The Secret of Spring Read Online Free PDF Page B

however.
    Gabriel regretted having used her at all, but in the event something should happen to him, he needed to be certain that she would have the information. It was his legacy to her. Now that word had leaked out, all he could do was attempt to protect her and hope that she would come to forgive him one day. Of course she had said she had forgiven him already, but that was her sweet impulse; she had not yet fully appreciated the gravity of what he had done to her.
    He looked warily around, but saw no sign of intrusion. But surely it was coming. He had been afraid that it would strike before he managed to get Spring clear; his arts had shown its malign incipience. Now all he had to do was await its arrival. Meanwhile he would continue business as usual, so as to pretend that he suspected nothing. He resumed his musings.
    Some planets were freer than others, naturally, and it was the wide diversity of cultures and faiths which made travel in this age so rich an experience. New Landers was a pleasant planet, with strong, Old World roots. It had been inhabited by a conservative group of Free Thinkers following the great purge on New World. They brought some of their radical democratic ideals to their new home and they had stood well against the test of time.
    Fair Dale was an average small metropolis. It had a centralized downtown district with shops and public establishments, surrounded by a wide scattering of homes and farms. New Landers was one of several planets in orbit around one central sun, with a rotation time providing approximately thirty-hour days. Seven or eight were spent working, and the remainder used for sleep and recreation. Not so different from the old Earth days. Earth, or rather New World, was of course now little more than a grey molten cinder.
    His residence was nice enough. At Number Thirty Bay Lane the early morning sunlight filtered down through the stained glass windows in colored beams. They reflected softly off sparkling clusters of amethyst and quartz, causing multicolored dots to dance around the bare walls.
    Shelves filled with clear dishes contained sprinkles and chips of jaspers, sapphires, agate, and garnet. Darker colors of onyx, turquoise, and emerald shone with a rich luster in shallow trays on the table. Soft pouches with more precious stones were hidden from sight in a wall safe.
    But now he couldn't stop the personal memories. Well, perhaps it was time to indulge himself , for even the painful ones were precious in their way.
    Gabriel's wife had died in childbirth less than two decades before; a rare occurrence even then. Although he had known many satisfactory liaisons with beautiful and accommodating companions, he had yet to find her like.
    Even so, he had been content with his life; he enjoyed his chosen practice, and doted upon his only child, Spring . Less generous men might have felt ill disposed toward such bitter fruit, blaming the child for the demise of the mother, but he had a firm grasp of reality.
    His wife Laurel had been a beautiful but delicate girl. The doctors had advised them against having children, fearing for her health. Yet, so great had been Laurel's desire to bear a child that she had foregone her birth control prescription and become pregnant. Even then, it could have been aborted, but she had willingly chosen to risk her own life in the hope that it might live. Gabriel loved her too much to stand in the way of her decision, and agreed to gamble against the odds. In the end, they had lost, for Laurel had not the strength, and he was left with Spring . To disown such a gift would have been to disown Laurel and their love as well. That he would never do.
    Gabriel did the best he could to bestow enough love for the both of them upon his motherless child, and he could honestly say that he'd never found cause for regret. He had taken in Tete , a native of Vertro , as housekeeper and nanny for Spring . She had remained with the family until Spring's thirteenth