Read Online Tamlyn by James Moloney - Free Book Online Page A

threats to his family, but he was also fair-minded. He listened to my plea, and although the suspicion didn’t leave his face, he saw the justice in what I had said.
    â€˜Judge a man by how he behaves,’ he said, repeating my argument. ‘A fine principle, Silvermay, but the Wyrdborn are enough to test any man’s trust.’ He turned to Tamlyn. ‘My daughter has won you the right to stay, but you will be watched. I’ve learned too much about the Wyrdborn to let down my guard.’
    Tamlyn nodded. ‘I understand. Perhaps one day I will no longer carry this curse in my blood.’
    He looked at me, then, a deep sadness in his eyes, so different from the joy I’d seen there during the voyage from Greystone. The veil of strength and certainty that he wore as a Wyrdborn had been allowed to slip again, for me alone, letting me glimpse the vulnerability that lay beneath. At moments like these, I loved him more than ever. I had seen the tricks the Wyrdborn play to win a girl’s heart, but there was no such trickery in my Tamlyn. I had already trusted my life to that belief and had no reason to lose faith now.
    â€˜Will you tell the rest of the village, Father?’ I asked.
    â€˜No. The mean-spirited like Darry Nettlefield will force him out before sunset and blame you for bringinghim here. Go on calling yourself Piet, as before,’ he said, at the same time offering his hand.
    Tamlyn took it gratefully. ‘There is something else I will ask of you one day, Ossin, but only when I’ve earned your trust.’
    â€˜And what is that?’ my father asked.
    â€˜Now is not the time,’ Tamlyn replied, but as soon as my father turned away Tamlyn looked towards me and smiled. The thrill that smile sent through me is something I want to feel again and again, for as long as I live.
    Such emotions are too intense to last more than a moment, although they leave a wonderful afterglow and warmed by this, I went back inside. Birdie had finished her head-to-toe examination and, finding me once again hovering behind her, she stood and took me aside.
    â€˜Most of his injuries are already healing. You did well to bring him so far without making matters worse.’
    â€˜It was Tam … um … Piet’s work,’ I confessed, almost giving the game away with my slip of the tongue.
    But Birdie wasn’t interested in explanations; she was too concerned about Ryall. ‘A number of his ribs were broken and there are many nasty gashes to his face and abdomen, but nothing serious enough to threaten his life. It’s his left arm that worries me.The bone broke through the skin and that is always dangerous. Worse still, there is damage inside I can’t see, which is stopping the blood from flowing freely below his elbow. I’ll do what I can, but it’s not easily repaired.’
    Â 
    What a time it was, that evening when I arrived home. Birdie put skills of a different kind to work and produced a feast to rival the spring festival. My sisters were called in from the nearby farms where they lived with their husbands; Hespa was there, of course, and the Grentrees, who would take Tamlyn into their home again since there would be no room in ours.
    There was sorrow as we told of Nerigold’s death, and there were tales that we kept to ourselves, especially about the mosaics uncovered in Nan Tocha. To my surprise, there was laughter, too, and from an unexpected quarter. Ryall was tucked up comfortably on his pallet in the corner, and despite his pain and exhaustion he entertained everyone with stories of how he had stolen food to feed us during the journey to Ledaris.
    â€˜At one farm, a woman caught me filching milk from her larder, but it was dark and she thought I was her husband coming home late from the tavern. She whacked me on the back with a broom. Poor man,he was in for it when he did turn up. I’m glad I’m not married to her.’
    The stories