The Baker's Boy Read Online Free PDF Page B

times. If only her blood would
start to flow, for then she would be allowed to use her proper name ... and
then there was the court dress.
    All young ladies
were given a special court dress on reaching womanhood. Wearing them, they
would be presented to the queen. Here Melli knew that she, as Lord Maybor's
daughter, would have a definite advantage. He was one of the richest men in the
Four Kingdoms and would certainly use the presentation of his daughter at court
as an opportunity to show off his wealth.
    She had already
decided what her dress was to be made from: silver tissue-expensive and
exquisitely beautiful, made from combining silk with threads of purest silver.
The art of weaving such fabric had long been lost in the north, and it would
have to be specially imported from the far south. Melli knew nothing would
please her father more than spending his money on such a publicly displayable
commodity.
    Becoming a woman
was not all good, though; at some point she would be forced to marry. Melli
knew well she would have little say in the matter-as a daughter, she was
considered the sole property of her father and would be used as such. When the
time came, he would trade her for whatever he deemed suitable: land, prestige,
titles, wealth, alliances ... such was the worth of women in the Four Kingdoms.
    She had no great
liking for the pimply, simpering boys of the court. She'd even heard mention of
a possible match between herself and Prince Kylock; after all, they were the
same age. The very thought made her shiver; she disliked the cold and arrogant
boy. He might well be rumored to be learned beyond his years and an expert in
swordplay, but he rather scared her, and something in his handsome, dark face
raised warnings in Melli's heart.
    She was about to
leave the bedchamber when she heard the sound of footsteps and then voices in
the other room. Her father! He would be most annoyed to find her here and might
even punish her. So, rather than make her presence known by leaving, she
decided to stay put until her father and his companion left. She heard the
deep, powerful voice of her father, and then another voice: rich and beguiling.
There was something familiar about the second voice. She knew she'd heard it
before....
    Lord Baralis! That
was who it belonged to. Half the women at court found him fascinating, the
other half were repulsed by him.
    Melli was puzzled,
for although she knew little of politics, she was aware that her father and
Baralis hated each other. She moved closer to the door to hear what they would
say. She was not an eavesdropper, she told herself, she was just curious. Lord
Baralis was speaking, his tone coolly persuasive.
    "It will be a
disaster for our country if King Lesketh is allowed to make peace with the
Halcus. Word will soon spread that the king has no backbone, and we will be
overrun with enemies knocking at our door, snatching the very land from under
our feet."
    There was a pause
and Melli heard the rustle of silk followed by the pouring of wine. Baralis
spoke again. "We both know the Halcus won't be content with stealing our
waterthey will set their greedy eyes upon our land. How long do you think
Halcus will keep this proposed peace?" There was a brief hush, and then
Baralis answered his own question. "They will keep the peace just long
enough for them to mass and train an army, and then, before we know it, they
will be marching right into the heart of the Four Kingdoms."
    "You need not
tell me that peace at Horn Bridge would be a disaster, Baralis." Her
father's voice was ripe with contempt. "For over two hundred years, well
before any family of yours came to the Four Kingdoms, we had exclusive rights
over the River Nestor. To give up those rights in a peace agreement is a serious
miscalculation."
    "Indeed,
Maybor," Lord Baralis again, his tone calming, but not without irony,
"the River Nestor is lifeblood to our farmers in the east and, if I am not
mistaken, it runs through much of your