Death Dealer series

I am ashamed to say i forgot who Cassandra was. And Sawer is real pokey; sepecially for someone who probably got in trouble asking question most of her life. But shes spunky and i like that.
 
Chapter Eight (cont.)

Cassandra kept her word and came to the cottage after dark. Grace kicked everyone else out so she could have some time alone with the person who had been her friend as long as she remembered. Ridley grumbled at having to watch Sawyer, but Jack did as Grace asked and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he pushed the other two out the door.

Cassandra sat on a stool by the fireplace. “So, the girl who once refused to talk to boys other than Calvin and Donald has found a man? I am impressed.”

Grace blushed, taking a seat on one of the cots. “Do not act so surprised with me, Cassandra. But come, I want to here about the goings on here. Calvin said little aside from my mother’s condition.”

“Little has been happening around here aside from your mother’s illness. Though perhaps it would interest you to know how George has been acting through all this.” Grace raised an eyebrow and waited for Cassandra to elaborate. “Well, Count George has changed a bit since your mother fell ill. I cannot quite explain it, but there is something about his tone. He seems incredibly sad about your mother. He has been so cold and distant since they married, but now it pains him to see her suffer like this.”

Grace thought over Cassandra’s words. George had seemed different to her when she spoke with him. However she had thought little of it and just assumed it was because he was getting older. George had married Dedre because he felt it was his duty, she never guessed he could actually love anyone, not even his own wife.

“None of this I can say with certainty though. George has always kept to himself, for all I know this sadness could be over something he read in one of those scrolls.”

Cassandra continued to talk, mostly about the various servants and villagers Grace had known when she lived in Arganis. Many had married and had children. A few had moved into Actis. And some had passed on.

“You know, they still speak of the Death Dealer in high regard around here. Many were jealous to learn the Dealer moved farther south.”

Grace smiled, “The Dealer may have to make a few rounds in Arganis before the return journey. Would that be welcomed here?”

“More than welcome. The village east of here has been having some problems. I suggest waiting a night or two. Let word hit you incase the problem has ceased.” Cassandra winked and rose. “Well, bed calls to me, sleep well and we shall speak later.”

* * * *
 
Chapter Eight (cont.)

Grace was getting ready early the next morning when a knock came on the cottage door. Ridley and Sawyer were both still asleep and they seemed disturbed by the knocking. Jack was pulling his boots on and looked angrily toward the door. It seemed only Grace was any sort of a morning person.

“A moment please!” She called and through on her disguise. She sauntered over to the door and found a young messenger standing there.

“Lady Dedre requests to see your husband before you today, madam healer.”

Grace looked to Jack, wondering if he had any idea what it was about. He shrugged and pulled on his other boot. “’e’ll be right with you.”

Jack headed out the door, behind the messenger. He gave Grace a kiss on the forehead as he left. He followed without asking any questions. But in his mind a million rolled around. What could the nature of this early morning call from Dedre mean?

He was brought in the castle and before George. The count smiled and took him by the arm. “My wife wishes to speak with you. I am thinking she will have a good day today. She recalls you and your wife coming to help her yesterday.” George opened Dedre’s door and ushered Jack in, closing it as he was inside.

Jack slowly strode toward Dedre, who sat by her window. She turned and smiled gently at him. Laughing as he approached. “Little Jack Anders.” She exclaimed suddenly. “Last I saw you, you were barely up to my knee. Now look at you.” Dedre stood and put her hands on Jack’s shoulders, looking into his eyes, carefully. “Such a fine man you have made.”

“I am glad you remember me, Countess. Grace was worried you would not remember your talk with her yesterday,” He said quietly.

Dedre seemed to ignore his statement, “How it broke your mother’s heart when King Frederick sent you away from the court. You were the kindest of all the knights and then just to have you cast out like that. Tsk.”

Jack was unsure how he felt or how to respond to Dedre bringing up his past. He hung his head a bit. Dedre took his chin in her hand and lifted it so she could look in his eyes again. “But I suppose life is not so sad for you anymore?” She released him and pointed to her desk. “Go over there and fetch the little wooden box, dear.”

Jack did as he was told. On a stack of letters sat a small wooden box with flowers stenciled on it. He attempted to hand it to Dedre. She declined and smiled. “Open it.”

Inside was a small golden ring, with intricate designs along the side. “My wedding ring,” she explained. “Given to me when I married Daniel. As I understand you and Grace have been together for some years now. Please take that for when you two decide to marry.”

“Dedre, I...” Dedre shook her head, silencing anything else Jack wanted to say.

“Do not tell Grace about this. Not until after you give it to her.”

Jack and Grace had both grown tired of people constantly making their business public. However, Jack was conflicted on how he should feel about the ring. He enjoyed the fact Dedre wanted them married, but at the same time he didn’t like that everyone was pushing them to do it.

“Marriage seems like a great undertaking I realize,” She said, “So when you two are ready.”

“Thank you, Dedre. I will keep this ring close to my heart until I am ready to give it to Grace.”

Dedre smiled and kissed Jack’s cheek. “Take care of her, Jack, dear.”

Jack kissed Dedre’s cheek and gave her a hug before exiting her chambers. Not far down the hall Grace was waiting in her gypsy disguise. She looked more than a little ridiculous to him.

“Well?” She said.

“Just wanted to know how I have been. Last time we met your mother was ready to give birth to you. Go on, she’s waiting for you.”

Grace needed no prompting. She quickly walked into Dedre’s room and closed the door. Her mother had resumed her seat by the window.

“Feeling well today, Mother?”

“Very much so, my dear.” Dedre looked at Grace and her smile faded. Her expression turned to one of sorrow and pain.

“What is it?”

“I look at you and the life you now have and I see all my own dreams and how they came crashing down.”

Grace pulled a stool to sit by her mother. “What are you talking about? You always seemed so happy before Father died. After that I could understand why sorrow took over. Father was your true love after all.”

“Oh Grace, your father’s death was a gift from the heavens. Part of me was sad because the man I had pledged myself to was gone, but at the same time I felt a great weight lifted. Daniel was no gentleman, he was a cruel brute. Women were forbidden to handle weaponry in Arganis, even in defense. Even if their family was starving and they had to hunt to survive. Your father did not tolerate that at all.

“Then suddenly, he was dead. I was shocked, but happy. I was finally free of his oppression. I could finally allow my daughter to grow up independent. To live better than I had. I was a slave to the court. Proper and well dressed, well behaved, afraid of the men. I wanted better for you and for myself. Yet, my happiness and freedom was so short lived. George stepped in and I felt robbed. So, I became a terrible mother to you, more of a ghost than a person, really.” Dedre looked long and hard at Grace. “You worshipped your father when he was alive, but he would soon have killed the fire within. He stole it from me and only once did I try to be independent. A cruel and hard slap to the face ended that. I never dared cross him or anyone again. That is why I was so proud when Calvin brought news of you at the tournament. I was glad my daughter could handle a weapon and had jousted and won. You are a braver person than I ever was.”

Grace was completely silent. Her mother’s words sunk in deep. She had remembered her father as kind and caring. But she also remembered him being extremely close to the king. It was possible that Daniel had been exactly like Frederick. Grace was unsure if she wanted to cry or not.
 
Chapter Eight (conclusion)

“I am sorry, Grace.” Dedre wanted to reach out and hold her daughter, but she was unsure if Grace even wanted that. So she waited for a response. “I have wanted to tell someone for so long and I felt you should know.”

Neither woman moved for a minute or two. Grace had a strange, almost vacant look on her face. Dedre wondered if she had done wrong by telling the truth to her daughter. All the thoughts of her father must have been changing completely. All the love and respect she had held for the man had been shattered by her own mother. Dedre felt a knot growing in her stomach.

But Dedre could not guess what Grace was thinking. Grace was surprised that her thoughts had turned to it, but it seemed far more important than what had been said of Daniel. She looked at her mother and spoke, “And George?” After understanding that her father was like Frederick she realized her life would have been different if he had lived. It was because of George she was allowed to study under her uncle Leon.

“George, what about George?” She repeated, her eyes thoughtful.

“What are you talking about?”

“How has all this been for him? He took father’s place, but was nothing like him.”

Dedre understood now where Grace was leading the questioning. “George has been a good husband. Allowing me to do as I wished, but I still felt my freedom crushed. We were never truly a couple, just by law, really. I have been unfair to him over the years, never really giving him a chance. He never seemed to mind.”

Everything seemed so odd. George was far more noble than Grace ever would have guessed. Yet, she actually pitied him. To be married without love. And she pitied her mother, to be married simply for status. Grace was never so happy to be outside court. She now clearly saw how unhappy it had made most of her family.

A weary smile crossed her face and she reached out and took her mother’s hand. Dedre smiled as well.

* * * *

Sawyer was alone in the cottage when Grace returned. She seemed a little downcast. Sawyer watched her as she crossed the cottage and sat on the bed she had slept in. A heavy sigh escaped her.

“Everything went well with your mother?” Sawyer came and sat beside Grace.

“As well as can be expected, I suppose.”

Grace seemed unnaturally sad. Sawyer thought it was because Dedre was dying, but she sensed there was something else at work.

“What did she say today?”

“This and that, some things about my father.”

“George?” Sawyer had not yet been filled in on Grace’s complete history. All she knew was what the cook and his wife sad, that George was Dedre’s husband.

“Not George, my real father. He has been dead for about sixteen years. He was not the man I thought at all. He was as closed minded and cruel to his wife as the rest.” Sawyer was shocked Grace was telling her anything, especially without her questioning her and pushing the issue.

“He never wanted me to be more than a proper woman who would never stand up for herself.”

“So it is good he is dead then?” Grace gave Sawyer an extremely nasty look. The young girl had expected that sort of look for Jack, but never Grace. “Well, if he was so bad, then you never would have been as strong as you are now.” Sawyer shrugged.

“Did you ever know your parents?”

“I always knew my mother was a pirate. The caretakers would never let me forget I came from that stock. They often called my father a thief, so I’m guessing he was. He was probably no better than the scum on the bottom of the rock.”

Grace thought to Marcus and the Thieves’ Guild. Many of the men there were brave and noble, despite their occupation. But she had dealt with plenty who were vicious and she had put them in their places. She wondered which kind of thief Kay had been with.

“There is no telling what kind of man your father was, not without Kay’s help.”

“You’re going to take me to her?”

“After we leave here, we are returning to Glenbard. We will search her out from there.”

Sawyer nodded, “So,” she felt she had been good and civil for longer than she needed. “When can I expect to see you and Jack marry?”

Grace knew Sawyer was just trying to rile her. So she did what anyone would do, she smacked the girl with a pillow and laughed.

* * * *

Grace was in the stables looking after Olwen later that afternoon. She had talked with her mother after lunch, but Dedre wanted her rest now. There was little to do now.

People had been filtering in and out of the stables for about any hour, but now they were coming in more frequently and in pairs. Grace ignored it at first, but when they started rushing about she grabbed a young stable boy.

“What’s this then? Somethin’ goin’ on ‘ere?”

“Lord Leon’s son, Calvin, has returned, and he has brought Count Henry of Egona along with him.”

Grace’s heart skipped a beat. She had not seen Henry in months. She put Olwen’s brush back and hurried out to join the other servants who had gathered to welcome the men.
 
Chapter Nine: A Dark Cloud Descends

If Calvin was correct then Grace would already be in Arganis, waiting for them. Henry looked over the servants who had come out to bid Calvin welcome. He figured Grace would be disguised, but he was unsure how she would do that. So far no one even looked remotely like Grace.

A young gypsy woman hurried up to his horse, “My Lord, are ye from Egona? Then you must go to Glenbard from time to time?”

Henry looked at the gypsy. Something about her was familiar. He looked straight into her eyes and caught the glimmer that belonged to Grace. He smiled and patted her on the head. “From time to time I make the trip.”

She smiled, knowing Henry knew her. She took his horse by the reigns and began to led him toward the stables. When a stable boy came to take over she shooed him saying, “I worked a bit in Egona, I’d like ta serve the count.”

Henry dismounted his horse in the stables and wasted no time pulling Grace into a bear hug. Calvin trotted his horse in, only to see Grace trying to hug Henry back, but mostly struggling to breath.

“Do not hug the life out of her, Henry. If you do, what will be left for me to hug?” Henry released Grace and allowed her to hug Calvin. Once the family hug was out of the way, Henry pulled her into a gentler hug.

“My dear, I have missed you around Egona. I was wondering if you would ever return and then at court Calvin informed me of your trip here. I understand these are not the best of terms, but I am glad to see you.”

Grace finally broke free of Henry. “And I to see you. How hectic life seems to have become.” She turned her attention to Calvin. “And you? How did things fair upon your return to Frederick’s court?”

“Things are fast spiraling out of control,” Calvin had lowered his voice, motioning Henry and Grace to move in. “But we best keep all that for closed doors.” He checked to see if anyone was listening. “Grace unsaddle Henry’s horse as you said you would and then meet me and Henry at the cottage.”

Grace nodded and started to unsaddle and unbridle Henry’s horse, while Calvin and Henry made for the cottage.

* * * *

Jack and Ridley had gone out to hunt, while Grace had dumped Sawyer on the cook and his wife. They seemed to enjoy her company for whatever reason. That gave her time alone to listen to what Calvin had to say.

“There is a great deal of tension brewing between the Sun Kingdom and Cesernan. Frederick has insulted the Lady Corine of the province Nadian and it sat well with no one. This is going far mere disliking one another. And because I was what Frederick considered ‘overly friendly’ with those from the Sun Kingdom he has had me watched almost constantly.”

Henry cut in, “King Christian practically had to flee with his friends and Queen Peony. The matter of the Spice Islands is clearly where the tension began and since Frederick cannot respect a man who gives any power to a woman, everything is just made worse. There have been a few whispers of war, but Frederick denies the rumors and says war over the islands is far from his mind.”

“Grace, you need to know this because if it comes to war I need you here in Arganis.” Calvin looked at his cousin with eyes filled with sorrow.

“Arganis is on the sea and though the coast leaves few places for a ship to dock it would not be hard for an enemy to take our port. I need someone here if I must fight. I need someone to protect Arganis.”

“You really think it will come to war?’ Grace was not fond of hundreds possibly dying over a silly dispute in the Nareroc Islands. The two kingdom had both laid claims there decades ago and there had never been a problem.

“No one can say, Grace,” Henry said, “But you should be prepared. Calvin will be called to fight since he is a knight for Frederick and George and Leon will need someone young to help defend this province if worst comes to worst.”

Grace let it sink in. Slowly she nodded. “If I must, I can protect this land for you.”

“I hope you do not have too.” Calvin hugged Grace and sighed. “But the way Frederick has been lately, I am not sure we can hold back the tides of war, regardless of what he says.”
 
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Chapter Nine (cont.)

On her way to get some dinner, Grace was pulled aside by the healer who had often been there when she was sick as a child. He had helped bring her into the world and knew her better than most people, so she prayed he did not see through the disguise.

“I have never been one to accept the gypsy chants and healing potions,” he said as he grabbed Grace by the arm. “But whatever you have done for Dedre, it has been wonderful.”

Grace held back a sigh of relief and smiled gently. “Sometimes words and laughter are the best in helping.”

“Perhaps, whatever it was, Dedre is looking a feeling better. Just days before you arrived she had a terrible fever and a severe cough. Now only a trace of that cough remains. I must thank you, young lady, and commend you. You have done a great service for the countess.” The smile on the healer’s face slowly disappeared. “Unfortunately it is not enough I fear. I believe Dedre only has months left with us. She has gotten better, but I am afraid it cannot last.”

Grace’s heart thumped inside her chest. “You believe that?”

“She has been sick for so long, months. I see improvement, but she was greatly weakened by her illness and her mind, it is all but left us. I just wanted to thank you for making what time she has left easier.” He nodded politely and left Grace standing alone and confused and even a little hurt.

Her mother could not possibly die, not yet. She was doing better. Grace had noticed a slight cough, but it was go away soon. Dedre had Grace now and she would live for years to come.

* * * *

The next morning was unusually cold. Grace moaned and shuffled slowly around the cabin while the other three stayed in their warm beds. The walk seemed too long to make, but she pressed on to see her mother.

She no longer waited for anyone to show her in. Everyone just allowed her to move about the grounds. A few guards nodded to Grace as she passed and she returned the nod and added a smile.

Grace yawned long and hard before pushing Dedre’s door open. The countess seemed distraught. She was tearing through her belonging, looking for something. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were strewn about the room. Grace had never seen her mother in such a frantic state.

“You! Servant! When did we hire you? Did Daniel take you from one of the villages? Oh it does not matter, just help me find my black veil, I must wear it to bury my father today.”

Grace looked at her mother and let her jaw drop. Her mother’s father had died three months before Grace’s birth. That had been over twenty-three years ago.

“Do not just stand there, girl. Are you deaf? Or dumb?” Dedre snapped angrily.

“Mother...”

“Mother? I have no child outside my womb yet? Who do you call mother?”

“Countess Dedre, I think you are confused,” Grace stepped toward her mother, “Your father has been buried for well over twenty years.”

“Nonsense, he has only just passed away. Now help me find the veil.”

Dedre looked right at Grace and she felt an icy air fall over the room. Her mother truly was stuck in the past. George had mentioned these fits to her the first day she was in Arganis. But Dedre had been so much better since Grace came home.

It all hit her suddenly. The healer was right. Grace could ease Dedre’s life, but she could not prevent what was to come. Dedre coughed loudly and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket to cover her mouth.

“Help me!” She shrieked.

Grace did as she was instructed. She looked for a few minutes and then instructed Dedre to get some food and take some rest. Grace said she would continue looking. Dedre scowled and lay down on her bed, falling asleep within minutes.

She slept for only twenty minutes, but when she woke she was still a different woman. She called Grace several different names. Names of maids long since gone from Arganis. Grace left her chambers hours later feeling upside and tired.

* * * *

Two weeks passed for Grace in Arganis. Dedre got worse. A few days she recalled Grace and lived in the present, but most of the time she lived in various stages of her past. At one point the fever and cough returned. So, Grace never left her side. She watched helplessly as healers came in and out, attempting to cure Dedre. Grace realized perhaps she was beyond help now.

Dedre was lying on her bed, looking thoughtfully at Grace. “You need some real rest, Grace. Not just sleeping in a chair by a dying woman’s bedside.”

“Mother, I said I would not leave your side until you were better.”

“And I keep telling you, I am not going to get better.”

Grace knew that was true, but she still clung to some hope. Dedre looked so sickly, so pale, so withdrawn. Her cheeks were hollowed out and she had not had a solid meal in days. Her body burned, but she complained of a cold, a cold deep within her bones. She coughed violently and every so often little droplets of blood appeared on the corners of her mouth. Still Grace hoped against hope, though she recognized it to be futile.

“You will continue to make me proud, will you not?”

Grace took her mother’s hand and with her other stroked her hair. “Of course I will. Come now, you promised to tell me about how you first came to Arganis.” Grace figured if her mother was still talking, she was still alright.

Dedre smiled weakly. “My parents were from Arganis, but I was born on the Nareroc Islands. I dreamed of coming here for as long as I can remember. I was sixteen when I finally got the chance to follow my father here.” Dedre paused, the act of talking was draining her. “I was to meet a dear friend of my father’s. He was Daniel’s father and they had the idea we should marry. I ignored that fact when I set foot in the port though. The trees seemed so large and full to me.” She paused again, for longer. “So beautiful and cool. Not stuffy and humid like the islands. I just wish I had been able to...” This pause was the longest of all.

“Just able to what?” Grace pressed her to speak.

“Just able to enjoy it more fully. Without the threat of marriage over me.” She smiled and her eyes grew heavy. The began to close slowly. “The trees were so lovely...I loved the smell of the forest...” Her eyes shut completely. Her grip on Grace’s hand loosened.

“Mother?” Grace waited a moment, a tear slid down her cheek.

Dedre’s chest had stopped moving up and down. The drain had slowly been draining from her as she spoke to Grace.

Her daughter wanted nothing more than to cry, but she could not. She had to alert the healers. She had to alert George.

Outside two guards were patrolling the halls. She approached them slowly. “Get the ‘ealers. Countess Dedre ‘as left us. I’ll inform the lord of the ‘ouse.” The two guards did not waste a minute. They hurried to find the healers and spread the word. Grace made for George’s study.

He was hunched over a scroll, studying it intently. “My Lord?” He looked up, “Your wife ‘as passed.”

He made no move, just stared. His eyes seemed to bore into her. “It is alright to cry. I understand it is a great loss to lose one’s mother.”
 
Chapter Nine (cont.)

Grace choked back the response she had planned to deliver. The words suddenly lost all meaning as George stared at her. He rose from his seat and ambled across the room until he stood less than a foot in front of her.

“I was an inattentive father, but I was still a father and an uncle. I would know my stepdaughter and niece anywhere.” For the first time in her life, George pulled Grace into a hug. She was surprised, but happy to have him know her. To have him care that she had just lost her mother.

Tears flowed freely from her eyes to his robe front. Many clung to Grace’s eyelashes and blurred her vision. She sniffled and forced herself to pull away and look at George.

“You knew? And you never said anything?”

“This was a time for you and Dedre. I wanted to keep out of the way. You two deserved the time alone and in secret.”

He walked over to his desk and pulled out the chair he had been sitting in for Grace. He never allowed anyone to sit in that chair. She hesitantly took the seat. He sat upon the corner of the desk.

“I do not know what to do now. I was a horrible daughter for leaving her and now I cannot even atone for that.” Grace attempted to wipe away the tears, but more just replaced them.

“Horrible? No, never, Dedre was proud of you. She was proud you jousted and won. She was even glad you escaped the court life.” George wiped some of Grace’s tears away with his thumb. “We were all proud of you.”

“Even you?”

“Yes,” He motioned to the scrolls and books of his study. “There are hundreds of tales of shield maidens and great warriors who were women, even here in Cesarnan. I liked to think my niece could be one of them. I find what you did quite admirable.”

“I am glad you do at least. From my talks with Mother I understand my father would not have approved.”

George nodded, “That is true, but that does not matter in the end. Even if Daniel lived your Uncle Leon would have seen to it that you could defend yourself with a sword. He planned on it always, even while Daniel lived. Women may die upon the blade and so they should be allowed to at least wield one to prevent that.”

Grace smiled, glad to know men like her uncles existed. “But my poor mother.”

“Dedre’s fate because of your father was regrettable, but she was glad you prevailed.”

Her uncle had barely ever spoken to her in all their years living together. She liked his openness now. Still, she wondered. “Did you ever love my mother?”

George laughed and patted Grace’s head. “Of course I did, but not in the way a man should love his wife. She was my sister-in-law first and so I loved her as I would love my own sister. I loved Leon’s wife, Sara, like that as well.”

Grace had a few memories of Sara. She had died when she was four, giving birth to Calvin’s younger brother. Sara and the baby never made it. No one really spoke of Sara because the pain had been so great for Leon. It was strange to hear of her dead aunt now that her own mother was dead.

“Is that why you married her then?”

“When Daniel and Dedre married, he made me promise to marry her if anything happened to him. He wanted to make sure Dedre was looked after. When he died I knew she would want her freedom, but I could not break the promise to Daniel. I felt horrible taking her freedom, so I tried to stay away from her life. I hoped she would gain back some of her independence, but she just became introverted.”

Grace could see sadness in George’s face and hear it in his voice. All those years of distance and it had been to give her mother freedom. Grace had wanted George’s affection as a child, but now she understood his withdrawn behavior.

“You should have spoken to her about that. Perhaps things would have been different all those years.”

“Perhaps. It is too late to know now.”

Sadness swelled around uncle and niece. They allowed themselves some silence, but Grace had much to learn from George. Outside his study healers and servants moved about, preparing Dedre, grieving for her, but inside Grace and George spoke late into the night. It was late in both their lives, but they were acting like father and daughter should.
 
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