скачать книгу бесплатно
«Where’s that?»
«I’ll show you out. Don’t forget to bring your lute.»
«Are there any other guests there besides me?»
«What difference does it make to you whether to play for one princess or an audience?»
«Don’t sulk! Let’s be friends!»
«We’re already friends!» Rebecca responded indifferently.
And you call that friendship?! What, then, was her enmity and hatred? Brendan was even frightened.
Rebecca acted like a stern nun, but she was dressed even vulgarly. The morning dress had been replaced by a provocative evening gown with a plunging neckline and train. The dress was so bright pink it made her eyes water. Brendan never saw whether Rebecca was holding the candelabra in her hand or whether it was flying ahead of her through the enfilade of the hall.
In the evening, the castle was lit by countless candles in chandeliers and sconces. Who lights them all when there are no servants around? There was something like a low whisper from the flames:
«It is danger!»
Did he hear the warning or was he imagining it? It wasn’t Rebecca who was dangerous! Brendan even glanced around, wondering if some monster was following them down the corridor, but it was quiet and comfortable and unoccupied. Only the candles flickered like the Milky Way.
The feast-room was as opulent as could be. She could have held a whole army, but the princess sat proudly alone at the head of the long table. The usual opaque veil covered her face.
«Take your seat anywhere you like!» She politely offered.
It seemed to Brendan that the velvet covered chairs were occupied. But they were all empty. He thought for a moment and decided to sit at the farthest end of the table. He put the lute beside him and was greatly surprised when the strings jerked. The music began to flow. Didn’t he even have to work? It all worked itself out.
Rebecca walked noiselessly away. Why can’t she stay for dinner? Or does she have some urgent business to attend to? Is it at bedtime? Brendan’s mind was once again filled with thoughts of the werewolf with whom the beautiful girl goes on dates.
«Here you are.» The princess suggested it. She hadn’t touched anything herself. Or had she already eaten?
Contrary to Brendan’s expectations, there were only meat dishes on the table, and not much fruit – only one small vase. And they grow in abundance in the garden. Why save them so much? Grapes, of course, can also be used to make wine. But pears, peaches, plums, if they’re too ripe, they’ll just rot. Maybe they’re used to make juices here.
A mouse sniffed across the table. Brendan shuddered, and suddenly claws peeked out from under the lady’s wide sleeve and clawed at the mouse quite catlike. Was he dreaming? Brendan even pinched himself. Couldn’t a finely dressed lady have slipped a mouse under her veil and eaten it, could she? That’s absurd! The veil was opaque, but there seemed to be blood flowing from underneath. Or was it wine?
«Would you care to show your face?» He asked.
«Why should I?» The princess had a beautiful voice. A pure soprano!
«Well, it would be much more comfortable to eat and drink without the veil.»
«I am comfortable as it is.»
There was an awkward pause. Brendan himself fidgeted in his chair like a frying pan. He felt uncomfortable here for some reason.
«I’ve heard of hot eastern countries where women aren’t supposed to reveal their faces. Your ancestors are probably from such a country.»
«No, I’m from here. I am from this castle.»
«Is it a cat’s castle?»
«Do you say a cat’s castle?» She was astonished.
«Are there many cats here? I haven’t noticed any.»
«There aren’t even many mice.»
«Are they considered a delicacy?» Brendan bit his tongue as the awkward pause lingered again.
«It’s a wilderness,» the princess finally said. «But we’re in the castle, the center of civilization. So you’re lucky not to spend the night in the fields.»
«Does anyone live in the fields? You can’t see the settlements from the tower.»
«They’re camouflaged.»
«Why is that?»
«There are raids from the mountains. Wild tribes live there.»
«And the castle can withstand the onslaughts?»
«We have a treaty with the savages. They don’t come here.»
«I haven’t embarrassed you too much. I have noticed that the castle is not very fond of receiving guests,» was a subtle hint of Rebecca’s unkindness.
«I am glad to have guests,» the princess protested.
«So why don’t you show your face?»
«Why is it so important to you? Do you think you can judge a lady by her beauty alone?»
«I prefer intelligence,» Brendan admitted honestly. «I’ve already met empty-headed beauties.»
«Good! So it doesn’t matter what I look like to you.»
«You’re not pretty, are you? Or is your face covered with a rash? Or is it smallpox?»
«Are you a healer, too?»
«It is not at all.»
«Then don’t ask.»
«Forgive me for not being delicate.»
Her tone overwhelmed him, so playful and yet so commanding. She was about to put him on a leash like a tame cat.
«You’re good-looking,» the princess remarked playfully. «Handsome fellows usually prefer the ugly ones. Opposites, as we all know, mutually attract.»
«Honesty is for honesty! I liked your companion Rebecca, though she was not amiable.»
«Yes, she can’t give hospitality.»
«But at least she set the table.»
«That’s not her.»
«Who is it?»
«They are the servants.»
«But I haven’t seen any servants here.»
«You don’t have to.»
«Are they all covering their faces, too?»
Have they got some kind of epidemic here? It’s time to run away! But Rebecca doesn’t seem to have leprosy.
«It’s embarrassing that I still don’t even know your name.»
«I am Rashelina,» said the princess.
«Are you Rashelina?» Brendan almost fell out of his chair. The same name as the fairytale beauty in his dream! Could he be so lucky to see her in real life, too? His heart fluttered. He was so in love with the girl from the dream that it was time to call him insane and put him on a chain. Barely had the chance to look at her again, he himself was ready to violate etiquette and violently rip the veil from the mistress of the castle.
«I’ll play you on the condition that you show me your face,» he delivered his ultimatum, as if he were the castle’s invader, not a beggar.
«But tonight is not a moonlit night.»
– What has a moonlit night to do with it?
That’s absurd! What does a moonlit night have to do with her veil?
«I usually only take my veil off on a moonlit night.»
«Why do you say that?»
Rashelina hesitated.
«Daylight, like candlelight, is not friendly to me.»
That sounds like a riddle. Brendan didn’t like riddles because he didn’t know how to solve them.
«I thought you’d taken some stupid vow, like a vow of silence or a vow of celibacy.»
But is there any vow that requires one to cover one’s face with a veil?
The lute played itself. Brendan was taken aback by the sight of the strings, as if they were being plucked by invisible fingers.
– I want to dance,» said Rachelina, fretting. – And there is no one to dance with but you.
«Take off your veil and I’ll dance with you!»
«It is very well!» Rashelina gave in and threw back the sliding piece of opaque silk from her face. Brendan was stunned.
Well, there you have it! Such a face was worth seeing. Or was it better not to see it?
And he brought up the subject of beauty. Rashelina was the prettiest she had ever been. But she was a cat! Who could have a cuter face than a pretty, fluffy cat? Except that he had expected to see the girl from his dream, not a human-sized cat dressed in a lavish ball gown.
«Would you prefer an ordinary lady?? Rashelina guessed.
«It is not at all,» Brendan mumbled. «I love cats!»
He would not have insulted the lady of the castle by dreaming that he had seen in her place the beauty of the dream. She was also called Rachelina. Alas, he was faced with a very different Rashelina. Perhaps the first was just a dream spirit, a moon fairy or something like that. Anyway, one could only meet her again in a dream. And now it is not a dream. Rashelina, impatiently waiting for him in reality, is just a regal cat. There is nowhere to go. He led her in a dance.
Invisible guests
The cat’s paw lay on top of his palm very gently, trying not to run her claws over his skin. And lace cuffs froth over the cat’s paw. Brendan had never before in his life seen precious rings even on the paws of a well-groomed Bastard. But the feline princess was wearing many rings: rubies, sapphires, and topazes. The cat’s kingdom is obviously very rich.
Stop! Why did he think it was a cat’s kingdom? After all, Rebecca is not a cat. And he hadn’t noticed any other feline subjects here yet, either. The creepy monsters in the fields were definitely not of feline stock. Which meant the cat was only a princess. Was her pretty, fluffy face a mask? Brendan dismissed the notion at once. The cat lady in front of him was definitely a natural, not a masquerade. Even the tone of her voice reverberated with a purr or a rumbling.
After the dance, the floor was covered in scratches. Apparently, the claws on the princess’s feet had left marks on the parquet.
«You weren’t as surprised as my other guests,» said Rachelina. «Have you seen anyone like me before?»
«I’ve seen a lot of things in my life,» Brendan brushed them aside.
«You’re too young to be a seasoned traveler. You’ve been a vagabond since you were a boy, haven’t you?»
Well, the cat princess had caught him in a lie. What should he do now? He could not tell her that he had only seen the world through Ephigenia’s crystal ball, but that he had been locked up in his uncle’s castle.
«To be honest, I adore cats,» Brendan twisted. «And your feline beauty is beyond all praise.»
«You are flatterer!» Of course, she didn’t blush like a human, but she looked embarrassed.
«I’m not a ladies’ man,» Brendan hastened to object. «I’ve never been a ladies’ man, but cats, in my opinion, are the loveliest creatures on earth. And you are the most extraordinary and delightful cat I have ever met.»
What other words to describe that he was struck by the sight of a cat in a gorgeous lady’s dress and with a tiara between its pointy ears.
«Was that a compliment?» Rashelina guessed.
«It is indeed!»
The cat princess looked strangely at the empty rows of chairs at the banquet table, as if she were waiting for approval from someone. But from whom is it? After all, there were no guests at the table. At least, there were none in sight. Brendan felt sick at the thought that there might be ghosts in the hall. One goblet suddenly tumbled and rolled between the dishes, as if someone had pushed it. And it wasn’t a mouse at all!
«Nearly all the mice in the place must have been captured,» Brendan suggested, just to say something.
«You’re right! There used to be lots of them, but now there are hardly any left. You can never have too many mice.»
