"Moon, Elizabeth - Gird 02 - Liar's Oath E-Txt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

Gird moved into the room, and the old lady turned to him, regal and impervious
to his dangerous bulk. He wore the same blue shirt and rough gray trousers he
always wore, with old boots worn thin at the soles and sides. He stood a little
stooped, looking exactly like the aging farmer he was.
“Yes?” she said, as if to an intrusive servant. Luap felt an instant’s icy fear,
but as usual Gird surprised him.
“Lady,” he said, far more gently than her tone deserved from him. “You wanted to
see the Marshal-General?”
“Yes, but this young man is helping me now.” Almost dismissive, then she really
focused on him. “Oh—you are the Marshal-General?”
Gird’s eyes twinkled. “Yes, lady.”
“I saw you, riding into the city that day.” She beamed on him, to Luap’s
surprise. “I said to Eris then, that’s no brigand chief, no matter what they
say, even if he does sit that horse like a sack of meal.” Gird looked at the
peasant woman, who gave him the same look she’d given Luap. Gird nodded, and
turned back to the lady. “Not that you could be expected to ride better,” she
went on, oblivious to the possibility that a man who had led a successful
revolution might resent criticism of his horsemanship. “I daresay you had no
opportunity to learn in childhood—”
“No, lady, I didn’t.” Gird’s formidable rumble was tamed to a soft growl. “But
you wished something of me?”
“This.” She indicated the cloth on her lap. “Now that you’ve cleansed the Hall,
the altar must be properly dressed. I’ve just this past day finished it. Your
doorward would not allow me to dress the altar, and said it was your command—”
“So you came to me.” Gird smiled at her; to Luap’s surprise the old lady did not
seem to mind his interruptions. Perhaps she was used to being interrupted, at
least by men in command. “But we have a priest of Esea, lady, who said nothing
to me about the need for such—” He gestured at the cloth.
“Who?” She seemed indignant at this, more than at Gird “What priest would fail
in the proper courtesies?”
“Arranha,” said Gird, obviously curious; surely she could not know the names of
every priest in the old kingdom.
“Arranha… is he still alive?” A red patch came out on either cheek. “I thought
he had been exiled or executed or some such years ago.”
“Ah… no.” Gird rubbed his nose; Luap realized his own mouth had fallen open, and
shut it. “You said you were in the city when it fell—when we arrived. Surely you
came to the cleansing of the Hall?”
“No.” Now she looked decidedly grumpy. “No, I did not. At my age, and in
my—well—with all due respect, Marshal-General, for those few days the city was
crowded with—with noise, and pushing and shoving, and the kinds of people,
Marshal-General, that I never—well, I mean—”
“It was no place for a lady of your age and condition,” Gird offered, twinkling
again, after a quick glance at Eris, the peasant woman. “You’re right, of
course. Noisy, rough, even dangerous. I would hope your people had the sense to
keep you well away from windows and doors, most of that time.”
“In t’cellar, at the worst,” said Eris, unexpectedly. “But the worst was over,
time you come in, sir. Worst was the other lords’ servants smashin’ and lootin’
even as the lords fled. Runnin’ round sayin’ such things as milady here
shouldn’t have to hear. Though it was crowded and noisy enough for a few hands
of days. And when th’ yeoman marshals sorted through, takin’ count o’ folks and