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.Garian hates the sight of me and has let everyone know it,but I can t see him taking orders from anyone, especially a hated enemy likeAndreus.He was furious when he wasn t permitted to go with the army last yearwhen everyone thought it would come to battle.I just don t see him joiningAndreus s side.Wren sucked on her lower lip, thinking rapidly. Perhaps.But I think he s really afollower.Oh, he might be the first to call insults, but that kind rarely thinks of things.He just takes over someone else s ideas as if they were his own.So maybe someoneis leading him on?Connor had wrapped himself in his cloak, and Wren couldn t see his face, butshe could tell by the angle of his head that he didn t believe this. Perhaps.But in allmy encounters with Garian, he led his gang, never they him. All right, then, Wren said. Let s try another idea.When I was in theorphanage, the bullies often went after someone who had something they wanted. Impossible, Connor said.An echo of his earlier intensity colored his voicewhen he added,  I have absolutely nothing.No land, no inheritance and not eventhe prospect of a job. I thought you wanted to be a stage player? Oh yes.Now your uncle won t evenlet you visit them.Connor mumbled something inarticulate.Wren went on,  Sorry, Connor.So it s not that.Huh! Garian is the Duke s heir,right? So he ll have plenty someday, never mind how unlucky those poor people areto be stuck with such a terrible lord.Maybe by then Teressa will be Queen, and shecan make him behave and tend to his lands.That doesn t help us now.All I can sayis, let s keep clear of your Rhismordith Blues and be glad they aren t nasty Lirendispies, and for now that s that. She stretched out her cramped legs. Oh aboutthat inheritance business. Yes? Well, I know you don t get anything for being Queen Nerith s eighth child.Buthow about your father? Wasn t he a duke? Yes, but when he married Queen Nerith he gave his sister, my aunt Yura, hislands in order to prevent political problems, and he carried the title only as long as helived. Connor laughed a little. You can imagine how welcome I am among myDereneth cousins, all of them thinking I m going to try to get those lands backsomehow. Phew, Wren said, shifting about so she could lie flat on the grass and stare upat the gleaming stars. Glad I don t have to deal with that.I don t think I could everkeep it straight who gets what, when, and why.Connor laughed again, and silence fell.Wren sighed, thinking, At least we lowborn types don t have that kind of trouble.You pick a job, and you do it& But even as she thought it, she remembered someof the gossip among the weavers at dinner.They d been fluent and bitter about theirmaster s son, who was apparently a terrible weaver and had a worse personality.Buthis father, blind to all that, had made it clear that this son would inherit the familybusiness.I guess it s not that simple for anyone.Except an orphan.She thought about being responsible only for herself.That seemed so neat andtidy somehow.If she was good at her work, she d do well.And if she turned out tobe a poor magician, she d no doubt go hungry.No family to push her ahead orhold her back.Yes, that s how it should be, each responsible for herself.Or himself.Still, hereI am, trying to find my family.For the first time she wondered if what she was doing was right.Connor had thebest kind of family certainly the highest in worldly rank.Yet they weren t doinghim a bit of good.But as soon as she considered the idea of giving up her search and going back toCantirmoor, she got the old lost feeling again.If I do find my family and they turnout to be monsters, at least I ll know, she thought.Then I can forget them and goright back to making myself what I want to be.As she started to slide into sleep, she thought about a visit she d made to Fliss shome when Fliss and her cousins had giggled in the attic, sharing family jokes.Belonging, Wren thought sleepily.That s what I want.She turned over and slept.Sunlight crested the rocks above the falls and shone in Wren s eyes.She sat up,delighted to find that they had picked a beautiful sweep of parkland to sleep in.Anatural wall of shrubs surrounded them on three sides, and on the fourth a cliff juttedover the river below.The muted thunder of the falls was underscored by the trillingof a line of birds flying high in the sky.Wren saw Connor s head tip back, his eyes intent on the flock.When the birds had passed by, she said,  What re they talking about?Connor shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. They don t talk, not like wedo. So their song meant nothing? That s not right either.I wish I could explain&  He paused, concentrating, thensaid,  It was mostly about food.Food and nesting. Mmmm. Wren rose to her feet and stretched. What good is it to be able toeavesdrop on birds if they never say anything interesting?Connor smiled as he stowed his cloak in his knapsack. What do you expectfrom birds? He bent and picked up his staff, swinging it back and forth, round andround. Bird-wits. Wren hastily fixed her long braids, then beat the grass off her cloakbefore putting it away. Going to be warm today. Shall we get an early start? After a good breakfast, Wren said. Good, hot, and lots, if you get my drift.Connor grinned. Do you hear me arguing? Still, he looked around carefully asthey crossed the green toward the public inn.And when they reached the door of thecommon room, he paused and scanned the room before going inside.No one disturbed them, though; they ate well, bought some extra food to carrywith them, and then set out on their walk.Again, no mounts were available for rent,and while they could have bought horses with Connor s bag of money, they bothfelt that to do so would attract undue attention.The weather was fine.Almost every traveler going to the north seemed to havechosen the winding river road instead of the shorter one through the greatNorthwood Forest.Apparently the word about brigands had gotten around.Wren was glad to see other travelers on the road, but Connor scanned everyonewho overtook them, on the alert for any more of his uncle s equerries.Any time theyheard someone approaching from behind, Connor insisted they step off the roaduntil he could see who was coming [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]