“Who are you?” I asked again.
“I am Selwyn, brother of the man who owns this land. And you, tree nymph, who are you?”
I ignored his question. “You are brother to Errol Silas?”
“No, I am brother to Ilias, but I know Errol. I won’t harm you, child. If you won’t give me your name, at least come down. I am getting a crick in my neck looking up at you.”
“What if I don’t come down?” I asked tentatively.
He laughed. “Then I shall go fetch Errol and have him order you down. Come, child, I am not going to hurt you. What can I do to convince you to climb down?”
“Leave.”
He laughed again. “And let you fall and break your neck, I don’t think I shall. I saw you climbing. You are out of practice. Now come down while I watch to make sure you don’t fall.” My cheeks burned at the thought of him observing my ascent, especially the first few attempts. I had given little thought to modesty.
“Selwyn!” cried Candra. I couldn’t see her for the thickness of the leaves, but I could hear her approach through the dense grass. She entered my sight near the base of the tree at a run. Hurling herself at the stranger, she gave him a fierce hug. “Selwyn, what are you doing here?”
“Right at the moment, I am trying to convince a tree nymph to descend from her precarious perch. You are just in time to persuade her that I am safe.”
“Who is it?” I spied Candra’s face briefly through the branches as she attempted to get a better view of me.
“Zezilia, what are you doing up there?” she asked.
I tried to gather up what dignity I could. “I am sitting in a tree.”
“We can see that,” Selwyn pointed out. “Now that you can see that Candra trusts me, will you descend?”
The two of them waited and watched as I then proceeded to climb down while attempting to remain modest. It was a very awkward procedure, especially as I grew closer to the ground and I could see Selwyn’s dark gaze every time I looked down. “Must you watch?” I finally asked when I was only five branches from the ground.
“I can’t catch you with my back turned, Donellea,” he replied, amusement lacing his voice. I glared at him.
“I found the perfect tree for a tree house,” Candra said, attempting to draw his attention from me.
“I though you already were planning to build one in the old willow on the other side of the pond,” he responded without turning his gaze from me.
“No this one is better, over in the woods near creek, next to the swimming hole.”
“Oh, that one.”
I settled myself on the last branch and eyed the jump to the ground. I considered the distance to the limb I swung on to get up, but before I could move, a pressure formed around my middle. Lifting me off the branch, the force lowered me to the ground. The moment my bare toes touched the earth, the pressure eased. I looked up in surprise to find Selwyn watching me.
I swallowed carefully. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “You are very welcome, Donellea. Now let me escort you back to the house.”
“But first you must see the tree,” Candra protested.
“And I am supposed to return with brandleberries.” Selwyn’s gaze turned to me. I added, “Actually, I am supposed to help Candra with the brandleberries.”
Candra frowned at me. “Did you bring a bucket for them?” she asked.
Forced to admit that I had not, I listened with a sinking heart as Candra muttered something about good-for-nothing court brats.
“Now Candra, that is hardly fair,” Selwyn protested. “Zezilia can’t help it that she didn’t remember.”
“She can’t cook, she can’t climb trees, and she doesn’t even know to bring a bucket or basket to go berry picking. What am I supposed to do with her?” Candra waved a hand in my direction. “She is useless.”
I lowered my eyes. This was not working out at all like I had hoped. Of all the Silas girls, I had hoped that Candra would like me. But now she was the one who liked me the least.
“Then teach her.” I looked up in surprise to find Selwyn studying me. There was something familiar in the tilt of his head, but I pushed the thought aside. “She looks intelligent enough, and I think she would like to learn to do all those things and more. Am I right, Zezilia?”
I nodded and looked hopefully at Candra. Her green eyes were slits of concentration. “You are going to get dirty,” she told me.
“I don’t mind dirt.”
“There will be bugs and worms.”
I shrugged. Nothing I hadn’t dealt with before.
“Can you hammer a nail?” she asked.
“Better than my brothers,” I told her, which was true.
Finally, she smiled. Holding out a grubby hand toward me, she said, “You are hired.”
I took the hand and we shook on it, despite the fact I had no idea what she was hiring me for.
“We start on the tree house tomorrow.”
“What about the berries?” Selwyn asked.
“This way.” Candra turned and started back the way I had come. Selwyn followed. I gathered up my shoes and scrambled after them.
Chapter VI
Zezilia
Three days later at the breakfast table, Errol announced that my lessons would begin today, directly after the meal. Despite Candra’s sulky frown from across the table, I smiled.
“But Father, we were going to start on the floor today,” Candra protested.
“You can work on the tree house on your own today,” Errol pointed out. “Besides, that was what you were planning on doing before Zezilia joined in the effort.”
“But it goes so slowly with only one.”
“This is not up for discussion,” Errol stated firmly and then returned to his meal.
I eagerly finished my porridge and fruit. Clearing my place, I excused myself.
The work room was one of the smaller rooms in the house. Crowded with books, chairs, two
