"Raymond E. Feist - Wood Boy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feist Raymond E)

Litia sat in the corner of the next stall, her slight form shivering under a
blanket as she sat on the dirt floor, huddled close to the warmth of a small
fire. Dirk waved and she returned a toothless smile. He went over and said,
'How are you?'
'Well enough,' she said, and her voice was barely more than a whisper.
Dirk was concerned the old woman might not last the winter, given the scant
food and warmth, but others in the household seemed indifferent. You got old,
then you died, they always said.
'What gossip?' asked the old woman. She lived for tidbits of news or
rumours. Dirk always kept his ears open for something to enliven the old
woman's evening.
'Nothing new, sorry to say,' he replied.
With a wide, gummy grin, the old woman said, 'And has the master's daughter
favoured you with a glance yet, my young buck?'
Dirk felt his face flush and he said, 'I don't know what you mean, Litia.'
'Yes you do,' she chided him playfully. 'It's all right, lad. She's the only
girl your age here and it wouldn't be natural if you didn't feel a tug towards
her. If those heathens who took our beds relent and let us visit with
neighbours in the spring, the first young farm lass you meet will get your
mind off my lord's wicked child.'
'Wicked child?' said Dirk. 'What do you mean?'
Litia said, 'Nothing, sweet boy. She's a wilful gir! who always gets what
she wants, is all. What you need is a good strong lass, a farm girl with broad
hips who can bear you sons who will take care of you in your old age.'
The bitterness in Litia's words was not lost on Dirk, even if he was young.
He knew her only son had died years before in a drowning accident and that she
had no one left to care for her. Dirk said, 'I'll try to get you another
blanket from the house tomorrow.'
'Don't get yourself into trouble on my account,' said the woman, but her
expression showed she appreciated the offer.
Dirk left her and climbed the ladder to the loft, where the young men slept.
He was the youngest up there, for the boys younger than he stayed with their
family, Alex, Hans, and Leonard were already resting. Hemmy and Petir would be
up shortly. Dirk wished for another blanket himself, but knew that he would
have to depend upon the ones allotted to him. At least one side of him would
be warm at a time, as he would huddle next to Hemmy, the next older boy. He
would turn a few times in the night to ward off the freezing air.
And spring was but two months away. Hemmy and Petir climbed up and took
their places in the loft, and Dirk snuggled down as best he could in his
blankets and went to sleep.

***

It was an odd sound, and Dirk couldn't quite make sense of it as he came awake
in the dark. Then it registered: someone had cried out. It had been a muffled
sound, but it had been a cry. Dirk listened for a moment, but the sound wasn't
repeated. He tried to go back to sleep.
Just as he was drowsy again, he heard a creak and the sound of someone moving
in the barn. A dull thud and a strange gurgling noise made him lift himself up
on his right elbow, listening in the dark. He strained to hear something, but