Castor had been right; Lisaelis wasn't hard to find. Tsaba slowed the tremble in her hand and knocked on the door to the little office.
"Come."
Tsaba walked in. Lisaelis seemed a lot more interested in the book she was reading than in Tsaba, and said "How can I help you?" in a tone that sounded more like a greeting than an offer for help.
"I, uh... I was wondering if you needed any book copiers or scribes. In the library."
"Yes, I'm sure you were." Lisaelis turned a page. "Have you done any such work before?"
"Yes. I grew up taking notes for a healer, and copying his texts. And I can bind books."
"And you left Sahova why?"
"How did you...?"
"You're a Nuit. And almost every day you sit in my library, reading about magic. They do teach that sort of thing in Sahova, you are aware? And yet instead of being there, the best place for a Nuit to be, you came here, to my library. You understand why one might be concerned about the circumstances behind such a decision."
Tsaba felt her hands ball into fists. What exactly was she being accused of? Did the woman think she was some kind of criminal? But all she said was, "You've been watching me?"
"I watch everybody. As you watched me, or you would not have entered this office almost exactly fifteen chimes after I did. But this does not andswer my question."
"I left because Sahova has one of the best libraries in the world," she said firmly. "It has hundreds of students and curators who never sleep and rarely make mistakes. I left because Sahova doesn't need me, and because it will always be there if I need it. I came to see what I was missing. People are too dismissive of things outside their own experience, so I came to broaden mine."
For the first time since Tsaba had entered the room, Lisaelis looked up at her. "We have many damaged texts that still need copying," she said after a moment. "You'll start with the knitting and sewing collection."
Tsaba frowned. "I will? Why?"
A small smile tugged at the corner of Lisaelis' mouth. "You said you wanted to broaden your experience."