"Stephen Lawhead - Pendragon Cycle 05 - Grail" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawhead Stephen)

'Are you hurt?' I asked, bending low on one knee. 'Do you need help?'
Still she made no answer.
I was about to repeat the question when Peredur and Tallaght burst into
the clearing. They were sweating and breathing hard from their run. They
looked first to the young woman and then to me; Tallaght's bewilderment
melted at once to relief, but Peredur stared, his expression growing
strange.
'We have found our singer,' I said, and motioned the two of them closer.
To the young woman, I said, 'You need have no fear. These men appear
more fierce than they are.'
Glancing at the warriors, the girl hastily pulled her tattered clothing over
her legs and began struggling to her feet.
'Allow me to help you,' I said, leaning forward and offering my hand. She
looked at my hand but did not take it. I said to the warriors, 'I think your
rough looks have stolen her voice.'
Peredur's odd expression altered; his eyes showed white all around. He
appeared distressed and confused, as if in terror for his life.
'Calm yourself, brother,' I said. 'There is no harm. See, we have upset the
lady. To disturb one so beautiful is surely a sin.' Addressing the young
woman, I offered my hand once more. With a quick glance to the others,
she took it and allowed me to raise her to her feet.
'I am Gwalchavad,' I told her, and asked, 'What are you called?' She
declined to reply, so I said, 'We are making for Urien Rheged's stronghold.
Perhaps you would kindly show us the way?'
She regarded me closely, watching my mouth, then pointed through the
trees to the west.
'And is it far?' I asked again. Without a word, she knelt and began
gathering the mushrooms she had spilled onto the path. 'Here, men, help
her. Perhaps she will lead us to the fortress.'
Tallaght stooped and commenced retrieving the mushrooms; Peredur, still
staring, made no move. 'Well? Will you stand there gaping all day? Lend a
hand,' I commanded. 'We must be getting on our way.'
He bent to the task with, it seemed to me, extreme reluctance. I could
make no sense of the lad's strange behaviour. Had he never met a beautiful
girl before? What manner of man allowed himself to be so unnerved by a
pretty face and a comely foot?
We made short work of gathering the scattered mushrooms, which she
received without a word and secured in a fold of her mantle. 'Now, then,' I
told her, 'if you would not mind leading us to the fortress? We have
business with your chieftain.'
She turned and started walking in the direction she had pointed. I started
after her, advancing only a few paces, however, when Peredur called out,
'Wait! We should not leave the horses behind.'
I suppose that in the distraction of the chase, I had forgotten about them
entirely. 'You and Tallaght fetch the horses and join us on the trail. I do
not think the settlement can be far away.'
With that I turned and continued on. The young woman walked ahead of
me, quickly, but pausing every now and then to glance over her shoulder
to see if I was still behind. She moved so swiftly, I found it a chore to keep
pace with her.