Blaze of Silver Read Online Free Page A

rising proud as a swan’s and its bearing regal.
    In a moment Kamil was in front of Will. “It’s anArab horse,” he said, and his low voice rose until he sounded like the boy he had been not so many years before. A horse from home! “And the man is a Saracen,” he added rather unnecessarily since Will could now see for himself the grubby Turkish hat. But despite his excitement, Kamil held back. Friendliness was weakness. Let the man come to them.
    Eventually Amal stopped looking at the archer and looked at the group of people barring his way. Ah! There was Kamil. Amal secretly relaxed. At least the journey was not wasted. He saw Will and immediately began to bow and bob until Will thought he must be quite dizzy. Amal halted and the horse stood slightly apart from him as if it found its carer useful but distasteful.
    â€œYou are Gavin de Granville, Count of Hartslove?” Amal knew just what to say.
    â€œWho asks?” enquired Will, knowing, without looking, that Hal would be poised, ready for anything, for no man ever had a better or more reliable squire.
    â€œA friend,” said Amal, pretending to stumble hard over the language, “who wishes, er, gift, er, er, from king.”
    Will’s face cleared at once. “Of course!” he exclaimed. “I do know this horse! Richard took it in Cyprus on the way to Palestine and wanted Gavin to have it. Do you remember, Ellie? Richard said so in the letter you read to us when we got home.”
    â€œYou—not Gavin?” Amal drew back.
    â€œNo,” said Will. “I am Gavin’s brother. He died a hero’s death in the spring.” Amal seemed to retreat but Will moved smartly forward to take the reins. The silver horse ignored him.
    Amal shrugged. “If one brother is dead, I suppose the other should take the prize,” he said deliberately in Arabic. Kamil could not help but betray how good it was to hear his own language spoken again. Amal pretended not to notice.
    Now everybody crowded around the horse.
    â€œHe’s like something out of one of Old Nurse’s fantastical stories,” breathed Ellie, amazed at the extraordinary reflections she could see. Close up, the silver turned to gray as if the animal were cast from metal. Ellie touched the swan-neck and jumped at the warmth on her palm for the color looked so cold. She moved to the front and tidied the long forelock to one side. The white strands among the dark shimmered like quicksilver and Ellie was dazzled. Then she jumped again. “Oh!” she cried. “This horse has blue eyes!”
    Amal shuffled forward and, with more bows, seemed to search for words. He began to speak. Ellie smiled and shook her head before turning to Kamil. “You must translate,” she said. Amal began again.
    â€œThe man says this horse has a wall-eye,” Kamil told her, delighted, “and he is right. It happens sometimes. Look. This eye shows blue and white but the other one is dark, as you would expect.”
    â€œAnd it’s not a he, but a she!” exclaimed Will, laughing.
    Amal bowed. “Ah, she, yes, she.” He reverted back to Arabic with a sidelong glance at Kamil. “We Arabs are happy with our mares. It is only you Christians who prefer the stallion. She is very fine.”
    Ellie was entranced. “A silver mare. How beautiful and how unusual!” She nodded at Amal to show herapproval and became aware, as she saw him droop, that he had not been offered so much as a cup of water. “Kamil, tell the man he is very welcome,” she said, looking to Will for his agreement. “He must be hungry and tired after his journey. He needs to wash and be given fresh clothes. Old Nurse will launder his dirty ones and if she makes her usual rude remarks about foreigners, at least our visitor won’t understand.”
    Amal kept an inquiring look on his face, but when Kamil gestured, he glanced nervously up once more at