"Andre Norton - Elvenblade 02 - Elvenblood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

relic, and lifted her arms. Silk slid softly against her flesh, muffling her head for a breath, as three slaves
pulled the sinuous, soft folds of the sea-green undergown over her head and arms. They drew it down in
place, allowing the skirt to billow out around her bare feet. The sleeves and body were cut to fit tightly
with a plunging decolletage, the skin flared out from the hips, billowing out into a long trailing train in the
latest style—
So that I look like a green twig being tossed atop a wave. Very attractive. How can they keep
from laughing at me? Another selection by Lord Tylar, of course, to show that his daughter was no
stranger to the highest of fashion. Never mind that the highest of fashion looked ridiculous on her. On the
other hand, did she really want to look attractive?
No. No, I don t. I don't want a husband, I don't want any changes; as pathetic as my life is
now, I do not want to find myself the property of some lord like my father. And since Father chose
all of this for me, he can hardly blame me for looking ridiculous. That, in and of itself, was a relief. If
Sheyrena failed tonight, her father would be looking for someone or something to blame, and it would be
best if she gave him no excuse to place that blame on her. Lord Tylar had made it clear to his wife and
daughter that this particular fete was of paramount importance to the House of Treves. The glee on his
face when he had received the invitation, not only to attend, but 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.
 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