"Kate Elliott - Jaran 1 - Jaran" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elliott Kate)

But when, one half day out from Rhui, yet another begging invitation from Hao Yakii that
she dine at his table came in, she felt guilty. She owed it to Charles. He would expect her to
dine, to converse, to glean any slightest bit of information that might be valuable to the cause.
And she needed to tell Hao Yakii that she was going to Rhui, not to Odys.

The ship was large, and a steward appeared to escort her to the captain's dining hall.
The dining hall itself was as big as her flat in Prague. Hao Yakii rose at her entrance. Five
other Chapalii rose, bowing. She acknowledged, in formal Chapalii, the two she recognized:
Cha Ishii Hokokul and Hon Echido Keinaba. The others were introduced: minor lords and
merchants. Somehow, Echido managed to sit beside her, and his presence acted as a buffer
because he was so good at keeping the conversation on a technical, commonplace level. To
her relief, the dinner went smoothly.

She rose finally. Echido begged leave to escort her to her suite. At the door, she paused:
She had not told Hao Yakii about her true destination. It was so hard, in front of these
strangers. She hesitated, struggling with herself. She could simply send him a message
through the comm, but God, she was damned if she'd be that cowardly.

Behind her, in court Chapalii, one of the merchants said to the captain: "Will the Tai-endi
be confined to her suite until you leave Rhui orbit?"

The captain flushed green, glancing toward the door. Cha Ishii flushed blue, though he
did not look toward her, and a moment later, the merchant flushed violet, mortified.

"Hon Echido," said Tess in clear, formal Chapalii, "you did not tell me if Keinaba has
already opened negotiations with the Tai-en?" A quick glance back as they left showed her
that the captain's flush had faded to white.

Echido was tinged blue along the jawline, a faint line of distress. "We have not, Lady
Terese. Unforeseen events have brought us to Dao Cee." Then, smoothly, he took the
subject off on another tangent.

Alone in her suite, Tess sat down on her bed and pondered. Why should the captain
confine her to quarters? He could not, in any case. Becoming fluent in the language had not
given her, or any human, much insight into the Chapalii mind. That someone of lower rank
should presume to prohibit their superior any place whatsoever was inconceivable to the
Chapalii. On a Chapalii starship, whose highest official was a captain she outranked, she
could go anywhere he could go. To suggest confining her, then—the implications of that were
staggering.

They were hiding something. They must be. Something to do with Rhui, or the cargo
shuttle. What unforeseen events had Hon Echido been talking about? Perhaps it was a good
thing she was here, after all.

She opened her valise and changed into the clothing she had brought, clothing that
could pass as native on Rhui: light undergarments, special thermal cloth cut into tunics that
layered over trousers, and leather boots. The cut and texture of the clothes felt strange. At
least the thermal cloth insulated her from both heat and cold.