Free The Young Magician (The Legacy Trilogy) by Michael Foster Page B

standing nervously.
    ‘What do you want?’ one of them then asked, but his voice was not as horrible as Samuel had first expected.
    ‘Mr Joshua?’ Samuel asked sheepishly.
    ‘Josh! ’ one called out and Mr Joshua curtly appeared from a back room, looking somewhat harried and bothered. Upon spying Samuel, his frown changed to a look of jubilation.
    ‘Ah, my boy!’ he called, moving to Samuel and patting him warmly on the shoulder. The men stopped watching him and one began scraping up the cards at their feet. ‘How have you been? I didn’t expect to see you so soon!’
    ‘Ah...very well thank you, Sir,’ Samuel stammered. ‘I just thought I would let you know that...’
    ‘Ah, good, good!’ Mr Joshua interrupted. ‘How happy I am to see you! But, unfortunately, I don’t have time to chit-chat just now. Now, next time you visit me, why don’t you to bring me some of that nice jam from the market?’ And he pressed a couple of coins into Samuel’s palms.
    ‘Um...which jam, Mr Joshua?’
    ‘Any jam will do—your favourite. Now be off with you until next time. Go on!’
    Samuel left, bewildered, as he made down the stairs. He examined his hand to find one and a half crowns. Happy at his growing fortune, Samuel skipped down the last few stairs and trotted back home, rattling the coins within his fist as a long line of brightly garbed soldiers went marching by.
     
    The months passed by and winter soon came and left again and the seasons seemed to flit by before Samuel could even notice them. Sometimes, as he lay in the dark, cold or tired or aching in his muscles, Samuel wondered if he would spend his whole life there in the stables of the Three Toads Inn. Resolutely, he decided that with all the money he had been saving from Mr Joshua, he would eventually be able to go out and find his fortune. He had managed to gather quite a tidy sum, for he had never spent even a single coin, except for the one time he bought a tiny handkerchief for Jessicah.
    She had remarked upon it in the market and had been overjoyed when Samuel had given it to her. She had carried it ever since, keeping it tucked tightly in her pocket.
    The following winter was a quiet time at the Three Toads Inn and so, on the odd pleasant day, Samuel and Jessicah would go walking down by the river and play in the fields on the other side. Upstream, the river was shallow and swift and it was wonderful fun trying to get across the smooth, round stones without falling upon their backsides and getting wet. It was on one such day as this that Samuel and Jessicah returned home to find a very angry uncle, indeed. He came striding outside when he saw them approach and had a long, thin rod in his hand. Jessicah squeezed Samuel’s hand and they walked in bravely.
    ‘You filthy dog!’ the big man roared, directing his fury at Samuel. ‘Get inside, Jessicah!’ he commanded. She gave Samuel a desperate glance before hurrying away inside. Samuel did not mind. He was used to the tempers of his uncle and aunt and preferred that Jessicah was not there to witness it. ‘ Thief! What have you been stealing of mine?’
    ‘Nothing, Uncle,’ Samuel stammered, wandering what was the root of the man’s fury this time.
    ‘Don’t lie to me! Where did you get all that money? Such a fortune for a brat like you. Where did you get it?’
    Samuel’s heart seemed to stop in place as he realised his savings had been found and, undoubtedly, plundered. ‘I’ve been doing some work for a man in the marketplace,’ Samuel tried to explain.
    ‘Rubbish!’ his uncle spat, bright red in the face. ‘No one would pay a fool like you for anything, and I’ve told you before not to loiter in the streets with my daughter! I’ve had it up to here with you,’ and he gestured to his neck to illustrate. He stood silent for a moment, as if trying to calm himself, before spinning about and stomping away. Samuel did not know what to do. He was filled with anger and disbelief. He knew