"Andre Norton & Mercedes Lackey - Halfblood Chronicles 02 - Elvenblood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

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.
That made young Ardeyn a double heir, and doubly desirable in a marriage
alliance. Little matter that Lord Edres was quite vigorous and unlikely to make
Ardeyn a double-Lord any time in the next several centuries; Ardeyn now had all of
Lord Dyran's considerable holdings in his own right. That made him the equal of his
grandfather in status and standing. Lord Tylar's support of Ardeyn's claim had been
noted, and now would be rewarded--though it was vanishingly unlikely that the
reward would be a wedding to Sheyrena. Lord Ardeyn was too highplaced for that,
and Lord Tylar still an upstart, though a valued upstart.
"Lower your arm now, my lady, please."
And no doubt, every unpledged elven maiden of appropriate rank has gotten an
invitation to come and show her paces for the benefit of Lord Ardeyn--or rather, his
grandfather. There was no doubt in Sheyrena's mind who was going to be making the
choice of a bride for Ardeyn. Only those who were fortunate enough to have no
parents or guardians ever made the choice of a spouse for themselves. If the young
Lord was lucky, his grandfather might consult him--but the probability was that he
was so ruled by Lord Edres that he would tamely accept a wedding to a mule if that
was what his grandfather dictated.
Just as I will tamely accept a wedding to a mule if that is what my father dictates,
no matter how I feel about it, for my feelings are of no consequence, she reflected
with resignation, as the maids laced the bodice of the undergown so tightly as to make
it a second silken skin. The effect was not to make her somewhat meager charms
seem more generous, but rather the opposite.
Although the invitation had said nothing about other maidens being presented at
this fete, it didn't have to. It was the word of every bower across the land that Lord
Ardeyn was looking for a bride and a profitable alliance, not necessarily in that order.
There would be dozens of unwedded and unpledged elven women there tonight, from
children still playing with dolls to widows with power and property of their own.
There was only one Lord Ardeyn, however, which meant that it was inevitable that
many other unwedded elven lords or their parents or representatives would be
appearing at this fete as well, looking for prospective brides. It wasn't often that there
was an occasion grand enough that all the houses could put aside their various feuds
and pretend civility for one short night. Any number of alliances might come out of