smiling , i plumped up the sparse bedding-we had slept on a flattened pallet of worn straw from the stable , which smelled rather strongly of clarence , and on our half-dried cloaks , covered with a spare sheet and a ragged blanket , though joanie and felicite had given us one of their feather pillows , they sharing the other-and sat back against the wall , the tray perched on a keg of ink powder .