"Andre Norton & Lackey, Mercedes - Elvenbane 2 - Elvenblood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

to present Sheyrena, had only been equaled the day that he learned that the
price of grain for slave-fodder had tripled due to a blight that his fields had
been spared. While Lord Tylar's lineage was good, it was not great--and his
monetary wealth was due entirely to his successes in the marketplace. Lord
Tylar's grandfather had been a mere pensioner, and only astute management
had brought the House of Treves this far. He was not one of the original
High Lords of the Council, but a recent appointee, and under normal
circumstances, he would not ever have found himself in the company of the
House of Hernalth, much less invited to their fete.

"Turn, please, my lady."

The invitation came not by teleson, but by messenger--an elven messenger,
not a human slave, which showed how Lord Tylar's status had increased
since the disastrous conflict with the Elvenbane. Scribed on a thin sheet of
pure gold, it could only have been created magically--an indirect and subtle
demonstration of the power and skill of the creator.

V'kass Ardeyn el-Lord Fortren Lord Hernalth requests the pleasure of the
company of the House of Treves at a fete given in his honor by his guardian,
V'sheyl Edres Lord Fortren, on the occasion of his accession to the lands
and position of the House of Hernalth. He further requests the boon of the
presentation of the daughter of the House of Treves at this fete. No need to
mention dates or time; even the least and poorest of the pensioners on Lord
Tylar's estate knew the date of Lord Ardeyn's accession-fete, just as they
knew why the heir to the house of Fortren had inherited the House of
Hernalth--over the strenuous objections of Lord Dyran's brother, it might be
added.

"Please raise your arm a trifle."

Odd that his given name is Treves. There had been strong words between
Lord Treves and Lord Edres in Council, and Lord Treves had gone off in a
huff, taking what little he owned under the law, becoming a pensioner under
the auspices of one of Lord Edres's opponents. She could only hope that
such an unpleasant coincidence might cause Lord Ardeyn to regard her with
a less than favorable eye, for by asking that she be presented, Lord Ardeyn
had made it very clear that he was not only holding a celebration, he was
seeking an appropriate bride.

'Turn a little more, please."

It had been nearly a year since Lord Dyran and his son and heir had died,
and the inheritance had fallen into dispute. But the Council--Lord Tylar
among them--had eventually ruled that the estate and title could only be
inherited by the oldest surviving son--unless there were no surviving sons to
inherit. And while it was presumed (since there were two bodies) that
Dyran's heir Valyn had gone up in smoke with his father, there being no
evidence to the contrary, there was still Valyn's twin alive, of sound mind
and body, living in, and the designated heir to, the house of his grandfather.