Chapter 26
Travelers Camp at Henge
Take the Thief quickly settled into life amid the Gypsy Camp. By way of thanks for Zigana's hospitality, he took over her campfire chores.
Juanita and Esmeralda found Take splitting kindling for the communal fire. They had slept late as usual and woke up hungry.
Juanita chewed on a stale piece of bread as she watched Take work. "So who is this Uncle Finn you seek? No one's ever heard of him. I can tell you for sure he wasn't a soldier."
Esmeralda kicked a chunk of wood aside that had fallen close to her foot. "We must have talked to every old geezer still alive in the infantry and I talked to a few from the cavalry as well."
Take stopped chopping and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. "Finn could be my father. It was just a guess that he might have been a soldier. My mother was working at the castle when she came up expecting me."
"Your daddy is it?" Juanita laughed. "What made you think he was a soldier?"
"A soldier used to visit my mother and me. Brought a little money each time. He wasn't my father but I thought maybe he knew my father."
"Maybe in truth he was your father, bringing money and all," Esmeralda mused.
"Couldn't have been. He looked nothing like me."
"So what did your mom do at the castle—do you know?"
"I expect she was some kind of a servant. She was a good-natured sort. Easy to get on with."
Juanita snickered. "I suppose she'd have to be to come up expecting all of a sudden."
Take glanced at Juanita with a wry expression. "Whoever he was, he must of cared a little. Because of sending the soldier every month to visit, I mean."
"So, where shall we try next?" Esmeralda asked. She grabbed a hunk of her hair and began plaiting it into a braid.
Take put down his axe and gathered up his pieces of kindling. "I think we should ask the servants at the castle, but I don't know how we could manage that. Most of them live on the castle grounds and I'd wager Prince Blackwell would take a dim view of us going into his castle asking questions."
Juanita and Esmeralda followed Take as he carried his kindling to the fire pit.
"Maybe we could get on at the castle," Esmeralda said.
"What?" Juanita scowled. "I don't want to be washing dishes for Serafina."
"Maybe they need some dancers," Esmeralda argued. She wasn't ready to give up on the coins Take had promised.
Take seemed to get an idea. He stopped his work on the fire and stood up. "Maybe you could just ask about work at the castle. Probably whoever is in charge of hiring is someone who has been there a long time. Worked his way up. You could casually let drop that you were related to someone who worked there a long time ago. My mother's name was Drina. See if that rings a bell. If the person remembers Drina, you could ask about her friend, Finn, who also used to work there. If the man or woman remembers Drina but not Finn, that's probably our answer right there. My father didn't work at the castle."
"We could do that." Juanita gave Take a wary look. "You'd pay us, right?"
"A little. More if you found out something." Take went back to work building a stack of kindling in the fire pit.
Juanita and Esmeralda waited outside the kitchen at the castle in Henge. They could hear the clatter of pots and dishes. Good smells wafted out, making their stomachs growl. After a long wait a woman dressed in a black dress and a white ruffled cap came down the stairs to meet with them. She looked to be around fifty years old, stern and proper in manner.
"Are you the two looking for work?" she asked.
"We are." Juanita smiled at the woman.
"Have you ever had experience taking care of babies? You look like the sort that would like big cats."
The two girls shook their heads, thinking the statement about cats was an odd one for an interview.
"Too bad," the woman said. "We have trouble keeping nursemaids of late."
Juanita cleared her throat. "We had a relative worked here many years ago, name of Drina."
The woman looked surprised. "Drina? Of course, I remember Drina. A sweet girl. She took care of Queen Deidre, rest her soul. Queen Deidre never did get back to herself after giving birth to Prince Blackwell. She hung on for a few years. Drina was a great comfort to her. Are you experienced in nursing the sick then?"
"No, but I'm glad you remember Drina fondly." Juanita seemed to brighten up with a new thought. "I wonder if you might have known her friend Finn as well?"
"Finn? I don't remember her having a friend called Finn. Did he work here?"
Juanita looked at Esmeralda. "Did he?"
Esmeralda shrugged. "I don't know."
"I thought he might have, but maybe he worked outside the castle," Juanita said.
"What sort of work are you looking for then? I might get you on in the kitchen if you are good workers."
"That would be nice," Esmeralda said.
Juanita jerked her head in Esmeralda's direction. "It would?"
The woman seemed to be considering. "Come along then. We'll give you a try. I'll introduce you to the cook. My name is Mrs. Merkle, by the way."
An hour later, outfitted in black servants' clothes, Esmeralda and Juanita were scrubbing pots in the steamy kitchen.
"What were you thinking of, saying it would be nice to work here?" Juanita asked.
"I was hungry. And something smelled good," Esmeralda replied.
Juanita glared at her friend. "Something smelled good? That's the reason?"
"Just because Mrs. Merkle had never heard of Finn doesn't mean nobody has. We could ask around a bit. And they will probably feed us eventually."
Juanita flung a handful of soapy water at Esmeralda. Esmeralda screamed and ran, slipping on a puddle on the floor.
The cook ran back to find Esmeralda laying on the floor and Juanita standing over her trying not to laugh.
"You poor thing." The cook helped Esmeralda to her feet. "Did you hurt yourself? Let's just get you a bite to eat and make sure you're all right."
As Esmeralda and the cook walked to the kitchen, Juanita bit back a curse and continued scrubbing pots.
Princess Electra Book 3 Gypsy Music Page 26
