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The rough wooden gate at the end of the alley had only a liftlatch, and the narrow street beyond, lined with simple stone houses with more thatched roofs than otherwise, was ea The only adult in sight was a eons on a roof opposite, his head and shoulders up through a trapdoor Neither he nor the boys ate and started along the winding street as if they had every right to be there

They had walked a good fivethe dusty road before Tho what looked like a Tinker’s wagon, save that it was all one color, a drab green, with the paint flaked off in large patches Nynaeve was grateful to stuff her bundles under the driver’s seat and cli Skulker "I told you not to go back to the inn," she told hi if he looked at Thoo back," he said, unaware that he had saved himself a sore head "I told the head stableman that my Lady wanted berries fresh froo fetch them It’s the sort of nonsense that soave him a cool, expressionless look froot that she really was of royalty

"We had to have some reason to leave the inn and the stables," Tho up the horses "I suppose you two said you were taking to your rooroo anted to wander about in the heat instead of staying in a nice cool hayloft with no work to do, andabout, now"

Elayne gave Tho spells" -- that he pretended not to see Or perhaps did not Men could be blind when it suited them Nynaeve sniffed loudly; he could not miss that He certainly cracked his whip over the lead horses sharply enough right after It was all just an excuse so they could take turns riding That was another thing men did; made excuses to do exactly what they wanted At least Elayne was frowning at hi else I learned last night," Tho to unite the nations against Rand"

"Not that I don’t believe it, Thom," Nynaeve said, "but how could you learn that? I cannot think so the saon in Tear A false Dragon, and never , or Callandor This fellow is dangerous, and the nations ought to unite, the way they did in the Aiel War And who better to lead theon than Pedron Niall? When so her up, and in A Niall first"

The old gleeether ruht answers far leeht claiue like that in his stories at close hand Perhaps even dabbled in it hiase’s lover She eyed him sideways, that leathery face with bushy white eyebrows, those long mustaches as snowy as the hair on his head There was no accounting for some women’s taste

"It isn’t as if we should not have expected so like this" She never had But she should have

"Mother will support Rand," Elayne said "I know she will She knows the Prophecies And she has as ht shake of Thoase ruled a wealthy nation, but there were Whitecloaks in every land and fro to have to start paying more attention to Thom Perhaps he really did know as much as he pretended "So now you think we should have let Galad escort us to Caeive her a fir, there is no way to be sure that that would be his decision And for another" She straightened, obscuring herself behind theherself "For another, if Mother really has turned against the Tower, I want to do allShe is quite capable of holding us both in the palace for our own good She ainst her until I a woase would teach you ave hi over her shoulders was no good for gripping -- but the old fool only grinned at her

The sun stood high by the tierie, still ca by the road In the still heat, even the oaks looked a bit wilted Except for the horses and the great gray boarhorses, the anies and the huons that looked not much different from theirs Nynaeve and the others had all climbed down before Valan Luca appeared, still in that ridiculous red silk cape

There were no flowery speeches this tinized Thoon behind them He bent to peer into the deep bonnets, and his smile was not pleasant "So, come down in the world, have we, my Lady Morelin? Or maybe ere never up at all Stole a coach and some clothes, did you? Well, I would hate to see such a pretty forehead branded That is what they do here, in case you don’t know, if they do not do worse So since it see? -- I would suggest you hurry on as fast as you can If you want your bloody penny back, it’s somewhere up the road I threw it after you, and it can lie there till Tarmon Gai’don for all I care"

"You wanted a patron," Nynaeve said as he was turning away "We can be your patrons"

"You?" he sneered But he stopped "Even if a few coins stolen from some lord’s purse would help, I will not accept stolen --"

"We will pay your expenses, Master Luca," Elayne broke in with that coolly arrogant tone of hers, "and one hundred gold marks besides, if we can travel with you to Ghealdan, and if you agree not to stop until you reach the border" Luca stared at her, running