"Of course. I wouldn't be so selfish," Abigail replies with a small smile and nod. Timing is important. Being a bore is a distinct threat. Better by far, her mother used to tell her, to say too little than too much. "I suppose the most important question is something of a personal one. At what age is someone ineligible to begin attending Redbright?"

It's an old fantasy, one she probably wouldn't live out even if she could. But part of her wants to pretend she could still become a student, wants to imagine she wouldn't be turned away as quickly as her father always said she'd be.