height of the highest cabin roof, with a small platform that might allow two archers to draw a bowstring without knocking each other off.
What the settlement lacked for in amenities, it made up for in children, and all thirty or so of them mobbed the first guests of the day.
“Are you from the castle?” a little girl asked.
“Do you have any candy?” a chubby boy wanted to know.
“My mother sells vegetables and salt meat,” an older girl informed them.
“And mine!”
“And mine!”
Meghan smiled at all of the little faces which reminded her of home. “We’re just traveling through, but we do need to buy provisions,” she replied.
“We haven’t had breakfast yet,” Bryan said hopefully. When Meghan looked at him in disbelief, he added, “That was just a wake-up snack.”
“Travelers pay two coppers a bowl,” the oldest boy in the crowd told them. At eleven or twelve years of age, he already had the callused hands and square shoulders of a young farmhand. “You must have camped out on the road to be here so early. The house with the chimney has the kitchen.”
“Thank you,” Meghan replied. “I’m afraid we didn’t bring any candy. Is there a place nearby where you can buy some to share?” She brought out her own change purse and shook a couple of coppers onto her palm. Bryan scowled, but he didn’t say anything as all of the children began to talk at once. It was impossible to follow their discussion of the relative merits of sweets makers in the surrounding area, but they quickly settled on the oldest girl as their spokesperson.
“Farmer Greswald in the meadows sells maple candy for three coppers a measure,” she said shyly.
“Three coppers it is,” Meghan said, extending them to the girl. “Oh, and we set out before the rest of our party because neither of us likes to ride, but if horsemen come asking for us, you can tell them we were headed for Castle Strongbow.”
“Castle Strongbow,” the children repeated in a chorus. Then the girl with the coppers started off on her way to Greswald’s farm, and the other children went back to their chores or games. The two travelers entered the cabin with the chimney.
“Pretty smart,” Bryan said, “For a minute there, I thought you were giving away treasure for no reason.”
“Treasure?” Meghan asked, as they removed their packs and took seats at the long table built of rough planks. “Three coppers is exactly enough to buy a bowl and a half of whatever they eat for breakfast around here, and I have a feeling that you’re at least a two-bowl man.”
An older woman approached from the smoky fireplace where she had been stirring the contents of a large pot with a long wooden paddle. Her clothes were made of some rough homespun stuff, but they showed that peculiar cleanness that Bryan had come to associate with magically treated fibers.
“Two for breakfast?” she asked in a friendly voice. “We don’t get many this early. You must have been caught by the dark between settlements and camped out on the road.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bryan said, anxious to move things along and find out what was cooking.
“Are you trying to get a free bowl?” The woman regarded the pair suspiciously. “I’m a simple goodwife and that’s more than good enough for me.”
“He didn’t mean anything by it,” Meghan said hastily. “My co—husband isn’t from around here,” she added, hoping the woman didn’t notice her verbal slip. Meghan had gotten so used to calling Bryan her cousin in dozens of introductions to curious castle dwellers that it had become second nature.
“Co-husband?” the woman repeated, nodding her head in approval. “I didn’t know you castle folks went in for the old traditions. I have five co-husbands myself, and eight co-wives. Men will run off to war and get themselves killed.” She paused and muttered what might have been a prayer for the departed or a curse against kings. “Well, it’s two coppers a bowl,
What the settlement lacked for in amenities, it made up for in children, and all thirty or so of them mobbed the first guests of the day.
“Are you from the castle?” a little girl asked.
“Do you have any candy?” a chubby boy wanted to know.
“My mother sells vegetables and salt meat,” an older girl informed them.
“And mine!”
“And mine!”
Meghan smiled at all of the little faces which reminded her of home. “We’re just traveling through, but we do need to buy provisions,” she replied.
“We haven’t had breakfast yet,” Bryan said hopefully. When Meghan looked at him in disbelief, he added, “That was just a wake-up snack.”
“Travelers pay two coppers a bowl,” the oldest boy in the crowd told them. At eleven or twelve years of age, he already had the callused hands and square shoulders of a young farmhand. “You must have camped out on the road to be here so early. The house with the chimney has the kitchen.”
“Thank you,” Meghan replied. “I’m afraid we didn’t bring any candy. Is there a place nearby where you can buy some to share?” She brought out her own change purse and shook a couple of coppers onto her palm. Bryan scowled, but he didn’t say anything as all of the children began to talk at once. It was impossible to follow their discussion of the relative merits of sweets makers in the surrounding area, but they quickly settled on the oldest girl as their spokesperson.
“Farmer Greswald in the meadows sells maple candy for three coppers a measure,” she said shyly.
“Three coppers it is,” Meghan said, extending them to the girl. “Oh, and we set out before the rest of our party because neither of us likes to ride, but if horsemen come asking for us, you can tell them we were headed for Castle Strongbow.”
“Castle Strongbow,” the children repeated in a chorus. Then the girl with the coppers started off on her way to Greswald’s farm, and the other children went back to their chores or games. The two travelers entered the cabin with the chimney.
“Pretty smart,” Bryan said, “For a minute there, I thought you were giving away treasure for no reason.”
“Treasure?” Meghan asked, as they removed their packs and took seats at the long table built of rough planks. “Three coppers is exactly enough to buy a bowl and a half of whatever they eat for breakfast around here, and I have a feeling that you’re at least a two-bowl man.”
An older woman approached from the smoky fireplace where she had been stirring the contents of a large pot with a long wooden paddle. Her clothes were made of some rough homespun stuff, but they showed that peculiar cleanness that Bryan had come to associate with magically treated fibers.
“Two for breakfast?” she asked in a friendly voice. “We don’t get many this early. You must have been caught by the dark between settlements and camped out on the road.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bryan said, anxious to move things along and find out what was cooking.
“Are you trying to get a free bowl?” The woman regarded the pair suspiciously. “I’m a simple goodwife and that’s more than good enough for me.”
“He didn’t mean anything by it,” Meghan said hastily. “My co—husband isn’t from around here,” she added, hoping the woman didn’t notice her verbal slip. Meghan had gotten so used to calling Bryan her cousin in dozens of introductions to curious castle dwellers that it had become second nature.
“Co-husband?” the woman repeated, nodding her head in approval. “I didn’t know you castle folks went in for the old traditions. I have five co-husbands myself, and eight co-wives. Men will run off to war and get themselves killed.” She paused and muttered what might have been a prayer for the departed or a curse against kings. “Well, it’s two coppers a bowl,
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