SEVENTEEN
Ursula thought it would be a simple matter of unwinding one set of bandages and then winding new ones around his leg – the work of a moment, surely. But the strips of linen that currently shrouded his leg had been soaked in something that glued the strips together into a sort of protective shell around his leg. And, if she understood his instructions correctly, she would have to melt the beeswax and soak the new linen in that before wrapping him up again. She wasn't sure how turning his leg into a giant candle, missing only the wick, would help it to heal, but she resolved to do as he asked. She wanted to see this injury for herself, to know whether this man was truly the harmless cripple he claimed to be.
She felt his eyes on her as she busied herself melting wax and warming t
