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nightgowns and said, You will be more comfortable in this, I think. I wish we
could carry you to my bed, but I don t think you should be moved yet. Kindra,
help me to lift her. With a pillow and a couple of clean sheets she set about
making the woman comfortable on the straw pallet.
The stranger made a faint sound of protest as they began to undress her, but
was too weak to protest effectively. Kindra stared in shock as the undertunic
came off. She would never have believed that any woman over fourteen could
successfully pose as a man among men; yet this woman had done it, and now
she saw how. The revealed form was flat, spare, breastless; the shoulders had
the hardened musculature of any swordsman. There was more hair on the
arms that most women would have tolerated without removing it somehow,
with bleach or wax. Annelys stared in amazement, and the woman, seeing
that shocked look, hid her face in the pillow. Kindra said sharply, There is no
need to stare. She is emmasca, that is all; haven t you ever seen one before?
The neutering operation was illegal all over Darkover, and dangerous; and in
this woman it must have been done before, or shortly after puberty. She was
filled with questions, but courtesy forbade any of them.
But but Annelys whispered. Was she born so or made so? It is
unlawful who would dare
Made so, the girl said, her face still hidden in the pillow. Had I been born
so, I would have had nothing to fear& and I chose this so that I might have
nothing more to fear!
She tightened her mouth as they lifted and turned her; Annelys gasped aloud
at the shocking scars, like the marks of whips, across the woman s back; but
she said nothing, only pulled the merciful concealment of her own nightgown
over the frightful revelation of those scars. Gently, she washed the woman s
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face and hands with soapy water. The ginger-pale hair was dark with sweat,
but at the roots Kindra saw something else; the hair was beginning to grow in
fire-red there.
Comyn. The telepath caste, red-haired& this woman was a noblewoman, born
to rule in the Domains of Darkover!
In the name of all the Gods, Kindra wondered, who can she be, what has come
to her? How came she here in this disguise, even her hair bleached so none
can guess at her lineage? And who has mishandled her so? She must have
been beaten like an animal&
And then, shocked, she heard the words forming in her mind, not knowing
how.
Scarface, said the voice in her mind. But now I am avenged. Even if it means
my death&
She was frightened; never had she so clearly perceived; her rudimentary
telepath gift had always, before, been a matter of quick intuition, hunch,
lucky guess. She whispered aloud, in horror and dismay, By the Goddess!
Child, who are you?
The pale face contorted in a grimace which Kindra recognized, in dismay, was
intended for a smile. I am no one, she said. I had thought myself the
daughter of Alaric Lindir. Have you heard the tale?
Alaric Lindir. The Lindir family were a proud and wealthy family, distantly
akin to the Aillard family of the Comyn. Too highly born, in fact, for Kindra to
claim acquaintance with any of that kin; they were of the ancient blood of the
Hastur-kin.
Yes, they are a proud people, whispered the woman. My mother s name
was Kyria, and she was a younger sister to Dom Lewis Ardais not the Ardais
Lord, but his younger brother. But still, she was high-born enough that when
she proved to be with child by one of the Hastur lords of Thendara, she was
hurried away and married in haste to Alaric Lindir. And my father he that I
had always believed my father he was proud of his red-haired daughter; all
during my childhood I heard how proud he was of me, for I would marry into
Comyn, or go to one of the Towers and become a great and powerful sorceress
or Keeper. And then then came Scarface and his crew, and they sacked the
castle, and carried away some of the women, just as an afterthought, and by
the time Scarface discovered who he had as his latest captive well, the
damage was done, but still he sent to my father for ransom. And my father,
that selfsame Dom Alaric who had not enough proud words for his red-haired
beauty who should further his ambition by a proud marriage into the Comyn,
my father She choked, then spat the words out. He sent word that if
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Scarface could guarantee me untouched then he would ransom me at a
great price; but if not, then he would pay nothing. For if I was was spoilt,
ravaged then I was no use to him, and Scarface might hang me or give me to
one of his men, as he saw fit.
Holy Bearer of Burdens! Annelys whispered. And this man had reared you
as his own child?
Yes and I had thought he loved me, Camilla said, her face twisting. Kindra
closed her eyes in horror, seeing all too clearly the man who had welcomed
his wife s bastard but only while she could further his ambition!
Annelys eyes were filled with tears. How dreadful! Oh, how could any man
I have come to believe any man would do so, Camilla said, for Scarface was
so angry at my father s refusal that he gave me to one of his men to be a
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