No Foes Shall Stay Her Might! - Episode 11

For the rest of the day, Aefelthrith and Gwladys worked side by side but in silence.  Aefelthrith seemed preoccupied and Gwladys wasn’t quite sure what, if anything, to say.

Their meal, that evening, was a similarly quiet affair.  Later, as they were sitting, sewing by candlelight, Gwladys finally could stand it no more.

“Must have been a difficult day for you?” She suggested.

Aefelthrith glanced up from her sewing “Not especially, why should it have been?”

“I was just thinking, what with yer meeting His Lordship after all this time an’ all” Gwladys stuck the tip of her tongue out as she negotiated a tricky stitch.

“I had not given it a moment’s thought” Aefelthrith lied, concentrating on her sewing.

“Oh, right!” Gwladys remarked, “still, nice to see as ‘ow ‘e’s doin’ so well fer ‘isself, innit?”

“I’m sure that I wish him nothing but success” Aefelthrith said, grimly.

The sewing continued, with nothing but the crackle of the fire to relieve the oppressive silence.

“Bit odd, though, don’tcherthink?” Gwladys offered, eventually.

“What is?”

“Werl, when you was back at the castle, neither you nor ‘im ‘ad ever seen the sea, ‘ad yer?”

“No, I had never experienced that particular pleasure,” Aefelthrith nodded, “as opposed to now, when I think I’ve seen rather too much of it!”

“An’ yet,” Gwladys warmed to her theme, “’ere ‘e is, a bit over a year later, ‘an ‘e’s a sea captain an’ all”

“He’s a quick learner” Aefelthrith snapped.

“Must be!” Gwladys nodded, “’cause it’s not like ‘e’s planning a bit of a pootle down the river, is it?  ‘E’s goin’ to the Indies, wherever that is!”

“I’m sure he will rise to the challenge” Aefelthrith said, without confidence.

“Hmmm” Gwladys commented, “then there’s the ship”

“What about the ship?” Aefelthrith put down her sewing and glared at Gwladys.

“Werl, when ‘e rode off to battle, back then, I don’t know about you but I didn’t notice ‘im takin’ a war chest with ‘im, style of thing?”  Gwladys observed.

“Of course not!”  Aefelthrith snapped again, “Even if he had a war chest, which he did not, then he could have hardly carried it into battle!”

“Right, that’s what I thought” Gwladys nodded, “so, if ‘e ‘adn’t got no war chest, an’ ‘e left the battlefield with just what ‘e stood up in, minus ‘is left ‘and, then ‘ow did ‘e pay for a ship what can sail to the Indies?”

Aefelthrith stared at her for a while, then resumed her sewing with some gusto.

“I would have thought it was perfectly obvious!  He must have gained some investors!”

“Werl, that could be, I suppose” Gwladys conceded, “they must ‘ave ‘ad a lot of confidence in ‘im, given as ‘ow ‘e’s never sailed a ship in ‘is life before?”  She arched an eyebrow.

“He has a persuasive manner.  I’m sure they would have every confidence, and rightly so!” Aefelthrith stated, loyally.

“Ar yeah, that must be it” Gwladys nodded, “’cause I wonder if they’ve seen it?”

“Seen what?”

“This ship of ‘is!  Seein’ as ‘ow it’s in that London,” Gwladys mused, “ ‘avin’ work done” She added, sarcastically.

“I could not possibly say!”  More furious sewing

“Must ‘ave a lot of faith, is all I can say” Gwladys suggested, archly.

Aefelthrith slammed her sewing down on the table and turned to face her companion.

“Just what are you trying to say?” She asked, eyes blazing.

“Nothin’, nothin’ at all!” Gwladys sniffed.

“No, come along, just what is this all about?”

Gwladys sighed and put down her sewing.

“Alright, but yer won’t like it!”  Gwladys shook her head, sadly.

“Tell me!” Aefelthrith snapped.

“I think ‘e’s a fraud!”

Aefelthrith gasped, “How DARE you!”

“Look, just lissen to me for a minute, right?” Gwladys glared at ‘Ethel’, “’Ere’s this bloke, what nobody’s seen afore, who turns up an’ says as ‘ow ‘e’s a sea captain, right?”

Aefelthrith nodded, tersely.

“Now, nobody’s seen this ship what ‘e reckons ‘e’s got, but ‘e’s still goin’ ‘round an’ raisin’ money for this trip to the Indies, even though ‘e’s never sailed anywhere before in ‘is life!”

“Yes, and?”

“Werl, ‘ow does anyone know this ship of ‘is exists, eh?  ‘Ow do we even know ‘e’s able to captain a sea-going ship?”

“Because he said so!”  Aefelthrith snarled.

“Yeah, an’ that’s just it, innit?  We’ve only got ‘is word fer any of it!”

“That should be sufficient” Aefelthrith said, through gritted teeth.

“Werl, mebbe it is!” Gwladys nodded, “but I dunner think I’d be partin’ with any money, just on anyone’s say so”

“Then it is just as well that his endeavour does not rest solely upon your generosity!” Aefelthrith sniffed, “Now, I am fatigued, it has been a long and tiring day.  I think I will retire to my bed.  Good night to you!”

Gwladys sighed and collected up her work.

“Night, lovey” Gwladys muttered, “sleep tight”

The following morning started with the atmosphere as frosty as the night before.  Gwladys and Aefelthrith had their meagre breakfast and set off to work, in the dim early light, enveloped in an icy silence.

Without speaking, they elected to work separately, Aefelthrith on the ground floor of the mansion house they were cleaning, Gwladys on the floor above.

Aefelthrith set to, scrubbing the hall floor.  She was still, unaccountably, annoyed with Gwladys for her comments.  In all honesty, she would have had great difficulty explaining to anyone, and least of all herself, quite why she was annoyed.  Why was she so vehemently defending a man who, let’s face it, had abandoned her and left her to her fate, at the hands of his enemies?

She scrubbed furiously and frowned as she contemplated this conundrum.

She supposed, when she thought about it, that being betrothed was something that still meant a lot to her, even if it obviously did NOT to ‘Captain D’Arbanville’!  A wife and child indeed!

More furious scrubbing.

If she was being absolutely honest, all of the points that Gwladys had made had already troubled her, too.  She hoped, with all her heart, that there was a reasonable explanation but, a small voice in the back of her mind kept nagging at her that, there probably was not.

More scrubbing, this time accompanied with the occasional sigh.

Let’s face it, she had been unfair to Gwladys.  There was no other word for it.  Gwladys, who had been there for her through thick and thin, especially when certain ‘sea captains’ had been conspicuous by their absence. 

Desultory scrubbing and the odd tear.

There was no doubt about it, she owed Gwladys an apology. 

She eased herself up from the hard floor with some difficulty, wiping her forehead and moist cheeks with her sleeve.  Oh well, no time like the present!

It was, therefore, more than a bit of a surprise when a hand clamped over her mouth and a strong arm grabbed her around the waist, lifting her feet from the floor, and a rough voice hissed in her ear:

“GOTCHA!”
Catch up with the rest of the story in the rest of the collection, here on ABCtales:

The Chronicles of a Lady (and her Maid)