I peeled the wool off the object, slowly, all too aware of the four pairs of eyes following my every movement. A gleam of metal reflected back at me, almost golden in the light of the smouldering fires. The earthy smoothness of polished leather. Silvery mother-of-pearl. And … The sharp edge of a blade. I froze. I blinked. Someone chuckled, a few feet away. No – no, this couldn’t be what I was stupidly thinking it was, could it? In a burst of confusion, I tore off the rest of the blanket, an attempt to put a stop to my fanciful imaginations rather than a matter of impatience … but it really was
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