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His expression was thoughtful He see, but not displeased by it "Contrive your best punishment, Lia I submit to it But I must be allowed to explain ht now" She reached to pick up the basket, but he got to it first and she almost touched his hand He handed it to her
"Why not?" he asked, scrutinizing her
"Because the Alder hiirl, so I have duties to attend to"
"When can I see you today?" he asked, taking up the bunch of purple mint from her basket He smelled it then set it back down
"When I a down at the flowers in the basket "Where can I find you?"
"I have been anxious to read Maderos’ tomes and there is little else I am allowed to do apparently while the learners study"
"Ah, the forbidden part of the grounds! As the hunter, I could forbid you to wander there But as the rule is only to prevent other people fro the apples e meet?" Lia offered "The blotchy ones are the sweetest"
He gazed at her face, seeing the blotches there "I remember I have craved those apples since I left I remember this place differently now" He looked around at the ht here yet," he whispered "I alad of that"
"We should live as if ere in public view, and think, too, as if someone could peer into the inht which assails us is not in the localities we inhabit but in ourselves We are ether than separately If you are ever forced to be in a crowd, then most of all you should withdraw into yourself Never trust another to do your thinking Even a maston"
- Gideon Penman of Muirwood Abbey
CHAPTER FIVE:
Scales
The discussion had already started by the time Lia reached the Aldermaston’s study, but only by a few moments Martin was nestled in the recessed , surly as usual, his ar His was a cantankerous presence Prestwich sat near the desk, organizing stacks of parch wax, forever patient and precise A fat candle lay dripping nearby His crown of white hair looked like fresh-fallen snow He was older than anyone else in the roo lanced over at Lia’s entrance, but did not stop the thread of his conversation His voice was soft yet gravelly, as if he were always slightly straining for breath "The third report froht alone Where were they from, Prestwich?"
The steward lifted his head and poked his earlobe with the stylus "From the Abbeys at Caneland and Sutton The latest arrived from Billerbeck with Earl Forshee"
Lia sat next to Martin at theseat, listening intently
"The Blight is spreading," the Alderes Dahomey, Paiz, and Hautland Few mastons travel alone these days They come in pairs as the earls did I have not heard of an Abbey succuhs on me heavily, this threat we face"
Martin stood, his voice nearly a growl "Who is infecting the stones then with this Blight? Who is spreading the taint? Is it the Myriad Ones? When Pry-Ree fell, it fell without a whis and noxious saps The princes were betrayed by those they trusted And when trust fails, so does law When there is no longer law, there is only war and ht," the Alderue Soht Sometimes even, Idumea forbid, ater" He paused and looked at Lia "I anificance of the events Martin does as well, for he endured it previously and witnessed his country succu, Lia You have not lived through this awful season before, the foul ripeness and bitter harvest This will be your first, so I will attempt to explain it to you Those of us older than you have seen it repeated like a heel churning in a river"
He turned and went back to his desk "Prestwich, find the one from Hautland There it is, with the copper seal Yes, that one Thank you" He opened it and squinted "In this one, the Blight ca in the woods and the plant spread quickly throughout the forest, inflicting everyone who touched it with itching boils Attempts to burn it caused smoke to carry the poison inside the victie, is it not? That a plant that is not native to this country can appear froin its work of destruction so rapidly What brought it? When did it start?"