Beloved Pilgrim by Nan Hawthorne

Author:Nan Hawthorne
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Nan Hawthorne
Published: 2011-08-12T17:16:06+00:00

For the rest of that day and much of the next, Elisabeth had little time to dwell on the awkwardness of any encounters with Andronikos.

The honey-eyed woman did not appear that same evening nor in the morning. Elisabeth realized she had not seen her anywhere. She found herself looking for Maliha as she moved through the house, longing to catch a glimpse of her.

"Where is the woman who was serving me, you know, Maliha?" she finally asked the man who seemed to be a sort of chamberlain to Andronikos.

"Who, my lord? Oh, the half-Turkish woman? We let her go. She was not working out in the house."

"You did what?" she cried. "Why?"

The man looked annoyed. Pulling himself up to his full height, he replied in a dignified way, "She did not fit. She had no understanding of what was required of her. You yourself said . . . "

"I said nothing of the kind. Where did she go?" Elisabeth was frantic. She felt responsible for the young woman's departure. "Where does she live?"

The man pressed his thin lips tight together. "I am sure I do not know."

Growing ever angrier and more frustrated, Elisabeth put her hand to where her sword would normally be. The fact that it was in her chamber just fueled her irritation. She glanced about. "I shall speak to your master about your insolence!"

The manservant's face paled. "Please, my lord, do not. I can only tell you that the girl must live outside the city walls. Turks are not allowed to live within unless they have some employment with a Greek household."

"But she's only half Turkish!"

The man's lips curled almost imperceptibly. "Is she? That is what they all claim."

Elisabeth moved close to the man to use her superior height to intimidate him. "Has it ever occurred to you that there are lots of children in this city who are the product of Greek cocks not caring where they leave their seed?" She stood glaring and breathing hard on the man whose face was still pale and averted. "Where do I find the Turkish sector?"

The man tried to ease away. She stepped forward to keep her face above his. "Your Excellency, you should go to the Gate of St. Romanus and ask there. It is just outside. Ask for the street of the laundresses."

"And where might that gate be?" she demanded.

"North and west. On the other side of the city. Ask anyone on the street. But, my lord, you will have to go through some rough sectors. Stay on the main avenue."

Her lower lip thrust out menacingly, Elisabeth stared into his face a few moments, then stepped back. Without another glance or sound, she spun on her heel and dashed to her own chamber.

When she arrived she remembered that Albrecht was out arranging for provisions. She would have to go alone. She found her coat of chain mail and her belt, sheath and sword. She struggled into the coat and belted her sword atop her crusader's tabard. Without

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.