Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 105
it and the cart the moment she ceased to need it. Jordan would
have to work two years at Castor's to afford such a beast.
They passed down an avenue of trees. Gaps to the right
showed well-tended grounds, much more extensive than
Castor's. At first no one was visible, then Jordan spotted three
children in bright clothing running across a lawn. The path
wound down, and Jordan revived a little at the sight of warm
shafts of sunlight piercing the green canopies, one lighting a
stone trough by the road carved with well-worn images of the
Diadem Swans.
Two giant oaks signalled the end of the grove. In the
bright sunlight beyond, Jordan could see green grass and the
beige stone of some vast mansion in the far background. But
nearer, a few yards past the oaks, a table had been planted on
the lawn. A clean white cloth draped it, held down by bowls of
fruit and meat, plates and cups and tankards. Three people
dressed in white livery stood by, gathering up platefuls of food.
Now he could hear a continuous murmur of voices, laughter
and the thud of hooves, coming through the remaining screen
of trees.
As they passed beneath the twin oaks, two attendants
appeared from behind them. They bowed, and one took the
bridle of the horse.
Jordan barely noticed them. He was staring at the
beautiful lawns, where a party was taking place.
Tall beribboned poles had been planted in the ground at
wide intervals. At least six tables were scattered around the
field, each piled high with food. Servants ran back and forth
between knots of people--and the people, when Jordan turned
his gaze on them, were amazing. They were brown-skinned,
white-skinned, dressed in bright colors, or sombre black, or
barely dressed at all. Sunlight flashed off jewels at the throat