| He didn't avoid her, but he didn't seek her out: her moods swung too unpredictably, he never knew what response he'd getA newly patient man, he let her come to ride a cart or sit before a tavern fire with him when she wanted to
In Ferraut town that winter for the third time, after the leap in Tregea, they had all been wonderfully fed by Ingonida, still in raptures over the bed they'd brought herTaccio's wife continued to display a particularly solicitous affection for the Duke in his dark disguise, a detail which Alessan took some pleasure in teasing Sandre about when they were aloneIn the meantime, the rotund, red-faced Taccio copiously wined them all
There had been another mail packet waiting from Rovigo in AstibarWhich, when opened, proved to contain two letters this time, one of which gave off, even after its time in transit, an extraordinary effusion of scent
Alessan, his eyebrows elaborately arched, presented this pale-blue emanation to Devin with infinite suggestivenessIngonida crowed and clasped her hands together in a gesture cartier roadster chrono doubtless meant to signify romantic raptureTaccio, beaming, poured Devin another drink
The perfume, unmistakably, was Selvena'sDevin's expression, as he took cautious possession of the envelope, must have been revealing because he heard Catriana giggle suddenlyHe was careful not to look at her
Selvena's missive was a single headlong sentence, much like the girl herselfShe did, however, make one vivid suggestion that induced him to decline when the others asked innocently if they might peruse his communication
In fact, though, Devin was forced to admit that his interest was rather more caught by the five neat lines Alais had attached to her father's letterIn a small, businesslike hand she simply reported that she'd found and copied another variant of the "Lament for Adaon" at one of the god's temples in Astibar and that she looked forward to sharing it with all of them when they next came eastShe signed it with her initial only
In the body of the letter Rovigo reported that Astibar was very quiet since the twelve poets had been executed louis vuitton gold handbag among the families of the conspirators in the Grand SquareThat the price of grain was still going up, that he could usefully receive as much green Senzian wine as they could obtain at current prices, that Alberico was widely expected to announce, very soon, a beneficiary among his commanders for the greater part of the confiscated Nievolene lands, and that his best information was that Senzian linens were still underpriced in Astibar but might be due to rise
It was the news about the Nievolene lands that triggered the next stage of spark-to-spark discussion between Alessan and the Duke
And those sparks had led to the blaze
The five of them did a fast run along the well-maintained highway north to Senzio with more of the religious artifactsThey bought green wine with their profit on the statuettes, bargained successfully for a quantity of linens, Baerd, somewhat surprisingly had emerged as their best negotiator in such matters, and doubled quickly back to Taccio, paying the huge new duties at both the provincial border forts and the chloe bag city-walls
There had been another letter waitingAmong the various masking pieces of business news, Rovigo reported that an announcement on the Nievolene lands was expected by the end of the weekHis source was reliable, he addedThe letter had been written five days before
That night Alessan, Baerd, and Devin had borrowed a third horse from Taccio, who was deeply happy to be told nothing on their intentions, and had set out on the long ride to the Astibar border and then across to a gully by the road that led to the Nievolene gates
They were back seven days later with a new cart and a load of unspun country wool for Taccio to sellWord of the fire had preceded themWord of the fire was everywhere, Sandre reportedThere had already been a number of tavern brawls in Ferraut town between men of the First and Second Companies
They left the new cart with Taccio and departed, heading slowly back towards TregeaThey didn't need three cartsThey were partners in a modest commercial ventureThey made what slight profit they could, given the taxes and duties omega automatic watches that trammeled themThey talked about those taxes and duties a great deal, often in publicSometimes more frankly than their listeners were accustomed to hearing
Alessan quarreled with the sardonic Khardhu warrior in a dozen different inns and taverns on the road, and hired him a dozen different timesSometimes Devin played a role, sometimes Baerd didThey were careful not to repeat the performance anywhereCatriana kept a precise log of where they had been and what they had said and done thereDevin had assured her they could rely on his memory, but she kept her notes nonetheless
In public the Duke now called himself "Tomaz "Sandre" was an uncommon-enough name in the Palm, and for a mercenary from Khardhun it would be sufficiently odd to be a riskDevin remembered growing thoughtful when the Duke had told them his new name back in the fallHe'd wondered what it was like to have had to kill his sonEven to outlive his sonsTo know that the bodies of everyone even distantly related to himself were being spreadeagled alive on the death-wheels of white leather chanel handbag Barbadi |
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