"Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis - Ill Met by Moonlight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

Denoriel shook his head. "But I don't want to see Edward—"

"Unfortunately, when the children are in the same household with the same tutors, Edward's guards will
guard Elizabeth too, just as Harry's guards watched Norfolk's children. It will not be easy to reach her. I
do not know whether Kat will even be allowed to receive me so casually after the households are joined.
You, being male, might have greater difficulty."

"Hmmm. But you think that if she takes to me, she will be able to . . . No, she is too young to have any
influence."

"I do not know. She is . . . exceptional. However, what I meant was that if you find favor with her, she
will remember and welcome you more gladly when the households are separated, as they will be from
time to time."

They had reached the gate to Hatfield Palace by then and Denoriel made no reply, only smiling at the
guard, who seemed to know Lady Alana quite well and nodded acceptance when she said that Lord
Denno was expected. However, they did not ride straight up the wide road to the central courtyard.
About two-thirds of the way along, she turned right onto a side path that took them to the east wing of
the palace. Here a lesser courtyard was guarded by a familiar figure.

"Gerrit!" Denoriel exclaimed. "How surprised I am to see you, and how glad. I am sorry I did not enquire
about you, but after that crazy attempt to take the princess—"

Gerrit shook his head and looked anxious, his eyes warning. "Lady Elizabeth, yes. But I don't remember
too much about that night. Only that after it . . . His Grace of Richmond sickened and . . . he died,
m'lord. He . . . he asked for you sometimes."

"I didn't know," Denoriel said, allowing his eyes to fill with tears. "Harry knew I was bound to leave the
very next day on a trading venture I could not delay any longer. At first I received letters from him. He
never said he was sick. When I heard . . . I simply could not come back to England in time. I am sorry. I
should have thought of Harry's dependents."

"Oh, no. No need to worry for that, m'lord. His Grace's will took care of all of us. But you know, we
were so used to being together . . . it was like a family. And when Ladbroke came and told me that he
and Dunstan had got taken into Lady Elizabeth's service, I . . . we all came and spoke to Dunstan." He
uttered a low chuckle. "That Dunstan. It's lucky he don't want to be God, 'cause I think he might just
wheedle his way up on the heavenly throne."

"Ladbroke and Dunstan are in service to the prin—to Lady Elizabeth too? I am delighted. And the boy,
Tolliver, was it?"

There was nothing to surprise Gerrit in Lord Denno not seeming to know what might have become of
Henry FitzRoy's servants even though he was in the company of Lady Alana. For all Gerrit would know,
she had never noticed them in FitzRoy's service. Many of the nobility never "saw" servants and guards.
And Gerrit, of course, did not know that she was not human.

Dunstan and Ladbroke did know who Lord Denno and Lady Alana really were because they had been
mortal servants Underhill, but they could not speak their knowledge. Neither bribe nor torture could
wring the information from them even though they were exceptions to the general rule that a human
released from Underhill had his mind wiped of all memory of the place. Dunstan and Ladbroke had been