Seeing a Ghost - a Medieval Romance (The Sword of Glastonbury Series Book 13)

by Lisa Shea

  An iciness slid into her tone. “Not even the beautiful young Welsh girl, Alicia?”

  Alicia blinked in shock. She had never thought of herself as beautiful. And why was Lady Bloodworth so upset?

  There was a pause, and Zachariah’s tone was more cautious when he spoke again. “Why would you say that?”

  “You never told me you encountered her before. But now I hear she was in your arms several times. How you held her close while waiting to ambush Dylan on the side of the road. How you were back chasing after her, holding her again, only a few days later. I know every last detail.”

  “The girl means nothing to me, I swear! It was –”

  “It was foolishness for you to hide this from me,” she snapped. “And the other times?”

  “When I kidnapped her from Lord Bloodworth’s London estate, it was only to use her as leverage to get Dylan to talk. If I had been forced to … to do things … to her, it would have been in service of our cause!”

  Lady Bloodworth’s tone had a growl to it now. “Is that what you would have called it. And after that?”

  “The only reason I was climbing into her bedroom was –”

  There was a scream of rage, and then suddenly the heavy crash of objects being violently flung into walls.

  Dylan and the Sheriff raced from the pantry, and Alicia did her best to keep up with them. She heard Nathan’s outraged, “Hey, you can’t –” followed by the smashing of a door. By the time she rounded the corner Roger was holding back Nathan while Dylan and the Sheriff each had one of the two combatants pinned to the ground.

  Lady Bloodworth’s voice rose to a screech. “You bastard! You kept saying we should keep Alicia around after Nathan was dead. Now I see why! You wanted her for your mistress!”

  Nathan’s eyes bulged. “After I was dead?”

  The Sheriff hauled Lady Bloodworth up to her feet. “I think you and I should have a long talk, Lady Bloodworth. And this study would be the perfect location.” He looked over to Roger. “Perhaps you can bring those other two down into the cellar – and release the current prisoners? I think a change of occupants is in order.”

  Roger beamed. “It would be my pleasure.”

  Alicia’s eyes met Dylan’s – and she became lost in their depths.

  It was finally over.

  Chapter 34

  One month later

  Alicia gave the cloth on her uncle’s counter a final last spin, smiling at the gleam she had achieved. Everything was set for the trip. Local friends would watch over the shop, the bags were packed, and the wagon was waiting outside.

  Ethelfleda came dancing by, her face wreathed with smiles. “We are going to Wales! We are going to Wales!”

  Alicia grinned at her. “Yes we are. And you will get to see it all. A Welsh Christmas. A Welsh New Year.”

  Strong arms came up behind her, holding her close. “A Welsh wedding.”

  Alicia’s eyes welled, and she leaned back against Dylan. It was all still so much to take in. They would be married on the steps of their church as she had always dreamed, with her family and friends present to celebrate. They would have a wonderful, traditional Christmas with singing and dancing.

  She turned to look up into Dylan’s dark eyes. “I give thanks to God every day that you came back to me.”

  He brushed a hand tenderly down her hair. “I will always find my way to you. Always.”

  His lips lowered to hers, and his tender kiss flowed through her like sweetest honey and richest mead. He was all she would ever want or need.

  A knock sounded on the door.

  She looked up in confusion as a woman stepped in.

  Benet stepped in from the kitchen. “I’m sorry, but we’re closing up shop. If you come by tomorrow, the Smiths –”

  Alicia gave her uncle a wave. “It’s all right, I don’t mind helping her.” She moved to the woman. “I’m Alicia. How can I lend a hand?”

  The woman had long, tawny curls and the dark shadows beneath her eyes showed that she hadn’t been sleeping well. Her dress was modest but well cared for. “My name is Isabel. I – well, we, my new husband and I – are traveling from London for Dover. We’re taking a ship over to France.”

  Alicia lit up. “A new bride! Congratulations!”

  Isabel gave a wry smile. “Thank you. It’s all still a jumble, but I’m sure it’ll work out. It’s just that – well, it’s sort of silly –”

  “No, no, go on and tell me.”

  Isabel’s eyes shadowed. “It’s just, I grew up with military men. I was taught to take care of myself. But my husband, he’s more … well, bookish. Uninterested in the things I am. And he made me leave my sword behind. But, you see, he doesn’t have one. And he has no idea how to use one, if he did. But we’re heading cross-country, and to a foreign land, and –”

  She sighed and looked down. “I didn’t want to start our new life by arguing. But as every hour goes by, I feel our vulnerability more and more keenly.”

  Alicia glanced around at the wooden boxes and fine sculptures. “We’re not exactly a blacksmith.”

  Isabel’s shoulders slumped. “I know. But he would never let me in a place with actual weapons. Says it’s not lady-like. I told him I needed a box to hold supplies and he was all right with me visiting a woodcrafter. I just thought if I could buy even a dagger, or a small knife …”

  Isabel’s throat closed up.

  Suddenly Alicia remembered the words Kath had said when handing over the sword.

  Do not become too fond of Andetnes. When you have at last found contentment, there will be another whose fate balances on the point of a pin. You will know when it is right. And the sword will have a new mistress.

  Alicia patted Isabel on the arm. “Do not worry. I think I have just the thing to keep you and your husband safe on your new adventure.”

  *

  The Sword of Glastonbury series continues with Wearing a Mask

  -

  https://www.amazon.com/Wearing-Mask-Medieval-Romance-Glastonbury-ebook/dp/B01LZUTNON/

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  Medieval Dialogue

  I’ve been fascinated by medieval languages since I was quite young. I grew up studying Spanish, English, and Latin, and loved the sound of reading Beowulf and the Canterbury Tales in their original languages. I adore the richness of medieval languages. How did medieval English people speak?

  There are three aspects to this. The first is the difference between written records and spoken language. The second is the rich, multi-cultural aspect of medieval life. And the third is how to convey this to a modern-language audience.

  Let’s take the first. Sometimes modern people equate the way medieval folk would talk, hanging around a rustic tavern, with the way Chaucer wrote his famous Canterbury Tales. Something along the lines of this (note this is a modern translation, not the original Middle English version):

  “Of weeping and wailing, care and other sorrow

  I know enough, at eventide and morrow,”

  The merchant said, “and so do many more

  Of married folk, I think, who this deplore,

  For well I know that it is so with me.

  I have a wife, the worst one that can be;

  For though the foul Fiend to her wedded were,

  She’d overmatch him, this I dare to swear.”

  Sure, it seems elegant and rich. But did worn-down farmers sitting around a fireplace with mugs of ale really talk like this?

  Do we think the London street-dwellers in the 1600s skulked down the dar
k alleys emoting like Shakespeare –

  Two households, both alike in dignity

  In fair Verona, where we lay our scene

  From ancient grudge break to new mutiny

  Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

  And, in the 1920s in Vermont, did farmers really wander down their snowy lanes murmuring to their farming friends, a la Robert Frost:

  Whose woods these are I think I know.

  His house is in the village though;

  He will not see me stopping here

  To watch his woods fill up with snow.

  As someone who lives in New England, I can pretty resolutely say “no” to that last one. And, given my research, I’m equally content saying “no” to the previous two. There is a big difference between poetry written with deliberate effort and the way “normal people” talked, flirted, cajoled, and laughed day in and day out. People simply did not talk in iambic pentameter. I’m a poet and even I don’t talk in iambic pentameter :).

  Modern people sometimes think of the medieval period in terms of the plays we see. We imagine actors on a stage, speaking in formal, stilted language, carefully moving from scene to scene. But medieval life wasn’t like that. It was a rich cacophony of people struggling hard to survive amongst plagues and crusades, with strong pagan influences and the church trying to instill order. People fought off robbers and drove away wolves. They laughed and loved in multi-generational homes. It was a time of great flux.

  England - A Melting Pot

  England wasn’t an isolated, walled-off island. It was continually experiencing influxes of new words and sounds. The Romans came and went. The Vikings came and went. The French invaded. Nearly all of the English men headed off to the Crusades, leaving behind women to gain strength and position. The men returned with even more languages. Pilgrims went to Jerusalem. Merchants arrived from all over. This was a true melting pot.

  So, in part because of this, Middle English was a rich, fascinating language. People in this time period had a wealth of contractions, nicknames, abbreviations, and combinations of words they used. Often people could speak multiple languages - their old English, the incoming Norman language, Latin from church, and random other words from tinkers, merchants, and pilgrims they encountered. Medieval people had all sorts of words for drinking, for fighting, for prostitutes, you name it. They had slang and shortcuts just like any other language does. After all, these are the people who turned “forecastle” (on a ship) to “foc’s’le” and who pronounce the word “Worcester” as “Woostah.”

  But, here’s the trick. With the medieval language being so rich, varied, intricate, and full of fascinating words, how can we bring that to life for a modern audience?

  Centuries of Change

  Let’s start with a basic issue - most modern readers simply cannot understand authentic medieval dialogue. They don’t have the grounding in Middle English, French, and Latin that would be required. Even the fairly straightforward, basic Chaucer works look like this:

  And Saluces this noble contree highte.

  Modern readers generally wouldn’t know that “highte” meant “was called” as in “And Saluces this noble country was called.”

  This happens over and over again. Words change meaning. In the Middle Ages, if you abandoned your wife it means you subjugated her. You got her under your thumb. It didn’t mean you left her - quite the opposite. Awful meant awe-ful - as in stunning and wonderful. It had a positive connotation. Fantastic wasn’t great - it was a fantasy; something that didn’t exist. Nervous didn’t mean worried or agitated - it meant strong and full of energy. Nice meant silly, and so on.

  If a book was written with proper medieval words and meanings, first, even if the words are reasonably close to what we use now, modern readers would have to struggle with the spelling -

  By that the Maunciple hadde his tale al ended,

  The sonne fro the south lyne was descended

  So lowe, that he nas nat to my sighte

  Degrees nyne and twenty as in highte.

  But, again, that is just the tip of the issue with medieval language. The word “bracelet” didn’t exist until the 1400s. Necklace wasn’t a word until 1590. The word “hug” wasn’t around until the mid-1500s. We also didn’t have the words tragedy, crisis, area, explain, fact, illicit, rogue, or even disagree! Shakespeare invented the words “baseless” and “dwindle” in the 1600s. Staircase is from 1620. A story written solely with words that existed in the year 1200 - and that still retain their modern meaning so modern readers could understand them - would be fairly basic.

  (Speaking of which, the word “basic” didn’t exist until the mid 1800s.)

  Conversely, some words we might think of as thoroughly modern, like “puke”, were also used in Shakespeare’s time. “Booze” traces back to the 1500s. And these are just the proofs we have. While “shiner” for a black eye can be traced definitively to the 1700s, it could easily have been used for centuries before then and we just don’t happen to have a letter or newspaper article which mentions it.

  It’s fair to say that people in medieval days did get black eyes and had a wealth of interesting terms for that situation. After all, it could be a rough life back then. Was one of the terms used “shiner”? Maybe, maybe not. Out of the ten fun phrases they used, probably nine of them would make zero sense to a modern reading audience. So authors strive to find phrases that provide meaning to a modern audience without being too l33t and techno-speak. It doesn’t make sense to completely avoid the word “bracelet” simply because it technically didn’t exist in the 1200s. Surely people in the 1200s had several words for “bracelet” and we are simply using the word modern readers understand. Similarly, people in medieval times hugged! They just called that action something else.

  Medieval people loved playing with words. They called their kids “dillydowns” and “mitings” (little mites). They called sweethearts “my sweeting” and “my honey. They loved snapping out insults, from “dunce” to “idiot” to “pig filth” and “maggot pie.” And, again, these are just the ones that happened to get recorded.

  Medieval people loved contractions. There’s a phrase “ne woot,” meaning knows not. They’d simply say “noot”. They did this with all sorts of words.

  So writing in modern English should have this same sort of loose, fun sense to the writing. It’s important to remember that even the kings, in this era, were rough fighters. They were out with soldiers, crossing multiple countries, and experiencing a range of languages. They weren’t necessarily concerned about speaking in iambic pentameter. They were more concerned about breaking down their enemy’s walls to plunder what lay within and then drinking themselves under the table to celebrate.

  So, certainly, treasure the poetry and prose of the time. As a poet, I appreciate that immensely. But also keep in mind that people did not talk in poetry. They did not speak in fantasy-speak of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. They talked and laughed, flirted and cursed, gossiped and cajoled in a rich, multi-lingual, contraction-filled, sobriquet-laden dialogue which mirrors how we talk in modern times.

  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 under 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 years in the early medieval ages held a warm, pleasant climate. Crops grew exceedingly well, and there was plenty of food. As a result, their average height was on par with modern time
s. It’s amazing how much nutrition influences our health!

  The abundance of food also had an effect on the longevity of people. Chaucer (born 1340) lived to be 60. Petrarch (born 1304) died a day shy of 70. Eleanor of Aquitaine (born 1122) was 82 when she died. People could and did lead long lives. The 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, and so on) belonged to them. The wealthy ate peacocks, veal, lamb, and even bear. Meals for all classes could be flavorful and well enjoyed.

  Medieval Relationships

  Some movies present a skewed version of life in the Middle Ages. They make it seem that women were meek, mild, and obediently did whatever their father or husband commanded.

  This was far from the truth!

  Medieval times were times of immense change. Men were off at the Crusades, leaving the women to run things. Christianity was trying to get a foothold, but many areas of Britain were still primarily pagan, with all the Goddess worship and female empowerment which had been tradition for centuries. The vast majority of brewers were female. Most innkeepers were female. Women’s knowledge about herbs, health, and food was respected. Healthy women were treasured as the key to a child-rich partnership.