Page 11 (1/1)

With Parahan and Evvy properly attended to, she picked at her own roast goose Her appetite had shrunk since their arrival at the Winter Palace So s here had a deadly result for the servants, not the guests She couldn’t even go for a walk in the gardens Seeing the gardens would have soothed her, but the servants were supposed to keep her fro so until she, Briar, and Evvy had been officially presented to Emperor Weishu How many ceremonies would they have to endure before she could see the eardens? His lily ponds alone were renowned as far west as Eic Not only was she chattering away but she was eating her vegetables Briar caught Rosethorn’s eye and winked, ht She hadn’t thought how much she would come to depend on Briar’s support when they had set out on this very long journey He had taken cole for her to breathe Rosethorn had tried to thank him for it once He had only kissed her on the forehead and told her not to be silly It rateful and weak, and she hated to feel weak Only the knowledge that he was her boy, and they had passed beyond ed to who herself and hiain, but this place, with its crushing weight of i to seem an unlikely place for her to heal

Briar reached over with his eating sticks and plucked a slice of roast goose froled behind their hands Rosethorn frowned at him "It’s bad manners to leave this wonderfully cooked food on the plate, and you’re toying with it," Briar retorted, his ain

This tian to eat "And don’t you give yourself airs," she warned when she had finished

"I wouldn’t think of it," Briar assured her "I want to live to get ho anxious Parahan rose to his feet in a single athletic hed aloud and stopped herself in tiirl to moon over a handsome man, she told herself She was just envious because the days when she did not have to first get to her knees, then straighten first one leg, then the other, in order to stand, were long over Yes, that was it

"These pretty ladies are telling us that they will get into trouble if they do not have you dressed and to the palanquins soon As will I," Parahan said Of course he was totally unaware of Rosethorn’s interesting thoughts

"Then let us get clothed," Rosethorn said, rising to her feet as gracefully as she could Once she was on them, she could not resist She stopped, and smiled at Briar and Evvy "Of course, I still only have to wear a shift and a single robe"

Ignoring Evvy’s wails, she walked into the airy, luxurious roo The Hall of Is was a work of art in itself The chainedwere lacquered bright yellow Ornately carved ebony benches were placed along one side of the corridor so nobles could sit, chatter, and be waited on and fanned by serving woo by, their faces emotionless

They reached the s in the Yanjingyi style attracted adardens, and roups of vieho discussed them with soft voices On the other side of the broad corridor, placed under s cut high in the wall, hung large gold cages Their purpose was made clear by their size and the ceramic chamber pot on the bottom There was no screen for privacy, no blanket for wariven food and water, the evidence was cleared away The e a little in the thin breezes from the s and hallway

"That one isto the last one in the line "Usually the guides tell guests I a the Real for me to do, or if he wishes to point enerals"

Evvy looked at the cage, then at Parahan, with horror "That’s all the room you have?"

Parahan twined and untwined the chains around his wrists "It’s better than some of the other places he stows his captives He put e round opening framed in teak Beyond it stood a partial wall that was covered in rough gold silk and eed lions A eunuch, his face painted white, his long black hair left to stream down his back, waited there for them His eyes had been lined all around with black paint He was gloriously robed in bright turquoise blue, red, and palest yellow

Parahan bowed to the eunuch "Master of Presentations, I bring you these uests of the imperial lord of us all" Carefully he introduced each of the with Rosethorn He then introduced the eunuch as the Master of Presentations to the e the imperial eunuchs When he was done, Parahan told theain Don’t worry The Master of Presentations will look after you well" He grinned cheerfully at all of the

Evvy wanted to whi a particularly warh, not here, not in front of this proud-looking old ether