herself. So far.
“ 'Tis starting to shape up.”
Iliana glanced around at her maid's attempt to cheer her. The old rushes had been removed
and the floor swept; then the women had set to work scrubbing the stone slabs clean of the
years of filth they bore, while she and Ebba saw to the removal of the tapestries and wall
hangings so that the walls could be washed. She was almost sorry now that she had set her
sights on whitewashing. 'Twas not that the walls did not need it, but one glance at the
family shield and all the tapestries on the walls was enough to tell her that every single
item in the room needed a good scrubbing.
Including the trestle tables and benches, she thought with a grimace as she shifted on her
seat and her skirt showed some reluctance to move with her. No doubt she'd sat in a puddle
of something or other, she thought with disgust and was grateful she had worn a plain,
old, and frayed gown today. Still, she made a mental note to herself that, no matter
whether the floor was finished today or not, she must attend to scrubbing the benches at
least. She was unwilling to see another of her fine gowns ruined here.
Sighing and glancing around the room again, she considered all that must still be done. By
the looks of it, the floor beneath the rushes had not been cleaned since Lady Muireall's
death, some twenty years ago. Once the rushes had been cleared away it was to reveal a
multitude of clumps of various descriptions on the floor. Iliana did not even wish to
guess at the source of the majority of them, but they were hard almost petrified. They
were also difficult to remove. That much had been obvious as she had watched the women
work. There had been three of them scrubbing the floor for the better part of the morning.
There would have been four had Giorsal seen her way clear to lending her own effort, but
apparently her position here was merely to direct others. Not wishing to start a row on
her first day atDunbar, Iliana had said nothing about the woman's lack of labor. But she
intended to talk to Lord Angus and find out the woman's exact position. She would also ask
if it was possible to attain some more help. With only the three women working, even after
the better part of the morning, not even a quarter of the floor had
managed to get scrubbed. And the nooning meal was fast approaching.
“Come,” Ebba murmured, when her mistress sighed yet again. “ 'Tis not so bad. This room is
starting to smell better at least.”
That was true enough, but 'twas due only to the removal of the rushes. There was still a
great deal to do. She had to see to finishing the floor, whitewashing the walls, cleaning
the wall hangings. By her estimate, 'twould take them at least three days to finish this
room alone. Only then would she feel she could turn her attention to the bedchambers. That
thought did not please her much. She was not used to living in such squalor and the
bedchamber was full of just as much filth as the great hall.
Moving to the nearest of the buckets the women had left behind, Iliana knelt on the floor
and retrieved a cloth. She dunked it in the bucket, wrung it out, then began to scrub.
“Nay, my lady!” Ebba gasped, hurrying to herside. “I shall do that. Why do you not take a
walk and get a breath of fresh air?”
Iliana shook her head. “There is too much to do. Fetch a cloth and help me.”
The Key
Chapter Five
“Gor!”
Quitting her prolonged perusal of the petrified cheese and stale bread that the cook had
produced for lunch, Iliana raised her head slowly at that exclamation.
Duncan's sister, Seonaid, was standing just inside the keep doors, her eyes, and those of
her constant companions, Allistair and Aelfread, wide as they gaped at the changes made in
the great hall. They were late, the last to enter for the nooning meal, yet oddly, the
first to even seem to notice what
“ 'Tis starting to shape up.”
Iliana glanced around at her maid's attempt to cheer her. The old rushes had been removed
and the floor swept; then the women had set to work scrubbing the stone slabs clean of the
years of filth they bore, while she and Ebba saw to the removal of the tapestries and wall
hangings so that the walls could be washed. She was almost sorry now that she had set her
sights on whitewashing. 'Twas not that the walls did not need it, but one glance at the
family shield and all the tapestries on the walls was enough to tell her that every single
item in the room needed a good scrubbing.
Including the trestle tables and benches, she thought with a grimace as she shifted on her
seat and her skirt showed some reluctance to move with her. No doubt she'd sat in a puddle
of something or other, she thought with disgust and was grateful she had worn a plain,
old, and frayed gown today. Still, she made a mental note to herself that, no matter
whether the floor was finished today or not, she must attend to scrubbing the benches at
least. She was unwilling to see another of her fine gowns ruined here.
Sighing and glancing around the room again, she considered all that must still be done. By
the looks of it, the floor beneath the rushes had not been cleaned since Lady Muireall's
death, some twenty years ago. Once the rushes had been cleared away it was to reveal a
multitude of clumps of various descriptions on the floor. Iliana did not even wish to
guess at the source of the majority of them, but they were hard almost petrified. They
were also difficult to remove. That much had been obvious as she had watched the women
work. There had been three of them scrubbing the floor for the better part of the morning.
There would have been four had Giorsal seen her way clear to lending her own effort, but
apparently her position here was merely to direct others. Not wishing to start a row on
her first day atDunbar, Iliana had said nothing about the woman's lack of labor. But she
intended to talk to Lord Angus and find out the woman's exact position. She would also ask
if it was possible to attain some more help. With only the three women working, even after
the better part of the morning, not even a quarter of the floor had
managed to get scrubbed. And the nooning meal was fast approaching.
“Come,” Ebba murmured, when her mistress sighed yet again. “ 'Tis not so bad. This room is
starting to smell better at least.”
That was true enough, but 'twas due only to the removal of the rushes. There was still a
great deal to do. She had to see to finishing the floor, whitewashing the walls, cleaning
the wall hangings. By her estimate, 'twould take them at least three days to finish this
room alone. Only then would she feel she could turn her attention to the bedchambers. That
thought did not please her much. She was not used to living in such squalor and the
bedchamber was full of just as much filth as the great hall.
Moving to the nearest of the buckets the women had left behind, Iliana knelt on the floor
and retrieved a cloth. She dunked it in the bucket, wrung it out, then began to scrub.
“Nay, my lady!” Ebba gasped, hurrying to herside. “I shall do that. Why do you not take a
walk and get a breath of fresh air?”
Iliana shook her head. “There is too much to do. Fetch a cloth and help me.”
The Key
Chapter Five
“Gor!”
Quitting her prolonged perusal of the petrified cheese and stale bread that the cook had
produced for lunch, Iliana raised her head slowly at that exclamation.
Duncan's sister, Seonaid, was standing just inside the keep doors, her eyes, and those of
her constant companions, Allistair and Aelfread, wide as they gaped at the changes made in
the great hall. They were late, the last to enter for the nooning meal, yet oddly, the
first to even seem to notice what
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