The Testimony of Taliesin Jones

HarperCollins
Publishers

77-85 Fulham
Palace Road
,

Hammersmith,
London
W6 8JB

Published by HarperCollins
Publishers
1996

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Copyright © Rhidian Brook 1996

Rhidian Brook asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is

available from the British Library

ISBN 0 00 225372 0

Set in Bembo

Printed and bound in
Great Britain
by Caledonian

International Book Manufacturing Ltd.
Glasgow
. G64

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system. or
transmitted,

in any form or by any means. Electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior

permission of the publishers.

For my mothers and fathers,

brothers and sisters

AUTHOR'S NOTE

It may help the reader to note that the correct
pronunciation of the main character's name, Taliesin, is Tall-y-essin.

CHAPTER ON
E

HI
S LATEST
B
OOK is a
n
a
tlas:
T
h
e
At
la
s
of
t
h
e
Wor
ld
.
It
s jac
ket d
epicts a
bri
ght
blu
e
s
ph
e
ri
ca
l
e
a
rth
t
urning
aga
inst
a
d
ark
r
e
d
b
ackground
.
H
e
t
akes
th
e
p
rotective ja
cket
off a
nd
s
ees t
hat th
e
titl
e
of the b
ook
i
s e
mbossed
i
n
go
ld l
ett
erin
g agai
nst
a
d
arker
blood-r
ed
b
ackground
.
T
here
is
n
o ea
rth
o
n
t
h
e
h
ard cove
r. He
s
trokes th
e coo
l
s
urface
of
th
i
s
e
x
pen
sive
b
ook and
l
eaves
a
s
light h
andprint -
hi
s
h
ands
h
ot wi
th
a
nticipation
.
Then he run
s
h
is
ind
ex fi
nger
a
long
t
he
g
rooves
of t
he
go
ld l
ettering
and feel
s
th
e
i
ndentations
:
up
a
nd d
own
th
e v's of
th
e
W; round
a
nd
ro
und
t
he O
of
W
ORLD.

H
e o
pens the book and rel
eases
a sme
ll
of
p
aper, a
f
resh
s
mell th
at
r
eminds
him of
exe
rcise b
ooks
di
stributed at t
h
e
begi
nning
o
f
a
n
ew sc
hool
yea
r
:
g
reen
fo
r
Geog
raphy, pink f
or Bio
logy
,
g
rey f
or
R
eligious
Edu
cation. O
n th
e clea
r
w
hite p
age is a
h
and written
m
essage
.
It r
eads
:
'
Darling
T
ali
esin,
wi
shing y
ou a
ve
ry h
appy e
leventh b
irthday
,
l
ove
Mum
xxx
'
.

H
is
m
other's
writing
i
s
th
e se
nsible,
fl
owing c
ursive
of
a G
rown-Up;
a
ll her letter
s
j
oin
with
out evi
dence
of a
b
reak
.
It
w
ill b
e
f
our o
r maybe fiv
e yea
rs
b
ef
ore
h
e ca
n
s
tring hi
s le
tter
s
t
o
g
ether
lik
e
th
at.
Hi
s
m
other's wr
itin
g
is
th
e ac
me
of
h
andwriting;
it
h
as a
p
erfect
l
ean, a co
nsistent
s
p
aci
n
g a
nd
i
t
is
l
e
gibl
e w
ithout bein
g
bland
.
 

After
the message she's put three cro
sses,
each with
a value of one kiss
.
This is restrained for
h
e
r. It r
epr
es
ent
s a distinct decline in affection. Her letters
are usually sprinkled with ki
s
ses that
overspill to the outside of the envelope. Perhaps
she
w
as s
obered
b
y
th
e se
riousness and
expen
siveness o
f th
e
book;
s
he didn
't wa
nt to d
emean i
ts
sc
ience b
y cove
ring it in to
o
m
any
ki
sses.
Or p
erhaps
th
ese
thr
ee k
i
sses
r
epresent
h
er
n
ew fam
ily un
it
:
Mr R
apunzel,
L
eo
th
e ca
t and h
erself.

H
e
pi
cks
up th
e so
lid,
sa
tisfying b
ook a
nd
s
mells it
agai
n, h
oping
th
at so
me m
olecules o
f p
erfume
drift
ed
fr
om
h
is
m
other's w
rist
as s
he w
rote a
nd th
at
h
e
m
ight
n
ow
d
et
ect a
whiff
of
h
er
.
Bu
t
th
e
bo
ok
ju
st ex
udes
a
n
ove
rwhelming
o
dour
of
n
ewness
;
a
di
st
ant coo
lness.

It
ca
me th
e
d
ay
b
efore
hi
s
b
irthday,
h
and-delivered
b
y
th
e
p
ostman
,
in
a
p
romising
brown
e
nvelope ti
ed
with
s
tring in
a c
ross,
a
nd b
earing
th
e
t
antalizing
in
struction
'D
o
n
ot o
pen until S
eptember
14th.
'
H
e a
lso
re
ceived
a
ru
st-coloured, o
ne hundr
ed
p
er ce
nt
S
hetland W
ool
jump
er
fort
ified a
nd
wa
terproof
ed w
ith l
anolin
t
o
pr
otect
h
im
from Wel
sh
R
ain
.
Hi
s
m
other a
lways
gi
ves h
im
fa
wn-coloured
cloth
es beca
use fawn
co
lours
a
r
e
h
is co
lours
,
a
pparently. H
e was
pl
eased wi
th th
e
bo
ok.