Eleanor set her shoulders. She could do this, she was good at learning, very good, much better than some smug village girl who was only here to try and beat her, if Eleanor left, Maggie would probably lose two helpers, not just one. Maggie’s eyes looked through her again, but all she said was. “And …
When Cadan announced, during dinner, that he would be staying in the village the following day, Matthew looked worried. “Not that I’m quibbling, lad, your wife is important, but someone needs to get word to the castle about fixing their road before this rain washes a new river straight through it. Ingrid’s already said you …
Sarah was knitting by the fire when Eleanor let herself in. “No wool?” Eleanor’s explanation ended up as a full recitation of the afternoon’s events and Sarah chuckled. “She’s a wily one, is Maggie, and I’ll do you a trade. Make up that pillowcase of yours into an apron for me, and I’ll give you …
Sarah removed the bandages and paste after lunch. Eleanor’s hands were noticeably better, less swollen, less pink. Sarah said. “My burn paste is best applied overnight, but this will see you through to bedtime. Put some of that soothing salve on your palms and I’ll re-wrap them but we’ll leave your fingers free so you …
She followed him out and found both Sarah and Matthew preparing for the day. Sarah smiled and said. “Can you get the bread?” Cadan made for the fire nook, grabbing a cloth on the way. “Not with your hands in that state, Nora.” “They’re fine.” She stalked over to the pantry, only to find the …
Sarah looked up from grinding something in a small stone mortar. “Matthew sent word they’re caught at a treefall on the castle road. Normally he and Cadan make up the beds but they won’t be home before we’re asleep, if at all, tonight. Best to make yours now, so you can tumble straight in after …
Maggie raised a brow at Eleanor who was trying to work out how to carry both clean clothes and dirty without transferring the problems of one to the other, then held out her basket. “Pop your muddy ones in here, and we’ll get to scrubbing.” They followed a swaggering Martha into the bath house, where …
Eleanor had thought bread baking was hard work, it was nothing on the laundry. Items were dunked into a tub and thoroughly wetted, which made them ten times heavier than they’d been mere minutes before. The water was nearly hot enough to scald, and the soap used felt like it was removing the skin from …
Maggie’s eyes seemed to see more than Eleanor was saying, but the older woman’s reply was all business. “Nora’s a good name, simple and sensible without being boring. If you’ve a mind to learn a little more about spinning and weaving before making that informed decision of yours, have Sarah point you in the direction …
They set off into the early morning light, and Eleanor got her first look at the place she was now expected to call home. Sarah and Matthew’s cottage, much like her father’s place in town, sat on the edge of an open space, with other cottages nearby. It was much smaller than the market square, …
The DNA of Stories 