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| Link | Quote | Stars | Tags | Author |
| 53c86a7 | Here I stand, regretting our missed opportunity to walk. A year ago I would have happily run up in the hills, whether it rained or not. And I was thinking that I could go out, in spite of the weather, but I wouldn't enjoy it like I used to." She gestured in amicable agreement. "There's no fault in misliking the feel of a water-soaked gown." "That's part of it," I said, seizing on the image. "Last year I wore the same clothes year round. My .. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 30b0538 | When Mora came in with my hot chocolate, she also brought me a gift: a book. I took it eagerly. The book was a memoir from almost three hundred years before, written by the Duchess Nirth Masharlias, who married the heir to a principality. Though she never ruled, three of her children married into royalty. I had known of her, but not much beyond that. There was no letter, but slipped in the pages was a single petal of starliss. The text it m.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 2fc1cd2 | Their support was not needed, therefore they were not courted. | Anthony Trollope | ||
| 16881c3 | Next was the foursome I had been bracing myself to face all along: Tamara, Savona, the newly met Lady Elenet, and the Marquis of Shevraeth. Very conscious of Olervec's pale eyes following me, I forced myself to greet the Marquis first: "Good morning," I said, as if we'd been talking just the day before. "How much I wish to thank you for putting me in the way of finding the proper books for my project." Again that laughter was evident in his.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 61b7019 | You'll be in the race tomorrow?" "Of course," I said, lifting my hands. "I have to prove whether my wins last time were luck, skill--or the kindness of well-wishers." Tamara smiled a little. "And once you've proved which it is?" "Why then I either celebrate, commiserate--or fulminate!" | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 73a377c | In the meantime, do you have any more questions for me?" His voice was uninflected, but the drawl was gone. I knew that the time for the political discussion was past, for now, and that here at last were the personal issues that had lain between us for so long. I took a deep breath. "No questions. But I have apologies to make. I think, well, I that I owe you some explanations. For things I said. And did. Stupid things." He lifted a hand... | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 5cfa820 | I didn't want that kiss to ever stop. He didn't seem to, either. But after a time, I realized the drumming sound I heard was not my heart, it was hoofbeats, and they were getting louder. We broke apart, and his breathing was as ragged as mine. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 2575622 | I did not dance again but once, and that with Savona, who insisted that I join Shevraeth and Elenet in a set. Despite his joking remarks from time to time, the Marquis seemed more absent than merry, and Elenet moved, as always, with impervious serenity and reserve. Afterward the four of us went our ways, for Shevraeth did not dance again with Elenet. I know, because I watched. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| c970d74 | I didn't want that kiss to ever stop. He didn't seem to, either. But after a time, I realized the drumming sound I heard was not my heart, it was hoofbeats, and they were getting louder. We broke apart, and his breathing was as ragged as mine. We heard through the tent the guard stop the courier, and the courier's response, "But I have to report right away!" A moment later the courier was in the tent, muddy to the chin, and weaving as he t.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 898085e | Suddenly I felt an overwhelming desire to be home. I wanted badly to clean out our castle, and replant Mama's garden, and walk in the sunny glades, and think, and read, and learn. I no longer wanted to face the world in ignorance, wearing castoff clothing and old horse blankets. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| ed73317 | You're drunk as four skunks, you idiot. | funny | Sherwood Smith | |
| 11a2eca | As we made our way steadily northward, their spirits lifted at the prospect of home, and leave-time to enjoy it. From remarks they let fall it seemed that the Marquis had had them on duty day and night, with no breaks, during all the days of my run for freedom. I really liked Nessaren and her riding. With good-natured generosity they treated me as a companion rather than as a prisoner. The last four mornings they even let me run through the.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 3a76443 | Hier gibt's keine Typen mit Schlafstorungen oder welche, die Angst vor Lochern im Burgersteig haben. Soweit ich das aus den Akten ersehen konnte, sind die Leute hier, nun ja, richtig plemplem. | Dennis Lehane | ||
| 6bc23f2 | The Prince's dark eyes narrowed with amusement, though his mouth stayed solemn--I knew I'd seen that expression before. "Please. You have only to ask." "I don't want a thing. It was more a question, and that is: If you can eat like this every day, why aren't you fatter than five oxen?" Bran set his goblet down, his eyes wide. "Burn it, Mel, I was just thinking the very same!" | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 4b93453 | There's no use in talking about the plan, because of course nothing went the way it was supposed to. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| a6f963c | As soon as we're born, we become a part of patterns, the intimate ones we create with those we live among, and the patterns so large that it takes a lifetime to perceive a fragment of the possibilities. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 0b8e9a2 | I found the other two in Bran's room, and one look at their faces made it abundantly clear that they felt no better than I did. Not that the Marquis had a red nose or a thick voice--he even looked aristocratic when sick, I thought with disgust. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 1d3f03b | What have you to say now, my little hero?" the Baron gloated. "That you are a fool, the son of a fool, and the servant of the biggest--" | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 290dab8 | Mel!" he exclaimed when I opened the door. And he laughed. "Look at you! You're drowning in that kit." He turned his head to address Shevraeth. "Ain't anyone undersized among your people?" "Obviously not," I said tartly, and helped myself to the flagon that I saw on the bed. A swig of bristic did help somewhat. "Unless the sight of me is intended to provide some cheap amusement for the warriors." "Well, I won't come off much better," Bran s.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 6ef60db | But after a time even my temper tantrums have to give way to rational thought, and I faced at last what ought to have been obvious from the very beginning: We'd lost because we were ignorant. And of the two of us, I was the worse off, because I hadn't even known I was ignorant. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 85cb1a2 | Do you have a welcome for me?" Shevraeth said with a faint smile as he came leisurely up the steps and inside. "Certainly," I said in a voice so determinedly polite it sounded false even to my own ears." | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 30a06ed | The others conversed little, and at the end of the meal I looked up, saw the unmistakable marks of fever in their faces. Branaric grinned. "What a trio we make! Look at us." Annoyance flared anew. Glaring at him, I said hoarsely, "Look at yourself. I'd rather spare myself the nightmare, which would affright even a half-sighted gargoyle." Bran gaped at me in surprise, then laughed. "Just keep that temper sharp. You'll need it, for we may be .. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| cdaf3f5 | If you're rebelling, then you must have someone in mind for the throne. Who?" Bran pointed across the table at Shevraeth. "He seems to want to do it, and I have to say, he'd be better at it than I." "No, he wouldn't," I said without thinking. Bran winced and rubbed his chin. "Mel..." "Please, my dear Lord Branaric," the Prince murmured. "Permit the lady to speak. I am interested to hear her thoughts on the matter." Rude as I'd been before, .. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| ea6d161 | I just wanted to see if you traitors would dare to face me," Galdran said, his caustic voice making me feel sick inside. Sick--and angry. The Marquis bowed low over his horse's withers, every line of his body indicative of irony. Galdran's face flushed dark purple. "I confess," Shevraeth drawled, "we had a small wager on whether you would have the courage to face us." | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 2662c41 | You might contemplate the purpose of a court..." You brainless, twaddling idiot, I thought scornfully. I wished he were before me. I wished I could personally flout him and his busy searchers, and make him look like the fool he was. And watch the reaction, and walk away laughing." | Sherwood Smith | ||
| e01331f | I do not like to remember that trip. Not that I was awake for much of it--for which I am grateful. I kept sliding in and out of consciousness, and believe me, the were much more welcome than the | Sherwood Smith | ||
| d5647da | As soon as I reached my room I took out the Marquise's letter and reread it, even though by then I knew it word for word. It seemed impossible that Branaric's arrival on the same day--with Shevraeth--was a coincidence. I sighed. Now I could not ask my brother outright about this letter. He was as tactless as he was honest. I could easily imagine him blurting it out over dinner. might find it diverting, though I didn't think Shevraeth woul.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| fcd7b20 | As they've always been. And they don't change just because you want them to. | power racial-discrimination | Dennis Lehane | |
| 7f2e7ac | Brian joking that if there was one place in the city where the locals didn't need help learning how to shoot--or dodge--bullets, it was Dorchester. | Dennis Lehane | ||
| 2597b51 | Man blir fliset og smussig i sjelen av a la seg kue av overmakt. I lange skolear. Det er unormalt; og gudene vet hva det avstedkommer i et guttesinn. Man herdes ikke av a boye av. Man mister noe vesentlig ved a vaere redd sa lenge, uansett hva man er redd for. | John Giæver | ||
| d8ffb7f | At sundown the next day there came a cough outside my room. Before I could speak, the tapestry swung aside as if swatted by an impatient hand, and there was Bran. "Hah!" he exclaimed, fists on his hips. "I knew it! Reading, and not sick at all. Burn it, Mel, they're our guests." "They are your guests, and you can entertain them," I retorted. "You don't like Nee?" He looked upset. I sighed. "She seems as nice as any Court lady could possibly.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| a6289e6 | So much to learn," I said with a groan. "How will I manage?" She just laughed; and the next day a new arrival brought my most formidable interview yet: with my new maid. "Her name is Mora," Nee told me, "and she's a connection of my own Ilvet. An aunt, I think. Ilvet promises she is deft and discreet. She was working for one of the northern families--low pay and too much work--but she stayed until her mistress married and adopted into a hou.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 698318a | Can you tell me," he said slowly, "why you seem still to harbor your original resentment against me?" Several images--spies, lying courtiers--flowed into my mind, to be instantly dismissed. I had no proof of any of it. So I looked out the window as I struggled for an answer. After the silence grew protracted, I glanced back to see if he was still there. He hadn't moved. His attitude was not impatient, and his gaze was on my hands, which wer.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 1e3f800 | That night I retreated for the last time to the mountain peaks behind the castle and roamed along moonlit paths in the cool end-of-winter air. In the distance I heard the harpwinds, but this time I saw no one. The harps thrummed their weird threnodies, and from peak to peak reed pipes sounded, clear as winged creatures riding on the air, until the night was filled with the songs of approaching spring, and life, and freedom. The music quiete.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 8992843 | I was still brooding over this question when I heard a polite tap outside the tapestry, and a moment later, there was the equally quiet impact of a boot heel on the new tile floor, then another. A weird feeling prickled down my spine, and I twisted around to face the Marquis of Shevraeth, who stood just inside the room. He raised his hands and said, "I am unarmed." I realized I was glaring. "I hate people creeping up behind me," I muttered... | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 68f99de | I had hoped," he said, "that you would honor me with a few moments' further discourse." "About what?" I demanded. "I came here at your brother's invitation." He spoke in a conversational tone, as though I'd been pleasant and encouraging. "My reasons for accepting were partly because I wanted an interlude of relative tranquility, and partly for diplomatic reasons." "Yes, Nimiar told me about your wanting to present a solid front with the inf.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 861fa1a | Regrets about leaving your home?" she asked. "No," I said--making my first Court white lie. Her relief was unmistakable as she sat back against the satin pillows, and I was glad I'd lied. "I hope we make it to Carad-on-Whitewater by nightfall," she said. "I really think you'll like the inn there." "Why?" I asked. She smiled. "You'll see." I made a face. "You can't tell me? I think I've already had a lifetime's worth of surprises." She laugh.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 823323f | You can never teach them, except by the slow lesson of habit. | Anthony Trollope | ||
| 62ea719 | What seemed to be the entire staff of the place turned out, all bowing and scurrying, to make our debarkation as easy as possible. As I watched this--from beneath the rain canopy that two eager young inn-helpers held over our heads--I couldn't help remember last spring's sojourn at various innyards, as either a prisoner or a fugitive, and it was hard not to laugh at the comparison. We had a splendid dinner in a private room overlooking the .. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 2e0fb33 | I'll go in the rattler with you," Bran said the next morning, to Nee. Grinning at her, he added, "Probably will rain, and I hate riding horseback in the wet. And we never get enough time together as it is." I looked out at the heavy clouds and the soft mist, thought of that close coach, and said, "I'll ride, then. I don't mind rain--" I looked up, realized who else was riding, and fought a hot tide of embarrassment. "You can go in the coach.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| f124f4f | Then I went down to the upper parlor that they seemed to have adopted. I could hear random notes from the harp, a shivery pleasant sound that plucked at old and beloved memories, just as wearing the gown did. I slipped through the door tapestry, and three faces turned toward me. And my dear brother snorted. "Mel! Where are your wits gone begging? Why d'you have to wear an old gown thirty years out-of-date when you can have anything you wan.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| b250263 | For dinner that night we found Bran and Shevraeth waiting in the parlor next to the dining room. Nee had probably prepared them, I realized. This was new for me, but it was according to the rules of etiquette; and if I looked at it as rehearsal--more of the playacting--I found it easy to walk in beside her, minding my steps so that my skirt flowed gracefully and my floor-length sleeves draped properly without twisting or tripping me up. Nee.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 5f509ec | What have you done with your day?" Nee asked, her fan spread in the attitude I recognized from our fan lesson as Harmonic Discourse. "We had a bout with the group at the garrison, had a squint at some horses brought from up-mountain. Danric answered mail, and I went over to town with Calder to look at the plans for paving the streets." This was Tlanth business. I said, "Did you talk to the elders? They want part of their taxes to go to that.. | Sherwood Smith | ||
| 746e560 | In between lessons she talked about her friends at Court: what they liked, or said, or how they entertained. Pleasant, easy talk, meant to show all her friends in the best light; she did not, I realized, like politics or gossip. She never once mentioned the Marquise of Merindar. In my turn I told her my history, bits at a time, but only if she asked. And ask she did. She listened soberly, wincing from time to time; one cold, blustery day I.. | Sherwood Smith |