“A day or two more would be helpful.” Mr Coton rubbed his chin. “Give me three days from today and everything will be ready to go.”
“That sounds fine.” Jonathan smiled.
“Excellent. Come with me, and you can choose your fabrics and I’ll get you measured.”
“Do you do all the work yourself, Mr Coton?” Jonathan asked as they followed him and Valerie did not hear his answer.
Emme and Lawrence stayed in the front room.
Valerie walked through the curtained doorway and was astounded at the variety of fabrics Mr Coton had on offer. She thought he must have almost as many as the castle seamstress. There were colours galore, and different kinds of fabrics everywhere.
Jonathan ran his hands over the fabrics. “You have an excellent selection, Mr Coton.”
“Thank you. I expected a well-travelled trader such as yourself would know good fabrics from bad.”
“I see no bad here.” Jonathan gave him a warm smile Valerie knew he did not dish out very regularly.
Jonathan picked plain fabrics for his trousers and shirts. He chose white, red, blue and green fabrics for his shirts, and black and brown fabrics for his trousers. Mr Coton praised him on his choices, and Valerie wondered again where his knowledge of fabric and fashion came from.
“Can I interest you in a vest or doublet?” Mr Coton asked.
“Do you have any simple designs? Nothing too flashy that I can wear every day?”
Mr Coton showed him some designs, while Valerie ran her hands over the materials. She saw some she thought would make nice clothes, but thought she would wait until Jonathan asked her what she wanted. Mr Coton and Jonathan talked for what seemed like an age, but finally he chose a dark brown fabric out of which the vest would be made.
Next came the fabrics for Valerie’s clothes.
“A plain skirt I think, for travel. What do you think, Vera?” Jonathan asked.
“Yes, I was thinking this one.” She pointed to a light brown cloth and he nodded.
“A fine choice.” Mr Coton smiled.
They picked a blue and white for the shirts and Jonathan left her alone for a bit to choose fabrics for her dresses. She wandered between the rolls of material. Finally, she came across a pale yellow and a dark green. She showed them to Jonathan and Mr Coton.
“You’re finally learning the family business, sister.” Jonathan smiled. “Can we have a vest for her as well, made of the same material I chose for mine?”
“Of course.” Mr Coton smiled again.
Valerie had her measurements taken first.
“Your dresses, what style would you like, Miss Vera?” he asked.
“The same as this one, please, Mr Coton.”
“Ah, I made that for Emme’s mother. Bless her. Unfortunately she never got to wear it. It looks lovely on you, dear.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Oh, hush. Calling me ‘sir’.” He giggled.
Valerie went to wait with Emme and Lawrence while Jonathan had his measurements taken. She had given him the coin purse – minus quite a few coins which he had hidden in Perry’s saddle – so she assumed he would take care of whatever they would owe. Valerie had no idea what sort of price to expect, but she had no doubt that Jonathan would know how much it was worth and bargain if need be.
You must learn a lot of different skills when you travel, she thought. Jon seems to know about everything.
When Jonathan was finished, they had the name of the cobbler who it was promised would give them a good deal on two pairs of sturdy boots that would be ready in plenty of time.
They visited the cobbler to order their boots, then went back to Lawrence and Emme’s. Valerie helped Emme make dinner while the men talked. She enjoyed Emme’s company. She could not remember the last time she talked like that with anyone. Jeanna was lovely and kind and warm, but she was also a princess – not the kind like Valerie obviously, Jeanna would never run away from home and get into a bar fight – and so she was the height of decorum at all times. However, Emme was funny and relaxed, and happy to just be a normal person with Valerie.
Of course, she doesn’t know I’m the crown princess of Mor. But still, it makes me miss having had no real girl friends, Valerie thought to herself as they set the table for dinner.
The men came over and they talked and laughed while they ate. Despite all the fun, Valerie could not stop herself from yawning before she had even finished her dinner.
Emme just laughed and told her to go to bed.
“No, I should help you clean up,” Valerie said, smothering another yawn.
“No. Both of you, go up to bed,” Lawrence said.
“Are you sure?” Jonathan stifled a yawn as well.
“Yes, go, please.”
Valerie nodded, too tired to argue, and started up the stairs. Jonathan did not follow. “Aren’t you coming?” she asked.
“Yes, in a moment. I just want to check on Perry.”
She trudged up the stairs and was undressed and in her bed before he came in. He seemed to check Emme and Lawrence were still downstairs before closing the door behind him. He was holding Perry’s saddlebags.
“Perry’s saddle is downstairs. I don’t think we’ll need it near for a quick getaway. Emme and Larry seem nice,” he said, getting undressed.
“They do seem really lovely. I wish I had a friend like her at home.”
“She’s not Jeanna, is she?” Jonathan laughed. He sat on the side of his bed before getting in. “You did really well today, Val. I was proud of you.”
“You still should have told me about your injury. We didn’t have to ride so hard. I was managing to sleep outdoors, you know,” she grumbled.
He laughed softly as he blew out the candle and lay down. She could just see his silhouette in the moonlight.
“Did you stop to think that perhaps we rode that hard because I wanted to get somewhere safe and clean and dry?”
Valerie lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. She had not considered that at all. As always, she had assumed that Jonathan was purely looking out for her and thinking of what she wanted or needed. She sighed.
“You still should have told me. Next time you must.”
Jonathan snorted. “There’ll be a next time, will there?”
“You know what I mean. Promise me you won’t hide something like that again.”
He sighed. “All right. I promise.”
“Good.”
“Goodnight, Val.”
“Goodnight.”
She lay there, no longer sleepy, thinking about what he had said. She wondered if he had done it for himself, or he had known just what to say to shut her up. It would have been just like Jonathan to say something just to quiet her.
She was about to call his name when she heard his slow, deep breaths and knew he was asleep.
She smiled, reckoning it to be the first time he had ever fallen asleep before her. Not that she kept up the vigil he usually did. She too was asleep within minutes.
Chapter Eleven
Jonathan spent the next day with Lawrence. They wandered all over the village, picking up bits and pieces that Jonathan assured Valerie was necessary. She was not entirely convinced that he was spending any more wisely than she had in Clade, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt that he knew what he was doing.
Valerie, meanwhile, spent the day helping Emme with her housework. She washed the clothes they had arrived in, they had dried, and she had fixed up the tears Jonathan had made. Her repairs were not very good, despite the kind face Emme put on when she saw them, but she had felt useful and proud of herself when she was done.
While the washing dried and Emme was having a rest, Valerie wandered the main street. She had found a little pottery shop and decided to see if they had a jug and basin she could buy to replace the one Jonathan broke. She wandered inside and had a look around.
The potter obviously had a lot of free
time and not a lot of customers. There was crockery by the cartload, strange sculptures in various sizes, chamber pots and many pots and jugs and basins. She found a lovely one, painted white and decorated with daffodils. She thought it did not look particularly feminine but neither too masculine, and could be a real gift to both Lawrence and Emme.
The potter seemed to finally realise he had a customer and scuttled out from behind his counter. He was a tiny old man, hunched over no doubt from years of leaning over his potter’s wheel.
“Can I help you, miss?” he asked, peering up at her.
She picked up the jug and basin. “I would like to buy these please.”
He took them from her, nodding. “Funny thing to be buying on your travels.”
She smiled. “It’s a gift actually. For Lawrence and Emme.”
“Lovely couple. They have that hideous monstrosity his aunt gave him, though.”
Valerie laughed nervously. “My…brother accidentally broke it. He was unwell and fell, taking it with him and it smashed.”
He laughed with obvious glee. “Oh well. This is a much better choice, even if I do say so myself. Three coppers please, my dear.”
She handed him the money and thanked him.
When she got back to Lawrence and Emme’s, she managed to sneak upstairs and put the gift in the second bedroom without anyone seeing – Emme was out checking the washing and the men must have still been out.
Valerie helped Emme get dinner ready again that night and they spent the night talking and laughing with much yawn-filled interruptions.
Valerie almost forgot the jug and basin until Jonathan came back down after looking for something to show Lawrence.
“Vera, what’s this doing on my bed?”
“Oh no!” She jumped up and took it from him. Holding it out to Emme and Lawrence, who were sitting together on the sofa, she said, “I bought this for you today, and I almost forgot to give it to you.”
Lawrence took it from her, beaming.
“Oh, Vera It’s beautiful. Thank you!” Emme squealed.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Lawrence said.
“No, I know. But I passed the potter’s shop and I felt terrible…Jack broke your other one. It was the least I could do after you’ve taken us in and looked after us so well.”
The night concluded soon after that, Emme and Lawrence seemed almost too surprised and grateful to just sit and talk anymore.
Back in their room, Jonathan hugged her.
“What was that for?”
“Can’t a big brother hug his sister?”
“He can, but he usually doesn’t,” she said, eyes narrowing.
“It was just a really nice thing you did. I know money doesn’t really mean anything to you, but you obviously saw that Emme and Larry have put themselves out to have us, even if they seem happy to do so. You showed a real capacity to think of someone else today.”
“If you don’t stop gushing, I might be sick,” Valerie told him, crawling into bed.
“All right then. I’ll say no more.”
He blew out the candle and lay down.
Valerie did feel pleased though. And, she was glad that Jonathan thought to say something.
****
The days passed quickly, and soon it was time for Valerie and Jonathan to leave Kailan. Lawrence has assured them and Perry passage on a barge heading south. Their bundles were all tightly stowed and Perry was safely locked up.
Emme hugged Valerie fiercely. “Oh, you will write, won’t you? I will miss you!”
Valerie felt her throat catch. “Of course I will.”
Emme and Lawrence waited by the dock as Jonathan and Valerie boarded the barge. The captain, a stalwart man by the name of Griffin, smiled at them as he went about his business.
“Goodbye! Thank you again!” Valerie called and she waved, feeling the barge begin to move away from the dock.
Jonathan waved as well, and Emme and Lawrence waved in return.
“They will have a surprise when they get home,” Valerie said to herself.
“What did you do now?” Jonathan asked, still waving.
“Something I hope will help them and their baby.” Valerie smiled.
She wished she could see the looks on their faces when they found her gift. She had left them a note, thanking them profusely. However, she also said that if they ever needed anything they were to go to Castle Mor, ask for Princess Valerie and tell her Vera had sent them. She had brought her seal stamp, so left her mark to help convince them.
The ten silvers she had left them would also, hopefully, do them good.
****
Valerie’s stomach took a while to settle. Fortunately she never lost her meal, but she felt sweaty and nauseas for the first couple of days. The trip was supposed to take them six days, and they would end up near the mountains where the wizard was rumoured to live.
Jonathan, annoyingly, seemed at ease through all Valerie’s discomfort. He even started helping the crew with their chores, not that there was a lot to do.
“How does the barge move? Aren’t we going against the flow?” Valerie asked.
“Aye. If you look down into the water Miss Vera, you’ll see what keeps us moving.” Captain Griffin pointed out the back of the barge.
Valerie peered over the side. The water was not murky, but ripples from their movement obscured her view a little. However, she could just make out the shape of a tail. She ran around to the side and saw two flippers, moving slowly and steadily. She felt excitement welling up inside as she ran to the front, passed the cabins. Sure enough, there was a giant head, leading their way down the river.
Up river, really, Valerie thought.
“J…ack, look! A leviathan!” She cringed, hoping Captain Griffin and his crew did not notice her almost-mistake.
Jonathan came up beside her and leant on the railing. He looked so relaxed, so graceful and totally in his element. He smiled almost lazily and, while Valerie was glad he seemed so happy, she was also incredibly jealous of him.
“How else did you think we were going so fast?”
“I don’t know. I guess I didn’t think about it. I’ve never seen a real, live leviathan. I didn’t know they were still around.” She whirled around to Captain Griffin. “How does it know what to do?”
The captain tapped his head. “We’re Linked, Peredur and I.” He looked at Valerie as though she should know what that meant.
She looked to Jonathan, who was more red than usual, but she could not discount the sun’s influence there. He coughed.
“A Link can be made between people, animals, even objects.”
The captain seemed satisfied that Jonathan would explain it and he left to whatever captains did. Ingram, the first mate, was directing some of the crew while they moved boxes. Edwin, the youngest member of the crew – he must have been even younger than Valerie – dropped one on his foot and they all roared with laughter as he jumped around on one leg and they got back to their work. Valerie turned back to Jonathan.
“But what is it? What is it for?”
Jonathan sighed, as though thinking. “Well, take the captain and Peredur.” He pointed to the leviathan’s head. “There are different levels of Link, so they may be linked at a level where they can talk to each other with their minds–”
“The captain can talk to him?” Valerie interrupted.
“Well, talk is one way to put it. I think with animals it’s more like a feeling of understanding one another. I expect it depends on the animal and how compatible they are with the person.”
“What other levels are there?”
“Oh, so many,” Jonathan said. “You can pretty much make a Link using whatever terms you want. So long as you have acceptance and agreement on both sides.”
“Like what though?”
“Well, there’s the level where one person will know when their Link is in trouble and can locate them almost like t
hey’re part of some kind of internal compass.”
“Does it go both ways?”
“Not always, no. It would depend on the Link. Some Links might have one side aware of the other, but the second has no sense of the first.”
“That seems stupid.”
“Maybe.”
“Who would have such a one-sided Link? Surely it’s in the best interest of the parties for it to go both ways?”
Jonathan merely shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve just heard it happens.”
“Have you ever been Linked to anyone?”
Jonathan looked down and kicked his foot against the barge. Valerie watched his face closely. He had just opened his mouth to speak when the barge lurched to the side and they were thrown to the floor.
“Sorry. Debris!” the captain called, mumbling to himself. As he walked past them, Valerie could more clearly make out the words. “What do you mean, you forgot you were driving the barge?” he shook his head. “Just try to be more careful, Per. I know how you get. We have guests remember?”
Valerie looked to Jonathan, who explained, “Talking to the leviathan, I expect.”
She nodded, realising he must be right. She was about to ask her question again but, when she turned around, he had disappeared. She shrugged and leant over to watch the leviathan’s head as they floated along.
The leviathan did not really do anything, most of his movement was at the sides and back of the barge, and his body was hidden under the body of the barge. But she found watching his head peaceful. It also took her mind off her queasy stomach.
She thought the leviathan’s head more normal than she had expected. It looked like the head of a giant turtle. She could just see the tops of his eyes and watched as he blinked slowly every now and then. She could not tell what colour he was, as the ripples and light hid definition of colours from her, but she thought he looked blue or green.
“He’s magnificent isn’t he?” the captain said, coming up behind her. He looked like a proud father.
“Yes, he is.” They stood in silence a few moments, until Valerie thought of something. “How does the barge stay on his back?”
Valiant Valerie (Ballad of Valerie of Mor #1) Page 11
