly at him, she said, "At least it
was only your portion that was lost."
Brushing the snow from a fallen log, Melli sat down. "How far before we're in
Halcus territory?" she asked, munching on a wedge of cheese.
"The River Nestor is still about two days' walk, I think." Jack had little
idea himself, but he was determined not to let Melli know that. "Once we cross
that we'll have to watch out."
"We're southeast of Harvell, aren't we?" Jack nodded. "Well, last I heard most
of the fighting was in the northeast."
"Your father has lands around here?" Everybody at court knew of Maybor's
extensive land holdings.
"It wouldn't surprise me, Jack, if we're walking through his lands as we [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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