Page 158 (1/1)

Epiny guided her horse away from the coroole file, down a bra path Spink had his horse between my cousin and me, or Sirlofty could easily have outrun Epiny’s mare and let me catch her Twice, fallen trees blocked the way, and each time her horse cleared the obstacle in a ju her lifeless body hoside the river, and there it was that she finally pulled in herout, "Epiny, are you hurt?" as he flung himself off his horse She had already dis hard Her cheeks were very pink in the cool air and her hair had coled about on her shoulders As I rode up and disain and restore it to the snood it had escaped

"Of course I’allop that was It did both of us ets a chance to really stretch her legs"

"I thought your horse had run aith you!" Spink exclaied her to it Come Let us walk the horses on the path by the river to cool them It’s lovely there, even this tih "Epiny, I cannot believe your behavior! What is the ive us such a scare? Spink and I were terrified for you, to say nothing of the other people in the park What ails you, that a young woman of your family and years acts like an irresponsible hoyden?"

She had begun to walk away, leading her ed as completely as if she had removed a mask, and I think that in some ways she had She leaned toward me as she spoke, and had she been a horse, her ears would have been back and her teeth bared "The day I begin acting like a ‘woirl,’ the day I succumb to the manacles and shackles prepared for me, is the day on which hest bidder I had heard that on the border, women were allowed to have lives of their own I had expected a more modern sensibility from you, cousin dear Instead, over and over, you reveal my worst fears for you rather than my fondest hopes"

"I don’t knohat you’re talking about!" I felt angry, indignant, and strangely hurt at her disparaging words

"I do," Spink said quietly "My mother speaks of it"

"Of what?" I deain? I felt as I did when I first tried to learn Varnian; that people were talking, but that their words conveyed noto run their own affairs," Spink said "I’ve told you how our first overseer cheated us, when my brothers and I were little more than children MyShe says that if she had been able to understand the accounts and how the holdings should have been operated, she would never have lost for us what should have been my brother’s fortune So when she sent for a tutor for my brother, she insisted that she be allowed to sit in on all his lessons And she has taught ht need to know should they ever become untimely ith small children to defend"

I stared at hi to say

"Exactly," Epiny said, as if it justified all her strange behavior

I found ue "I would blame more your mother’s family that your uncle did not co theh I doubt that my elder brother would ever abandon my wife and children to such a fate, no one can predict that he would be alive and in a position to help thehter of hers will suffer as she did, fronorance"

I could think of any nu Instead, I turned to ine what ‘shackles and , Epiny If you behave like a lady, you will o to a lovely home of your oith servants to care for your needs It seems to me that all noble ladies in Old Thares have to do is fix their hair and order new clothing made for them Are those your ‘shackles’ you speak of? It sha you off’ as if you were a prize co can you say such a cruel thing when your father so obviously loves you?"

"Shackles of velvet, and manacles of lace, dear cousin, can bind a woman as effectively as those of cold iron Oh, my father loves me and so does ood fahted with my dowry and will probably treat me well, especially if I produce children for him in a timely and uncomplicated way The man they choose for me will become an important political ally, which is where I see all the difficulties arise, for my father and my mother have very different political ambitions, as you undoubtedly know"