Read Online The Safe-Keeper's Secret by Sharon Shinn - Free Book Online Page A

in class. Even Megan Henshaw, who was fourteen and beautiful, could not hold his attention for long, though it was an accepted thing that they were destined to marry. Megan’s father owned a slaughterhouse near the Seston property, and Calbert’s father owned the biggest herd of cattle for miles around. Megan was bored and possessive when Cal was sitting near her, familiar with him through years of family dealing and somewhat blinded to his magnetism. But she knew all the other girls adored him, and so she wanted him, and made sure to touch his arm or address him directly at least once a day, even when he appeared to be ignoring her.
    Fiona told no one, but she was sure, she had a preternatural certainty, that she and Calbert Seston were destined to be together. Everything about him appealed to her, from the shape of his face to the stance of his body. She would grin to herself when he made some obscure comment that no one else in the room, not even Miss Elmore, understood, because
she
had understood it; it had seemed clever to her. She knew his wardrobe by heart. She could often guess, half an hour before he arrived at school in the morning, whether he would be wearing his blue shirt or the plain cotton white one with the tiny tear by the collar. She could distinguish his voice in any group, no matter how many were talking at once or how far down the road they might be. His laugh delighted her. His smile haunted her. She wanted to be with him forever.
    Often she was amazed at how well they had been designed for each other. His father’s farm—which Cal, an only child, would inherit—was situated just outside of town on the northern edge. It was private enough for someone who wanted to consult with a Safe-Keeper, but close enough to town that it was not hard to reach. His steady income from farming and raising cattle would mean she would not have to worry when troubled visitors arrived at her door, whispering, “I cannot pay you. I have nothing to give.” And since farming was a job that took a man’s time, often from sunup till sundown, Fiona would be alone enough to make visitors feel comfortable about creeping in to tell their secrets.
    They were truly meant for each other, although Calbert did not seem to know it yet.
    Fiona sometimes thought she should wait till they were both much older—eighteen and sixteen, perhaps—before she let him know how much she loved him and how well suited they were. But then she worried that some other girl might snatch him up first—Megan Henshaw, most likely, because all you had to do was look at her smooth, scheming face and know that she was already planning her wedding down to the last fall of lace. Therefore, most of the time Fiona thought she should tell him now, as soon as she could, so he realized where his future lay and began to prepare for it. Even so, she might not have approached him that day in late autumn except that circumstances combined to put them alone together for a few moments, and Fiona seized the opportunity when she had it.
    It had not, on the face of it, been a propitious day. Cal had arrived late that morning, sauntering in with a little half-sneer on his face, nodding in acknowledgment when his friends greeted him with whistles and cheers. Miss Elmore, who had been outlining a mathematical problem to the ten-and eleven-year-olds, did not at first respond to his arrival, just finished her long explanation. Fiona reacted, though; her breath caught slightly in her throat and her heart fluttered a moment behind her ribs. From the corner of her eye, she watched Cal take his seat, stretch out his long legs before him, and toss out a laughing comment to his admirers.
    Miss Elmore was still talking. “Very well. I want you to solve the problems I’ve written on the board. No talking to each other, mind, and no cheating! Calbert,” she said, almost with no change in inflection and turning casually in his direction,