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lurked a glee that she couldn’t conceal： The delight that her resentment had

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been　recognized。　It　was　from　this　point　of　entry　that　your　sharp…witted　Esther

attempted　to　discover　the　reasons　for　and　circumstances　of　Kalbiye’s　anger。

It　didn’t　take　long　for　Kalbiye　to　admit　that　she’d　been　upset　with　the　late

Enishte　Effendi　due　to　the　illustrated　manuscript　he　was　preparing。　She　said

her　husband；　may　he　rest　in　peace；　hadn’t　agreed　to　work　on　the　book　for　the

sake　of　a　handful　of　extra　silver　coins；　but　because　Enishte　Effendi　convinced

him the project was authorized by the Sultan。 However； when her late

husband became aware that the illuminations Enishte Effendi hired him to

gild were slowly evolving from simple ornamented pages into full…blown

illustrations； pictures moreover that bore the marks of Frankish blasphemy；

atheism　and　even　heresy；　he　grew　uneasy　and　began　to　lose　sight　of　right　and

wrong。 Being a much more reasonable and prudent person than Elegant

Effendi；　she　cautiously　added　that　all　these　doubts　arose　gradually　rather　than

at　once；　and　since　poor　Elegant　Effendi　never　found　anything　that　would　be

considered　blatant　sacrilege；　he　was　able　to　dismiss　his　worries　as　unfounded。

Besides；　he　forted　himself　by　never　missing　a　sermon　given　by　Nusret　Hoja

of Erzurum； and if he skipped one of his five daily prayers it unsettled him。

Just　as　he　knew　that　certain　scoundrels　at　the　workshop　ridiculed　his　plete

devotion　to　the　faith；　so　he　understood　very　well　that　their　brazen　jokes　arose

out　of　envy　of　his　talent　and　artistry。

A　lar