After a time the old man left the rail and made himself comfortable on the cushions. Taryn joined him and poured the tea—nettle for him, ginger and honey for her—and he began to tell the story she was tasked to learn. She wished she could take notes. Taryn had the habits of a good researcher. She always did her reading, thought through what she’d read, then went back to read again, and only then took notes. Her initial reading was always for the shape of the story. Notes were for the facts: places, dates, persons. In this case the Welsh border, somewhere near the Monnow, in the fourth century
...more
