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slapped his thigh again.
    â€˜How can you be certain?’ Lilah could not help asking.
    Her brother stared at her in surprise. Lilah smiledat him gently. She had not tried to oppose him, but had simply said what she was thinking. She was so accustomed to the fire of Ezra’s speeches that she no longer fell under their spell, as she had when they were younger. But now Ezra’s anger had turned against her, as the desert wind abruptly changes direction. That, too, was something to which she was accustomed. She placed a hand on her brother’s knee. ‘You may be worrying needlessly,’ she said tenderly. ‘If the rumours from Jerusalem after the battle of Kounaya were false, why should these new ones be true?’
    Ezra pushed away her hand, but before he could say a word, Master Baruch spoke: ‘That’s a good question, my daughter. If a bird flies in one direction, why shouldn’t it fly in another?’
    Rigid with anger, lips quivering, Ezra looked the two of them up and down.
    Master Baruch pointed to one of the jars with a bony finger. ‘Show her the letter.’
    Ezra pulled a papyrus from among the twenty or so in the jar and threw it to Lilah. ‘It’s from Yaqquv, the guardian of the gates of the Temple. He was appointed to the post by Nehemiah himself before he died. The letter was written in Jerusalem two springs ago. It did not reach the Levites of Babylon until after the death of Cyrus the Younger. One of them brought it to Master Baruch, because it wasaddressed to him. Everything I told you is there, written by Yaqquv, who saw it with his own eyes.’
    Even though it was rolled round a cedarwood stalk, the papyrus strip was worn, yellowed and torn: it looked as if it had been handled by hundreds of people. The ink was ochre in colour, different from that used in Susa. The writing was not Persian or Chaldean. Lilah recognized the tall, joined-up signs of the Hebrews, which Master Baruch was teaching Ezra. She could barely decipher them.
    As if guessing her thoughts, Ezra took another papyrus from the jar. This one was shorter and newly written. ‘I translated the important points into the language of Babylon, made more than forty copies and distributed them to the exiled families in the upper town. I was hoping to open their eyes to the wounds of Jerusalem. You might have had one in your hands. But perhaps it was madness to hope I could touch our uncle’s heart, or even cross his threshold.’
    Lilah lowered her eyes. He was right: this bad news had not entered Uncle Mordechai’s house. She turned to the old man. ‘I’m ashamed, Master Baruch. Ezra’s right. As you know, our uncle’s house is closed to anything that comes from his nephew. But our uncle will come to regret it, I’m sure.’
    Master Baruch glanced at Ezra and sighed. ‘We’reall ashamed, you, Ezra and I. All of us. Nehemiah was so confident when he set off. “I confess the sins of the children of Israel. We have sinned against you, Yahweh. I am in sin, my father’s house is in sin.” That’s what he said as he left the Citadel. And we can say the same thing now. Time has passed, but nothing good has come of it.’
    He grimaced and fell silent. His fingers again sought Lilah’s hand. Ezra respected his silence, and the three were quiet for a moment. There was nothing to add. The words already spoken were enough of a burden.
    Then Lilah heard noises from the adjoining room, which was used as a kitchen. Sogdiam must be putting away the provisions.
    As rapidly as he had flown into a rage, Ezra regained his composure. Calmly, he replaced the papyri in the jar, then sat down again beside Lilah. She did not need to turn to know that he was looking at her, and did not doubt his affection for her, but she kept her head down and her eyes on Master Baruch’s hand squeezing hers.
    She had come here to tell Ezra that Antinoes had returned