by C. J. Archer
"That's a ginormous amount," Remy muttered.
"I can't pay that," I murmured. "Why is it so much? The offence isn't that terrible."
He looked away and pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry, I don't decide the fines. The amount is determined by the magistrate. He set it before I came here."
I groaned. The magistrate was appointed by the governor, and the governor was the right hand of the Deerhorns. That's why the fine was high. They wanted to make sure I couldn't pay.
"What happens if I can't afford it?" I asked.
"You can." He gave me an encouraging nod. "You can, Josie. This house must be worth that, if not more. Until it's sold—"
"Sell my house!" My stomach rolled violently and tears stung my eyes. "B—but where will I live?"
"Worry about that later. For now, you have to come with me. We'll organize it from the prison." He tugged my arm but I resisted. "It'll be all right, Josie."
How could it be all right? It wasn't fair. The fine was out of proportion to the crime.
Yet there could be no appealing it. The Deerhorns would see to that. Lady Deerhorn had her revenge on me after all.
I blinked back tears as I stared at Dora and Remy. They would be homeless again too.
"Don't worry," Dora said, looking like she was holding back her own tears, but only just. "I'll speak to Meg's family and send word to the captain."
My first instinct was to tell her not to inform Dane, but I set my pride aside. I was going to need all the help I could get.
Chapter 13
The prison cell reminded me of Lacey's cubicle. It was just as small, just as cramped and dirty. The only difference was the bars covering the entrance instead of a curtain. At least it didn't smell of sex, although the stink of urine was strong, overpowering the briny scent of the sea.
The prison's two cells were located in caves once used by smugglers, carved by waves into the cliffs just outside the village. At high tide, the water lashed at the entrance, prohibiting anyone from coming or going. In the past it hadn't been a problem, with so few arrests, but now the drunkards were more numerous and arrests happened all day and night. It meant the sheriff's men had to mind offenders in their office if the prison was inaccessible. Unfortunately, it was low tide when I was led into the cell.
I wasn't alone. Two women sat on the straw covered floor, both in their middle age and dressed in similar rags to Lacey and Seely. I recognized neither.
"You try to get some business at the dock too?" one asked, eyeing me up and down.
"'Course she didn't," said the other. "Look at her. She ain't a whore." She wiped her nose on her sleeve as she watched me search for somewhere to sit. "I've seen you before."
"I'm the midwife," I said.
I bunched up some dry straw with my foot and sat on the pile, wrapping my skirts around my legs. I wasn't taking any chances of something crawling up them.
The cell was damp and cool with iron bars built into the cave walls. If I wanted to use the bucket to relieve myself, I had to do so in front of not only the two other prisoners, but also anyone who happened to walk past. The bars afforded no privacy. Beyond our cell was another, occupied by male prisoners. A drunkard shouted abuse from time to time, followed by a second man growling, "Shut your hole."
I sighed and closed my eyes, only to open them again. While the two women might look harmless, I couldn't afford to take chances with my safety.
Thankfully they were in no mood to chat. I had to think of a way to get out of my predicament.
But as time slipped interminably by, I realized there was no way out. The Deerhorns had set a trap for me and made sure the fine was too high for me to pay. The magistrate and governor wouldn't go against them. Lacey and her sister had been part of the scheme too. I should have realized when they'd mentioned coins. No one in their predicament had enough money to offer me payment. Lacey had looked relieved when I'd told her I'd merely face a fine if someone found out what I was doing. Like me, she probably thought it would be an affordable amount.
I didn't blame them for taking the money offered by the Deerhorns. Lacey's cut had been very real, and their poverty was no lie. They had fewer options than me.
I blamed Lady Deerhorn. This scheme had her mark all over it. She'd probably ordered Lacey to be cut up to make it more authentic.
The light in the cell dimmed as the sun sank lower on the other side of the cliff. Soon it would be dark. I hadn't expected to spend a night in the prison, but it was looking likely. With the jailor guarding the cave entrance, out of sight from the cells, I couldn't see if anyone had come for me and been denied entry. I was entirely at the mercy of the jailor, an employee of the magistrate's office, not Sheriff Neerim, and not a man I knew. If he wanted to refuse someone entry, he could do so.
The rattle of the keys was a beautiful sound. I leapt up and clutched the bars as the jailor appeared. He scratched his beard as he regarded me through the bars.
"This ain't right," he said. "No one's s'posed to go free until the tide lowers. Ain't no visitors allowed and no one gets released at high tide, but my orders are to let you out." He shook his head as he inserted the key. "Ain't no one cares about the rules no more. It ain't right. Rules are rules. You got to enforce the rules or people get ideas—like them in Freedland. And then what? Revolution, blood gets spilled, and people lose everything." He continued to shake his head as he pulled the barred door open. "It ain't right. You shouldn't be going free until low tide, just like everyone else."
"Who is making you set me free?" I asked.
"Them's my orders."
He locked the cell door and hooked the keys onto his belt. I followed him into the office where the sheriff stood near the cave mouth, his hands behind him. He nodded at me.
"Glad to see persistence pays off," he said with a glare for the jailor.
"It ain't right," the jailor muttered as he wrote something in the ledger on the desk. "Go on, get out before the magistrate changes his mind."
The sheriff ushered me outside where small waves lapped at the sand and rocks. "You're lucky," he said. "Conditions are calm today."
I removed my shoes and lifted my skirt, but the hem still got wet. We climbed the steps built into the cliff to freedom above, where Meg waited. She scooped me into a hug.
"Thank Hailia and Merdu," she said. "I've been so worried. Are you all right?"
"Fine," I said.
"What was it like?"
"Filthy."
She checked me over, as if expecting me to have suffered physically in the short time of my incarceration. She looked grave and grim, and if I didn't know any better, I would have thought someone had died. "Come on, Josie. You have to come home."
"Just a moment." I hailed the sheriff before he mounted his horse. "The jailor says I shouldn't have been freed until tomorrow."
The sheriff cast a glance back down to the cave. "He's a fool who can't think for himself. I ordered him to set you free immediately, although it seems he had other orders to keep you as long as possible. But he can't argue with the official paperwork."
"The magistrate signed my release?"
"Seems the palace sent a stern letter, reminding him of the service your father once performed for the king. When a settlement was reached regarding the fine, the magistrate had no reason to keep you, and he didn't want to offend the king."
Dora must have got a message to Dane in time, and he had asked the king to help me. "The fine has been paid by the king?"
He shook his head. "Nobody paid it. The magistrate deemed you unable to afford the fine, so he ordered the confiscation of your house and possessions in lieu of payment."
"My house…" I muttered pathetically. It had happened so quickly, without even giving me time to find an alternative way to pay.
"I am sorry, Josie. It was out of my hands."
I folded my arms against the ice creeping into my bones. Where would I go? What would I do? I no longer had a roof over my head, and nowhere to mak
e and sell my medicines. I'd spent my entire life in that house, it was impossible to imagine not living there.
In one day, my life had changed completely.
But I wouldn't be defeated yet. Surely I could appeal the verdict. Surely I could use my good name and that of my father to set it right again. Surely it wasn't too late.
Meg put her arm around my shoulders. "You can stay with us," she said gently. "My mother is already organizing it."
"What about Dora and Remy?"
"They're welcome to stay too."
We both knew the arrangement couldn't last long. The Divers couldn't afford to feed all of us and didn't have the space in their small house.
Meg steered me away, but the sheriff called after me. "A word of warning, Josie. Don't do any more doctoring. The first offence is a fine. The second is jail."
"For how long?"
"The length of the sentence is determined by—"
"The magistrate," I finished for him. I didn't think my heart could sink any lower, but it did.
I walked with Meg back to the village, glad that the streets were quieter than they had been earlier. I didn't want to face the stares and whispers from people I'd known all my life. I was too tired, too overwhelmed, and didn't want to cry in front of them.
The entire village must know what had happened by now, but I refused to feel humiliated. I'd done something to be proud of. It was Doctor Ashmole who should be ashamed for not treating the poor.
We were met crossing the village square by Dane, riding fast in our direction. He halted and jumped off his horse, landing lightly on one foot in front of me.
"You're free," was all he said. He didn't take my hand, didn't embrace me, but his worried look was enough to shred my last piece of strength.
I burst into tears.
Meg embraced me as I buried my face in my hands. "Let's go," she urged. "It's not far."
I allowed her to steer me the rest of the way home. No, not home. I had no home.
The thought left me feeling strangely hollow and light headed, as if my soul had vacated my body and only the shell remained.
I wiped my cheeks and glanced back at Dane. He had mounted and followed at a steady pace.
"Thank you for coming," I said, dully.
He frowned as he drew alongside us. "I would have come sooner but the king was being stubborn."
"I don't understand."
"Dora and Remy came to the palace. It was some time before I was informed, but when they told me what had happened, I appealed to the king to overturn the decision."
"And he refused?"
He peered over my head to a point in the distance. "He didn't want to interfere in a village matter. One of the ministers who was with him at the time assured the king it was best to look impartial since you were clearly guilty. Neither Theodore nor I could convince the king otherwise, despite reminding him of everything you've done for him." His grip tightened on the reins. "And Balthazar doesn't have access to that much money without a signature from the finance minister."
"Yet you sent a letter to the magistrate anyway, ordering my immediate release. That was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Mine and Balthazar's. The king's signature is easy to falsify." He finally lowered his stormy gaze to mine. "You shouldn't have spent a moment in that jail. You shouldn't have to pay the fine."
"I'm guilty of performing a medical task. There are witnesses. The arrest and fine are valid."
"Let me guess," he bit off. "Someone in The Row asked for you. A woman, probably. She was paid by the Deerhorns to trick you."
Meg gasped. "Is that true, Josie?"
"Most likely but how to prove it?" I said. "The woman's injury was real. The cut would have festered if I hadn't stitched it. Doctor Ashmole has already made it clear he won't offer his services to anyone in The Row, even if they can pay, which most can't."
"That's awful!" Meg cried. "It's wrong. How can he call himself a man of medicine if he'll stand by and let people suffer—even die? I loathe him. Him and his wife."
"I should have come sooner," Dane said heavily. "I'm sorry, Josie."
I patted Lightning's neck. "There's nothing you could have done. Appealing to the king was my best hope of avoiding the fine. You weren't to know he'd refuse."
He blew out a deep breath and his body lost some of the tension. It was as if he needed my forgiveness before he could forgive himself.
"You can stay at the cottage," he said.
"No, I can't."
"It's why I gave you the key. It's for an emergency. This is an emergency."
Meg looked from me to Dane and back again. "What cottage?"
"On the palace estate," I said. "Too far from here for my patients. Captain, I have to stay in the village. If I am to keep my position as midwife, I have to be accessible. And I must work, now more than ever. I have nothing else."
He once again focused his gaze over my head. I expected another argument about the cottage at a later date. At least for now, he let the matter go.
We turned into our street where a cart had pulled up outside my house. It was loaded with two chests and several crates, as well as a bed. Mistress Ashmole stood nearby, directing two men to unload the crates and take them inside, while Meg's parents watched from their side of the street.
I ran forward, but Dane was quicker on horseback.
"What's this?" he demanded.
Doctor Ashmole emerged from the house but backed away under Dane's glare. "We're not doing anything wrong," he said quickly. "It's all official. We have the paperwork to prove it." He disappeared inside.
Mistress Ashmole thrust out her chin. "This house is now ours."
"You can't have purchased it already," I said. "It was only confiscated this afternoon."
Her lips stretched into a thin smile. "It's leased to us, effective immediately." She glanced up at the sign of the cupped hands, swaying gently in the breeze. "I must say, it suits our needs perfectly. It's well located and will do nicely as my husband's medical practice. How fortunate that everyone already knows this as the doctor's house."
"Everyone?" Meg sneered. "Or just those who live outside The Row?"
I tightened my hold on her arm in case she lunged at Mistress Ashmole. "I'll raise the money to buy it back," I snapped.
She laughed, a brittle sound as dry as the summer air. "You are a foolish woman with no understanding of the world."
Her husband appeared behind her, waving a piece of paper. "The lease agreement."
Meg's parents joined us, both looking anxious. "He showed it to me," Mr. Diver said. "It's been signed by the magistrate and governor, Josie. The house has been leased to the Ashmoles." He patted my arm. "I'm sorry. There's nothing you can do."
"This is absurd!" Meg cried. "It's unfair!"
"The world isn't always fair, love." Mr. Diver tried to put his arm around her, but she shook him off and grabbed my hand.
"You'll stay with us, Josie," Mistress Diver said to me. "Your things have already been moved into Meg's room."
Meg shared a room with her sister. There was little space left for me.
"The magistrate's order says they can keep everything in the house except your clothing and a few items of a personal nature," Mr. Diver said.
Dane ordered Doctor Ashmole to hand him the lease papers. He read through them then handed it to me. Mr. Diver was right. All my belongings except for a few personal items had been confiscated to cover the fine.
I was utterly destitute.
"Thank you, Mistress Diver," I said numbly. "I accept your generous offer."
"You're our neighbor and your family have been great friends of ours for years," she said. "We won't abandon you now, when you need us most."
She was right. I needed every little bit of kindness now. The charity of people I'd known my entire life was my only hope.
Tears welled again. Accepting charity was more humiliating than my arrest.
Mistress Ashmole barked orders to the men carryi
ng her things inside. I turned away, no longer able to watch the only home I'd ever known being taken over by a pair of vipers.
Dora and Remy hurried toward us down the street. Remy immediately turned his attention to Dane's horse, but Dora took my hands in both of hers.
"You're free," she said on a breath. "Thank the goddess."
"Thank you for fetching the captain. But what will you two do now?"
She gave me a wobbly smile and cast a sad look at her son. "Don't worry about us. You have enough problems of your own."
How could I not worry about her? Her only option was to return to The Row. Her old room in the run-down building was most likely taken now, and she'd have to fight for a small patch of floor beneath a leaking roof. Or she'd have to work in one of the brothels.
There was only one way to keep her and Remy safe, yet it wasn't in my power to give it to her.
"Come to the palace," Dane told Dora. "I can find you a position in the kitchen. You'll be paid the same as the other servants."
I gawped at him. He was willing to take the chance of placing Dora among the servants? He'd do that for her? For me?
"That's kind of you," Dora said. "But my son will get in the way."
"Remy can spend the day in the commons courtyard," Dane said. "One of the maids teaches some of the other servants to read and write when they're not working. She seems to enjoy it. She can teach Remy, too."
Dora touched her lips, tears pooling in her eyes. She blinked at Remy, who'd turned his full attention onto the conversation when he heard his name.
"I'd like to read," he said. "Josie's been teaching me the letters."
"Are you sure it will be all right?" Dora asked Dane.
"I wouldn't offer if it wasn't," he said. "There will be rules."
"I'll follow them," she said quickly. She stood behind Remy and placed her hands on his shoulders. "We both will."
"Collect your things from the Divers' residence and come with me. You can start in the morning."
Mistress Diver took them inside. I approached Dane and lowered my voice. "I thought you'd offer her the cottage."
