is a source of concern, I confess,’ Giles reflected seriously. ‘So much of this prevailing sickness comes from overseas. A thousand foreign sailors and their whores compound our present fears.’
‘You see demons everywhere!’ Hew protested, as they stepped into the clamour of the street. Stalls had spilled out from the cloisters of the priory to line the three main thoroughfares; in the marketplace, they jostled with the usual buiths where hawkers cried their wares. The odours hung heady and cloying. They fought their way through to the cathedral, where foreign merchants had set out their wares, silverware and silks more precious than the petty toys and trinkets in the street. The town pipes and drum that had called in the fair were sitting idle on the grass, and the piper himself in yellow and red leant against the far wall eyeing up the lassies, biding the time he was called for a tune. A troupe of tumblers staged their act upon the centre of the green, and Giles relaxed a little as he paused to watch. Playfully, Hew tugged his sleeve.
‘Don’t think on it! For you have not the build!’
‘Think you not? Tis pity,’ Giles allowed a smile. ‘Ah, well, never mind!’
A Game of Tricks
Beneath the cloistered penthouse, sheltered from the wind, they found stalls selling sheets of French paper, folded into quires, as well as books and pamphlets and an assortment of penners, inkhorns and inks. ‘A table-book, gentlemen?’ the stationer called out.
‘Perhaps,’ Hew murmured absently. He declined the proffered notebook , and picked up a small volume, bound in brown calf. ‘Buchanan’s Baptistes ,’ he said aside to Giles. ‘Nicholas will like this. Have you De iure regni ?’ he inquired of the bookseller.
‘Have a care,’ cautioned Giles, ‘the book is frowned upon.’
‘Not yet proscribed, I think,’ Hew whispered. ‘Dearly, I should like a copy for my library.’
The bookseller made a show of examining his stock. ‘I doubt I sold that one this morning. Here are Buchanan’s Psalms , that always proves most popular.’
Hew shook his head. ‘It was the laws of kingship I required.’
‘Aye. Well then,’ the man conceded defeat, ‘I doubt it can be had from Henry Charteris, his buith upon the north side of the high street, just above the tron. All these books are his.’
‘Are you from Edinburgh, then?’
‘I am, sir. Here’s a Latin grammar, Roodiementya …’
‘No grammars please,’ Hew told him firmly. ‘Tell me, do you know a printer by the name of Christian Hall?’
‘Hall?’ The man looked dubious. ‘Ye perhaps mean Arbuthnot?’ he suggested.
‘Tis Hall , and his mark is like this, an H with the sign of the cross, inside a black-feathered bird.’ Hew sketched the mark with his fingertips on the cover of the book.
‘ That I have never seen. Charteris, now, his mark is an H and C . You wouldna be mistaking him?’
‘There’s no mistake.’
The bookseller shrugged. ‘Aye, like as no’. There’s printers come and go, I do not ken them all.’
Hew bought the book for Nicholas. ‘This Christian Hall,’ he said aside to Giles, as he counted out the coins, ‘is something of a mystery.’ But Giles appeared distracted.
‘Aye, but what’s that there?’
A crowd of college boys were clustered round a stall.
‘What do they there?’ Giles worried. ‘Who gave them leave to go about the fair?’
‘Ah, let them be!’ Hew grinned, ‘they are but boys!’
‘And they are my concern,’ his friend replied severely. ‘Though you may treat your own concerns more lightly, I must bear the weight of mine. Let us at least see what attracts them.’
Hew snorted rudely. ‘I recall, that it was your idea to come out to your fair. You should start as guilty as your charges, truant as you are.’
‘But since I am their principal, I must be their guide,’ insisted Giles. ‘They are green and young, and ripe for their corruption. What is it they are looking
‘You see demons everywhere!’ Hew protested, as they stepped into the clamour of the street. Stalls had spilled out from the cloisters of the priory to line the three main thoroughfares; in the marketplace, they jostled with the usual buiths where hawkers cried their wares. The odours hung heady and cloying. They fought their way through to the cathedral, where foreign merchants had set out their wares, silverware and silks more precious than the petty toys and trinkets in the street. The town pipes and drum that had called in the fair were sitting idle on the grass, and the piper himself in yellow and red leant against the far wall eyeing up the lassies, biding the time he was called for a tune. A troupe of tumblers staged their act upon the centre of the green, and Giles relaxed a little as he paused to watch. Playfully, Hew tugged his sleeve.
‘Don’t think on it! For you have not the build!’
‘Think you not? Tis pity,’ Giles allowed a smile. ‘Ah, well, never mind!’
A Game of Tricks
Beneath the cloistered penthouse, sheltered from the wind, they found stalls selling sheets of French paper, folded into quires, as well as books and pamphlets and an assortment of penners, inkhorns and inks. ‘A table-book, gentlemen?’ the stationer called out.
‘Perhaps,’ Hew murmured absently. He declined the proffered notebook , and picked up a small volume, bound in brown calf. ‘Buchanan’s Baptistes ,’ he said aside to Giles. ‘Nicholas will like this. Have you De iure regni ?’ he inquired of the bookseller.
‘Have a care,’ cautioned Giles, ‘the book is frowned upon.’
‘Not yet proscribed, I think,’ Hew whispered. ‘Dearly, I should like a copy for my library.’
The bookseller made a show of examining his stock. ‘I doubt I sold that one this morning. Here are Buchanan’s Psalms , that always proves most popular.’
Hew shook his head. ‘It was the laws of kingship I required.’
‘Aye. Well then,’ the man conceded defeat, ‘I doubt it can be had from Henry Charteris, his buith upon the north side of the high street, just above the tron. All these books are his.’
‘Are you from Edinburgh, then?’
‘I am, sir. Here’s a Latin grammar, Roodiementya …’
‘No grammars please,’ Hew told him firmly. ‘Tell me, do you know a printer by the name of Christian Hall?’
‘Hall?’ The man looked dubious. ‘Ye perhaps mean Arbuthnot?’ he suggested.
‘Tis Hall , and his mark is like this, an H with the sign of the cross, inside a black-feathered bird.’ Hew sketched the mark with his fingertips on the cover of the book.
‘ That I have never seen. Charteris, now, his mark is an H and C . You wouldna be mistaking him?’
‘There’s no mistake.’
The bookseller shrugged. ‘Aye, like as no’. There’s printers come and go, I do not ken them all.’
Hew bought the book for Nicholas. ‘This Christian Hall,’ he said aside to Giles, as he counted out the coins, ‘is something of a mystery.’ But Giles appeared distracted.
‘Aye, but what’s that there?’
A crowd of college boys were clustered round a stall.
‘What do they there?’ Giles worried. ‘Who gave them leave to go about the fair?’
‘Ah, let them be!’ Hew grinned, ‘they are but boys!’
‘And they are my concern,’ his friend replied severely. ‘Though you may treat your own concerns more lightly, I must bear the weight of mine. Let us at least see what attracts them.’
Hew snorted rudely. ‘I recall, that it was your idea to come out to your fair. You should start as guilty as your charges, truant as you are.’
‘But since I am their principal, I must be their guide,’ insisted Giles. ‘They are green and young, and ripe for their corruption. What is it they are looking
Similar Books
