She had a small, careful glass of each, watching...
She had a small, careful glass of each, watching everyone, trying to sort through the chaotic babble of all that was saidAlessan and Baerd drew briefly apart for a moment, she noticed; when they returned to the table both men looked thoughtful and somewhat grim
Then Devin and Alessan and Erlein had to go back and make their music for an hour while the others ate, and Alais, flushed and terribly excited, inwardly relived the feel of the two men's lips upon hersShe found herself smiling shyly at everyone, afraid that her face was giving away exactly what she was feeling
Afterwards they made their way upstairs behind the broad back of the innkeeper's wife to their roomsAnd later, when it was quiet on that upper level Catriana led her from the room tiffany & co necklaces they were put in, down the hall to the bedroom Devin and Alessan and Erlein shared
They were there, and a number of other men, some of the ones she'd just met, and a few who were strangersHer father entered a moment later with Sandre and BaerdShe and Catriana were the only women thereShe had a moment to feel a little strange about that, and to think about how far she was from home, before everyone fell silent as Alessan pushed a hand through his hair and began to speak
And as he did, Alais, concentrating, gradually came to understand with the others the dimensions, the truly frightening shape, of what he proposed to do
At a certain point he stopped and looked at three men one by oneAt Duke Sandre first, then at a round-faced Certandan named Sertino fake louis vuitton handbags sitting with Ducas, and finally, almost challengingly, at Erlein di Senzio
The three of them were wizards, she understoodIt was a hard thing to come to terms withThe exiled Duke of AstibarTheir neighbor in the distrada all her life
The man called Erlein was sitting on his bed, his back against the wall, hands crossed over his breastHe was breathing hard
"It is clear to me now that you have lost your mind," he said"You have lived in your dreams so long you've lost sight of the worldAnd now you are going to kill people in your madness
Alais saw Devin open his mouth and then snap it shut without speaking
"All of this is possible," Alessan said, with an unexpected mildness"It is possible I am pursuing a path of madness, though I think notBut yes, there balenciaga bag buy are likely to be a great many people killedWe always knew that; the real madness would have been in pretending otherwiseFor the moment though, compose your spirit and ease your soulYou know as well as I do, nothing is happening
"Nothing? What do you mean?" It was her father
Alessan's expression was wry, almost bitter"Haven't you noticed? You were in the harbor, you walked through the townHave you seen any Barbadian troops? Any Ygrathens, soldiers from the west? Nothing is happeningAlberico of Barbadior has his entire army massed on the border, and the man refuses to order them north!"
"He is afraid," said Sandre flatly in the silence that followed"He's afraid of Brandin
"Perhaps," her father said thoughtfully"Or else he is just cautious
"What fendi big bags do we do then?" asked the red-bearded Tregean named Ducas
Alessan shook his headI honestly don't knowThis is one thing I never expectedYou tell me," he said"How do we make him cross the border? How do we bring him to war?" He looked at Ducas and then at each of the others in the room
They would think he was a cowardOnly a fool went lightly into warEspecially a war such as this, that risked everything for a gain he hardly cared aboutSenzio? The Palm? What did they matter? Should he throw twenty years away for them?
Every time a messenger arrived from back in Astibar something in him leaped with hopeIf the Emperor had died
If the Emperor had died he and his men were goneAway from this blighted peninsula, home to claim an Emperor's Tiara in gucci ladies watch Barbadior