Lily cursed silently. She would have to do the same. I’ll survive. Back in my old world, people used to kiss icons without getting sick. I think. And I’m in the first row, so not that many people have licked the spoon before me. I’ll be extra careful.
But when he got to Lily, the priest looked surprised. “My child, I have not seen you here before.” She wasn’t sure what to say. “Stay after the service, please.”
Great. Just great!
Lily nodded obediently and, barely touching the spoon with her lips, took a taste of the white substance on it. It reminded her of cottage cheese. Do I have any money with me? I think I do. The dressmakers wouldn’t take the pay I offered, so I put it back in my purse. But this priest won’t get more than two silver coins out of me, and that’s a fact!
***
Father Leider was an interesting man, tall, with dark hair and a face that reminded her of paintings of Cardinal Richelieu. He was even somewhat attractive. Aliya had never liked men that were too good looking, but Lilian Broklend was a different story. For an instant, Lily relaxed. She gave a stupid smile, and her body made the familiar sign of Aldonai.
“Bless me, Holy One.”
“May Aldonai take you under his wing.”
Lily bowed her head, and the official part of her private meeting with the priest was over. She hoped their business dealings wouldn’t take too long since the innkeeper and his family were waiting for her outside. Lily had asked him to wait, and he had been happy to oblige, or perhaps he was just afraid of what her Virman guards would say if he left her.
On second look, Lily decided she didn’t like the priest. But that’s no big deal. I don’t have to eat him for lunch. I just have to talk to him.
“My child, why haven’t I seen you here before?”
“I only recently arrived and will be leaving soon,” she kept it brief.
“I would remember such a charming woman.”
Lily almost sat down on the floor. Charming, was she? He must be angling for a new roof on the church.
“I just came to town for the fair and the market. I didn’t want to put my soul in danger by missing the cleansing rites,” she said, batting her eyelashes.
“My Lady…”
“Countess Lilian Elizabeth Mariella Earton.”
“Very pleased to meet you. I am Father Simon Leider.” Lily gave a slight nod. He took it as permission to continue. “How long will we have the pleasure of seeing you in our town?”
“Not long.”
“But I hope you will attend our daily services?” Lily smiled and said nothing. “Piety is an important virtue in a woman.” He went on for another five minutes about how he hoped to gain Lily’s support and how pleased he was to see such a lovely woman sitting in the front row.
Lily kept her mouth shut while he talked, but when the priest tried to take her hand, she cautiously withdrew it from his viselike fingers.
Really?
Then she remembered what she had read about the church. Priests were not required to take a vow of celibacy until they reached the level of Aldon.[10] Until then, they could do what they liked with whomever they fancied, and no one raised an eyebrow. I bet he’d like to be known as the spiritual advisor for the Countess of Earton. That’s more important than just the priest of a small town people visit for the market each year.
Lily smiled sweetly. “Of course, I’ll be coming to services. My husband highly values piety.” It was just a slight hint. If he didn’t catch it, she would hint again with something heavier.
The specter of Jess Earton made the priest visibly nervous. It would take a much braver man than Father Leider to make a cuckold out of the Earl. Lily listened politely to his assurances of devotion, took a moment to feel sorry for Anne of Austria, and took her leave, telling the priest that she had important affairs to handle for her husband. “Our estate Comptroller is incompetent, so I have to handle many things on my own, you see.”
The peasants and the Baron were waiting for her outside.
“My Lady…”
Lily stopped him. “Honorable Torius, I would be happy to see you at Helke’s workshop at noon. I hope you do not object?”
He did not object, so Lily headed back to the inn. She wanted to talk to Ali and Leif before she went to Helke’s workshop. They had not had their agreement stamped by the Baron’s office, and she felt it would be a good idea to do so.
I’ll buy off the Baron, and I think I’ve put Marion in her place. The priest doesn’t look like he’ll cause me any trouble.
She found herself longing to go home to Earton, where there was peace and quiet, and they had just recently cleaned everything.
***
Leif was mad as a devil when Lily got back to the inn. His men had fallen asleep on the job and put the Countess in danger. It didn’t matter that the attacker was after Ali, Lily could have been hurt or killed. And then they let her go off to church in the morning without any protection. Two of his men were dripping with water when she walked in, and Lily guessed that Leif had dunked them in the rain barrel outside. She didn’t feel too bad for them. Instead, she gave Leif a brief account of the night’s adventures and went upstairs to see Ali.
Things were no better in her patient’s room. Lilaka was sniveling in the corner like a dog that had been kicked. Ali Omar, looking furious, stood over his nephew and Neelei, who were tied up tightly and sitting on the floor. Ali spat out something in their language, and it didn’t sound friendly. When he saw Lily, his face changed, and he overwhelmed her with his gratitude in a mix of Khangan and the language of Ativerna.
Lily waved away his thanks and sat down to take her patient’s temperature and pulse.
“All that sleep did you good. Let me see your wound.”
The wound looked much better, and Lily decided she would remove the stitches the next day. He would be all healed up in no time.
“My Lady, how can I ever thank you?”
She smiled. “The best way to thank me is to get better. I’ve put so much work into you, you at least owe me that!” Gratitude was better than money.
Ali understood her perfectly and smiled back. “I’m forever in your debt, My Lady. You helped me discover a viper in my home.”
“Two vipers.”
Omar’s eyes flashed. Lily preferred not to ask what would happen to the two people tied up on the floor, but she could easily guess. The ocean was deep, and there were plenty of stones to be had in the area. They did the crime so they can take the punishment.
Downstairs, Leif told her he would go with her to the jeweler’s workshop. As they rode, he tried to apologize for his men falling asleep on the job. Lily told him that she wasn’t angry in the least. He could discipline the men however he saw fit, but she didn’t want to hear any more about it. She also suggested that they be warned about taking wine from attractive young women. Judging by the look on Leif’s face, she suspected his men would be introduced to the concept of dry law.
The jeweler gave a big grin when he saw Lily and immediately presented her with the hair clips and hook-and-eye closures he had made. When she informed him of the Baron’s planned visit, he cursed quietly. There was no way around it. Mayors and governors in every universe expect kickbacks, and Helke knew that.
He just hoped the Baron wouldn’t get in their way.
***
The Honorable Torius Avermal was quite taken with Helke’s achievements. He nodded, gasped in surprise, and in the next breath asked them to make him a partner at thirty percent. Lily kept a straight face as she reminded him that Helke could always follow her back to Earton, where she would be happy to set up a fine workshop for him. Then the Baron would get nothing.
The jeweler was delighted to find that, in addition to being a lovely woman with interesting ideas, the Countess could bargain like a true Eveer. He would never have dared speak to the Baron that way in fear of getting whipped, but the Countess calmly brought the Baron down to ten percent in return for his protection and
assistance building more workshops. Then she put in a condition of her own.
She was heading home with a large quantity of livestock and asked the Baron to take charge of delivering the animals to Earton. She took it for granted that his men would divert some of the livestock for official purposes, but while they were at it, they could build pigeon coops along the way to house the carrier pigeons that she would use to communicate with Helke. Her home was too far for her to visit often in person.
That condition agreed to, she put forth one more: she wanted the Baron to keep the guilds from interfering in her plans. If she hired an apprentice, that person should be allowed to take the examination for guild membership. She knew Torius could do it.
Helke shook his head in admiration.
Lily’s plan was to wait for the dressmakers to pass their examinations. Then she would hire them and a couple of other apprentices and head home. By that time, Ali should be back on his feet.
***
The next three days passed relatively peacefully.
She went back to the market with the Virmans to buy the extra livestock the Baron would want for himself. The Virmans put marks on the animals so that they could be identified later.
Then she removed Ali’s stitches and replaced the splints she had made in a hurry with better splints she had ordered from a local carpenter. Lily saw that the bone was healing properly. Ali saw the same thing, and his eyes filled with wonder whenever he looked at her. Lily suspected that if she hadn’t already been married, he would have offered her a place in his harem. She could possibly have had her choice of harems; Omar’s eyes went soft whenever Ali wasn’t looking.
It’s nice to know I have options. If my husband is the pig I think he is, then he can fall off his horse, and I can go live in the Khanganat. The Khangans won’t extradite me, and they’re good to do business with.
Ali didn’t look like much, but Lily had never cared what people looked like. Her mother had taught her never to judge a candy by its wrapper—you have to actually unwrap it to know what you’ve got.
Why is it that women always fall for the good-looking men? Her father had never been handsome. As a girl, Aliya had always thought he looked like a fairytale gnome, but her mother had loved him powerfully.
It’s the candy, not the wrapper, that matters. And it’s the person you live with, not their good looks.
The glass blower was just as terrible as she had suspected. He had made her a glass coil, but it was crooked and almost useless. When I was twelve years old, my teacher would have given me a C for work like that! She was even madder when he told her the price.
In retribution, she managed to steal away his apprentice, not by promising the lad sacks of gold, but by offering to share the secret of colored glass with him. She had bought the chemicals she needed from the tanners. The apprentice was eager to move to Earton and make colored glass. Lily never found out how the Baron handled the glass blower, but three days later, the young man showed up at the inn and informed her that he was now a master glass blower and could practice his trade wherever he chose, and the blacksmith’s former apprentice decided to go to Earton with Lily, as well.
The dressmaker’s girls brought her several dresses they had altered for her. They had pulled off all the lace and pink bows and added white and yellow trim, so now Lily could look at the dresses without her stomach churning. With Marcia’s help, she sold some of her dresses for cash. The girl was smart, and it was no wonder the other two let her do all the talking. She then used the money to buy velvet, satin, and silk to make new dresses that were not pink at all. It was an expensive outlay, but Lily felt it necessary.
Her purchases were finally loaded onto the Virmans’ ship. Leif allowed it, but he grumbled. Lily took the edge off his annoyance by suggesting that he take the opportunity to buy any new weapons he and his men needed. It was another expense, but a necessary one.
Helke had been working day and night. Lily met with his cousin, who was what they called a hair artisan, and showed him several ideas for hairstyles and explained the principles behind curlers. The man immediately made plans to expand his business in Altver and then move to the capitol. He promised to stay in touch with the amiable Countess, mainly because he hoped to pick up a few more good ideas from her.
Marcia, Lidia, and Irene finally became master dressmakers, costing Lily a couple of gold coins in the process. They were terribly grateful to her and went to work right away altering her dresses. Lily showed them a number of things they had never seen before, including buttons, pockets, and darts. The girls were so overjoyed by every crumb of new knowledge that it was a pleasure to share with them.
While all these other things were going on, Lily and Helke put together their first still. It was a failure—it leaked in several places and didn’t capture the cooled vapor like it should—but it was a start.
***
One day, Lily looked up from her work and saw the young boy she had bought dried herbs from. She raised her eyebrows. “Do you have something more to sell me?”
“No, My Lady. I want to go with you.”
“Why do you think I’ll take you?”
“You’ve hired many other young people. Why can’t you take me, too?”
Lily looked even more surprised. “But what do I need you for?”
“I’ll work it off, My Lady.”
“But how? And why would I take a person I know nothing about into my home?”
“You don’t have to take me into your home.”
“Maybe not, but what’s chasing you away from Altver?”
The boy wavered for a minute, but in the end, he told her his story.
Lily discovered that the boy’s grandmother had been considered a witch, but in fact, she was descended from a long line of herbal healers. The gods did not give her a granddaughter, so she taught her grandson everything she knew. The boy’s mother was also an herbal healer, but his father was a minor noble. The boy didn’t know his father’s name, but he had started to notice that the priest gave him dirty looks in church and other people avoided him. He was worried that people might drive him out of town, or worse. He was more than ready to leave town with this Countess who was always running around and knew quite a bit about plants. She seemed kind, and that was enough for him.
Something about the story didn’t add up. Lily had a low opinion of the priest, but she certainly didn’t think he was a frightening figure. When she voiced her doubts, the boy confessed the rest of his story. There was a girl he liked. He wanted to marry her, but he was too young, and nobody knew who his father was. And so, in order to stay out of trouble, he wanted to go to Earton.
That sounded closer to the truth.
Lily suspected there were other reasons, but after thinking for a minute, she sent the boy to get his things together. She would ask Leif to see what he could find out. Her Virman guard later returned with good news. He had been unable to find out anything that would change her mind about taking the boy. He was not a thief or a murderer or a practitioner of black magic. He would do fine. Lily was glad to have him since she didn’t know all the local herbs and would need an instructor.
There was barely time to think, much less be bored. Preparations for the journey home were moving along quickly. Each day, she found she was tying her skirt a little tighter. Whenever it looked like she might be ready to leave, she found more things that needed doing, buying, or explaining.
Helke was knocked off his feet by their first batch of vodka. Pure alcohol shocked him speechless when Lily showed him how it could be set on fire. She wanted to try distilling some of the crude oil Ali had given her, but she was afraid it would spoil her not-very-good glass coil, and it was the only one she had. The glass blower was vindictive and had refused to make her another one. To hell with him!
Lily was keeping a mental list of all the things she could do for herself. It was a long list, and it got even longer when the blacksmith’s apprentice agreed to return to Earton with her. Wi
th the Earton village blacksmith, this new apprentice, and Leif’s wandering Virman semi-blacksmith working for her, she stood a good chance of getting some useful things made.
I wish I knew how to make a blast furnace, but I don’t. Ignorance was frustrating. Lily could have kicked herself for all the things she didn’t know, but it wouldn’t have helped, so she didn’t bother. Instead, she tried to be grateful for the things she did know.
***
A week passed like a whirlwind, and suddenly, Lily realized that it really was time to go home. They would be sailing, at Leif’s insistence.
She was no longer concerned about Ali. He was in fine shape to be carried to his ship. She had taught his wives some basic massage to improve the circulation in his leg. They were appreciative all around. When she went back to his room, Ali threatened to sail to Earton when he was well and present Lily with a trunk of gold jewelry.
She told him that wouldn’t be a good idea.
The merchant had to be satisfied with expressing his undying gratitude and hinting that he might, after all, show up in Earton someday with gifts. Lily thanked him and hinted that he would do well to talk to Helke about finding new markets for his inventions. The Eveer had already given her a year’s supply of all sorts of clasps and closures.
The chemicals she had acquired from the tanners were very carefully loaded onto the Virmans’ ship. While she was overseeing their stowage, Lily discovered what it meant to be violently seasick. As soon as she got into Leif’s rowboat for the short trip to the ship, she realized she might not be able to hold onto her lunch. It occurred to her that a long sea voyage would be a good way to lose weight, but she decided not to risk it.
The Baron stopped by to see her several more times before she left. He invited her to a ball he was hosting. Lily inquired about the details, and when he told her the ball was in celebration of the end of the market season, she decided to attend. Three more days wouldn’t change much. If the peasants back in Earton wanted to rob her blind while she was gone, they had probably already done it. Advertising was another consideration; if she went to the ball, she could show off her new dress, hairstyle, and earrings in order to help Helke’s sales. If she hurried, she could even get him to make her a fan in time for the ball.
First lessons Page 25
