บททั้งหมดของ Blue Thread, Silver Scales: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

Ailis“Forward command,” he said.My needle remained in the blue wool.“That is useful.”Beren looked at me.“It explains why we stopped waiting quietly.”“We were not waiting quietly.”“That is why I said it would have been useful.”He smiled.I looked back at the mantle.Forward command did not necessarily mean General Aodren. It only meant the group of soldiers whose command he had reportedly been traveling with. Which was not the same thing.Probably. I set another stitch. Mounted soldiers appeared around the bend. I did not look up immediately. The border required even spacing.Another stitch.Then another.Someone near the wagons said Aodren.I looked.Smoke-gray hair moved between two riders. I knew him before I saw his face. His hair was braided today. It began close at the nape and ran in one long braid down his back, then had been doubled once and bound against his riding coat so the loose length could not fall across the wing roots of the averren beneath him.So that was w

AilisThe southern turn appeared the next morning. I recognized it at once. Roads were not generally things one recognized. It climbed away from ours between two wooded slopes, narrower than the road the wagons followed and already marked by hoofprints in the damp earth.Beren pointed.“There.”“I can see it.”“Forward command.”“I know.”He looked at me.I looked at him.Then at the road.There was nobody on it. Which was reasonable. Forward command had apparently gone forward.I adjusted my bag and kept walking. After a little while, the trees hid the southern road completely. I did not look back after that. There was nothing left to look at.By late afternoon, the wagons had begun coming apart. Not physically. I had seen enough wagon problems to know the distinction mattered. The column had stopped in a broad yard crowded with carts, people, bundles and clerks carrying writing boards.Wagons that had traveled together since Sael were being turned in different directions. Names were

Ailis“What now?”Corren spoke to her.She answered.He turned to me.“She has a room.”I forgot about the three coins.“A room?”“Yes.”“Here?”“Above.”I looked at the ceiling.This seemed unnecessary but unavoidable.“How much?”“Go look at it first.”“That sounds dangerous.”“To whom?”“My money.”Corren began climbing the stairs.I followed.The room was small. Not insultingly small. I did not think rooms could be insulting unless someone deliberately designed them that way. But small. There was a bed against one wall, a little table beneath the window, a stool, a washbasin and a shelf. A small clay oil lamp sat on the table, blackened around the lip. One peg stood beside the door.One.I owned one bag. At last, architecture had been designed precisely for my circumstances. I hung the bag on it. The peg held.Excellent.Maela said something behind me.Corren translated.“She says the basin is included.”“She says the wash yard is behind the kitchen.”I glanced through the window.

AilisThe bowl was empty when Maela returned. She took it. A plain work apron followed. Maela pointed at my dress. I tied it on. Then handed me a cloth. I took the cloth.She pointed to a table. The table looked clean. I looked at Maela. She pointed again. Apparently it was not. I wiped it. She watched. I wiped the other half. She nodded and walked away. I looked down. There had been a sticky patch near the edge. I had missed it. I wiped that too. Perhaps the table had deserved criticism. The room filled gradually after that. Not all at once. That would have been easier to understand. One man came in and sat near the door. A woman took the table beside the wall. Two more arrived while Maela was speaking to a long-eared man leaning through the kitchen opening. Then three people entered together and moved chairs without asking anyone, which immediately made the room look as though I had misunderstood its arrangement. The woman I had seen car

AilisCorren arrived while I was cleaning the table nearest the door. I saw the writing board. Then him. He saw me. I put down the cloth. “What record?” “Good afternoon.” “That is not a record.” “I am aware.” “You said you were checking the placement.” “I am.” He looked around. “You appear placed.” “That took very little time.” “I am efficient.” “You are hungry.” Corren looked toward the kitchen. “That is unrelated.” Maela saw him. A bowl appeared several moments later. I stared. Corren sat. “Administrative work is hungry,” he said. “I knew it.” He picked up his spoon. I went beneath the counter and brought out my bag. Corren stopped eating. “What are you doing?” I opened the flap.“Evidence.” “That word worries me.”I untied the little cloth.Nine coins. I put four on the table. Corren looked at them. Then at me. “What did Maela say to the man with the green coat?” “What man?” “The one whose coat I repaired.” “I only just came in.” “Then ask her.”