Libba Bray

Kartik places a sovereign in the lady's cup, and I know that it's likely all he has. "Why did you do that?" I ask. He kicks a rock on the ground, balancing it nimbly between his feet like a ball. "She needed it. " Father says it isn't good to give money to beggers. They'll only spend it unwisely on drink or other pleasures. "She might buy ale with it. " He shrugs. "Then she'll have ale. It isn't the pound that matters; it's the hope. . . I know what it's like to fight for things that others take for granted.