Serenity Valley (11 page)

After nine weeks of following this
routine, we were breaking fast in the morning and suddenly realized
Lady Bella's head was sticking out over the stall door. All three
of us were stunned to see her in with the horses, as our worktable
was right next to the stall door. We had no idea how long she had
been there, nor how she got there. Knowing her, she could have been
there ever since we first arose. There was always confusion in the
morning, and it would have covered her entrance. After she had
enjoyed herself thoroughly at our expense and we recovered from the
shock of her sudden appearance, she joined us at the table, and we
all broke our fast together.

Looking pleased with herself, she
said, “When we finish here, there is something I want to show the
three of you.”

“Should I bring the horses, my lady?”
I asked.

“Yes, yes, by all means. It concerns
them also.”

We all three looked at one another in
our puzzlement. Fulk could not restrain himself. He asked, “My
lady, would it be inappropriate to ask as to what this is
about?”

The lady smiled. “Yes, it would be
inappropriate.”

Now we were all really in a quandary.
After eating, Fulk and I both got lead ropes. I attached mine to
Demon, and Fulk connected to Mildred. We had been practicing
leading without ropes but without knowing what we were getting
into, we thought it best to tether both horses. If we were headed
for one of Lady Bella’s scary surprises, we needed to be prepared.
Basilea packed up her basket, and off we all went, through the barn
and down the path to the main house. Who knows where Lady Bella was
leading us or what she was planning to do to us. With tense,
measured footsteps we walked on into who knew what.

Walking along the path to the main
house, I noticed how much deeper the wagon ruts were. For the
expansion of the hold and operations, mass quantities of stone and
slate were arriving daily from the lord’s quarries at the base of
the Enola Mountains. Timber arrived from the logging operation in
the north via the Verines River. Timber haul wagons were used to
transport from the river to the hold. Along with all of the
requisite materials for construction, the number of trade folk had
increased greatly. The hold had become a small village in a short
time. New people sifted in daily from other areas of the country.
Some carried a letter of introduction signed by Lord Goodwin, and
others arrived by word of mouth, hoping to find work. When the lord
was away, it was the job of his managers to interview all
applicants and judge worthiness and character. Lady Bella oversaw
the process in his absence, and about eighty percent of those
arriving without introduction or recommendations were turned away.
Those rejected were given a sum to cover their travel expenses and
escorted to the valley borders by men-at-arms. The hold needed
skilled people, but not at the cost of polluting the population
with thieves, the lazy, and those of questionable moral character.
To handle the increase in families that need housing, a temporary
tent camp was set up, including a kitchen and mess hall.
Construction was already underway on family cottages, a large
dormitory facility with kitchen and mess hall, as well as a new
stable structure. Lady Bella saw the need for a larger schoolhouse.
She demanded all children between the age of five and eleven years
old be schooled. School was offered to older children, but it was
not required by the hold. Two additional teachers were sought to
cover the increase in pupils. When the schoolhouse was finished, it
would be approximately three times the original size. Additional
men-at-arms seemed to trickle in daily.

These professional soldiers were
handpicked by Lord Goodwin and his captain of the guard. Most were
in the employ of other noblemen and were battle-proven, hardened
men. In many cases, Lord Goodwin had to compensate the lords'
holding contracts on soldiers, but he paid willingly for the few
worthy of service to his hold. In many cases, the employing lord
would recommend those labeled as malcontent troublemakers, hoping
to be rid of them. The lords holding such men were surprised that
almost all were found acceptable for employ at De Ferrier Hold.
What they didn’t understand is the very reasons these professional
soldiers were disenchanted with their current station made them
prime candidates for Serenity Valley. Many were tired of butchering
men. Some had families, and Serenity Valley would offer them a much
better life for their children. Most started out in their
profession thinking they would fight for honor and protect those
not capable of protecting themselves. They soon found that they
fought for another man’s greed, ambition, or power. Some of these
men had been passed around to different lords like chess pieces on
a gameboard. Many no longer knew who or what they fought for; they
were simply expendable tools to be used and traded at will. They
only stayed in their profession because it was simply all they knew
how to do. The men had to be honest to pass the interview with the
captain or Lord Goodwin. After reaching the conclusion that the man
was honest and of decent moral character, the men were asked by
their interviewer how they would feel if asked to defend their own
home and the people living within their homeland. They were told
that if employed in Serenity Valley, they would not be marching on
campaign or sent on crusade. Allegiance to Lord Goodwin and Lady
Bella ensured they would serve to protect all those dwelling within
the held lands. Any incursion beyond hold borders would be to
ensure the safety of the land or to see that valued customers
traveled without the threat of robbery. All men-at-arms selected
stated that such an opportunity would be well beyond expectation.
Although they were killers of men, they wished for some honorable
way to ply their trade, or possibly a chance to redeem their lost
souls. The soldiers who adopted Serenity Valley as their home were
some of the fiercest men in the land. Strong, tough, scarred men
came to find the hold a place they could call their home. Although
extremely intimidating, these men sought redemption, direction, and
purpose in their lives. Serenity Valley was the perfect place for a
disenchanted soldier to find solace.

My life had been good compared to
these tortured souls, although Lady Bella seemed to be borderline
sadistic with her antics and surprise attacks. I am confident she
would never ask me to commit crimes against man and
conscience.

My gut tightened as our small group
was led by Lady Bella to an unknown destination. I did not know
what cunning surprise she may have in store for us. I kept Demon on
a short lead, as Fulk did with Mildred. Basilea walked along
tentatively next to me. Although not mean-hearted, Lady Bella never
failed to exercise abundant exuberance for executing her antics.
The same quality about her that I found unpredictable and
terrifying was one of her most endearing. Although extremely
intelligent and knowledgeable, she saw the world through a child’s
eyes. She simply consumed life at a pace that others did not
comprehend. Knowing her was to love her, and I did love my dear
Lady Bella.

Now that love would be tested once
more with one of her elaborate attacks. When we passed through the
gate to the main house, she changed our course to an eastern
direction into the grasslands. Basilea, Fulk, and I looked at one
another with puzzlement. I just shrugged my shoulders, and we
continued on. We went through the open grass until coming to the
forested area, and still, we went on. When we arrived at the brook,
we turned south on a narrow game trail through the woods. The trail
was so narrow that once on it, we had to fall behind one another,
walking in single file. By means of some minor manipulation, I
managed to put Basilea in front of me, behind Lady Bella, Fulk
following with Mildred. I figured Basilea could take the brunt of
any surprise the lady had in waiting and allow Fulk and I
opportunity for escape with our charges. When we had walked far
enough to reach the clearing by the brook, we turned west, toward
the main house. I thought that whatever she had planned would
happen pretty soon; then, I noticed some steps I had never seen
before. In the incline from the brook, wide, deep steps had been
carved out of the ground and covered with flat stone. Being totally
familiar with this area, I knew the steps must have been
constructed in the past month. The step levels were short in height
but very deep, and the horses had no problem negotiating them. The
twenty steps led to a recently cut path through the trees. After
walking about one hundred fifty feet, the path gave way to a
natural clearing. We all spread out in step with the additional
space. Demon was acting a little excited and let out a whinny.
Mildred answered with one of her own. There, in the clearing, stood
a structure that was obviously new.

Lady Bella stopped and turned to us.
She said, “Welcome to your new quarters.”

We all just stood there for a moment,
taking in the sight.

“My lady, this is for us?” I said,
staring in awe.

“Yes, Gamel, it is for the three of
you. It should prove much more comfortable than a bedroll on a
stall floor. Well, don’t just stand here with your mouths open. Put
the horses in the turnout and go inside.”

We were all just standing in
bewilderment, which made Lady Bella bark out impatiently, “Go on
now, hurry up. Can’t you see the horses want to see their new
home?”

That seemed to bring us around. Fulk,
Basilea, and I made our way to the post gate in the turnout and
dropped the fresh cut rails. The horses wasted no time trotting
into the turnout and beginning their investigation. With their ears
pricked up and eyes wide, they sniffed and snorted at everything.
They went to the heavy stone water trough and swished the water
around with their noses. They ran over to the feed trough to check
for contents. I noted the fence pillars were stone, with post rail
spans just like the main house turnout. Next to a newly stoned well
stood an outbuilding of considerable height. I opened one of the
large doors to find it fully stocked with feed grass and sacks of
grain. Fulk and I looked at each other with huge smiles. We were so
consumed with our observations that we hadn’t noticed the two
ladies had disappeared. We railed the gate and headed for the
house. A large hitching post was erected just off the porch, which
spanned the entire front of the dwelling. Heavy timbers held up the
porch roof, which was slate covered just like the dwelling roof.
There were a number of chimneys protruding from the roof that had
rain caps on them. On each side of the large front door were huge
windows formed into the stone walls. Windows were also present on
the outer sides of the front facade. Fulk and I entered the front
door to find ourselves standing on a polished marble floor. We both
stopped and just took in our surroundings. From the walls hung
modest tapestries where no windows or shutters existed. To the rear
and center of the main room was a fully equipped kitchen area. A
large stone cooking hearth was built to the left of the kitchen on
the rear wall. On the right side was a good-sized clay oven.
Basilea was standing in front of the clay oven with tears streaming
down her face.

“Gamel, Fulk, come see my clay oven.
It is amazing!” she cried out.

We went to stand next to her, and she
explained all of the workings of the oven, and how the firebox was
designed to provide even heating throughout the oven. Even the wood
box built next to it held just the right size chips. Next to her
oven was a large cabinet pantry with a work table directly beside
it. On the left side of the hearth was a washtable with basin.
Basilea didn’t even notice that she was crying in her excitement. I
reached up to her smiling eyes and rubbed her tears
away.

Lady Bella interrupted to say, “Well,
come along and see everything.” She took us on the grand tour,
pointing out the table and chairs she had found in storage, along
with the writing desk complete with parchment and supplies. In a
large common area around the main hearth, two large chairs and a
long chair for holding several people were arranged. A large table
was centered between the furniture. This furniture had been made of
dried logs and finished roughly by axe; it had a very forest feel
to it. Cushions were fitted to seats and backrests. “Come now,”
Lady Bella said after a moment, “I want to show you the bedrooms.”
We all walked through the door to the first bedroom, which was no
less impressive than the rest of the house. On the three outside
walls were good-sized windows with shutters. Smaller tapestries
hung from the overhead beams as most of the wall space was taken up
with windows or furniture. Two large beds were placed in the room
at opposite ends. In the middle of the room was a small table with
chairs on each side. At the foot of each bed were chests filled
with blankets and bed linens. The rear-facing window opened to a
covered area in the turnout.

The window was open, and Demon stuck
his head through and nickered. If horses could express a smile, he
was doing it. The lady pointed out the stove stoned in, mid-way up
the outside wall. It was the shape of a pear, with a huge oblong
hole along the bottom. She explained the stove design was from her
country and provided great heat when fed little fuel. Next to each
bed was a small table with an oil lamp and candleholder. Next to
that was a large cabinet for clothing. She opened the cabinet next
to the rear bed and revealed that my clothing had already been
placed there. “The other cabinet is empty at present, but you never
know when you may entertain someone.” She looked at Basilea and
winked. Basilea immediately turned bright scarlet, and Bella
continued, “Assistant Fulk, you will find an identical bedroom on
the other side of the great room. Your clothing has been moved
there.” Fulk and I were beyond words, so we just stood there and
stared at each other. Lady Bella stood in front of us and turned
her viper-eyed, piercing stare on us, which caused shivers up
everyone’s back. “I feel slighted by all of you. No one has
complimented the beautiful polished floor tiles!”