When Books Do It: A Hi-Lo Literary Mashup

If books of vastly differing strata and subject are stored near each other, they will do it. That's what they don't tell you about Dewey Decimal! It's a system put in place to prevent the crossbreeding of certain kinds of books.

Anyway, a copy of The Brothers Karamazov (classic canonical literature) and Prince of Thieves (a romance novel) got loose and had a bit of a tryst. This is the result. Before you judge it, remember it will most likely not be accepted under any classification.

She found it difficult to take part in the conversation as the women talked of things, pictures, and images of which even soldiers would sometimes hesitate to speak. Only a fear of embarrassing her cousin prevented her from describing in detail just what fashion she'd been wearing of late.

There were many questions for her and comments about the handsome Sakim lord with whom she seemed to have some sort of connection. He was simply an early lover of humanity, and that he adopted the monastic life was simply because at that time it struck him, so to say, as the ideal escape for his soul struggling from the darkness of worldly wickedness to the light of love. Being highborn ladies all, they were very discreet, but it became apparent to Maryana that some stories were circulating about about him which made one feel at once (and it was so all his life afterwards) that he did not care to be a judge of others that he would never take it upon himself to criticise and would never condemn anyone for anything.

Her responses were guarded, but carefully calculated to titillate and provide grist from more conversation later. Part of this was pure deviltry on her part, but it was also intended to present Roderic in the best possible light. He was very strange even at that time, and had been so indeed from his cradle. But he was fond of people: he seemed throughout his life to put implicit trust in people: yet no one ever looked on him as a simpleton or naive person. She had no way of knowing which of these women might have some influence over their husband's decisions.

But she longed to be back in the dining room, which was a very sink of filthy debauchery, pleading Roderic's cause. It seemed possible, chaste and pure as he was, that if the Innish allied themselves with Roderic and the Sakims, her king might give up without a battle and withdraw to Neran soil with such booty as he'd already claimed.