Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.
It was always the way, William reflected. Weeks and weeks with nothing, and then all of a sudden you had Bulletless Body Baffles Police at the same time as Body Switching is Back following closely on from ANOTHER ISLAND!.
He'd had to postpone the trip he'd been planning to that last. As much as he wanted to do some in-depth investigative reporting over there, the goings on here were much more relevant, even if no answers were as yet forthcoming and all he was doing was walking down the beach trying to get matters lined up in his own head. Elements of it all still didn't make sense.
The fact someone was throwing a bonfire in the middle of the day also did not make a great deal of sense. No, not throwing, building. William walked a little faster, squinting as the scene resolved itself. One familiar looking woman, one small, imperfectly built fire, one-
-pile of books?
"Excuse me, could you tell me what's going on here? I'm from the- oh, it's you," he said, finally recognizing her; it was that woman who had threatened him with the knife that time.
And, because that wasn't as distinguishing a feature with William as it might have been with others, it took him a moment to come up with her name. "Miss... Lilly, right?"
"Oh, it's you," she said. William couldn't tell if the repetition was mockery, or if she'd just had a similar thought to the one he'd had. "Mr de Worde, right? I suppose I could tell you."
She pointedly did not say anything after that.
William just as pointedly listened to her not saying anything after that.
She broke first. "I'm ridding myself of these books."
William looked a little incredulous. "By burning them?"
She shrugged. "Have you a better suggestion?" William did, as it happened, but even as he opened his mouth she talked over whatever he was about to say. "I considered placing them within the bookshelf, in the hopes that it would swallow them up, as the pernicious thing restocks the contents of its shelves; but I thought it entirely more likely that it would simply leave them there, as contrary as it is, and I would not have rid myself of anything.-Simply made these works available to any grasping hand, even that of a child."
She just used an em-dash, noted William's inner editor. Handle with care.
As if the time she threatened him with a knife wasn't enough reason for that.*
"Er... right," he said, picking his words, "but is the next option along really book burning?"
"I've decided it is," she said sharply, "and as they're my property, no one can gainsay me." She narrowed her eyes. "You are in my way, sir."
"Am I?" said William, with careful innocence. "It's a big beach. Now, is there a reason you didn't consider setting up a stall in the market? I'm sure someone would be interested in a copy of-" he reached behind himself - he was, as it happened, standing between her and the pile of books, fancy that - to grab the volume at the top of the pile, and glanced at the cover.
Then he took another, rather longer and surprised look. "...um," he said, to The Mysteries of Whoredom. Rallying, he said, "Well, still, there's probably someone- oh, and now you're brandishing a flaming branch at me. Although smouldering would probably be a better word-"
She swept said smouldering branch somewhat impatiently in his direction, but William held raised a hand. "Just making sure the description will be accurate when I print that a, let's see, 'An agitated woman threatened a reporter from the Times who was enquiring as to why she felt it necessary to burn books. Wielding a smouldering branch, the woman responded to attempts to reason with her by...?'"
She lowered the log a little. It was a start.
*William being William, it actually wasn't.
[Joint post, going your pup-Maud-William, unless you just want the one of them, which can probably be arranged, just let me know.]
He'd had to postpone the trip he'd been planning to that last. As much as he wanted to do some in-depth investigative reporting over there, the goings on here were much more relevant, even if no answers were as yet forthcoming and all he was doing was walking down the beach trying to get matters lined up in his own head. Elements of it all still didn't make sense.
The fact someone was throwing a bonfire in the middle of the day also did not make a great deal of sense. No, not throwing, building. William walked a little faster, squinting as the scene resolved itself. One familiar looking woman, one small, imperfectly built fire, one-
-pile of books?
"Excuse me, could you tell me what's going on here? I'm from the- oh, it's you," he said, finally recognizing her; it was that woman who had threatened him with the knife that time.
And, because that wasn't as distinguishing a feature with William as it might have been with others, it took him a moment to come up with her name. "Miss... Lilly, right?"
"Oh, it's you," she said. William couldn't tell if the repetition was mockery, or if she'd just had a similar thought to the one he'd had. "Mr de Worde, right? I suppose I could tell you."
She pointedly did not say anything after that.
William just as pointedly listened to her not saying anything after that.
She broke first. "I'm ridding myself of these books."
William looked a little incredulous. "By burning them?"
She shrugged. "Have you a better suggestion?" William did, as it happened, but even as he opened his mouth she talked over whatever he was about to say. "I considered placing them within the bookshelf, in the hopes that it would swallow them up, as the pernicious thing restocks the contents of its shelves; but I thought it entirely more likely that it would simply leave them there, as contrary as it is, and I would not have rid myself of anything.-Simply made these works available to any grasping hand, even that of a child."
She just used an em-dash, noted William's inner editor. Handle with care.
As if the time she threatened him with a knife wasn't enough reason for that.*
"Er... right," he said, picking his words, "but is the next option along really book burning?"
"I've decided it is," she said sharply, "and as they're my property, no one can gainsay me." She narrowed her eyes. "You are in my way, sir."
"Am I?" said William, with careful innocence. "It's a big beach. Now, is there a reason you didn't consider setting up a stall in the market? I'm sure someone would be interested in a copy of-" he reached behind himself - he was, as it happened, standing between her and the pile of books, fancy that - to grab the volume at the top of the pile, and glanced at the cover.
Then he took another, rather longer and surprised look. "...um," he said, to The Mysteries of Whoredom. Rallying, he said, "Well, still, there's probably someone- oh, and now you're brandishing a flaming branch at me. Although smouldering would probably be a better word-"
She swept said smouldering branch somewhat impatiently in his direction, but William held raised a hand. "Just making sure the description will be accurate when I print that a, let's see, 'An agitated woman threatened a reporter from the Times who was enquiring as to why she felt it necessary to burn books. Wielding a smouldering branch, the woman responded to attempts to reason with her by...?'"
She lowered the log a little. It was a start.
*William being William, it actually wasn't.
[Joint post, going your pup-Maud-William, unless you just want the one of them, which can probably be arranged, just let me know.]