Gonji: The Soul Within the Steel. T. C. Rypel

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СКАЧАТЬ nature had set them in a pucker—and practiced a range of expressions, from coyly beguiling to stoically wounded, until they appeared convincingly unpracticed.

      Lord, forgive me, but I’m so clever, she thought, her shoulders hunching to suppress a self-satisfied chuckle. But praised be for that, since someone has to be....

      It had all been trying and frightening at first: the violent overthrow of Baron Rorka on that horrible night and the succession of King Klann; monsters and giants prowling the walls; soldiers parading throughout the castle. The servants had all been too frightened to do anything but cower in their chambers for a night and a day. Those with any backbone at all had been slaughtered with the Baron’s men, including the former chief steward. And Klann’s newly appointed chief was a nasty, spiteful, vulture-faced old viper. Between him and the proudly strutting Llorm regulars and the pompously demanding ladies of the court and that bastard captain who had grabbed at her, why—

      But Genya’s anger had finally been stoked, and the lowly scullery maid had dared speak for all the servitors to King Klann himself, presenting their fears to him in a performance that required all her considerable guile. And not surprisingly (to her, at least) Klann had been won over by her charm. He had assured her of the servants’ safety and instructed the chief steward to lighten his approach. He had promised that they would be free to visit Vedun once the security quarantine could be lifted, and—best of all—had appointed Genya head of all the local servantry and his personal liaison to them!

      His paternal interest in Genya was a great comfort to her, although it had aroused the jealousy of the ladies of court, some of whom from the beginning had found Genya’s voluptuous youth and vivaciousness a spur to their cattiness: Before the audience with Klann, for instance, the Lady Gorkin, wife of the castellan, had caught Genya in alleged idleness and sent her to the steamy kitchen for the unpleasant job of shelling eggs. It was all Genya could do to keep from blasting the haughty old wench with a few, just to see how such a fine lady would react to the shocking mess.

      And then there was the red-headed virago Lady Thorvald, whom Genya had first supposed the queen, judging by her incessant doting on and flitting about the king. She turned out instead to be a kept-woman in whom Klann had lost interest. Her attentiveness on His Highness seemingly grew in direct proportion to his weariness of her. Genya, in her less charitable moments, thought of Thorvald as a dried-out old shrew who strove to stave off the advance of years with her mock-exotic displays of paint and feathers. She was the epitome of tacky ostentation.

      “Such a pampered old puss!” Genya had said that morning to the chambermaid who had overheard that Lady Thorvald would not be in attendance at the banquet, complaining of one of her frequent “head ailments.”

      Ah, well, Genya thought, steer clear and all’s well. All but that scary sorcerer, Mord, him and his hungry looks....

      She shuddered to think of him and chased the thought. But then there came the reminder of Lottie’s murdered father and Genya suddenly wondered about the safety of her own parents in Vedun.

      No. No, father would never dream of becoming involved in violence. Safe, sane, and sensible father—he and mother would be there when she came home, of that she was sure. She crossed herself and lipped a curt prayer to fortify her certainty.

      Her last warm thought was reserved for Wilf. Darling Wilf. So strong, so stubborn. The only man she knew who had ever kept her thoughts from other men; the only one whose pride couldn’t be budged. How I miss you, my love! A whole week apart! But soon we’ll be together, and we’ll leave this mess, and Papa Garth won’t be able to do a thing about it—No, that’s wrong. I don’t want it to be like that. I do so want Herr Gundersen’s approval and love. There are those rare men like him, the ones whose expressed distrust of feminine wiles is genuine. They’re the hardest to win over. But—

      Footsteps echoed along the corridor. She leaned over the saltcellar’s canopy and examined her bodice, adjusting its strings minutely to reveal the merest hint of titillating curvature. She experienced a pang of guilt at her shamelessness. She shut her eyes and pursed her lips a second, then crossed herself and pushed the cart forward toward the great hall.

      I’m sorry, Lord, but that’s me. I need to feel in command. It must all work out—it must. It will. And as usual I’ll get what I wish.

      CHAPTER TWO

      Gonji Sabatake emerged from the tailor shop into the rain-slicked cobblestone lane, suppressing a grin of self-satisfaction. He was freshly scrubbed and shaven. His topknot was tied just so. And he sported the new sleeveless tunic and breeches he had recently commissioned, plus thick woolen socks for under his sandals to replace his worn tabi.

      He adjusted his swords in his obi, the wide sash cinched about his waist, in such a way that they rode nearly horizontally, snug but comfortable as they always must be. He rubbed his stinging face pensively and glanced about in the humid morning air. The day would be hot and thick; murky clouds sagged from horizon to horizon. A good day for an indoor banquet.

      He smiled and made off down the street, leading Tora by the reins the short distance to the tanner’s. His leather goods—the cuirass, pauldrons and vambraces, and riding boots he had ordered—were not ready; so he mounted and clopped off toward the marketplace at an easy gait. No hurry. Little to do this day until the banquet. But then—hah! A first-hand look at storied Castle Lenska! And at long last a meeting with the mystery king and his sorcerer.

      This would be a day marked in memory; of that he was certain.

      He had risen early to find Garth Gundersen already gone on some business at the foundry. Wilf had been pressed into service at the forge. Sullen and irritable, Gonji’s closest friend among the Gundersens was again brooding about the fate of his Genya at the castle; so the samurai had decided it was just as well to be free of his company this day. Strom, the shepherd son, and Lorenz, the Executor of the Exchequer, had been none too gracious in their invitation to breakfast. Gonji had eschewed it in favor of a short practice session in the hills.

      Judging by the Gundersens’ mixed hospitality, he decided he’d best find lodgings elsewhere soon.

      The marketplace was alive and healthy this misty morning, the moist air bearing the sundry sounds and scents of commerce. There was an aura of normality about Vedun, even the soldiers now unwittingly taking their place in the mundane order.

      Gonji sated his empty belly with fish and ale, which he consumed languidly on a stone bench near the stalls. The bell tower sounded ten bells, and the shallower timbre of the chapel bell called some to a worship service.

      A few of the people Gonji had met at Michael Benedetto’s house the night of the memorable boxing matches passed by and greeted him. Among these were Stefan Berenyi and Nikolai Nagy—he couldn’t recall which man was which, followed shortly by Monetto, the biller; and Gerhard, the hunter and fletcher, a longbow slung over his back. They carried between them a large sack of small game that evinced the latter’s prowess with the bow. Monetto steered them toward Gonji and began to make small talk, but they resumed their course to the stalls at Gerhard’s insistence. His concern over the freshness of the game precipitated the usual argument between them that could be heard long after they had departed.

      Then Gonji thought he spotted a blonde head that might have belonged to Lydia Benedetto. He craned his neck to peer into the crowd, but from the spot he watched there emerged two Llorm footmen, who suspiciously returned his gaze. He rose then, his thoughts turning to military concerns...in a manner of speaking.

      Let’s see what’s on their minds.

      He took Tora by the reins and walked down an alley. Turning into the first СКАЧАТЬ