The Scourge (Kindle Serial) by Roberto Calas

Author:Roberto Calas [Calas, Roberto]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: 47North
Published: 2012-11-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

We have to wait for more than two hours before the food is ready, but the meal does not disappoint. It is the most elaborate feast I have had since the plague took hold. The servants bring out course after course. Suckling pig, venison in verjuice sauce, smoked pike, salted cod, saffron duck, crayfish, eels, plums, grapes, and a unique new style of blankmanger — chicken pounded into a custard, mixed with rice and anise, and sprinkled with sugar. I am shocked at extravagance of the meal, and I have no doubt now that Thomas wants something from us.

“This is the finest meal I’ve had in months, Sir Thomas,” Morgan says. “I hope that we aren’t taxing your food stores.”

“We do not typically eat like this these days,” Thomas admits. “But today we honor our three heroes.”

There are fourteen of us at the table. Robert Bailey, Ralf the burgher, Zhuri, Matilda, Cecilia, and Thomas’s son Harold are there. The pretty blonde girl from the tree, Lilly, is also there, as are two more of Sir Thomas’s nieces and one more nephew. Morgan and Matilda sit side by side, whispering to each other, probably trading Bible verses. Tristan sits across from Lilly and, from the subtle glances they exchange, I imagine something is happening beneath the table.

None of Sir Thomas’s relatives look at him when he speaks, and a silence settles upon us as everyone dines. When I can’t take the clinks of spoons and knives upon plates any longer, I clear my throat and address the lord. “How large is your demesne, Sir Thomas?”

“Nine hides,” he says. “Forty-five virgates.”

I work the numbers in my head. I have never been good with these figures. I come up with roughly nine hundred acres, depending on how they divide their hides here in Essex. It is a small estate, especially for the size of this manor house, but farming that much land requires a lot of help. And with this plague, I can’t imagine where he gets that help.

Sir Thomas guesses my thoughts. “We’ve abandoned some of the outer furlongs at the base of the ridge. And another few furlongs will go to spoil this harvest. But we have plenty of men to reap. There has been little plague here in Danbury.”

Tristan looks up from his blonde. “Why is that?”

Sir Thomas looks at his son, Harold, as he speaks. “Because Danbury is safe. Because we are on a steep hill and the plaguers do not like to climb hills. Because there are thick forests and fens surrounding our village. Because we have worked hard to fortify the places where there are no hills or forests or fens. And” — he raises his voice — “because no one leaves the village if they don’t have to.”

Cecilia blasts a great snort of air from her nostrils and speaks. Her voice is venomous. “There is plague in Danbury. More and more of it. The blighted ones come in packs from the north. Packs like the one we ran from today.

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.