Gesaril was removed to the phylarch’s house, and Ysobi carried on working with Orphie. I knew Orphie was disgusted by the whole affair and shared my views. But that might just have been because he cared for me. I was unaware of public opinion over the Gesaril business, or even how much others in the community knew about it, but my friends tactfully kept quiet on the subject. They came to visit me all the time, and one night, I got blissfully drunk with Fahn, Minnow and Vole. We laughed a lot. There was no mention of Gesaril. Ysobi came to stay with me more often. Once, I said to him, ‘Will Gesaril be sent home now?’ Ysobi hesitated before answering. ‘We’ve sent a letter to Kyme.’ ‘Meaning?’ A hard edge had come into my voice. I couldn’t help it. ‘We can’t just abandon him, Jass.’ I thought I could abandon him quite easily, preferably naked, on an exposed hillside during a snowstorm. ‘Are you still going to try and work with him?’ ‘He has to work on himself, mainly.
