Free Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) by Marilyn Haddrill Page B

discussed the matter of her heritage and mental state.
    Mother and
son stood, their glares the only evidence of sparring that had now grown
silent.
    "Very
well, I will hold my tongue," Redolo said at last. "I need
refreshment. And to get away from this snake stench. Zartos! Come with me!"
    Redolo
grasped the boy's arm, half-dragging him away from the snake's corpse that so morbidly
absorbed him. They started down the trail toward the courtyard.
    But Zartos
pulled free momentarily, to face Adalginza with a deeply somber expression. He
raised his hand briefly, in a formal salute.
    "Thank
you for saving our lives."
    "The
boy has better manners than any of us," Redolo said brusquely. "Please
be assured he has expressed my sentiments as well."
    Then she again
grabbed his arm, and pulled him after her.
    Adalginza
was left standing, alone, facing Kalos. An awkward silence ensued for a few
moments before he finally spoke.
    "You
have won yourself two allies today," he said.
    "Only
two?"
    "I saw
along the trail that someone left bait and then cut the safety screen, to allow
the snake to enter. Was it you?"
    "Why
would I do such a thing?"
    "To become
the hero. To win my good opinion. How else would you know the snake was there?"
    How indeed?
    "I have
very good hearing," Adalginza replied.
    "As do
I. And I heard nothing."
    "Your
theory is ridiculous. It would be insane to put myself — and my guests — in
such danger."
    "And
yet insanity is a curse of your bloodline."
     At least
this explained why he had so cruelly brought up the subject of madness in his previous
argument with his mother.
    Kalos apparently
was convinced it was she, not Bruna, who had done something as unbalanced as
allowing a snake to invade the premises.
    At the
thought of it, Adalginza suddenly, inexplicitly felt like slapping the captain.
But she reminded herself that his insult was meant for the woman who was
thought to be Lady Donzala's daughter. Not her.
    So she
forced herself to answer thoughtfully and with great dignity.
    "And so
here we are. Your mother believes I am part savage, and you believe I inherited my mother's madness — that I, in fact, deliberately put us all in harm's
way. I imagine, Captain Kalos, that you and your mother have won few friends on
the Prime Continent considering the way you speak so bluntly to
strangers."
    "You
would imagine correctly." Kalos gave her a wry smile. "Even our own
kin sometimes have little to do with us."
    She
shrugged, feigning indifference.
    "I know
not what else to say to you. You have obviously researched the particular form
of madness attributed to my mother. So you must know this affliction quite
often is passed from mothers to daughters, though not to sons. I cannot deny
this fact."
    Adalginza then
pushed beside him, to kneel beside the snake.
    "Perhaps
you could help me drag this one's carcass outside the enclosure, into the
street. The free savages will find and skin it. They will also make use of the
remains. The meat will find its way into many cooking pots. Even the bones will
be shaped into tools and ornaments."
    "Why
should we exert ourselves on behalf of the very savages who plot to murder us?"
    "Because
we must dispose of the snake or it will rot on my property. If we leave it on
the street, the savages will do the work for us."
    As they
struggled together to drag their burden down the trail, Adalginza paused to unbolt
and swing open the outside side gate leading to the town street.
    She paused
to catch her breath, and glared at the captain.
    "Instead
of indulging in gossip and speculation about me, I would advise you and Lady
Redolo to investigate more of the facts you claim you are so fond of."
    Kalos rested
one hand on the gate as he regarded her.
    "And
what facts might those be?"
    "For
one thing, there are no indigo eyes through my mother's direct lineage. The
indigo eyes are inherited through my father's bloodline alone. So, you see, my father
could not possibly be a savage. You and your mother