Chapter 8
E van paced the courtyard the next morning as his father, mother, and Lord Corbett got ready to leave with a traveling party to join other nobles and Barons of the Cinque Ports. They would gather together to mourn the king as they prepared to attend their ruler’s funeral. His cousins Eleanor and Daegel were there, as well as his uncle, Brother Ruford. Maggie stood silently nearby with Charles and Emma as they watched what was happening.
“Father, let me come with you,” begged Evan. “Please. I am a knight now, and should be there in respect of our deceased king.”
“Nay,” Garrett objected. “I need someone here to protect and maintain the castle until your mother and I return. Even though the king died in Surrey, he will most likely be buried at Westminster Abbey. We will have to travel with the other nobles. The preparations for the funeral might take a fortnight, so we will be gone at least that long.”
Evan didn’t like being left behind. If he was going to follow in his father’s footsteps and hopefully one day join the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, then he should be there at this crucial time with his father, other nobles, and the other Barons of the Cinque Ports.
“Can’t Gar watch over things here while I join you?” he asked, speaking about his older brother.
“Nay, I need Gar with me. He can captain a ship better than anyone. With news of the king’s death reaching across the channel, there is always a chance England will be attacked, being in this vulnerable state. I might even need to organize an extra fleet to patrol and protect the channel until the king’s successor is crowned.”
“Richard is just a child,” said Eleanor, speaking about King Edward’s nephew who was only ten. Since the Black Prince, Edward’s eldest son, died last year, Edward’s nephew was next in line for the throne.
“Yes, and that makes things even more complicated,” stated Garrett. “There are many plans to make and decisions to consider. This is a very important time, and it is crucial I am there to participate, should I be needed.”
“Evan,” said his mother, coming up and taking ahold of Evan’s arm. “I know you want to join us, but you are needed here, like your father said.”
“I still don’t see why I’m not traveling with you.” Evan longed to join the others.
“One reason is because your betrothed will be arriving any day,” answered his father, stunning Evan to hear this. “You need to stay here to greet her and her father.”
“My betrothed,” he repeated, his gaze shooting over to Maggie who looked up in surprise. Part of him didn’t want Maggie to know. Not after the passionate kissing they’d done in the wardrobe yesterday. Ever since then Evan could think of nothing else but kissing Maggie again.
“See? It’s just like I told you, Cousin,” said Daegel from directly behind him, startling Evan and making him jump. Evan hadn’t even known Daegel had moved closer.
“I’m sorry we haven’t had time to discuss this, Son.” Garrett mounted his horse. “But Brother Ruford knows all the details and he will fill you in on what to expect. I’m sorry, but we need to leave now. Echo, please hurry. You’re going to make us late.”
“I’m sorry,” whispered Evan’s mother, giving Evan a kiss on the cheek. “I tried to talk your father out of choosing a bride for you, but he insisted this was a good alliance and that it was the best thing for you.”
“Mother, are you saying I don’t even get to choose between several ladies?”
“Nay. Your father has already chosen for you.”
“But I don’t even have any information. Who is this girl? Where is she from? I know nothing about her.”
“Echo, we’ve got to go,” complained his father from atop his horse, sounding extremely anxious as well as irritated.
“I’m sure it will all work out, just give it time.” Evan’s mother cupped his cheek and smiled sweetly. “We’ll see you soon. The castle is in your hands now. Daegel and Brother Ruford will be staying here also until our return. Oh, and take good care of Martine.” She turned and walked away to join the traveling party.
Evan watched in sorrow as the entourage left the castle without him. He wished right now to be anywhere but here, waiting for his unknown betrothed to arrive. He always knew he’d someday be married to a noblewoman, but this was all so sudden. He’d just been knighted, and hadn’t even had the time to think about his honorable position.
“Well, now what?” asked Daegel, crossing his arms over his chest as they watched the others leave. “Am I taking the boy back to town again today?”
“Nay,” answered Evan. “Maggie doesn’t want him to be an apprentice. Or at least not until she has a permanent job.”
“I thought you took care of that.”
“So did I. But she keeps insisting she will not steal the other midwife’s job.”
“All right. Then, I’m off to the practice yard. Want to join me?”
Evan turned to see Maggie, Charles, and Emma coming toward him.
“Nay, not now. Mayhap later,” Evan told him, feeling like he needed to talk to Maggie.
“As Lady of the Castle now until my parents return, I’m afraid I won’t be able to spend as much time in Martine’s room with her,” Eleanor told Evan.
“It’s all right. I’ll have Maggie stay there.” Evan was about to tell Maggie that, when he heard someone call his name from behind him. He turned to see the castle steward standing there with two women.
“Pardon me, Sir Evan,” said Stefan, stopping to speak to Evan. The women were right behind him. Evan recognized the fatter one as the wife of the baker from town. She always scowled at him when he collected the rent. Evan didn’t tarry in the bakery since she wasn’t the friendliest person, and he never knew what would happen if she was involved. The other woman he identified as Gunnora, the castle midwife.
“Yes, Stefan?” he asked, seeing Maggie, Charles, and Emma from the corner of his eye. His squire Giles was with them.
“It seems there is a problem.”
“Well? What is it?” asked Evan, feeling as if his precious time were being wasted.
“I will let Gunnora tell you. Go on,” the steward urged her to speak.
“My lord,” said the old midwife, curtsying. She seemed unstable and Evan wasn’t sure she wouldn’t fall over. The baker’s wife, whose name he couldn’t remember, tried her best to curtsy as well.
“Midwife, I see you’ve returned,” said Evan. “How is your family member?”
“She is close to dying,” relayed the midwife.
“I see. Well, take off as much time as you need.” Evan waved his hand through the air. “I have Maggie here, and she is tending to the midwife duties for now, so you needn’t worry. She is doing a fine job.” He looked over at Maggie and smiled.
“Actually, she is exactly whom this is all about,” said Gunnora with a stiff upper lip.
“I am not trying to steal your job,” Maggie spoke up, holding her daughter in her arms. “I was only here temporarily until you returned.”
“Hmph,” sniffed the midwife. “I sincerely doubt that is true, since my good friend here, Thomasina, tells me that the girl is a thief.”
“What?” both Maggie and Evan said together.
“That is right, my lord.” Thomasina looked over at Maggie and glared at her. “When she and that boy that you call your squire were in my shop the other day, she stole a money pouch from my husband.”
“What?” gasped Maggie.
“That is a serious accusation,” Evan warned the woman. “Think hard and long before you go calling Maggie a thief.”
“It’s true,” said Thomasina. “I saw her put the money pouch in that basket she’s carrying. If you look inside, I’m sure you’ll find it.”
“Maggie?” Evan looked over to her. “Is this true? Did you steal money from this woman and her husband? And if so, why?”
Before Maggie answered, she looked over at Giles. Giles seemed to become pale, dropping his gaze to the ground.
“Nay. I did not,” stated Maggie with conviction.
“She’s lyin’!” screamed the baker woman. “Check her basket. I’m sure you’ll find out the truth.”
Evan let out a deep sigh and walked over to Maggie. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “But as lord of the castle, I need to settle disputes. I will take a look in your basket, and then send the woman on her way when I prove that she is wrong.” He dug his hand into her basket, his fingers closing over a small pouch. “What’s this?” He picked it up and looked at it. Checking inside the leather pouch he discovered a good amount of coins, and it was not the pouch of money that he’d given her.
“Yes. That’s my husband’s money pouch!” yelled the woman. “It has a loaf of bread painted on the front and that proves that it is from the bakery.”
Evan ran his thumb over the painted loaf of bread on the front, looking over to Maggie once again. “Maggie? Can you explain this?”
Maggie gave her daughter to Charles. “Charles, please take Emma to play with the other children.”
“Aye,” said Charles, doing as told.
Once they were gone, Maggie looked over at Giles once again. Giles seemed nervous, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Something was going on between these two but Evan didn’t know what it could be.
“Giles? Can you confirm that you and Maggie went into the bakery two days ago?” asked Evan.
“I–I ...” Giles looked up at Thomasina and then down to the ground again. Evan noticed that Thomasina was glaring at his squire, pounding her one fist into her open hand.
“We were there,” Maggie spoke up. “But Giles doesn’t know anything about the pouch of coins.”
“What?” Evan felt like she was lying. After all, he’d told the boy to keep a close eye on Maggie, and he hadn’t reported anything odd to Evan. Surely, if Maggie had stolen something, Giles would have seen her do it. “What do you mean?”
“I went inside the bakery to inquire about any midwife jobs, but this woman told me her friend was a midwife and would be returning soon,” said Maggie.
“That’s right,” grumbled Gunnora. “And I’m back now, so you’re not needed.”
“Then you’re saying you stole the coin pouch?” asked Evan, not believing that Maggie would really do such a thing. She had morals. Maggie didn’t want money he tried to give her, and neither did she want to steal anyone’s job. Nay. There was no way he’d believe that Maggie stole anything, no matter what these women said.
Maggie looked over at Giles once again, but the boy just looked the other way.
“I did take it,” said Maggie.
“See? I told you,” snapped Thomasina. “The girl is nothing but a thief.”
“Aye, she’s a thief,” shouted Gunnora. “Throw her in the dungeon or cut off her hand to punish her. It’s only right.”
“Wait a minute,” said Maggie, raising her hand. “I said I took it, but I didn’t steal it. I found it lying outside the shop and just … picked it up, that’s all.”
“That’s a lie!” screamed Thomasina.
“Didn’t you think to ask if it belonged to the baker since there was a loaf of bread painted on it?” asked Evan suspiciously.
“I suppose I should have.” Maggie looked over to Giles once more. He raised his head slightly. Evan noticed the squire’s eyes were closed and his breathing had quickened. “However, Giles said we needed to hurry since we were supposed to meet you at the smithy and we were already late.”
“Is that right, Giles?” Evan asked his squire, thinking the boy was acting odd and wanting to hear from him as well.
“I did say that to her, my lord, that’s true,” he answered.
“Then I think this is finished.” Evan handed the pouch back to the baker woman. “Here. Take your money and go.”
“What?” The woman glared at Evan now. “I’m sure she already used a good portion of the money.”
“I didn’t use a penny,” said Maggie. “Sir Evan, if you don’t believe me you can ask the woman’s husband. I’m sure he’ll tell you how much was in the pouch.”
“Nay, never mind. It’s fine,” grumbled Thomasina, shoving the coin pouch into her bag. “You are not going to punish the thief, my lord?”
“Why should I?” asked Evan. “Maggie didn’t steal anything.”
“She stole my job,” said Gunnora. “I don’t like that. She needs to go.”
“Maggie is not going anywhere,” Evan told them.
“Don’t worry, I am leaving today,” Maggie assured the women.
“What?” Evan looked over at Maggie, shaking his head. “Nay, Maggie. You don’t have to leave.”
“I said that I’d stay until Gunnora returned and now she has.” Maggie kept her calm composure, impressing Evan with her level of professionalism. “Gunnora, please take good care of Lady Martine. She is on bed rest because she will be birthing twins any day now.”
“Twins?” The midwife looked up and wrinkled her nose. “Nay, that’s not true. You don’t know what you’re sayin.’ She’s not havin’ her baby for another month yet. One baby, mind you.”
Maggie felt as if she were going to explode with anger if she didn’t get away from there soon. These two women were horrible people and she wanted nothing to do with them.
“If you’ll excuse me, my lord, I’ll go pack and leave with my family right away.” Maggie took off without waiting to hear Evan’s answer.
She got to her room, wanting to throw herself down on the pallet and cry, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. It was important to stay strong. For Emma and Charles.
Blinking away her tears, she started to put their clothes and belongings into the travel bag. There was a small knock at the door and Evan stuck his head into the room.
“Maggie? Can we talk?”
“There is nothing to say.” She continued to pack. “I will be out of here in the next hour and will no longer create problems for you.”
“You don’t create problems.” He entered the room and closed the door behind him.
Her heart stilled. “Are you sure you should be in here with me with the door closed, my lord? What will people say?”
“I don’t care what anyone says. I’ll do what I want.” Evan slowly walked over to Maggie, laying his hand on her shoulder. “Why did you lie about the money pouch?”
“What?” She froze, not wanting to face him.
“I know you are not a thief. If so, you wouldn’t have given up your job to Gunnora so easily.”
“I told you from the beginning I would leave when the midwife returned.”
He put both his hands on her shoulders and slowly turned her around. “I know you were only trying to protect Giles.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“I saw the way you two exchanged glances and how nervous Giles became.”
“Giles is not a thief, if that is what you are saying.”
“Nay. I am not saying that at all. However, I know that awful Thomasina and how she threatens everyone. Did you know that her husband pays off people all the time to keep word from getting out that his wife has threatened them?”
“Oh. You know about that?” She looked up and blinked away a tear.
“I know,” he said, gently reaching up and wiping away the tear with his thumb. “And I will bet anything that her husband paid Giles that money to keep quiet after his wife threatened him.”
“Actually, he paid Giles after Thomasina threatened me.”
“She did? Damn, I never should have let her walk out of here. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She tried to turn back to her packing, but Evan took her arm to stop her.
“Maggie, I know that Giles has a lot of fears and that he isn’t the best choice of a squire.”
“You do?” This surprised her that he knew. “Then why did you choose him as your squire?”
“Giles’s father is a good friend of my father. My father and I are trying to help out Giles’s family by training the boy to be a good squire, and to rid himself of his, shall we say, girly lack of courage.”
Maggie smiled. “Girly? I’d hardly call Thomasina’s overabundant amount of courage girly .”
“I’d hardly call the woman a girl,” he answered, and the tension broke when they both started laughing.
“Are you going to say anything to Giles?” she asked.
“Nay. Not now. I have faith that the boy will come around. He just needs to build his confidence a bit first.”
“I will say that he was very brave when he drew his sword and protected me in the bakery.”
“He did?” Evan nodded as if he were satisfied. “Then my plan is already working.”
“Sir Evan, do you think it is wise to keep Giles as your squire?” asked Maggie. “I mean, he is supposed to be able to protect you on the battlefield.”
“Believe me, Giles is not getting anywhere near a battlefield until I feel he is ready. I assure you that you have nothing to worry about regarding that.”
“All right then. I’m glad to hear it. Well, I suppose I’d better finish packing.”
“I don’t want you to go, Maggie.” Evan pulled her back into his arms and kissed her.
Maggie wanted to enjoy the kiss, but something was weighing heavy on her mind. She pulled away. “Sir Evan, you are betrothed and should not be kissing me,” she said, although the thought of him never kissing her again about broke her heart.
“Evan,” he said.
“What?” She blinked several times in succession.
“When we are alone, I want you to always call me Evan. Not my lord and not Sir Evan .”
“But that wouldn’t be right.”
“I’ll decide what is right and what is not.” They kissed again, and although she meant to pull away, she had the hardest time doing it. She figured if this was the last kiss she’d ever get from Evan, then she wanted it to linger so she could enjoy it.
“Maggie, are you in there?” There came a quick knock and then the door swung open wide and Daegel entered the room. Maggie quickly pushed away from Evan, but Daegel had seen them kissing. “Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt.” He smiled widely.
“Daegel, get that dung-eating grin off your face and tell me why the hell you are barging into Maggie’s room, because I don’t like it.” Evan had been enjoying his time alone with Maggie, but his crazy cousin put a fast stop to that.
“It’s Martine,” said Daegel, looking at Maggie and still smiling.
“What about her?” asked Maggie, sounding concerned. “Is she all right?”
“I don’t know,” said Daegel with a shrug. “Her handmaid stopped me in the corridor saying she was looking for you. That Martine was summoning you.”
“I’m sorry, but I am not the midwife here anymore,” Maggie told him, feeling a stab to her heart since she cared about Lady Martine and really wanted to go to her chamber. “You should find the other midwife, Gunnora.”
“Did you find her, my lord?” The handmaid ran up to the door, looking terrified. “Oh, Maggie, thank goodness you didn’t leave yet. Gunnora said you were leaving for good but you can’t! Lady Martine needs you.”
“I’m sorry, but Gunnora will tend to her needs now,” said Maggie. “She is the midwife here and it is her responsibility.”
“Nay, you need to come to the bedchamber right away.” The handmaid wouldn’t stop.
“Why is that? Can’t you find Gunnora?” Maggie’s brow furrowed.
“The old midwife is in the bedchamber right now but she doesn’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean?” asked Maggie, concern showing on her face now. “She doesn’t know what to do about what?”
“I can’t find Lady Eleanor either,” cried the handmaid. “I ran to get you because I am so frightened for her.”
“It’s all right. All will be fine,” said Maggie calmly, taking the handmaid’s hands in hers. “Now, please tell me why Lady Martine is calling for me.”
“She’s in pain. Lots of pain.” The servant’s eyes opened wide. “And she’s bleeding!”
“Bleeding?” asked Maggie. “That’s not a good sign.”
“Are you sure about this?” Evan asked the girl.
“Yes, my lord,” said the handmaid. “It almost seems as if Lady Martine is having her babies!”