The Mirror's Tale (Further Tales Adventures) Read Free Page A

the rope around his waist and threw the rest of the coil to his brother. “Tie this end to something, in case I slip. Although death might be better than what they’re planning.”
    “You’re crazy,” Will said wearily. He knelt to tie the rope to the foot of his bed.
    “Not crazy,” Bert replied, grinning. “Just terribly brave” He stuck his legs out the window and lowered himself on his stomach until his elbows rested on the sill. He probed with his toes until he found a narrow ledge of stone, an inch or so wide, that ran just below the second story of the castle. He and Will had spent countless hours edging their way along the walls of the keep—but always on the first floor, where a slip would only send them a few feet to the ground. Here, the courtyard was at least twenty feet below. Bert didn’t see any of the night watchmen down there. And that was good. To them he would look like an assassin creeping toward the baron’s room.
    He edged away from the window, looked for tiny cracks between the stones that he could use as finger-holds, and slid his feet along the ledge, an inch at a time.Will watched his slow progress and fed the rope out, ready to hold on tight if his brother lost his balance.
    By the time Bert was halfway to his parent’s window, he could hear their conversation clearly.
    “They’ll never change, you know,” his mother said.
    “Hellions, both of them,” his father replied. “And punishment only makes them more rebellious.”
    “But why do they do this, Walter? It’s almost as if they are
trying
to upset me. To get back at me for something.”
    “But what have you … what have
we
ever done to them to deserve all this?”
    “Nothing, I’m sure. But they’re wild and unruly, and something must be done. What if they’d burned themselves to death? What would the king’s court say about us then?”
    Thanks, Mother,
Bert thought. There was a long silence that was somehow worse than their words. He managed to creep to the very edge of the window before his mother spoke again, much more softly.
    “Walter, do you remember the story of your grandfather’s assault on the Northmen? How he won the day?”
    “Of course,” said the baron. He sounded relieved to change the topic. “The armies faced each other across a wide plain. Grandfather concentrated his forces on the center of the Northmen’s line and attacked there, splitting the army into two.”
    “Just so.”
    There was another long silence. Somewhere in the dark courtyard below, a dog growled. It occurred to Bert that the topic had not changed at all Inside the room the same thing occurred to his father.
    “You think we should separate the boys.”
    “Yes! Send one to live with your brother at The Crags. Not forever, only for the summer. And keep one with us. It may be the only way to tame them.”
    No,
Bert thought. His brain faltered, and his knees went limp. He tightened his grip on the edge of the windowsill and turned to look back at Will, who leaned out the window with a puzzled look on his face.
    “Separate the boys,” the baron said again, as if he was trying to get used to the idea.
    “They lead each other into trouble. Bertram leads William into trouble, to be more exact.”
    “But they’ve always been together. From the day they were born. I can hardly remember seeing one without the other.”
    “That’s the problem, don’t you see?” she said. Bert leaned closer. His parents were so close to the window that he could hear the rustle of fabric as his mother drew nearer to his father. Bert could picture what was happening inside. He’d seen it before. When his mother really wanted his father to agree to something, she’d slide up beside him and lock her hands around his waist. “It will be a shock, but a shock is what they need,” she said. “Honestly, Walter, there have been times whenI wonder if I even love them, they are so troublesome. I know you feel the same way, you don’t even have to say