Read Online The Young Magician (The Legacy Trilogy) by Michael Foster - Free Book Online
Authors: Michael Foster
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quiet—strangely quiet—and the thought only served to fuel his fears. Samuel lay tensed in his bed, ready to spin over and shout out with all his might to dispel the quiet—but he could not, for the greatest fear held him tightly in place: the fear that there, behind him in the doorway, someone or something quite horrible and tall was waiting, quietly watching him with a wickedly evil grin.
The first days with his uncle and aunt passed painfully slowly, with more and more tasks appearing for Samuel, until he was run ragged from dawn until late each night. His aunty had scoffed at the mention of schooling and asked what need had he of such things as writing and reading . Even at home, he would go to see Mrs Tincup twice each week for tutoring. He was not as smart as his brothers and not even a little bit as educated as Sarah, but Samuel knew much more than Tom did. Tom was always busy with his mother in the store, or with his father at their home and it left very little time for him to see Mrs Tincup. Tom never did seem to mind. In fact, he disliked any schooling, but Samuel had always felt proud when he could show his father something new he had learned.
Father had always told him that an education was important to a man, so that he could measure the results of a day’s work and read the Imperial notices when they were tacked to the village board, should he feel the need. Mother would agree when he said this, but add with a smile that news always moved faster over people’s tongues than paper. Samuel knew this to be true, for the women of the village liked to talk very much and they always knew of things long before the men.
Jessicah was being schooled occasionally by a tutor that came to the inn. She agreed to help Samuel and some evenings, when there was time, they would try reading the scraps of papers her father left around regarding his market orders and such, which was good because there were also sums and simple calculations on them. Jessicah was much better than he was and Samuel was appreciative of her company and so tried very hard to impress her. Even when he was frustrated, she was patient and considerate. Samuel never saw her in a foul mood or heard her criticise others, as her mother and father always did. She was always trying to find time to be with Samuel so they could play together for a few short moments, until, inevitably, her mother and father would call for either of them to do some chore or other. Samuel sometimes wondered what they actually did for themselves.
Samuel quickly learned it was best to avoid his aunt and uncle as much as he could and, that way, his life was much easier. They barred him from entering the inn because he always smelled terrible, and Jessicah suggested he should bathe as often as possible, which he didn’t like to do as the stable was so cold and draughty. There were public bathhouses but, of course, Samuel had no money to visit them. He could only throw water over himself on occasion and scrub his skin with the coarse, brown, smelly soap he used on the horses.
Alone in his stall, he ate the meals that Jessicah brought to him, but she was called away again almost at once. Samuel’s aunt obviously disliked her spending any time with him and his uncle always found some reason to pull or slap his ear when he could. Samuel wished he could at least have stayed with Tom and his parents. He did not understand why he had to come and stay with such terrible people. He did not understand why they were always so foul and bad-tempered towards him. Jessicah was his only comfort. If it were not for her, he thought, he would probably just lie down and die.
Samuel soon knew his way around the streets and markets and found pleasure in spending as long as possible on the occasional errands he was given. This inevitably brought on more punishment, but it was worth a few more bruises or another laborious chore for a short bout of freedom. He saw the other young boys playing games
The first days with his uncle and aunt passed painfully slowly, with more and more tasks appearing for Samuel, until he was run ragged from dawn until late each night. His aunty had scoffed at the mention of schooling and asked what need had he of such things as writing and reading . Even at home, he would go to see Mrs Tincup twice each week for tutoring. He was not as smart as his brothers and not even a little bit as educated as Sarah, but Samuel knew much more than Tom did. Tom was always busy with his mother in the store, or with his father at their home and it left very little time for him to see Mrs Tincup. Tom never did seem to mind. In fact, he disliked any schooling, but Samuel had always felt proud when he could show his father something new he had learned.
Father had always told him that an education was important to a man, so that he could measure the results of a day’s work and read the Imperial notices when they were tacked to the village board, should he feel the need. Mother would agree when he said this, but add with a smile that news always moved faster over people’s tongues than paper. Samuel knew this to be true, for the women of the village liked to talk very much and they always knew of things long before the men.
Jessicah was being schooled occasionally by a tutor that came to the inn. She agreed to help Samuel and some evenings, when there was time, they would try reading the scraps of papers her father left around regarding his market orders and such, which was good because there were also sums and simple calculations on them. Jessicah was much better than he was and Samuel was appreciative of her company and so tried very hard to impress her. Even when he was frustrated, she was patient and considerate. Samuel never saw her in a foul mood or heard her criticise others, as her mother and father always did. She was always trying to find time to be with Samuel so they could play together for a few short moments, until, inevitably, her mother and father would call for either of them to do some chore or other. Samuel sometimes wondered what they actually did for themselves.
Samuel quickly learned it was best to avoid his aunt and uncle as much as he could and, that way, his life was much easier. They barred him from entering the inn because he always smelled terrible, and Jessicah suggested he should bathe as often as possible, which he didn’t like to do as the stable was so cold and draughty. There were public bathhouses but, of course, Samuel had no money to visit them. He could only throw water over himself on occasion and scrub his skin with the coarse, brown, smelly soap he used on the horses.
Alone in his stall, he ate the meals that Jessicah brought to him, but she was called away again almost at once. Samuel’s aunt obviously disliked her spending any time with him and his uncle always found some reason to pull or slap his ear when he could. Samuel wished he could at least have stayed with Tom and his parents. He did not understand why he had to come and stay with such terrible people. He did not understand why they were always so foul and bad-tempered towards him. Jessicah was his only comfort. If it were not for her, he thought, he would probably just lie down and die.
Samuel soon knew his way around the streets and markets and found pleasure in spending as long as possible on the occasional errands he was given. This inevitably brought on more punishment, but it was worth a few more bruises or another laborious chore for a short bout of freedom. He saw the other young boys playing games
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