Shield's Lady Read Online Free PDF

I've decided I need the work after all. I'll take the job provided you can afford daily expenses. I'll let you know later what my final fee will be."

Chapter 2

        SARIANA was awake very early the next morning. As usual, she had dressed and breakfasted long before the rest of the household. Soon after her arrival in the western provinces she had discovered that the locals tended not to worry very much about such things as punctuality or disciplined work hours.
        Lady Avylyn had admonished Sariana more than once for what she perceived as a lack of proper priorities. "Really, my dear," the matriarch of the Avylyn Clan had declared, "you work much too hard. You must learn to play a bit more or you will run the risk of turning into a very dull little old lady."
        "I think the results of too much play and too little work are quite obvious in the present financial status of your clan. Lady Avylyn," Sariana had retorted. "Only a lot of hard work is going to salvage the situation now."
        "Yes, well, I'm sure you have a point, Sariana, but it
        does seem a pity for you to miss so many lovely parties. Life is short, my dear."
        "I am well aware of that, madam. And because of that fact, I cannot waste a moment of my time here in the western provinces. The sooner I accomplish my professional goals, the sooner I can go home."
        "Yes, yes, I quite understand. But to be truthful, I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to return to the east. Such a dull, dreary place."
        Sariana had gritted her teeth, knowing Lady Avylyn had never been to the eastern continent. But westerners had a definite image of the foreign lands of the east and that image was of a grim, gray, humorless place where no sensible person would want to live.
        The westerner's failure to 'appreciate the hard working, sober, disciplined ways of her homeland was a constant source of irritation to Sariana. She was fiercely determined not to lower her own personal standards in such matters while she was in exile. It was one of many small battles she waged here in the west.
        Sariana was dressed this morning in one of the elegantly restrained business gowns she'd had made at a local clothing design shop. The owner of the shop, a short, stout woman who prided herself on introducing the latest styles to her customers, had been most upset by the order for a simple fitted jacket and long, narrow skirt in a subdued shade of gray.
        'Too dull, much too dull for you," the shop owner had protested when Sariana had given her the order. "You are living in Serendipity, the fashion capital of the western continent. Even the people in the smallest towns of the farthest provinces wear more stylish garments than the sort you wish to order. Bustles are in style but you don't want one. Slashed sleeves are in vogue but you don't want them, either. Look here, you haven't even asked for any ribbon trim. I could do so much more, even with this simple design, if you would just let me choose the color and add some trim."
        "I'm a businesswoman," Sariana had explained, not for the first time. "I prefer more restrained styles."
        "Ha. We have plenty of business people here in Serendipity," the woman had shot back. "None of them has anything against a little style and color. That's the problem with you eastern folks. You're much too dull and sober and tiresomely strict. No fun at all. Remember, you're not living in Rendezvous now, my dear. You're living in Serendipity. Here we have color and light and contrast and lots and lots of style." The woman had waved one hand in a sweeping gesture that included all of Serendipity, the surrounding province of Pallisar and the whole western continent.
        It hadn't been easy, but Sariana had finally gotten her way with the shop owner. The small confrontation had been typical of the sort she endured on a daily basis in Serendipity. Sometimes it was tiring to hold her