Serenity Valley (23 page)

“Yes, better than good. I brought this
back for safekeeping. Trina thought it best.” Fulk was holding the
marble box.

Basilea gasped. “Oh, Fulk, can I see
it? Oh, it’s beautiful, so simple yet exquisite! What is this
material?”

“It's elephant tusk. The brush hair is
giraffe.”

“Well, I can see how the poor girl
went into shock. It’s perfect. It’s splendid. Hey, Fulk, can I be
your girlfriend?”

We all laughed. A knock on the front
door interrupted our talk. Fulk answered the door. “Good evening,
Devin,” he said. “What’s the news?”

“Hi, Fulk,” Devin replied. “The lady
and lord will arrive shortly. We are in place.”

Basilea called from the great room,
“Hold, Devin, wait, please.” She bustled to the kitchen and
retrieved a huge tray with five loaves of bread, a dish of butter,
and mugs. Fulk followed her with a large jug of cider. A quick trip
to the small guardhouse provided a meal for the men on station. The
tray and jug was always back on the porch by morning, always empty
of the bread.

Once that task was completed, Fulk
said, “I’ll bunk with you two, if that’s all right? Give the lord
and lady some privacy.”

Basilea said, “No problem, Fulk. I
don’t think Gamel will kick me out of bed.” We all chuckled, then
went to the bedrooms to light oil lamps and set fires in the
stoves. By the time that was done, the lord and lady had stepped
through the back door.

Bells said, “We had to compliment
Demon on his ribbons before we could pass.”

“Good evening, my lord, my lady,” Fulk
greeted. “Please take your usual room, my lady. I will be taking my
rest in the other quarters.”

“Let us straighten this out
immediately,” Lord Goodwin spoke up to say. “In this house, away
from the trappings of nobility, we are Goodwin and Bells. I never
much liked the whole lord thing anyway, being just a victim of
circumstance.” We all smiled and nodded agreement. “Good then, as
it’s my first night in a real house for many years, let us have
wine together.” We all took chairs at the table, and a wine skin
was passed. Goodwin raised his mug and said, “To Bells's band of
rogues. May I soon be one!” We all clanged our mugs together,
smiling. It didn’t take long for Bells to notice Nesta’s present
lying on the table. With Fulk's permission, she examined every inch
of it and the contents. She was greatly impressed.

“Do you know the origin of this work,
Fulk?” she asked.

“No, Bells, just the materials. The
instruments are elephant tusk with giraffe brush hair.”

“Yes, the craftsmanship is from
central Asia, where the kukri, katara, and chakram come from. The
work is that of a master craftsman, exquisite!”

Fulk told Bells that he was keeping it
for Nesta per Trina’s suggestion, and Goodwin said, “No doubt that
drunken lout of a father would steal from his own child. Trina
won’t let me banish him; she has too good a heart.”

I was dying to find out about Lord
Hamond’s boot order. Unable to resist any longer, I asked,
“Goodwin, how did things go with Forwin?”

A huge smile spread across his face.
“It was great! At first, Forwin didn’t understand what Lord Hamond
was talking about. I told him the new design he had just perfected
for you, and we were off. Hamond was so impressed that he bought
all of Forwin’s available stock and placed orders for one hundred
pair for his runners and men-at-arms. I got so excited, I ordered
boots for myself and our personal guard. They are fantastic boots!
Needless to say, you will be seeing a number of forest boots in use
tomorrow!”

Bells, Fulk, and Basilea looked at
each other. Fulk asked, “What’s a forest boot, Gamel?”

“This is a forest boot, Fulk.” I
raised my foot, and the three stared with wide eyes. I said, “Wait,
I’ll take it off.” I took my boots off and handed them out for
inspection.

Bells looked at them in amazement.
“This boot is fantastic: lightweight, supple, and will be invisible
in the forest.”

Fulk was equally impressed. “I could
run all day in a pair of these; no, two days!”

Basilea had figured out the surprise
by now and just sat quietly with a huge smile. I said, “Oh, my
sweetest beauty, you look like the cat that swallowed the bird.”
Basilea just giggled. Everyone just stared at us, wondering what
was going on. “Oh, I almost forgot,” I said, as if I had just
remembered something that had slipped my mind. “I picked up a few
things today at festival.” Everyone looked around the table with
puzzled looks. I got the large packages from the pack and
distributed them. Everyone was excited and started opening their
packages immediately. Soon, everyone was admiring their new forest
boots.

Bells was impressed. “These are the
finest boots I have ever owned!” she said happily. Basilea just
hugged my neck and said thank you.

Fulk was grinning when he asked, “How
did they get named?”

“Forwin told me the hold folk call us
the forest people because we spend so much time there.” Everyone
thought about that for a moment. They seemed all right with the
name our group had earned. Changing the subject rather abruptly, I
said, “Goodwin, I have a question about Hamond. Right now, he seems
to want anything connected to the hold. I sense envy and jealousy.
Just how wanting is he?”

“Do you mean would he try a forceful
takeover?” Goodwin asked. “Yes, would he show a threat of arms?” I
replied.

Everyone was a little shocked by my
question and the possibility Hamond could be a threat. Goodwin
said, “Hamond is a great threat, but not in a direct attempt of
force, because I have good standing with the king. Indirectly,
though, he could have an outlaw noble take the hold, then unseat
him in the name of justice. Now you know why I hate my
job.”

Fulk couldn’t help it, he had to speak
up. “Yeah, and he is one of your friends!”

Goodwin, who was drinking wine,
sprayed it all over and began choking. We were all
laughing.

Bells looked at her husband. “I tried
to warn you about Fulk.” Fulk was sitting there with an ear-to-ear
grin.

“Oh, Bells, I have one more thing for
you. I saw it and knew it was perfect for you.”

At my words, Bells's eyes grew huge,
like an excited child. “Another present for me? I love presents,
yummy!”

I retrieved the long, flat package
from the pack and handed it to Bells. Everyone leaned toward her,
excited to see what it could be. She said, “Oh, I hate to unwrap
it, the wrapping is so beautiful!” She truly looked like a child
getting a birthday present as she continued, “But I don’t love the
wrapping enough not to unwrap it.” Bells carefully untied the knot
and removed the dark green ribbon, placing it carefully on the
table. Ever so carefully, she unwrapped the pale green cloth,
folded it, and placed it on the table beside the ribbon. It was
almost as if she were making this last as long as possible. She
then picked up the flat wooden box and examined it. “This box is
made by a master woodworker. The wood is rare and precious!” she
said.

“If you’re wondering, Bells, there is
something in the box,” I said.

Bells set the box down in front of her
and slowly raised the hinged top. When the top was standing up, she
gasped and grabbed her chest with both hands. Her eyes were as big
as plates. She exclaimed, “Oh! Oh, my goodness! It’s beautiful!
Where in the world did you find this?”

Basilea asked, “What is it, Bells?
Hurry and show us, PLEASE!”

Reluctantly, Bells picked up the box
and held it so all could see it. She was crying. I was starting to
think this may have been a bad idea. I didn’t think it was such a
big deal. Everyone was ooing and ahhing, which was starting to
embarrass me. Bells set the box on the table and withdrew the black
comb, bringing it up to her eyes with one hand; the other she
placed along her cheek. She said, “Oh, this is amazing. A master
artist made this comb. It's black onyx with jade inlay.”

Basilea couldn’t wait any longer.
“Could I see it, Bells?” she asked eagerly, with a trace of
impatience creeping into her voice.

Bells said, “Oh, I’m sorry! Here, of
course!”

She handed the comb to Basilea, who
examined it with her mouth hanging open. I couldn’t resist.
Reaching over, I pushed her mouth closed with my finger under her
chin. She didn’t really realize what I was doing. She blindly waved
her free hand about as one would shoo a fly. Everyone was laughing
and giggling. Basilea finally said something. “What do you think it
says?”

“Oh, I can read it to you,” Bells
said. Taking the comb in her hand, she said, “This language is read
from bottom right upward.” Everyone looked puzzled. “I’ll show
you!” She put her finger on the bottom right symbol and began
moving her finger upward, reading as she went. “A woman’s beauty
lies within.” Bells looked very pleased with her ability to read
the strange symbols. “It is from the orient where the katana sword
is from,” she said as she picked up one of the pins. “These are
hairpins that go with it, made with a katana steel shaft, ringed in
onyx and jade, with silk thread tassels. Absolutely marvelous!
Thank you, Gamel, it is truly a treasure!” Bells gathered her long
black hair, twisted it with both hands, rolled it up, and placed it
on the back of her head. She took the comb and placed it in her
hair to hold it, then stuck the pins through the small holes in the
comb so the pin handles stuck up on an angle, with the tassels
swinging freely. “Well, what do you think?” She got up and walked
around the room, kind of shuffling her feet along the smooth floor.
She turned back to the table holding her hands together and bowed.
“I think I make a good lady of the Orient!”

“Well, you certainly make my blood
boil!” Goodwin spoke up. “Oh, kind sir, whatever do you mean by
boiling blood?”

“I’ll show you later, my sweet,
innocent sorceress.”

Basilea, Fulk, and I were turning a
little red. Bells was giggling, and Goodwin just smiled at his
wife. More than ready to change the subject, I said, “Oh, I almost
forgot. I got a little something extra for you, my
princess.”

Basilea looked excited. “Oh, sir, you
shouldn’t have, but because you did, where is it?”

Everyone laughed while I gave her the
small wrapped package. I said, “I’m sorry it couldn’t be bigger,
but remember, it’s the thought that counts.” Basilea just smiled as
she examined the small, beautifully wrapped package. Everyone was
wide-eyed with interest.

Fulk couldn’t wait any longer. “Do you
need help unwrapping it?”

“No, I can do it!” Smiling, Basilea
carefully untied the ribbon and removed the light red cloth. As
Bells had done, she carefully placed them aside on the table.
Examining the lid, she commented, “Oh, look! It’s Demon on the
top!” She then opened the small box and gasped for air. Holding her
breath, she removed the locket and chain.

Bells had a look of concern as she
said, “Remember to breathe, Basilea!” Basilea gulped for air as she
examined the finely engraved flowers and vine work on the locket.
Everyone was more interested in watching Basilea than seeing the
locket. Bells was first to break the silence. “I think it opens.
See if it has a latch.” Basilea looked for the latch and opened the
heart. Her lip started trembling, and a great rush of tears ran
from her eyes, down her cheeks, and onto the front of her
smock.

Fulk couldn’t stand it. “Oh no, not
twice in the same day!”

Bells looked at him with a smile.
“It’s okay, Fulk. Women are supposed to be emotional at tender
times; it’s the way we are.”

Basilea looked at me and wiped her
eyes. “Thank you, Gamel. I knew you felt that way, but it’s nice to
be reminded now and then.” Smiling, she bent over and kissed me
lightly on the lips. “Thank you, Sir Rogue, and you mine since I
was six years old.”

Bells was as excited as a child. “Can
I see it, Basilea?” Bells looked at the locket and then the
engraving. “Oh, that is so touching. You are such a romantic,
Gamel!”

She passed it to Goodwin. “Oh, oh, now
I understand,” he said knowingly as he passed it back to Basilea,
bypassing Fulk.

Fulk barked out, “Hey, what about me?
Don’t I get to see?”

Basilea said, “I don’t know if you can
handle any more emotional strain today, Fulk.”

“Come on, Basilea, enough with the
jibe, give it up.” Smiling, he examined the locket and the
engraving. He mumbled, “Keeper of my heart.” He put the locket on
the table and put one hand to his forehead, crying out, “That is so
moving, I, I… feel, I feel faint.” He then reeled over in his chair
and fell on the floor. Everyone roared with laughter. Basilea
grabbed the locket and put the chain over her head. She closed one
hand around the locket and continued laughing with everyone
else.

When order was restored, Bells looked
at me. She asked, “Where did you ever find these things, Gamel? The
workmanship is of a master level.”

“I found the comb and locket at the
Gypsy booth. Ivan is a master engraver, and Giselia is extremely
knowledgeable about horses. In fact, she explained many things
about my bond with Demon. I spent a couple hours with them and
learned more about my situation than I ever dreamed to know. They
are fascinating people.”