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This is about my encyclopaedia, isn't it?"
His face hardened. "I don't like what you're implying, Emily."
I gave a disbelieving laugh. "I don't like being accused of professional misconduct."
His reaction had bolstered my suspicions. I'd heard rumors that Rose was working on his own encyclopaedia of the Folk--- a project that had reportedly occupied much of his career. He'd said nothing to me about it before or after my book came out, but there had been a distinct cooling of our already cool relations.
"I don't wish to imply anything untoward," I said. "So I will simply say it: you resent me. You spent years on your own encyclopaedia, obsessing over minor details as you always do, and you were too blinded by your own arrogance to think that someone else might beat you to the punch. Ruining my reputation will be to your benefit, won't it? I've often noticed, sir, that for all we scholars shake our heads at the amorality of the Folk, on many occasions we demonstrate that we lack the high ground.
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