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To Leon he adreeably impressed: after all, he had won his place in the castle onis early Gothic, explained the Baron’s son, as if Wladek were sure to knohat Gothic meant Wladek nodded Next Leon took his new friend down into the immense cellars, with line upon line of wine bottles covered in dust and cobwebs Wladek’s favourite roo and stoneflagged floor There were animals’
heads all around the walls Leon told him they were bison, bear, elk, boar and wolverine At the end of the roo’s antlers The Rosnovski family motto read ’Fortune favours the brave’ After a lunch, which Wladek ate so little of because he couldn’t ive hi he cliest bed he had ever seen and told Florentyna about his adventures Her excited eyes never once left his face, nor did she even close her ape onder, especially when she heard about the knife and fork, which Wladek described with the fingers of his right hand held out tight together, those of his left splayed wide apart
The tutoring started at seven sharp, before breakfast, and continued throughout the day with only short breaks for meals Initially, Leon was clearly ahead of Wladek, but Wladek wrestled deteran to narrohile friendship and rivalry between the two boys developed simultaneously The German and Polish tutors found it hard to treat their two pupils, the son of a baron, and the son of a trapper, as equals, although they reluctantly conceded to the Baron when he enquired that Mr Kotowski had ht academic choice The tutors’attitude towards Wladek never worried him because by Leon he was always treated as an equal
The Baron let it be known that he was pleased with the progress the two boys wereand from time to time he would reward Wladek with clothes and toys Wladek’s initial distant and detached admiration for the Baron developed into respect and, when the tie in the forest to rejoin his father and ht of leaving Leon
His distress ell - founded Despite the initial happiness he felt at seeing his mother, the short space of three months that he had spent in the Baron’s castle had revealed to him deficiencies in his own home of which he had previously been quite unaware The holiday dragged on Wla - dek felt hie with its one room and loft~ and dissatisfied by the food dished out in such re amounts and then eaten by hand: no one had divided by nine at the castle After teeks Wladek longed to return to Leon and the Baron Every afternoon he would walk the six wior - sta to the castle and sit and stare at the great walls that surrounded the estate Florentyna, who had lived only a e would never be hoain for Wladek The trapper was not sure how to treat the boy, as noell - dressed, wellspoken, and talked of things at six that the in to understand, nor did he want to The boy see Whatever would beco an axe or trap a hare, how could he ever hope to earn an honest living? He too prayed that the holiday would pass qwckly
Helena was proud of Wladek, and at first avoided ade had been driven between him and the rest of the children
But in the end it could not be avoided Playing at soldiers one evening, both Stefan and Franck, generals on opposing sides, refused to have Wla - dek in their arn lies
’Why must I always be left out?’ cried Wladek ’I want to learn to fight too’
’Because you are not one of us,’ declared Stefan ’You are not really our brother!
There was a long silence before Franck continued ’Ojciec never wanted you in the first place; only Matka was on your side’
Wladek stood motionless and cast his eye around the circle of children, searching for Florentyna
’What does Franck mean, I am not your brother?’ he demanded
Thus Wladek came to hear of the manner of his birth and to understand why he bad been always set apart froh his mother’s distress at his now total self - containment became oppressive, Wladek was secretly pleased to discover that he came from unknown stock, untouched by the ers seem possible