The Remembered (14 page)

March 1438

Stamford

A cold wind swept across the North Sea from the east and found no resistance as it pushed across the Fens and into Stamford the day that John Darby rode into the village on a beautiful horse. His purple cloak was an impressive sight as it caught the wind and sailed behind him. His horse kept his head high and great plumes of steam escaped his nostrils with each lunge forward. John thought that it felt good to be home again after being gone for so long. His schooling was completed, he had been to the south of England and to Calais, France. He had observed first hand how the wool trade functioned and now he was ready to join his father in the trade.
His father was pleased that his son had chosen to join him in the trade and upon his arrival they rode the nearby area to survey the sheep. There were thousands upon thousands of sheep in the fields and their wool was thick. The Darby's had every reason to be optimistic about the harvest of wool in the coming spring and summer. Wool prices were up and so the future look bright indeed.
On the way back to the estate, John wanted to stop at the All Saint's Church. He was fond of the church of his youth and though it was smaller and less ornate than some of the fine church's that he had seen outside of Stamford, it remained dear to him.
As he and his father approached the church, he was surprised that it seemed even smaller than he had remembered. 'This church really ought to 'ave a fine steeple,' he remarked to his father as they dismounted.
'Aye,' agreed his father. 'Per'aps you and I can pay to 'ave a fine steeple added if wool does well this year.'
The priest had come outside at that moment and overheard the last comment. 'God will surely smile upon you if you were to raise a steeple in 'is name,' he said.
Smiling, his father replied, 'And per'aps me bones will also find a resting place within the walls of the church.'
'Aye, per'aps they will,' agreed the priest. With that the priest embraced John and welcomed him home. 'I trust that you 'ave faithfully been attending church while you 'ave been away.'
'Aye, I certainly 'ave,' John assured the priest.
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On the road between Boston and Nottingham
Richard had returned twice to the Nottingham area in the ensuing months since he had first gone to Trowell in search of Elizabeth. He had searched many hamlets and villages without success. After each trip, he was a little less hopeful than he had previously been. And now he was heading back along the road that had become so familiar to him. With each trip he wondered how it was that the family had vanished so completely.
This was to be his last trip before Spring. He had promised his father that he would return to Easton-on-the-hill prior to Spring to see whether his help was needed and so he intended to go straight from Nottingham to Easton-on-the-hill without returning to Boston first. If his father didn't require his help, he would return to Boston then.
Richard felt that the Master glazier had been very accommodating, allowing him to leave at his leisure to search again and each time receiving him back. He had told Richard to let Elizabeth go. Richard thought about those conversations often. The Master maintained that Elizabeth had willingly left and that Richard should have the marriage annulled. Richard couldn't believe that Elizabeth would willingly disappear, but it was getting more difficult to deny.
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Lambley, Near Nottingham
Elizabeth realized that she was well treated by Thomas. She was starting to get accustomed to his touch and had long since stopped recoiling. This was not the life she would have chosen, but decided that it must be God's will. Why else would she have been torn from the life that she had previously known? She had always been anxious to do God's will and why should this be any different. The few days prior to her marriage to Thomas were difficult for her, but she had determined at that time that she would be a good wife. She felt that the best way to ensure that her child was happy and well cared for was to ensure that her husband was happy. It became her objective to please him so that he would feel loved.
She didn't want to admit it at first, but life with Thomas was actually a good life. He was a hard working man. He was polite and provided a good home. For the first time in her life, she didn't live on earthen floors. They lived in the village, above the bakery and the house had more rooms than any house she had ever expected to live in. And there was always plenty of food in the house.
She had finally accepted that Richard was dead. She never mentioned his name and she also never mentioned that she was with child by him. Her pregnancy was starting to show and Thomas was so excited that he was going to be a father. He couldn't be happier and she was surprised that his happiness caused her to also be happy. Thomas had paid to have a dress made for her as a surprise. She never had expected to own such a fine dress, though she would now have to wait until after her child was born to wear it.
'Thomas, you are going to be a father,' observed one of his customers.
'Aye, and it will be a fine boy who will sumedee be a baker,' grinned Thomas.
'You think that you are 'aving a boy then?' asked the customer.
Just then Elizabeth walked into the shoppe. 'Nay,' said the customer, 'it will nay be a boy. I can tell by the way she is carrying the baby.'
Thomas feigned displeasure and said, 'We will luv a girl just as well. Will we nay me luv?' as he placed his hand on Elizabeth's stomach. Elizabeth just grinned and placed her hands over his.
'Thomas,' Elizabeth said, 'I must visit me mum. I shuld like to take sume fresh bread to 'er. Wuld that be alright with you, me luv?'
'I 'ate for you to walk that road alone, me luv,' protested Thomas. Elizabeth looked at him with sad eyes that she knew would melt his heart and said nothing. 'Please 'urry me flower. It luks like rain.' Then rubbing her stomach again, said, 'Please take care of this lit'le one.'
'I will me luv,' promised Elizabeth. 'I will nay be gone long.' She wrapped some fresh bread in a cloth and took her hooded cloak and left the shoppe. She realized that she was learning to love the care that Thomas showed to her.
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Richard had spent the last two days searching in the area of Calverton and Woodborough with no success. He realized that it had now been months since he had last seen Elizabeth and that if there ever was a trail to follow to find her, it had long since grown cold. His conversations lately were similar to the one that he had had with the priest in Calverton the previous day. Richard had asked whether a family with two lads and a lass had passed through or had settled in the area in the last several months. The priest had been polite, but had made it clear that several families fitting that description may have passed that way in the last several months, but he could not remember them all. As far as a family fitting that description was concerned, he did not know of any settling in the area. Inevitably, the person would then ask what Richard's interest was. When he said that he was looking for his wife, they would laugh and reply that his wife did not want to be found. Richard had heard this so many times, that he now believed it and he was done with his search.
That is why he had now turned his face toward Easton-on-the-hill. He had promised his father that he would return before Spring.
A light rain was falling when he entered Lambley. He was hungry and tired but decided that he would conserve his funds by purchasing bread from a baker, rather than stopping for a meal at a public house. He was greeted warmly by the baker, who was shorter and more stout than himself. Richard was not feeling very cheerful and just wanted a loaf of bread and a meat pie before he started back on the road and he wasn't wanting conversation. The sooner that he could get back onto the road, the further he would be able to travel before nightfall.
'Afternoon sir,' greeted the baker, 'and whot can I get for you this fine dee?'
Richard hardly even looked up as he asked for a loaf and a meat pie. As he reached for the loaf and the pie, the baker asked where he was traveling to.
'Just as far a West Bridgford todee,' was all that Richard offered.
'That rain will likely get worse still,' said the baker, 'you will need sume shelter before dark.'
'Aye, I am acquainted with the woods, I will be fine.'
The baker handed Richard the loaf and the pie and asked, 'Whot brings you to Lambley then?'
'I am just passing through,' Richard said, still never actually making eye contact with the baker.
Thomas was feeling a little odd about this stranger that offered so little information about himself, so he decided it best to pry no further. 'God be with you then,' offered Thomas.
'And you as well,' said Richard as he replaced his hood over his head and placed the food beneath his cloak and headed out into the rain.
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Elizabeth had wanted to visit her mother to ask some questions about preparing for the birth and how to care for the child. They had a pleasant visit that ended too soon.
'Stay with us tonight, Elizabeth,' entreated her mother, 'the sky is getting darker and it will surely rain 'arder before you get back 'ome.'
'Nay, Thomas will be worried if I do nay get back soon.'
'Will he nay worry all the more knowing that you are in the rain?' questioned her mother.
'I will be fine,' said Elizabeth. 'The sooner I leave, the sooner I will be 'ome, then Thomas will nay 'ave to worry.'
'Be off then child,' encouraged her mother smiling, 'go with God's speed.'
Elizabeth had a fine cloak with her to cover her head. She found though that she wished the cloak were a little larger to better cover her growing stomach. As she walked, she mused at how she and her mother were closer now than they had ever been. She had always been drawn to her father, perhaps because she had spent so much time with him at the market. But, now with him gone, she found that her mother was a source of comfort, knowledge and friendship. She realized that she had much to learn about being a wife and mother. She was glad to have her mother near.
It wasn't long before the rain started to come down with more intensity. It seemed to be driven by the cold wind. She considered seeking the shelter of a tree or perhaps the next farmhouse, but decided to press ahead. She pulled her hood more completely over her head to keep the driving rain from hitting her face. The road was slick and puddles were forming so she had to watch closely as she picked her way.
Suddenly she was aware of a man coming toward her on the road in the opposite direction. She was initially startled since she hadn't seen him earlier because of her hood and the necessity of keeping her head down to watch the road. Traveling alone, though not far, always caused her some concerned, but she hurried on and decided to keep her head down and not look at him.
Soon the man passed without saying a word and she was relieved. After a short while though, she ventured to look over her shoulder. The man was taller than most men and thin. He too wore a cloak over his head against the wind and the rain. She watched as he rounded the corner and disappeared behind a tree. Turning to face Lambley again, she hurried on in the rain.
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Richard hadn't gone far from the baker's shoppe when it started to rain harder. He was glad to have been able to find a sufficient quantity of beeswax to rub on the cloak to better keep the water out. He thought about some of his earlier trips and how wet he would get after several hours in the rain. Tightly woven wool kept the water out reasonably well, but not after hours of persistent rain. Now with the addition of beeswax, he was warm and dry.
He noticed a woman walking the same road toward him and wondered why a woman would be on a road alone at this hour. He didn't feel that it was safe. He noticed also that she was with child. It was his nature to offer help to women, especially those that were with child, but under these circumstances, he didn't wish to alarm her. Instead, he passed quickly and quietly so as to not cause her concern. He couldn't make out her face because of the hood that she worn as protection against the rain and wind. After he had rounded the corner and passed by a tree he stopped and peered back around the tree to see that she was alright. He watched her for a short time until she too rounded and corner and vanished.
As Richard continued on the road to West Bridgford, he couldn't help but think of Elizabeth. He thought that if circumstances had been different, perhaps he and Elizabeth would even now be expecting a baby. The thought made him even more sad for his loss, but he walked on in the pouring rain. It was almost as if nature itself was expressing his emotions.
Richard found some shelter in the hollow of a large tree and ate his meat pie. It was still warm and it tasted so good. As he ate, he thought about Easton-on-the-hill, about his mother and father, Geva and Ralf and about Margaret. He expected that his father had probably already started working the fields a little and wondered whether Ralf was helping. If Ralf were helping, it would be because Lind had accepted an offer to allow Geva to marry Ralf. He wondered how his mother was coping with the loss of her son. He felt sorry for his mother and felt that he should have been a better son to her in her time of sorrow. He wondered whether Margaret was still mourning Bromley's death. Was she still living with his mother and father? Maybe there was another man interested in her.
After eating and resting, Richard pushed the thoughts of home to the back of his mind and pressed on. He expected that if the rain were to let up a little, he could be home in a couple of days. They would be long, hard days, but he was accustomed to that.
Richard spent the night in West Bridgford at the 'Stag and Hound' public house and inn. He spent the next night in Melton Mowbray at the 'Cock and Horse' public house and inn. Finally, in the early evening of the next day, under clear skies, he walked into Easton-on-the-hill. He came from the northwest, so he didn't go through Stamford on the way.