sum!
She thought of her family, and of Joshu,
still firmly with her as they were not, and nodded.
The high-end items unlatched, Beba looked to
Conrad, who caught the glance, and Joshu, then, went to deal with
the associates, while Beba received a bow of respect from
Conrad.
"These other items,"she said carefully, "are
all worthy of purchase as well, sir; if you will pay them
mind."
"Surely,"he said, the color rising in him
was not the calmness she'd expected, but the yellow orange of
alert.
The Sinner's Rug was the last on the rack,
and each ahead of it must be pulled out and admired. His hands and
eyes told the tale: he was no mere salesman seeking stock, but a
man who knew fine carpet like he knew fine wine and fine food. His
hands touched the right spots on the binding and against the nap;
his eye looked for the trim spots if any were to be found, and
studied the backing where such was utilized. He named two of the
first five on sight, both maker and era, and three of the next
four. He was curious of one, and his colors went very strange
then.
She caught a scent, but it was not the scent
of this rug but some other deep in his memory, for he said without
preamble, "This rug is of an old pattern from Brulandia, yet it
varies. They have always had excellent teachers there, and the best
museum. Have you any information on the source?"
She did not, meekly pointing to the
potential dating marks, and-- "I have been in close proximity to
such a rug, which was deemed genuine," Conrad said. "This feels
genuine, yet, yet my references are not to hand. This may be a
prototype or a fork. Very nice. Your partner has my bid on Lot 1,
which is one cantra solid. Consider this a possible addition to Lot
2. Let us move on, if you please."
Now the fogs flitting across his face were
anticipation, alert, and the underlying steeliness.
Joshu's whim was to let
several of the early rugs sell later ones, as if the rack were in
order of value. At the twelfth and thirteenth hanging rugs Conrad
touched edges and made a noise very much like snarf while muttering, "These are
sturdy commercial offerings, aren't they?"
The next two interested him not the least,
and the following one somewhat, since he felt the binding and
sniffed it, and startled her by stretching his hands at shoulder
height as he stood with nose to the rug center.
"This is off-size, I think; either a test
piece or an excellent forgery from the same period, for the
materials are correct. I applaud Joshu's Superb Surfaces for an
interesting show."
She nodded, murmured, "Thank you," saw the
alert level go up as she tugged that interesting carpet aside,
revealing the last rug on a well illuminated unswinging display
rung.
The Sinner's Rug.
Of course it was a Sinner's Rug and not
the only , it was
the subject which made it notorious. It did not display the mere
sins of food, or of theft or any such inglorious thing. This
rug--her rug--was unique: an illustrated guide to sexual
possibility as revealed in the dreams, thoughts, and actions of
those Great Grandmother had known when her talent was discovered
and controlled by the very court that had stripped her of her
lands, leaving her and her family a duty to warn people what their
thoughts might reveal to mind-reading wantons.
Conrad stood transfixed, and the alert color
faded to--
"It is exquisite. May I touch?"
Beba started; she'd been watching his colors
at the same time she was celebrating the great work of her family.
Look! The joy, the rapture of love and lust and life. The
possibilities of touch and desire, the urge to join in so many
ways, to --
"Yes," she said, wanting it, for the rug
ought to be touched by one who understood it. "Yes, please."
"This will serve me," he said as soon as his
hands touched the nap, and then he moved closer, allowing his left
hand to touch the front while his right hand pushed and kneaded
from the back. The binding, the warp and weft, the colors . . .
Beba looked at him and the steel
She thought of her family, and of Joshu,
still firmly with her as they were not, and nodded.
The high-end items unlatched, Beba looked to
Conrad, who caught the glance, and Joshu, then, went to deal with
the associates, while Beba received a bow of respect from
Conrad.
"These other items,"she said carefully, "are
all worthy of purchase as well, sir; if you will pay them
mind."
"Surely,"he said, the color rising in him
was not the calmness she'd expected, but the yellow orange of
alert.
The Sinner's Rug was the last on the rack,
and each ahead of it must be pulled out and admired. His hands and
eyes told the tale: he was no mere salesman seeking stock, but a
man who knew fine carpet like he knew fine wine and fine food. His
hands touched the right spots on the binding and against the nap;
his eye looked for the trim spots if any were to be found, and
studied the backing where such was utilized. He named two of the
first five on sight, both maker and era, and three of the next
four. He was curious of one, and his colors went very strange
then.
She caught a scent, but it was not the scent
of this rug but some other deep in his memory, for he said without
preamble, "This rug is of an old pattern from Brulandia, yet it
varies. They have always had excellent teachers there, and the best
museum. Have you any information on the source?"
She did not, meekly pointing to the
potential dating marks, and-- "I have been in close proximity to
such a rug, which was deemed genuine," Conrad said. "This feels
genuine, yet, yet my references are not to hand. This may be a
prototype or a fork. Very nice. Your partner has my bid on Lot 1,
which is one cantra solid. Consider this a possible addition to Lot
2. Let us move on, if you please."
Now the fogs flitting across his face were
anticipation, alert, and the underlying steeliness.
Joshu's whim was to let
several of the early rugs sell later ones, as if the rack were in
order of value. At the twelfth and thirteenth hanging rugs Conrad
touched edges and made a noise very much like snarf while muttering, "These are
sturdy commercial offerings, aren't they?"
The next two interested him not the least,
and the following one somewhat, since he felt the binding and
sniffed it, and startled her by stretching his hands at shoulder
height as he stood with nose to the rug center.
"This is off-size, I think; either a test
piece or an excellent forgery from the same period, for the
materials are correct. I applaud Joshu's Superb Surfaces for an
interesting show."
She nodded, murmured, "Thank you," saw the
alert level go up as she tugged that interesting carpet aside,
revealing the last rug on a well illuminated unswinging display
rung.
The Sinner's Rug.
Of course it was a Sinner's Rug and not
the only , it was
the subject which made it notorious. It did not display the mere
sins of food, or of theft or any such inglorious thing. This
rug--her rug--was unique: an illustrated guide to sexual
possibility as revealed in the dreams, thoughts, and actions of
those Great Grandmother had known when her talent was discovered
and controlled by the very court that had stripped her of her
lands, leaving her and her family a duty to warn people what their
thoughts might reveal to mind-reading wantons.
Conrad stood transfixed, and the alert color
faded to--
"It is exquisite. May I touch?"
Beba started; she'd been watching his colors
at the same time she was celebrating the great work of her family.
Look! The joy, the rapture of love and lust and life. The
possibilities of touch and desire, the urge to join in so many
ways, to --
"Yes," she said, wanting it, for the rug
ought to be touched by one who understood it. "Yes, please."
"This will serve me," he said as soon as his
hands touched the nap, and then he moved closer, allowing his left
hand to touch the front while his right hand pushed and kneaded
from the back. The binding, the warp and weft, the colors . . .
Beba looked at him and the steel
Similar Books
