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I had been richly dressed in rustling embroidered skirts and soft shoes. I could almost feel those
shoes on my feet, instead of my scratched and dirty boots. I was still staring at my soup, but I saw only
beans and onions and carrots; I rearranged the pattern with my spoon.
Ger said:  Greatheart will be a little company for her, at least.
I looked up.  I had hoped to ride him there, but I ll send him back with Father. You need him here.
 Nay, girl, said Ger in an inflection not his own,  he ll not eat if you go off and leave him, He goes
with you.
I put down my spoon.  Stop it, Ger, don t tease me. I can t take him. You need him here.
 We ll get along without, Ger said in his own voice.  We have an extra horse now, don t forget, and
we can buy another if we need it with the money your father brought back from the city. They won t be
Greatheart s equal, but they ll do us.
 But  I said.
 Oh, do take him, Hope said.  It ll seem like we haven t quite forsaken you, if you have
your horse. She stopped abruptly, and fiddled with her napkin.
 He is your horse, you know, said Ger.  For all his sweet ways it s you he watches for, and
listens to. I won t say he wouldn t eat, but he d perform no prodigies for me or any of the rest of
us. He d just be a big strong horse.
 But  I said again, uncertainly. I could feel my first tears pricking my eyes; I realized that I would
feel much less desolate if I could keep Greatheart with me.
 Enough, said Father.  I agree with Hope: Your keeping your horse will comfort us at least. If you
were a little less stubborn, girl, you d be comforted too. A little more gently he added:  Child, do you
understand?
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and picked up my spoon again. The tension was broken; we
were a family again, discussing the weather, and the work to be done in the coming weeks and the
necessary preparations for the youngest daughter s coming journey. We had accepted it and could begin
to cope with it.
Those last few weeks passed very quickly. The knowledge that I was leaving changed the tenor of all
our lives very little, once we had adjusted to the simple fact of it. The story we devised for the town s
benefit was that an old aunt, nearing the end of her life and finding herself without heir, had offered to
take one of us in; and it was decided that I would benefit most (and could best be spared from home),
because I would be able to take up my studies again. All our friends were sorry to hear I was leaving, but
were glad of what they thought would be a  grand chance for me even the ones who had scant
respect for book learning were polite if not cordial, for my family s sake. Melinda said,  You must come
visit us when you re home for a holiday she ll let you come home for a spell, sometimes, surely?
 Oh yes please come see us, put in Molly.  I want to hear all about the city. Melinda sniffed; she
didn t approve of cities, nor of wanting to hear about them. She felt that we had survived our lengthy
exposure very well, considering, and while she approved of my going be
cause she recognized the claims of things like aunts, it was still an unfortunate risk.
 She s seen the city before, Melinda said drily, and Molly flushed: They d been careful not to ask us
what life in the city was like, since we had left it under such unhappy circumstances.  We wish you well,
in all events, Beauty, Melinda continued.  But before we leave, say that you will come say hello to us
when you come back to visit your family.
 I will if I can, I said uncomfortably.  Thank you for all your good wishes.
Melinda looked a little surprised at my answer and remarked to no one in particular,  Is this aunt
such an ogre then? and kissed me, and she and Molly left to go home. We were in the kitchen, Father
smoking a pipe and looking thoughtful, Grace peeling potatoes, Hope feeding the babies; I was mending
the throat latch of Greatheart s bridle. Ger was still in the shop. We had never discussed just how long I
would be gone the Beast s words led one to believe that it would be forever, which didn t bear thinking
of, so we didn t think of it.
To break the silence I said,  This ogreish aunt may not be a complete fiction after all. I probably shall
be able to get on with my studies: He must have a library in that great castle of his. He must do something
with the days besides guard his roses and frighten travelers.
Father shook his head.  You cannot know; he is a Beast.
 A Beast who talks like a man, I said.  Perhaps he reads like a man too.
Grace finished slicing the potatoes and put them in the skillet where onions were frying. I had grown
very fond of fried potatoes and onions since we d left the city; I wondered if I would get any at the
castle. I would have refused such a humble dish five years ago, if our cook could ever have thought of
offering us such a thing. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]