Read Online Fortune's Journey by Bruce Coville - Free Book Online

hard she could scarcely breathe.
    â€œStop!” she gasped. “Stop!”
    She pressed her hands to her stomach and as a result almost fell off the wall again. Jamie leaped up and put out a hand to steady her.
    This time she didn’t flinch away.
    â€œSo you can see why I consider you lucky,” he concluded, as if he had never been imitating a chicken. “At least a horse is a sensible animal.” He let go of her, then jumped up to sit beside her on the wall again.
    â€œAll right,” said Fortune when she had caught her breath. “I’ll grant you that a horse is better than a hen for sharing your innermost feelings.” She paused and looked at him intently. “But people can be even better.”
    â€œWhen you can trust them.”
    â€œAre most people that untrustworthy?”
    â€œThere are different kinds of trust. Even if you can trust a person not to shout a secret to the world, it doesn’t mean you can trust him to understand what you’re talking about.”
    The note of aching loneliness in his voice made Fortune want to reach out and comfort him. She beat down the thought. If he was going to be traveling with them, it was a good idea to get to know him. That didn’t mean acting like his mother!
    Yet at the same time another part of her knew exactly how he felt. It was so damn lonely when there was no one to listen to your dreams, no one to share your secrets. She turned to him. “I…”
    â€œYes?”
    The words froze in her throat as she realized that her fears were the same as his. What made her think she could trust him more than anyone else? Because he was lonely, too? Because he looked like a lost puppy when he had that expression in his eyes? Those things didn’t make someone safe.
    â€œNever mind,” she said weakly.
    Jamie turned away. “You think I’m pretty foolish, don’t you?”
    â€œNo! Not at all!”
    He turned back. “You can’t trust someone unless you know they’re willing to tell you the truth. That wasn’t it.”
    Fortune’s temper flared—partly because he had accused her of lying, partly because he was right. She was lying, and she didn’t like being caught.
    â€œAll right. I was trying to spare your feelings. But the truth is, you do seem pretty foolish to me—and I imagine to the rest of them as well.” Her voice took on a sarcastic tone as she added, “With the possible exception of Mrs. Watson.”
    An odd expression crossed his face. Unable to interpret its meaning, Fortune rolled on. “If you want the truth, there it is. What kind of person would run off to join a troupe of actors—especially when that person has no acting experience himself? You have to be crazy!”
    The expression on Jamie’s face was almost amused now. “That’s just the point. I am crazy. Aren’t you?”
    â€œNo! I didn’t go looking for this gypsy life. My parents were actors, and when they died I inherited the troupe. This is my living. It’s what I do.”
    He looked at her sadly. “I’m sorry about your parents. I know something about what that’s like.”
    Neither of them spoke for a moment. Finally Jamie cleared his throat and said, “How did it happen?”
    She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    â€œAll right. What do you want to talk about?”
    Fortune was silent for a moment. She didn’t want to talk at all. She just wanted to sit and be quiet. It was nice to be with someone else who was lonely, someone else who knew what it was to lose a parent. She sighed. Probably he would think she was stupid if she didn’t say something.
    â€œLet’s talk about you. How did you end up so in love with ‘the theater’ that you were willing to run away from home for it?”
    He made a face. “Wasn’t much of a home to run away from. Besides, I should be