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"No, sir I shall not neglect ht of two days away from the routine of the Academy shone in his face He beamed as I had not ever seen him smile before

I think that such an honest display of warruffly ordered us to "putin the boot, and then hurry off to fetch Kester’s pack Epiny, wait in the carriage I will not be long"

"But I want to go with them, to see Nevare’s dorht my uncle would accede to this also Instead, he held out his arers of his other hand After a nation, and obediently set her hand atop his are, and then he hi As the door closed behind hiestured imperiously that we should be on our way

I loadedinto the boot and then Spink and I risked a de full tilt back to Carneston House As Epiny had predicted, it took very little ti, and then ere off, again at a run Although we had hurried, e e returned Young Caulder was there, and despiteto strike up a conversation with Epiny At that moment it dawned on me that it was very likely that my cousin knew Caulder if her mother and his ht the end of so to him as we hurried up, out of breath "…just tell him you won’t wear it, Caulder Has your father no idea of how silly you look, all dressed up as a cadet when it will be years and years until you are really old enough to be one? It’s like you are playing dress-up in your nursery! Look at me, now I’myears older than you are, and yet you don’t see me all dressed up as if I were already a lady of the court or a married woman!"

Caulder’s cheeks were very pink He sucked in his lower lip, allared at Spink and me as if it were our fault we had overheard his friend’s reether and bowed to Epiny, saying only, "I shall look forward to seeing you at Lake Foror for the spring holiday"

"Perhaps," she said vaguely, and then, turning aside from him, she lifted her whistle to her lips and tweeted it at us inquiringly

"We’re ready," I told her, al at us promised trouble for Spink and nore the boy, so I bid him a stiff farewell, as did Spink I suddenly wanted, more than ever, to be away fro ride to my uncle’s home, he and I dominated the conversation I do not think Spink had ever been in so fine a carriage He touched the leather of the seat, fingered the tassel on the cushion, and then abruptly folded his hands on his lap He looked out thefor most of the journey, and I did not blahtly and speculatively through her whistle I thought her behavior quite childish for her years and wondered that her father tolerated it, but he see nored his ard daughter

At one point, in theschool, she took the whistle out of her ly, "Kellon Spinrek Kester Aht?"

Spink, startled, only replied with a sharp nod When my uncle looked at me quizzically, I said, "Spink’s father was a war hero He was tortured to death by Plainshtened us, and then added for our benefit, "I adore history I much prefer our family’s soldier son journals to the watered-down places-and-dates history in the schoolbooks Your father’s journal mentions Spink’s father, Nevare Did you know that?"

"Not until now,Epiny, " I said, deliberately using her first name, as she had made so free with Spink’s nickna if my uncle would think me ill mannered, but in truth, I do not think he even noticed I was shocked when Spink said, very quietly, "I should like to read those entries if I ht, Lord Burvelle"

"Of course you may, Cadet Kester," my uncle replied warmly "But I fear that we shall have to rely on Epiny to find them for us My brother, Nevare’s father, sent usthe course of his service for the king He was a very prolific writer in his soldier son days"