[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

breeches to be brought for those who didn't arrange for their own. Ladies, if you'll
retire to the next room to change, we'll sip tea while we wait for you."
Tomia looked suddenly delighted, Kaylea frowned as she stared at Elissia - and
Elissia's mother, Liminia, shocked and startled Elissia by rising to her feet. Never
in a million years would Elissia have expected her mother to even consider wearing
breeches, not when "delicate" usually required the proper setting. Distantly Elissia
noticed that her father looked as shocked as she felt, and then her mother spoke.
"I do hope that one of those outfits will suit me properly," she said, apparently
speaking to the world at large. "I would certainly dislike looking less & appealing
than the other ladies. Come, girls, and we'll see how well these servants have
chosen."
Tomia rose at once, carefully making no attempt to look at her husband, and even
file:///C|/Downloads/GREEN%20Sharon%20-%20Queen%20Brat/brat19.html (6 of 13)05/10/2005 21:01:22
Queen Brat by Sharon Green
Kaylea got slowly to her feet. Elissia noticed that the servants weren't upset by
having three women to tend rather than just two, which reminded her of her choice
of words when she'd sent for more outfits. She'd asked the servant to arrange for
breeches and tunics and short boots for those ladies still in gowns, and hadn't
specified a number. Luckily&
As the three women headed for one of the retiring rooms adjacent to the dining
room, Elissia saw the way Vandrin glared in her direction. He'd made no attempt to
keep Tomia from going with the others, but not because he liked the idea of seeing
his wife in breeches. He'd obviously realized that Elissia had spoken as the High
Queen, and on a subject that the High King had already supported her about.
Vandrin had probably had second thoughts about facing Derand in any way at all,
and had wisely decided not to make an already bad situation worse.
It didn't take very long before the three women emerged from the retiring room
wearing their new outfits. Derand's mother Rildin began to applaud, and a moment
later she was joined by her husband, the three women seated near Elissia, and a
number of the men. Tomia laughed gently at the applause, Kaylea actually smiled,
and Elissia's mother wore a look of & delighted revelation, was as close as Elissia
could come to interpreting the expression. A good guess would be that Queen
Liminia had expected to hate the new clothing, but instead had discovered a
wonderful facet of life that she'd previously known nothing about.
All three women were slender enough to look attractive in the clothing, and Tomia
all but strolled back to her seat at the table. As she walked past her husband she let
her gaze & slide across his, and Vandrin ended up the next thing to wide-eyed.
Their marriage had probably been a political arrangement, and the very handsome
Vandrin must have resented having a plain and mousy wife. Now it seemed that the
mouse was turning into a cat, and possibly even into a kitten. Tomia's gown had
hidden her womanly curves, but the breeches didn't do the same.
Monil watched Kaylea reclaim her seat beside him, and the stern, humorless man
was actually smiling. Elissia saw Monil take his wife's hand and raise it to his lips,
and Kaylea's smile now looked more & enthusiastic, as if she really meant it. She
looked incredibly good in the breeches, but the only man she paid any attention to
was her husband.
Elissia saw her father Ostrin rise from his seat to "help" his wife back to her own
chair, the most ridiculous look of concern on his face. From his expression you'd
think that his wife had just done something really dangerous, and he couldn't keep
himself from making sure that she was all right. Annoyance flared in Elissia over
that ridiculous reaction, and oddly enough she wasn't the only one to feel that way.
file:///C|/Downloads/GREEN%20Sharon%20-%20Queen%20Brat/brat19.html (7 of 13)05/10/2005 21:01:22
Queen Brat by Sharon Green
Her mother also seemed to be briefly annoyed, and she sat down without accepting
the "help" that was being offered. Gardal, Elissia's brother, sat not far away and
seemed to be fighting to keep from laughing.
A good deal of chattering and commenting went on around the table, and Derand
let it continue for a moment or two before he stood up.
"Our fighters are waiting to show us just how good they are, so let's not make them
wait any longer," he said with a smile as he looked around. "And remember, we
don't have to do nothing but watch. If we like we can join in, so let's go out and
command the games to begin."
Everyone seemed more than ready to go along with that suggestion, and the table
was quickly abandoned as servants appeared to lead the way with bows of respect.
Elissia saw that Derand seemed to be waiting for her, and when she walked up to
him he took her hand.
"That last idea of yours was inspired," he murmured as he urged her toward the
door everyone was using. "Instead of having factions, disagreements, and
unhappiness, we now have a happier, more unified group. I'll admit I never
expected Vandrin to give up his stance so easily, but Tomia does look like a
different woman now. And speaking of different women& "
Elissia smiled wryly when his words simply petered out, knowing exactly what he
wasn't saying.
"If anyone had asked me, I would have said the world would end before my mother
gave up her filmy gowns," Elissia said with a shake of her head. "Talk about not
expecting something& But it's really odd. My father tried to treat her like a martyr,
and I don't understand why she didn't let him do it." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]