15

Marta went back to Alena, who had her eyes closed as she lay back in the tub. She was taking deep breaths, breathing in the scents of the herbs in her bath.

“Marta, I think I need some milk in my bath to ease the bruises and cuts on my skin,” said Alena. “I did not realize how badly hurt I was until I had gotten back to town.”

Marta called Leni and told her to bring some fresh goat’s milk for Alena’s bath. Once the milk was in the water, Alena rubbed her skin gently, testing her body for any complaints. She was sure nothing was broken, not even her spirit, by the attacked, but she would be sore and bruised for many days to some. Her face hurt the most where Wolfram had punched her.

Marta brought her a large soft cloth that had been warmed by the fire. Alena stepped out of the bath and wrapped up in the cloth. She sat by the fire while the tub was removed from the room. She felt herself stiffening up once she sat down and stopped moving. She was sure she’d be very sore the next day. She would need to get up in the morning and move as soon as possible or she would have to remain in bed longer than was necessary or healthy. She felt so secure and comfortable that she could have fallen asleep if it weren’t for the pain throbbing in her face. Marta came over and had her move so that her hair faced the fire. She would be much more comfortable sleeping with dry hair. Marta did not attempt to comb it out today though. She would leave the painful untangling for a day when Alena felt better. Finally the tub was emptied and removed from the room. Herbs were strewn across the floor so that the fire’s heat and people walking on the floor would bring the herbs scents into the air to sooth Alena as she breathed in the air. Marta helped her to stand. She took the towel wrapped around Alena and helped her into a fresh clean nightgown. Then Marta led Alena to the bed and helped her climb in. Alena lay back into her pillows as Marta covered her and tucked her in.

“I must bring in Balder and Tomas before you go to sleep,” said Marta, “so you may tell them who did this to you.”

“Yes, bring them quickly, Marta, I am sleepy.”
Alena lay back, feeling every ache and pain in her body. “First bring me some willow bark and valerian tea. I think I will need it to sleep well.”

Marta brought the tea and the two men. Balder the Druid and Tomas the Magistrate were shocked at Alena’s injuries. The look on their faces told her how bad she must appear. She told them to pull up stools and sit down. Balder asked her if she wanted him to check her over. Knowing that she was a well qualified healer herself, Balder did not push his services on her. She told him that nothing was broken and she had no open wounds. Her bruises would heal in days and she just wanted to get on with things. She was beaten but not down. She answered the question she knew was upper most in their minds.

She told what had happened and how it had come about. She told them the name of the culprit was Wolfram and she explained who he was and where he was from. Balder had some idea of who Wolfram was from conversations with Alena’s dead husband, Konrad. She let them know that Wolfram had tried to rape her, no doubt trying to use the old Celtic Bride Law to gain her as an unwilling wife and so in turn get his hands on her properties, mostly wanted Crabapple Farm, thus increasing his own property.

Tomas the Magistrate rose to go. He had enough information to have Wolfram hunted down and brought before the courts. He went out to round up men for the task. He would gather up the area’s hunters and send them out to track Wolfram down. He would also send out messengers to various towns to be on the look out for Wolfram. He would need to notify the Romans, as it would be their responsibility to search Wolfram’s holdings to see if he was hiding out at home, thinking himself safe on his own property.

Balder stayed with Alena a little while longer until she had finished her tea and her eye lids began to droop. He told her he would leave a jar of salve for her face with Marta which she should put on her face in the morning to help keep the swelling down and the bruises to a minimum. She murmured her thanks. She then said that he should take some to Greydere to help with the damage she had done when she had hit him in the face. She giggled a little hysterically and quietly asked if the salve would help on swollen lips, then she fell asleep and began snoring quietly.

Balder the Druid shook his head and grinned. Marta asked him what that was all about but he just grinned and told Marta that no matter how much planning one did, things had a way of going in a completely unexpected direction. He told Marta that if Alena needed him, regardless of the hour, Marta should have him fetched without delay.

Alena slept soundly despite her injuries, but woke feeling sore all over. It was early. The sun had not yet risen and the grooms had not stoked the morning fires yet. Alena needed more willow bark tea to ease her pains. She padded out into the hall in her bare feet to get a cup of hot water from the pot over the main cooking fire and took it back to her room where she added the powder to the hot water. The tea was bitter but strong and it did not take long for her to feel its effects.

She lay back down to relax until the rest of the household began to stir. As she lay there she could not help but think about Greydere. It made no sense to her that she was so attracted to him, especially knowing that there was no way she could ever have any sort of relationship with a slave. And her she was, ready to lie down with him in a field in broad daylight and have mad animal sex with him. She must be out of her mind. Granted he was good looking, well, very good looking. She needed to think of something else. She was getting excited thinking about him. She really had to be sick. Some how she had to find a way to block her attraction to him. She vowed that she would stay away from him as a start, making especially sure she was never alone with him. That should take care of most of the problem. Then she would also forget him, forcing from her thoughts whenever he threatened to intrude. She did after all have many other things to do.

She would begin by planning a walking inspection tour of the town. It would keep her busy, exercise the aches from her body and show the town that she was not too badly hurt and fully capable to go on. She would take today off from seeing the next men but she would go about town and see her people. It would be necessary for her to have someone with her as she went. She would engage Detlef to tour with her as she knew that he was in town today and not up at the salt mines. He was big enough to intimidate any one that may have designs on hurting her. He was certainly bigger than Wolfram. She listed all of the places she would walk to today and the things she would look for. She would visit the granary to see how much wheat and rye were left after the winter to see if they needed to do any rationing before any new grain could be purchased. She would check on the ice house to make sure it was fully loaded with mountain ice and she inventory the meat and fish stored there. Then she would go to the town’s apothecary to check on the communal supply of herbs and spices. Now that winter was over and the weather becoming more stable, they could send out people to replenish their stores. She thought she would also visit the Charnel House to check on the placement of her dead husband, Konrad’s, skull and maybe gain some solace and peace by talking to him a bit.

All of this planning took her mind off of her hurts and other things and brought her to the point of the day where the entire household began to stir. She rose and dressed, stretching out her stiff muscles as she did so. She got her polished bronze mirror out of her clothes chest. She didn’t usually use it, but she thought it a good idea to look at the damage to her face that everyone else could see so that she would be prepared for their reactions. The whole left side of her face was swollen and an evil shade of purplish blue. Her eyes were not affected but her cheek, nose and jaw look a right mess. She thought she detected swelling in her lips, too, touching them with the tips of her fingers but she immediately removed her hand as if she had been burned and tossed the mirror back in with her clothes.

She went out to break her fast and to listen to the shocked whispers of the people in the hall. Everyone expressed their concern and anger over her treatment as they waited on her. She asked one of the grooms to run to Detlef and ask if he would accompany her today on a tour of the town. If he was unavailable would he recommend someone else to join her? The groom ran off to do her bidding. He was back very shortly, out of breath, holding a stitch in his side, to say that Detlef was on his way now and not far behind him. And there he was, entering the hall now. He sat down next to her. Leni served him bread, butter and honey along with a cup of dandelion and rose hip tea. Alena nibbled on a small piece of bread with a thin slice of roast pork on it. Marta said she needed the meat for the strength of her blood to help it heal. She also sipped on another cup of willow bark tea this time with some honey added.

“Do you not think you should spend the day resting in bed?” asked Detlef. He looked at her in concern. “No one would grudge you a day of rest after your ordeals from yesterday.”

“I tried to tell her to stay a bed,” said Marta. She sniffed as she set more food on the table. Alena and Detlef stared at her surprised.

“Marta, what is wrong? You can not be so upset over my going out today?”

“No, it’s your beautiful face.” She began to sob in earnest. “Look what that monster has done to your beautiful face.”

Alena laughed.

“Marta, it will heal quite nicely. There is no permanent damage. Do not be so distressed.”

“You do rather awful,” said Detlef. He and Alena laughed, but Marta hurried away from the table crying harder than before.

“Seriously,” said Detlef. He grinned and winked at Alena. “Wouldn’t you feel better for a day of rest?”

“I feel myself get stiff already. I need to move and keep my mind busy. Sitting inside with nothing but sewing to keep me occupied is boring me.”

“You have had some very interesting visitors, lately, though, to keep you entertained.” Detlef laughed at his own joke.

“I have been highly entertained, but now I need some work and some exercise.”

“Where would you like to go?”

“I would like to inspect the granary, the ice house and the apothecary and stop at the Charnel House at the end of our tour.”

“If you are ready, I will get your cloak and we can be on our way.” Detlef rose and went to have Leni fetch Alena’s cloak. Alena began to rise and found a groom behind her pulling out her chair and another groom at her elbow helping her to stand. She thanked them both as Leni helped her on with her cloak. Detlef gave her his arm and they left for their inspection tour.

The plan Alena had mapped out would take them on a circular path around the town, turning left out the door. Everything was in order and as she had expected at each place they stopped at. She took her time going everything though to take up as much of her time as possible. She enjoyed the walk and the company. Detlef was very amusing and told her jokes between buildings and he was well liked by everyone so they had some fun conversations with the proprietors of each warehouse. She went over the plan the grainer had for sending people out to purchase more grain, planning on cheaper prices for making advanced purchases. The apothecary had already sent out people before winter set in to replenish their more rare and expensive spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. He also had plans to try to get some saffron but he was not sure if they would be able to find any that they could afford. Their native herbs, such as chamomile, dandelion and mint, were hanging from the rafters, drying in great big bunches. The apothecary was one of Alena’s favorite places for all of the wonderful smells that always filled the building.

The ice house was fully stocked with fresh ice, venison, wild pork and fish. Alena did not stay there too long as her muscles objected to the cold.

When they got to the Charnel House, Detlef stayed outside so Alena could have some private time with Konrad’s spirit. She stayed here for a little while, dusting off the skulls of the town’s ancestors and touching a few she had known briefly. She really did not have much to say to any of them. She just felt peaceful here.

The Charnel House was chiseled down into the stone base of the mountain. Three flights of twelve steps led down to the smooth stone floor. The room opened up into a cavern with high vaulted ceilings, shaped in such a way that the air vibrated and voices joined those vibrations without echoing. Into the walls were carved niches for individual skulls. After resided in a cubby hole for three generations, the skulls were placed in piles on the floor in family groups. There were hundreds of skulls in here, painted with flowers and spirals or carved with special religious symbols. Since everyone living in town, were somehow related to a founding family there was no hierarchy of place.

When Alena was done, she began walking back up the stairs and could once again feel her aches and pains and barely made it up into daylight without collapsing. Detlef saw her struggling and grabbed her arm, guiding her to a bench. They rested in the afternoon sun, as it began to dip behind the mountain tops.

“I think you have had more than enough for one day,” said Detlef. “I will tell Balder the Druid you will need one more day of rest and tomorrow you will take it easy and stay closer to home.”

“I will not argue with you this time, Detlef.” Alena sighed. “I am truly tired and sore now. When we return to the hall, I will go directly to bed even though the sun is still up.”

“If the Lady of Deepshade can not have a day abed, who can?” asked Detlef. “Shall we go back now?”