 |
He hated what he was hearing, but he couldn't...
Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 8:30 AM
He hated what he was hearing, but he couldn't deny the truth of itA season or two of the fees Menico had said he could now charge would have let the old campaigner buy the inn in Ferraut he'd talked about for so many yearsThe place where he'd always said he'd like to settle when the road grew too stern for his bonesWhere he could serve ale and wine and offer a bed and a meal to old friends and new ones passing through on the long trailsWhere he could hear and retell the gossip of the day and swap the old stories he lovedAnd where, on the cold winter nights, he could stake out a place by the fire and lead whoever happened to be there into and out of all the songs he knew
Devin shoved his hands chanel classic bag deep into the pockets of his breechesHe felt awkward and sad"I just don't like disappearing on himAll three of us at onceWe've got concerts tomorrow, too
Alessan's mouth quirked"I do seem to recall that," he said
"Three," said Catriana unexpectedly
"Three," Alessan agreed cheerfully"And one the next day at the Woolguild HallI also have, it has just occurred to me, a substantial wager in The Paelion that I expect to win
Which drew an already predictable growl from Baerd"Do you seriously think the Festival of Vines is going to blithely proceed after what has occurred tonight? You want to go make music in Astibar as if nothing has happened? Music? I've been down this road with you before, omega replica watch Alessan
"Actually, I'm quite certain the Festival will go on"Alberico is cautious almost before he is anything elseI think tonight will redouble that in himHe will allow the people their celebrations, let those from the distrada scatter and go home, then slam down hard immediately afterBut only on the three families that were here, I suspectIt is, frankly, what I would do myself
"Taxes?" Alessan askedHe raised them after the Canziano poisoning, but that was differentAn actual assassination attempt in a public placeHe didn't have much choiceI think he'll narrow it this time, there will be enough bodies for his wheels among the three families here
Devin found it unsettling how casually the Duke omega speedmaster white spoke of such thingsThis was his kin they were discussingHis oldest son, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, cousins, all to be fodder for Barbadian killing-wheelsDevin wondered if he would ever grow as cynical as thisIf what had begun tonight would harden him to that degreeHe tried to think of his brothers on a death-wheel in Asoli and found his mind flinching away from the very imageUnobtrusively he made the warding sign against evil
The truth was, he was upset just thinking about Menico, and that was merely a matter of costing the man money, nothing morePeople moved from troupe to troupe all the timeOr left to start their own companiesOr retired from the road into a business that offered them leather chanel purse more securityThere would be performers who would be expecting him to go on his own after his success this morningThat should have been a helpful thought, but it wasn'tSomehow Devin hated to make it appear as if they were right
Something else occurred to him"Won't it look a bit odd, too, if we disappear right after the mourning rites? Right after Alberico's unmasked a plot that was connected with them? We're sort of linked to the Sandreni now in a wayShould we draw attention to ourselves like that? It isn't as if our disappearance won't be noticed
He said it, for some reason, to BaerdAnd was rewarded a moment later with a brief, sober nod of acknowledgment
"Now that cloth I will buy," Baerd rolex watch knock off said
« Last Page :: Next Page »
|
|