All she could think of was Habrunt and what he would
say when he came for her in the morning.
Sure enough, as soon as Habrunt had a chance to make his morning rounds
to see that the affairs of the Master's Household were all in order for
the day and that the slaves were all well and truly at their duties, or
that the inevitable one or two dropouts had given him sufficient excuse
and been temporarily reassigned one way or another to easier work, he
came personally for Si'Wren.
"Well, little one, are you ready?" Habrunt spoke to her in his deep,
gentle voice, as he stood in the doorway with a stern look on his
formidable features, and secretly gave her a quick wink. He folded his
muscular, corded forearms across his hairy chest and presented an
exceeding handsome figure with his long wavy locks held back by the
plain leather headband, and his unadorned but carefully trimmed beard.
He looked rugged and formidable, despite his beaming countenance.
Inwardly pleased at the way he had winked at her with no one else the
wiser, Si'Wren bowed low, then rose to her full, diminutive stature and
nodded to him in mute obedience.
"What good are words anyway, eh?" he said, in a not-unkindly fashion.
"Come, then, little one."
Habrunt's eyes sparkled as he regarded her, for when she had bowed, her
dark hair, which hung nearly to the waist in back, had fallen
gloriously across her shoulders in dark shining splendor.
Pages:
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135