The Beloved Wild by Melissa Ostrom

Author:Melissa Ostrom
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

My near row with the taproom bruiser did not disrupt my sleep. Nothing could. I was too weary and barely managed to keep my eyes open long enough to eat my pie, bathe, and give Fancy a halfhearted washing. Blissfully clean, I slept heavily and didn’t stir until the morning commotions in the tavern yard incited my dog’s barking. In fact, my companions had almost finished breakfast by the time I wandered into the quiet taproom.

“Why, if it isn’t our young radical, Mr. Freddy.” Phineas raised his coffee cup in salute. “Stay up late reading some Mary Wollstonecraft?”

Gid folded his arms and sat back. “Or writing your sermon blasting the social ills common in taverns?”

Phin smiled. “Or drafting your treatise in support of the cause of women?”

“Oh, I finished all that a long time ago.”

My brother grunted. “How was the apple pie?”

“Excellent.” I grinned at his peevish expression. Maybe he would have gotten a slice of pie, too, if he’d stood up for women. But he hadn’t.

“No one around this early to start a riot with, but there’s food. Have a seat.” Phineas toed out a chair and nodded approvingly at my outfit. “You’re looking as bright as a gold coin.”

“Thank you.” I had changed into my one spare set of clothes—articles, patched and altered, from my brother’s outgrown wardrobe.

Gid eyed me. “I used to have a short coat just like that.”

“Really?” I smoothed my hands down my front and patted the tops of my thighs. “Probably similar trousers, shirt, and vest, too.”

“Almost assuredly,” he answered dryly. He stood and peered anxiously out the window. The glass’s ripples and bubbles distorted the sunny scene, weirdly warping the young maple by the porch. “Eat fast, Freddy. I want to make it to Barre by noon.”

“I bet you do.”

After shooting me a discouraging frown, Gid went to check on our animals. Phineas kept me company while I enjoyed my eggs and bacon. He lounged and chatted until I started a second cup of coffee; then he left, as well, to gather his overnight things from his room. I finished the remainder of my meal and wandered outside, where my brother was half sprawled in the wagon. Most of our possessions littered the yard. Gid was probably organizing the provisions. The few travelers bustling around their vehicles looked like they were doing the very same thing.

The sun shone gloriously bright, completely unhindered by clouds. For the first time on this trip, I realized how big the sky was in these parts. Before Batavia, endless trees had roofed us, and I could never see very far ahead through the branchy mesh, but in this cleared oasis, I was able to take in my surroundings. I didn’t mind the flat terrain. Without mountains standing in the way, the sky plunged straight to the ground. I raised my face to the sun’s beams and breathed deeply, then headed across the yard to help my brother.

“Freddy! Over here.”

Phineas was stroking the nose of a fine mare that was tethered to a post.

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