I barely touched it to parchment and it spreads!” Devon’s frustration colored the words. Bessie leaned over him again. “Perhaps I used too much seed oil with the gall and soot. I’ve been known to mix it wrong. Let me try.” He lifted the goose quill. In the process, several drops of ink fell onto his cuff. Devon watched it with a twist to his lips. Bess lifted the quill. “You need to hold it at an angle. It drips slower that way. It looks all right to me.” She bent over his shoulder, put the tip on Devon’s parchment and demonstrated. “What is that mark?” “A capital ‘E’. The first letter of my name.” “Draw the first letter of your new surname.” “Hildebrand? Why?” “So I can see what it looks like.” Bessie demonstrated, doing her best to make it as elegant as possible.
