The Price of Happiness: A Strong Woman in the Middle Ages (A Medieval Tale Book 5) Read online

  The morals of the guild-members were like those of spiders. All the money that passed through their hands disappeared without a trace. In search of justice, the glassblowers decided on a hostile takeover.

  The meeting with Olivia had been a set-up—and after one such meeting, they had kidnapped the youth in order to put him to questioning. They would have slit his throat with a knife and thrown his corpse into the sea to feed the hungry fish. They had even hired a couple of rogue men from the gutter for the job, who were meant to drag the captive to the designated basement.

  Before the operation, they wondered: should they let the rogues question him? The glassblowers did not trust the men’s honesty. There was no guarantee. Would Timo tell them the truth? Could they remember correctly?

  No, they would try out the recipe that Timo gave them first. They resolved to keep the young man in their basement. He was an asset too valuable to trust anyone with.

  As a result, the whole gang was caught red-handed.

  His Majesty was indignant; Lily was outraged; Timo remained inside the castle, too frightened to poke his nose outside, and rightly so.

  Lily wished to lock everyone up in Taral and prepare for a siege. And yet, she still needed to find the murderer. She had set up a trap, and all she had left to do was wait.

  The first visitor turned out to be Baron Yerby with his wife and children. Praise be to God that Hans happened to be at home. He nodded to Lily asking her to buy some time and swiftly took off. Amir was also in the living room, on his way to leave for a walk with Miranda.

  Grandfather Yerby turned out to be a lively man of about sixty. The man was short, bald like a knee-cap, with the countenance of an outright rascal. If he were an actor, he would be perfect for playing a crooked servant.

  “My Lady, I am overwhelmed with joy to behold your presence!”

  Before Lily could mutter a word, the baron cupped the countess’ palm and touched her glove with his lips, covering it with kisses so profusely, that the thin lace instantly got soaked.

  Lily somehow managed to withdraw her hand (a growling Nanook helped greatly) and raised her eyebrows.

  “If seeing me brings you such joy, I will give you my portrait to behold. I hope you arrived safely.”

  “Yes, My Lady. Let me introduce you to my wife. Honey, come forward. Valiana, the Baroness of Yerby, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Lilian, the Countess of Earton.”

  The amber-headed lady with remarkable cleavage dropped in a half-curtsey. Lilian’s breasts looked miserable in comparison, resembling two pimples.

  “My Lady, it is a great honor to meet you.”

  Lily bowed her head slightly. “I am glad to welcome you in my house.”

  “Our children—Renard, Julie, Alina, Maria and Denise.”

  The bunch of ginger kids began nodding and kneeling. Lily unwillingly remembered the ginger Weasleys from the Harry Potter films.

  “It is nice to meet you,” said Lily in a singing voice.

  “Can we leave now, Momma?”

  It was Mirrie. She stormed into the living room like a whirlwind. The child looked charming. The blue of her riding suit enhanced her black hair and azure eyes; her white cheeks were ablush, and her lips were smiling.

  “Of course, little lady. Who is with you?”

  “I promise to be careful.” Amir was smiling. Dressed in white, with black hair and tanned skin, he was an impersonation of a romantic dream, a hero of tales of the beautiful Orient.

  Pity that the local children have not seen the films with Omar Sharif!

  Lily nodded in approval. She knew that Amir would not let anyone offend either her little daughter or him; having been poisoned with quicksilver in the past, Amir had learned how to avoid danger.

  “Miranda!” Valiana Yerby gave off a shriek, trying to grab the little miss in her arms. Miranda’s training bore fruit. She swiftly escaped the disgusting embrace and hid behind Amir’s back.

  “Who are these people, Momma?”

  “This is your grandmother,” Lily responded loudly and saw the baroness’ face drop. “Your grandfather, your uncles and aunties. Would you like to spend time with them?”

  Mirrie shook her head.

  “I better go for a walk with Amir.”

  “Of course!” Lily seemed to regain some lost knowledge. “Let me introduce Amir Gulim, a crown prince of the Khanganat.”

  The Yerbys were dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Amir grabbed Miranda by her hand and headed to the exit. Even though they were eager to leave, the prince did not forget to say his long-winded ‘it pleases me to have become acquainted with you’ behind the closing doors.

  The doors reopened shortly to reveal Hans, who was as sweet and charming as an African viper.

  “Ah, Yerby! I am so glad to see you…and all your family.”

  The baron got nervous. Perhaps it was because of Erik, who followed Hans into the room and blocked the heavy door.

  “I am also glad to see my granddaughter well! What a teacher you have found her! He is a charming young man, and so talkative!”

  “Yes,” confirmed Erik, smirking like a hungry crocodile.

  Lily suppressed a scornful laugh.

  “I would also like to hear some explanation. Your protégé caused me some unpleasant moments.”

  Yerby was good at taking a punch—better than his wife.

  The latter’s face dramatically changed as she uttered, “Our p-protégé?”

  “Damis Reis,” Lily said with a smile.

  “Who fully confessed to everything, repented and is waiting to be sent to penal servitude,” grinned Hans.

  “Yes,” confirmed Erik in a deep voice. A dagger appeared in his hands out of nowhere.

  “You have no right to…”

  “That right was given to me by a royal representative. Should I show you the proof, or do you trust my word, Yerby?”

  Hans looked so scary that Lily would definitely take his word for it. The baron flinched and wallowed in defeat and self-pity.

  “I did not hire anyone. They deceived me…”

  “You will have the chance to tell it to the king during questioning.”

  “Are you going to interrogate my husband based on the evidence received from some smug-looking scoundrel?” Valiana came forward with all the breadth and depth of her bosom. Lily grinned.

  “How do you know what “that scoundrel” looks like? I never mentioned it.”

  “Y-you said he was charming—”

  Hans smiled.

  “Baron and Baroness, I suppose you will surrender willingly. I don’t want to have to ask Erik to help you.”

  Like a cannibal, the Virman bared his teeth and stepped forward. Yerby’s face turned the color of skimmed milk, white with a tint of blue, as he obediently followed Hans.

  Valiana took a deep breath, but Erik took another step forward and took out an axe from behind his back. The woman immediately gave in and trotted slowly after her husband.

  Lily knew what would happen next. They would be brought to the local bastille called Stonebug. Their fate would be decided by the results of an interrogation.

  As for the children—

  Lily looked at the young baron.

  “Honorable Renard, I suppose your visit is now over. It might be a good time for you to leave.”

  It seemed that Renard had decided to swallow a nasty answer. Erik was still in the room, and the youth did not have the guts to be voluble. Renard flashed his eyes (never a crime) and proudly left, accompanied by his ginger sisters.

  Lily sighed in relief.

  One less problem? I hope so.

  ***

  In three days’ time, Leir Tremain told Lily about the Yerbys’ confession. As it turned out, the money was his sole motive. In addition, he blamed Jerisson Earton for everything. All villains always blamed others for their own faults. It wasn’t me! The devil beguiled me, they would say, although the devil wasn’t even a thing in this world. Poor devil, thought Lily.

>   Yerby’s first wife, Miressa, was rich. But alas! He had given his daughter Magdalena in marriage and exiled his son for sacrilege and disobedience. As the official version went, his son worshiped Maldonaya and had tried to ruin his father. After the executioner took out forceps for removing teeth, the non-official version came out. It turned out that the spouses argued almost every day, and the subject was the disrespectful behavior of Yerby’s son toward Valiana.

  The wife of Yerby, a “night cuckoo” was the main puppet-master. When Hans and his people questioned Valiana, they found out that Yerby’s son had committed a disgusting act against her person. You see, the woman really liked her stepson. The feeling wasn’t mutual; she interested him neither as a woman nor as a person. He did not want to make a cuckold of his father, especially not with an overripe matron. Valiana then began to tyrannize the young lad and drove him out of his own house. Valiana howled. It was an act she much regretted.

  Yerby was as poor as a church mouse. All the money belonged to Miressa’s children. As a father, Yerby was entitled to use his children’s property until they were of age or married. The moment he drove his son away and gave his daughter into marriage was truly disastrous. The son’s money returned to Miressa’s parents. They, for some reason, did not approve of Yerby’s second marriage and cut all contact. As for Magdalena…

  In another bout of desperation, Yerby had suddenly remembered that he had a rich granddaughter. If only I could get custody of the child! It was impossible with a living father, Jerisson Earton, though that little obstacle did not change his plans. Yerby made inquiries and realized that he must get rid of Lilian Earton first, and then of Jerisson.

  “Why?” Lily asked.

  As soon as she had married Jerisson, Lily had officially become Miranda’s mother. If something were to happen to Jess, she would get custody—either her or Earton’s sister, and Miranda’s dislike of her relatives was famous.

  “How so?”

  There was an easy answer. Miranda’s nanny Calma had accumulated her dowry by selling information.

  What a bitch! Lily thought. She was happy they had gotten rid of the nanny. She resumed listening. In short, Yerby hoped. His hope was minuscule, but a drowning man would hold onto anything, even to a poisonous viper swimming in the river.

  Alicia would never take care of Miranda. She simply shrugged at Lily’s indignation.

  “Spare me, I am too old for minding children.”

  Lily refrained from comment and nodded.

  “I see. You would have refused.”

  “Yes, I would have, lest His Majesty had asked me personally, and even so—”

  Lily nodded. It was Yerby’s last hope.

  On the one hand, there was the sister of Lily’s husband, whom the little girl hated with all her might. On the other hand, there were her grandparents. They could make the girl like them. They would throw themselves at the king’s feet and bribe the little granddaughter with sweets. Their plan could have gone through.

  Hans snickered gravely, implying that Yerby probably had a trusted person at court and had promised him interest from Miranda’s inheritance. However, such bald claims required prior investigation.

  Hans assumed that Yerby’s first target was Lilian Earton.

  Killing her would have been too costly. It was easier to find a random gigolo who would tempt the bored lady with a romance.

  Yerby was convinced that Lilian wouldn’t have resisted the charm of a handsome young man with good manners. It would have profited Yerby immensely for he would have gained a chance to blackmail Lilian into anything, even into giving him custody over the orphaned girl. Besides, had the court found out about her promiscuity, they would sooner have sent her to a monastery than given her custody. To find a lover was a sure way to make the “cow” disappear without a trace.

  The “stupid cow” image that Jess had created of her saved Lily’s life. If the killer had considered her to be clever, he would have prepared differently. The plan had been to seduce the “cow,” to bribe Miranda, and to murder Jess.

  They had begun taming the child in autumn. When Mirrie was suddenly sent to Earton, Yerby’s protégé nearly failed to follow her. His task was to gain the girl’s trust and make her side with her grandparents. Lily had destroyed that scheme.

  The child received a lot of new information. The countess was present at her lessons, and there was no way the protégé could spread his ideas. Damis was not successful—he failed to even report back to his master.

  Thank Aldonai spying is tricky without cell phones and landlines. They have not even invented Morse code yet, thought Lily, noting it down in her notebook. I need to introduce them to all those things. The Virmans will certainly enjoy playing “Capture the Flag”!

  There was nothing left for the protégé to do but to act at his own risk, which turned out to be unsuccessful. How was he going to kill Jerisson? In a very primitive way. The earl frequented brothels. He would give the wench an “arousing potion” to offer Jerisson. It was not hard to find a whore; they charged very little. Most often, to the sorrow of her ladyship Lilian, Jerisson could be found at the brothel on the royal street. Yerby himself was a frequent guest. It was easy to make a deal with one of the girls without getting caught. Killing was certainly easier than curing; it required want, not brains.

  Lily bit the end of a golden goose feather.

  My husband ought to be grateful to me for saving his life so many times. Would he appreciate it if he were to find out? Something told Lily that he wouldn’t.

  She thanked Hans for the information and went back to her calculations. It is good in theory—I want a store, a coffee place, a kitchen…but where will I find a suitable place for them?

  How hard it is to live in this strange, wide world!

  ***

  If Lily were to have seen her husband at that moment, she would have been glad to find out he shared her hardship.

  Jerisson’s ex-lover had brazenly disappeared. Suspecting that the earl still harbored tender feelings toward his former mistress, the “Old Pike” scolded him in rich local jargon for helping her go into hiding.

  Jerisson defended himself as hard as he could. Why would I care about that whore? Ativerna is full of them.

  “Yes, there are a lot of prostitutes around, but not everyone tried to help you get rid of the annoying wife,” countered the duke.

  Jess protested. He managed to convince the duke of his innocence, but not entirely, for there was still a trace of suspicion in his eye.

  ***

  Even Richard was of no consolation. The earl paced around the prince’s chamber with wild eyes, getting in the servants’ way as they packed his belongings.

  “As if I would poison the cow!”

  “A probable scenario; not gonna lie,” Richard said, entertaining himself.

  “Are you in your right mind?” retorted Jess.

  Richard nostalgically thought that Jess viewed him not as the crown prince, but as the boy he used to prank Edmund with. He sighed.

  “Think, Jess. You complained about your wife all around, right?”

  “Right.” Jess nodded unwillingly.

  “While at the same time, you praised Adelaide Wells.”

  Jess nodded again. “I could not imagine that…”

  “Yes, you only judged her by the size of her breasts.” Richard ignored Jess’ raging eyes and continued. “In short, she attempted to kill your wife, argued with you after failing to do so, and disappeared.”

  “So what?”

  “One could suggest that you have done something with her.”

  “Something?”

  “Anything! Murdered her or helped her escape; hid her in a village to visit twice a month. You better pray that no one else attempts to kill your wife, because this story got you in a lot of trouble.”

  Jess dropped into his chair.

  “The question is whether I got into this trouble myself or if someone else wanted it. If my wife had not come to
the capital, no one would have found out.”

  “Or if your wife had not been born, she wouldn’t have been your wife?” snapped Richard. Sometimes Jess really got on his nerves. While he is not a fool, he is completely in the wrong!

  “I understand everything,” replied Jess. “The “cow” is not guilty of trying to save her life. She saved Miranda, too. I am grateful to her in some ways.”

  “But not in others.”

  “Would you have been?”

  “I would have also been mad,” Richard admitted honestly. “Think on this: you are going home now; are you going to throw a fit right upon seeing your wife?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Exactly. What does my father—I mean, the king—want from you?”

  “He wants me to make amends, that’s for certain. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have treated me like a naughty schoolboy.”

  “Very well. Instead, will you go home and lose your temper as soon as you see her?”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “Practice keeping face. You are not guilty of what happened. It is not her fault, though, that you found such a mistress.”

  “Bugger!”

  “The worst thing is that Adelaide’s escape makes you more vulnerable.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If your wife wants to get a divorce, she can do it very easily. She has proof of your infidelity and of attempts on her life. Can you guess her next step?”

  “She will divorce me on the grounds of the attempts. Even the Aldon will not be able to protest.”

  “Why do you think she is still not—”

  “I don’t know. The options are plenty.”

  “Even after all her letters?”

  Jess rolled his eyes.

  “Richard, I refuse to believe that she wrote them herself! Those were the letters of an experienced, clever, and cynical person—cruel if you will. There is no way that little brat could have written them. She is so much—wait, how much younger is she?”

  “Jess, my friend, do you even know when her birthday is?”

  “I don’t remember…”

  Richard wanted to help his friend. They were in their last days in that place, meaning that all their outings had to be with a view toward solving Jess’ problem.