The Clearing (Medieval Tale Book 2) Read online

  “Order hot water for my bath and then we can talk.”

  “It’s already heating.”

  “Wonderful.”

  “My lady, I don’t suppose you need my services anymore, do you?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You have so many people to help you, so many new people…”

  Lily smiled and put a hand on Emma’s shoulder. “Emma, dear, I do need you. I can’t manage Earton alone. Who knows how to run this castle better than you do? I will manage the estate, but here at home… You know my tastes, you know what I like, you know who is a good worker. I need a housekeeper. There’s no getting around it.”

  “Housekeeper?”

  “Emma, I think you know that the village elders won’t listen to you.”

  The woman looked surprised. She hadn’t expected Lily to understand.

  “So I want you to be in charge of the castle. More Virmans will be arriving soon. Think about where to put them and how to feed and clothe them. They are traveling with women. Those women will need jobs to do. And they have children. There will be plenty to keep you busy. I am officially appointing you housekeeper. You may have the keys to the storerooms. You are in charge.”

  Emma fell to her knees. “My lady, I never… you…” Tears ran down her cheeks.

  Lily said nothing, but she silently cursed feudalism. Then she helped Emma up, sat her down on the bed and petted her head. “My dear Emma, first you need to find rooms for all the people who are here now. Talk to Ivar. He is the senior Virman, and he can tell you what they need and how many more are coming.”

  “My lady, the pastor says that Virmans have no souls.”

  Lily snorted. “I’ll speak to the pastor. By the way, when is the next service?”

  There would be a service the next day. Lily decided she would go and take Miranda with her. Hopefully the pastor would be better disposed to her if she had a child with her.

  I need to make time this evening to think about how to handle the pastor.

  “That’s settled. Bring my bath water and tell Marcia I need her.”

  Emma nodded and ran off. She was so grateful to Lily that she would have walked through fire and water for her.

  Lily reflected that this was one issue she had handled well. Emma would be an excellent housekeeper, but she would never have been able to manage the estate. The peasants wouldn’t listen to her. After all, who was she? Just the widow of the former estate manager. They owed her nothing.

  Distracted by thoughts of the estate manager, Lily realized that she was biting her thumbnail. It was an awful habit that she had tried to break, but it came back in moments of stress.

  She realized she had made a mistake with Etor.

  Imagine that you manage an estate and the owner throws you out one night without warning.

  Etor hadn’t argued with her or asked for a wagon. He had just slung a sack over his shoulder and left.

  What does that mean?

  It means he had somewhere to go. And someone to go to.

  Lily was sure Etor had accomplices. But who were they?

  Hell if I know! And I won’t find out until they make their play. Villagers can keep secrets, even if it’s harder to manage than in a big city. I have to find out who was working with Etor.

  Lily would find out, and she would wait and watch. She strongly suspected that a person who gets cut off from a reliable source of income is capable of causing all kinds of trouble. She would have to be careful.

  Would his accomplices try to kill me, I wonder? Who knows.

  Murdering a countess was more serious than pilfering grain, but people had to know that her husband couldn’t care less about her. She wondered what her father would do if anything happened to her.

  I have to see the blacksmith today, but after that I’ll go through all my old papers. I should have done it before, but reading is still hard for me, and I guess it slipped my mind.

  She had forgotten all about her old letters and papers, even though she knew that the written word was the foundation of civilization.

  And I forgot to look into making paper. I can’t always be using birchbark and parchment. Let’s see. Paper is made of cellulose, and cellulose comes from wood. I wonder if there’s something more renewable I could use instead? I’ll have to sit down and remember my chemistry classes. There isn’t enough wood here to use for fuel and for paper, especially once the local bureaucrats find out how convenient paper is.

  Lily didn’t want her forests cut down to make paper. She would have to think.

  Back at the market in Altver she had purchased several dozen bundles of parchment and a whole heap of birchbark so that she could write down everything she remembered from her education. First of all, she wanted to write down notes on medicine. Then she would write out what she knew of chemistry, biology and botany. She had plenty of useful information in her head.

  For the hundredth time since waking up in this new world, Lily felt glad that she hadn’t grown up rich. She had seen rich kids in medical school. They never studied because they didn’t have to. She, on the other hand, had put everything she had into learning the material for her classes, so she still remembered most of it. She had pecked away at her studies like a woodpecker. She knew medicine like a robot. If someone had woken her up in the middle of the night, she would have been able to answer questions about anatomy and surgical instruments. Now she would write it all down.

  Chemistry had not come naturally. No one knew the hours she had spent memorizing her inorganic chemistry textbooks. Anatomy had been her best subject. Zoology was harder, but she still remembered how many cervical vertebrae there were in a parrot’s neck. The zoology professor had been a good teacher; in the summer, he had taken them to a nearby pond to catch leeches.

  Lily hated botany, with its pistils and stamens. She preferred to study plants from the practical aspect of a gardener. Genetics was interesting and useful.

  I have so much to write down! Where will I find the time?

  While Lily went through the routine of washing her face and hands and holding her head still for Marcia to brush and arrange her hair, she listened to Lidia and Irene whispering about something that was obviously important to them. She realized that she was taking on an overwhelming burden. If she had her way, she would go somewhere quiet, a place where she could be alone, and stay there the rest of her life. She had no choice in the matter, though, and she was smart enough to be thankful for the people around her. There was no way she could survive in this new world alone.

  The young dressmakers had spent a comfortable night in their new home and were extremely pleased with everything they saw. Lily had provided them with two rooms for the three of them to share. With all the Virmans on the way, she couldn’t give them each a room. The girls had no objections. They put all three beds in one of the rooms and set up the second room to use as a workshop. Lily told them they could do as they liked, but she was planning to turn either the ballroom or the music room into a much larger workshop.

  They nodded in agreement and helped Lily finish putting on her white shirt, green vest and green skirt. She slid her feet into her slippers and tied the ribbons around her ankles.

  It won’t take long to set up someone to manufacture decent shoes.

  It was time to eat breakfast and get busy. She would start with the girls.

  Lily explained to them in a few words how to make soft plush toys. They just stared at her. They had seen dolls before, but no one had ever sewn stuffed bears and rabbits. Lily promised to show them how it was done and looked in to check on Miranda. The little girl was sleeping soundly.

  That’s no surprise. She must be exhausted from riding in a closed carriage for so many days.

  Lily turned to Lidia. “Will you and Irene keep an eye on her? You can sit here and chat, but call me as soon as she wakes.”

  The girls promised to do so, and Lily went downstairs to her breakfast. She got her first surprise of the day when s
he walked into the hall next to the dining room and found a group of six people waiting for her. All of them turned to look at her. She said nothing as she looked them over.

  The first, a man, was obviously a soldier. He had dark hair, gray eyes, a muscular figure and a scar on his cheek. His dark cape was pulled back to reveal a sword hanging in a scabbard. The second person was a woman with a long, horsey face and chronically disgruntled expression. Lily felt sure she was not a noblewoman. The third guest was a movie-star blond in a blue tunic. His golden curls were neatly powdered and his clothes were spotless. He looked at her with soulful eyes, as if he were used to women falling for him. The man standing next to him was his competitor in the looks department, but with dark hair. The two glanced at each other with little affection.

  Are they rivals?

  The last two men in the group also seemed to be a pair. One was dressed simply and had serious eyes and a calm smile. The other – and here Lily decided that they were not as alike as she had thought – was dressed the same, but he had a look on his face that didn’t sit well with her. Like a human calculator. In her old life, Lily would have guess he was an accountant.

  But who is he here?

  When she felt they had waited long enough, Lily nodded. “You may introduce yourselves.”

  The soldier was the first to speak, as she had expected.

  “My lady, my name is Leis Antrel. My men and I accompanied Lady Miranda. If you do not need us, we are prepared to leave with a moment’s notice.”

  Lily thought quickly. If she let them leave, they would tell her husband about all the Virmans on the estate. .

  Aloud, she said, “How many of you are there?”

  “Fifteen men, my lady.”

  “Honorable Leis, come to my study after breakfast. Are you averse to staying at Earton?”

  “However the mana… your lady decides.”

  Lily noticed the slip. He had been warned that the countess was of no use, and that Etor would give him his orders. Only there was no Etor, now. He looked to be intelligent, and Lily wondered if it made sense to keep him or not.

  What will he see if he stays? How will he get along with the Virmans? What will he tell my husband?

  “We will discuss your movements after breakfast.”

  “As you wish, my lady.”

  Lily nodded and turned to the others. The bony woman stepped forward. She looked like she had been sucking on a lemon before breakfast. A salted lemon.

  “Maria Reichart, my lady. I am Lady Miranda’s tutor in etiquette.” She gave an elegant bow.

  Lily looked at her closely. “Does Miranda enjoy your subject?”

  The woman’s acid expression got more concentrated. “The young lady does not yet understand that our lessons are for her benefit.”

  Lily nodded. “It is a difficult age. I expect that if I sit in on a few of your lessons she will behave better.”

  “Do you not trust me, my lady? I taught manners to the daughter of the Duke of Liveria!”

  Lily raised a hand. “Of course not. But I most sincerely hope that Miranda Catherine will learn good manners, and I believe that if I am in the room she will listen to you most attentively. We will just have to find time for the lessons when I can be there. Do you study with her every day?”

  “Yes, my lady. Two hours a day. We only started recently.”

  “Then we will continue.”

  Maria nodded.

  Then the blond man stepped forward and bowed. “Leon Althert, Lady Miranda’s tutor in the natural sciences.”

  “Honorable Leon, I will sit in on your lessons as well. I will sit with Miranda for all of her lessons. This is not because I do not trust you. I am sure that the Earl of Earton has hired excellent tutors for his child. But do keep in mind that if the earl arrives and finds that his daughter is not sufficiently educated, it will reflect poorly on all of you, and on me, as well.”

  The third to bow was the dark-haired man in purple. “Damis Reis. History and literature tutor.” His glance was so scorching that Lily almost reached up to see if her blouse was on fire.

  So you think you’re hot stuff!

  Aloud, she said, “Wonderful. You tutors may have this time to plan your lessons. I will take Miranda on a tour of the estate. We will have to cover some of her lessons while on the move.”

  The tutors did not seem pleased by that news, but Lily gave them no choice. She turned to the next guest, the one she had nicknamed “human calculator.”

  “Shirvey Lindt, my lady. I am your husband’s agent. I have a letter for you. I have also been instructed to collect the estate manager’s report and provide my own report to your husband.”

  Lily cursed inwardly.

  Just what I needed!

  She tried to keep her face neutral. “A letter from my dear husband? Do you have it with you?”

  Lily batted her eyelashes and let her mouth drop open. She knew she looked like a complete idiot.

  The man nodded. Whatever Jess Earton had told him to expect, he knew nothing of the changes Lily had made, and she had no intention of filling him in. She would read the letter and decide by that evening exactly what tack to take with her husband’s agent.

  But he wants the manager’s report! I wonder where that fool Etor put it! I’ll have to search his old office. I was afraid to go in there while he still worked here, and I haven’t had time since I kicked him out.

  She turned to the last of the new arrivals.

  “May I introduce myself, my lady?”

  “Please do.”

  “My name is Taris Brok. I have a letter and a gift from your father.”

  Lily slapped an expression of delight on her face and clapped her hands. Just then, the door to the dining room swung open.

  “My lady!” Emma was solemn and stately. “Breakfast is served.”

  Lily nodded to her and then turned back to the guests. “Please share my humble meal. I am always pleased to have guests here in the country.”

  The tutors were shocked, but assented. It was beyond strange for a countess to eat with her stepdaughter’s tutors, but Lily knew that she might need them someday.

  She sat down at the head of the table and had just taken a spoonful of oatmeal when Irene rushed in to tell her that young Miranda was crying loudly. Lily raised her eyebrows and went upstairs to see what was the matter.

  Did someone whack her with a pillow?

  In fact, it was just the opposite. Miranda’s nanny was trying to dress her while the little girl smacked her with her pillow and yelled at the top of her voice. Lily observed the scene for about five seconds before swinging into action.

  “Get her out of here,” she said to Lidia, pointing at the nanny. Lidia and Irene grabbed Calma by the arms and dragged her from the room before she knew what was happening. Then Lily picked up the pillow and threw it back on the bed, landing it right next to the little girl. Miranda stared at her in surprise.

  “Do you want to have a pillow fight?” Lily asked casually. “We can do that this evening. Right now, we need to eat breakfast and go into the village to see the blacksmith.”

  “Why?”

  “Remember? We were going to order a set of bells. Or have you changed your mind?”

  Lily hadn’t spoken yet to the apprentice blacksmith she had brought back from Altver, but she suspected he had not had time to get the castle smithy up and running yet.

  There was, in fact, a smithy behind the castle, but like most things on the estate it was not being used for its intended purpose. Someone was using it as a barn for three sorrowful cows, and the chimney was full of cobwebs.

  If Lily had known then what she knew now, she never would have fired Etor. She would have hung him by his legs from the gates!

  “What about my lessons?”

  “I’ll speak to your tutors. I’ve already met them.”

  Miranda stuck her bottom lip out, but Lily just winked at her. “I think we should do your lessons together. What do you think abo
ut that?”

  “Together? But you’re a grownup!”

  “So what? It’ll be more fun that way, won’t it?”

  “Y-yes…”

  “So wash your face and get dressed. And tell me why you were screaming first thing in the morning?”

  Lily glanced at Lidia and Irene and they went out to get a basin and some hot water.

  Miranda sniffled. “Why’s she so mean?”

  It took a few minutes for Lily to uncover the meaning of these words. Lady Miranda didn’t want to say her morning prayers, but her nanny felt that this was absolutely necessary.

  Lily shrugged. “How about this. Aldonai sees us wherever we are, right?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “In the morning you can just tell him ‘I know you made the world and I thank you.’ That will be good enough.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  Miranda nodded. “But why do I have to wash my face?”

  “To be more beautiful. You have to wash your face and say ‘Water, water, cold and clean. Make my teeth shine and my eyes gleam.’ If you do that, you’ll grow up to be a beautiful woman.”

  “Papa says I’m already beautiful.”

  “There’s no limit to how beautiful you can be.” Lily made a silly face and ran her hands over her hips. “See how much of me there is? And it’s all beauty.”

  Miranda giggled. “You’re funny.” Instead of an answer, Lily whacked her lightly with her pillow.

  Miranda’s washing up went well. A fair amount of water ended up on the floor, but Lily didn’t mind. Someone else would clean it up. The little girl got dressed without complaint, too. Looking over the child’s clothes, Lily remembered that she would need new things. Her clothes were all designed for standing still at home: expensive, embroidered in gold threat and encrusted with precious stones.

  She’ll need something more practical for traveling around the estate…

  “Do you know how to ride horseback?”

  “I ride with Papa.”

  “Will you go riding with me?”

  “Do you know how to do it?”

  “I think what matters is that the horse knows how to do it.”