Excerpt: Abbot Geoffrey Gorham

Geoffrey raised his arm. He glared and attempted to look menacing.

"Katherine, you have slandered our pagan gods by speaking of Christianity."

Geoffrey shook his head. It wasn't quite right yet. This time he placed his hands on his hips and bent slightly at the waist to tower over the pretend Katherine represented by a stool.

He reached deep inside to touch his character and found a lower timber for his voice. "Kath--er--ine. Your slander of our gods will be redressed. There will be no talk of Jesus Christ."

Geoffrey noticed that the door to his cell had been opened without while he was busy rehearsing.

Brother Nicholas Bacon had a grin on his face. He bowed his head and said, "Abbe, you are needed in the scriptorium. Prior Gubion asks that you make your presence felt as soon as possible."

"Were you standing there very long?"

"Not too long, Abbe."

"Was I believable as a pagan?"

"Yes, Abbe."

Geoffrey and Nicholas walked briskly through the chapel pausing to bend knee and mutter a brief prayer at the alter then walked to the northwest corner of the monastery.

"Tell me what you know about this."

"Abbe, if I may speak candidly?"

"Please do. I'm sick of constantly having to intervene. Whatever I do never seems to help for any length of time. They are like children. Were I illustrating this monastery, they would be baby goats. And I feel like the old goat, butting heads with the young bucks. Help me out with this."

"Frankly, Abbe, you seem to dislike attending the scriptorium these days. Ever since you and Lady Christina began performing we have hardly seen you. Prior Gubion has the responsibility for the scriptorium without the ability to keep the peace. The brothers know he has no real power."

"Ah. So you think I should give him full responsibility, allowing him to mete out rewards and punishments also?"

"That is not for me to suggest. I merely point out the difficulty as Prior Gubion might see it."

"Brother Nicholas, I'm still the one who has to answer to the Bishops if we don't have their books ready on time."

"Yes, Abbe."

Geoffrey and Nicholas entered the large open room with wooden desks scattered throughout. Twenty-two monks and lay brothers perched on their stools, diligently applying themselves. The scratch of pen on parchment punctuated the end of each bout of reading aloud by the prior. Gubion was the one who held and read from the precious book. Whatever had caused the prior to send for him had passed with his arrival.

"Brothers. Prior Ralph. I've come to praise your hard work. Because our prior has done such an excellent job of managing the scriptorium, he has earned my respect and the reward of full responsibility for the production of books. He will, in the future, be the one to decide what rewards and/or punishments will be meted out. His word will be final for he has earned my trust in this. Congratulations, Brother Ralph."