The Girl of Ink & Stars Read Free Page B

across the pitted path from the village. The horses seemed restless, sidestepping and shaking back their manes. Two men sat beside the driver, the sun glinting off their swords.
    The carriage’s blue curtains were drawn, protecting its passengers from the heat. But even at this distance, I could make out the broad Governor and his tiny wife, silhouetted through the silk.

CHAPTER
THREE
    T he carriage stopped outside the school. The driver jumped down to open the door as Governor Adori swept aside the curtains and stepped down into the dust. I shrank back, standing in Lupe’s shadow. This close he was shorter than I expected, but wide-shouldered, his chest round as a barrel.
    I had never met him before, seen him only on his horse in the annual parade, where the whole village was made to come out and cheer. The Governor’s men even handed out blue banners to wave, and fined people if they got the cloth dirty. I wondered if he knew Lupe was friends with the cartographer’s daughter.
    â€˜Come now,’ he said to Lupe.
    She looked uncertainly at me. I released her hand.
    â€˜Papa, what’s—’
    â€˜No questions. Get inside.’
    â€˜Can Isabella come?’
    I ducked my head as he peered past her. ‘No,’ he said. ‘We’re going home.’
    â€˜Can we drop her at the village then?’ said Lupe uncertainly. I knew she was not allowed to invite people over.
    The Governor clicked his tongue, then snapped his fingers in my direction. ‘Hurry up.’
    Señora Feliz tripped alongside us. ‘Sorry, Governor Adori. I did send someone ahead, but the girls had cut across the fields—’
    The teacher fell silent as the Governor held his hand up impatiently. He motioned for us to get into the carriage.
    My legs shook as I climbed up into the soft interior and sat opposite Señora Adori. She shifted her skirts away from my dusty sandals. Her lips were pursed and she was even paler than usual, her blue silk fan flicking impatiently around her face. Da said she came from Europa, and she certainly dressed as if she did. Despite the heat she was wearing a full-skirted blue silk dress, and a bead of sweat was snaking its way down her cheek. She did not move to wipe it away.
    We set off. It was my first time in a carriage but it was hard to feel excited. Why was school closed? And why had the Governor come to pick Lupe up? He never had before.
    I chanced a look at him. He was imposing in the cramped space of the carriage, his skin darker than Lupe’s, dark as Da’s. His eyes were narrow, pupils black and slatted as a snake’s, and just as cold. As I watched, a yellow dragonfly flickered briefly at his temple and he caught it mid-flight,crushing it between two fingers and dropping it to the carpeted floor. I shuddered.
    Why had he come here? Why did he treat Joya as if it belonged to him, and not to the people who had lived here for centuries? Because of him, I had never seen the rest of our island, let alone the world, and Da’s skills as a map-maker were wasted. Because of him, there were no more songbirds. Masha said he was even to blame for the river drying up, but Da said she was just being superstitious.
    It was stuffy and hot. The velvet of the seats stuck to my legs and I longed to throw back the curtain and see what was happening outside, but I kept my eyes fixed on a ring of keys glinting from his belt. Lupe seemed uncomfortable too.
    â€˜What’s going on, Papa?’
    The Governor’s hand clenched and unclenched. ‘Mama will explain when we get home.’ His eyes flicked again to me.
    â€˜Is it something bad?’
    He gave a hollow laugh, like a low, tuneless bell. Fear spiked through me. Why could he not explain now?
    No one spoke again until the Governor barked out, ‘Stop!’ and the horses were pulled to a halt. The carriage rocked as the driver jumped down and opened the door. I drew back the curtain, and my skin