Read Online Thendara House by Marion Zimmer Bradley - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Marion Zimmer Bradley
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kind with hands and some internal mechanism with a swinging pendulum. She rose to her feet.
“I have an appointment in the city,” she said, and Magda remembered that this woman was the President of the Guild of Craftswomen. “Since you have no close friend in the house now, I have told the dormitory keepers to give you a room by yourself; later, if you make a friend and wish to share a room with her, there will be time enough to change.” Magda was grateful for that; until this moment it had not occurred to her that she might have been thrust into a room filled with two or three other women, all of whom had known one another most of their lives.
Mother Lauria touched the little bell. “You are not afraid to sleep alone, are you? No, I suppose not, but there are women who come to us who have never been alone in their lives, nurses and nannies when they are small, maids and lady-companions when they are older; we have had women go into a screaming panic when they find themselves alone in the dark.” She touched Magda’s hair lightly and said, “I will see you tonight at dinner. Courage, Margali; live one day at a time, and remember nothing is ever as bad or as good as you think it will be. Now Doria will show you over the house.”
Magda wondered, as Mother Lauria went away, Do I really look that frightened ?
A few minutes later the young girl Doria came back.
“Mother says I am to show you around. Let’s pick up the trays and dishes first and take them out to the kitchen.”
The kitchen was deserted, except for a small dark-haired woman, drowsing as she waited for two huge bowlfuls of bread dough to rise. She raised her eyes sleepily as Doria introduced Magda to her.
“Margali, this is Irmelin - she is our housekeeper this half-year; we take turns helping her in the kitchen, but there are enough of us living here that no one needs to do kitchen duty more than once in a tenday. Irmelin, this is our new sister, Margali n’ha - what was it, Margali?”
“Ysabet,” Magda said.
“I saw you last night,” Irmelin said. “You came in with Jaelle - are you her lover?”
Mother Lauria had asked her this too. Reminding herself not to be angry - she was in another world now - she shook her head. “No - her oath-daughter, no more.”
“Really?” Irmelin asked, obviously skeptical, but she only looked at the bread dough. “It won’t have risen enough to knead for another hour - shall I help you show her around the house?”
“Mother Lauria told me to do it - you can stay in the kitchen and keep warm,” Doria laughed. “We all know that is why you volunteered to keep house this term, so you could sit by the fire like a cat.” Irmelin only chuckled, and Doria added, “Do you need anything from the greenhouse for supper, fresh vegetables, anything? Margali has no duties yet, she can help me fetch it.”
“You might ask if there are any melons ripe,” Irmelin said. “I think we are all tired of stewed fruit and want something fresh.” Irmelin yawned and looked drowsily at the bread dough again, and Doria went out, fanning herself vigorously with her apron, pulling Magda after her.
“Phew, I hate the kitchen on baking days, it’s too hot to breathe! But Irmelin makes good bread - it’s surprising how many women can’t make bread that’s fit to eat. Remind me to tell you sometime about the time when Jaelle took her turn as housekeeper, and Gwennis and Rafaella threatened to dump her out naked in the next blizzard if she didn’t get someone else to make the bread - ” Doria chattered on, still fanning herself. It was certainly not too hot in the drafty corridor between kitchen and the long dining room where she had sat last night, a stranger, hiding in Jaelle’s shadow. And now it was her home for half a year, at least. There were long tables which would, Magda supposed, seat forty or fifty women, piled at one end, stacks of plates and bowls, covered with towels, awaiting the evening. Behind the dining hall
“I have an appointment in the city,” she said, and Magda remembered that this woman was the President of the Guild of Craftswomen. “Since you have no close friend in the house now, I have told the dormitory keepers to give you a room by yourself; later, if you make a friend and wish to share a room with her, there will be time enough to change.” Magda was grateful for that; until this moment it had not occurred to her that she might have been thrust into a room filled with two or three other women, all of whom had known one another most of their lives.
Mother Lauria touched the little bell. “You are not afraid to sleep alone, are you? No, I suppose not, but there are women who come to us who have never been alone in their lives, nurses and nannies when they are small, maids and lady-companions when they are older; we have had women go into a screaming panic when they find themselves alone in the dark.” She touched Magda’s hair lightly and said, “I will see you tonight at dinner. Courage, Margali; live one day at a time, and remember nothing is ever as bad or as good as you think it will be. Now Doria will show you over the house.”
Magda wondered, as Mother Lauria went away, Do I really look that frightened ?
A few minutes later the young girl Doria came back.
“Mother says I am to show you around. Let’s pick up the trays and dishes first and take them out to the kitchen.”
The kitchen was deserted, except for a small dark-haired woman, drowsing as she waited for two huge bowlfuls of bread dough to rise. She raised her eyes sleepily as Doria introduced Magda to her.
“Margali, this is Irmelin - she is our housekeeper this half-year; we take turns helping her in the kitchen, but there are enough of us living here that no one needs to do kitchen duty more than once in a tenday. Irmelin, this is our new sister, Margali n’ha - what was it, Margali?”
“Ysabet,” Magda said.
“I saw you last night,” Irmelin said. “You came in with Jaelle - are you her lover?”
Mother Lauria had asked her this too. Reminding herself not to be angry - she was in another world now - she shook her head. “No - her oath-daughter, no more.”
“Really?” Irmelin asked, obviously skeptical, but she only looked at the bread dough. “It won’t have risen enough to knead for another hour - shall I help you show her around the house?”
“Mother Lauria told me to do it - you can stay in the kitchen and keep warm,” Doria laughed. “We all know that is why you volunteered to keep house this term, so you could sit by the fire like a cat.” Irmelin only chuckled, and Doria added, “Do you need anything from the greenhouse for supper, fresh vegetables, anything? Margali has no duties yet, she can help me fetch it.”
“You might ask if there are any melons ripe,” Irmelin said. “I think we are all tired of stewed fruit and want something fresh.” Irmelin yawned and looked drowsily at the bread dough again, and Doria went out, fanning herself vigorously with her apron, pulling Magda after her.
“Phew, I hate the kitchen on baking days, it’s too hot to breathe! But Irmelin makes good bread - it’s surprising how many women can’t make bread that’s fit to eat. Remind me to tell you sometime about the time when Jaelle took her turn as housekeeper, and Gwennis and Rafaella threatened to dump her out naked in the next blizzard if she didn’t get someone else to make the bread - ” Doria chattered on, still fanning herself. It was certainly not too hot in the drafty corridor between kitchen and the long dining room where she had sat last night, a stranger, hiding in Jaelle’s shadow. And now it was her home for half a year, at least. There were long tables which would, Magda supposed, seat forty or fifty women, piled at one end, stacks of plates and bowls, covered with towels, awaiting the evening. Behind the dining hall
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