Harlequin Historical May 2016, Box Set 2 of 2 by Lynna Banning

Author:Lynna Banning
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781460398050
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Joanna stood upright and put her hands in the small of her back, pushing her spine forward. She was glad of the rushing water that played around her legs as she stood knee-deep and barefoot in the river and let out a sigh. Beside her Meg did the same. The two women exchanged a look of weary understanding. Washing was backbreaking work.

For the past five days the temperature had risen steadily and the opportunity for washing sheets was too good to pass up. All along the riverbank women and girls from the village were engaged in the same task. Some sang or chatted, others were silent with exertion, and some obviously hoped to catch the eye of one of the men who stopped by the bank to watch.

The women dragged clothes and sheets from the river, twisted and wrung them before spreading them out to dry over the bushes. Small boys, including Watt who had been temporarily released from his bellows duty, raced back and forth scaring away the large gulls that watched proceedings with interest.

Task accomplished, the women sat on the grass to pull on their stockings and boots, in no rush to move. Joanna had tucked her skirts and shift into her girdle at the waist, doubling the layers, and the thick woollen kirtle was becoming uncomfortably warm. The wind that blew from the moors and had chilled her to the bone since her arrival now came as a welcome breeze, cooling her neck as it lifted the damp hair that escaped from beneath her cap. She noticed Meg had replaced her wool under-tunic with a second one of linen, lower at the neck and with loose sleeves. Joanna watched with envy, fanning herself with the back of her hand.

‘I need to make another shift,’ she said. ‘Something lighter.’

‘Ask Master Danby to take you to the market in Pickering. You haven’t left the village since you arrived.’

Joanna glanced towards the smithy where even in the heat the door remained closed to provide constant dimness. She thought of Hal, returning to the house later each day, barely concealed frustration simmering in his eyes.

‘I doubt he will agree. He’s barely left the forge for days now.’

‘It’s the feast of St George next week,’ Meg said. ‘There’s always a market. He’ll go to that.’

A jolt like lightning shot through Joanna. Sir Roger’s face rose in her mind for the first time in days and she reeled, starting forward abruptly.

Meg put a hand on her arm. ‘Are you ill?’ she asked in concern. ‘You’ve gone pale.’

Joanna wiped her brow. She counted up the weeks since her marriage, wondering how they had gone without her spending every day grieving for the life she had lost.

‘I’m just surprised that it could it be St George’s Day so soon. I had not realised how quickly the time had passed. You reminded me that there is a tournament at Windsor due to take place in a matter of days. Someone I once knew will be competing.

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