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Another occasion – she recalled his blatant discos and what the word actually meant He had said that a leer was not a look of love, that he had seen wretcheds and knights stare at each other in that way Another reference to Dieyre and their enmity at Billerbeck Abbey? Dieyre did not wear any of the maston symbols It seemed an obvious conclusion that he had never passed the tests Colvin had tensed the moment his voice startled them

When she reached the cloister, she rapped firmly on the porter door The porter, Guerney, answered it brusquely

"It is wet enough to flood and chilly to boot, Lia," he said with a wince "You are sopping Be a good lass and dry off in the kitchen"

"And while I arin "You are a lazy man Tell the Aldermaston I need to speak with him"

"I will You can wait indoors here out of the rain, but do not sit on my chair That would leave a mark on the cushion" He unlocked the door and let Lia inside the s of keys He locked the porter door then unlocked one of the two gates leading into the inner grounds, exited, then locked it again Passage within the cloister was limited to the learners and the teachers because of the value of the precious aurichalcule toold, which hy only the wealthy could afford to be learners The ancient tomes of the Abbey were stored in the vaults within the cloisters, behind iron gates protected by keyardens at the center of the cloister, watching Guerney traverse beneath the protected ay at the edge of the square-shaped garden He unlocked a door at the far end and went inside

There was a square fountain in the center of the garden, with a Leering in the center in the shape of seven ht-maston She wondered what it symbolized and determined to ask Duerden if she could re back towards the porter gate, shaking his head His hair was streaked with gray and he wasa tooth in the front

The keys rattled in the lock and he shook his head,to himself "On with you, lass The Aldermaston will see you"

"What?" Lia said, surprised No wretched was allowed inside the cloister

"Do not gawk, lass I asked twice to be sure He is the Aldermaston Go on, we do not have all day"

Lia followed hie or the fact that she was sopping wet All her life she had walked by the cloister, staring at its less walls Soarden or the fountain splashing But she had never ventured inside before The Aldere days," Guerney said "That Queen Dowager – she is a beauty, is she not? Have you ht"

"That she did What a stir she is causing Everyone is gawping at her, especially the learners She is with the Alder and felt her stomach flutter with anticipation "Is she?"

"As if the Abbey is her doh Those Dahomeyjan cannot be trusted despite their fair looks A fair face and a foul soul, is what I think Like Reome Reminds me of her"

They reached the inner door to the cloister and Guerney unlocked the door "I will let you out when you are done Blast the skies, there is so at the porter door Cannot folk tell it is raining today? The nuisance Be a good lass, Lia" He held the door for her as she entered and then shuffled back the way they came

Lia stood at the threshold of the study room and was surprised by the shocked expressions that nored the few faces and stared in awe at what she beheld The cloister was a series of interconnected square roos for light were engraved into the stone walls at each corner, the walls and ceiling filled with sculpted friezes and paintings, including the ceiling On each ere giant oak shelves, massive and sturdy with ladders fitted with hooks to reach the higher shelves The walls glittered with golden tohout each roo altar-like tables, also made of polished oak, where learners stood to study the torave in their own How many tomes did the cloister contain, she wondered Howhere, Lia?" Marciana asked, suddenly at her side Lia stared at the walls, the paintings, trying to fill her eyes with the sight of it all If she had felt jealous si inside her was keener, more like starvation The value of the roonitude of it dwarfed her comprehension