Lady-Protector by Jr. L. E. Modesitt

Author:Jr. L. E. Modesitt [L. E. Modesitt, Jr.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2011-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

28

On Londi, Mykella awoke before dawn to the sound of rain pounding against the windows, with gusts of wind rattling the panes. She rose quickly but stopped after several steps away from her bed, feeling as though she walked in a green haze or mist. She looked around, trying to determine the source of the haze, then made her way to her dressing table, where, when she looked into the large mirror, she saw nothing out of the ordinary, just the reflection of a too-pale, black-haired, green-eyed woman who looked too young to be a Lady-Protector.

She took her time washing and dressing, but the sense of the green haze did not dissipate, and she left her quarters and walked to the breakfast room. Both her sisters were already seated at the table. Rachylana looked at Mykella, then smiled faintly before looking down at her platter.

“What was that look for?” asked Salyna.

“Nothing,” replied the redhead.

Mykella understood the look all too well and gave the tiniest headshake when Rachylana looked her way.

Rachylana nodded slightly.

“That just means you don’t want to tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” Rachylana paused. “I could have said that Mykella still looked a bit green, or I could have said that she wasn’t about to go riding through Tempre today, no matter what she’d said last night about needing to see more of the city.”

“I could still go riding,” said Mykella ruefully, “but I wouldn’t see anything. How will this affect your training?” She looked to her youngest sister.

“I’d already figured that out. We can use the stables, since most of the horses are in Viencet. Besides, guards have to do what they do in the rain and the snow.” Salyna took a swallow of tea, then added, “Most of the trainees are used to foul weather, anyway.”

“What if more show up?” asked Mykella.

“I’ve planned for that. We could take another ten, and I’ll just work them harder and take the best. If most of them last, there will be jobs for them. There are thousands of guards. What difference will ten more women auxiliaries make, except that they’ll end up doing tasks the men find boring or demeaning.”

Rachylana raised her eyebrows.

“You know as well as I do,” Salyna said, “that the men like to prove they’re strong, that they’re good with weapons, and that they’re irresistible to women. Most of them don’t like tasks that require details or learning numbers or more than basic reading.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.