Страница 3 из 102
A thin, fine drizzle of rain was begi
Lew said aloud, as if picking up his thoughts, “I expect you’ll be going into the cadet corps of the Guard this season, won’t you? Or are the Hasturs exempt?”
“It’s all pla
Lew looked uneasy, but he didn’t answer. Obediently, like a proper prince, Regis drew a little ahead, to ride through the city gates in his proper place beside Ke
He forced himself to smile and wave graciously at the crowds lining the streets. But far away, through the very ground, he could hear again the dull vibration, like a waterfall. The starships were still there, he told himself, and the stars beyond them. No matter how deep they cut the track, I’ll find a way to break loose somehow. Someday.
previous | Table of Contents | next
previous | Table of Contents | next
Chapter TWO
(Lewis-Ke
I hadn’t wanted to attend Council this year. To be exact, I never wanted to attend Council at all. That’s putting it mildly. I’m not popular with my father’s equals in the Seven Domains.
At Armida, nothing bothers me. The house-folk know who I am and the horses don’t care. And at Arili
You may ask why, if I was good at managing the estate at Armida, and more than adequate in the matrix relays at Arili
Whatever his reasons, he had managed to force me on the Council as his heir. They hadn’t liked it, but they’d had to allow me the legitimate privileges of a Comyn heir and the duties that went with them. Which meant that at fourteen I had gone into the cadets and, after serving as a junior officer, was now a captain in the City Guard. It was a privilege I could have done without. The Council lords might be forced to accept me. But making the younger sons, lesser nobles and so forth who served in the cadets accept me—that was another song!
Bastardy, of course, is no special disgrace. Plenty of Comyn lords have half a dozen. If one of them turns out to have laran—which is what every woman who bears a child to a Comyn lord hopes for—nothing is easier than having the child acknowledged and given privileges and duties somewhere in the Domains. But to make one of them the heir-designate to the Domain, thatwas unprecedented, and every unacknowledged son of a minor line made me feel how little I merited this special treatment.
I couldn’t help knowing why they felt that way—I had what every one of them wanted, felt he merited as much as I did. But understanding only made things worse. It must be comfortable never to know whyyou’re disliked. Maybe then you can believe you don’t deserve it.
Just the same, I’ve made sure none of them could complain about me. I’ve done a little of everything, as Comyn heirs in the cadets are supposed to: I’ve supervised street patrols, organizing everything from grain supplies for the pack animals to escorts for Comyn ladies; I’ve assisted the arms-master at his job, and made sure that the man who cleaned the barracks knew hisjob. I disliked serving in the cadets and didn’t enjoy command duty in the Guard. But what could I do? It was a mountain I could neither cross nor go around. Father needed me and wanted me, and I could not let him stand alone.
As I rode at Regis Hastur’s side, I wondered if his choosing to ride beside me had been a mark of friendship or a shrewd attempt to get on the good side of my father. Three years ago I’d have said friendship, certainly. But boys change in three years, and Regis had changed more than most
He’d spent a few winters at Armida before he went to the monastery, before I went to Arili
I could have found out, of course, and he’d never have known. But that’s not even a temptation for a telepath, after the first few months. You learn not to pry.
But he didn’t feelunfriendly, and presently asked me outright why I hadn’t called him by name; caught off guard by the blunt question, I gave him a straight answer instead of a diplomatic one and then, of course, we were all right again.
Once we were inside the gates, the ride to the castle was not long, just long enough to get thoroughly drenched. I could tell that Father was aching with the damp and cold—he’s been lame ever since I could remember, but the last few winters have been worse—and that Marius was wet and wretched. When we came into the lee of the castle it was already dark, and though the nightly rain rarely turns to snow at this season, there were sharp slashes of sleet in it. I slid from my horse and went quickly to help Father dismount, but Lord Dyan had already helped him down and given him his arm.
I withdrew. From my first year in the cadets, I’d made it a habit not to get any closer to Lord Dyan than I could possibly help. Preferably well out of reach.
There’s a custom in the Guards for first-year cadets. We’re trained in unarmed combat and we’re supposed to cultivate a habit of being watchful at all times; so during our first season, in the guardroom and armory, anyone superior to us in the Guards is allowed to take us by surprise, if he can, and throw us. It’s good training. After a few weeks of being grabbed unexpectedly from behind and dumped hard on a stone floor, you develop something like eyes in the back of your head. Usually it’s fairly good-natured, and although it’s a rough game and you collect plenty of bruises, no one really minds.