I cried. “Has he taken her away?”“Hush,” Sazia hissed. “Plazi, is the friar here?”My elder srre was too shaken to speak. Sazia laid her hands on Plazensa’s shoulders. Plazi took a slow breath.“He’s here now. In the back bedroom, alongside Dolssa’s.”The room tilted.Here.Plazensa threw a log onto t...
I arrive in town, panting, my pail banging my shin.A huddle of villagers surrounds the pillory on the common. This is where we shame our sinners, but now Clyde Aldrus stands upon its platform, repeating his news.There are ships on the horizon, twenty miles east. So the scout tells Captain Rush. T...
Already I'd lingered too long near the Hall of Justice. The sky grew lighter. Pale morning sun without warmth filtered down through the rooftops onto the dingy streets in this part of town. My stomach rumbled, and my head ached. A sleepless night left me physically spent. To Beryl's, I supposed, ...
The day’s shock upset her so greatly that she deposited her breakfast upon Prissy’s lap. Poor Prissy spent a miserable afternoon roasting in the wagon with a pallid corpse, her suffering aunt, and that noxious smell. I trudged along, thinking of Mr. Thorndike. Oh that I were a man, or better, a d...
Must he make a spectacle of himself? And at their table, no less? He must have added liquor to his punch. People who couldn’t handle drink should restrain themselves in public. Then Dear Roberta began to whimper. It rose and swelled to a shrill squeak. Dull Martha’s fingers fumbled on the keys. S...