Shadows and Light

the males here?
    “Ah, Master Liam. Have you returned to add to your own library?”
    Liam turned at the sound of Nolan’s voice. The man hastily closed the door that led to the small office and storeroom, then stepped up to one side of the counter.
    Liam studied Nolan for a moment before walking over to stand on the other side of the counter. The man
    ’s smile was forced, brittle. His eyes were grief-weary.
    He’s been drinking , Liam thought.
    “Perhaps I’ve come at a bad time,” Liam said.
    Nolan waved a hand. “Not at all. What can I do for you, Master— I beg your pardon. It’s Baron Liam now, isn’t it?”
    There was fear in Nolan’s eyes now as well as grief.
    “I came to see if you had a copy of Moira Wythbrook’s new book.” Liam tried a smile. “My mother requested that I ask for it particularly.”
    Nolan pulled himself up to his full height, which barely brought his head equal to Liam’s chin. Patrons of Nolan’s Book Salon good-naturedly teased the small man, saying the reason there were so many step stools for customers to sit on while they perused books was that Nolan wouldn’t be able to reach his beloved books without them.
    “I am an upstanding citizen of our beautiful land,” Nolan said with chilled dignity. “As such, I obey the dictates of the baron in whose county I live.”
    “What does that have to do with Moira Wythbrook’s books?” Liam asked.
    “The barons have decreed that it is harmful to carry the work of female scribblers.”
    “Female what ?”
    “Females are of weak intellect, and it is harmful to indulge them by publishing or selling their work, which is inferior to the books written by men. It produces immodest feelings in ladies that make it difficult for them to fill then-place in society. Therefore, their books are no longer sold, and no further books by female scribblers will be published.”
    Liam took a step back from the counter. Maybe Nolan was drunker than he seemed. Why else would the man be spouting such horse muck?

    “What happened to the books that were already published?” he asked. “You still have copies of those.”
    Nolan shook his head. A sheen of tears filled his eyes. “They were collected by the magistrate’s guards
    ... and burned.”
    Burned.
    As Master Liam, he could have staggered over to one of the step stools and collapsed to give himself time to absorb what Nolan had said. Baron Liam could not permit himself that kind of luxury.
    “Just here in Durham?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
    Nolan shook his head. “The barons who rule the eastern counties have all made the same decree. If it is accepted at the next council of barons, that decree will hold true for all of Sylvalan.”
    Not in the county I rule. Liam stepped up to the counter, put his hands on it, then leaned forward. “
    Forget I’ve become a baron,” he said with quiet urgency. “I’ve been buying books from you for years—
    for my mother and younger sister as well as for myself. You must have known the magistrate’s guards were coming. I’ve seen that warren you call a storeroom. If you wanted to hide some books in there, no one would be able to find them. You wouldn’t have let them burn all the copies. You wouldn’t.”
    “Do you want me to lose everything?” Nolan cried, but he, too, kept his voice down.
    “You would have kept at least one copy of each of those books so that the work wouldn’t be completely lost when the fools who made that decree came to their senses.”
    “I have nothing. I swear to you—”
    “Give the copies to me. I’ll make sure they get back to my estate safely. I’ll hide them until this ...
    situation ... is settled.”
    Liam reined in impatience while Nolan studied him for too long.
    “I have nothing,” Nolan finally said. “I— I already packed the copies and sent them away.”
    “Where—?”
    The bell above the shop door tinkled.
    Liam looked over his shoulder at the blond-haired, blue-eyed man who stepped into the shop. A cold uneasiness settled over him as the man met his eyes for a moment before turning to scan the shelves.
    He’s looking to make sure nothing is here that shouldn‘t be. Liam glanced at Nolan, noticed how pale the man had become. How would someone else, someone suspicious, view this close conversation?
    Pushing back from the counter, Liam said, “Since that book isn’t in stock, perhaps you could suggest another? Reading before I retire is a habit of