"Mary Stewart - The Arthurian Saga 03 - The Last Enchantment" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stewart Mary)

I hesitated. It was that very opposition that had killed Uther; only a few hours before time, but as surely
as the blow from an axe. And King Lot, who had led the opposing faction, was contracted to marry
Ygraine's daughter Morgan.

Ygraine said calmly: "Ah, yes. The King of Lothian. I heard something of it. Tell me."
 I should have known her. I gave her the whole story, omitting nothing. The roaring opposition, the
treachery, the sudden, silencing death of the King. I told her of Arthur's eventual acclamation by the
company, though dwelling lightly on my part in that. ("If he has indeed got the sword of Macsen, he got it
by God's gift, and if he has Merlin beside him, then by any god he follows, I follow him!") Nor did I dwell
on the scene in the chapel, but told her merely of the oath-taking, ofLot 's submission, and Arthur's
declaration of Gorlois' son Cador as his heir.

At this, for the first time, the beautiful eyes lighted, and she smiled. I could see that this was news to her,
and must go some way to assuaging the guilt of her own part in Gorlois' death. Apparently Cador, either
through delicacy, or because he and Ygraine still held aloof from one another, had not told her himself.
She put out her hand for her wine, and sat sipping it while I finished the tale, the smile still on her mouth.

One other thing, one most important thing, would also have been news to her; but of this I said nothing.
But the unspoken part of the tale was loud in my own mind, so that when Ygraine spoke next, I must
have jumped like a dog to the whip. "And Morgause?"

"Madam?"

"You have not spoken of her. She must have grieved for her father. It was a fortunate thing that she
could be near him. He and I have both had cause to thank God for her skills."

I said, neutrally: "She nursed him with devotion. I am sure that she will miss him bitterly."

"Does she come south with Arthur?"

"No. She has gone toYork , to be with her sister Morgan."

To my relief she asked no more questions about Morgause, but turned the subject, asking where I was
lodged.

"In the tavern," I told her. "I know it from the old days, when I was working here. It's a simple kind of
place, but they have taken pains to make me comfortable. I shan't be here for long." I glanced round me
at the glowing room. "For yourself, do you plan a long stay, madam?"

"A few days only." If she had noticed my look at the luxury surrounding her, she gave no sign of it. I,
who am not normally wise in the ways of women, realized suddenly that the richness and beauty of the
place were not for Ygraine's own comfort, but had been deliberately contrived as a setting for her first
meeting with her son. The scarlet and gold, the scents and waxlights, were this ageing woman's shield and
enchanted sword.

"Tell me — " She spoke abruptly, straight out of the preoccupation that, through all else, bound her.
"Does he blame me?"

It was the measure of my respect for Ygraine that I answered her directly, with no pretense that the
subject was not uppermost in my mind as well. "I think you need have no fear of this meeting. When he