Read Lucianna Online

Authors: Bertrice Small

Tags: #Historical Romance, #Love Story, #Romance, #Italy, #England, #Medieval Romance

Lucianna (9 page)

BOOK: Lucianna
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“You were fortunate,” he told her.

They were now in the city, yet outside of it. David Kira led her through several streets, finally stopping before a small stone house.

“This is the house your father bought for you. My wife, Yedda, assured me it is comfortable, though small. There is also a small garden in the rear of the building, I believe, with several fruit trees. And you have a small stable. Since it is not yet dark, I would advise your men to unload as much as they can into the house, and then put the carts still full in that stable. The others can remain outside.”

“I will need servants,” Lucianna said.

“Yedda has employed for you a cook, a housemaid, and a stableman. When you have decided how many others you will need, she will help you to hire them, madame.”

They entered the house, and Lucianna was pleased to find the fireplaces on both floors of the building all blazing merrily. She was relieved, for the last days of their journey had been chill with autumn in full bloom now. The cook and the housemaid came forward and curtsied politely.

“I’ve a small hot meal, madame, if it pleases you. My name is Alvina, and the lass is Cleva.” She curtsied again.

“A hot meal will be most welcome, Alvina,” Lucianna said. “This is my body servant, Balia. She struggles with her English, but I know you will both help her, and try not to giggle at her errors.”

Both women nodded, looking curiously at Balia.

“The stableman is Sam,” David Kira said. “He’s strong, and he’s reliable. My Yedda is never wrong.”

“Thank you so much, David Kira,” Lucianna said to him.

“I will come in midmorning tomorrow to show you the shop I have found for the Silk Merchants’ Guild of Florence. And I have already begun to spread the word of its coming and your arrival. The Milanese will regret waiting until the spring to arrive. They will be most surprised to find Florence already a presence here.”

“I’ll look forward to seeing the shop. Can we walk?”

“Oh no, madame, you will have to ride.”

“Ask your Yedda to visit me tomorrow afternoon. I can already see I will need a few more servants. Litter bearers for my litter, for one thing.”

“She will come, but now I must go. I have a wife who worries a great deal. It comes from being Jewish in England. We are always being expelled, but the Kira bank has the wherewithal to thrive,” he said.

“And to know who will take their bribe,” Lucianna said with a smile.

David Kira chuckled. “Aye, madame, knowing who has the power—and can be bribed discreetly—is always valuable knowledge.” He bowed to her. “I will come in the morning.” And then he was gone.

C
hapter 6

W
hen he had left her, Lucianna walked slowly through her new home. To her delight, she found a small room with a blazing fireplace, lined with shelves for her books. She would need several comfortable upholstered chairs, a good straight chair, and several small tables, as well as a large rectangular table upon which to do her business accounts. The library overlooked the gardens, which were surprisingly spacious, even at the edge of the city.

“Mistress?”

She turned to see the maidservant, Cleva. “Yes?”

“Alvina apologizes, but she says you and Balia must eat in the kitchen, for there is no furniture elsewhere except your bedchamber,” Cleva said in a soft, nervous voice.

“Is it nice and warm in the kitchen?” Lucianna asked, with a friendly smile.

“Oh yes, mistress! Alvina is a lover of heat,” the girl replied.

“So am I,” Lucianna said. “Show me the way, Cleva!”

Balia had been upstairs inspecting the rooms there. She was just coming down, and joined them. “The bedchambers are livable if we furnish them properly. We’ll need heavy draperies for the windows, for this London is cold,” she said in Italian.

“Try to speak English, Balia, as I do, so the others may understand you, for it is possible they may be able to help you. Alvina has a supper for us down in her warm kitchens.”

“Yes, mistress,” Balia said, a bit sour at being even gently rebuked in front of an unimportant maidservant.

In the kitchens, Alvina had hot bowls of rabbit stew for them. Neither of the women had ever tasted the dish, but on this chilly, wet London night, they both voiced their approval, mopping up the rich gravy with crusty bread.

“I like your kitchen, Alvina,” her new mistress told her. “It not only smells good, it’s warm. I don’t believe it gets this cold in Florence.”

“It’s the rain, mistress. Always makes it feel worse than it is,” the cook said with a chuckle. “I’ll try to keep your meals simple to begin with, for I suspect you are not used to our English foods. What would please you for breakfast? We find it best to begin a cold, wet day with hot food.”

“Then that is how I shall begin my day, and Balia too. We also enjoy poached eggs, but what would you cook tomorrow morning?”

“I will give you a nice hot cereal to start your day, mistress, and my fresh bread with butter and jam,” Alvina said.

“I suspect that will taste good after a cold night,” Lucianna said.

“Oh, it really isn’t cold yet,” Alvina told her. “But it will get cold later on when winter finally sets in. This is just the end of the autumn.”

Lucianna nodded, although she wasn’t too pleased to hear it. Then she changed the subject entirely. “You will need a helper for your kitchens,” she began. “And Cleva, you will need another lass to aid you. Do we have a gardener? And I will need two litter bearers. Do you think Sam can manage the stable by himself? I believe Mistress Kira will help us with that, and I will speak with Sam in the morning. Oh, what is this?” she asked as Alvina put a dish in front of her and another before Balia, who with good food was now feeling more amenable.

“Fresh apple tart,” Alvina said, and then she poured a bit of heavy cream from a pitcher over their portions.

“I shall become fat as a country pig,” Balia said. “You are an excellent cook and provider, Alvina.”

The two English servants and Lucianna laughed, and the cook thanked Balia for her compliment. Once they had scraped up every bit of the delicious sweet, the two diners bid the cook and the maid a good night, and went upstairs.

When they were gone, Alvina said, “Well, she seems like she’ll be a good mistress, and they both have good appetites.”

“How can you tell just because they liked the supper that she’ll be a good mistress?” Cleva asked.

“Because while she must certainly be exhausted by her travels, she did not arrive demanding and filled with complaints. She was gracious about eating in my kitchen, complimentary of the meal, and she is already considering that we will both need additional help to manage this house. Another maidservant to help you has moved you up in the ranks, Cleva. She is putting you in charge. Eventually, you will gain the position of housekeeper if you do your job well, and do not allow it to go to your head,” Alvina advised. “To be the housekeeper to a wealthy woman is not a bad thing.”

“I had not thought of it that way,” Cleva said slowly.

“Well, my girl, you had better begin using what few wits God gave you,” Alvina advised. “Go upstairs now, and make certain she is comfortable for the night. Hurry!”

Cleva hurried off upstairs and found her new mistress had already reached her bedchamber. Knocking, she stepped quickly. “I have just come to see if everything is to your liking, mistress. Of course, we will need draperies and bed curtains made as quickly as possible, but for the next few nights I think you and Balia will be comfortable.” Then she remembered her curtsy.

“I have brought my bed curtains with me and the drapes as well,” Lucianna said. “You and Balia can hang them tomorrow, although I will probably have heavier ones made for the colder months. Mine will suffice for the interim, Cleva.”

“There is a pitcher of water in the coals,” the maidservant said.

“I must have a tub for bathing,” Lucianna told the girl. “We will have to keep it in the pantry of Alvina’s kitchens, for I can see the difficulty getting it filled with warm water in a small house.” Then she laughed. “Perhaps we should have one household manservant for the heavier chores.”

“’Twould be a great help, mistress,” Cleva admitted.

“Balia, is there anything else we need for tonight? You seem to have managed getting my traveling bag upstairs, and that should do for tonight. I will want fresh clothing in the morning, however.”

“I will see to it, mistress,” Balia said. Then she looked at Cleva. “Thank you for coming to make certain we are settled. Good night.”

“Good night, mistress,” Cleva said, curtsying politely, and then left them.

“Presumptuous wench,” Balia muttered.

Lucianna laughed. She had never before seen Balia so testy, and realized it was because she was unsure of herself in a new house, in a new land, and speaking a new language. “She is attempting to make a good impression on me. Certainly you can understand that? She is in a new house with a new foreign mistress and does not know what to expect of either of us.”

Balia sighed, and then laughed at herself. “I must seem very fierce to the little wench,” she admitted.

“It will be easier on you both eventually, when you become used to each other and our new surroundings,” Lucianna said. “Now, where are you planning to sleep?”

“There is a small chamber right next to yours, mistress. See?” She went across the room and opened a little door. “I have a bed, a chest, a chair, and there is even a tiny fireplace just big enough to take the chill out of the chamber.”

“How wonderful! Now help me get ready for bed. I am exhausted, and I imagine you must be too,” Lucianna said.

Both women slept deeply that night, but Balia was, as always, up before her mistress. Dressing quickly, she hurried downstairs, finding the trunks that had been brought in last evening for safety’s sake. They would have to get those holding Lucianna’s clothing upstairs today. Spying a chest she knew held gowns, she opened it and pulled one out.

Though she had packed each gown carefully to avoid wrinkles, there would be some. She took it down to the kitchen, hoping to find an iron.

Alvina and Cleva were sitting at the large kitchen table, eating their breakfast. Cleva jumped up on seeing Balia, but the older woman waved her back into her seat saying, “Just tell me if you have an iron in this kitchen, please?”

“I wouldn’t have known what it was if Mistress Kira had not explained it to me,” Alvina said. “In the pantry on a shelf. Come and have something to eat first.”

Balia hesitated a moment, and then she laid the dress on a nearby chair and said, “Thank you, I will.” She sat down on the table’s bench.

Cleva ran to fill a bowl with hot cereal and put it with a spoon before Balia.

Balia thanked her and began to eat. To her surprise, the gray mass in the bowl was very tasty, and she took Alvina’s suggestion to add some honey and heavy cream. The hot cereal filled her belly and seemed to give her energy. She ate quickly, though, as did all servants. Seeing Cleva was done, Balia instructed her to heat the iron in the fire, telling the girl how to do it. Then, finished with her own meal, she arose, took the gown from the chair, and ironed out the few wrinkles.

“Never saw anything like that,” Alvina said, “but you’ve got the mistress’s gown looking fine now.”

Balia grinned. “Give her half an hour and then bring her breakfast upstairs,” she said, and was gone from the kitchen and up the stairs, to find Lucianna just stirring awake. Within the half hour the younger woman was up, washed, and dressed. She ate her breakfast quickly and commented on how good it made her feel.

Then she went downstairs just as Yedda Kira arrived.

“I have brought you some chairs,” Yedda said as she came into the house, two men following her. “Where would you like them?”

Lucianna laughed, already liking the practical woman. “Follow me,” she said, and led them to her library. “We can speak privately here. Just set them down by the fire,” she instructed them.

“Wait by my litter,” Mistress Kira said as the two men exited the room. “Ah, now, we are comfortable.” She plumped herself into a chair as Lucianna did the same. “How may I help you, Mistress Pietro d’ Angelo?”

“First, let me thank you for all you have done,” Lucianna said. And then she went on to explain what she would need in the way of furnishings and additional servants.

“If you trust me to obtain the rest of your staff, you will have them by the evening,” Yedda Kira told Lucianna. “The furnishings are another matter. Do you object to visiting a small shop with furniture that has already been used elsewhere?”

“If it suits my taste, no,” Lucianna said. “The two men who carried these chairs for you, do you believe they might carry my litter so we may go together now, and quickly?”

“An excellent idea,” Yedda Kira agreed.

Lucianna’s litter ride through the rainy morning was quite a revelation to her. Despite the weather, the streets were crowded and noisy, every bit as much as her own city of Florence. Finally they stopped at an undistinguished shop and went in. The proprietor greeted the two women, and then left them to their business.

“But everything here seems new,” Lucianna said.

“It has been nicely refurbished. Broken and cracked, it would not bring the shopkeeper what it is really worth.”

They immediately found the long rectangular table Lucianna was seeking for her library, as well as several more chairs and small tables. They found a table that was just perfect for the house’s small hall, along with the seating for it. There were two beds for the two other bedchambers in the house, and more tables and chairs. The shopkeeper watched with ill-concealed delight, totaling up the price he would get from the lady.

Finally, Lucianna said, “I believe that will do for now.”

Yedda Kira spoke to the shopkeeper. “It must be delivered today,” she said in a stern and not-to-be-trifled-with voice.

“Of course, madame, you have but to direct me,” the man oozed.

“And how much will you charge for these poor pieces? My lady has just come to London and must furnish her dwelling quickly, which is why we are here. Do not attempt to overcharge her.”

The shopkeeper named a price.

Yedda Kira looked at him, obviously displeased. She turned to Lucianna. “Come, my lady. There are better shops than this one that will not take advantage of two helpless women.”

The shopkeeper made a more reasonable offer, and while frowning, Yedda agreed for the sake of her lady’s convenience. Reaching into her purse, she drew out the required coins. Then she gave him the address. “The staff is yet small. See your goods are brought into the rooms where they belong.” Then she turned. “Come, my lady. We will go to the draper’s next,” and she led Lucianna from the shop.

Once outside, the two women dissolved into laughter.

BOOK: Lucianna
3.11Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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