The Clearing (Medieval Tale Book 2)

by Lina J. Potter

  Shirvey seemed to be imagining the same conversation. He stared at the Virman’s axe, swallowed hard and took a scroll from under his pillow.

  Lily took the letter and broke the seal. The text was brief.

  “Send the money and your report with Shirvey, as always. Write about my wife’s health. How is the child? What does the medicus say? Is she doing well? Please look after my daughter and make sure that the countess does not upset her. You will answer to me when I arrive.”

  Lily balled her hands into fists. It was a polite letter, but it made clear that the earl cared nothing for the estate or for his wife. The only person he worried about was Miranda. She had always known that her husband saw her as a brood mare, but the reality of his attitude struck her hard when she read the letter.

  Shirvey lay back on his pillow. He looked weak. Lily gave him a cold stare. “Did you divide your profits in half?”

  “But my lady…”

  She didn’t think it was possible for a man to be whiter than a sheet, but Shirvey did it.

  Lily stared. “Do you not understand me? Etor was stealing. You were responsible for delivering his reports and the money from the estate. Since you never noticed anything amiss, you must have been his partner. Who else was involved?”

  Shirvey shook his head, as if to say “I didn’t know anything.”

  Lily turned to Olaf. “Take him to the dungeon and question him using whatever methods you see fit.”

  Olaf nodded. “Will you be present for the questioning?”

  “I’m already dizzy. I don’t think I want to watch you skin him alive, drive needles under his fingernails and file down his teeth.

  “File his teeth, my lady?”

  “With a sharpening stone,” Lily clarified.

  “We’ve never done that before,” the Virman said thoughtfully.

  “Now I’ve given you the idea. You can try it out on this man.”

  Sweat was pouring down Shirvey’s face. “My lady, his lordship will not be pleased by this.”

  Are you trying to threaten me? You bastard!

  “Olaf, please get started. I don’t care what state the body is in when you are done.”

  The countess balled her fists. She figured she already had plenty to talk to her husband about. He wasn’t likely to approve of her efforts. Judging by his letters, she wasn’t much more than furniture in his mind, and he wouldn't be happy to find that a chair was running around the castle stirring up trouble.

  May as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb.

  The Virman pulled her husband’s agent off his bed and dragged him from the room. Lily turned to Ivar. “Take me back to my room.”

  Ivar obeyed.

  Once she was alone, Lily sat down to think. Her personality was developing for the worse. She had never treated people this way before, even Etor. She wondered what she would do to the former manager if she had him in her power now.

  I would have him tortured until he gave up everything he had squirreled away. If he refused, I’d have him executed next to his wife.

  Lily knew she would issue the order without even flinching.

  You change the world, but the world changes you, too. There’s no getting around it. I have to survive here, no matter what it costs me.

  Jamie got off his horse. The windows of the old cottage, covered with stretched fish bladders, stared disapprovingly at the young herbalist.

  The soldiers stayed mounted. They had no intention of entering the witch’s yard. Jaimie cared nothing for Moraga’s reputation. If the countess hadn’t taken him with her when she left Altver, he would have found himself with a noose around his neck or standing on a pyre, depending on how his luck held out. His grandmother had warned him: people would tolerate him while she was alive, but once she was gone he would have to run.

  He was an illegitimate child. If his grandmother hadn’t taken him in, he wouldn’t even be alive. Wealthy women had often turned to the old lady for help, even when their pregnancies were far along. The potion usually worked and the children were born dead, but Jaimie survived. Jaimie didn’t know if his grandmother had felt sorry for him, or if she had wanted a boy to care for her in her old age, or if she had planned to blackmail his real parents. There was no way to know.

  His grandmother was no simple healer. That much Jaimie knew. She could read and write and do arithmetic. She knew everything about herbs. And her manners were far from simple. No, she had been somebody once, but she took that secret with her when she went to Maldonaya. After her death, Pastor Leider came to see the boy. He spoke kindly and asked for a cough remedy, but his eyes bored holes in the boy. Jaimie realized that it was time to go.

  As luck would have it, the Countess of Earton turned up just then. Jaimie took an instant liking to her. She knew about herbs and she didn’t talk about Aldonai all the time. Well, she did talk about Aldonai, but Jaimie could tell that it was all a game that she played for the benefit of other people. She would say whatever she needed to say, but she didn’t believe any of it. Jaimie even wondered a bit at that, but he wasn’t eager to be executed in Aldonai’s name, either. He didn’t want to upset his patroness. Finding a new home would be difficult.

  He looked forward to conversing with the old woman, who was known as an herbalist in those parts. She probably knew some things he didn’t know. He reflected that the countess was right about one thing: there’s no point in sitting on knowledge – you won’t hatch anything that way.

  Jaimie walked up to the door and knocked. He didn’t have to wait long. The door opened and a woman appeared. His first thought was that she looked a great deal like his grandmother.

  “What do you want?”

  Jaimie bowed respectfully. “Good day, granny.”

  “I’m nobody’s granny. What do you want from me?”

  “My name is Jaimie Meitl, granny. I serve the countess.”

  “In what capacity?”

  “I’m an herbalist.”

  “Is that so?”

  “The countess said that since we are both herbalists it would be a good thing if we worked together.”

  “Oh my. Aren’t you afraid of the wrath of Aldonai? Everyone knows that herbalists are in the service of Maldonaya.”

  Jaimie smiled. The old lady was smart. “The countess told me to say that what everyone knows usually isn’t the truth.” He lowered his voice so the soldiers couldn’t hear.

  “Not the truth?”

  “People were calling me a servant of Maldonaya, but she didn’t believe them.”

  “I see.”

  “She told me that we should share knowledge with each other.”

  The old woman thought for a moment and nodded. “Come in, since you’re already here. We will talk.”

  Ever since that day, Jaimie had visited the old woman often. She reminded him of his grandmother, and she knew many things. She had a good store of herbs at her cottage, too.

  Eventually the old herbalist realized that Jaimie had knowledge to share, as well. Two intelligent people can always find common ground.

  This next conversation took place on the same day, behind the pigsty. All sorts of things can be heard behind a pigsty, but unfortunately, no one happened by to hear this particular conversation.

  “My dear!”

  The man winced. Calma had been a nice enough companion during the trip, but here in Earton she had become a burden. When he had taken up with her, he had assumed that it meant something that she was nanny to the earl’s daughter. As it turned out, Calma had very little status at the castle.

  Calma couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She was even less attractive now, with lashes down her back from a whipping, covered in mud and stinking of manure so strongly that all the flies in the neighborhood were buzzing around her.

  Why the devil couldn’t she leave the countess alone?

  The countess was the source of another mistake he had made. He had expected to find a sad, unattractive woman who cared for nothing but food and prayer
s, as the earl had described her to him. As soon as he arrived he realized he had been wrong.

  Yes, Lilian Earton was a large woman. She was fat. There was no other word for it. But at the same time, there was something indefinable about her. Was it an inner light? A sparkle in her eyes? The way she spoke and moved and made things move around her? The man couldn’t have said exactly. He didn’t know the word “charisma,” but that was exactly what she had. She had personality that no layers of fat could hide. She was impressive, especially when she had her hair done and wore beautiful clothes. He also liked the way she smelled.

  The man grimaced and took a step back from Calma. “You’ll get my clothes dirty!”

  She put her arms down. “But I thought you…”

  “That I what?”

  “Go have a word with the countess. Tell her to end my punishment.”

  “Have you lost your mind?”

  It was a ridiculous request. There was no way the countess would change her mind now, especially for his sake.

  Damis had no doubt that he could win the countess’ affections, given enough time and opportunity. He had landed wealthier, more beautiful women before. Calma was just in his way.

  “How do you imagine me speaking to her? ‘My lady, Calma is a fool but she promises she won’t do it again.’ Like that?”

  “Do what? I didn’t do anything!”

  “How stupid are you, Calma? The countess is the law here. You were insolent to her. How do you like the results?”

  “That isn’t true! It’s all her nanny’s fault, the old witch!”

  “Fool,” he shot back. But he had met Martha before. Remembering her shortcomings, he softened.

  “If I have a chance, I’ll do my best. I promise. But we can’t let anyone see us together.”

  “What do you mean? I… You…”

  “If people see us together, they’ll know I’m your lover and the countess won’t trust me.”

  “But we can be together sometimes, can’t we? You aren’t leaving me?”

  That was exactly what the man planned to do, but he didn’t want her to know it yet.

  “Of course we can see each other, but not today. I have to go.”

  Calma sniffed, but the man was firm. “I have to be at dinner. The countess wants all the tutors to eat dinner in the small dining room tonight.”

  “I told you! She’s crazy!”

  “You’re the crazy one. Has your backside healed?”

  Calma put a hand over her mouth.

  “The countess said that all of us who teach Lady Mary should know each other.” Damis paused, remembering the housekeeper’s exact words. “If we work together, her studies will progress faster.”

  “What nonsense!”

  Damis shrugged. It might be nonsense, but he saw something in it. “You keep your mouth shut. If anyone tells the countess you’re still talking about her, you won’t see anything but manure for the next hundred years. She could even have you thrown off the estate.”

  “But you won’t leave me, will you?”

  He cursed silently and did his best to console the woman, telling her she was lovely and wonderful and he would never leave her. Surely he would be able to obtain the countess’ mercy. Why did he bother? Because he didn’t want a falling out with Calma until he knew he had the countess on his side. He liked Earton well enough, and he knew he’d be fired if it got around the castle that he had something on the side with Calma.

  Ivar went in to see the countess late that evening when she was already preparing for bed. Lily didn’t bother reprimanding him. The Virmans didn’t waste time, so she knew he had something important to say. Martha frowned at the intrusion. Lily was telling Mirrie a bedtime story. She waited for the girl to fall asleep. Then she asked Ivar to carry her to her own bed and then come back. He followed her orders.

  Lily suspected that Martha was listening at the door, but she didn’t plan on sharing any secrets.

  “Well?”

  “That man broke like a dry branch. He was already in a bad way, so we didn’t have to do much to get him to talk.”

  “And?”

  “They were stealing. Etor took the money, and this other man covered for him with the earl. They divided the spoils in half.”

  “I see. Did they have accomplices here at the castle?”

  “Shirvey says one of the elders was in on it, but he doesn’t know who.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “We asked him with a sharpening stone, my lady.”

  Lily chuckled. She had read Malleus Maleficarum[3] and knew all about obtaining confession by torture.

  “I see.”

  “Will you question him yourself?”

  “I don’t have time for that. Keep him locked up. If I think of anything, I know where to find him. For now, I want him to write out a confession, also to be witnessed by the pastor and Taris Brok.”

  “And then?”

  “We’ll wait for the king’s envoy and have the bastard over to him.”

  “As you wish, my lady.”

  “And of course, find out where they hid the money.”

  Lily suspected the money was in the capital, but she hoped she could at least claw part of it back. If they had invested the money in ships or some other business, she could perhaps write to her father and ask for his help getting it back.

  “We will ask him, my lady.”

  She nodded. “I might decide to be present, but not now. I need to stay in bed a few more days.”

  Lily wasn’t feeling well at all.

  This is one hell of a way to lose weight.

  Taris Brok left Earton the next morning. He kissed the countess’ hand and promised to take the letters to her father. With tears in her eyes, Lily begged him to tell her father that she was praying for his health and asked him to send someone from Altver to take the murderer and the thief off her hands. She was so afraid to stay in her own home! Taris gave his word to send an envoy and give her letter to Torius Avermal. Then he rode away with six soldiers that Leis had ordered to guard him.

  Inside the letter to Avermal was a sealed note for Helke. She trusted Taris to take a letter to the baron, but she wasn’t sure she trusted him with her message to Helke. He already knew too much about her. That wasn’t good. In her new world, she had to be above suspicion in everything.

  You just wait, dear spouse. Let me get back on my feet and get my house in order. Then I’ll deal with you.

  Chapter 3

  “Helke, you have to leave town.”

  “Why?” Helke stared at his companion. “Why now? What happened?”

  “Do you know the name Avermal?” The innkeeper was glum, and for good reason. Altver’s fine young men had been in the Pig and Dog when they discussed their plans for getting rid of the Eveer jeweler. The inn’s owner, who was a Virman, had taken an instant dislike to them on the day they had insulted Ingrid and almost gotten Leif killed. He had no particular love for Eveers, but Darius and his friends were idiots and he feared that they would accidentally burn down half the town in their attack on Helke. They would hang for it, of course, but trade would suffer just the same. If there was rioting, his inn was sure to be hit.

  The innkeeper knew that Eveers were targeted because they were disliked. Inns and taverns were targeted because they had wine. He wanted peace in Altver.

  Helke’s face darkened as the innkeeper recounted what he had heard. “So you heard them yourself?”

  “Of course I did. They were drunk and talking loud.”

  “Should I tell the mayor?”

  “That won’t save you. I don’t like them. That’s why I’m telling you. If they don’t burn your shop down, they’ll stick you with a knife on a dark night. You know it.”

  Helke stood up and bowed in the manner of the Eveers, with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes on his companion.

  “I thank you. I will remember your good deed.”

  “Think about it.” The man slapped the
Eveer on the shoulder and walked out. Helke sat down to think. He had no reason to doubt the innkeeper. It sounded exactly like something Darius and his friends would do. They had good reason for disliking him: he was an Eveer, and he was rich.

  Will the mayor do anything to protect me?

  He thought he might. Torius would whip his son if he interfered in a profitable business. But where would that leave Helke? Still out in the cold. The mayor wouldn’t assign bodyguards to watch day and night over Helke and his family and the family of his widowed sister, whose children were like sons and daughters to him. No, he wouldn’t do that.

  If those three bastards really want to get rid of me, they’ll do it. I’ve only got one choice. I’ll talk to Avermal and then leave town. But where will I go? Where in this kingdom is anyone ever happy to see an Eveer?

  He tried to think of a place where the locals wouldn’t cheat him and try to convert him to their faith. A place where he could count on protection. He doubted such a place existed.

  “What a mess!” Helke smiled. He could almost hear Lillian Earton saying it while she toyed with her long, thick braid. She always played with her braid when something upset her.

  Lilian Earton…

  Helke’s face broke into a smile. He knew where to go, if only the countess would have him.

  The only question was how to get to Earton in one piece. Autumn had arrived, and soon the rainy season would turn the roads into impassable swamps. And he wouldn’t be alone: he would have to take his sister, her children, and all of his tools and materials, which were expensive.

  Helke thought a while longer and then stood up decisively.

  It’s his son. Let him figure out a solution.

  He would let the mayor find a way to keep everything together: his son, his profits and social order in the town. There had been anti-Eveer pogroms before. They didn’t happen often, but the king didn’t like it when they did. Eveers were a source of revenue for the kingdom, and they had gold. Edward the Eighth came down hard on mayors who let things like that get out of hand.

  What are the benefits of moving to Earton?

  He knew the countess to be an intelligent person, but the earl was an unknown. For a moment, he considered giving up on his Earton plan and moving in with some relatives in another town. That felt like a poor solution, though, since he could end up facing the same problems there. Nobody liked Eveers.