Chapter 35: The Certifying Hand

The core stair dripped from every course. Ilan came down the upper flights with brown water running off his sleeves, and behind him the stair filled with river stink and the mineral breath of the vents. The twelve named witnesses went past him onto the landing gallery that overlooked the keystone chamber: the Lowmarket landlady, the cooper, the heat merchant from Coalgate in her furnace apron, Neme with his lamp, Agnes Wick with her roll in its oilcloth held against her chest. They crowded the rail in wet coats and looked down into the chamber, where the lent stone sat in the north seat with the dusk light falling on it through the shaft. Crane came down after them at his own pace. His grey coat was soaked to the thigh and he had stopped at every flight to thank someone. Pryor followed him with a satchel held high, and…