Green Jasper
Page 23
Kamil immediately went to Sacramenta, Hosanna’s mother, who was also tied up outside, and bent over to dig some mud out of her feet using the little triangular blade that he had had the smith fashion and that he always wore at his belt. “I’m ready,” he said. Both young men were the same age but Kamil looked older than Will for his face was darker and leaner, and although he had been in England for a number of months, he retained the aloofness of a stranger. If Elric thought this was snooty, Kamil could not help it. It was just how he was, and recently he knew his aloofness had got worse.
For all the Hartslove hospitality, Kamil could not belong and some days he missed his homeland acutely, not just the dry smell of the desert or the warm explosion of fresh figs on his tongue but the chatter of the market and the sense of being wordlessly understood. Sometimes he hated the tolling of the great abbey bell across the Hartslove valley, not because he disliked the sound, but because it reminded him how much he longed to hear the pulsating call of the muezzin. Every day, he felt his Saracen blood running a little thinner. Yet he stayed, partly because, with Saladin dead, it was too dangerous for him to return home, partly for love of Will and Hosanna, and partly because of Ellie. She was the only person to whom he had ever opened his soul. It had happened just once. But he wondered—no, he hoped—there might be another time. Although Ellie gave him no encouragement, he could not shake off this hope and when he stood in the stable with Hosanna beside him and Ellie in front, he could sometimes believe he was happy.
Elric tugged at Will’s jerkin. “Can I go with you tomorrow?” he begged. “I may not be good with a lance yet but I can ride and you’ll need somebody to tend the horses whilst you count the money.”
Will raised his eyebrows. “It’s too far, Elric,” he said. “I’m not sure you are quite ready.”
“But if Hal’s going with you, he could carry on teaching me on the way.” Elric could be relied upon to argue. “Think how much improvement I could make.”
“Well, yes,” Will agreed, almost unable to resist Elric’s pleading face because it reminded him so much of himself. “I’ll think about it over supper.”
Elric knew he had won and threw a triumphant glance at Hal, who winked at him as they all began to move toward the great hall. Then Elric found Marissa beside him. “Don’t think you are so great,” she said, her mouth curled with jealousy. She hated the castle when Will was not at home, and the night before he left she was always at her worst. “It’s only because I am a girl that I can’t go.”
The boy grinned naughtily. “I suppose when you can canter without clinging on to a neckstrap,” he said, his voice angelically sympathetic, “the earl might take you over to the abbey. They make honey there, you know, which can sweeten even the sourest temper.” He dodged her smack with ease and ran off.
Will sighed. Elric was naughty but why on earth couldn’t Marissa be nicer? Her obvious adoration of him was very gratifying but it was also a nuisance since it made her so poisonous. He thought of saying something to her—again—but decided not to. He would never change her and anyway, he had more important things to think about. He had just turned to summon Constable Shortspur, who would be in charge of the garrison in his absence, when an archer practicing his craft from the battlements called down. “Sir,” he shouted, “Earl William! There’s somebody coming up the road.”
Silence fell and the knights stiffened, poised to rush for armor and swords. The porter began to wind up the drawbridge. But the archer, leaning right over, seemed unperturbed. “It’s just one person,” he called, then after a moment, “and a horse. Yes, sir. One person and a silver-colored horse. The man is leading it and he looks tired.”
Will signaled for the drawbridge to be lowered again and with Hal and Ellie right behind him and Marissa pushing forward, he strode out. In the courtyard, Hosanna ignored Elric’s proffered apple, stamped one front hoof so hard it drew sparks, and then stood perfectly still.
About the Author
K. M. GRANT is the third of seven children, and she grew up in the wild countryside of Lancashire, England. When she was younger, she learned that her ancestor Francis Towneley was executed in 1746 for his faith, and his severed head was shipped around the country as an example to others. Her family kept a lock of his hair framed in the sitting room to remember him by. That family lore fueled Grant’s imagination, and later, a wild red horse named Muffet inspired her to write about Hosanna. She lives with her husband and children in Glasgow, Scotland, where she works as a journalist and broadcaster.
Blood Red Horse was K. M. Grant’s first novel. Look for the thrilling conclusion to the de Granville trilogy, Blaze of Silver.
Learn more about adventures to come at
www.kmgrant.org
More praise for
green jasper
“Readers of Blood Red Horse will find themselves eminently satisfied.” —The Horn Book
“A worthy successor to Blood Red Horse… this sequel brings the reality of the middle ages to life with integrity and imagination.” —VOYA
“[Green Jasper] will appeal to boy and girl readers, adventure fans and horse
enthusiasts…. It’s a pleasure to await the third book.” —Chicago Tribune
Praise for
blood red horse
A Book Sense Top Ten Pick
A Booklist Top Ten in Youth First Novels
Texas Lone Star Reading List
“Grant portrays both sides of the conflict without demonizing or idealizing either. … The stallion’s most amazing achievement is the way in which its story … transcends boundaries of gender and genre.” —Booklist, starred review
“This is a gripping coming of age story that is fast paced and exhilarating. You are there with Ellie, Will, Gavin and especially the horse, Hosanna…. This Crusade has something for every reader: adventure, romance, history, love, and loss.” —Library Media Connection, starred review
“In a very tricky combination, Grant blends historical fiction with a horse story, makes it work and makes us want a promised sequel.” —Chicago Tribune
“A rewarding adventure, one not soon forgotten and one that lends itself to great discussion.”—SLJ
“It all plays like a sprawling Hollywood epic…. The whirlwind pacing and involving adventure will keep readers turning pages.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A coming-of-age book in ancient mythic tradition … a ripping yarn of old.” —Guardian
“Blood Red Horse is an exceptionally good historical novel, all about the big things: life and death, love and loyalty, courage and despair, the treachery of friends, and the nobility of an enemy. As I did, you will lose your heart to Will, Gavin, Ellie, and the Muslim Kamil, but most of all to a magical blood red horse named Hosanna.” —Karen Cushman, author of The Midwife’s Apprentice, a Newbery Medal winner; and Catherine, Called Birdy, a Newbery Honor book
By the Same Author
THE DE GRANVILLE TRILOGY
BY K. M. GRANT
Blood Red Horse
Book One
Green Jasper
Book Two
Blaze of Silver
Book Three
Copyright © 2006 by K. M. Grant
Electronic edition published in June 2012
www.bloosmburykids.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States of America in 2006 by
Walker Publishing Company, Inc.
Paperback edition published in 2007
Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers
Originally published in the U.K. in 2005 by the Penguin Group, Puffin Books
For information about permission to reproduce selections from
this book, write to Permissions, Walk
er & Company,
104 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Grant, K. M.
Green jasper / K. M. Grant.
p. cm.
Sequel to: Blood red horse.
Summary: Having returned to a politically unstable England after the Crusades,
brothers Will and Gavin—with the help of the red horse Hosanna—attempt to rescue
their friend Ellie who is being held prisoner by an enemy of King Richard I.
[1. Horses—Fiction. 2. Brothers—Fiction. 3. Prisoners—Fiction.
4. Knights and knighthood—Fiction. 5. Great Britain—History—
Richard I, 1189–1199—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.G7667755Gre 2006 [Fic]—dc22 2005024083
ISBN: 978-0-80273-479-2 (e-book)