by Lisa Shea
Michael’s eyes swept the three people before him. His face hardened. “Never. You remember this day, and remember how I escaped you all.”
He turned then, launching himself out the window without a sound.
Joan raced to the window, Hugh and Master Martin close at her side. She stared down into the ebony rainfall.
A ring of lanterns flared into visibility as the covers were removed from them. Lord Weston and Greslet hauled Michael up out of the hay, the fallen man swearing up a streak which Joan could hear even from this height. Ymbert skipped forward with some rope, deftly tying the man’s hands behind his back.
Joan could see Cecily standing to one side, her wrists bound, under tight guard from Norman. On the other side, Sarah, Aiden, and Bossard were all embracing, while Linota and Sybil handed around mugs of ale.
Joan folded against Hugh. His arms came up around her in a tender embrace. He pressed a long kiss against her forehead, and her world eased to a stop.
Master Martin’s voice drifted into her reverie, a hint of amusement in it. “Well, if you two are going to be busy, I can always eat all those grape leaves and other delicacies myself. I will just be down –”
Joan’s stomach growled loudly, Hugh swept her up in his arms, and she could swear she breathed in the delicious aromas as their feet echoed down the stairs.
Chapter 25
Joan sighed in angst as she looked across the smoldering embers which had once been her home. Remus and Romulus bounded with interest through the wreckage, sniffing at a corner here, digging in curiosity at a sagging patch there.
It was gone. Everything she had once loved was gone. Her few mementos, her stable gear, everything.
The tapestry was burnt beyond recognition.
Hugh’s arm was steady around her waist, and he looked across the ruins with quiet acceptance. “We can rebuild.”
Joan’s voice ached with sorrow. “The tapestry is gone,” she pointed out. “And your seagull. Those can never be replaced.”
He turned her to face him, running a hand tenderly along her cheek. “Those were all we had, once, of a precious memory.” His eyes shone. “Now we have each other. Those other objects, they are no longer necessary. We have the reality.”
She smiled at that. Remus trotted up to her side carrying a stick; she flung it out past where the stables had once been. Aquila and Accipiter were hobbled by the clover, grazing quietly.
Hugh’s face stayed steady. “With the reward money coming in from so many fronts, you could live anywhere you wished. Even return to the Holy Land.”
She looked into his eyes. “Would I go alone?”
His breath left him, and he was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse. “I would go with you to the ends of the earth, if you would have me. The Holy Land, Carthage, Rome, Cairo – it doesn’t matter to me. Where you are, I will be.”
She looked around the quiet clearing, a soft smile coming to her lips. “I’m not sure how Remus and Romulus would take to the heat of Carthage,” she pondered. “They have fairly thick fur.”
Romulus came up to rub against Hugh’s leg, and he dropped a hand to run it along the dog’s head. “That they do.”
She glanced to the west. “And Sarah and Aiden will be married soon. I wouldn’t want to miss those festivities.”
Hugh’s arm circled her waist. “Certainly not.”
She tapped a finger to her lips. “And then at the autumn equinox Lord Weston promised to hold the largest race the county’s seen in decades. I would disappoint a great many people if I did not ride Aquila in that and win them some money.”
Hugh pressed his lips to her forehead. “It is almost your duty,” he agreed.
She brought her gaze back to the ashes. “So I suppose it makes sense to rebuild here. After all, there’s the well for water, clover for the horses, and friends all around.”
He smiled down at her. “It does seem fairly ideal.”
Her brow creased. “Although, we probably want to rebuild the new home with a few more bedrooms in it. So we all fit.”
He raised an eyebrow. “We all?”
Her hand dropped to rest on her abdomen. The corners of her mouth tweaked up.
His eyes widened, he drew her up, and then they were spinning around, laughing. Joan could almost hear the joyful cry of a seagull, soaring in flight, reaching the dreams which had once seemed so far out of reach.
Be sure to enjoy all of Lisa Shea’s medieval novels!
Seeking the Truth
Knowing Yourself
A Sense of Duty
Creating Memories
Looking Back
Badge of Honor
Lady in Red
Finding Peace
Believing your Eyes
Trusting in Faith
Sworn Loyalty
In A Glance
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Dedication
Thank you to Joan and Peter May, who patiently toured me around a variety of locations in England on numerous trips. They were always quite content to walk through another motte and bailey, visit another church, and explore the beautiful landscapes of Britain.
To Jody, my editor extraordinaire. Jody has polished each of my pieces, providing just the right touch to help my stories come to life.
To Debi, who created the gorgeous original cover for this.
To Kris, my godsister, who supports me in all my projects and provides wonderful feedback.
To Leslie, my high school friend who has been there for me through all sorts of ups and downs.
To Sandra, who tracks down typos that many others have missed!
To Ruth and Lynn, my insightful fellow writers who help me polish my words.
To Tricia, with a degree in Medieval history, whose commentary is quite valuable!
To uncle Blake, who provides upbeat encouragement for each book.
To Jeanne, who’s been a loyal fan since the very beginning.
As always, to my darling sweetheart, Bob. No matter what my quest, no matter what my goal, he is always there by my side, helping me reach my dreams.
Glossary
Ale - A style of beer which is made from barley and does not use hops. Ale was the common drink in medieval days. In the 1300s, 92% of brewers were female, and the women were known as “alewives”. It was common for a tavern to be run by a widow and her children.
Blade - The metal slicing part of the sword.
Chemise - In medieval days, most people had only a few outfits. They would not want to wash their heavy main dress every time they wore it, just as in modern times we don’t wash our jackets after each wearing. In order to keep the sweaty skin away from the dress, women wore a light, white under-dress which could then be washed more regularly. This was often slept in as well.
Cider – A beverage made by pressing and fermenting apples. By default, cider in the middle ages was alcoholic.
Drinking - In general, medieval sanitation was poor. People who drank milk had to drink it “raw” - pasteurization was not well known before the 1700s. Water was often unsafe to drink. For these reasons, all ages of medieval folk drank liquid with alcohol in it. The alcohol served as a natural sanitizer. This was ev
en true as recently as colonial American times.
Garderobe – an indoor toilet in a castle; usually simply a hole over a long drop to a ground-level sewer.
God’s Teeth / God’s Blood – Common oaths in the middle ages.
Grip - The part of the sword one holds, usually wrapped in leather or another substance to keep a firm grip in the wielder’s hand.
Guard - The crossed top of the sword’s hilt which keeps the enemy’s sword from sliding down and chopping off the wielder’s fingers.
Hilt - The entire handle of the sword; everything that is not blade.
Mead - A fermented beverage made from honey. Mead has been enjoyed for thousands of years and is mentioned in Beowulf.
Pommel - The bottom end of the sword, where the hilt ends.
Stew – Initially the name of bathhouses, this became the term for brothels since illicit activity often took place there.
Tip - The top end of the sword, where the blade comes to a point.
Wolf’s Head – A term for a bandit. The Latin legal term caput gerat lupinum meant they could be hunted and killed as legally as any dangerous wolf or wild animal that threatened the area.
Parts of a Sword
About Medieval Life
When many of us think of medieval times, we bring to mind a drab reality-documentary image. We imagine people scrounging around in the mud, eating dirt. The people were less than five feet tall and barely survived to age thirty. These poor, unfortunate souls had rotted teeth and never bathed.
Then you have the opposite, Hollywood Technicolor extreme. In the romantic version of medieval times, men were always strong and chivalrous. Women were dainty and sat around staring out the window all day, waiting for their knight to come riding in. Everybody wore purple robes or green tights.
The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the middle.
Living in Medieval Times
The middle ages by and large held a warm, pleasant climate. Crops grew exceedingly well, and there was plenty of food. As a result, the height of people were around the heights of modern humans. It’s amazing how nutrition influences our health!
The abundance of food also had an effect on the longevity of people. Chaucer (born 1340) lived to be 60. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) was 82 when she died. People could and did lead long lives. The actual “average age” of someone who survived childhood was 65.
What about their living conditions? The Romans adored baths and set up many in Britain. When they left, the natives could not keep them going, and it is true they then bathed less. However, by the middle ages, with the crusades and interaction with the Muslims, there was a renewed interest both in hygiene and medicine. Returning soldiers and those who took pilgrimages brought back with them an interest in regular bathing and cleanliness. This spread across the culture.
While people during other periods of English history ate poorly, often due to war conditions or climatic changes, the middle ages were a time of relative bounty. Villagers would grow fresh fruit and vegetables behind their homes, and had an array of herbs for seasoning. The local baker would bake bread for the village - most homes did not hold an oven, only an open fire. Villagers had easy access to fish, chicken, geese, and eggs. Pork was enjoyed at special meals like Easter.
Upper classes of course had a much wider range of foods - all game animals (rabbits, deer, etc.) belonged to them. The wealthy ate peacocks, veal, lamb, and even bear. Meals for all classes could be flavorful and well enjoyed.
Medieval Marriage
Marriage choices were critical for both sons and daughters. Wealthy families would absolutely arrange for “proper” marriages for their children. This was about the transfer of land far more than a love match. Parents wanted to ensure their land went to a family worthy of ownership, one with the resources to defend it from attack. It was not only their own family members they were concerned with. Each block of land had on it both free men and serfs. These people all depended on the nobles – with their skill, connections, and soldiers – to keep them safe from bandits and harm.
Yes, villagers sometimes married for love. Even a few nobles would run off and follow their hearts. Even so, they would have first seriously considered the potentially catastrophic risks which could result from their actions.
Here is a modern example. Imagine you took over the family business that employed a hundred loyal workers. Those workers depend on your careful guidance of the company to ensure the income for them and their families. You might dream about running off to Bermuda and lounging on the sand. But would you just sell your company to any investor who came along? Would you risk all of those peoples’ lives, people who had served you well for decades, to satisfy a whim of pleasure?
Medieval Women
In pagan days women held many rights and responsibilities. During the crusades, especially, with many men off at war, women ran the taverns, made the ale, and ran the government. However, as men returned home and Christianity rose in power women were relegated to a more subservient role.
Still, women in medieval times were not meek and mild. That stereotype came in with the Victorian era, many centuries later. Back in medieval days, women had to be hearty and hard working. There were fields to tend, homes to maintain, and children to raise!
Women strove to be as healthy as they could because they faced a serious threat - a fifth of all women died during or just after childbirth. The church said that childbirth was the “pain of Eve” and instructed women to bear it without medicine or follow-up care. Of course, midwives did their best to skirt these rules, but childbirth still took an immense toll.
Childhood was rough in the middle ages – only 40% of children survived the gauntlet of illnesses to adulthood. A woman who reached her marriageable years was a sturdy woman indeed.
To summarize, in medieval days a person could live a long, happy life, even into their 80s – as long as they were of the sturdy stock that made it through the challenges of childhood. This was very much a time of ‘survival of the fittest’. Medieval life quickly weeded out the weak and frail.
So medieval women were strong - very strong. They had to be. Still, would they fight?
Women and Weapons
Queen Boudicia, from Norwalk, was born around AD60 and personally led her troops against the Roman Empire, quite successfully. She had been flogged - and her daughters raped - spurring her to revenge. She was extremely intelligent and quite strategic. Her daughters rode in her chariot at her side.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, born in 1122, was brilliant and married first to a King of France and then to a King of England. She went on the Second Crusades as the leader of her troops - reportedly riding bare-breasted as an Amazon. At times she marched with her troops far ahead of her husband. When she divorced the King of France, she immediately married Henry II, who she passionately adored. He was eleven years her junior. When things went sour, Eleanor separated from him and actively led revolts against him.
Many historical accounts talk of women taking up arms to defend their villages and towns. Women would not passively let their children be slain or their homes burned. They were able and strong bodied from their daily work. They were well skilled with farm implements and knives, and used them with great talent against invaders.
Many of these defenses were successful, and the victories were celebrated as brave and proper, rather than dismissed as an unusual act for a woman. A mother was expected to defend her brood, to keep her home safe, just as a wolf mother protects her cubs.
Numerous women took their martial skills to a higher level. In 1301 a group of Italian women joined up to fight the crusade against the Turks. In 1348 at a tournament there were at least thirty women who participated, dressed as men.
This is not as unusual as you might think. In medieval times, all adults carried a knife at their belt for daily use in eating, chores, and defense. All knew how to use it. Being strong and safe was a necessary part of daily life.
Here is an interesting compa
rison. In modern times most women know how to drive, but few choose to invest themselves in the time and training to become race car drivers. In medieval times, most women knew how to defend themselves with a weapon. They had to. Few, though, actively sought the training to be swordswomen. Still, these women did exist, and did thrive as valued members of their communities.
So women in medieval times were far from shrinking violets. They were not mud-encrusted wretches huddling in straw huts. They were strong, sturdy, and well versed in the use of knives. Many ran taverns, and most handled the brewing of ale. Those who made it through childhood and childbirth could expect to enjoy long, rich lives.
I hope you enjoy my tales of authentic, inspiring heroines!
About the Author
Lisa Shea is a fervent fan of honor, loyalty, and chivalry. She brings to life worlds where men and women stand shoulder to shoulder, steady in their desire to make the world a better place for all. While her heroines often wield a sword, they equally value the skilled use of their intelligence, wisdom, courage, and compassion.
Lisa has studied medieval swordfighting for several years. She studied medieval dance and music with the SCA. She has been to England numerous times and loves exploring old castles and churches.
Please visit Lisa at LisaShea.com to learn more about her background and interests. Feedback is always appreciated!
Lisa Shea’s library of medieval romance novels:
Seeking the Truth
Knowing Yourself
A Sense of Duty
Creating Memories
Looking Back
Badge of Honor
Lady in Red
Finding Peace
Believing your Eyes
Trusting in Faith
Sworn Loyalty
In A Glance
Each novel is a stand-alone story set in medieval England. These novels can be read in any order and have entirely separate casts of characters.
Lisa’s cozy modern-day murder mystery romance series:
Aspen Allegations – A Sutton Massachusetts Mystery
Birch Blackguards – A Sutton Massachusetts Mystery
Cedar Conundrums – A Sutton Massachusetts Mystery
