Court (Episode 12 - The Further Chronicles of a Young Lady (and her Maid))

Continued from Episode 11 - Question

The story so far:  Gwladys and Aefelthrith have started a new life in a pawn shop, formerly run by 'Anty Marj', having discovered the shop when they attempted to pawn Aefelthrith's ring, and Anty Marj suddently vanished before the deal was completed.  Finding her lifeless body in the Stock Room, Aeflethrith decided this was a sign that they should take over the business.  With Anty Marj safely stowed in an outhouse, Gwladys and Aefelthrith set about running the pawn shop and all seemed to be going reasonably well, until  Anty Marj's body vanished and an officer of the Watch, appeared.  When the Watch produced a confused Anty Marj, wondering why someone else was running her shop, Gwladys managed to convince her that she had sold the shop to them, palming Aefelthrith's ring into her pocket to demonstrate payment.  A suddenly hugely enriched Anty Marj went away a happy woman and the Watch withdrew, satisfied.  Meanwhile, Gwladys engaged a young urchin, 'Arry, to help clear the back garden of weeds, as a means of giving him a bit of income to support his poorly mother and avoid him either going down the pit or up the chimney, much to Aefelthrith's displeasure.  Next morning, 'Arry set about his task bright and early and all was well, until he produced a skull from his digging.  Gwladys swore him to secrecy and quiickly buried the evidence, which gave them a breathing space, but then Sergeant Argent of the Watch appeared in the shop.  Fortunately, he was not pursuing his enquiries but was, to her extreme shock and horror, pursuing Aefelthrith:

Aefelthrith stomped from the kitchen and thundered up the stairs.

“What are you doing?” Gwladys shouted after her.

“Packing” Came the response from upstairs.

“Packing?  What do you mean ‘packing’?”

Aefelthrith reappeared at the top of the stairs and glared at her.

“I mean that, thanks to your intervention, I now have just ONE WEEK in which to either accept the suit of Sergeant Argent, and condemn myself to a fate worse than death, or deny him, thus frustrating his intentions and probably gaining for myself a sworn enemy.  For which I thank you very much indeed!  Therefore, I am packing” She disappeared back into her bedroom.

“Where do you think you’re gonna go?”

Aefelthrith reappeared, still glaring.

“To coin one of your phrases, ‘away’ seems to be the most suitable option”

“I dunner see why” Gwladys shook her head, “what’s wrong with ‘ere?”

“What’s wrong with here?  You mean apart from the body in the back garden and the Watch wanting to take advantage of me?  Why, nothing, I’m sure!”

“The body’s a problem, I’ll grant yer” Gwladys conceded, “but I’m workin’ on that.  As fer the Sergeant, ‘e’s ‘armless enough.  All yer’ve got to do is let ‘im down gently, next week”

“Why is it that I am so irresistibly attractive to the officers of law enforcement?” Aefelthrith drew a hand across her brow.

“Oh, gerrover yersen” Gwladys responded, crossly, “’E’s a nice enough feller, there’s plenty’d be grateful ‘e were showin’ an interest!”

“Well then, if you think so highly of him, why don’t YOU go out with him?”

“Two reasons.  One: ‘e anner asked me an’, Two:  Even if ‘e did, I dunner want a feller, not now, not never, right?”

“You are just jealous of my powers of attraction” Aefelthrith dismissed her with a wave of her hand and disappeared back into her bedroom.

“Ha!” Gwladys scoffed, “Look, there’s no need to go packin’.  We can sort this out, like we’ve sorted stuff out before”

“I have no intention of being here in a week’s time, when he returns for his answer” Aefelthrith shouted from her bedroom.

“Where yer gonna go?  Wotcher gonna do?”

“I’m quite sure we will find other opportunities” Aefelthrith responded.

“WE?  Whaddyermean ‘we?’” Gwladys frowned.

Aefelthrith plodded back to the top of the stairs.

“Why, you and I.  We shall prevail, as we have done before, I am certain of it”

“Werl, missy” Gwladys folded her arms, meaningfully, “yer can ‘prevail’ as much as yer wanner, me, I’m stayin’ put!”

“What do you mean by that?” Aefelthrith looked puzzled.

“I mean, I didner think this place was a good idea, not first off, but now, well…I like it!  An’ I ain’t runnin’ away, not at the first bit of trouble”

“But…but…I cannot stay here” Aefelthrith pointed out.

Gwladys shrugged, “That’s your look out, innit?  I’m fine right ‘ere, ta”

“You would abandon me in my hour of need?”

“Ain’t me what’s doin’ the ‘abandonin’’, now is it?  You’re the one clearin’ off”

“Well!  All I can say is that you clearly do not understand me at all” Aefelthrith stamped her foot and stormed back into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

“I reckon I do, missy, I reckon I do” Gwladys shook her head, ruefully.

The rest of the day passed, uneventfully.  Gwladys attended to a number of customers, which added to the amount of forlorn and essentially valueless items littering the shelves.  On the other hand, a bedraggled pair of shoes, which she had little hope would ever be redeemed or find a purchaser, were returned to their rightful owner and a modest profit made in the process.  Flushed with this success, Gwladys set about preparing a stew for dinner.

She was tending the pot on the stove when Aeflethrith made an appearance in the kitchen doorway.

“Smells nice” She observed, timidly, “what’s in it?”

“Veg” Gwladys announced, not looking up from the pot.

“Vegetables?”

“Werl, mostly veg” Gwladys amended.

“Would there be enough for me?” Aefelthrith asked, hopefully.

“Should be” Gwladys nodded, “made enough fer two”

“Ah, that’s…kind of you” Aefelthrith smiled, weakly, and looked downcast.

“Thought you were packin’?”  Gwladys picked up the giant pot and laboriously tipped some excess water from it.

“Ah, yes, well” Aefelthrith sat down at the table and fiddled with the cloth, “I have decided that I was, perhaps, a little impetuous”

“That right?” Gwladys raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I feel…” Aefelthrith cleared her throat and blushed, “I feel I may have been a little hasty”

“Fancy!” Gwladys stirred her pot, vigorously.

A brooding silence enveloped them.  Then, almost in unison, they said:

“Look…I’m sorry”

They looked at each other, somewhat startled, and then started to laugh.

“I should never have threatened to leave in that way and I certainly should not have expected you to come with me” Aefelthrith said, eventually.

“Ah, well, I guess I shouldn’t ‘ave thought you’d be ‘appy steppin’ out with the Sergeant just ‘cause it might make our lives a bit easier” Gwladys shrugged.

“I will give it a try, if you think it would help” Aefelthrith said, in a small voice.

“Nah, dunner fret” Gwladys shook her head, vigorously, “I’ll think of summat”

Later, as they were enjoying their stew;

“I do not mean to pry…” Aefelthrith began.

“Go on, yer gonna say ‘but’” Gwladys chuckled.

“Well, yes indeed, I was” Aefelthrith nodded.

“So, what do yer wanna know>” Gwladys set to work mopping up the remains of her stew with a chunk of bread.

“Well, it occurred to me, that in all the time we have been together, I have never known there to be anyone else in your life, if you see what I mean?”

“Anyone else?  What, like a feller, yer mean?” Gwladys frowned.

“Well, yes, I suppose I do” Aefelthrith nodded, pushing her unfinished plate to one side.

“Ha!  My life’s complicated enough, as it is, without any bloke makin’ it worse, ta very much”

“But, you must …there must have been someone in the past, surely?”

Gwladys sighed and drummed her fingers on the table, briefly.

“Alright, if’n yer must know, there was a feller, many years back but it ended in a right mess an’ I wouldner want to put mesen through all that agin.” She took a sharp inward breath, “Nah, if yer ask me, I’m ‘appier on me tod, ta very much”

“No chance of any little Gwladys’s then?” Aefelthrith teased, but sensed the change in atmosphere.  Gwladys glared at her for a few moments, and then said:

“Are yer plannin’ on finishin’ that, or what?” Nodding toward Aefelthrith’s plate.

“Er, no, I have had sufficient, thank you”

“Right, well bung it over ‘ere then, I ‘ate waste” Gwladys carved herself another chunk of bread and Aefelthrith wondered just what had gone on in her companion’s past that she was so unwilling to discuss.

You can find the previous adventures of Gwladys and Aefelthrith in both Kindle and paperback formats at The Chronicles of a Young Lady (and her Maid (link is external)

Now read Episode 13