Tamlyn Read Online Free PDF Page B

his will alone. I couldn’t forget my Lucien, either. By myself, I would have gone mad with thinkingabout these things, but Tamlyn was with me, and when I managed to push Ryall and Lucien from my mind for a few minutes, I had never been happier. That was how I travelled south: in despair one minute; the next, filled with the deepest contentment.
    On board that ship I discovered that words are sometimes unnecessary between two people. I didn’t dare say, Tamlyn, I love you , and he didn’t say to me, Silvermay Hawker, my heart is yours. That is the stuff of the daydreams that girls conjure for themselves on solitary walks in the forest or when they chatter with friends about love-struck princes too perfect to exist. But those days on the wide ocean were real and so are my memories of them. There wasn’t a single cloud above us while we stood in the bow of Jerbarle’s ship. If there had been, they surely would have spelled out the words we didn’t utter.
    The first day, I sat for over an hour beside Ryall’s bunk to be sure he wasn’t disturbed by the creak and sway of the ship. When finally he slipped into a deep sleep, I went on deck to find Tamlyn watching the crew aloft among the sails that were already bulging like a rich man’s belly.
    â€˜I’m glad you’ve come,’ he said when I joined him. ‘We can look out together at the sea that tried to kill us only this morning.’ He swept his right arm gracefullyover the expanse of blue as though he had commanded its pristine colour just for me. ‘I couldn’t let it have you, Silvermay — not because of the vow we made to Nerigold; not even for your own sake, I’m ashamed to say. I fought the sea because you are so precious to me.’
    And then he did something he had never done before, unless it was to warm my shivering body — he put his arm around me. His hand at my waist gently pressed me to his side while we stared, silently and together, towards the horizon.
    That night I heard him call out in his sleep. The cabin he shared with the captain was next to mine, which I shared with Ryall since I needed to be near him as much as possible. Amid the unfamiliar blackness, I awoke to groans and then a sharp yell. It’s Ryall! I thought at first. He must be in the grip of a fever. But no. Through the wall, I heard Jerbarle’s voice growl in complaint and tell Tamlyn to be quiet. After that, there were no more disturbances.
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    In the morning, Tamlyn seemed uneasy, so when he took his bowl of porridge onto the deck, I followed.
    â€˜What is it? Did something happen during the night?’
    He was reluctant to admit it until I told him of the cry I’d heard.
    â€˜I’ve never known anything like it before,’ he said, finally giving in. ‘Some of it was disturbing and yet …’ He stopped and offered a boyish smile. ‘And yet other parts were very pleasant.’
    â€˜What are you talking about?’ I asked. ‘What was disturbing, what was pleasant? Did the captain see what happened?’
    â€˜Of course not! There was nothing to see, or at least only I could see it.’
    â€˜Ghosts?’ I asked, for I wasn’t entirely sure they were simply made up to scare little children.
    â€˜No, no, it was pictures in my own mind, of terrible things — monsters, the dogs my father blinded and set against us … It was as though we were back in the forest again, fighting them, and I was wrestling with Hallig.’
    Ah, nightmares. Yet he’d said some of the pictures were pleasant. ‘And what did you mean by parts being very pleasant?’ I asked, reminding him.
    The day before, I had turned crimson when Mrs Wenn had complimented my dress. Now it was Tamlyn’s turn. His face glowed enough to rival the morning sun and he looked away rather than let me see his embarrassment.
    â€˜There were other pictures,’ he said eventually, after