The Prince had already been borne away on a wave of chattering ladies and lords. I doubted that he was aware of Lord Golden’s mishap. Some of the Prince’s attendants looked our way, but most were intent on Dutiful. So I crouched and as Lord Golden put his arm across my shoulders, I asked quietly, ‘How bad is it?’
‘Bad enough!’ he snapped sharply. ‘I shall not be dancing tonight, and my new dancing slippers were just delivered yesterday. Oh, this is intolerable! Help me to my rooms, man.’ At his irritated scolding, several lesser nobles hastened towards us. His manner changed instantly as he replied to their anxious queries with assurances that he was sure he would be fine, and that nothing could keep him from the betrothal festivities tonight. He leaned most of his weight on me, but one sympathetic young man took his arm, and a lady sent her maid scuttling off to order hot water and soaking herbs immediately taken to Lord Golden’s chambers, and to fetch a healer as well. No less than two young men and three very lovely young ladies trailed us as we made our way into Buckkeep.
By the time we had lurched and hobbled our way up the stairs and corridors to Golden’s chambers, he had sharply rebuked me for clumsiness a dozen times. We found the healer and the hot water awaiting us outside the door. The healer took Lord Golden out of my hands, and I was almost immediately sent off to fetch brandy to steady his shaken nerves and something from the kitchens to settle his stomach. As I left, I cringed in sympathy for his sharp cries of pain as the healer carefully freed his foot from his boot. By the time I returned with a tray of pastries and fruit from the kitchen, the healer had departed and Lord Golden was ensconced in his chair with his well-propped foot stretched out before him while his sympathizers filled the other chairs. I set out the food upon the table and carried brandy to him. Lady Calendula was sympathizing with him over the heartless and incompetent healer. What kind of a bumbler was he, to cause Lord Golden such pain and then declare that he could find very little indication of an injury? Young Lord Oaks told a long, detailed and plaintive story of how the healer at his father’s house had nearly let him die of a stomach ailment under similar circumstances. When he was finally finished with his tale, Lord Golden begged their understanding that he needed to rest after his disaster. I concealed my relief as I bowed them all out the door.
I waited until the door was well closed behind them and the sound of their chattering voices and tapping feet had died away before I approached the Fool. He leaned back in his chair, a rose scented kerchief draped over his eyes.
‘How bad is it?’ I asked in a low voice.
‘As bad as you wish it to be,’ he replied, not taking the fabric from his face.
‘What?’
He lifted the cloth and smiled up at me beatifically. ‘Such a display, and all for your benefit. You might at least show your gratitude.’
‘What are you talking about?’
He lowered his bound foot to the floor, stood up and strolled casually to the table where he picked through the leftover food there. He didn’t even limp. ‘Now Lord Golden has an excuse to have his man Tom Badgerlock at his side tonight. I shall lean on your arm when I walk, and you shall carry my little footstool and cushion about for me. And fetch for me and run my greetings and messages about the room for me. You’ll be there for Dutiful to see, and I don’t doubt that you’ll find it a better vantage point for your spying than sneaking about through the walls.’ He looked at me critically as I gaped. ‘Luckily for us both, the new clothing I ordered for you was delivered this morning. Come. Sit down and I’ll trim your hair now. You can’t go to the ball looking like that.’
Buy the complete The Golden Fool here.
The Liveship Traders
Another superb trilogy from the author of the bestselling Farseer Trilogy.
Wizardwood – a sentient wood. The most precious commodity in the world. Like many other legendary wares, it comes from the Rain River Wilds.
A liveship is a difficult ship to come by. Rare and valuable, it will quicken only when three family members, from successive generations, have died on board. The liveship Vivacia is about to undergo her quickening, as Althea Vestrit’s father is carried to her deck in his death-throes. Althea waits in awe and anticipation for the ship that she loves more than anything in the world to awaken. Only to find that her family has other plans for her …
Praise for The Liveship Traders series: ‘Even better than the Assassin books. I didn't think that was possible’ GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
‘A truly extraordinary saga … the characterisations are consistently superb, and [Hobb] animates everything with love for and knowledge of the sea’ BOOKLIST
‘Robin Hobb writes achingly well’ SFX
Buy Ship of Magic, the first book of The Liveship Traders, here.
The Rain Wild Chronicles
Return to the world of the Liveship Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River with the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer Trilogy.
Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wilds River, the first to make the perilous journey in generations.
But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old. Stunted and deformed, they cannot fly. Soon they become a danger and a burden to the Rain Wilders: something must be done. The dragons claim an ancestral memory of a fabled Elderling city far upriver: perhaps there they will find their true home. But Kelsingra appears on no maps and they cannot get there on their own: a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them.
To be a dragon keeper is a dangerous job: their charges are vicious and unpredictable, and there are many unknown perils on the journey to a city which may not even exist …
‘Hobb is superb, spinning wonderful characters and plots from pure imagination’ CONN IGGULDEN
‘Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers … what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics’ THE TIMES
Buy Dragon Keeper, the first book of The Rain Wild Chronicles, here.
If you enjoyed Fool's Errand, check out these other great Robin Hobb titles.
'Fantasy as it ought to be written' George R.R. Martin
The thrilling conclusion to Robin Hobb’s Tawny Man trilogy.
Kingdoms will stand or fall on the beat of a dragon’s wings, or a Fool’s heart.
Prince Dutiful has been charged with a quest to the Outisland to take the head of the black dragon Icefyre. Only then will his betrothed marry him and cement the alliance between their warring kingdoms.
But is Icefyre just a legend? Or does he truly slumber beneath the glaciers? Fitz has prevented his friend the Fool from accompanying them the Fool has foreseen his own death if he ever sets foot on the isle of the black dragon. But as their ship draws in towards Aslevjal a lone figure awaits them…
Buy the ebook here