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"Roedran is no fool," he said placidly "All he wants us to do is sit and wait, a foreign ar what it is up to He should not have ainst us Then, so he says, we quietly slip across the border He thinks he can hold on to the her voice "And what is to stop hiht, his dreaht, too" The fool man seemed amused!
"I a This lot would never have stirred from their manors if the Andorans had not coan Before then, Mat will find us If he is co north, he must hear of us Roedran will have to be satisfied hatever he has o to Tar Valon, I wene made a vexed sound It was a reht devise, and hardly a scheht Roedran Almaric do Arreloa a’Naloy could carry off The felloas said to be so dissolute he made Mat look wholesome But then, it was hardly a scheme she would have believed Roedran could think up The only certainty was that Talmanes had made up his mind
"I want your word, Talmanes, that you won’t let Roedran pull you into a war" Responsibility The narrow stole around her neck seeh ten times more than her cloak "If he moves sooner than you think, you will leave whether or not Mat has joined you"
"I wish I could promise, but it is not possible," he protested "I expect the first raid againstaway fro and fariveabout defending yourself, and you know it," she said firreement with Roedran" The only way to stop it was to betray it, but she would not leave a war in her wake, a war she had started by bringing Tal at her as if for the first tiely, that seemed more formal than his bow had "It will be as you say, Mother Tell me, are you sure you are not ta’veren, too?"
"I ah for anyone" She touched his arht shine on you, Talmanes" His smile nearly touched his eyes this time
Inevitably, despite their whispers, their talk had been noticed Maybe because of their whispers The girl who claiainst the White Tower, in conversation with the leader of ten thousand Dragonsworn Had she made Talmanes’ scheme with Roedran harder, or easier? Was war in Murandy less likely, or more? Siuan and her bloody Law of Unintended Consequences! Fifty gazes followed her, then darted away, as she ers on her cup Well, eless Aes Sedai serenity, but Lelaine le in the shallohile Roh iron
Trying to keep a watch on the sun outside, she h the pavilion The nobles were still i Sitters, but theybetter answers, and she began to notice ss Donel paused on his way froed hi away froht bow in return There were others, always a Murandian deferring to an Andoran who responded just as fornore Bryne except for the odd scowl, but any nuht him out, one by one and well away from everyone else, and from the directions their eyes went, it was plain they were discussing Pelivar, or Arathelle, or Aeht
She received bows and curtsies, too, though none so deep as those given Arathelle and Pelivar and Aemlyn, much less the Sitters Half a dozen women told her how thankful they were that h in truth, aled uneasily when she expressed the sah they were uncertain it all would end peacefully Her assurances that it would were ned "If the Light wills" Four called her Mother, one without hesitating first Three others said that she was quite lovely, that she had beautiful eyes, and that she had a graceful carriage, in that order; suitable coe but not her station
At least she found one unalloyed pleasure Segan was not alone in being intrigued by her announce the novice book Plainly that hy most of the women spoke to her in the first place After all, the other sisters ainst the Tower, but she clai to overcoh no one wanted to let it show Arathelle made the inquiry with a frown that puthead at the answer Blocky Cian asked, followed by a sharpfaced Andoran lady naeyed Murandian called Jennet, and others None wanted to know for herself -- several er wole noblewoman there had asked, and several servants as well, under cover of offering more spiced wine One, a owene felt quite pleased with the seed she had planted there She was not so pleased with the men A few spoke to her, but only when they came facetoface and seemed to have no other choice Athe end of the drought or deploring the sudden snows, a muttered hope that the bandit problenificant look toward Tals A bear of an Andoran by the name of Macharan tripped over his own boots to avoid her In a way, it was hardly surprising The women had the justification, if only to theht that being seen conversing with her ht tar the She did not care what the ht about novices, but she very much wanted to know if they were as fearful as the women that this would come to blows in the end Fears like that could fulfill themselves very easily At last, she decided there was