The Copper Sign (47 page)

“Donovan is dead. I am just going to stop and see Glenna for a moment,” she explained.

“I’ll wait here for you.” Jean, setting the right tone as always. “Shall I take the little one for you?”

“That’s not necessary, I’ll take him along.”

When Ellen knocked on Glenna’s door, her heart was pounding.

“Ellen!” Glenna cried in astonishment on opening the door. She didn’t sound in the least bit put out. At first Ellen didn’t wonder how Glenna had recognized her at once. “Come in, child!” She took her by the sleeve and guided her into the house.

“I’m so happy to see you are well!” She took Ellen’s face in her hands and looked her straight in the eye. “Donovan waited for you until his last breath. ‘She’ll come, Glenna, I’m sure of that,’ he always said.”

Not until that moment did Ellen realize that Glenna knew everything. “But how…I mean, that I’m not a…” Ellen looked down in embarrassment.

“A squire came to see Donovan in the smithy. He made fun of him because he had let himself be duped by a little slut, as he called you. Donovan was furious. At first he just complained about you because you had deceived him, but with time he changed his tune and spoke very enthusiastically about your abilities, and later he told me you rather had no other choice. He admitted he never would have taken you on as a girl, but the longer you were gone the more he missed you. Arnaud tried very hard to take your place, and he is no doubt not a bad smith, but he couldn’t replace you. I am certain that Don’s spirit will finally be at peace now that you have returned. He wanted you to know he forgave you.” Glenna stroked Ellen’s cheek. “How is it possible we never noticed you were a girl?” Uncomprehending, she shook her head and her eyes wandered to the tiny bundle on her chest. “Heavens, who is that?”

“Glenna, may I introduce you to my son? This is William.”

“My, how small he is!” Glenna exclaimed excitedly.

“He was born last week in the English Channel.”

Glenna’s eyes sparkled. “And your husband?”

Ellen just shook her head silently.

“Then why don’t you stay? Ellen, please! Llewyn inherited the smithy. He does a good job but is still alone. You could marry and have more children. And I would help take care of them.”

“I’ve got to go back to my father, Glenna. I haven’t seen him since I left Orford, and that is so long ago!”

Glenna nodded sadly. “Then at least stay for something to eat.”

“I’m not alone. I have a friend with me, and Rose—do you remember her?”

“Why of course! At the time I thought you were in love with her.” Glenna grinned sheepishly. “You are all welcome for dinner, and for the night as well, if you wish.”

Ellen and Jean picked up Rose at Cornhill and returned with her to the smithy, where they spent a happy evening indulging in reminiscences of the past.

Llewyn told about his most recent projects, Glenna and Rose talked about Tancarville, and the only one to remain silent was Jean. Only after the evening was already far advanced did it occur to Ellen that they had been speaking English the entire time, but Jean understood only Norman French.

“Good heavens, Jean,” said Ellen, speaking in French and looking at him sympathetically. “I didn’t even think about your having to learn English now!”

“Fortunately, Rose taught me a few words. There was a lot I didn’t understand, but I did comprehend a bit. It’s just that speaking it is so hard. The way you speak English it sounds like you have a hot chestnut in your mouth.” He grinned mischievously, and everyone at the table laughed, even Llewyn, who hadn’t understood a word of what Jean said.

The rest of the evening they spoke a mixture of French and English.

Glenna stumbled over every Norman word she spoke. “I never really learned it, and what I did I quickly forgot. I thought I’d never need it again,” she proclaimed cheerily.

“Come and visit us again soon!” The next morning, Glenna took Ellen in her arms and hugged her a long time.

Llewyn, usually deliberate and thoughtful, nodded vigorously and embraced them all one after the other, especially Jean. “You are always welcome here.”

Rose was quieter than on the previous evening.

“Will you stop and see your mother?” Jean inquired anxiously. Rose had told them how her mother had abused her so badly and thrown her out of the house.

“No, there’s no point in that. Anyway, she has found someone to replace me in her life.”

“What do you mean by that?” Ellen looked at her in surprise.

“She quickly married again after I left. Now I have a sister and a brother. The girl sells fish pasties, just as I used to. You see, my mother doesn’t need me.” Rose looked down. Her dress was simple and already a bit tattered. “If I were rich, she would surely have taken me back with open arms.”

As they approached Orford, Ellen suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, as if rooted to the spot. With irritation she put her hand up over her eyes to get a better view ahead and then looked around carefully.

“What’s wrong?” Jean asked. He didn’t see anything strange.

“The castle!” Ellen pointed ahead. “We must have taken a wrong turn.”

“No! That’s impossible.” Jean looked at her with annoyance. “The monk told us to stay on this path, so we should be there soon.”

“But there never was a stone castle in Orford.”

“Maybe you just don’t remember.”

“Nonsense!” Ellen sounded irritated.

“Maybe the castle was built after you left,” Rose interjected.

Ellen grumbled something unintelligible and kept walking.

The closer they got to the castle, the clearer it became that it had in fact been built just recently. The long stone wall of the castle and the dark oak wood walk along the battlements looked new, and the stone drawbridge over the moat was not yet finished. They approached the castle complex with curiosity and looked through the open gate. The stone keep had an unusual shape. It looked as if three square towers and an entrance building had been constructed around a circular tower.

“Have you ever seen a keep like that?” Jean asked.

Ellen shook her head, examined it carefully, and would have walked closer if the guard at the gate had not waved her off. She turned around to Jean.

“It’s brilliant! The corners of an ordinary square tower can easily be undermined, and in this way the entire keep can be toppled. This one, though, would be much harder to destroy,” Ellen declared enthusiastically.

“How do you know all that?” Jean asked in astonishment.

“William told me!” Ellen sighed, and Jean nodded knowingly.

“Do you have any idea who might have built this castle?”

Ellen shook her head. “No, but Osmond will surely be able to tell us a lot about it. Come, let’s go to the smithy. I can hardly wait to see everything again.” Ellen was very familiar with the way home from that point. At the fork in the road she hesitated for a moment. The road to the right went to the tanner’s cabin. She wondered what had happened with Simon. With determined steps she finally took the road to the left, which led to her parents’ smithy. The shop and house were still there and looked unchanged, as if she had just left the day before.

Ellen was startled when the door to the shop flew open and a boy came out. He was about the same age as she had been when she left Orford and was the very image of Osmond. Ellen sighed with relief. At least Leofrun hadn’t forced him to take an illegitimate child of Sir Miles! The boy dashed over to the house, and shortly afterward a woman came out. At first Ellen feared it could be her mother, but then she ran off.

“Mildred? Mildred!” she called out, running toward her sister.

Jean and Rose, who were carrying little William, came along behind.

Joyfully the two sisters embraced.

“Ellenweore!” Mildred stroked her sister’s cheeks lovingly, as if she were the elder of the two.

The door to the house opened, and the boy came out again. Mildred motioned for him to come over.

“This is Leofric, our brother!” Mildred said, taking Ellen by the hand. “Leofric, this is Ellenweore. Do you remember me telling you about her?”

The boy nodded shyly and held out his hand.

Ellen shook it firmly and vigorously.

“And how is Osmond? And Mother?” asked Ellen, turning from her brother back to Mildred.

“Mother died shortly after Leofric was born, and since then Father has become practically blind. He can’t work. He has a journeyman, but…” Mildred shook her head disapprovingly. “He’s not much good. As soon as I leave he starts showing off, as if he’s the master. But I can’t always be here—I have my own family!” Mildred pulled Ellen a little closer and asked, “Tell me, how have things gone for you? And why did you run away back then?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later, Mildred. First I’d like to introduce you to my friends Rose and Jean. And the little fellow is my son.”

“You got married? Oh, how wonderful! Tell me, who is it, and where is he?”

Ellen could feel the piercing gaze of Rose and Jean behind her as she made up her story.

“Jocelyn was a goldsmith. He was attacked and killed by robbers,” she said briefly. She didn’t claim she was married to Jocelyn or even that he was the father of her son.

“Oh, you poor thing! Now the child has to grow up without a father!” Mildred shook her head compassionately. “Let’s go right into the smithy. You have no idea how happy Father will be that you are back, and that you’re bringing his first grandson! I have just one daughter.” Mildred took Ellen by the arm and motioned for the two others to come along.

Old Osmond cried uncontrollably, embraced Ellen, and held her in his arms for a long time. “Every day I have prayed that you would come back!” he whispered in her ear. “And finally God has heard me!”

“Ellen brought you a grandson, Father,” Mildred exclaimed.

“Not so loud, child! I’m almost blind but not deaf.” He turned his head in the direction the sound came from, then turned back to Ellen. “Is that true, you have a son?”

“Yes, Father.” Looking at him face to face, she couldn’t manage to call him by his name, Osmond, though she had known for a long time that he wasn’t her real father. She motioned to Rose to come closer, and took little William in her arms.

“Here, you can hold him. He’s still very small, only ten days old.”

Osmond was overjoyed and cried softly as he rocked the child in his arms. He bent down until his nose touched the child’s head. “Mm, he smells so good! Just as you did then,” he said happily as he rocked the child gently back and forth.

Ellen looked around in the smithy and frowned. Tongs, blocks of iron, and hammers lay around everywhere. Even the expensive files weren’t where they belonged. The ground was all covered with tinder and dust and had obviously not been swept for a long time.

Osmond’s journeyman looked sullenly at the unexpected guests.

“Let’s go over to the house. Adam can make out fine here by himself,” Osmond suggested. “You carry the child, Ellen, I’m afraid I’m going to fall. I’ve stared into the fire too much all my life and am blind,” he declared.

Osmond told Ellen that after Leofrun’s death he had had a nurse in the house to care for the boy, and had married her soon after. Anna had been a good wife to him, and like a mother to Leofric. But last winter when she went to fetch water, she fell into a brook that was almost frozen over and tragically drowned. Even then, Osmond’s eyes hadn’t been very good, but Anna had taken care of everything. Only after her death did Adam begin to put on airs, as if he were head of the household.

“Father, if you like, I’d love to stay here,” Ellen said.

Jean and Rose looked at her in shock.

“I could even train Leofric as a smith myself and also teach Jean, if he wants to stay with us. Then you wouldn’t need Adam anymore. Rose is a marvelous cook, and maybe we can persuade her to take care of us! I couldn’t imagine a better substitute for a father for William than you. What do you think?” Ellen glanced around at the group and winked at her youngest brother conspiratorially, as if they had known each other for years.

Osmond nodded happily. His clouded eyes were brimful of tears. “Thank you, Lord,” he whispered.

“Do you also agree?” she asked, turning to her friends.

Rose and Jean exchanged glances and grinned. “Agreed!” they said in unison.

“Well, then, welcome home!” cried Osmond in a voice that was rasping and hoarse, but full of joy.

The next day Mildred set out for St. Edmundsbury to join her family. “I’m really happy you’ll be staying with Osmond,” she said, visibly relieved.

“You don’t have to worry, I’ll take care of everything.”

“I’m sure of that, Ellen.” Mildred looked at her sister just as devotedly as she had as a child.

“Come back soon!”

“I’ll try, but it won’t happen that fast!” Mildred let Jean help her into the saddle and rode off.

Ellen waved as she left and then went back to the smithy.

Adam was sitting on a stool, picking his teeth and looking bored. He didn’t respond to Ellen’s greeting.

“My father is too old to work here,” she told him calmly, “so I will be taking over the smithy.”

“First a doddering, blind old man and then a woman for a master.” He shook his head condescendingly. “Who ever heard of something so silly? Nobody will buy anything from you,” he jeered at her, “unless we don’t tell anyone.”

“We?” Ellen drew the word out longer than necessary. “For the time being, I won’t be able to afford a helper.” She shrugged, trying to look sorry.

“You’re going to throw me out? I wouldn’t advise you to do that. If I tell everybody who will be heating the forge from now on, nobody will come. I know every one of your customers and have good connections with the castle,” he boasted.