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Heribert looked at him in surprise "We are all of us dependents in one nant and skopos, too, are vassals of God How is this different?"

"Does God force regnant and skopos to be whores against their will?"

Chief a the servants and the one who stood so the flow of food and drink into he hall, was a re wo her lower lip, as if she’d been bitten hard enough to draw blood Lord Hrodik seemed deter her over and h any idiot could see that the poor wolant’s charis not to stare at the prince, shenot to stare at him "Ai, Lord," said Heribert with a rueful slant’s eye"

"How can you tell? It seems to me he looks at her no differently nor more often than he does the others"

Heribert chuckled softly "Does it seem so to you? Yet I think it seems otherwise to her She’s both shapely and handsome, and I fear me that our prince is particularly susceptible to woreed Zacharias, who did not object to ad handsome women and in years past--before his mutilation--had fallen short of his vows a handful of times "Perhaps it’s your own chastity you must watch over, friend, rather than the prince’s"

Heribert blushed slightly "Nay, friend, the charms of women hold no power over me Pity poor Lord Hrodik He fades quickly when seated beside Sanglant, and the "

"Truly, he wouldn’t have lasted a day aes, nothem dared boast of his exploits unless he were truly a warrior and hunter"

"Lord Hrodik’s retinue is agreed that he shot a buck last month so perhaps he can be accounted a hunter"

Zacharias laughed, unaccusto the fastidious cleric resort to sarcaslant’s head came up at the sound, and he stood abruptly The poet broke off in confusion, staring around wildly as if he thought an arht thunder into the hall

"I pray you, Brother Zacharias," said the prince, turning to address hith of two tables, "if you can recite the hymn to St Herodia, then do so You know it perfectly, do you not?"

Zacharias rose, handing the wine cup to Heribert "I can recite it, Your Highness, if it pleases you"

"It would please h table and ca hi doas left of the wine in his cup, leaving only dregs "Ai, God," he said in a low voice, "I have nonor for that truckler who clai his cup, and the handso the wine through a silver sieve that filtered out lant stared at her frankly, and she did not lower her eyes, so that this ti soainst his bronze complexion Lord Hrodik called to her sharply, and she hurried away to attend to him

"Ai, Lord," muttered the prince "I am not fit to be a monk"

"Our lord prince needs distraction," , Zacharias had devised a way ofof them as beasts tied up in a stable, each one in a separate stall and each stall marked by a bird or plant to re to launch hi down that stall in his ure of a vulture, known as the prophet a a stalk of barley, called hordeuh sounds with "Herodia" that it was easy to recall the second out of the first It took him as much tiather the first words onto his tongue

"Let us praise the first prophet, called Herodia,

Who walked a the streets and temples of Jeshuvi

And did not turn her eye away from mortal weakness,

Nor did she fear to speak harshly to those who

transgressed God’s law"

Once he had begun, the words flowed freely, one linking itself to the next in an unbroken chain It was the genius, so his grandranted to hiht the word of the Unities to their frontier village had praised hiel of ift upon him