The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [14]
I slept fitfully until I heard movement at the door. It was still not dawn, and I wondered if the carriage had arrived already. But it was Jes.
“Forgive me,” he said.
I gaped at him.
“I didn’t tell them that business about the water. I swear. I … I thought of it, to save myself, but I didn’t. I don’t know how they came to know. I wouldn’t blame you for thinking I had done it,” he said wretchedly.
“It’s better that they think I am only a dreamer and not a birth Misfit,” I said earnestly, hoping he would not confess his anguish to poor Rosamunde, who might reveal her part in my denunciation.
“It shames me that when they read your name out I thought only of myself,” he said in a muffled voice.
He seemed to feel he had betrayed me simply because the thought had occurred to him, and I sensed his rigid nature would crumble completely if I allowed him to break down.
“Soon you will have your Certificate. You will be able to petition for me,” I said softly.
“But Obernewtyn does not release those it takes,” he whispered.
Hastily I took his hand. “Oh, Jes,” I said. “You saw the keeper. Did she look so awful? I’m not frightened. And I would have hated the Councilfarms,” I added with a smile.
Wanly he smiled back.
There was a movement outside, and a voice called that the carriage was ready. I looked at Jes in sudden concern, fearing what would happen if he was caught with me. But seeing my alarm, he shook his head, saying the Herder himself had given permission for Jes to say prayers for my soul. I noticed he still wore the armband, but I said nothing.
He leaned forward suddenly, his eyes fierce. “I will come and get you one day. I promise.”
But you are only sixteen, I thought, with two more long years until you can apply for your Certificate. Instinct told me this would be our last goodbye. Impulsively, I flung my arms around him. “Dear Jes, it really is best this way,” I said. “Except for our parting, I am honestly glad it is done with.”
“Time now,” said the guardian. Jes nodded. Suddenly aware that he was being watched, he said the last few chants of a prayer.
“Goodbye,” I whispered.
He did not wait to see me bundled into the dark coach, and I was glad for it.
I sat back into the stiff upholstery and wondered what destiny waited for me at Obernewtyn.
6
THERE WERE FEW people around to see me arrive at the Councilcourt in Sutrium. Even at the busiest hour, few tarried near those somber buildings. The white slate steps led up to the open double doors, and for the second time in my life, I ascended them, led by a soldierguard. The smell of wood polish made me vividly recollect my last visit. But back then, Jes had been with me, squeezing my hand.
“Sit and wait till you are called,” said the soldierguard, peering into my face as if to ascertain whether I was capable of understanding. I nodded dully, and he went away.
A man and a boy came through the front door. There was something unusual about them, but I felt too numb at first to try working out what it was. Then it came to me. They were very tanned, as if they had spent their whole life outdoors.
The man followed a soldierguard through a door, while the boy looked around to find I was sitting on the only bench. He sat beside me.
“Hullo,” he said.
I stared at him, astonished that he would speak to a complete stranger. And here of all places. “Who are you?” I asked, suddenly suspicious.
He looked amused, and his eyes crinkled in a nice sort of way. “Do I look like a spy?” he laughed. “My name is Daffyd. My uncle is petitioning the council for a permit to trade in the mountains.”
“The mountains,” I echoed.
“Well, not exactly the mountains. After all, whom would we trade with? I meant the high country,” he explained. He smiled again, and despite everything, I found myself smiling back. “Why are you here?” he asked.
“I’m a Misfit, or soon to be judged so,” I said bluntly. “I am to be sent to Obernewtyn.”
He didn’t recoil. He only said, “Well, if you are like me, you will find the mountains beautiful.