Lady Trent (36 page)

He kept his horse still while it appeared
ready to take off without warning. “Seeing to it you are properly
transferred, milady” he replied, a sarcastic edge to his voice.

”I certainly hope you are merely referring to
this transferal…from the palace to the carriage,” she added, paying
little mind to Marty who simply observed them, some curious and
elusive expression upon his face.

“It did not cross your mind he would request
my services during this venture; that I go and see to it you have a
safe journey? I
am
his most faithful subject and
friend.”

“You were gone to the Commons,” she
recalled.

“I returned,” he simply announced.

“When?”

“The important thing, milady, is that you
have a safe journey, a safe visit, and an even safer return.”

Her chest rose and fell. She glanced at Marty
and then the driver who stood holding the door opened for her. She
got inside, completely exasperated by Marcus’s involvement with her
travels. The carriage soon after moved onward, and after having
left the city, the guards on their horses all took their positions
before, behind and to each side of her carriage. It would be a long
journey, she recalled. Two weeks.

They would make several stops; Some at the
palaces and castles of other nobles who’d been notified of her
travels, and in Iris, a place she had appreciated and wanted to
stay at least one night.

A message had also been sent to the residents
of Westerly. They would know to expect her even down to the day. A
messenger from their convoy would ride ahead of them the day prior
the arrival so as to announce an even more precise arrival time.
Seeing as to how she had received no letters, she was not sure what
to expect. What would the reaction of the people be to this new
title and the forsaking of the old one?

The second night of their travels they
stopped at Harlinger Castle where the duke and duchess happily
welcomed her. It was a pleasant little reunion, for they had
attended not only the announcement of her and Jacob’s engagement,
but the actual wedding as well, and also the event she’d
perpetuated for the sake of the poor.

She spent a couple of hours with the duchess,
sipping tea and discussing the outcome of the event which had been
nothing short a huge success. The duchess of Harlinger was quite
charming, an excellent hostess. The servants continually offered
wine and tea and pastries, and she was assigned the best quarters
in the castle. The castle staff was equally pleased to have her
there.

Aside from this stay and one outside of
Harvard Plains and Gnovis, the most intriguing of all was with the
duke and duchess of Tarot. She was pleased to arrive there earlier
in the day as she was anxious to spend more time with the duchess.
As usual, she was a delight to be around; solemn, yes, but she did
actually manage to smile a bit on this occasion.

The palace, one of the oldest in all New
Ebony, was nearly as extraordinary as that of the Great City, but
not quite as large. The duchess was pleased to give her a tour
while a barrage of guards and handmaidens followed behind. They
dined together alone…well, except for the guards. Just as with any
lady, they were never left completely alone, only in the comforts
of their private chambers. Not that Rachel hadn’t found a rare
opportunity to be alone at home. It’d become easier done with the
passing of time…she could even persuade Nicholas and Caleb and the
maidens to simply leave her be. Of course she knew Caleb and
Nicholas either one were never far away.

The trip was an overall success.

She felt a bit nervous as the distance
shortened, and especially as she realized she was only minutes away
from entering Westerly.

She wanted to see up ahead, but could
not…only after the stagecoach had come near the town. For some
reason, the caravan had come to a complete stop—guards and all. She
wondered why. Marcus rode up to the window, which she opened to
ask, “What’s wrong? What is it?”

“It seems you’ve stirred up quite a crowd,
milady,” he said with a very serious and professional tone of
voice.

“What…?” She went no further, but reached for
the door handle, pushing the door open. Marcus guided his horse
away a few paces, giving her room to exit and to see for herself
what the holdup was all about.

She could hardly believe her eyes, for so far
as she could see there were people. Lots and lots of people, and
standing ahead of them all, the most admired person of all. Sister
Agatha.

Smiling big, almost laughing, she took hold
of her skirts, lifting them from the ground, and began making her
way toward the elder and her companions. Soon she was almost
running, her eyes skipping about each smiling, thoughtful and happy
face.

Yes, these were her dearest friends. And she
had worried in vain. They did not despise her. They would not
reject her. Of course not. The entire town, even more people than
she recalled or imagined, had gathered outside the town to greet
her.

It was a remarkable reunion.

She and Agatha embraced, the elder squeezing
her close, pulling her away and then squeezing her again. Her aged,
wrinkled face glowed while her old grey eyes welled up with
tears.

“Oh, my child,” her old voice cracked. “I was
certain I would never see you again.”

“Oh, Agatha, surely you knew I would…” She
stopped, hugging her small, frail shoulders again. Her own eyes
welled up with tears.

“I was certain you had abandoned us for good.
But then it all made sense. The money and the deed. It all made
sense.”

“Then you are not disappointed in me,” she
happily realized.

“Disappointed?” Blinking her tears away, she
turned Rachel about so that they together faced the crowd. “Do any
of us look disappointed, child?”

She shook her head, almost crying, feeling
like running to every single person and embracing each one of them.
There would be plenty time to visit them individually. She could
stay as long as she wanted, and she decided then and there that she
would, indeed, stay a while.

******

The change had been and was completely
accepted. The entire town celebrated her return. She couldn’t say
she’d ever saw the people happier. Festivities planned in her honor
were to begin the following day. It was now close to evening, and
it often said how tired she “must be from” her journey. Yes, she
was. But unlike before, she’d had plenty places to stop and spend
an evening, in some cases much of the day and evening, such as with
the duchess of Tarot,

She hardly had room to breathe, for she was
surrounded by people, and one by one everyone she remembered
welcomed her with tight embraces. Young and old alike, sick and
healthy…she was greeted with huge smiles and piercing words of
commendation. The money achieved by her hand was declared; the deed
and the additions to the land…the changes they’d made and were
making. The people had not wasted any time. She could see for
herself. New structures had already been erected, although she
couldn’t be sure what they were upon first sight. Old ones had been
restored to their former glory. The town was growing for
certain.

Agatha was finally the one to shoo them all
away, and to take a ride with her in the carriage. You would’ve
thought the elder had done this many times before. She suddenly
seemed so cultured.

Once inside, Rachel’s smile faded and she
thought out loud, “Where are my sisters?”

“They are awaiting you, child, at my place.
There you shall stay. I will have it no other way.”

Who was she to argue, although she did think
about her small room adjacent the chapel and how she would like to
stay at least one night there.

As said, her sisters were awaiting her, and
with lots of hugs.

“Sorry I did not meet you outside the town
with everyone else,” said one. And then the other, “When we
realized what a crowd would gather we did not want to be caught in
it.”

She hugged them both, and they held her at
length, inspecting her appearance which was certainly a strange
sight in Westerly.

She spent the first two days taking part in a
celebration. The citizens when it came to anything major always
celebrated outdoors, and only during times of celebration would
they put off the usual chores or customs.

She could not recall having enjoyed herself
so much. She laughed heartily. Tilly stood beside of her, passing
cups of wine in secret…well, it should have been secret, but she
was certain the elder, Agatha, knew exactly what she was doing.
Zaria kept disappearing…probably to seduce some young man, she
decided. Marcus was present from afar, so it was not likely
him.

The music was entertaining. The dancing
entertaining. The communication was all the more cherished than
she’d ever even known. She was often approached by men and women
who brought back to mind the situations they’d been in, and seemed
bent upon letting her know how things had worked out just
right.

Following this, she spent several days
catching up with her friends and her sisters, and a few taking a
tour of the lands, the extensions and what’d been accomplished with
them. Marcus was forever at a distance, sitting astride his horse
and watching her every move. Despite the tension between them, they
only had one spat during the entire visit.

She had heard some sort of commotion while
sitting with Agatha in her small and pitiful but cozy home having
tea. While Agatha merely turned in her seat, Rachel leapt from hers
to see what was going on from outside the window. She pulled the
curtain aside to find two men. They were twins and she recognized
them. There was some sort of quarrel between them and Marcus whom,
for the first time she could see, had actually dismounted his
horse.

Rachel came out the door, peering from one to
another and then finally Marcus. “What’s this commotion about?”

“We needed to speak to you, Sister Rachel,
but he will not let us.”

She peered at Marcus, whose eyes were hard
just as they had been since leaving the Great City. “And why is
that?” She looked about. “Where is Marty?”

“Guarding the back door which has been
equally as hard to keep these people from.”

She barely shook her head. “Keep these
people…what are you talking about?”

“If anyone needs to speak with you, milady,
they may do so out in the open.”

“These people are my friends,” she madly
returned to him. “And you haven’t a right to turn them away from
me.”

“The doors of whatever place you occupy will
be guarded so long as you are here, and the people kept away from
them. If so many wish to speak with you about their matters, they
may do so in a public place.”

It was their only confrontation. And such a
meeting
was
set up. She wrote a letter and sent it away with
a young lad who seemed eager to go about from place to place
reading it.

As for Marcus…he and Marty and one other
guard named Andrew stayed directly in town. There were places to
sleep. The other guards had taken off to the Isles under the
instruction of Marcus. The town was too small for them, and the
people felt a bit intimidated by their attendance, so he sent most
of them away.

Recalling Marcus’s visit from before, he,
too, was well received, especially by Agatha after she had
recognized him.

“Come down from there, now,” she would coax
upon seeing him every single time in some short distance hoisted
upon his steed. It was days after their actual arrival when she
recognized him at all. Then again, her sight wasn’t what it once
was. “Come down from there, now,” she would command as if speaking
to a child. “Come inside and eat with us.”

Rachel was thankful to Marcus for turning
down the many invites to dine with or accompany them or simply sit
and chat. “He is such a dashing man,” the elder recalled. “And the
way he came into Westerly with your gifts, and kind as kind could
be. Five days he stayed. If not for him I don’t think the mayor
would have had a clue what to do with the money or the land. But he
sent people too who could help guide him and, well, and all of
us.”

“What people?” She prodded.

“Oh, nice ones. The guards we don’t see much
of them, but they are decent young men, and two fine
gentlemen…Percy and Jonas. Fine, fine, fine men.”

“Who are these?”

“I couldn’t say for sure what you would call
them, dear, but they are good with figures and such.”

She considered these two men. Marcus hadn’t
mentioned them. But what did she care? The town had so quickly made
use of the money and the land, and she was pleased by this.

Overall, the visit went very, very well. Such
joy, not the reaction she had at all expected.

Indeed, the citizens of Westerly were a
forgiving people, just as she’d said to Father Nelson.

“Not long, you’ll be baring children,” said
Agatha’s niece, Sophie.

She instantly raised a hand to her stomach.
“Could it be?” Agatha aloud wondered with glistening, hope-filled
eyes.

“No,” she corrected, feeling peculiar about
this mention of children, for the lovemaking she and Jacob shared
would surely bring children about…unless her womb was cursed
forever. She actually felt a bit saddened by the fact that after
all this time she had not become with child.

Her sisters teased her, especially the
married one who in a way suddenly reminded her of Zaria, the things
she said. Despite her sister’s attempts, she did not get so much as
a flush of the cheeks.

“Dear, dear sister…no longer a virgin. Tell
me, how did you so quickly adapt to becoming a lover?” And then
later, “of all people I would not have guessed.”

“We just thought you’d been called upon for
some religious affair in the city,” said the other. The three of
them had been strolling along, simply enjoying the scenery outside
of the town, travelling along a path that led from her Agatha’s
home to the brook. Of course, they were not entirely alone. For
Marcus and Marty were off in the distance seeing to it she remained
safe. Tilly and Zaria, also, strolled along with them, enjoying the
scenery as they trailed along behind, saying nothing, not caring to
interrupt this time their mistress was having with her sisters.
Zaria had actually said little, anyway. Rachel would not have
imagined she was even able to be so silent, especially with so many
opportunities to say something clever. But she knew she was
enjoying herself, and although at times mischievous, she also knew
how to be respectable.