The Remembered (13 page)

'I saw per'aps 10 knights on the road tonight on me way from Burghley,' said Richard. 'Whot does it mean?'
Ralf was first to speak. ''ave you nay 'eard that Henry VI will ascend to the throne? The knights are going to the coronation.'
Richard hadn't heard. 'I do nay care much who the king is. I only 'ope that the ascendancy can be dune without bloodshed,' he replied.
'Aye,' Ralf agreed.
Lind had been listening and now offered his thoughts. Speaking with a low, but intense tone, he said, 'When the royals fight, they often cause commoners to bleed. I do nay care for the lot of them.'
'Aye,' agreed Ralf.
Richard suddenly realized that he was tired. It had been a long day of travel and the news that he had learned had taken an emotional toll.
'Where may I sleep?' he asked.
'Margaret and Geva are in the loft,' stated his mother. 'You may sleep on floor near to the fire.'
Richard looked at his mother closely for the first time since he had walked into the door. When had she gotten so old? Surely, she was not yet 50 years old, but the hard life that she had led was written clearly in the lines on her face. Her hair was mostly white and she wore it in a long braid down her back, a back that appeared to be bending slightly. Her hands clearly showed their veins. Richard wondered whether she had looked this way before he left. 'Per'aps she did,' he thought, 'and I culd nay see beyond Elizabeth to not'ice.' He wondered whether the strains of life that she was experiencing with Bromley might be contributing to her aging. Moments before, she thought that she had lost one son already and was loosing another. Now, she was grateful to have Richard back, but felt that she was loosing Bromley. She was a mix of emotions.
No one in the house got much sleep that night as Bromley awoke in pain off and on through the night. His low moaning and whimpers seemed to fill the cottage. Each time he stirred, one of the women would be at his side with a damp cloth and an offer of water. He had stopped eating a few days earlier and water was all he would take.
The next morning as Richard prepared to leave the cottage, Lind asked him to go and get the priest to pray for Bromley. Lind didn't want to leave Bromley's side now and it seemed that Bromley would not last to see night fall.
Richard was torn between his duty here with his family and his duty to find Elizabeth. He reasoned that a few more hours would make little difference and he went to fetch the priest.
When he returned with the priest, the entire family seemed to be consumed with sadness. It was as though they too were experiencing Bromley's pain. Richard stepped aside and let the priest enter. Richard looked about at the fields and meadows below the hill and at the church across the lane. He had always taken this beautiful scene for granted, and now he realized that Bromley may never see this scene again. Richard felt uncomfortable about going inside the cottage. He wondered what he might say or do to ease the pain of his mother and sister. 'And whot aboot Margaret?' he thought. 'Whot will she do if Bromley dees or loses leg? She is so yung.' His heart went out to Margaret probably more than the others since the feelings that she must have now would be similar to what Elizabeth must be feeling right then for himself. The thought filled his heart with pain and he turned to leave that instant to be at Elizabeth's side.
Richard didn't take more than a few steps when he heard the door of the cottage open. Turning about, he saw Margaret wiping tears from her face. 'She is so sad,' he thought. ''ow can I leave 'er right now?' Memories of their childhood seemed to flash through his mind. They had been dear friends as children and never once had he considered that she would feel such pain and sadness. He couldn't leave now and he walked to her and gently held her hand and invited her to sit.
'Margaret,' he started with some hesitation, 'do nay lose faith in God. 'e will care for you. Bromley is a gud man, 'e will take care of 'im also.' He realized that the words may not be as comforting as he intended them, but he didn't know what else to say.
Before Richard could offer other words of encouragement and solace, they heard the door of the cottage open again. This time it was the priest. He looked in Margaret's direction and said, 'God rest 'is soul.' Margaret and Richard ran into the house and found Gleda, Geva and Lind holding each other near the fireplace. Margaret went straight to Bromley and knelt by his side, cradled his head and cried.  Her loud sobs pained Richard and he could almost not bear it. He thought of Elizabeth and wondered whether she had cried as Margaret did now. He didn't know what to do so he just sat down and didn't say anything. The priest had followed them back into the cottage. He pulled Richard aside and said, 'We will need to bury him tomorrow, will you be digging the grave?'
Richard's first thought was, 'No, I will be leaving for Trowell straight away.' But he realized that his obligation here had intensified.
'Your father is nay able to dig the grave in his sadness,' the priest stated as though he knew Richard's thoughts.
'Aye, I will go and begin the grave now,' said Richard and he left the cottage.
They buried Bromley the next day near to the graves of his grandparents, Ian and Winifred. Richard collected his cloak, blanket, his pouch with his remaining funds and kissed his mother goodbye. He hugged Margaret and Geva and told them that he hoped to see them within a year. He intended to find Elizabeth and return to Boston. When the work there was done, he would return to Easton-on-the-hill to visit.
Lind was waiting for Richard outside. He had been using a yard tool and now leaned on the handle as Richard approached.
Looking at the ground, Lind said, 'Comb back 'ere, Richard, when you find Elizabeth.'
This is exactly what Richard did not want to hear, but expected to hear. He realized that to work the farm at his father's age was going to be difficult. But, Richard was not a farmer.
'I am nay a farmer,' he protested.
'Whot will I do with this farm without Bromley? 'ow will I pay the rent?' questioned Lind with a hint of desperation in his voice.
'Speak with Ralf. He wuld marry Geva if you wuld give 'er to 'im and if 'e 'ad prospects of providing for 'er.'
Still looking at the ground and shifting his weight from the handle of the tool, Lind offered a mild protest, 'I always wanted a sone to work the land with me.'
Richard suspected that Lind was only being polite and replied, 'Ralf can be your sone.' He really wanted to add, 'just as much as I am,' but stopped himself. There was no point in airing his own disappointments at a time like this.
Lind looked directly at Richard and asked, 'Will I be able to luv 'im as I luv you?'
Richard had never heard such words from his father and it caught him by surprise. Richard felt a lump in his throat and moisture in his eyes.
Lind agreed to speak with Ralf and they shook hands. Richard promised to return before spring to see whether Ralf had agreed to farm the land. If not, Richard promised to become a farmer himself.
'God speed, me sone,' said Lind and with that, Richard turned and left his father standing outside the cottage.
He turned and looked back just before he rounded the corner on Church Street. Margaret had come out of the cottage and was speaking with his father. Richard thought how sad it was that she was a widow at such a young age. She looked up just then and waved. 'She is kind and beaut'iful,' he thought. 'Surely she will marry soon.'

November and December 1437

Richard was shocked and bewildered when he arrived at Trowell and found no evidence of Elizabeth or her family. Desperation started to set in as he realized the enormity of the task now before him. Trowell was a very small village and he determined to ask every person in towne whether they had seen Elizabeth and her family. If necessary, he would then fan out to the other nearby villages. He first went to the inn to speak with the innkeeper. 'If anyone knows whot 'appens in the village, it will be the innkeeper,' reasoned Richard to himself.
Finding the innkeeper outside, Richard greeted him, 'Oy, I am Richard of Easton-on-the-'ill, near Stamford. I am looking for a family that may 'ave comb through Trowell recently.'
'Aye, I may 'ave seen soch a family,' stated the innkeeper with some caginess. 'I can nay say with certainty.'
'Aye, will this 'elp,' offered Richard and held out a coin to the innkeeper.
The innkeeper took the coin and put it into a pocket. Scratching his head, he said, 'Aye, there was a family that stayed 'ere one night recently. Strange family, the father seemed very ill.'
'And where did they go after leaving 'ere,' asked Richard.
'I can nay say. They left airly without saying where they were going.' Then looking at the road toward Nottingham, the innkeeper pointed and said, 'When I saw them last, they were on this road and 'eaded in that direction.'
Richard was excited to glean this little bit of information from the innkeeper. 'Was there a father, mother, two boys and a girl?' asked Richard with some excitement.
'Aye,' replied the innkeeper.
With that Richard thanked him and turned to leave. Surprised at how abrupt the conversation ended and also still with room in his inn, the innkeeper tried to wave him back. 'It is too late to travel tonight. Stay 'ere and enjoy a warm bed.'
Richard wasn't going to be delayed and kept walking without so much as acknowledging the offer.
It was well past nightfall by the time that Richard arrived at Nottingham and he had no choice but to find lodging for the night. He reached into his pouch and counted his coins. He knew that his search for Elizabeth could only last as long as the coins in his pouch, but he had high hopes for finding her the next day.
Morning couldn't come soon enough for Richard and when it did, he got an early start in his search. He reasoned that he would start with every innkeeper in Nottingham and then if necessary, he would speak with every priest. If that didn't yield results, he would visit the market and speak with vendors.
Richard searched all day. His feet felt as though he had walked every street of the towne. Tired and dejected he retired to his room in the inn. ''ow can a family vanish so? Why wuld Elizabeth nay leave word where they were going?' he wondered to himself.
He reasoned to start visiting villages near to Nottingham the next day, but he knew that he would only be able to visit one or two and then he would have to leave for Boston. Without money, he would not be able to continue his search, and without a job, he wouldn't have money. He wondered whether he had already delayed too long. 'Whot wuld the Master say?' he wondered.
The next morning was colder than it had been all year and a light snow had fallen. He gathered the only belongings that he had, his cloak, blanket and pouch and left the warmth of the inn. Before leaving Nottingham, he stopped at the baker and purchased some bread with a few of his dwindling supply of coins.
He decided that he would ask about Elizabeth's family from every priest and innkeeper in every village and hamlet that he passed through on his way to Boston. But more particularly, he would ask in the villages and hamlets closest to Nottingham. He realized though that he didn't even know whether Elizabeth and her family were in the vicinity of Nottingham. Just because they had been on the road toward Nottingham doesn't mean that they didn't keep on traveling to Sheffield or to Leeds or to any of a thousand other locations. The thought caused his head to spin and only brought discouragement, so he chose not to think about it.

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After leaving Trowell, Elizabeth and her family made it to her mother's family near to Nottingham without incident. The initial excitement on the part of Elizabeth's mother family in receiving relatives so long separated from them was short lived when they realized that Elizabeth's father was dead. They were not overjoyed to receive four mouths at their doorstep without means of support, but they could not turn them out into the cold either. The meager supplies that had been stored for the winter would just have to be spread more thinly.
The family there were well acquainted with the priest and he offered prayers on behalf of Elizabeth's father and held a quiet service. The family had very little money and so he was buried in the church yard without a marker. The marker could wait, they decided.
'Elizabeth,' her mother said to her a few days after their arrival, 'it is going to become obvious soon that you are with child.'
'Aye,' replied Elizabeth as though to encourage her mother to continue. She expected that there was more to this than idle conversation with her mother.
'When me family learns of this, they will send you straightway to a priory until you 'ave the baby and you will nay be allowed to keep the child.'
Elizabeth already knew that this was the fate of girls who were with child and had no husband, but she had a husband, and she was sure that he was alive. She didn't mind so much the possibility of going to a priory until the baby was born, but the thought of giving the child up caused her deep concern and her heart started pounding rapidly.
'I will nay give this baby up,' she said ''ow can you ask me to do soch a thing?'
Her mother put her arms around her and held her close. 'It is nay I that will ask you to do soch a thing, boot this is your uncle's 'ouse. When 'e learns the truth, 'e will put you oot. A priory is bet'er than the street.'
Elizabeth was crying now and wishing so desperately that Richard would walk through the door. She was starting to feel that she was in a bad dream that she couldn't wake from.
Just when Elizabeth thought that things could not get worse, her mother told her, 'Your uncle mentioned that you 'ave caught the eye of 'is friend'
Elizabeth knew too well the implications. 'I will nay marry again. I am married, to Richard.'
'You are married to a deed man,' said her mother pointedly.
For the first time in her life Elizabeth suddenly wished that she was not a woman. She thought that her life would be different, but now she was going to be treated like property, just like any other woman. But, the thought was fleeting, she loved being a woman and now she loved being a mother even though the child had not yet been born and she was determined to do whatever it took to keep the child.
It had been nearly a month since Elizabeth and her family had left Burghley and now she was giving up hope of ever seeing Richard again. Her conversation with Bromley played out in her mind often and it seemed that she relived Richard's death each time, but she did notice that the pain was subsiding a little and that bothered her.
A few days later, in mid-December, as Elizabeth returned from the market, she noticed a horse tied to a rail outside her uncle's cottage. 'Odd,' she thought, 'that sumeone with soch affluence wuld be at the cot'age.' She recognized the owner of the horse as soon as she opened the door. She didn't know his name, but she had seen him at church services. Her uncle and his friend stood as she entered.
'Thomas, this is me niece, Elizabeth,' stated her uncle.
Elizabeth looked down at the floor so as to not make eye contact. She had never spoken to Thomas, but had seen him looking at her during church services. Thomas was shorter than Richard and more stout. Not necessarily fat, but stout. The top of his dead was bald, but he wore his hair to the shoulders on the sides and back. He was a baker by trade and was quite successful. He was also many years older than Elizabeth. She thought him to be maybe 30 years old.
Thomas held his hat in one hand and gently took Elizabeth's hand with the other. 'Gud dee, Elizabeth,' he said, 'me name is Thomas.'
Elizabeth didn't look up and she withdrew her hand from his. Her mother and aunt were also in the room and her mother nudged her from behind for rejecting Thomas's hand.
'I 'ave gud news,' her uncle boldly announced. 'Thomas and I 'ave reached an agreement. 'e 'as offered to marry you, Elizabeth, and I 'ave agreed.'
With that, Elizabeth dropped her package and dashed out of the cottage into the cold December air. Her mother was not far behind her.
'You get back inseed and accept 'is proposal child,' her mother demanded. 'You may never get another offer. Thomas is a successful man, you shuld be pleased.'
'Pleased,' retorted Elizabeth through clenched teeth. 'Why wuld I be pleased? I am married to Richard.'
'Richard is deed, lass. When are you going to accept that?'
'Never!'
'You are with child! Your condition will begin to be obvious soon and then whot will you do? Will you go to the priory? Will you give your child up?'
''e is so old,' said Elizabeth in a quieter voice that was on the brink of breaking into a cry.
''e is a successful baker and a gud man. 'e will take gud care of you and your child,' urged her mother, sensing that she was wearing Elizabeth down.
Elizabeth was crying now and would not look at her mother.
'And if you know whot is gud for you, you will nay say anything aboot your child. If you are fortunate, 'e will accept it as 'is own.'
Elizabeth wiped her eyes, but she was still gasping for air as she tried to stop crying.
'Comb inseed now,' said her mother as she took her by the elbow and directed her into the house.
Thomas smiled as they entered, but Elizabeth did not look up. He took her by the hand and told her how beautiful she was and that he would make her very happy. Then her uncle announced that the marriage would take place in three days hence. Elizabeth bit her lip so hard that it nearly bled. 'Three dees!' she thought to herself. ''ow dreadful.' Her head began to hurt. ''ow culd this be 'appening to me?' she wondered. Just a few weeks earlier she was the happy wife of a handsome young man that loved her dearly and she loved him. Now it felt as though that life was a world away and maybe it had not happened at all. It seemed as a dream that she had awaken from all too soon.