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What would be a good thing for theht, Mother," she said "They won't beat you They knoas an accident"

Could they be convinced that herbeaten for clumsiness - that they had misunderstood what she had said?

"Death," herwas chat her mother appeared to know her

"No one means to kill you," Nola said, and opened her mouth to weave a story about a time when an irate chatelaine had threatened -

But her , "Death stands by him"

And Kirwyn, of course, picked that sa them, so that Nola'sof a leper's bell There was no chance of anyone h Nola'sat Kirwyn's father, he asked, "Who?"

"You think you see Death standing by my side?" Innis asked, in a voice that was remarkably calm for the circumstances

"Of course not!" Nola's ht, do I?"

"Then what - ," Nola and at least two of the others in the rooht," Nolas mother said, obviously exasperated with all of the the Mass of the Dead For hier shook in Innis's direction

Nola save the appearance of only raising her own hand to reassuringly caress her mother's check Who in the world is Abbot Dinsmore? she wondered But even as she wondered she knew She'd never heard the name before, but she knew Not a new voice, not now It was alorst when a new voice started: "They keep pushing and shoving for roo the side of her head "Stop shouting in there - I can hear you perfectly well"

Now, still trying to save the situation by covering it over with a babble of words, Nola said innocently, "Abbot Dins the ho mumbled away in Latin half the time, and" - she partially turned to address Innis - "he thought he was a priest, though I doubt he ever was, and he was saying snatches of novenas and - "

"Nola!" her ets into you?" And she sounded perfectly rational, except that she pointed to her head and said, "I' about Abbot Dinsmore who lives in here with the rest of thelimpses into the future, and as soon as he saw che silversan to say the Mass of the Dead"

And how could anyone cover up a statement like that?

To Innis, Nola'ssoon"

"Perhaps," Innis said, only somewhat shakily, "it would be best if you left - both of you"

It was Alan who stood up for theun to wander," he said

Nola nodded vigorously "She means no harm"

"I realize that," Innis said "But practically on the eve of " He shook his head "Ir isn't lucky"

How could she begin to argue with that?

"But they've worked all " Noas Brinna who protested Brinna, ould once more be on her own to prepare the house for the new bride

Innis said, "They o"

Even Kirho had whined so of their hire, had a good word, of sorts "Hoill Brinna ever e on her own before Sulis arrives?"

"I have spoken," Innis announced

And chat was the end of that job

BESIDES GIVING them lunch, Brinna packed food for thery," she told theht-fall, and when they stopped they were in the town of Saint Erier than four or five of Haytowns People of wealth ere disinclined to hard work often congregated in such places, and it was usually possible to find someone to take them in

It was also easier, she comforted herself, to lose yourself and not have people notice you

She began to relax, confident at last that they were far enough away and in a big enough town chat no one would co them down - not Innis, who in any case did not seem apt to, nor the blackberry farmer fro in the ood place to spend the night, Nola thought for the first time of the bucket in the silversmith's root cellar, the bucket bespelled with a strand of che blackberryout in the water there

Oh no, she thought Oh no, oh no, oh no

"What?" her mother asked, for Nola had stopped so suddenly that her ed to breathe out

"Oooo," her , I'd hate to see your face when soht, no ed herself No need to panic Nobody was likely to see the bucket set up where it was, or hear the sounds that caht, Nola berated herself Not for a few hours Not for a day