The Humming of Numbers by Joni Sensel Read Free Book Online

friends. Those days seemed a long time ago now.
    â€œI thought so. Well, the scribes are running low on dark ink. Go gather oak apples, dry ones if possible, and you may learn how it is made.”
    Aidan turned bright eyes to the senior monk’s face. “Truly?”
    â€œA few dozen should do. Can you find them nearby and be back before the next worship this afternoon?”
    Aidan’s mind raced, trying to think where the nearest oak grove lay. “I think so.”
    â€œSee that you do.”
    â€œI will. Thank you, Brother Nathan.”
    Nathan turned away. Aidan held his breath, afraid the older monk would change his mind. As if hearing that fear, Brother Nathan paused.
    â€œThis is the first time you’ve left here since becoming a novice, is it not?” he asked.
    â€œExcept for the fields,” Aidan replied. Lord Donagh’s forebears had granted the abbey a large tract of land, but tending crops or livestock alongside other monks was not the same as crossing common ground where he might meet old neighbors or kin.

    Nathan pursed his lips. “Be alert, then, for distractions unbecoming a monk. I’d rather you returned empty-handed than with a confession.”
    Aidan agreed quickly. Compared to supervising Lana, he didn’t expect this errand to prove much of a test. He waited until Nathan retreated, then sped to dispatch his daily chores so they couldn’t delay him later. He kept his legs to a walk only with effort.
    When Rory heard, in quick snatches on the way to their next prayers, that Aidan would be going out, his reaction took Aidan by surprise.
    â€œDon’t go,” he murmured, jostling Aidan to get close enough so those around them wouldn’t hear. Since Rory barely moved his lips, it took Aidan an instant to translate, “Tell Bro’ Na’an you’re ill. S’rain your ankle. Anything.”
    Aidan scratched his upper lip and said behind his hand, “No. I want to do his bidding. Why not?”
    They turned a corner, out from under the watch of Brother Eamon a few paces behind them. “I have never been outside since I’ve been a novice, nor has any I know,” Rory said. “He could send a servant instead. They may not be merely testing you, Aidan. They might be setting you up.”
    Aidan stole a sidelong glance, trying to interpret Rory’s scowl. “You’re just jealous.”
    Rory nodded vigorously. “Yes, that too. But I have a bad feeling today, and mostly I’m worried you will err so
seriously that I’ll be alone here again. That would be a foul disappointment.”
    â€œThanks for the confid—”
    By then, however, their fellows behind them had turned the corner as well.
    â€œBrother Rory,” called Brother Eamon, “are you having difficulty walking that you must crowd those around you?”
    With a wince, Rory stopped and turned while Aidan kept walking.
    â€œI’m sorry,” he replied. “I was just telling Brother Aidan how much I value his example as he is tested prior to vows.”
    Aidan mashed a grin, glad his mentor walked at his back and thus couldn’t see it. His friend was quite practiced at explaining a lapse in obedience without actually telling a lie.
    â€œI see,” Brother Eamon said dryly. “But perhaps you should speak less and follow that example with a little more space between you.”
    After that, Rory and Aidan kept their distance, not daring to attract attention twice in the same day. The hours and prayers before supper dragged. During the meal, Aidan had to count silently to ten in Latin between every bite of his boiled bacon and cabbage to prevent himself from wolfing the food. The voice of the scripture reader droned in the background. Rory darted concerned glances
down the table toward Aidan, rubbing one eye and then the other. Aidan took this confused gesture to mean that he should watch out, but his friend’s