He had allowed his Curiosity free rein to follow the flash of remembrance he’d had about the odd, gold-shining eyes. Now he was all a-bubble with a new piece of knowledge that would force Margaret to admit she’d been entirely wrong in her argument with him. It was only a pity, he thought to himself as he trudged down to the river, that the raging quarrel at home couldn’t be resolved as perfectly. It was all doubtless waiting until he should see God, which really shouldn’t be all that long a time to wait, now, since father always managed to add immeasurably to his Humility in one way or another. Brother Gregory did not realize how much he was capable of missing the house on Thames Street and its occupants, until he rounded the corner and saw it there, looming ahead of him like the brightly painted superstructure of a galleon. Directly in front of him, lounging in the slime of the gutter, was a great sow, eyes half closed in ecstasy as her piglets sucked at her teats. One little rebel had not joined in the family meal but was rooting happily in a great pile of stable muck that nearly blocked up the street.
