On Apr 8, 2005 1:07 AM, Steve Winfield <steve_winfield at hotmail.com> wrote: > 3)Vlad and Teldra > "Oh." Teldra smiled. "Yes, that one is true." > "Oh, to have been there to witness that conversation. I don't suppose you > went along?" > "Hardly." > "Did he ever say what happened?" > "No. But it can't have been anything too horrid; they've been friends ever > since." > "Oh yeah? Does she pay him tribute?" > "I don't know," said Teldra, smiling. > "I'll be sure to ask him...." > (Issola, p. 138) > It sounds to me that, whether Sethra and Morrolan are or aren't more than > friends and allies, that Vlad is at least joking about something here. It does sound like he's joking about something--the technical point of Morrolan (or anyone) being Sethra's liege lord, which is sufficiently amusing for a jest. (You could ask Vlad if _he_ pays tribute too, since IIRC Szurke is in Morrolan's territory.) It isn't until later in the same book that it ever occurs to Vlad to wonder if Morrolan and Sethra have been/are lovers. > Notice Vlad's use of the present tense in "Does she pay him tribute?" Also > notice Teldra's response: "I don't know," said Teldra, smiling. It just > sounds like she knows exactly what he's joking about, and the fact that > she's "smiling" as she responds suggested to me that she knows something > more about it that she isn't saying here. Anyone else think so? Could be that she knows more. The smiling would be more suggestive if not for the fact that Vlad's been noticing Teldra for the whole book. "Her hand was cool and dry," she has dimples, her smile flashed on and then off, "she gave him a Lady Teldra smile," etc. etc. Perhaps she just appreciates Vlad's jest, or is acting like it (of course, we're pretty sure her acts are genuine). Max Wilson -- I die! I mis-remember my friend's telephone number and dial into a hydroelectric dam's power line, electrocuting myself. My roommates mistake my flailing spasms for sign language, coincidentally describing a delicious recipe for fried tungsten with petroleum jelly. They try the recipe. All die! O, the embarassment.