Read Online The Tale of Mally Biddle by M.L. LeGette - Free Book Online Page B

to tighten. They just didn’t have enough money with Gibbs snatching every coin that his grubby fingers could find!
    “Is it true that the knights don’t hurt anyone inside the castle?” Mally asked.
    Ivan nodded.
    “They act very differently inside the castle,” he explained. “It wouldn’t be smart to abuse the people keeping their living space pristine and their goblets full. Mostly they will ignore you. I’ll e xplain everything to her except”—they had reached the gate and Ivan put his hand on Mally’s elbow to stop her—“I don’t want you to mention that I’m in the rebellion or what I want you to do inside the castle. It isn’t wise for even our families to know who is a rebel—we can’t risk the knights guessing who we are.”
    Mally’s insides squirmed again at the idea of her mother not knowing the true reason for her departure, but Ivan was right. The less her mother knew of the truth the less danger she would be in, not to mention that spying on the knights would be the perfect re ason for her mother to forbid her to leave Blighten.
    Blushing from the warm pressure of his hand, Mally nodded.
     
    “Goodness, you’ve been awhile,” said Susie when the door opened and Mally and Ivan walked in. “Goats give you extra tro uble?”
    “No, the goats are fine,” said Mally, taking a seat at the table. “Ivan’s going back to Bosc today.” Mally felt Ivan standing close behind her.
    “I hope you travel well,” said Susie. “Would you like to stay for lunch?”
    “I don’t wish to tread upon your hospitality any longer than I must,” said Ivan. “I was talking to Mally and I understand that she has never visited Bosc.”
    Mally tensed.
    Susie’s back also seemed to have straightened as she looked at Ivan, wiping her hands on a dishcloth.
    “It isn’t the safest of places to be,” she said simply.
    “Most certainly, but with the right company the knights are o nly a bit bothersome.”
    “A bit … bothersome?” Susie repeated slowly, as if she had misheard him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Finley, but I wouldn’t call people who threaten parents with locking their children in the dungeons if they don’t give up their gold bothersome .” 
    Mally’s cheeks flushed; she twisted her fingers in embarras sment.
    “Madam—”
    “Ivan, why don’t you go outside for a moment?” Mally interrupted quickly, turning in her chair to look up at him. His mouth tightened, but he nodded and left the room.
    The silence that followed Ivan’s departure was uncomfortable. Mally stared at her mother.
    “You didn’t have to say that,” Mally finally said quietly.
    “It’s the truth,” Susie stated. She had turned her back to Mally, plunging her arms into soapy water in the sink.
    Mally glared at her mother’s back.
    “He offered me a job.”
    Susie turned, surprised.
    “In Bosc. At the castle.”
    Susie’s face turned white.
    “No.”
    “Mother.”
    “ No! ” Susie dropped a spoon into the water with a splash.
    “The castle is safe,” Mally argued, rising and making her way to her mother. “The stories are true. The castle’s servants aren’t harmed.”
    “I don’t care! You’ll still be in the city. What happens when you leave the castle? Eh? Do they care so much about rules then?”
    Mally gazed into her mother’s angry eyes and said quietly, “We need the money.”
    Susie huffed, scrubbing a plate with surprising violence.
    “The servants make a more than decent salary,” Mally conti nued. “I can send you my earnings, or a part of them. You and I both know that we can’t keep our heads above water if one of us doesn’t get a job somewhere. At least at the castle, I will be safe.”
    “Safe.” Her mother nearly spat out the word. “No one has been safe for sixteen years.”
    Mally suddenly wished that she could tell her mother why she was really going to Bosc … that she was going to help the rebels.
    “Do you remember the two knights that were here with Gibbs?”