11 Tomás stood to the side while the two relapsos dug a deep hole at the rear of the Royal Cloister. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella would be arriving in a week or two to spend the summer, and the cloister would be empty until then. The queen had wanted a patio on the north side that would be shaded in the afternoon. Since the royal treasury was funding the monastery, her every whim was a command. The area had been cleared and leveled, and was now half paved with interlocking granite blocks. The remainder was bare earth. That was where the relapsos labored. Lanterns placed around the hole illuminated their efforts. “Here, Prior,” said Ramiro from behind him. “I brought you a chair.” He set the leather upholstered chair on the pavers and Tomás gladly made use of it. He had been holding the wrapped Compendium against his chest. Standing for so long had started an ache in his low back. “This is a brilliant plan, Ramiro,”
