The Remembered Page 5

  The market was on High Street past All Saints' and would be closing within a couple of hours, so Richard walked quickly down Scotgate to High Street. The numbers of people there were far fewer than would have been there earlier in the day, still a good crowd remained.

  Richard actually loved going to the market. People from the many nearby villages came to market in Stamford in large numbers. Richard suspected that the girl that he had seen was from one of those villages. The market also attracted individuals that were looking to take what was not theirs. This didn't make much difference to Richard today, since he didn't have anything other than his clothing anyway. Just the same, he was careful to observe the nature of those around him.

  The market had rows of merchants' stalls situated tightly together. Many merchants had fashioned temporary covering for shelter from rain. Most merchants specialized in the items that they had to sell. Some sold fresh vegetables, others sold candles, some sold farm tools and still others sold household items. Richard didn't care much for these items, he enjoyed the market so that he could watch the people.

  Richard walked slowly among the stalls looking at the merchants attending to each stall and to their customers. He passed a juggler and a musician who were trying to attract a crowd. The juggler called to him, but he pretended not to notice. Fortunately, the juggler did not follow him to taunt him, Richard was not wanting to call attention to himself. The market had two rows of stalls. Richard had carefully worked his way up the first row of stalls and was just heading down the second row when he saw her. Initially he was frozen in place, and time seemed to stand still, but then he faded back quickly behind some of the other villagers. He wanted the opportunity to observe without being observed. Behind him was an alleyway, which he backed into so that he could peer around the corner discreetly.

  From this vantage point, Richard was able to casually, but carefully observe the maiden. Her head was uncovered and her long hair was braided and wrapped around her head like a ribbon. Her nose was thin and graceful, forming a gentle curve that turned up slightly at the end, but was not pointy. Her lips were full and had a nice color. Richard thought how nice it would be to kiss those lips. Her ankles were thin, not like the stocky ankles of so many other girls. They were dainty, and seemingly not made to carry the heavy loads of life, like water, or food from the market. She wore a long, light blue dress that was gathered at the waist by a wide belt. Her waist was thin. Richard was fascinated by her physical appearance. Even from this distance, Richard noticed that her blue eyes were bright and seemed to sparkle.

  Richard noted that she was with an older man and he suspected that it was her father. He also noticed that they had not sold all of their vegetables and so they would likely be back to the market again within the week.

  Richard was torn, he wanted to stay and watch her longer, but he knew that he must hurry back to Easton-on-the-hill. If he delayed much longer, his father would surely note that he hadn't come straight from the glazier's shoppe. Richard turned, darted up the alleyway and headed for home.

  Lind and Bromley were still in the field when Richard arrived at the cottage. He quickly found the sithe and started the repair. It would need a new lower handle. This repair wouldn't be too difficult and he was sure that he could finish it before the evening meal.

  The sun had set before Richard finished the repair and it was getting too dark to work, but he managed to get the repair done just as Lind and Bromley came in from the fields.

  'Is the planting dune then?' asked Richard.

  'Aye,' said Lind, 'and nay too soon.' With that he motioned to the clouds that were still visible in the darkening sky.

  'I see that you 'ave repaired the sithe,' noted Bromley.

  'Aye, the 'andle shuld work well for the next 'arvest.' Richard really was able to do fine handiwork and doing the repair didn't burden him much.

  Geva was outside now and called them in for the evening meal. Just as they sat down the door opened a bit and a female voice asked whether she could come in.

  'Margaret, me luv,' exclaimed Gleda, 'comb in. It is so gud to see you.'

  With that invitation, Margaret entered the cottage and was welcomed at the table. Margaret was about a year older than Richard and Geva. Bromley had been watching Margaret for years. Margaret was rather petite. Richard noted that her face was a little rounder than the girl at the market and her figure was slightly fuller. She had a quick, broad smile and a cheerful disposition. Richard might have been interested in her also, except that he had always known that she had caught Bromley's eye. Even as Geva, Richard and Margaret had occasionally played together when they were children, Bromley watched from the side. Bromley now had the word of Margaret's father that she could wed when she reached her 15th year.

  As Margaret sat at the table, she stated, 'Me father said that 'e saw you at the market todee, Richard.'

  Richard felt his face flush a little and he quickly cast his eyes at his bowl. 'No, 'e did nay see me at the market. I was at the Glazier's shoppe and returned 'ome right after the Master called work for the dee.'

  Margaret started to press the issue, but fortunately for Richard, Bromley cut in and started to tell her that they were able to get all the planting done. Richard quickly finished and excused himself from the table and went outside. The night air was crisp. He heard the creak of the door behind him and turned to see Geva coming out also. She walked up to Richard and with a grin, asked, 'So, whot were you doing in the market todee?' Richard tried initially to protest, but then decided that he could use a little advice from his sister.

  'Will you promise to keep a secret?' he asked Geva.

  'Of course I will. I always do?'

  Richard thought initially about contesting that statement, but decided not to.

  'I was in the market todee,' admitted Richard.

  'I knew it,' Geva exclaimed with a broad grin. Richard motioned for her to keep her voice down. 'You went to see a girl, did you nay,' questioned Geva.

  Richard told Geva about the girl that he had seen outside the Glazier's shoppe and how he had seen her in the market. He told her that she was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen, but he didn't know how to approach her. He also didn't know where she lived. Geva suggested that Richard might survey several of the churches in Stamford the next day, the girl might be in attendance. If not, Geva recommended that he follow her from the market the next time that he saw her.

  Richard resolved to do exactly as Geva suggested. The next day he started at Saint Martin's and looked in on the service, but didn't see anyone that he thought was the girl. Then he checked Saint Mary's and Saint George's with the same result. When he arrived at Saint Michael's the service was ending and he watched from across the street as the parishioners left. No one was recognizable. He felt that he didn't need to check All Saints' because he had attended services there recently and he was certain that she was not there.

  In a disappointed mood, he headed for home resolving to check the market at the next market day on Wednesday.

  It seemed to Richard to be a fortnight before Wednesday came. As he worked on the windows at the Glazier's shoppe he had a difficult time keeping his mind off the girl, so it was with anticipation that he cleaned up his tools quickly at the end of the day and headed for the market. It wasn't a half day today, so he would have to hurry to be at the market before it closed. He suspected that the girl's father would have his stall in the same location as before, so this time Richard approached the market from the alleyway. Peering carefully around the corner so as not to be seen, Richard caught site of the girl. She was looking in his direction when he had peered around the corner, so he quickly moved his head back behind the corner of the building again.

  It had been a long day at the market for Elizabeth and her father. It had been a good day though, they had sold nearly all of their vegetables. They would be packing up soon to go back to their village. The winter had been hard for Elizabeth's family, but now with a strong harvest of
vegetables, it was looking to be a good year. Elizabeth had just received some payment for some vegetables and happened to look in the direction of the nearby alleyway. 'There's that boy again,' she thought to herself. 'I am sure that 'e is the same boy that was there at the last market dee.' She then pretended to be adjusting the vegetables in the stall, but she kept, as it were, 'one eye' on the alleyway. She could tell that the boy was watching her. The realization made her feel a little uneasy, but a little flattered at the same time.

  'Let us get all this loaded up, me luv,' encouraged Elizabeth's father. 'I think that is aboot it for the dee.'

  'Aye, yes father,' Elizabeth replied as she finished with her last customer. Then she sat about the task of loading the wagon.

  Richard watched as they loaded the wagon and headed west on High Street. The wagon was pulled by an ox, so it was moving slowly and Richard could easily follow it without being seen. When the girl and her father headed south on Maiden Lane, Richard hurried further along High Street. He figured that he could go down Saint George's street and still get in front of the wagon before they reached Saint Mary's street.

  Reaching Saint Mary's Street before the wagon, Richard ducked between two buildings and watched as the wagon turned west on Saint Mary's Street. Richard suspected that they would leave Stamford by way of the gate near the River Welland, just as he usually did. He decided to take a chance and try to reach the bridge before they did. After the wagon passed him, he hurried back east on Saint Mary's Street and then circled around the east and south of Saint Mary's church on Saint Mary's Place as the wagon passed to the north and west of the church.

  Richard reached the bridge and was able to cross and hide in some bushes on the south bank. The wagon passed so close to him that he was sure he could have reached out and touched the girl. This is the closest that he had been to her and even though the sun was nearing the horizon and there was a blanket of clouds, he could see that she was even more beautiful than he had imagined.

  After crossing the bridge and after passing Saint Martin's church, the girl and her father turned on to the road to Barnack.

  'So, that is it,' thought Richard to himself, 'they must be from Barnack.'

  For the first time since leaving the Glazier's shoppe, Richard felt the chill of the wind as it swept across the road from the east. The sun was setting now and since Richard had satisfied himself as to the girl's village, he headed for Easton-on-the-hill. He cut across a field and then took the Kettering Road to Easton-on-the-hill. The walk home seemed shorter than normal as his mind was fully occupied with thoughts of the girl.

  It was completely dark well before Richard reached the village. As he neared the cottage, he was met by Bromley and Margaret who were also heading toward the cottage from the home of Margaret's parents. The two were extra jovial this evening.

  'Richard,' exclaimed Bromley excitedly, 'I 'ave just spoken with Margaret's father and we are to be wed before summer.'

  Richard glanced at Margaret. She was beaming and truly looked lovely he thought. Richard was a wee bit surprised at the initial feeling of jealousy that coursed through him. It was fleeting though and he cheerfully responded, 'Aye, that is wonderful. Congratulations to you both. So, I will 'ave another sister then.'

  At the cottage, Gleda was very pleased. She had been looking forward to this day for a very long time and had long treated Margaret as a daughter. Lind, on the other hand, was not as excited. He liked Margaret well enough, but this meant that there would be another mouth to feed and soon enough maybe more. After all, they weren't wealthy people and Margaret would not be bringing a dowry into the marriage. Eventually, they would have to find additional fields to plant.

  As Gleda, Margaret and Geva spoke happily about the wedding, Lind took Bromley outside. They walked in the darkness across the lane to the church yard and stopped near the graves of his father and mother, Ian and Winifred.

  'Sone, I am 'appy for you and Margaret, boot you know that this farm will only support so many mouths. I and your mother are getting older and we intend to dee on this farm, like me parents before me. If you are willing to stay on the farm and care for us in our old age, you and Margaret are welcome. Otherwise, I will tell you as me father told me. 'e said that I and your mother culd stay on the farm until we had two children, but after that, we would have to find our own place. Of course, your grandparents deed prior to that time.'

  'I am a farmer,' said Bromley. 'I 'ave planned to stay on this farm all of me life. Margaret and I will care for you and mum. May we use the sod cot'age that you and mum used?'

  'Aye, of course you may. Boot it will take sume work to clean it up.'

  Lind looked down at the wooden markers of Ian and Winifred's graves. 'sume dee maybe you or I can afford to place sume stone markers on these graves,' said Lind.

  Having reached an understanding on their futures together, Lind and Bromley walked back across the lane and into the cottage. Richard was outside the cottage also now, standing in the shadows and they did not see him as he watched them enter. He was thinking about his future. He knew that his time on the farm was limited. He could stay in the cottage for a time. There would be more room with Bromley moving out soon, but he was becoming a man and Lind would be expecting him to leave as soon as his apprenticeship was completed, maybe sooner. That was okay with Richard. The last couple of years had not been quite the same between he and Lind since he learned that Lind was not his real father. Richard realized that it was probably more himself that had strained the relationship, more so than Lind, but he couldn't help thinking about it whenever there was a disagreement. He hoped to be on his own before his sixteenth year ended, but right now he had other things on his mind. Specifically, the girl from Barnack. On the way home that evening he had already made plans to go to Barnack on Sunday and see whether he could find out where she lived. He wasn't ready to approach her in the market.

  Just then Geva came outside also.

  'Whot are you doing oot 'ere, Richard,' she asked.

  'I 'ave just been thinking.'

  'Thinking 'boot whot then, aye, maybe a certain yung lady? Did you find oot where she lives?'

  'I followed 'er and 'er father as far as the Barnack road,' said Richard. 'I think that she lives in Barnack.'

  'Barnack? That is a walk!' exclaimed Geva. 'When will you be going there then?'

  'Soondee.'

  'Soondee! That is four dees. Wuld you nay like to see her in the market on Saturdee?'

  'I do nay wish to approach her in the market,' responded Richard. 'There are too many people there.'

  'I will go with you on Soondee then,' offered Geva.

  'You will nay go,' Richard shot back straightly.

  'If you do nay let me go with you, I will tell mum where you are going.'

  'And if you do, I will tell mum aboot a certain boy that you have been seeing,' retorted Richard.

  'You 'ad bet'er nay do that. I will nay say anything,' promised Geva.

  'gud,' said Richard. 'It is cold oot 'ere, let us go inseed.'

  Sunday could not come soon enough for Richard. He hadn't planned to visit the market on Saturday, but he couldn't resist his desire to see her, so he went. He was only in the market briefly to watch her from the corner of the alleyway that he was becoming so accustomed to. He could not stay long, but he enjoyed seeing her again.

  Since the time that John Darby had gone away to school, it was Richard's normal practice to go to church at All Saints' in Easton-on-the-hill rather than the All Saints' in Stamford. He had continued for a short time to attend in Stamford after John left, but without John there, it didn't seem worth the walk. But he did occasionally attend in Stamford regardless. But on this Sunday he needed an excuse to leave Easton-on-the-hill. No one would question him if he announced that he was going to go to church in Stamford.

  On Sunday, Richard was up a little earlier than normal and set about doing his chores. There was a light rain falling as he walked though the muddy field to bring i
n the cow for milking. The cow didn't want to cooperate and she managed to kick the bucket over right away. Richard was thankful that there was very little milk lost. His mother would not have been pleased if he had lost the entire bucket. With a little coaxing, the cow settled down and Richard was able to fill the bucket quickly.

  When Richard went into the cottage his mother was starting a small fire for cooking.

  ''ere is the milk, Mum,' said Richard as he placed the bucket on the table.

  'Aye, I am grateful, me luv,' offered Gleda as she gently touched Richard's face. For a moment Richard thought that she was going to hug him. He had decided that he was too old for hugs and had told her so. Still, that didn't stop her from doing it occasionally. Richard usually stood stiffly if she did.

  'I will be going to church at All Saints' in Stamford todee,' Richard said, probably a little more energetically than he had intended. He feared now that his tone may rouse suspicions, but his mother didn't seem to react.