Chapter 15 Summary

Birle's life is busy in Joaquim's service. Other than her lingering worries about Orien, she might even have been happy. All of her days are spent cleaning, laundering and working in the garden. In the evening, she practices writing under Joaquim's watchful eye and at night, she mends clothes. The philosopher continues to teach Birle the names and medicinal uses of all the herbs. She copies pages of text from his herbals. At least the constant work keeps her mind off Orien's fate.

Whenever Birle goes to market, she varies her route, searching for Orien in the complex web of streets. As summer progresses, every trip to Old Town carries the risk of plague. Fights break out frequently as tempers flare in the heat. Corbel's soldiers quickly and brutally quell them.

When the philosopher asks how Birle came to be a slave, she...