The Dream Hunter by Laura Kinsale

Author:Laura Kinsale [Kinsale, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0425207625
Amazon: B000GG4IEW
Published: 1994-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Elizabeth, an active child, found her mother entirely too dull to be borne in the very early dawn. She knew that if she put her small face up to Mama's, trying to wake her, she would only be snugged close and trapped, and then she wouldn't be able to fall out of the bed all by herself. But she did take a moment to investigate the unusual circumstance of an extra arm, large and brown, hugging her mother.

Elizabeth thought hug was a nice word. Hugging was a nice thing to do. "Guh," she said, touching the new arm.

A low rumbling sound came from somewhere the other side of Mama. The hand moved, and the arm, and a head of tousled black hair appeared. As Elizabeth stared in delight, a dragon lurked up from the floor, squinting and shaking its head. She pressed her hands together and smiled at it.

It blinked its blue eyes, and smiled back.

Elizabeth cooed. She crawled to the bed stool and turned about and let herself down very creditably. In her berib-boned slippers, she ran around the bed and found the entire dragon, a great expanse of tanned brown skin right down at her level. She gave a squeal.

Mama murmured something sleepy. The dragon looked at Elizabeth with its laughing blue eyes and whispered, "Shh-hhh," in a soft way, softer than the average hissing dragon that Nurse drew for her on paper. Very gently it disengaged itself from hugging Mama and rose.

It turned into a man as it did, and Elizabeth quailed back a little, less certain of men than dragons. But he didn't try to pick her up; he just walked, tall and impressive in padded stocking feet, into her playroom. He started to close the door.

Elizabeth instantly ran forward. She was not going to be shut out of her room. She smacked her chubby hands against the door before it latched.

* * * * *

Zenia had an excellent sleep. She drowsed later than usual, dreamily surprised that Elizabeth was content to sleep so long and quietly. Zenia vaguely remembered a door closing—she could not decide how long ago that had been, but the maid always came to make up the fire, which usually had Elizabeth up and bolting for her toys.

She moved to check her daughter's forehead for fever. Her hand swept across the bed. She sat up abruptly.

"Elizabeth!" She flung her feet to the floor. "Elizabeth!"

She ran for the playroom and collided with the nurse coming the other way.

"Oh, beg pardon, ma'am—"

"Elizabeth!" Zenia cried frantically, brushing her aside to see that the room was empty.

"Oh, ma'am, she's right as rain," the nurse said soothingly. "She's gone downstairs with her papa to breakfast."

"Gone down—" Zenia pressed her hand over her throat. "Oh!" She realized that the nurse held a man's shirt and trousers folded over her arm. "I didn't give permission for her to be taken down!"

The nurse's smile vanished. She curtsied deeply. "I'm very sorry, ma'am! But I—was I to say to his lordship that he could not take her?"

"Of course," Zenia snapped, turning.

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