I was tired. I wanted this to be over soon. For a few days at least. This was grueling work. Val was right, it wore on us.
We walked around a bit, and then heard the wagons and workers coming. My companion took up his role as foreman and had the men set to work. One wagon went up to load the loot, and two more went directly to the camp. Gerald was with them.
He greeted me warmly and congratulated us on winning our war.
He said, “So, tell me all about it. Start at the end.”
I said, “Delilah is dead. She was killed by the kobolds as a peace offering. There had been roughly two hundred in all, and the last thirty of them decided that they had been through enough and they asked us to let them leave in peace. And I did. They left over the hills, headed south, and I don’t think that we will see them again. Before they left, each of them, all thirty, brought a bag of loot as an offering, bowed and knelt, and waited silently for the others to do the same. Finally, they brought out Delilah’s body and laid it before me. They seemed very solemn and contrite. They left the caves and made it clear that the place belonged to us now. I had never heard of kobolds suing for peace before. Apparently, our tactics worked.”
Gerald said, “Remarkable. Simply remarkable. And, as bad as it is, I’m glad that it wasn’t any of you who were responsible for Delilah’s death.”
I said, “She was entirely responsible for her own death. No one else. I don’t blame the kobolds for that either. It is very strange. I almost feel like we could have been neighbors. Of course, that would be impossible, us being humans and them eating humans for food when available, but still, I felt a bit sorry for them at the end.”
Gerald said, “So, you killed a hundred and seventy of them? The four of you? Just you and the three girls?”
I said, “I guess we did. I don’t know the full number. The girls are not what anyone would expect. Your daughter Val is a deadly warrior. And your niece Harmony is at least five times as much. And Dawn is a perfect shot with her bow. You know, I have some skills in various areas, and they are improving, but each of the girls is better than I am in some areas. Val is a better healer. And she is deadly with her knife. She knows anatomy and uses it for both life and death. Dawn is a better shot than I am. Her eyesight and the speed with which she fires is very good. I have known masters who are far better, but none as young as Dawn. Harmony can’t be described. She is a ghost. Like the most experienced Shadow. She did things that only an invisible assassin could have done. I had never met a true Shadow before, but she is certainly destined to be one of them. And only Val and I have any formal training. Her with her mother, and me with my father and grandfather. Dawn and Harmony learned entirely on their own except for a few lessons that Harmony had as a child with her grandparents. Gerald, I still can’t believe it. We fought two wars, one against the rats, and another against the kobolds, and we won both in just a few days. With no casualties, or even major injuries. And none of the people we protected were harmed either. I shouldn’t say it, but the truth is that I’m proud of us.”
Gerald laughed and said, “And so are we all. My boy, you are a hero. And the girls, too. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is in your debt and they know it. And Ronin, now the fields and orchards are both safe. It will take time to get vegetables and grain growing again, but we will have fruit in a day or two. It will be slim eating for a little while, but we are going to make it.”
We wandered among the workers and I said, “Gerald, take the loot and wagons and go buy food for the village wherever it can be found.”
Gerald patted me on the back and smiled and said, “I wish that we could. But we can’t. Maybe if we went two weeks away, but by the time we got back, most would have spoiled. It was our farm and this village that provided food for those nearby, and they are suffering almost as much as we do. When our troubles started, everyone planted a small garden at their own home and shares with everyone. We will have to make do until the new crops can be harvested.”
I said, “Rabbits and pheasants and quail and fish then.”
Gerald said, “What? Oh, for meat? Sure, sure. Yes. Good point. Now that we can move about and hunt and fish safely, we can live more on meat from the woods and meadows. And don’t trouble yourself about that. We have plenty of men and youngsters to take care of it. Your job now is to go home and relax until you are ready for a new adventure. Let us do what we do and provide the food and other things.”
I said, “Home. No, I can’t go home yet. Can I stay with you a while longer? Or, I can get rooms at the inn easily enough. I won’t bother you.”
Gerald sounded suddenly concerned as he said, “Son, listen. You must be more tired than I knew. Son, you have a home with me always. But you have a fine house in the village. It belongs to you. Lucille gave it to you, for you and the girls. She lives with Jean and I, and we are being very happy together, and the house in the village is yours. In a little while, you will go there and rest. Tomorrow, you can come to the farm for dinner. Or for lunch. Or we will all come to you and bring your meals. You own a fine house in a friendly village and you have all the time that you need to figure out what your life will be like. But Ronin, let me treat you like a true son now. Listen to your father. The war is over for now. Go home, to your new house, and learned to relax with your beautiful mates for a while. Make love as often as you can. Don’t work. Don’t worry. Don’t strive. Don’t even make plans until it is time. Son, think of it like this. Your body may not be injured, but it is tired, and your psyche is wounded from all of the work and strategy and death and danger. You need to recover. And if your head were clear, you would know that the girls need this even more than you do. Get some rest and tomorrow you will know that I’m right. I know that you will know what to do.”
I said, “I know you’re right. And I’m not really thinking straight.”
Gerald called over a worker for a moment and said a few words and then the man went off to some task.
I said, “Gerald, we have another thousand pounds of treasure, and trash. Will you have it dealt with for me? And keep what you like and give it to the villagers, or use it for some other good?”
Gerald said, “Son, of course I will deal with it for you. The women will sort and clean it, as they have been. Anything unusual will be set aside. The rest will be given to the merchants. They will take half their normal fee for finding buyers, no more than half, and that will be used for the good of the village. The rest will be sold and every coin will be set aside for you. No one is suffering and no one wants a share in what belongs to you. How you decide to be generous with it later is your own affair. I will handle everything. And, to put you even more at ease, I will have it arranged with the markets that you have your own accounts and everything you want will be put on a bill and it will be paid from your own fortunes, now that you have them. I would easily pay for you, but you have your own now, so I will let you spend it on your own house. And anything else you need, tell me and I will arrange it, until you are more familiar and ready to do it yourself. Here’s your wagon.”
Chapter 8 - New Homes
A wagon pulled up beside us and Gerald yelled for the three girls to come join the two of us where we stood. The girls had been sitting or wandering about watching the work, but came back now and we stood together.
Gerald said, “This man will take you all home. Climb into the back of the wagon. Up you go.”
The driver was accompanied by two women. Both of them appeared to be a bit younger than Jean and Lucille, and perhaps a few years older then I, but not many. The women were in the back of the wagon and took our hands as the four of us let ourselves be pulled up to ride with them. The wagon was filled with hay that had been pushed to the side to make soft benches for sitting and leaning against.
When we were seated in the back, Gerald said, “Now, go home. Be good heroes and take advantage of us, just a little. And ladies, make sure that they do,” and with that, he sent us away.
The wagon went slowly, making t
he ride as comfortable as it could be. The girls and I sat in the back on the straw, and the two women rode with us.
Val said, “This is very kind of you.”
One of the women spoke, saying, “Valeera, we are here to ask if we can we serve you. It’s only right. Your father said that we should ask about staying on if we were open to it. And we would both be very honored and it would be a great blessing to us.”
Val smiled and said, “Oh, if that’s what you want. I thought that you had found something else. I was planning to hold interviews tomorrow or the next day, but if you want it, you’re very welcome. I can’t think of a better way. Shall we just say that it’s decided? If my husband agrees?”
The women looked at each other, and then back at Val and nodded with smiles.
Val said, “Husband, this is Brenda. And this is Alice. If you agree, they will be our housekeepers. Let me explain. They are both newly widowed. Between them they have three children. Brenda had two and Alice, isn’t it a wonderful name, she has one daughter, about fifteen years old. Both of them are wonderful and I know that they keep a perfect house. I suggest that you agree to keep them on as our housekeepers and cooks. Now, you might ask if a house as small as ours needs two housekeepers, but if you did, I would ask you if there is any reason that both of these fine women shouldn’t happily take care of us. They can certainly take care of their own family at the same time, as long as we give them a fair amount that they can live on, so that they’re fine children will have enough so that they can grow up to be fine adults. And by mending our clothes and cooking our meals, their daughters will learn about the skills that they need to start their own house someday. Of course, these women could find other work that would keep them away from their children, except late at night, but is there a need for that? Or, we could hire a few girls with no obligations instead, but you told us to make the decisions based on what we think you would want for us, and I think that you would want very much to have two experienced housekeepers, and these two are the very ones.”
She just smiled at me and waited. The women looked shy, but expectant, hoping that I would approve of them.
I took a breath and said, “Val, I think that having two housekeepers will be just what we need. We won’t always be at home, and I don’t want us to worry about the house, either while we are away or at home. And having our meals prepared for us so that they are hot and ready when we come home from work will be a blessing.”
Dawn had been listening and said, “Yes. All four of us will be gone much of the time, and none of us will have time for all of the chores. I mean, we could manage if we had to, but if we have the experience of expert housekeepers, that would be best for us. I know that it doesn’t come cheap, but Ronin, please do this for our sake.”
Dawn winked at me as if it weren’t entirely for our sake at all. I knew that she was saying most of this for the benefit of the women, and I loved her for it. Yes, we probably could make do without housekeepers, but Val and Dawn were hinting that these two might not be able to make do unless we had them as housekeepers.
I said brightly, “Well, Harmony, do you have any input?”
Harmony said, “I’ll be practicing in the garden during the day. Of all the women in the village, I would pick these. And it meets the customs anyway. But give them plenty to live on. Once they start, I don’t want to worry that they will leave us for another house later.”
The woman named Alice said, “Oh, no. We won’t need so much. We won’t be expensive. Please, we don’t need much. And we won’t leave for anyone else. We’ll be very loyal and we’ll work hard. We swear we will.”
Then she named a very meager amount that she thought that they could live on. I thought that she might cry.
I said, “Val, is that a good amount? I would have thought that with the amount of work that we have and the errands that and marketing, and all of the mending of our weapons and armor, and helping to care for us and make special meals when we are injured, that the price would be at least five times as much.”
The two women gasped and started to protest, but Val held up her hand and said, “No, I think that he’s right. Five times that sounds right to me. And for that amount, we will want you to take good care of us. We won’t ever be harsh or demanding and we are only giving you this so that all of our lives will be happy. And we know that your lives have been hard recently, and your children have had a very hard time of it as well. We need a very happy home, and we need your help to make it for us. Fighting wars is hard on us. And, if there were no children, the arrangement would be different. But there are children and you need a house for them, and that takes money.”
The other woman, Brenda, said, “Lady Valeera, we would be very proud to take care of you. As soon as we are at your home, we’ll make you a meal and prepare your baths and get you fresh clothes. Thank you so much for this. It is because of the children that we have not found some arrangement already.”
Val said, “I know, Dear. This is going to be great. A perfect solution for all of us.”
I said, “Alice, I assume that your daughter takes care of herself quite a bit now. What about your children, Brenda?”
She said, “Sir, they are um, didn’t you understand? Our husband is dead.”
I said, “Yes. You are both widows. Was it because of what is in the orchards? Did both of your husbands die there? I’m so sorry to ask, if it’s too painful to think about.”
Alice said, “Sir? Oh, our husband was killed in the orchards, but we were both his mates. My girl is fifteen, and we have an eleven year old girl and an eight year old boy from Brenda. They take care of each other quite well now. They miss a father, but we do what we have to.”
I said, “Oh, I see. OK, then you are under our care now. Be sure that they have what they need, and bring them with you when you want to. Val, will they live with us?”
The women seemed more surprised by my assurance than I had expected, and even the three girls looked at me as if I had surprised them with some great generosity.
Val smiled and said, “No, they have their own house. They’ll come in the morning and work and be in charge of their own schedules. We will be in their hands.”
The rest of the ride was spent getting to know our new housekeepers and having them tell us how they would care for us. I didn’t think that we needed two of them, but Val had pointed out cleverly enough that it was the two of them who needed us, whether we needed them or not. And I was happy to do it. I wasn’t thinking very far ahead as to what it would be like, but that didn’t matter right now.
It wasn’t that far to the house, and the wagon took us all the way to the front door. The driver helped the women down, and then thanked me for all that we had done. He asked if there was anything that he could do for us, but I couldn’t think of it, so he said goodbye and left.
As soon as we were in the house, Harmony turned the management of everything over to Val. It had been Harmony’s home for the past four years, but she was more than happy for Val to run it now that her aunt was at the farm with Gerald and Jean. Val and Dawn got busy showing our new housekeepers around. Brenda was the more experienced cook, so she was in charge of meals and shopping for the most part. Alice would assist her, but Brenda was in charge. Alice would focus, by her own preference, on our comfort. She wanted very much to take care of us, making us at ease, as much as possible.
The only parts of the house that I had really seen before was the front room, the garden in the courtyard, and Harmony’s spartan bedroom. Now, as I followed the girls on tour, I saw that it was quite large. It was built in a square that completely enclosed the courtyard, with two levels. The first level was a good kitchen, a dining room, a front room, a more intimate sitting room, an office, a library, a work room where Lucille had sewed her special clothing, and several more rooms that could be used for various purposes. On the upper level were five bedrooms. Not all of them had beds at the moment, but three of them did. One of those had been Delilah’s roo
m. One was Harmony’s room. The third bedroom had been Lucille’s.
When I entered Lucille’s bedroom, I was nearly knocked to my knees. And I think that the other women were as struck by it as I was. They might not have known why, but they certainly felt something.
Harmony was next to me and she pulled me aside and whispered, “It’s the sex. Doesn’t it just make you want to climb on top of the bed and get busy between our legs?”
I looked into her eyes and nodded.
She said, “I know. It’s the sex ghost that lived in Lucy’s room. It’s not really a ghost, of course. It’s just the residual magick. Do you like it? I do. It’s so sensual. I was going to bring you here instead of to my room, but I knew that if I did, we might never leave at all. We would certainly have been late. Aunt Lucy says that time slows down or even stops in here. We have to kind of be careful. She said that you could start to make love and a day and a half would go by before you thought an hour was up. It’s supposed to be amazing.”
The final two rooms were a huge bath room, and a very nicely furnished separate dressing room with chairs, lounges, and sofas. It had two dressing tables with mirrors, and two more floor standing mirrors. And the bathroom was spectacular. It had a very large shower area, and in the very center of the room, a very large round tub that would certainly fit all four of us easily.
I whispered, “Harmony, what was this tub used for?”
The Edge of Harmony: The Guardian Maidens Book 2 Page 7
