Captain Hoff rang the yard bell twice, and Nell knew the sound meant something had been written down.
The class came out of the hall in pairs. Nell stood at the end of the second pair with her hands at her sides. Her palm was still bound in linen from the cord on Day thirty-seven, and it ached when she closed the fingers.
Kade came out last. He had a heel of bread in one hand, and he was eating it slowly.
It was the first morning since Day forty-five that he had sat at the table.
Nobody said anything about it. Nell saw Liss glance at him, and then glance away.
Hoff stood on the guardroom step with a folded sheet in his hand. The seal on the fold was grey wax, pressed hard. It looked like the seal Sergeant Dace had broken at the Stone Post, and Nell did not like it any better for that.
Calen stood by the gate. He had his back to the wall and his hands at his sides.
Ear stood at the bar with one hand on the iron, and he was not looking at the road either. He was looking at Calen.
