Riverbreeze: Part 2 (55 page)

The group of men, in a cheerful mood anticipating the fine meal to come, approached the property from the side, following a well-worn path that led them directly to the back of the house. There they were met by Paulette’s brother, Chiffock, and his two grandsons. They happened to be sitting on a bench in the dooryard, enjoying the afternoon sun and drinking something from pewter tankards. “Welcome, gentlemen, welcome.” Chiffock said. “I’m so glad all of you could come this afternoon. You all know my grandsons, Hugh and Harry.” He continued from his seated position. He was rather frail-looking and didn’t stand because of his condition, but otherwise his health was sound.

The two grandsons, sturdy and healthy teenagers, immediately stood and nodded to their guests. Then almost in unison they put their tankards down on the bench and moved towards the horses, ready to take their reins and bring them to the paddock. Hugh, the elder, grabbed the halter of Paulette’s horse as he easily dismounted, landing lightly on his feet. Paulette went to stand in front of his brother after acknowledging his nephews with claps on their backs. “’Tis good to see you outside, brother, soaking up the sun. As you can see I’ve invited Robert and James to supper today. ‘Twas the least I could do considering Robert will be providing us with a grand entertainment this afternoon.” He said the last with a hint of irony in his voice.

“Yes, I’m quite looking forward to that.” Chiffock said. “We haven’t seen a good fight in quite a long time.”

Thomas chuckled with his brother while Robert grimaced to himself, preparing to dismount. All the other men had already dismounted, including Jamie who had swung effortlessly off Pisador. He then offered to help Rob, but Rob waved him off. If he restricted his movements, he might stiffen up and he didn’t want that. He forced himself to dismount, swinging his leg wide over the horse’s rump and landing jarringly on the hard-packed ground.

He sucked in his breath, but chose to ignore the pain. If he gave into it, he would never get through this afternoon.

At that moment, Chiffock’s daughter and another indentured servant, female this time, appeared in the doorway which had been left open to let in the breeze.

“Ah, here’s my Alison. You all remember my daughter?” He said proudly.

Alison was a short, plump woman in her early forties. Despite her recent status as a widow, she had a warm, welcoming smile for the men. She wasn’t flirting; she was just friendly. The men greeted her in return, politely tipping their hats. If any of them were openly attracted to her, Robert didn’t notice, but only Captain Barber or maybe Osbourne Wells were of an age with her. The others were too young; and he did happen to notice Nick Bannister eyeing the young servant with the pretty face. Nick smiled at her and she blushed, quickly averting her eyes. It wouldn’t be proper for her to openly acknowledge him.

Not noticing the exchange or ignoring it, Alison said, “If you will come to the parlor with me, gentlemen, Rebecca will take your cloaks, hats and gloves and I’ll get you drinks before supper.”

The Bassett brothers didn’t join the four men in the parlor for a drink. Thomas explained to Chiffock that Robert had had a run in with a cat with nine tails and needed his back tended to.

Chiffock’s eyebrows shot up and his mouth turned up in a hint of a smile. “You did?” He asked Robert, in complete surprise.

“I did.” Robert answered, a small smile playing around his lips.

Chiffock let out a deep, rich belly laugh, surprising coming from such a spare man. Finally when he had finished laughing, he said, “What was your offense, pray tell?”

“Defamation of character.”

“And who did you defame?”

“Dr. Harris.”

“Ahh…” He tsked at Robert. “’Tisn’t wise to antagonize your physician.” He scolded Robert.

“He is not my physician.” Robert said gruffly.

Chiffock sighed. “Yes, I was very sorry to hear about the circumstances of your father’s death. I am sorry I haven’t expressed my condolences sooner.”

“I understand, sir. Thank you.”

“Come into the kitchen, Rob.” Thomas said. “We’ll have your back tended to now. Jamie, would you like to join the men in the parlor for a drink or would you like to stay?”

“I’ll stay.” Jamie answered.

“Good man.” Chiffock said, “A good man stays by his brother’s side, supports him, loves him. You’re a good man, Jamie.” His voice was soft as he spoke the words to Jamie, but at the same time he meant the words for his own brother, recognizing and appreciating the support and love Thomas had shown him over the years.

Thomas gave his brother’s shoulder a squeeze before showing Robert and Jamie into the spacious kitchen. He pulled a bench out from under the large table and told Robert to take a seat. Jamie stayed back by the door. Thomas then gave instructions to one of the two Negresses that were working in the kitchen.

Robert wanted to stare at these two foreign creatures, and to study them, (he thought they may be sisters) and even though he had every right to stare, he remembered his manners and didn’t. He watched them out of the corner of his eye though. He couldn’t help himself. The women were absolutely striking, two beautiful, statuesque women. He couldn’t guess their ages, but assumed they were past thirty years or maybe even forty. He didn’t know why he assumed that; they just seemed to have a certain maturity about them. He also wondered, even though it was none of his business what Thomas did, if Thomas took either of them or both of them to his bed. The women seemed to be very submissive around their master, but not because he abused them. They seemed content with, or at least resigned to, their situation. Perhaps they were not lifetime servants and would be freed at the end of their contracts.

He waited quietly on the bench, looking around the stand-alone kitchen. Not very many people had their kitchens in separate buildings, but after Chiffock’s home had been destroyed by fire and he and his daughter and her two sons had moved in with Thomas, Thomas had had the separate kitchen constructed to lessen the chance of fire in the main house.

It was a sturdily-built structure with solid beams across the ceiling and post and brace construction at each corner. Robert was impressed. He had been in some houses that weren’t as solidly built as this outbuilding! The walls were whitewashed plaster and the floor was hard-packed clay. There was a huge brick fireplace with a baking oven on the wall opposite the door where a brass kettle, two iron pots, and a griddle hung from the crane and trammels. On the floor of the fireplace was a dutch oven over a pile of coals and a spider skillet. Robert could already smell the food cooking or being kept warm in the corners of the fireplace. His mouth started to water and his stomach growled. Slightly embarrassed, he hoped no one heard it.

There were two small windows in the other two walls which offered some light to the kitchen and brought in fresh air, but it was still fairly dark and slightly smoky. Shelves lined those walls, filled with crocks, plates, tankards, a firkin for holding butter or lard, and small kegs. Barrels of other food stuffs and water were in one corner while a stack of split logs and kindling were in the other. A linen bag filled with lavender and rose hips was placed on one of the barrels to repel insects. A butter churn and a cheese press were also in the corner with the barrels. Dried herbs and dipped candles hung from the beams in the ceiling and several straw brooms hung from another hook in the wall. A huge wide-plank table sat in the center of the kitchen along with the one bench that Robert now sat upon.

After Thomas spoke with the servant, he had Robert remove his doublet and shirt with Jamie’s help. The pain in his back had subsided, but he was still sore especially where his shirt had stuck to the oozing cuts and Jamie had had to pull the fabric free, reopening the wounds.

Jamie was once again loaded down with Robert’s garments and weapons, but he didn’t seem to mind.

The woman that Thomas had spoken to started gathering ingredients and supplies to tend to Robert’s back while the other one continued to do the cooking. Robert waited patiently, breathing in the aromas of the food. Everything smelled so delicious. He couldn’t wait to eat!

But first he watched as the servant—her given name was Sarah—dipped a ladle into an iron pot hanging over a pile of glowing coals and filled a cup with the liquid. She then brought the cup to him and handed it to him, keeping her eyes downcast. She never looked directly at him. He looked at her though, for a moment, but she never lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. He supposed she had been trained to never look her superiors in the face, but he bet when she and Thomas were alone, her behavior was quite different.

But that wasn’t any of his business. He switched his focus to the drink. He looked at it for a moment, slightly repulsed, before deciding that he could trust Thomas and this woman. Not questioning what it was, he sipped it cautiously because it was fairly hot, and it did taste awful, but he recognized it as willow bark tea. He approved wholeheartedly. It would dull his pain. And then he realized that this was probably the brew that Chiffock had been drinking. That was why there was a pot of it always at the ready.

Sarah then moved behind him and started to gently sponge his wounds with a warm liquid. Then they were treated with a salve. She had the gentlest of touches and it felt wonderful. Robert wanted to ask questions about the salve—what was in it? What herbs did she use?—but didn’t. He didn’t believe she would answer anyway. She probably needed permission from Thomas to speak but he had gone back outside, presumably to keep his brother company.

As soon as Sarah was finished treating Rob’s wounds, bandaging his back, and treating his hands and re-bandaging them, he and Jamie exited the kitchen. Chiffock immediately said, a teasing glint in his eye, “So, lad, are you ready now to face that braggart, Sparshott?”

Robert looked surprised. He didn’t know that Chiffock had negative feelings towards that man. It seemed as if very few people liked Sparshott, except when he was handing out his whiskey.

“As soon as I wolf down some of that delicious-smelling food in there.” He answered with a grin, nodding his head in the direction of the kitchen. He felt familiar enough with Chiffock to be able to speak plainly with him.

Chiffock roared with laughter again. “I like this lad.” He said to Thomas. “Both of them, in fact. They remind me of us at that age. Remember when we were as young and well-favored as these two?”

Thomas chuckled. “Oh aye, I remember. And we were just as spirited too.”

“But we never had the opportunity to fight in a duel.” Chiffock said with a grin, winking at Robert. Then he became serious and gave Robert a look of approval. “You’ll do well, son. You’re strong… sharp…” He tapped his temple. “and solidly built.” He added, clenching his hand into a fist and flexing his arm. “I have great confidence in you. We both do.” He said, glancing at his brother. Thomas nodded in agreement. “But first, let’s get some good food in you! Not too much, mind.” He wagged a finger at Robert. “But enough to fill your belly and give you strength. We can’t give Sparshott anything more to brag about.”

“Here! Here!” Thomas agreed. Jamie joined in and finally Robert although he wished he had the same confidence in himself as they had.

The Bassett brothers were led into the dining room once Thomas helped poor Chiffock rise from his seat. The man used two canes to help him walk, but he still needed Thomas to steady him with an arm through his arm. It was obvious that it was quite uncomfortable for Chiffock to walk and even the willow bark tea couldn’t take away all his pain. Robert saw the differences in the two men and for a brief moment, he had a vision of what his and Jamie’s future might look like. Jamie, frail and impaired due to his repeated bouts of the fever, like Chiffock; he, hearty and strong like Thomas. God, he hoped not.

The dining room was quite impressive with a large fireplace and three leaded, diamond-paned windows, their shutters open to let in the afternoon sun. The plastered walls and ceiling were whitewashed and the wide-plank floor was spotlessly clean. There was a sizable, decoratively carved rectangular table, big enough to seat ten people, in the center of the room. It had been set for nine guests with pewter plates and spoons, bone-handled knives, rare stemmed glassware and large linen napkins. A three-branched silver candelabra sat in the center of the table, the beeswax candles ablaze. Two small silver bowls of precious salt had been placed on either side of the candelabra. Robert was truly impressed and exchanged a wide-eyed look with his brother. He hadn’t seen a table this large or set this luxuriously since they had lived at Brentwood Manor.

Two matching carved benches were on either side of the table while two high-backed chairs were placed at either end. Thomas and a servant settled Chiffock into one of the chairs, then Thomas went to his place at the head of the table. He bid everyone sit down.

They did; Robert, Jamie and the Bolton brothers on one side, Wells, Barber, and Nick Bannister on the other. Thomas ordered the servant to tell the kitchen servants to bring the food in and to begin serving drinks.

The time passed too quickly. Robert wanted the afternoon to last forever and he believed the other men were of the same mind. He hadn’t seen such wonderfully prepared food since he and Jamie had been very young and his father had still been alive. Their eyes went wide and their mouths dropped open as the female servants brought in dish after dish of delicious food: roasted turkey stuffed with chestnuts, mallard ducks smothered in a sauce of onions, mixed herbs and butter, rabbit pie seasoned with nutmeg, cloves and pepper, apples and eggs in pastry, two onion tarts, two pumpkin pies, two apple pies and a large bowl of sallet greens dressed in vinegar, oil and honey. Robert wanted to stuff himself like that turkey had been stuffed, but he knew he shouldn’t because of the duel. He ate wisely, still allowing himself to sample everything, but he didn’t shovel in the food like the others did, including Jamie.