Blood Oath: The Janna Chronicles 1 by Felicity Pulman

Author:Felicity Pulman [Felicity Pulman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760082864
Publisher: Momentum
Published: 2014-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Janna woke late the next morning to find the sun already high in the sky. Her long sleep had refreshed her, so that although she felt lonely as she went about her morning chores, she also saw that this was how things were going to be from now on, and that, in time, she would get used to it.

She found herself humming the tune she’d heard her mother singing, and stopped. For some reason she felt as if it were forbidden, even though Eadgyth was not there to censure her.

She walked outside with an armful of feed for the animals. Their pen was getting somewhat smelly, she noted, as she looked about at the mounds of excrement. She dumped the greens in a corner to entice the goats and hens out of her way then, with a sigh, she took up a spade to shovel the mundungus out and over the garden.

“Dirt and disease go together,” Eadgyth had said, when Janna had once questioned why their animals were not brought into the cottage at night for safety, as was common practice. “The fence protects the animals; that is why I made it: to close them in. And their waste can be spread among the plants to help them grow, instead of fouling the rushes on our floor and making us both ill.” The sound of Eadgyth’s voice in her mind brought tears once more. Janna blinked hard, and kept on digging.

Once done, she came back into the cottage and washed her hands. She would have to do the work of two if she wanted to survive. She would need goods to trade for other necessities as well as for some of the foodstuffs that she was unable to provide for herself. Even with her mother by her side, they had often gone hungry. Janna felt a twisting knot of fear in her stomach. She had the coins from her sales at Wiltune market, but there were no lotions or potions left to sell; she would have to create more. In addition, she needed to think about Aldith’s offer, although she would not commit herself to anything until she could be sure of the midwife’s innocence. And in the meantime she should put the word about that she was able to physic the villagers just as her mother had always done.

It wasn’t quite true, and Janna felt a flash of anger toward her mother. Then she shrugged. It was the way it was, and she would just have to make the best of it. She had her mother’s knowledge. It was only a matter of time before she gained her experience.

The sound of galloping hooves alerted Janna to a horseman approaching the cottage. She opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight, recognizing the big black destrier and its rider.

“Johanna.”

“Sire.” She smiled up at Hugh and bobbed a small curtsy. He led a palfrey on a rein behind him, the same palfrey he’d brought for Cecily to ride.

“I am pleased to find you at home,” he said, and hurriedly dismounted.

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