He said, ‘Do you have the right to read private mail from my friends?’

‘Rapscallions like you don’t have any cause to whine about rights, and shouldn’t expect any privacy, neither,’ Noble Seatree said. ‘Especially when their tribe has asked me to keep a close watch on ’em.’

He was dressed in his usual leather trews and a short patchwork coat of the local corduroy unbuttoned over his bare chest, yet showed no sign that he felt the chilly fish-scented breeze.

‘The letter contained nothing more than news from an old friend,’ Pilgrim said. ‘Things he thought I might be interested in.’

‘There was mention of a map. Can’t help but wonder if that was the same map I saw a while ago,’ Noble Seatree said. ‘I recall that you said it wasn’t worth much, yet your friend seems to think it’s a unique item. Maybe you can explain that to me.’

‘It might be of some small interest to scholars who specialise in such matters, but it has no intrinsic value.’

‘Dealers in books and the like would most likely know where to find those scholars, wouldn’t they? And know the price they’d pay, too.’

‘I plan to send it to my tribe,’ Pilgrim said uneasily. ‘It owns the library and everything in it, in case you had forgotten.’

‘They won’t know about it unless you tell them,’ the constable said. He was smiling, but not with his eyes. ‘And I reckon you haven’t told them yet.’

‘My friend knows about it,’ Pilgrim said. ‘And so do the people he consulted. Scholars and Library officials and booksellers – they have all seen a copy I made. Its provenance is known and established, and anyone who tried to sell it would have to answer to my tribe.’

‘A lame little mouse who faints at the sight of blood shouldn’t be making threats to a sworn lawkeeper. He might not like the consequences.’

‘I’m simply telling you the facts of the matter.’

‘Which I don’t reckon you did before,’ Noble Seatree said, and let go of the bridle. ‘Time I paid you a visit, and took a proper look at everything you’ve unearthed in that library.’

‘Gentle has taken up fishing again. I’ll be sure to ask him to set something aside for you,’ Pilgrim said, getting it out quickly and kneeing the flanks of the mara. He didn’t want the constable to see his dismay.

‘We aren’t talking about fish!’ Noble Seatree shouted. ‘I want a taste of everything!’

He made good on his promise early the next morning, waking Pilgrim and Gentle when he stomped into their quarters, dragging his brindled cur on its chain. After making a mess of their rooms and the kitchen, searching for what he called contraband, he demanded that Pilgrim take him to the library and show him everything worth anything.