The Seabird of Sanematsu Read Online Free

muscles unbound, and she grew drowsy.

    The women went about tidying the hut, leaving her to her ease. Hamasaki stood, his face stony, looking into some far distance to avoid the sight of the naked woman.

    Aderyn kept her guard up, wary of what would happen next. Still, for the first time since she awoke, she could think about something besides surviving. She was curious to learn more about where she was, although fear still filled her. What would her captor do with her now she was all clean and groomed? Would he have his way, and then kill her? Or keep her in some sort of harem to call on at intervals?

    The prospect of learning a new culture stirred excitement within her, despite her precarious situation. She had soaked up more about the people of the East in her sixteen years than her father, who had traveled among them daily. The colors of the market and aroma of the foods had piqued her inquisitiveness. The rhythm of the languages and the manner of the people interested her. But each tidbit of knowledge made her hunger for more.

    With her curiosity came her gift for tongues. The Jesuit fathers who taught her and her sisters the basics a woman would need were fearful of the young girl whose Mandarin and Cantonese were flawless. Her other basic languages, Welsh and Portuguese, were part of her family. The Japanese frightened them the most. When and where had she learned it? Was it a human language or the Devil’s own tongue?

    The answer was simple. Since arriving in Macao as a toddler, she had had Asian nurses because of another of Kathryn’s obsessions. Although Benito’s business provided little better than a good living, Aderyn’s mother had felt a need for servants. Their nurse Hana, a Japanese woman who had fled to Macao with her outcast husband, cared for the children the longest. Aderyn had worshipped the woman, who took every curse and cuff dealt to her, and missed her after she died. She had honored Hana’s memory by remembering her language.

    One of the maids touched Aderyn’s arm in a gentle way not unlike Hana’s, and the other woman approached to help take her out of the water. They wiped her body with small towels that felt good on her heat-reddened skin. Since they left her not completely dry, the moisture evaporated with a refreshing cooling sensation.

    They medicated and dressed the superficial sword wound, which was more painful than anything. One of the maids held open a plain garment for her to put her arms in. The woman overlapped the front edges and tied it with a sash around her waist. The feel of soft, old cotton enveloped her. Wide sleeves hid her hands, and the hem came to her ankles. The other maid slipped flat straw sandals onto her feet. The snarls were combed from her hair, and it was drawn back and plaited into a rope hanging past her hips.

    When the woman announced she could leave, Hamasaki came to life to escort Aderyn to a stone-and-mortar structure set off from the main building. The scent of hay and manure drifted from the nearby stable. Rats and insects scurried away from them as the guard led her down the hall. Spider webs dangled from the corners and draped in thick abundance across the doorways. Shadows clung to every wall.

    Hamasaki unlocked the heavy door of the first room; the hinges squealed a protest at being bothered. He stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. He did not push her inside, as she suspected the Evil One would have.

    She crossed the threshold into the cold, tiny cell with timid steps. The room smelled musty, as if it had not been used in a very long time. A weak sunbeam came through a small square window with iron bars high up on the wall.

    Hamasaki grunted and moved back into the hall. As she stood in the middle of the bleak room, the bolt shot with a metallic thunk.

    Aderyn kicked off the sandals, pulled the hem of her garment up to her knees and sat cross-legged on the rough stone floor covered with worn straw mats. Hungry, she did not