The White Spell Read Online Free PDF

then stumble over to the railing before he started heaving his guts out. Léirsinn pretended not to notice, biding her time by stroking a painfully soft horse’s nose and finally wrapping her arms around that sweet gelding’s neck in gratitude.
    Doghail cursed his way back to her, then kept himself upright by means of a hold on the gelding’s saddle. He patted the horse, then looked at her.
    â€œDon’t know how you put up with him,” he croaked.
    â€œFuadain?” she asked. “I suppose I manage, don’t I?”
    â€œI would never tolerate what you do.”
    She pursed her lips. “Of course not, but you have more courage than I.”
    Doghail dragged his sleeve across his mouth. “Today, lass, I’m not sure what I have.” He shook his head, then squinted at her. “Thank you.”
    â€œNo need.”
    â€œYou have a way with beasts.”
    She smiled. It was a conversation they’d had scores of times as she’d tried to hold on to the faint memories she had of her parents. “I understand my mother was fond of horses.”
    â€œHer blood runs through your veins, obviously.”
    â€œI believe it just might.”
    He took the reins from her. “I’ll see to this one,” he said, his color starting to return a bit. “He deserves a few more oats than usual for not leaving me to make a fool of myself.”
    â€œHe had a care for you,” she conceded, “but what else could he have done? Your reputation precedes you.”
    â€œOf course it does.” He shook his head. “Heaven knows what these ponies will be saying after this one here tells them what he’s seen ofme this morning.” He paused, then nodded toward the arena opening. “I have the feeling Himself will be back after his guest is snoozing comfortably before the fire. Why don’t you take yourself off toward town and fetch me some liniment from the apothecary?”
    She looked at him evenly. “You don’t have to protect me, you know.”
    â€œYou did me,” he said with a shrug. “Turn about, and all that. Get on with ye, gel. I’ll see to your chores.”
    She considered refusing but couldn’t deny that a bit of freedom might be a good thing. She patted the gelding, thanked Doghail again, and left the barn with less regret than usual.
    Her uncle was growing increasingly unreasonable, even she had to admit that. He had never managed to strike her save once or twice, a handful of years earlier, when he had caught her on the shoulder. She half suspected those times had been accidents, but he had seemingly taken a liking to how they had made him feel. Her respect for him, which had never been very great, had completely disappeared after that.
    She had, out of necessity, grown very adept at staying out of his reach. She supposed she wouldn’t manage that forever, which was perhaps why she needed to find more coins than she was going to be able to earn on her own. She had to leave Sàraichte soon, and she couldn’t go without her grandfather.
    She was sorely tempted to take one of those coins she’d hidden under filthy blankets, chuck it into the fountain in the midst of the village green, and wish with all her might for a Hero to come striding out of the gloom and rescue her from the unrelenting reality of her life—
    And that would be exactly as far as any of it went because Heroes didn’t exist, her reality was what it was, and if she used one of her coins in such a stupid fashion, she would be unrescued, red in the face, and holding on to one less coin.
    Truly, she had to get hold of herself.
    She concentrated on where she was going only because she wasdesperate for some sort of distraction. She walked on the outside of the wall that surrounded the manor and its gardens—on the outside because only servants employed up at the house and family were permitted to walk on the inside and she was