First lessons (Medieval Tale Book 1)

by Lina J. Potter

  Lily noticed that some of the unmarried Virmans were more than a little interested in the three girls. She had no objection, but she had a quiet word with the commander of the guards, a man named Ivar, and told him to keep an eye on his men. If any of them got one of her girls pregnant, he would have to marry her or get the hell out of Earton.

  She only had a few cows with her on the trail. The rest would be delivered within a few months by men the Baron would hire. Lily was extremely satisfied with the terms of that agreement. The delay would give her time to fix up barns and coops for the rest of the livestock and poultry before they arrived.

  The long road home gave Lily plenty of time to think about how she would organize life at Earton. At the moment, she was leaning toward the idea of a collective farm with one boss—her. She wanted to control how the farming was done and how the crops were distributed. On the other hand, she remembered what happened on Russia’s collective farms. Some people were hard workers, but most were idle freeloaders who sat around waiting for handouts. When you give someone a handout, they come back to ask for seconds. And if you don’t give them thirds, things get ugly. I don’t want that.

  By the time the caravan reached Earton, Lily was feeling dejected. On top of everything else she had to worry about, her menstrual cycle had begun again, and she was experiencing physical discomfort. Next items on the list: normal underwear and decent menstrual pads. When she rode in, Earton all was quiet—and clean. The lawn around the castle was neatly trimmed, and the porch had been freshly washed. Emma came out to greet her wearing a new dress and a white apron.

  “My Lady!” she smiled and held out a hand.

  Just then, someone came running down the stairs. “My little girl!” Martha refrained from throwing herself on Lily, but her eyes shone like diamonds. Lily couldn’t stop herself from giving her old nanny a bear hug.

  “Nanny, dear!”

  Martha’s self-control gave way, and she burst out in tears. After a minute or two, Lily motioned for Marcia to come over and take charge. The girl nodded and led Martha away for a cup of tea so that Lily could look around her domain, which was exactly what she was longing to do.

  Rest and put my feet up? I’ll do that when I’m in the grave. Lily marched around the castle with four Virmans behind her. The stable was filthy. After a brief but frightening interview with Lily and some knocking around by Ivar and Gel, the three grooms found a new enthusiasm for their work and began shoveling manure at a rapid pace.

  Lily checked the stable off her list and headed out to inspect the rest of the estate. What she saw did not make her happy. It was obvious that there was no Comptroller to keep things in hand. Emma was clearly no estate Comptroller, and the peasants simply ignored her when Lily was not around. The castle was also far from clean. When Lily found a small pile of human waste in one of the out-of-the-way corners, she finally lost her temper. Once again those ancient walls echoed with the direct speech of an army officer. The servant girls were upbraided and fined half a month’s wages. Lily then instructed them to go clean everything they laid eyes on, starting with her room. Then they were to prepare accommodations for the Virmans and Lily’s new hires.

  In short order, she gave the village elders the task of bringing in thirty strong women from their villages to clean the castle top to bottom. The Countess of Earton had no intention of living in a pigsty, and she wouldn’t let anyone else live that way, either!

  You already washed that floor? Then washing it a second time will be even easier!

  Those orders given, Lily called Emma into her study and peppered her with questions. The answers revealed that the peasants had taken advantage of her absence. The harvest was suspiciously small, the mill had been used without payment, and few fish had been caught. Emma explained that she had done her best, but she wasn’t a Countess or a Comptroller, and had little authority over the village peasants.

  Lily understood, but she had no intention of giving up. The ship with the Virmans should be arriving soon. Leif had expected Lily to beat him to Earton by about five days because of the unfamiliar river channel and the heavy load he was carrying. Once Ingrid was there, Lily would turn over management of the estate to her and leave Emma to oversee the castle. The older woman was fully capable of controlling the servants, especially when Lily was at home. Leif would be in charge of guarding the estate and surrounding villages, building fortifications, and organizing watches to keep out brigands and other strangers who would do harm. Ingrid would spend her first weeks in her new home visiting the villages and evaluating what needed to be done. Lily planned to go with her. She would watch and listen and take notes.

  At the market, she had purchased several sacks of seed potatoes and a few more sacks for food. As far as she could tell, potatoes were not a staple in the local diet. I’ll fix that! Once they try my fried potatoes, I’ll have to set guards to watch the potato fields. Eventually, I’ll grow enough to hand out sacks of potatoes for work well done. Then her thoughts turned to tomatoes and eggplants. She couldn’t wait for spring to come so she could start planting. She looked out the window on the Earl’s large garden, an area that was worked by all the peasants in turn. Without noticing it, she leaned against the sill. Her body was tired.

  More than anything, Lily wanted peace and quiet, a warm, comfortable place where she could work on strengthening mind and body without constant pestering from the servants. That isn’t likely to happen!

  Her to-do list washed over her and pulled at her like a strong tide. She needed to write to Helke and Torius. The estate needed to be put in order. She wanted to start producing her innovations. No, she wouldn’t be building factories any time soon—that just wasn’t realistic. But she knew she could make glass, even colored glass, and she knew the secret of making glazed clay dishes. She believed that she could learn to do anything if she set her mind to it.

  She would make quality dyes out of St. John’s wort, onion skins, and other natural ingredients. She had bought fabric for making batik (she couldn’t draw worth a damn, but she’d find someone who could). The dressmakers would need to be taught to sew the kind of clothes she wanted (with pockets), and even to play with different styles.

  Then she would introduce knitting, crochet, and even lace tatting, which was a completely unknown art form in her new world. To get started, she just needed carved wooden shuttles and a little stuffed cushion. Making knots was easy, and she was confident she could teach anyone the simple hand motions needed to make airy lace. She would teach crochet lace, too. Lily had seen very little lace, and even that was poorly done, so she was eager to organize a workshop where the village girls could make lace of all kinds. Helke, she was sure, would be interested in selling fine lace to the ladies of Altver. And we’ll make beaded lace! They’ll stampede Helke’s store!

  Lily was an expert at making things with her hands. Growing up in a small army town during Russia’s economic shock of the nineties had taught her the lessons of making it yourself, making do, or doing without. She had plenty of business ideas to discuss with Helke. Instead of email, they would use carrier pigeons to exchange messages. Lily had brought back pigeons and a trained boy to look after them. I wonder how the birds know where to go? I suppose the boy will handle that. All I have to do is provide a place for him to build a coop.

  She wondered what the Earl would say when he found out about her commercial interests.

  Stop ruminating! It took all Lily’s willpower to turn her thoughts away from the earl. She would worry about how to behave with her husband if he ever showed up. For now, she would write to her father. There were enough memories left for her to feel sure that he loved his daughter. He had certainly tried his best to find a good match for her. And if he didn’t visit, that was probably her own fault; Lilian was tiresome and rude and not the best of company, even on a good day.

  Her plan was to send her father a letter with a humble gift—a pen and inkwell set made of pure gold and encrusted with precious stones. Helke w
as a master jeweler, and Lily was confident that her father would be pleased. He might even come to see her.

  Good Lord, how will I talk to him if he does come? Just to be on the safe side, Lily would search through all her old letters. She couldn’t believe that father and daughter hadn’t met or even written since her marriage. I’ll dig through all my papers and see what I can find. If there isn’t anything, I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

  Her most immediate problem was the Earton Estate. Before the Virmans arrived, she wanted to meet with the priest and tame him so that he would keep his nose out of her affairs. I want him to know he can do as he likes, as long as he stays on my good side. Otherwise, I’ll hand him his head on a gold plate.

  She believed that people knew where their interests lay and the only thing that prevented them from putting more butter on their bread was laziness. Thank goodness I don’t have that problem. So, in order: Earton, my old letters, the priest, and my manufacturing projects. I’ll deal with the Earl if and when he makes an appearance.

  ***

  She heard voices in the courtyard and frowned. Who could that be?

  She found out five minutes later when Mary burst into the room as if a dragon was after her.

  “My Lady! She’s here! Lady Miranda!”

  Lily stared at her. “Who?”

  “Lady Miranda, your stepdaughter!”

  Wonderful. Her list of problems got longer.

  “Is she alone?”

  “No, My Lady. She is with her entourage.”

  Lily let out a sigh. No Earl. That was good. I can handle a child, can’t I?

  “Fine. Get them settled in their usual rooms. Dinner is in two hours. I want Lady Miranda to be there.”

  Lilian’s memory churned up some information, and Lily remembered that her husband had a daughter from a previous marriage. She had no idea how old the girl was or anything else about her. I can handle this, too.

  ***

  “How are you?”

  Jess looked up at Richard, who was glowing with pleasure from the sea voyage. “Wonderful. Couldn’t be better.”

  “You don’t look it. What’s wrong?”

  “How long is this trip going to take?”

  “Well, we have to spend the winter with Gardwig, no way around it. In the spring, when the roads dry out, we leave for Ivernea. If we go by sea, we can leave a little sooner. I haven’t decided yet.”

  “We could take the Limmayer, couldn’t we?”

  “I suppose. We would have to sail through Avesterra, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Imogene was my mother, after all.”

  “Do you ever think about her?”

  “No. She wasn’t a good woman. She yelled a lot. And fought with father. You know, if anything, I remember Jessie taking care of me more. I loved her.”

  “Imogene was probably unhappy.”

  “That’s no reason to make other people unhappy.”

  “I’m sure she didn’t mean to.”

  “What made you think about Imogene?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Rick studied his cousin for a moment. “Tell me what’s going on. Is something not right with Adele?”

  “No. I’m very happy with her, but I’m married. I can’t give her anything. I’m not the King, so being my mistress isn’t exactly an honorable title.”

  “You knew how it worked when you got married.”

  “I didn’t know how hard it would be to spend my life tied to a woman I couldn’t love.”

  “I hate to hear that, but you know that divorces are only allowed in extreme cases.”

  “Or if she dies.”

  “Don’t even think of helping her along. August is a tough old bird. If anything happens to his little girl, he’ll make you answer for it.”

  “I can’t believe you would think that about me. She can live as long as she wants. I just…”

  “Don’t bother. I understand. Want a drink?”

  Jess looked at the pitcher of wine. He reached for it, but then he pulled his hand back and shook his head.

  “No. I don’t want to drown my problems in wine. I’ll go stand on the deck for a while.”

  “I’ll go with you. There’s a nice sunset.”

  The two men looked into each other’s eyes. One of them had already been pulled into a marriage of convenience; the other was facing the same fate. Neither of them liked it.

  ***

  Anna Wellster was almost ready to receive her eagerly awaited guests. She washed her face and hair and took a herbal bath, carefully following the instructions the witch had given her.

  She had only seen her father a few times since the conversation that had changed her life. Whenever he encountered her, he looked her over, nodded in approval and sent her on her way. There hadn’t been any balls of late. The Lion of Wellster was tightfisted with his treasury; winter was coming, and Richard of Ativerna was coming to Wellster with a large entourage.

  Anna studied her dark hair, olive skin, and shining eyes in the mirror. She was beautiful, very beautiful. She knew she could captivate any man. But can I turn Richard’s head? She had heard that Richard was good looking and that he had had more than his share of successes with women. What if I don’t measure up?

  Anna had no burning desire to get married, but every now and then, she caught the Jester watching her, and that reminded her that things could go badly with her if she didn’t manage to do what he wanted. She rarely thought about the husband who had been taken from her, and when she did think of him, it was with annoyance. He was dead, but she was still alive and in all kinds of trouble because of that idiot.

  Anna had conveniently forgotten that she was the one who seduced Lons, along with several other awkward things, like the fact that she had loved him passionately. None of that mattered to her anymore. All that mattered was Richard. She had to enchant him.

  She would do her best.

  ***

  Altres Lort, personal jester to Gardwig II and his boyhood friend, sat listening to reports from his men. On the whole, he was pleased. Richard was approaching the borders of Wellster. The kingdom was quiet, and Altres could easily ensure his safety. Only the report by Gardwig’s physician disturbed him. According to the healer, his brother had no more than ten years left to live. His blood was full of bile, and he had ulcers on his legs that wouldn’t heal.

  Altres was not particularly interested in the medical details. What worried him was who would take the throne if the King suddenly died. His son was still too young to be of use. Gardwig had been crowned at fifteen and had managed to hang on to his throne, but at what price?

  Altres would never tell how he had counseled the young Lion of Wellster in those early months. The country was coming apart at the seams, and political opponents made at least six attempts on Gard’s life in his first two months as King. It was a miracle that he survived.

  What would happen if a small boy was made King?

  Gardwig had long ago dealt with the men who had gone against him, but his son would still need a strong mother in order to hold on to power. Mila was kind, but had led a sheltered life and would need protecting if Gard was gone. She still hid in her room when Gardwig carried out executions. There was no way she could act as regent.

  Altres wanted to have a candidate ready. He couldn’t do it himself. Too many of the court nobles disliked him. His best chance was to sign a mutual assistance treaty with Edward of Ativerna. The boy king would then have the support of a neighboring kingdom. That would help.

  He didn’t think Richard would attempt to gain the throne of Wellster for himself. Ativerna was big enough for him and his two sisters.

  A marriage between Ativerna and Wellster would give Altres stability, so he needed Anna for the moment. Otherwise, he would have tripped her in a dark forest weeks ago. He didn’t like whores, especially when they held power.

  ***

  Edward VIII was in a foul mood. Jess’ sister Amalia was insistent that
she needed to see him. Edward had always allowed Amalia, Jess, and Jyce to see him at a moment’s notice. He adored Amalia. She was an exact copy of Jessie, even if she did have a few features that resembled her father’s. Her stubborn chin and full lips were Jessie’s, while her eyebrows and the way she held her head reminded Edward of himself as a boy. Her eyes, though—those were definitely her mother’s, bright and blue…

  “What is the matter, dear?”

  “Uncle Edward!”

  “Yes?” He stood up from his desk and embraced her. Then he sat her down opposite him. “Tell me what happened, my dear. I thought you and Pete were already at your country house. The city is no place for a woman expecting a child.”

  “That was our plan, but…”

  “But what?”

  “Uncle, I’m afraid Jess is in serious trouble.”

  “Is that so?” Edward was surprised. He loved his eldest son and cared deeply about all his affairs.

  “My doctor is the same one Jess sent to Earton when he found out Lilian was with child.”

  “And?”

  “She had a miscarriage.”

  Edward sighed. One more blow for Jess. “Is she alive?”

  Amalia nodded. “Yes, but she is behaving very strangely.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Craybey—that’s the doctor—says that she literally threw him out of the castle.”

  “But whatever for?”

  “After she recovered, she asked Craybey how he had treated her. When he told her, she told him to leave and never let her see him again.”

  “What’s surprising about that?”

  “But Uncle…”

  “I believe Lilian has always been strange.”

  “True. And I’ve only seen her twice.”

  “I have seen her no more than you have. But I believe that such behavior is quite normal for her. Lilian has always been mentally unbalanced.”