The Clearing

by Lina J. Potter

  “By the way, my lady, if you wish to send a letter to his majesty, or to your husband, or to your father, I will be honored to deliver them for you. And, of course, I can deliver your tax payment for the amber at the same time.”

  Lily gave her most charming smile to cover for her confusion.

  Write to the king? To my husband? I don’t have anything to say to either of them!

  Aloud, she said, “I thank you, Leir Hans. I will certainly make use of your generous offer. What will you do with the slave traders?”

  “Pack them into the hold and take them with me. Not all of them will hang, but I can’t leave the rest for you to feed. You are already struggling to feed everyone.”

  “No one will go hungry, but I’d rather not have the extra mouths.”

  “Of course. You have no obligation to feed them.”

  “None at all,” Lily agreed. “I will ask Erik to go with you. He can take a letter to Baron Avermal and bring back more supplies from Altver.”

  Hans nodded. “My lady, I won’t be leaving for another ten days.”

  “And I am in no hurry.”

  The two negotiators parted in complete satisfaction with each other, and Lily went straight to bed. Tomorrow would be another long day.

  Anna of Wellster was a bundle of nerves. She had already slapped her lady’s maid that morning and yelled at Milia’s lady-in-waiting. When her stepmother rebuked her for it, it was all she could do to keep from screaming.

  It’s easy for you to stay calm, you cow! What if Richard doesn’t fall in love with me? Do you think they’ll just let me go back home and pick up my lessons again?

  Anna was preparing for the battle of her young life, and she would fight it to the death. In the midst of a whirlwind of emotion, she forgot all about her husband. Lons was nothing at all. Her life was hanging by a thread, and she would do whatever it took to win.

  The small bottle of poison lay hidden in a far corner of her commode.

  Giles Lennard, chief steward at the city residence of the Earl of Earton, opened the massive front door.

  “A letter for his lordship.”

  “Giles nodded, took the letter and closed the door in the courier’s face. He looked down at the scroll.

  “Pastor Simon Leider. Altver.”

  That seemed strange. Why would a pastor from somewhere as far away as Altver be writing to the earl? Orders were orders, however, and Jerrison Earton had explicitly instructed his steward to forward all correspondence. Giles put the letter away. He would forward it as soon as he had the chance.

  Richard examined his reflection in a polished sheet of silver.

  “We’re handsome devils,” said Jess from behind him.

  “I don’t need your sarcasm,” Richard growled.

  Jess answered him with an innocent smile. “That’s true. You’re the one who has to view the potential bride tomorrow.”

  Richard grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”

  They were approximately three hours away from the capital, and their official visit to Gardwig was planned for the next morning. A runner had just left the delegation with official letters. Now the diplomatic dance would start: the runner would give the letters to Gardwig, who would reply with a polite letter of his own and a representative to greet the delegation. There would be all sorts of pleasantries expressions of affection for the prince and his delegation, followed by an official reception where Richard would finally lay eyes on his potential bride. That was when the real game would start.

  Richard knew without a doubt that Wellster wanted the match. He wasn’t sure he did. His heart was free of any serious attachments and he had no real desire to marry. Still, at least he had a choice, unlike his cousin.

  “Have you heard anything from home?” he asked.

  “Not yet. My steward collects letters until he has enough to send. Hopefully my cow gave birth.”

  “To a calf, begotten by a bull,” Richard needled him.

  “You’ll be doing the same.”

  “I’ll be striving in the interests of the state. That’s different.”

  Jess grinned. “If only the state appreciated the effort.”

  Richard shook his head.

  Jessamine.

  He remembered his stepmother, her love, her kindness, her sincerity. He remembered how her eyes lit up when his father entered the room. Aldonai willing, he wanted to have at least half as much happiness as they had enjoyed. If not…

  I’ll still survive.

  But he preferred not to think about it.

  Martha brought her little girl a glass of warm milk before bed. She sat down next to her and stroked her hair. “Lily, my own little girl…”

  Lilian Earton turned and buried her face in her nanny’s warm shoulder. “Nanny, you have no idea how tired I am.”

  “Of course you are! Whoever heard of a countess patching up a bunch of peasants?”

  Lily smiled sadly. “You are the one who taught me how to embroider neatly, and you know that I do it better than anyone else. And don’t forget that they were defending us.”

  Martha snorted, clearly not prepared to change her mind. “But why are you teaching these things to Lady Miranda?”

  “Because I’m the only one who can teach her. Nanny dear, you must know by now that anything can happen in this life. We never expected this nightmare, did we?”

  “You’re my smart girl.”

  Lily rubbed her cheek on Martha’s shoulder. In that moment, she didn’t care about the woman’s dirty dress or her body odor. She just needed to feel loved.

  “Nanny dear, I couldn’t live without you.”

  Martha stroked her head. The countess was a grown woman, but to her nanny who loved her, she was still just a child who needed to be supported.

  Tomorrow you will be in charge again, but right now, just drink your milk and go to sleep. Close your eyes and I’ll sing you a lullaby…

  Lily fell asleep to the words of a song she had always known. She didn’t even notice when Mirrie got in bed next to her. Martha shook her head but said nothing. Silently, she closed the door behind her.

  Hans Tremain was waiting outside the door. “Has the countess gone to bed?”

  “She’s sleeping like an angel, Leir Hans.” Martha was allowed to be more familiar than other servants because she was Lily’s beloved nanny. “She worked herself to death today.”

  “I was surprised to see that she has such knowledge of healing.”

  “After she lost the baby she started to ask questions and learn things. She never was interested before, but she almost died herself, you know, and that changes things.”

  Tremain could not argue with that. “Have you been with the countess since childhood?” He pressed.

  Martha straightened her back. “I raised her with these two hands. She’s only ever been with me since her poor mother passed.”

  “What about her stepdaughter?”

  “Lady Miranda? She’s in there.” Martha nodded at the door. “She adores Lily, and there’s nothing strange about it. Every child needs a mother.”

  “True,” Hans agreed. “Were they close before?”

  “The earl never brought his daughter here before. Now if you’ll excuse me, Leir Hans, I don’t have time to stand around chatting.”

  Hans took the hint and bowed as Martha went down the hall. Before he turned to leave, he cast one last glance at the closed door.

  What kind of woman are you, Lilian Earton? Strong? Weak? Or simply forced to be strong?

  He would find out everything. That was the job of a king’s envoy.

  First thing in the morning, Lily began her rounds of the castle. A quick conversation with Hans provided her with information that boosted her mood. He told her that the slave traders had confessed to their plot, which meant that her Virmans and Leis’ soldiers had every right to use force against them, and that they would receive prize money from the king. Lily had no idea what prize money he was talking about, so Hans explained eve
rything to her as if she were a child.

  Erk Grismo and his relatives had been interrogated using some of the simpler tools available in the castle dungeon. In the end, they admitted to digging around a hundred pounds of amber. That was a fortune in Lily’s new world. If all that amber was sold, there would be enough money to buy another whole estate like her father’s Broklend, even after the king took his quarter.

  Yes, she would have to pay the treasure tax. There was a yearly ten percent tax, which some nobles paid when they were in the city on business, while others waited for heavily guarded men like Hans to arrive and collect the tax. But the treasure tax was different. If anyone found a deposit of gold, he could do as he liked with it, but the king got one-quarter. The same was true of precious stones or anything else that was dug out of the earth.

  That suited Lily just fine. With her knowledge and experience, she was confident that she could turn her share of the treasure into such riches that she wouldn’t even notice that the king’s share was gone.

  Helke and I will have to get together and make more business plans.

  Helke and his sister Loria had both visited Trost after his surgery, and they were overcome with gratitude to the countess. They knew that most people with serious injuries ended up dying, no matter how well they were cared for. But Lily had taken the Eveer boy and washed and bandaged him and put him in a separate room with servants looking after him. Even the king would have envied their Trost. When they left the boy, Helke fell to his knees to pray for the countess.

  Leif and Ingrid had arrived late that night and missed all the excitement, which disappointed Leif. He rebuked Erik for wasting a valuable fire missile. He tried to find something to criticize Leis for, but in the end he gave up and admitted that Earton’s defenders did a pretty good job.

  Pastor Vopler was busy praying. Emma had found him and asked him to pray for the health of all the wounded men. He did just that, going from cot to cot in the hall and praying for all who needed it. When Hans Tremain expressed surprise at this, he just shrugged.

  “We are all children of Aldonai, Virmans and Eveers alike, even if they are not aware of it. And Aldonai is merciful to all of his children.”

  Hans shook his head. He disagreed with this type of free thinking, but he supposed that it didn’t much matter in an out-of-the-way place like Earton. When he mentioned this conversation to the countess, she wholeheartedly agreed, saying that she would refuse assistance to no one based on the god he prayed to. Again, Hans shook his head, but he was no priest or theologian, and he preferred to stay on the firmer ground of finance and taxes. He told Lily that she had one hundred pounds of amber, minus the king’s share of twenty-five pounds. She was also the proud owner of two pirate ships. They were nothing special, but they were probably worth something, and she needed to decide how to dispose of them. The slave traders would be removed to Altver, but the two ships were hers to keep or sell.

  Her first thought was to sell the ships, but then it occurred to her that she still didn’t have a reliable way to retreat from Earton if necessary. And if she had her own ships, she wouldn’t have to walk or ride to Altver every time she needed something. The Virmans could train crews over the winter, and by summer she would have her very own navy. Or merchant fleet. She had plenty of ideas for goods to trade by sea: amber, glass, salt, paper, and whatever else she and Helke came up with.

  It would also be a good idea to have the ships in case I need to retreat from Earton.It could happen. Going on the bits and pieces of Jerrison Earton that were left in her memory, Lily could tell that he didn’t love his wife. If he tried to boss her around or put her under lock and key, she knew she could knock him out, even without a frying pan in each hand. But then she would have to run.

  Maybe I could buy some land near my father’s estate. He could hold title to it, or maybe I could even hold title to it, and I could build my business there. I need to get a monopoly on my methods for making glass and paper. Once that’s done, I’ll open a publishing business with the help of the church, damn it to hell…

  All of those plans would have to wait, however. She had letters to write.

  Sitting in her study, Lily stared down at her parchment. She hated writing, but she knew Hans had given her good advice. This new world was probably very much like her own world, where it was an excellent idea to cover your ass, preferably with something written down on paper. Then, if questions arose later, she could say that she had dotted all her i’s and crossed all her t’s. Doctors knew that better than anyone. In her old life, Lily had often wished that she could hire a personal assistant to do all her paperwork for her.

  There was no one to write these particular letters for her, however, so she buckled down to get it done. Three hours later, the four letters were ready. The first was to her father, short and to the point.

  “My dearest father, I have excellent news: a deposit of amber has been discovered in Earton. I have other successful endeavors to tell you about, as well, but I cannot describe them on paper. I would like to get advice from you or your agent. I need to know how to recover the amber and how to invest the profits. Is it a good idea to invest in Earton? I hope that I still have your love and devotion. I remain your loving daughter, Lilian Elizabeth Mariella Earton.”

  The second letter was to her father, also. She would send him the first letter using her own messenger, and the second one would go with Hans Tremain. It was a public letter that anyone could read.

  “My dear father, I hasten to let you know that I am alive and well. A band of slave traders in two ships tried to raid Earton, but my guards beat them back. In the end, I was left with a share of the profit, and I would like to talk to you about what to do with it. I trust in your love and in your advice. How is your health? I pray daily for your wellbeing. I remain your loving daughter, Lilian Elizabeth Mariella Earton.”

  She decided to send the first letter via Torius Avermal, and enclosed a small mirror that was backed with silver and set in a frame of Helke’s making. (The jeweler had been delighted with the result, and predicted that people would flock to Earton in droves to buy the new mirrors. He also pronounced the countess worthy of an honorary membership in the glassblowers’ guild.)

  We’ll see what my old man says when he sees it. At the very least, he’ll see that his daughter has grown up and learned a few things.

  Lily suspected that there was peril involved in showing off too much knowledge.

  It’s dangerous, but what else can I do?

  The third letter was to the king.

  “Your Most Gracious Majesty, I pray you will be so kind as to accept this letter from the Countess of Earton (born Lilian Broklend). Since my husband is away and unable to handle the affairs of the estate, and since our manager was stealing from us, I make haste to inform you that a large deposit of amber has been discovered in Earton. Your envoy, Chevalier Hans Tremain, is bringing with him the share that is yours by right and custom. I will send you further installments of your share as we are able to recover the amber. As the roads will not be passable this winter, I will store Your Majesty’s share here at Earton, where it will be guarded by men I have hired until the roads become passable in spring. My guards have already shown themselves to be useful: they captured a large group of slave traders that have been plaguing Earton for the past several years.

  I must also inform Your Majesty that an attempt was made on my life. I beg Your Majesty to investigate this terrible crime and punish those who are responsible. I would like to express my enormous gratitude to Leir Hans. He has done all that is possible and even impossible. Without him, I never would have known what to do. There is no man in the kingdom kinder or more just. Truly, your envoy reflects the greatness of Your Majesty’s rule and the limitlessness of your grace. Allow me to fall at your feet to express my gratitude.

  Your faithful servant,

  Countess Lilian Elizabeth Mariella Earton.”

  Reading over the letter again, Lily was pleased. She h
adn’t directly shamed her husband, and she wasn’t trying to get out of paying her taxes. Quite the opposite: she was neatly hinting that she could do perfectly well on her own. Her only request was that the king investigate the attempted murder, something he was already supposed to do.

  Any other woman would have sounded the alarm all over Ativerna by now!

  Lily snorted, imagining the king’s face when the hired killer was questioned:

  “Who hired you?”

  “The Earl of Earton’s mistress’ lover.”

  It was a balm on her soul. Mistresses couldn’t be allowed to run around killing off lawful wives or the institute of marriage would fall apart.

  So you’re sleeping with a handsome man. Who cares? That’s no excuse to kill his wife. Everyone knows that men like Jerrison Earton marry one kind of girl and sleep with another. So pardon me, Adelaide Wells, but if you had just kept my husband busy with your perky breasts I would have showered you with money and even made friends with you. I don’t need the bum around here. But no, you tried to kill me, and now you’d better watch your back.

  The last letter was to her husband.

  “My beloved lord and husband.”

  It hurt her to write the words. She would have preferred to bury him under his own outhouse, but she intended to keep everything smelling like roses on the outside.

  “I must inform you that a terrible misfortune has befallen us. I lost our first child, and I suspect that there is foul play behind it, although I have no proof, only suspicions. I almost died after losing the baby. When I finally came to, I discovered that the castle was in a terrible state, with very few servants and no guards left. Of course, I began to investigate and discovered that the manager has been shamelessly stealing from you and from the estate. In all of this he has been aided by your agent, Shirvey Lindt.