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was playing a violin, while another accompanied on a harpsichord. The servants?
Johann and Rowe? Gwendith didn t even know her brother-by-marriage well enough to
guess whether he had any musical talent.
The ghost eater stopped, listening.  Is that music?
 Yes.
 Why is it being played? Is there a ceremony being performed?
She shook her head, going over to sit on the edge of the fountain.  No.
Someone s just playing for enjoyment. To pass the time. Do your people have music?
He smiled suddenly.  Oh, yes. We love music. And dancing. But it isn t anything
like this.
She leaned over, interested, then pulled back with a curse as her bodice tried to
flop too far forward.  Damn it! What was the woman carrying in this thing,
watermelons?
The ghost eater arched an eyebrow at her.  You had better fix that, or else
Johann will think I forgot I m a ghost eater and tried something inappropriate.
 Ah. Seduce me with your rapier wit and lightning charm, eh? She grinned
suddenly, feeling relaxed and reckless.  Or perhaps I tried something with you! So
saying, she leaned over, and yanked the ends of his shirt loose.
 Gwendith !
 What? She smiled innocently, then suddenly snatched away the scarf he had
worn as a sash.  Better be faster than that, or you ll have to go back to the house
naked!
 Gwendith ! he repeated, as if he couldn t think of anything else to say. He
lunged for the scarf, but she danced away, twirling it around her head and laughing. He
jumped up after her, but she ran around and got the fountain in between them.
 Now what are you going to do? she demanded.
He made a grab for the scarf, but she dashed around the other side. He started
to dodge after her, then feinted back the other way, but the trick didn t work. Giggling
and yelling, they chased each other around the fountain, Gwendith waving the scarf
wildly over her head like some bizarre war trophy. The pursuit ended only when the
ghost eater suddenly sprang onto the fountain rim, made a prodigious leap over the
water, and knocked Gwendith off her feet. They both rolled onto their backs in the
grass, laughing hysterically.
 Here, Gwendith said, when she could catch her breath again. She dropped the
scarf squarely over his face.  You ve earned it. I haven t laughed like that in& I don t
even remember how long.
He tugged the scarf aside and rolled onto his elbow to look at her.  Same here.
She returned his gaze and found herself holding it far longer than she had
intended. His brown eyes looked black in the night, and she felt that, if she stared at
them too long, she might be drawn up into something deep and vast as the sky. The
world took a sudden slip to one side and resettled itself in a new pattern.
He touched her cheek lightly with his fingers. His skin felt cool against her own.
For a moment he looked at her in puzzlement, as if noticing some feature of her face for
the first time.
Then he took his hand away and climbed quickly to his feet.  We should go back
inside, he said, reaching to help her up. She nodded, wrapping her fingers around his,
even though she knew that she wouldn t want to let go again.
Back on the patio, he wished her a good sleep and left in the direction of his
room. She sank down on an ironwork chair near an empty urn, which would hold flowers
once the weather was reliably warm again. She didn t know how long she sat there,
staring out into the garden, until footsteps broke into her reverie. Looking up, she saw
Johann coming towards her, Rowe trailing behind.
 Good evening, she said listlessly. She wished vaguely that he had not found
her just yet.
 Listen, Gwendith, I ve always had a great deal of respect for you, ever since you
married Gairin, Johann said, as if working up to a lecture or an argument.  And now
that I ve come to know you better, I can see what made Gairin choose you. I don t want
to lose the friendship that s built up between us, but you have to understand that I love
Rowe. We ve been together for six, almost seven, years now. I know you thought I was
living some wild life of gambling and traveling, but the truth is I ve been dwelling here
quietly with Rowe, Llew, Helga, and Matthew. The most exciting thing I ve done is help
plow the manor fields in the spring.
 I know that Rowe and I may not meet with your approval. I hope you can accept
us, but if you can t, then realize you can t change things between us.
The ghost eater was right, Gwendith thought distantly.  Johann, you have a
better home life than most people I know, she said tiredly.  To be honest, I m thrilled to
find out that you ve been living somewhere stable and secure, instead of cheating
gamblers in sordid dens at risk of getting your throat cut.
Johann blinked, at a loss for words. He had obviously come here prepared for a
fight, and anything less left him floundering.
Rowe came closer, putting his hand lightly on Johann s shoulder.  Johann,
Gwendith has a lot more to worry about than us, he said gently.
Gwendith looked up, surprised, and found comprehension in Rowe s blue eyes.
She sighed.  I didn t mean for this to happen.
 What to happen? Johann demanded suspiciously.
Gwendith stared at her skirts, fingers playing nervously with an edge of lace.  Did
you know, the ghost eaters aren t even supposed to have friends? She shook her head
unhappily.  The ghost eater told me a story one day, about the original ghost eater, the
one who started all this. Apparently the man was attacked by enemies shortly after the
Ahkan it first came into the mountains. He fell down a hole and was left for dead. But
after a while, he woke up, and thought everything was fine, and went back to his band s
camp. His wife greeted him with joy. But when he went to embrace her, the bhargha
devoured her soul, and she died in his arms.
 Must it always be that way? Rowe asked softly.
 It doesn t matter. The ghost eaters are resurrected looking just as they did when
they died, but not everything is the same. Their hearts don t beat, their digestive
systems don t function, and they can t& be with a person. Intimately.
 That was a lot more than I really wanted to know, Johann muttered. Rowe
shushed him.
Gwendith raised her head, looked back up at Rowe, and shrugged.  There isn t
any hope for it. It s insane from the start. I d be lying if I said I hadn t felt it building
between us, but& somehow I never thought tonight would come. I was so busy trying to
get through each day alive, I never thought that I d have to deal with it.
Rowe leaned against the wall and smiled at her ruefully.  I know exactly how you
feel.
She shook her head.  You can t. There was always hope for you, hope that s
been fulfilled. There isn t any for me. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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