HONOR BOUND (The Spare Heir) (15 page)

When Jorem got to the inn it was practically deserted. A young boy, probably the same one that had woken him that morning, was sitting by the fire.  The boy eyed Jorem with some trepidation.  As Jorem approached the boy visibly relaxed as he recognized who Jorem was.

“Everybody’s gone to the knighting ceremony cept’n fer Daisy and me,” the boy said.  “The cook left a plate of stuff to eat in the kitchen if’n yer hungry.  Daisy’s in there washing up dishes and stuff.”

“Thanks,” Jorem said as he headed for the kitchen.

As Jorem pushed his way through the swinging kitchen door he saw Daisy stooped over a sink full of soapsuds and dishes.  To one side of the sink was a pile of neatly stacked clean plates and mugs.  On the other side of the sink there was a mound of plates, mugs, pots and pans with a variety of food and grime on them.  When Daisy heard him coming in she turned to see who it was.  At the sight of him she wrinkled her nose in disdain.

“You are filthy,” she said. “You just stay over there away from my clean dishes.  What in blazes ‘ave you been doing to get in such a state?”

Jorem smiled at her and shrugged.  “Would you believe I’ve been cleaning?” he asked.

“What did you do, use yourself as the cleaning rag?” she teased.  “Sit yourself down over there an I’ll get you a plate of something.   Maybe I should make you wash and change first.”

“I’m going back after I eat so there’s no point in changing,” Jorem told her.

“Franks is working you that hard?” she asked with concern in her voice.

“No, it’s not that,” Jorem explained. “I just want to do a good job for him.  I’m not big enough to do the heavy stuff that needs doing.  So until I learn enough about what needs to be done I’m going to have to do what I can as best as I can.”

“Don’t you worry none about being big enough,” Daisy said as she piled a plate with cold sliced meat, cheese and bread.  “You’ll grow soon enough, especially if’n you keep eatin the way you do.”

Daisy set the plate of food along with a large mug on a table in a corner of the room.  Jorem sat down and started eating.  Even though it was a cold meal it still tasted wonderful. Jorem was sure that the meat was beef but he had never tasted anything like it.  Unusual flavors mingled together to create a taste that urged him to take another bite.  Picking up the mug and taking a swallow he was surprised to find that it was milk.

Looking up he saw Daisy grinning at him.  “Biorne said you might be get’n tired of drinking water with all yer meals so he had some milk brought in.  By the look on yer face I take it you don’t mind.”

“Mind?” Jorem ask.  “This is great. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Don’t you worry none about that,” she said. “Ol’ Biorne’s more than happy to have you here.  Not only is he getting paid fer havin’ you here, he’ll get his taxes reduced fer housing a royal.  Don’t you worry none ‘bout him, he’ll do just fine as long as he keeps you happy.  And the rest of us won’t mind benefitin’ from the extra little comforts that comes from having you about.”

The last she said with a smile and a wink.  Jorem took it in good humor and smiled back.  If those who worked here got some extra benefits just because he was here then he shouldn’t have to worry about them holding a grudge against him.  He was determined not to be a burden, or at least to be as small a burden as possible, to the people here. 
“Always show respect to others,”
Pentrothe had told him. 
“From the mightiest king to the lowliest beggar.”

Jorem sat quietly while he finished his meal.  The sound of dishes clattering in the background somehow relaxed him as he reviewed his ideas for the smith’s workshop.  Even though he was tired, he was determined to finish what he had started.  It would take weeks to get things to match the picture he had in his mind, but if he could get the basics in place, the rest would come with a little bit of persistence.  Popping the last morsel of his meal into his mouth, Jorem washed it down with a swallow of milk.  He savored the rich, creamy taste as it went down.  Picking up his plate and mug, Jorem carried them over to the sink.  As he set the dishes on the counter Daisy turned to regard him.

“You get enough to eat then?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am and thank you,” Jorem said.  “Would you please thank Biorne for me as well.”

“Sure thing.  You be sure to wash up when you get back.  I don’t want all that tracked about the inn,” she said, gesturing to Jorem’s dirty clothing.

Jorem grinned at the serving girl and gave a little bow.  “Yes m’lady, t’would not do to cause thee displeasure in the least.”

Quickly Jorem dashed out of the kitchen to avoid the wet dishrag Daisy threw at him.  She might have hit him with the rag if she hadn’t been laughing so hard.  Jorem continued running until he was out of the inn.  It was quite dark outside so he lit one of the lanterns hanging on a post at the front of the inn and took it with him.  With his hunger appeased and his mood buoyed Jorem returned to the smithy.

Jorem spent the next few hours wiping down tools, mostly hammers and tongs, and organizing.   He set the buckets at the ends of the benches nearest the forge. In one of the buckets, the largest of the three he had acquired, he put all of the hammers. He was amazed at how many hammers there were.  The variety of sizes and shapes the hammers came in was surprising.  In the second bucket he placed tongs of shapes and sizes he hadn’t thought existed.  In the third he put all of the other tools he had found.  Once that was accomplished he wiped down all of the benches and tables.

He had found a small wooden box in one of the corners of the room that didn’t appear to have any purpose.  The box was just big enough to hold two or three shovels full of coal.  This he put behind the forge next to the bellows and filled it with coal.  The last thing he did before leaving was to get the forge ready to light.  On his way out of the smithy, Jorem hung the broom and shovel on some nails he had pounded into the wall next to the door.

It was even darker outside now than it had been before.  A thick blanket of clouds had moved in to blot out the stars in the sky, leaving the countryside in darkness.  The trees loomed above him, dark shapes against a darker sky.  Jorem shivered at the chill in the air. Small white flakes of snow drifted lazily to the ground.  Thankful for the heavy clothing and the lantern, he wasted no time getting back to the warm comfort of the inn.

When Jorem arrived back at the inn he once again found it crowded and bustling.  Apparently the knighting ceremonies had ended and the multitude that had attended where hungry and tired.  Jorem decided to go straight to the washroom to get cleaned up.  He didn’t have any trouble getting through the crowd.  As soon as people noticed how dirty he was, they quickly got out of his way.  He would have liked a bite to eat, but in his present condition that probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

Once in the washroom Jorem quickly stripped off his dirty clothes and spent the next half of a mark scrubbing himself from head to toe.  As he was toweling himself dry, he realized that he hadn’t brought a clean set of clothes to change into.  Wrapping himself with his damp towel Jorem opened the door and peered down the hallway to see if there was anyone coming.  As soon as he was sure the way was clear he dashed across the hallway and into his room.

To his surprise the room was not dark.  Someone had not only lit the candle in his room, they had left a plate of cheese and bread along with a mug of chilled water.  Quickly he slipped into some nightclothes and wrapped a blanket around himself.  It wasn’t cold in his room, but neither was it warm.  With his skin still damp from his bathing he felt chilled.  Sitting down on the edge of his bed Jorem slowly nibbled at the cheese and bread.  As his body slowly grew warmer his mind started to drift.

It wasn’t long before he caught himself nodding off, so he set the plate of food aside.  Curling up in his bed, Jorem smiled at the thought of what he had accomplished during the day.  The smithy had almost seemed spacious after he had finished.  Hopefully Franks would be pleased with the changes Jorem had made.  Snuggling deeper under the covers, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Chapter XVI

It was well past morning when Jorem finally drug himself out of bed.  He slipped into some of his lighter clothing and sauntered into the common room of the inn. A number of people were gathered there, some sitting at tables.  Most of the people were standing near the doorway.  Those by the door were dressed in heavy traveling cloaks.  They were also wearing large fur hats and woolen mittens.  Jorem sat himself down at what he was starting to think of as his table.

The occasional glimpse offered through the doorway showed the ground had been covered with snow.  Apparently the light snowfall that had begun the night before had gotten heavier through the night.  Many of those who had traveled here to see the knighting of the duke’s son were concerned that they might be stranded here if the storm worsened.  Many had already left and, of those that remained, most planned to be on their way within a mark or so.  As much as possible they were trying to depart in large groups to minimize the risk of being stranded in one of the mountain passes.

Linda had noticed Jorem’s arrival and went to fetch him his morning meal.  When she stopped at his table she was carrying a bowl of hot cereal and a steaming mug of tea.  After serving him his meal Linda leaned her shoulder against the wall and loosely folded her arms.  Even though he was quite hungry, Jorem waited to see what she wanted before starting to eat.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep the entire day away,” she said.  “Much later and you would have missed first meal all together.”

Although she smiled as she spoke, Jorem could tell there was something on her mind.

“The smith said that he takes every Firstday off.  So I’ll have a day each week free,” Jorem responded.

“Firstday is usually really slow here so Daisy and I, we take turns working.  That way we get every other Firstday off.  There’re not so many places to shop as most places are closed, but there are a few that stay open.  Covering a yawn, she asked, “What are you going to do with your first day off?

“I hadn’t planned anything,” Jorem said.  “I might wander around the town a bit.  I haven’t got a winter cloak, so maybe I’ll buy one while I’ve got the time.”

Linda nodded and said, “There’s a shop not far from here that sells cloaks and such.  It’s about a quarter mark’s walk from here but it’s worth the walk.  The cloaks are warm and the prices are right.  The place is called Wrappings.  I’ll write down the directions for you and leave them on the counter so you can pick them up when you’re ready to go.  You’d best wear the heaviest clothes you have.  It’s a bit nippy out.”

“Thanks,” Jorem said.  “I’ll make that my first stop.”

With a smile, Linda pushed herself off the wall with a nudge and started to walk toward the kitchen.  After a few steps she stopped and looked back to Jorem as if she had just remembered something.

“Oh, I almost forgot, Biorne wants to talk to you.  He’s not here right now but he should be back in a bit,” she said over her shoulder.  Then she disappeared through the kitchen door.

Jorem finished his meal and wiped up the last of the cereal with a chunk of coarse bread.  Then he headed back to his room to put on some warmer clothes. He decided to wear the heavier clothes over what he already had on for extra protection from the cold.  Trudging through the cold for an extended time didn’t sound very appealing without a good cloak.  He didn’t have any mittens so he would have to keep his hands in his pockets to keep them warm.  He thought about wearing his sword but decided against it. The way he was dressed he’d likely be accused of stealing it.

Retrieving the gold mark that Jacobs had given him from it’s hiding place in an old pair of socks, Jorem headed back to the common room to see if Biorne had returned.  It was late enough in the day that the cook had already started cooking a stew for the midday meal.  The aroma filtered down the hallway, getting stronger as Jorem approached the common room.  Even though he had just eaten, the smell of the stew caused his stomach to growl.

When he got to the common room, there were only a few people there.  The fire in the hearth burned low.  A pot much smaller than what had been over the fire earlier hung above the flames.  A young boy sat next to the fire occasionally stirring the contents of the pot.  Biorne sat at a table near the kitchen door.  The little man was studiously writing in some kind of ledger.  He was so intent on his task that he didn’t even look up until Jorem was standing right next to him.

“Sit down for a moment,” Biorne said, waving to a chair.  “Linda tells me you plan to venture into town today.”

“Yes sir,” Jorem said.  “The snow isn’t falling too heavily and I’d like to get a cloak and look about the town.”

“Do you have any coin besides the gold crown you had earlier?” Biorne ask with a quizzical look on his face.

“No, that’s all I have.  Surely that should be enough for a cloak,” Jorem said, slightly confused.

Biorne smiled and shook his head.  “Actually that would probably be enough to buy the entire shop.  I took the liberty of getting some smaller valued coins for you in exchange for the gold mark”.

Biorne reached into a valise that was on the floor beside his chair.  From the valise he withdrew several leather pouches.  When he set the leather pouches on the table they clinked with the sound of coins.

The innkeeper looked Jorem in the eyes.  “A lad your age flashing around a gold crown would cause most people to figure you for a thief.  One of the fastest ways to get people interested in you is to start showing signs of money.  There’s more in each of these pouches than a good tradesman earns in a full cycle.  We here in Broughbor like to think we have a good community with good people in it.  The truth is that there are good and bad wherever you go.”

Biorne paused a moment and looked Jorem over.  “You’re a lad yet and you’re not dressed in fine clothes, so I doubt anyone will take notice of you unless you give them a reason to.  Tuck your money pouch inside your clothes, somewhere it won’t rattle when you walk.  When you buy something only take out the coins you need.  Any questions?”