The Last Ring-bearer - Kirill Yeskov [55]
She fell asleep in the early morning, still holding his hand, so he waited by the side of the bed until her sleep grew deeper; only then did he kiss her temple gently and removed himself to the armchair. He woke up a couple of hours later from some small noise and immediately heard an angry "Please turn away!" and then a plaintive "Listen, give me something to put on – I can't walk around like this!" a few seconds later. Then, standing in the door (with his hunting jacket on), she suddenly spoke quietly and very earnestly: "You know, those poems… It's something amazing, I've never experienced anything like it. I'll come this evening, and you'll read me some more of that, all right?" To make a long story short, by the time Faramir sent a message to Edoras inquiring whether Éomer had any objections to his sister's decision to become Princess of Ithilien, evening readings were an indispensable part of their family life.
"…Are you listening?"
Éowyn had long since washed up and dressed, and was now gazing at the prince, upset.
"I'm sorry, baby; I've been thinking."
"About something sad?"
"More like something dangerous. What if His Majesty the King of Gondor and Arnor sends us a wedding gift? Your joke about arsenic and strychnine might just be prophetic."
By saying this he had broken an unspoken commandment never to mention Aragorn inside these walls. Only once, at the very beginning of their romance, did Éowyn say (abruptly and with no connection to the preceding conversation): "If you want to know what he's like as a lover," she was looking out the window and did not see his gesture of protest, "I can utterly honestly say: nothing much. You see, he's accustomed only to taking, all the time and in every thing; a real macho, you know…" Her lips twisted in a bitter smile. "Of course, most women want nothing else, but I'm not one of them…"
She looked at Faramir questioningly for a while, then nodded and said thoughtfully, as if making some final conclusion: "Yes, he totally could… Do you have a plan for how to avoid such a gift?"
"Yes, I do, but all depends on whether Beregond will be with us."
"Forgive me if this is not my business, but… this man killed your father. And a father is a father, no matter who he is."
"I think that Beregond is not at fault. What's more, I intend to prove it today, first and foremost to himself."
"Why today?"
"Because it was unwise to do it before. That day in the dining hall he behaved recklessly. I haven't spoken to him since then precisely to allay any suspicions the White Company guys might have, but now it looks like it's now or never. In other words, please ask him to come see me for some innocuous reason, and make sure to speak to him in public – we have no secrets! And when you go hunting, try to lose your bodyguard, casual-like, and ask the people about a certain forest hamlet…"
There was a faint glimmer of hope in Beregond's eyes when he entered – perhaps not all is lost?
"Hail, Your Highness!"
"Hello, Beregond; let's not be so official. I would like you to help me contact His Majesty."
The prince rummaged in a cargo box by the wall and carefully placed a large ball of smoky crystal on the table.
"A Seeing Stone!" The captain was amazed.
"Yes, this is a palantír. The other one is in Minas Tirith. For some reason Aragorn doesn't want me to use it myself and had a spell put on it. So please, look into it…"
"No!" Beregond shook his head in despair; terror was on his face. "Anything but that!