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The Magehound :: Каннингем Элейн
Страница: 116 из 216Believe me when I tell you I haveno wish to give offense, but I must insist that you stop interfering in my affairs."
Tzigone stopped dead and stared up at him. "Interfering!"
She looked so dumbfounded that Matteo felt compelled to provide illumination. "Meddling. Or influencing, if you prefer that term. The most recent example was your performance in the Arbor Square."
"A man was getting ready to pull two very nasty-looking knives on you. My story served as a distraction," she pointed out.
"A distraction that offended a fellow jordain and prompted him to issue a challenge."
Tzigone folded her arms. "Which in turn brought you to the attention of the king's high counselor."
"Not all attention is desirable. Cassia thinks me an inept fool, and for that reason, she intends to recommend me to her rival."
"Who happens to be the Queen of Halruaa," Tzigone concluded, exasperation edging her tones. "I thought jordaini were supposed to be ambitious! Who cares how you arrive at such a high place? Once you get there, you set about to make your mark." She struck a haughty pose. "If you cannot do so, then you're the fool that the king's counselor named you," she concluded in Cassia's voice.
The imitation was uncannily accurate, more precise than an echo. Matteo shook his head in amazement. "How do you do that?"
"The voices?" She shrugged. "I'm told that I'm a natural mimic. I used to travel with a troupe of entertainers who hawked me as 'The Human Mockingbird. It was fun for a while," she confided, "but the feathers on the costume made me sneeze. You've heard of Old Bess?"
It took Matteo a moment to follow the abrupt shift in her conversation, but he nodded. Few people in the coastal lowlands did not know of the notorious pirate. A plump, middle-aged woman with the cheery manner of an aging milkmaid, Old Bess was nonetheless among the bloodiest and most ruthless captains to sail the Great Sea.
"I have had occasion to speak with her," Matteo admitted. "Two years past, she spent part of the summer rains at the jordaini house, insensible with fever."
"That old shark?" Tzigone said incredulously. "I'm surprised the jordaini would have anything to do with her."
"Sometimes criminals and foreigners are brought to the house for treatment so that the students might observe the course of serious disease and injury and learn of their treatments," he explained. "In all truth, no one expected her to live. When she recovered, she insisted upon paying for her keep and her care by instructing some of the students in tides and currents.
Tzigone stopped dead and stared up at him. "Interfering!"
She looked so dumbfounded that Matteo felt compelled to provide illumination. "Meddling. Or influencing, if you prefer that term. The most recent example was your performance in the Arbor Square."
"A man was getting ready to pull two very nasty-looking knives on you. My story served as a distraction," she pointed out.
"A distraction that offended a fellow jordain and prompted him to issue a challenge."
Tzigone folded her arms. "Which in turn brought you to the attention of the king's high counselor."
"Not all attention is desirable. Cassia thinks me an inept fool, and for that reason, she intends to recommend me to her rival."
"Who happens to be the Queen of Halruaa," Tzigone concluded, exasperation edging her tones. "I thought jordaini were supposed to be ambitious! Who cares how you arrive at such a high place? Once you get there, you set about to make your mark." She struck a haughty pose. "If you cannot do so, then you're the fool that the king's counselor named you," she concluded in Cassia's voice.
The imitation was uncannily accurate, more precise than an echo. Matteo shook his head in amazement. "How do you do that?"
"The voices?" She shrugged. "I'm told that I'm a natural mimic. I used to travel with a troupe of entertainers who hawked me as 'The Human Mockingbird. It was fun for a while," she confided, "but the feathers on the costume made me sneeze. You've heard of Old Bess?"
It took Matteo a moment to follow the abrupt shift in her conversation, but he nodded. Few people in the coastal lowlands did not know of the notorious pirate. A plump, middle-aged woman with the cheery manner of an aging milkmaid, Old Bess was nonetheless among the bloodiest and most ruthless captains to sail the Great Sea.
"I have had occasion to speak with her," Matteo admitted. "Two years past, she spent part of the summer rains at the jordaini house, insensible with fever."
"That old shark?" Tzigone said incredulously. "I'm surprised the jordaini would have anything to do with her."
"Sometimes criminals and foreigners are brought to the house for treatment so that the students might observe the course of serious disease and injury and learn of their treatments," he explained. "In all truth, no one expected her to live. When she recovered, she insisted upon paying for her keep and her care by instructing some of the students in tides and currents.