Someone had put a boot through the strap of the boy's bag. The boy couldn't lift it without pulling the boot too. He had tried once. I could tell from the way he held the remaining strap, keeping it tight enough to be useful without quite daring to pull again.
Three students occupied the bench beside the lower courtyard. Two watched. The third had his foot in the bag. I stopped beneath the arch.
The stone basin was where I remembered it. So were the narrow steps leading down from the teaching wing. In the game, Cedric had stood beside that bench while Aiden approached from the steps. A commoner on the ground. A noble audience. An opportunity for the wrong man to think he needed to defend his place in the scene.
I knew which man that had been.
"It isn't yours," the boy said.
The student with his foot in the strap looked down at him. A silver clasp held his coat closed beneath the throat.
"Then explain the book."
"I borrowed it."
"From whom?"
