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The man wore practical h the presence of a white sleeveless smock with a red cross eated by the sinister presence of a particularly large sword

At his approach, Alexia and Madame Lefoux extracted theot caught on the rough wood in a ed the down at her attire and then back up at the rinned

We are all dressed for bed

This Tehtliness as to rival one of Ivy’syet another red cross ee

Floote stood at Alexia’s side Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, "Whatever you do, htened to his stiffest and most butlerlike pose

The htly It could not possibly be a sht white teeth, and a lot of thehter of the Tarabotti stock"

"You are speaking to me?" Alexia said dumbly

"I am preceptor of the temple here in Florence You are considered a smal risk toand a confessional after I have terminated contact with you, but until then, yes, I ood "You are not an Italian, are you?"

"I am a Templar"

At a loss over what to do next, Alexia resorted to politeness and proper etiquette

Trying to hide the fuzzy slippers under the fril y heown, she curtsied "How do you do? Al ow me to introduce my companions, Madame Lefoux and Mr Floote"

The preceptor bowed a second time "Madame Lefoux, I am familiar with your work, of course I found your recent paper on the aerodynamic adjustuing"

Madame Lefoux looked neither flattered nor inclined to make smal talk "Are you a man of God or a man of science?"

"Sometimes I am both And, Mr Floote, how do you do? I believe I am familiar with your name as wellYou are in our records, yes? You haveconnection to the Tarabotti stock An intriguing display of loyalty not nor

"If you would al please fol ow ed and Floote appeared only slightlyapprehensively

Alexia figured there was nothing for it but to play along

"With pleasure," she said

The preceptor led the to Alexia in a mild, silky voice

"And how do you like Italy, My Soul ess One?"

Alexia did not like his use of the possessive, but nevertheless tried to answer this question Since she had not, as yet, seen very much of the country, it was difficult Stil , fro, she had fore Is it not?"

The preceptor gave a little chuckle "I had forgotten how extremely prosaic the soul ess are Here we sit in Florence, the most romantic city on God’s earth, queen of the artistic world, and she finds it orange "

"Wel , it is" Alexia gave him an inquisitive look Why should she be the only one on the defensive? "I read so a dead cat and a duck made from a rubber tree Is that true?"

"We do not discuss the secrets of the brotherhood with outsiders Certainly not with a soul ess"

"Wel , certainly, you would like to keep that a secret" He looked dismayed but did not rise to the bait Apparently, he was unable to He could not refute her state the very secrets he hoped to hide Alexia relished her smal victory

The rest of the teiously decorated as the parts Alexia had already observed There was a certain sparseness to the design and a coave the place the unmistakable aura of aof piety was helped along by the general hush and quiet al about

"Where have al the other gentleone?" Alexia asked, surprised not to have encountered any of thecourtyard

"The brothers are practicing, of course"

"Oh?" Alexia had no idea what their host was talking about, but he clearly believed that she ought to "U arts"

"Oh" Alexia tried a new tactic after that, asking about soet hienda

The preceptor explained one or tith the saed from the treasury at Outremer," he said of an entirely unrelory atop a marble column, and, "The letter written by Preceptor Terric of Jerusalee

Mada Alexia was intrigued by the history but ious relics rather dul , so the eneral y lost on her The preceptor failed to reveal any useful secrets despite her cross-exa the artifacts being described and focusing on the Te them

Eventually, they ended their tour in a massive library, which Alexia supposed must pass for the relaxation area The Templars didn’t seem like the type of men to boast a card room Not that she minded; Alexia had always preferred libraries herself

The preceptor rang a little hand bel , like those Alexia had seen worn by cows, and within moments a liveried servant appeared Alexia narrowed her eyes and druers After a rapid conversation in Italian, in which the preceptor did , the servant left