Free The Lady's Man by Greg Curtis Page B

she did she did because she knew it was for the best. Therefore she had a reason for calling her and not any of the other acolytes.
     
    Unless of course she was just being awkward.
     
    Many did say that she was just that. That she enjoyed making people's lives difficult from time to time. None though would ever say that to her face. Not even Avenall Alloeshall though he had cause.
     
    As part of her duties as an acolyte Genivere was normally attached to the thirteenth rangers under Captain Ysabel, but when they were in the city her duties were often extended to other ranger patrols. So she had spoken with the fifth Hammeral rangers a few days before as she had tended to their horses and listened to the rangers “talking” about their patrol. Complaining albeit quietly was closer to the truth.
     
    First they had encountered a wild heart barbarian in the Hammeral forest, something that shouldn't have happened and which had somewhat alarmed them – as it should. The stories of such people were more than terrifying. So why the elder had brought him to their land was far from certain. Surely they should have thanked him for his service and then gone their separate ways. Then the wild heart had somehow managed to insult the captain openly. And as if that wasn't enough the patrol had then been given the difficult duty of escorting the elder and her family back to the city. A duty made more onerous by the elder's complete disregard for protocol.
     
    She'd told them off if they dared to refer to her as her standing demanded. She'd berated them when they tried to feed her before the children. And while she'd changed the patrol's mission as she'd insisted that they bring her and her family back to the city, she'd refused to explain what was so important that she had to reach Hammeral so quickly. Or what had brought her all the way from the Saravaile Forest across dangerous country in the first place. So the captain had been left with a difficult ride, unanswered questions and an unfinished patrol. Needless to say he hadn't sounded happy about it, and since the wild heart wasn't around to blame, a lot of his unhappy words had fallen on the elder.
     
    A wild heart! Just the thought sent a shiver down Genivere's spine. It disturbed her so greatly that she almost failed to smile and nod politely to Aros Anos, the leader of the satyr trade caravan that had arrived in the city. Despite the fact that she quite liked the trader.
     
    Many didn't like satyrs. They considered them too simple and not properly educated. They whispered that the horns on their heads and the hair on their legs were the marks of beasts. But she liked them. Maybe that was because she was one quarter dryad. She was used to dealing with other peoples. Either way Aros Anos was a friendly sort with a welcoming smile, and his wares were good too. He certainly had some of the freshest of the herbs she needed for her work.
     
    Genivere quickly forgot about the trader though when she reached the main ramp leading up to the southern part of the city. Her thoughts turned again to the elder and the wild heart. The rangers had said that the wild heart had saved them from slavers and had been their escort for three days. They had also said that the elder had appeared to have a fondness for the man. Who could be fond of a wild heart? They were wild, dangerous savages, who did unspeakable things – to women especially.
     
    But it was not her place to judge an elder. Least of all Annalisse Brial Lon, the most respected foreteller in all the elven realms. Especially when there were rumours floating around the city that she'd come to Hammeral specifically to warn the elders about some sort of calamity coming. That others were coming too. And most especially not when she'd specifically sent for her.
     
    At the top of the ramp Genivere turned left and headed across the platforms lining cedar row towards the scholars quarter of the city. It was there that most of the schools