Cast of Corbies (Bardic Choices) by Mercedes Lackey & Josepha Sherman

Author:Mercedes Lackey & Josepha Sherman [Lackey, Mercedes & Sherman, Josepha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780671722074
Goodreads: 28731
Publisher: Baen
Published: 1994-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Silence fell anew.

“I think,” Magpie murmured after a moment, “the time has come to bring Regina in on the discussion.”

The others stared at her. Then, one by one, they began to nod.

“But how?” Verdin-or maybe Finch-asked.

Raven bowed to Magpie. “My dear,” he said, with just the slightest touch of mockery in his voice, “this idea is yours. And so the task, too, is yours.”

Oh. Of course. Now all I have to do is figure out how to manage it. Of course. I’ll start talking about acting and fashions and add “By the way, I think the Church is using dark sorcery.” Right.

Magpie was still wondering about that the next day, when she and Regina chanced to meet on their way to the theater. A vendor passed them with his tray full of cakes, trailing a tantalizing aroma of honey and spice.

“Honeycakes!” he sang. “Hot and sweet, fresh honeycakes. Seedcakes, seedcakes, buy them now, buy them now. Honeycakes! Seedcakes!”

Regina inhaled deeply then gave a melodramatic sigh. “I am simply dying for a seedcake!”

Magpie looked at her in surprise. ‘Then why not buy one?”

Regina threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, I’d love a seedcake-but not at the expense of a bellyache! The street vendors here are all too well known for adulterating their products with sawdust or even nastier stuff-”

“Eeeuww.” Magpie made a horrified face.

“-and for using whatever else comes to hand: rancid butter, spoiled honey. No thank you, my dear. I’ll pass.” But her eyes followed the vendor with longing.

“But-but you don’t have to!” Magpie stumbled over her words in her eagerness to take advantage of this sudden perfect opportunity. “Owl-that’s Erdric, Owl’s his Bardic name-Anyhow, Owl, Erdric, whatever you want to call him, shares our boardinghouse. He’s a marvelous baker, and his seedcakes are wonder-full Why don’t you join us there? I know we’d all love to host you.”

Regina was very obviously taken by surprise by this sudden invitation. This sudden graceless invitation, Magpie scolded herself. You sounded like a little girl inviting her teacher to tea-

“I’d love to come,” Regina said simply.

She’ll never- “Uh, what?”

Regina smiled. “I said, I’d love to come. It would be so good to have an afternoon off! An afternoon away from the ducal palace, from the court, from all those silly, formal restraints. An afternoon just to be myself- How about today, dear? We don’t have a full day’s rehearsing scheduled. Would today be too soon?”

“Ah, no,” Magpie stammered, caught totally off-balance by this sudden acceptance. “N-not at all. This afternoon it is.”

The Free Bards had rather been expecting some grand procession of servants and guards. But Regina slipped in unheralded, dressed not in noble finery but in the same beribboned blouse and colorful skirt most of the musicians wore on the streets. And it’s not some sort of costume for her, Magpie thought with a little thrill of approval. It’s all been worn and used: this is the real Regina, the woman who existed before she caught the Duke’s eye.

“I smell baking,” Regina said with a grin.

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