“Graham!” she said. When he looked at her, she waved him over. “To me!”
The knight obediently went to her. “My lady?”
“I need something to cook with,” she said. “I am assuming that the quartermaster will be feeding the army?”
Graham nodded. “That is usual,” he eyed her. “Why do you need something to cook with?”
“Because I wish to prepare hot food for the knights. I want to see what the quartermaster has so that I can prepare food. I need the pots to do it in.”
Graham lifted a dubious eyebrow. “Forgive me, my lady, but do you even know how to prepare a meal? That is servants’ work.”
She knew that. “That is true, but you know that in the absence of my mother, I was chatelaine at Roseden,” she said patiently. “I may not have been the cook, but I have overseen numerous meals. Surely I know enough to prepare something quite competently, so find me any iron pots that you can. There must be something around here, especially if someone has recently been inhabiting the place, as my husband said.”
Graham wasn’t exactly sure it was a good idea for Annalyla to cook something, but he didn’t argue with her. She would do what she damn well pleased, anyway. He simply nodded his head and turned away, heading back towards the servant’s entrance to the hall.
Annalyla watched him lumber off, knowing he didn’t approve of what she was doing. But like a good servant, he did as he was told. As she watched him giving instructions to some of the soldiers at the door, she turned to see Maude heading in her direction with the quartermaster, a man she’d seen for the past couple of days but hadn’t really spoken with. All she knew was that he fed the men on a good deal of bread and little else. She went to meet them.
“My lady,” the quartermaster greeted her. A man with a crown of wild white hair, he had a round face and a red nose, pinched with the cold. “Lady de Correa says that you wish to know what supplies I have?”
Annalyla nodded. “I do,” she said. “And I am curious why you have been feeding the men so heavily on bread the past two days. Old bread, too. It was baked at Seven Crosses.”
The old man nodded. “Aye, my lady,” he said. “It was. I find that men travel better on bread. It weighs heavily in the stomach and gives them strength for the long march.”
“True, but it does not keep their hunger sated for very long,” she said. “What meat provisions have you brought?”
The man gestured back to the wagon, which had been pulled up right outside the hall door. “I have barrels of salted beef, my lady,” he said. “I also have some salt pork, wheat flour, oats, cheese, eggs, apples, onions, carrots, cabbage, salt, and I brought along some spices in case the meat turned sour.”
Annalyla thought on that. “How long will those supplies last?”
“I’ve brought enough for the men to eat for at least a week, my lady,” he said. “We can catch fish in the sea, or hunt for our meat in the local forests. I’ve also heard that there is a market in Widemouth.”
Annalyla lifted her eyebrows. “The forests may belong to the king,” she said. “We cannot hunt there if that is the case.”
“I doubt the king will know, my lady.”
It sounded risky to her and she was certain Tenner would think the same thing, but she didn’t say so. Instead, she turned to Maude.
“We are going to have to purchase some supplies until we can get the kitchens running,” she said. “We’ll need chickens, and a milk cow and calf. We did not bring any of that with us, and we will need those items. I do not wish to bother my husband about these things; he has enough to worry about with this derelict old place. If we can have him assign us a few men, then we can send them out looking for cattle to purchase. There may even be a farm nearby where we can purchase cheese and butter to fortify our stores.”
Maude was smiling at her as she spoke. “You sound very much as if you know what you are doing,” she said. “You said that your father’s castle wasn’t nearly the size of Seven Crosses, but that does not diminish your knowledge in what should be done. I agree with everything you have said.”
Annalyla smiled, rather embarrassed. “I do not sound like a tyrant, do I?”
“Very much so. But that is what this place needs.”
Annalyla laughed softly. “Then you and I are of one mindset,” she said. “Tomorrow, we shall put our plan into action. But for now, we have men to feed.”
“Indeed.”
Annalyla returned her attention to the quartermaster. “Bring in the supplies,” she said. “Bring in all of them and stack them over there against the wall. Bring in whatever pots you have, because the men are going to eat well tonight.”
The quartermaster nodded, somewhat nervously. In just the short conversation he’d had with her, he could see that Lady de Velt was a strong-willed woman.
“Aye, my lady,” he said. “What would you have them eat?”
Annalyla pondered that a moment. “Do you have cooking pots?”
“Big ones, my lady.”
“Then fill them with water and bring them in here,” she said. “Boil the beef and boil the carrots. If we can find some flattened rocks or stone, we can heat them up in the fire and bake bread on them. Can you do that?”
The man nodded firmly. “Aye, my lady.”
“Good,” Annalyla said. “Have men help you bring in the supplies while Lady de Correa and I organize everything. Hurry, now, the men are hungry.”
The quartermaster fled, grabbing a few men as he went. They headed out into the storm and, soon enough, barrels of beef and sacks of precious foodstuffs were brought back into the hall as Maude directed the men to stack everything up against the dry eastern wall so they could get an accounting of everything.
More and more men began filtering outside, returning with their arms full of things. When Annalyla saw the pots coming in, she grabbed a couple, including a few iron pans, with sides that were an inch or two high, that were used for baked dishes. Bowls and spoons and other implements were brought in, organized by Maude and Annalyla themselves. And in no time, the old quartermaster was well on his way to boiling beef for the men as Annalyla and Maude planned a different menu for the knights.
Considering that the most either of them had done was watch the cooks prepare meals, they were good with their educated guesses. Into one of the pots that Annalyla had confiscated went heads of cabbage, torn up because she didn’t have a knife, and chunks of broken carrots. Enough water was added to fill the pot about two-thirds full. Onions and turnips proved more difficult to break up with their hands, so Maude borrowed a sharp dagger from one of the soldiers and used it to cut up the root vegetables, tossing them into the cabbage mixture along with a piece of salt pork. Placing the pot on the edge of the fire ensured that it would soon be bubbling. Annalyla added a little more salt and powdered mustard, and stirred it all up.
With the cabbage potage on the fire, they moved to the eggs. They had four iron baking dishes and Annalyla made a dough from the wheat flour, a little water, salt, an egg yolk, and some lard. She had seen the cook at Roseden do it, and although she didn’t know the exact measurements, she guessed at what she could recall. She hoped it was right. Once the dough had been pressed into the baking dishes to form a crust, she beat the eggs in a bowl with more cut up onions, and bits of tart, white cheese that Maude had put into it, and poured the mixture into the four baking dishes. Sprinkling the coarse salt over the top of it, she set the dishes next to the steaming pot so that the eggs could bake.
When that was done, Annalyla and Maude sat back to observe their handiwork. There was nothing left to do now but wait for things to bake and bubble, so they looked at each other and shrugged.
“You seem to know a good deal about food preparation,” Maude said. “These dishes look delicious.”
Annalyla exhaled in a slow, deliberate gesture. “I only know what I have seen others do,” she admitted. “If these do not turn out, then I shall have failed spectacularly. But at least I
will have tried.”
“I am certain Tenner will appreciate it a great deal.”
“He will until he tastes it.”
They giggled at each other before gradually noticing that the quartermaster had two very large bowls of bread dough. The man was beating at the dough, kneading it, and then setting the bowls near the fire for the dough to rise. As he waddled off to do something else, Annalyla pointed at the dough.
“Let us find some clean stones and put them in the fire,” she whispered loudly. “We can steal some of his dough and make bread for our husbands. I shall get the stones; you get the dough.”
Maude nodded confidently, inching towards the dough bowls as Annalyla made her way back towards the smaller hall entry where several soldiers were gathered around, making sure to protect the entry. They didn’t stop Annalyla from passing through the door, but they followed her, and she told them what she was looking for. Soon enough, she had three wet and relatively clean stones, which the men carried back into the hall for her and even put them on the fire near the steaming pot of cabbage that was beginning to smell rather good.
Once the stones were dry and heating up, Annalyla and Maude formed loaves of bread with the stolen dough and put them upon the stones, watching them immediately start to firm up.
There was a satisfaction in a task well done. They’d taken on the challenge of cooking themselves and, so far, the results seemed to be acceptable. It looked and smelled good enough. Annalyla looked at Maude with a smile on her lips, and the woman grinned and put her arm around Annalyla’s shoulders as they watched their meal take shape. As Annalyla had said, it would either be a success or a spectacular failure. But at least they were willing to try, and it had been a bonding experience between them.
For the first time since leaving Netherghyll, Annalyla felt as if she were part of something, as if she had made a friend. Her time at Netherghyll had been so precious to her, and the years of heartbreak and boredom after returning to Roseden seemed like a bitter memory. All of it, a bitter memory. Now, she was where she wanted to be, where she belonged, in the hall of a derelict castle, married to a man she was coming to adore more and more by the day, and with a companion in Maude that was more, and better, than she could have ever hoped for. Perhaps, in some way, God was rewarding her for all of those years she had spent with a selfish father and a manipulative nurse.
She could only hope.
Resting her head on Maude’s shoulder, the two of them watched their meal cook well into the night.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The storm was starting to lift a little as the wind blew the clouds inland. The moon, sitting in the sky above the turbulent sea, cast ghostly rays into the water in intermittent flashes as the clouds moved.
Tenner had been watching the sky from time to time as he moved about the keep, checking rooms and checking the roof, ceilings, and floor. He hadn’t found any warm bodies yet, but there were definite signs of habitation in some of the rooms. At one point, he ended up on the lower floor, in a rather large room with windows that overlooked the bailey. He could see nearly the entire ward from the chamber, including the great hall, where the fire from the pit was casting a golden glow from the windows and broken doorways. He thought he could even smell baking bread.
His hall.
All of this was his. His and Annalyla’s. He found himself eager to return to his wife, who was somewhere in that glowing hall, but he had a task to complete first. Baiadepaura seemed to have a maze of chambers, smaller chambers, stairwells, and even a hidden door he’d found in a wall when he’d accidentally leaned on it. He’d nearly toppled over. It was all quite fascinating, but it was also quite eerie. Inspecting an old castle that had rumors of a ghost attached to it made it so. He still didn’t believe in ghosts. But looking at a place like this, he could almost believe.
Almost…
Coming out of the big chamber that overlooked the bailey, he ended up in another chamber that had windows facing out over the sea. It was still raining for the most part, and he could see a mist rolling in from the southwest. Soon, it would cover everything and they would no longer see the moon or the storm clouds high above. Everything would be shrouded in that heavy Cornwall mist. With thoughts of the coming fog on his mind, he was about to exit the chamber when a dark figure emerged into the room, startling him. Instinctively, he put his hand to the hilt of his broadsword, but the darkened figure lifted its hands in supplication.
“Easy.” It was Arlo. “Did you think it was the Devil of Baiadepaura creeping up on you, then?”
Tenner had to admit his heart had jumped a little. “God only knows in this place,” he muttered. “Well? What is your report from the south wing?”
Arlo stepped forward, the faint light from the fading moon on his features. “It is oddly solid,” he said. “It is clear that someone has kept that part of the keep in repair, because the roof is good and so are the floors. The hearth has even been used recently.”
Tenner was interested. “Is that so?”
Arlo nodded. “Aye,” he said. “And there is something more, Ten. There are oil lamps in the chamber on the top floor facing south, the one with the big window that overlooks the sea. There is a path from the beach below up the slope and into the bailey; I could see it from the window.”
Tenner lifted a dark eyebrow. “Lamps?” he repeated. “For signaling ships at sea, mayhap?”
Arlo nodded. “And a path for men to travel when they beach their boats. A well-used path.”
Tenner could instantly see where the man was leading. “Signaling ships at sea,” he muttered. “And a hidden cove. I saw that cove from the window in the next chamber over, but only part of it. You cannot see it unless you are looking right down upon it.”
“That is true.”
“Pirates would use a cove like that.”
“And the path to a derelict castle, mayhap to hide their ill-gotten gains.”
“Or even wait for other ships to pass so they can sail out to attack them.”
Arlo sighed heavily. “My thoughts, exactly,” he said. “I think this place has been a haven for those who have attacked Lord Tiverton’s vessels from Bude and Widemouth. God only knows how long it has been abandoned, and it is a perfect place for the pirates to hide. All they have to do is sit here and wait for ships passing to the south, and because the cove is hidden, no one would see them until it was too late.”
Tenner wasn’t surprised to hear any of this, but he was concerned. “And now, there are five hundred men occupying this space, which will make it difficult for the pirates to reclaim it,” he said. “I would say that the first thing we need to do is destroy that path from the beach to the bailey. We must make it so they cannot come up from the cove.”
Arlo nodded. “Hopefully the weather will clear on the morrow and we can see what needs to be done,” he said. “For tonight, however, I would suggest putting about fifty men at the trailhead, watching the cove and the seas. And, Ten… you’re not going to like this.”
“Like what?”
Arlo paused a moment. “When a squall passed through and the weather eased, I thought I saw a light out to sea.”
Tenner knew exactly what he meant. “A passing ship.”
“Exactly. We do not know for certain that it is a pirate ship, but…”
“But who would be traveling in this weather if it was not a predator?”
“Those are my thoughts.”
Tenner grunted sharply. “Damn,” he hissed. “If that is the case, then we light up this keep. Put a man in every window facing the sea and give them a lamp. They are to remain there all night. We do not need the pirates bringing their ship into the cove because they think Baiadepaura is vacant. I want no surprises this night.”
“Agreed.”
“And you and I and de Lave will take the night watch. Every inch of this place will be covered with men and weapons.”
“Aye.”
With that, they headed out of the keep and back
to the great hall, which was warm and fragrant when they entered. Tenner was still on edge, still thinking about pirates, but when he saw Annalyla’s face, all of that changed.
All he felt was comfort.
He found himself looking forward to sitting with her, and talking to her, if only for a few short moments before he set posts for the night. His sweet little wife who was starting to consume him. While Arlo went to find Graham and relay the orders, Tenner went straight to Annalyla, who was very proud to show him the bread she’d baked and the egg dishes that were golden-brown on the top. Tenner looked at the food in surprise.
“You did this?” he asked her. “All of this?”
Annalyla indicated Maude. “Maude and I did it together,” she said. “We wanted to make hot food for you and Arlo. We have supervised enough meals that I think that practically makes us cooks, so I hope it turns out well. Do you have time to eat now?”
Even if Tenner didn’t have time, he was going to make time. He looked at Annalyla, her cheeks flushed rosy because she’d spent so much time close to the fire, and the fact that she did this for him threatened to turn him into a giddy, smiling fool. He was very touched.
“You really did all of this yourself?” he asked. “For me?”
She grinned. “For you.”
Planting himself on the ground next to the fire, he took the egg dish and, using a spoon Annalyla gave him, began to shovel great bites of egg and onion and cheese into his mouth. He quickly realized that it was salty and delicious, so he gobbled it down because he was very hungry. Next came bread, which was a little oddly-shaped because it had been baked on the stone, but it was very tasty when he dipped it into the cabbage potage that was full of onions and carrots and turnips.
Once the egg dishes were devoured, the same iron pans held the cabbage potage, and Annalyla watched Tenner eat three bowls of the stuff. Oddly, she wasn’t hungry herself. She was far more interested in watching Tenner eat and she felt as if she’d accomplished something by feeding him, small as it was. To her, it was showing the man that she had some worth, that she would make a good wife as well as a good chatelaine for his new garrison. She wanted to show him that she would always take care of him, no matter what, and she wanted to make him proud.
Bay of Fear (Battle Lords of de Velt Book 3) Page 10