Chapter 36

“Ah! Here are some.” Lady Penelope held up a folder. “One of them is by the Countess of Belmanoir. She is one of the few people who claim that the table is not real. The other two claim to prove the table’s authenticity. There is one somewhere by Brother Simon of Wexford, or at least a copy of it, written in 1427. He also claims it’s real. I do hope I can find you that one; it’s fascinating.”

It occurred to Leander that since the essays were for his benefit, he ought to be helping in the search. Reluctantly, he tore himself away from Parzivaland walked over to the shelves where tomes hundreds of years old sat side by side with books written only twenty years earlier. Where did one begin to look?

“Julien’s Uncle Algernon could find anything he wanted in this mess,” Lady Penelope said. “I’ve seen him do so for my father when I was a little girl—it was just as bad then.”

“It can’t be good for the old books to be kept in such a manner.”