Lying upon his desk would be three books stacked upon each other. The book on top was titled The Best English Detective Stories of 1928-1929, edited by Father Ronald Knox and H. Harrington and was approximately 420 pages in paperback. It was old and dilapidated, but the clearest dog-earing of a page would lead one to the preface of the book written by Father Ronald Knox, but across that first page of the preface was some writing in deep red ink and an impeccably immaculate penmanship: “Knox’s Decalogue—The ten commandments created by Ronald Arbuthnott Knox and used in heresy trials. Knox’s 1st: It is forbidden for the culprit to be anyone not mentioned in the early part of the story…”
The second book was heavier, bound in black leather with gilt-edging, and simply titled THE HOLY BIBLE: KNOX VERSION upon its front and spine. Glancing through the pages would reveal its odd format compared to most bibles; no subheads, no verse numbers at the beginning of sentences—the entirety of the scripture was written in chapters and paragraphs as it were an ordinary literary novel, with the verses in tiny numbers on the outside margin that would hardly distract. The third book was its partner: a paperback edition titled On Englishing the Bible which contained 72 pages of good monsignor Knox’s experiences of translating the aforementioned bible from Latin while consulting Greek and Hebrew texts.
Upon this all was a note gently pinned to the bible with a twin-keyed brooch dipped in gold. The contents of the note, written in the same penmanship of the scrawling in the first book, were the following:
I thought you might appreciate some light reading. I ask that you respect its teachings, bring honour to it by learning from them, and have compassion for those who bear a banner different from yours by passing what you have learned through the readings.
Gratia Dei cum omnibus vobis.
—-
“Hm! Now what is this~?”
“Miss Knox! This is so incredibly thoughtful of you. If I didn’t know any better, which I do, I’d think that you had a little crush on me. Really, though, yes; I’ll begin reading these over the break, beginning with the bible. It’s been a little while since I read it all the way through, and considering the time of year, it seems rather appropriate.”
“But for now, I must wrap your gift…”
