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"Master Habermel stopped by Your compendium is on the table" Matthew didn&039;t look up froue Castle that he&039;d somehow procured from the eiven y into unearthing the secrets of the palace guard so that he could breach Rudolf&039;s security In spite of Abraham&039;s advice, which I&039;d duly conveyed, Matthew preferred a proactive strategy He wanted us out of Prague Now

I approached his side, and he looked up with restless, hungry eyes "It&039;s just a gift" I put down loves and kissed him deeply "My heart is yours, reift It ca tolass infor it He&039;s found a way into the e so hiuard will either be hunting with us or napping Gallowglass figures it&039;s as good a chance as we&039;re going to get to look for the book"

I glanced over at Matthew&039;s desk, where another small parcel lay "Do you knohat that is, too?"

He nodded He reached over and picked it up "You&039;re always receiving gifts froued, I did what he asked

He pressed so round and s

A strea as tiny salaold, with diamonds set into their backs I lifted one of the creatures, and up came a chain made entirely of paired salamanders, their heads joined at the mouth and their tails entwined Still nestled in e, very red ruby

"It&039;s beautiful!" I looked up at Matthew "When did you have tioldsmiths stocked for drop-in customers

"I&039;ve had it for a while," Matthew confessed "My father sent it with the altarpiece I wasn&039;t sure you&039;d like it"

"Of course I like it Sala him another kiss "Besides, oold, and diacup?

"These particular sala when I returned to France late in 1541 King Francis chose the salamander in flames for his euish&039;" Matthew laughed "Kit enjoyed the conceit so much he adapted it for his own use: &039;What nourishes lass-half-ehter I poked at one of the salaht from the candles I started to speak, then stopped

"What?" Matthew said

"Have you given this to soht,

"No," Matthew said, taking my hand and its treasure between his

"I&039; Rudolf&039;s behavior I&039;d rather not wonder, that&039;s all If you give ave to Eleanor, or soive you soiven to someone else, mon coeur" Mattheaited until I ift, so I asked my father to fish it out of its hidey-hole I wore it once Since then it&039;s been sitting in a box"

"It&039;s not exactly everyday wear," I said, trying to laugh But it didn&039;t quite work "I don&039;t knohat&039;s wrong with me"

Matthew pulled s to you no less than yours belongs to me Never doubt it"

"I won&039;t"

"Good Because Rudolf is doing everything he can to wear us both down We need to keep our heads And then we need to get the hell out of Prague"

Matthew&039;s words came back to haunt me the next afternoon, e joined Rudolf&039;s closest companions at court for an afternoon of sport The plan had been to ride out to the ee at White Mountain to shoot deer, but the heavy gray skies kept us closer to the palace It was the second week of April, but spring caue, and snoas still possible

Rudolf called Matthew over to his side, leaving me to the mercy of the women of the court They were openly curious and entirely at a loss about what to do with me

The emperor and his companions drank freely froh speeds of the i and riding Not that I had , he was being rather abste, even if his horse did crash into a tree

Twoon their shoulders to provide a perch for the splendid assort down the birds this afternoon Two le, hooded bird with a lethal curved beak and brown feathered legs that gave the effect of boots It was huge

"Ah!" Rudolf said, rubbing his hands together with delight "Here is h we cannot fly her here She requiresMoat provides"

Augusta was a fitting nale was nearly three feet tall and, though hooded, held her head at a haughty angle

"She can sense that we are watching her," I murmured

Someone translated this for the ely "One huntress understands another Take her hood off Let Augusta and La Diosa get acquainted"

A wizened old s and a cautious expression approached the eagle He pulled on the leather strings that tightened the hood around Augusta&039;s head and gently drew it away froolden feathers around her neck and head ruffled in the breeze, highlighting their texture Augusta, sensing freedoesture that could be read either as the pro

But I was not the one Augusta wanted toinstinct her head turned to the only predator in the coerous than she was Matthew stared back at her gravely, his eyes sad Augusta cried out in acknowledgusta out to arumbled

"And I thank you for the introduction, Your Majesty," I said, wanting to capture the usta has taken doolves, you know," Rudolf said with a pointed look at Matthew The emperor&039;s feathers were far more ruffled than those of his prize bird "They were both bloody struggles"

"Were I the wolf, I would simply lie down and let the lady have her way," Matthew said lazily He was every inch the courtier this afternoon in a green-and-gray ensemble, his black hair pushed under a rakish cap that provided little protection from the elee on its crown-the de Clerot ho

The other courtiers s rehter was not directed at hi we have in co on Matthew&039;s shoulder He surveyedwoman"

The tension broken, the falconer returned Augusta to her perch with some relief and asked the emperor which bird he wished to use this afternoon to take down the royal grouse Rudolf fussed over his selection Once the eyrfalcon, the Austrian archdukes and Gerle ani in the cold Matthew reached for it

"That is a wo into his saddle "I had it sent for La Diosa"

"In spite of her na But it&039;s no matter I will fly the ers, put out his hand, and the bird stepped onto his gloved wrist "Hello, beauty," he murmured while the bird adjusted her feet With every sled

"Her naamekeeper whispered with a smile

"Is she as clever as her namesake?" Matthew asked hirin

Matthew leaned toward the bird and took one of the strings that held her hood in his teeth His esture so intimate, that it could have beenback Once that was done, it was easy for him to remove the hood with his other hand and slip the decorated leather blindfold into a pocket

&352;arka blinked as the world ca me and then the man who held her

"Can I touch her?" There was so irresistible about the soft layers of brown-and-white feathers

"I wouldn&039;t She&039;s hungry I don&039;t think she gets her fair share of kills," Matthew said He looked sad again, even wistful &352;arkasounds and kept her eyes on Matthew

"She likes you" It was no wonder They were both hunters by instinct, both fettered so that they couldn&039;t give in to the urge to track and kill

We rode on a twisting path down into the river gorge that had once served as the palace e fenced in to keep the e the city Red deer, roe deer, and boar all prowled the grounds So, too, did the lions and other big cats froerie on those days when Rudolf decided to hunt deer with them rather than birds

I expected utter chaos, but hunting was as precisely choreographed as any ballet As soon as Rudolf released his gyrfalcon into the air, the birds resting in the trees rose up in a cloud, taking flight to avoid becoyrfalcon swooped down and flew over the brush, the histling through the bells on his feet Startled grouse erupted fro to the air The gyrfalcon banked, selected a target, harried it into position, and shot forward to hit it with talons and beak The grouse fell froround, where the grouse, startled and injured, was finally killed The gas and ran with theround The horses thundered after, theof the hounds

When the horses and riders caught up, we found the falcon standing by its prey, its wings curved to shield the grouse from rival claimants Matthew had adopted a similar stance at the Bodleian Library, and I felt his eyes fall on me to make sure that I was nearby

Now that the emperor had the first kill, the others were free to join in the hunt Together they caught h to feed a fair number of courtiers There was only one altercation Not surprisingly, it occurred between Rudolf&039;s yrfalcon and Matthew&039;s small brown-and-whiteback from the rest of the male pack He released his bird well after the others and was unhurried in claih none of the other&352;arka away from her prey with a murmured word and a bit of meat that he&039;d pulled off a previous kill

Once, however, &352;arka failed to connect with the grouse she was pursuing It eluded her, flying straight into the path of Rudolf&039;s gyrfalcon But &352;arka refused to yield Though the gyrfalcon was larger, &352;arka was scrappier and rouse, thepressure in the air She was such a little thing-srouse, and definitely outsized by the eher, but there was no escape &352;arka quickly reversed direction and sank her curved talons into her prey, her weight carrying theyrfalcon screamed in frustration, and Rudolf added his own loud protest

"Your bird interfered with mine," Rudolf said furiously as Matthew kicked his horse forward to fetch the merlin

"She isn&039;t my bird, Your Majesty," Matthew said &352;arka, who had puffed herself up and stretched out her wings to look as large andas possible, let out a shrill peep as he approached Matthew uely familiar and more than a little amorous, and the bird&039;s feathers ss to you And today she has proved to be a worthy nareat Boherouse and all, and held it up for the court to see &352;arka&039;s jesses swung freely, and her bells tinkled with sound as he circled her around Unsure what their response should be, the courtiers waited for Rudolf to do so I intervened instead

"Was this a female warrior, husband?"

Matthew stopped in his rotation and grinned "Why, yes, wife The real &352;arka was small and feisty, just like the ereatest weapon lies between the ears" He tapped his head to e Rudolf not only received it, he looked nonplussed

"She sounds rather like the ladies of Mala Strana," I said drily "And what did &352;arka do with her intelligence?" Before Matthew could answer, an unfa woman spoke

"&352;arka took down a troop of soldiers," she explained in fluid Latin with a heavy Czech accent A white-bearded ly, and she blushed

"Really?" I said, interested "How?"

"By pretending she needed rescuing and then inviting the soldiers to celebrate her freedom with too much wine" Another wousta&039;s, snorted in disgust "Men fall for that every ti To her evident surprise, so did the beaky, aristocratic old lady

"I fear, Emperor, that the ladies will not have their heroine blamed for the faults of others" Matthew reached into his pocket for the hood and gently set it over the crown of &352;arka&039;s proud head He leaned in and tightened the cord with his teeth The ga applause

We adjourned to a red-and-white-roofed Italianate house set at the edge of the palace grounds for wine and refreshardens where the e Otherthe sour-faced Strada, Master Hoefnagel, and the instrument maker Erasmus Habermel, whom I thanked for my compendiu feast now that Lent is al male courtier in a loud voice "Don&039;t you think so, Your Majesty"

"A masque?" Rudolf took a sip of his wine and stared at me "If so, the theme should be Diana and Actaeon"

"That thelish," Matthew said sadly Rudolf flushed "Perhaps wefor the season"

"Or the story of Odysseus," Strada suggested, shooting me a nasty look "Frau Roydon could play Circe and turn us into piglets"

"Interesting, Ottavio," Rudolf said, tapping his full lower lip with his index finger "IOdysseus"

Not on your life, I thought Not with the requisite bedroo Circe proht offer a suggestion," I said, eager to stave off disaster

"Of course, of course," Rudolf said earnestly, takingit a solicitous pat

"The story I have inof the gods," I told the eently away

"I would be a convincing Zeus," he said eagerly, a s his face "And you will play Callisto?" Absolutely not I was not going to let Rudolf pretend to ravage and inate me

"No, Your Majesty If you insist that I take part in the entertainoddess of the moon" I slid my hand into the bend of Matthew&039;s arm "And to atone for his earlier remark, Mattheill play Endymion"

"Endymion?" Rudolf&039;s sain," Matthew murmured for only me to hear "Endymion, Your Majesty," he said, this time in a voice pitched to carry, "the beautiful youth who is cast into enchanted sleep so as to preserve his immortality and Diana&039;s chastity"

"I know the legend, Herr Roydon!" Rudolf warned

"Apologies, Your Majesty," Matthew said with a graceful, albeit shallo "Diana will look splendid, arriving in her chariot so that she can gaze wistfully upon the man she loves"

Rudolf was imperial purple by this point We aved out of the royal presence and left the palace to make the brief, downhill trip to the Three Ravens

"I have only one request," Matthew said as we entered our front door "I ue In deference to the ten for Diana and Endymion should be more substantial than a lunar crescent for your hair and a dishcloth to drape around my hips"

"I&039;ve only just cast you in this role and you&039;re already nation "Actors!"

"That&039;s what you deserve for working with amateurs," Matthew said with a sin: &039;And lo! froe / The loveliest moon, that ever silver&039; d o&039;er / A shell for Neptune&039;s goblet&039;"

"You cannot use Keats!" I laughed "He&039;s a Romantic poet-it&039;s three hundred years too soon"

"&039;She did soar / So passionately bright, ent spheres did roll / Through clear and cloudy, even when she went / At last into a dark and vapoury tent,&039;" he exclai me into his arms

"And I suppose you&039;ll wantdown the stairs

"And some sheep Or maybe an astrolabe Endymion can be either a shepherd or an astrono his options

"Rudolf&039;s gae sheep, so you&039;re going to have to be an astronomer"

"Matthew can use my compendium" I looked around It was supposed to be on the one?"

"Annie and Jack are showing it to Mop They think it&039;s enchanted"

Until then I hadn&039;t noticed the threads running straight up the stairs froray Inon with the compendium, I stepped on the hem of ed to give the bottoe