The Humming of Numbers Read Online Free

Once in a while, they whispered together
about a problem or confusion before drumming up the courage to discuss it with a more senior adviser.
    Now, as the novices flowed out from their rear corner of the chapel, Rory lagged. He pretended to be transfixed by the carving of Saint Nevin on the lintel over the doorway. Aidan caught up with him. They both ducked out and jockeyed to walk side by side.
    Because speech was strictly forbidden during meals, months ago they’d worked out a few subtle hand signs by which they could say hello, find out how the other was doing, and plan to meet for any hurried conversation that might not earn their masters’ approval. They used these signals over short distances and in crowds as well as during meals, and now Aidan scratched his right ear, asking, “What is it?” as Rory trod alongside.
    â€œYou’re looking reverent this evening, Brother Aidan,” Rory murmured. This comment was also a code that meant the younger boy could see something weighing on Aidan’s mind.
    â€œOnly troubled by the needs of the body,” Aidan responded, without looking at him. Novices were taught to use those words when they needed to visit the privy.
    Understanding, Rory trudged with Aidan and a few others toward the latrine. Both stepped back respectfully to let senior monks pass and then stood in single file as if
awaiting a turn. Once the small double privy was empty, they could remain just outside it and talk. Going in would have meant that anyone approaching might have heard them, but once the first rush following prayers or a meal was over, the sight of not one but two people already in line was enough to turn others away, at least briefly.
    â€œThere’s a girl here,” Aidan murmured, without turning. “She’s—”
    Behind him, Rory choked. “In the privy?”
    â€œNo! In the abbey. Lord Donagh brought her, and it sounds as if she’ll be staying.”
    When Rory didn’t answer immediately, Aidan twisted his head to see why. At last the younger boy teased, “Careful, brother. Chastity in flesh and in thought.”
    Aidan groaned. “I’m sorry we ever talked about that.”
    Perhaps because he was younger or simply more self-controlled, Rory seemed amused by Aidan’s struggle with the temptations of women. Those temptations so far had been only imagined, but that did not lessen their pull. Aidan had expected the lusty thoughts and dreams to fade once he’d committed himself solely to the company of other fellows, not counting the abbot’s fat wife or Father Niall’s crabby one. The reverse, if anything, seemed to be true. The more time passed, the more female shapes rose unbidden in his mind. He’d confessed it more than once and tried to follow Brother Eamon’s advice. There were times, however,
when the contemplation of God somehow turned into the contemplation of girls he had known. Aidan would hardly notice the shift until something, sometimes his own treacherous body, abruptly alerted him that he’d strayed.
    Brother Eamon had kindly assured him that a firm will and the love of God would help him prevail. Rory, too, seemed bent on reminding him often and heartily, but Aidan wasn’t so sure. At times only the complete lack of privacy stood between him and the kind of touching that his mentor called self-abuse. Since even the latrine had two seats, however, the temptation was quashed, if not by Aidan’s will, then by others’ watchful eyes.
    â€œI just thought it was interesting,” Aidan grumbled, trying to pretend there was no truth in Rory’s assumption. “Girls don’t arrive here every day. Forgive me for noticing.”
    â€œI forgive you, not that it will do you much good,” Rory said amiably. “’Tis not my forgiveness you need. But if I were God Almighty, I’d make the rules easier for you.”
    â€œShh! Careful, yourself,” Aidan