Read Online The Catswold Portal by Shirley Rousseau Murphy - Free Book Online

marched her up the back stairs four flights to the attic.
    They entered a long, narrow room whose steep rafters rose to a high peak, and whose walls were lined with tiers of bunks. Briccha pointed to a top bunk at the end, up beneath the rafters. A ladder led up, skirting a small window.
    â€œYou’ll sleep there. That’ll do for a few days—you won’t last longer. There’s a blanket and towel on the bunk, a hook by the window for your dress.”
    Melissa looked at Briccha evenly. “Why won’t I last longer? Did my work not suit you?”
    â€œYour work was satisfactory.” Briccha turned away. “I wake the early shift at four in the morning. You will go directly to the scullery. You will work until I release you in mid-afternoon.” As she headed for the door, Melissa moved in front of her.
    â€œWhy won’t I last?”
    Briccha’s narrow eyes widened. “You will not last at all if you cannot control your rudeness.” She pushed past Melissa and strode out the attic door.
    Melissa climbed into the high bunk, meaning to rest for only a little while. She didn’t know what Briccha had meant, but she would find out. Pulling the thin blanket up, she laythinking about the palace dungeons. She had glanced into the scullery storeroom when a girl was sent to get flour. She thought it likely the cellars were near the storeroom to give easy access to the larger food stores, and she wondered if they opened from within the storeroom. Soon she slept. She didn’t wake until Briccha shouted up at her. “Four o’clock. Get down from there. Get dressed.” A lantern burned at the far end of the room.
    She climbed down, cramped and uncomfortable in her wrinkled dress. There was a crock of icy water beside the window. Two girls were dipping their towels into it, dabbing at their faces. She dropped her dress and washed herself all over, shivering, trying to wake up. Most of the girls still slept. Only five had been called. She dressed and followed the other four out, crowding sleepily down the dark stair. At home she would have built up the fire and gone back to bed until the cottage warmed, then risen to wake Mag.
    As she pushed into the scullery behind the other girls, Briccha was already giving orders. Melissa tried to find humor in the woman’s harsh manner, but it took her some days before she could let Briccha’s scoldings roll off as the other girls did. Only Terlis seemed unduly upset by the scullery mistress’s harshness. Melissa liked Terlis; the valley elven were shy, gentle people—though they hated to talk about unpleasant things, even to answer one’s questions. The valley elven took the view that if you didn’t talk about it, it would go away. When she asked Terlis why Briccha thought she would last for only a few days, Terlis didn’t want to answer.
    â€œWhat harm to tell me? It’s too hard, not understanding.”
    â€œLook at yourself,” Terlis said softly, “then look around you. You’re the only pretty one. We’re all either misshapen with the blood of cave dwarfs or just homely like me. You’ll be sent home soon. The pretty ones are all sent home.”
    â€œBut why are they brought here, then? And why are they sent home?”
    Terlis smiled patiently. “Sent home to keep them out of the king’s bed.”
    â€œOh,” Melissa said, her face reddening. She knew a dozentales of the king’s adventures with various lovers. Of course the queen took lovers, too. She had a constant procession of bedmates as she tried to breed a healthy heir to strengthen her claim to the throne. Thus the kingdom was locked in a constant power struggle. Siddonie, if she could bear a healthy child, would surely throw King Efil out and make the new child’s father king. She had married Efil to become queen; she didn’t need him now. And if Efil could breed a healthy child first, he would