Chapter 29
Home Again
Shall we begin with answers or questions?”
The Laird of the First Gate and the greatest among the Commissioners of the Forfeited Gates was sitting much as he had been so many days before in one of the high back chairs, nestled close to the firebasket, surrounded by the marvelous sight and smell of thousands of books which cluttered his private chambers. Aldus Ward was, in fact, wearing the same linen tunic and a dark green woolen cloak, with silver leaves and vines embroidered along its hem and collar, as he had been the day he met Nicolas. His right eye—bright blue and sparkling with flecks of gold and emerald—was wide open with anticipation.
“Oh, I like answers,” Nicolas said with a laugh. He was sipping a hot cup of lemon tea Master Brooks had brought in, and h
