The Clearing

by Lina J. Potter

  Lily pressed a cabbage leaf to her face to reduce the swelling around her eyes. Then she wrapped her warm shawl tighter around her shoulders and leaned against the carriage window.

  I need to be able to check everyone who comes to the castle. How am I going to do that?

  She would start by working over Leis to make him nervous. For a man like him, that would be worse than dynamite. After all, he had brought a killer into her house…

  I have to check the rest of the soldiers and find them accommodations outside the castle. In the village? Or do we have barracks somewhere? I bet we do. That still leaves the tutors. I can have the Virmans watch over them so that nobody so much as sneezes in private.

  Lily hated getting up early. She decided she would talk to the pastor about holding services at Earton several times a week. She could offer to pay for upgrades to the church building and anything else the pastor felt was necessary. What mattered was that he see her benevolent intentions. After all, a servant of Maldonaya would never give money to the church, would she?

  Excellent idea. I’ll make it work.

  In her lap she had a gift. A silver pen and ink well set. Helke had given her several to take home with her. She chose a simple set so that the pastor wouldn’t get ideas above his station.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about paper. Parchment was expensive and birch bark fell apart.

  What did they make papyrus from in the old days? Some kind of reed, I think. There are plenty of swamps and woods around these parts. I suppose I could send some servants to cut reeds for experimenting with. If I come up with something like paper, I’ll have to work on a printing press. Even if it’s slow and clunky, the locals will be impressed.

  Sure. They’ll be so impressed that they’ll burn me at the stake. I’ve got to think with my head! I can’t do anything big without getting the church on board first. Or the authorities. I may be the biggest authority around here, but I don’t know how much power I really have. Most people are like animals that live by their instincts, and religion is a powerful instinct.

  Everything came back around to the pastor. She needed him on her side.

  Those thoughts in mind, Lily arrived at the church, bumped and bruised from her carriage ride.

  This is ridiculous. I’ve got to invent some shock absorbers. Why didn’t I study engineering?

  The church was a simple two-story cottage. Inside, the icons were scuffed and worn and there were no candles in sight.

  Just like back home in Russia. If a church is in a big city, the priest does well for himself. If it’s out in the middle of nowhere, then he gets good at observing all the fasts. Because he may not have enough money to eat!

  Lily wasn’t exactly embarrassed by the condition of the church, and her conscience didn’t suddenly wake up – none of it was actually her fault – but she noticed how things were and how she could have an influence.

  The pastor greeted her at the door to the church. While her body went through all the ritual motions, her mind coldly noted that Pastor Vopler’s robe was old and patched and that his cheeks were sunken.

  “I’m pleased to see you, my lady.”

  “So am I,” Lily lied. “Can you spare some time for me after the service? I don’t want to distract you right now. It won’t take long.”

  “Of course, my lady.”

  Lily napped obediently on her bench through the entire service. She didn’t mean to, but her eyes closed on their own. The air in the church was close and stale, and her brain shut down due to lack of oxygen. As she drifted off, she wondered how it was possible for the church to be hot and stuffy while cold drafts leaked in at every window. The drafts did nothing for the overall air quality, but they kept everyone’s feet cold.

  Lily wrapped her shawl around her and dreamed of fur boots, analgesics and antihistamines. Mirrie was snoring next to her. Together, they took up the entire first bench. The peasants and the rest of the household were crammed into the back benches, with watchful Virmans sprinkled throughout. Their job was to keep everyone away from her ladyship.

  Only the devil knows how Lily’s talk with the pastor would have gone if she had embarked on it alone, but fate – in the form of a cheap lamp – stepped in to help her out. It was one of the local lamps: a shallow dish of some kind of fat with a burning wick in the center. It smoked and stank, but it gave off some light. When the service was over and people were filing out of the church into the fresh air, a young boy went around the room to put out the lamps. He was so nervous and so fascinated by the countess at the same time that he tripped over his own two feet. He reached out to steady himself and ended up knocking over one of the lamps. The hot oil splashed onto the wall, which immediately caught fire like an Olympic torch.

  “Careful!” shouted the pastor. He made a dash for the child.

  The Virmans sprang into action, quickly hustling Lily and Miranda out of the church and then handing out the pastor and the young boy.

  “Is anyone still in there?” Olaf asked? The church was already engulfed in flames.

  “N-no,” the pastor replied. He was trembling in shock.

  Lily sighed. She was pleased that no one was inside. And she was just as pleased to watch the church burn down. It was an awful pigsty of a building.

  I’ll have to build a new one or people will talk. I wonder how much it will cost?

  She stood and watched the flames for a few minutes. No one was even trying to put out the fire. Instead, the men were throwing buckets of water on nearby houses. Pastor Vopler stared at the burning church with a helpless look on his face.

  Of course he’s upset. I bet there’s no great demand for pastors in these parts. All the other churches already have pastors. He can’t just go walking around looking for a church that needs him.

  The pastor had his arm around the lamp boy. She noticed that they looked strikingly similar. Father and son?

  Lily stood up and walked over to where the pastor and the boy were standing. “Pastor, I understand how upset you are, but please understand…”

  “Yes, I know,” he said, keeping his eyes on the ground. “My church is no more, but the earl’s estate is poor. Etor always reminded me of that.”

  Lily took a deep breath. “Etor stole everything that wasn’t nailed down, and whatever he didn’t steal he managed to sell to someone else. Our estate may not be wealthy, but I’ll find the money for a new church.”

  A light shone from the pastor’s brown eyes. “You, my lady?”

  “Yes, me. Where do you live?”

  “We had a room above the church.”

  “We?”

  “My son and I.”

  Lily worked to keep a straight face. He had a son! And then she remembered: in her new world, the church allowed pastors to marry and have children. Only men at the rank of Aldon or higher were sworn to celibacy.

  “Pastor, is this your only child?”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “Where is your wife?”

  “Maria died of childbed fever two years ago. The child died, too. A girl.”

  Lily put a hand on his shoulder. “Pastor Vopler, you have to come back to the castle with me. I hope you understand that.”

  “My lady…” he sighed. It was a grateful sigh.

  “What is your son’s name?”

  “Mark.”

  “Mark can study alongside Mirrie while you are busy building the new church.”

  “What did you say, my lady?” The pastor did not know what to think.

  “You heard me. My husband sent his daughter to Earton with three tutors. What do they care if they teach one child or two?”

  He stared at her.

  “Mirrie will not mind.” She looked down at Miranda, who was watching the church burn down with enormous eyes. Of course she wouldn’t mind, especially after her stepmother shared some tricks from her own childhood. Like putting beetles in the teacher’s desk. That really makes them scream! (The teachers, of course. Beetles don’t generally
make much noise.) Or mixing aspirin and hydrogen peroxide and dropping it on the heater. That’s a trick worth trying. You get big, beautiful clouds of white smoke.

  You can’t use it more than a few times before the teachers figure out what you’re up to, but we managed to get out of a couple of semester tests that way.

  Lily pushed aside her memories and smiled at the pastor. “We need a church. A big, beautiful church. I’ll put up the lumber and the men for the job if you’ll manage the job. And until it’s finished, you can hold services in a chapel at the castle.”

  “My lady!”

  “Just choose the room and tell my servants. They will prepare it for you. We can order devotional items from some people I know in Altver. How does that sound to you?”

  “I can’t believe it, my lady! I just can’t believe it!”

  “Then I suggest we don’t stand around waiting for the fire to burn out. Let’s get in my carriage.”

  He hesitated.

  “Was there something you wanted to take with you?”

  “Everything I had was in there,” he nodded at the burning church.

  “When we get to the castle, I will introduce you to my housekeeper. Her name is Emma. Just tell her what you need. I have several dressmakers in my household. They can make new robes for you and clothes for your son. He’ll need warm things with winter around the corner.”

  “But my lady, how can I ever thank you for your kindness?”

  Lily had a list ready in her mind, but she kept it to herself. She had already worked out for herself that there were three types of pastors. And she had an idea why he hadn’t gotten along with the previous Lilian. He was that rare animal, the intelligent believer: too honest to squeeze money out of his congregation, and too pig-headed to tell people what they wanted to hear.

  Men like that have trouble making friends and finding patrons. They’re always running around trying to do good instead of milking the churchgoers and driving a fast car. Idiots! That’s why they end up in out-of-the-way places like Earton, where they won’t be underfoot while other, better-connected men of the church engage in intrigues and money-making schemes.

  Lily reflected that she was lucky to have an intelligent believer as her priest. He may not have been to the liking of Lilian Earton, but she was sure they would work well together.

  “Keep an eye on the souls of the people of Earton. That is the only thanks I require.”

  His brown eyes shown with joy. Lily smiled inwardly.

  I’ll have you eating out of my hand.

  “Pastor, I have many books at the castle that recount the lives of the saints. Perhaps you would like to have some of them as a gift?”

  “Oh, my lady!”

  What a fanatic. He’s honest and a true believer. I just need to find out what he has more of: intelligence or fanaticism. If it’s intelligence, we’ll work well together. If it’s fanaticism, we’ll still work together, but I’ll have to be very careful.

  “Let’s go, pastor. There’s no reason to stay here.”

  Lily saw Art Vidras in the crowd of peasants watching the blaze. She waved him over. He ran up to her and bowed low. “Yes, my lady?”

  “When the fire burns itself out, I want you to clean off the site. We will build a new church here.”

  “As you wish, my lady.”

  “The pastor will come check on your work tomorrow. If you aren’t getting anything done, I’ll send my Virmans to watch you.”

  Lily felt like a real feudal lord.

  There’s no other way. I can’t be kind to these people. They won’t understand.

  “My lady!” Art promised that everything would be done just as she wished, right away, without delay…

  She nodded and turned to her carriage, followed by the Virmans, the pastor and his son, and with Mirrie at her side. The crowd parted obediently and the peasants bowed.

  To hell with feudalism!

  Back at the castle, Lily turned the pastor and his boy over to the care of Emma. Then she had a little talk with Mirrie.

  “How do you feel about having company?”

  “What company?”

  “I mean Mark coming to your lessons with you.”

  “But why?”

  “Isn’t it more fun to learn with someone than by yourself?”

  Mirrie’s face looked doubtful.

  Lily laughed. “It’s like this. When you’re the only student, the teacher is always looking right at you. But if there are two of you, it’s easier. And just think how much easier it will be to learn good manners and dancing if you have someone to practice with. Right?”

  Mirrie nodded slowly. Lily pressed ahead.

  “You’ll be a countess when you grow up. You have to learn to take care of the people who live on your estate. Plus, I promise to teach you and Mark how to fight with your fists. I bet you’ll beat him, too.”

  “Me?”

  “Of course! You need a partner to practice on. If you can beat him, you’ll beat everyone else, too.”

  “Really?”

  “I promise. I’ll teach you how to knock down anyone you want. But I’m too big for you to practice with me. You need someone your own size.”

  Miranda still looked doubtful.

  “Let’s give it a try. If you don’t like him, we can always get rid of him later. How’s that?”

  Mirrie nodded. Lily smiled down at her. She knew that children always learned better in small groups. The competitive spirit always helped, as long as it was properly managed. And she wasn’t lying about practice fighting. Mirrie was a large girl, and Mark was on the small side for a boy. They’d do fine together. Most importantly, Mirrie would learn how to converse with different kinds of people.

  These people don’t even realize how tied down they are by thinking of themselves as either lords or peasants. If I can raise Mirrie not to have those prejudices, she’ll be able to achieve anything.

  When the rest of the Virmans arrived in Earton, Lily wanted their children to go to school with Mirrie, too. They could learn and play and even fight together, and Mirrie would always have friends she could count on.

  Lily felt she had convinced the child that it would be a fine thing to have a schoolmate, so she went off to her library to continue writing down her notes on pharmacology. About an hour and a half later, the pastor knocked softly at the door.

  “My lady?”

  “Please, come in.”

  Lily quickly turned over her scroll. The back side featured the life story of some saint or other.

  “I wanted to thank you for taking us in.”

  “Has Emma found rooms for you?”

  “Yes, my lady. I have to say I am surprised. Your manager…”

  “I suppose you heard what happened to him? Wolves got him. I haven’t found a replacement yet. Emma is an excellent housekeeper.”

  “But she is a woman.”

  “As am I, pastor. Has it ever occurred to you that women may be just as useful as men in this world? After all, women often have a sincere desire to help those who are suffering and in need. Aldonai created men and women differently, of course, but he has given all of us work to do in this life. Men defend home and country, and women manage the home so that men have somewhere to return to. That is what Emma and I are trying to do. You may be surprised by our methods, but we simply have no choice. No one else will do this work for us.”

  “But my lady, what about the Virmans? They are heathens and pirates.”

  Lily looked up at the ceiling. “Yes, pastor, I know that. But I was hoping you could lead their souls to the light. Think of it this way: if I had not hired them, they would have lived their whole lives in darkness. Now they have a chance at salvation.” Suddenly, Lily was seized by melancholy so strong that tears sprang to her eyes.

  The pastor jumped from his seat. “My lady, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I am fine… Oh, Pastor Vopler, I’m so glad to have you here. I never understood your worth, but when I lost my baby
…”

  Instead of a reply, the pastor made the sign of Aldonai. Lily copied him and began to recite one of the prayers that was still sitting in Lilian’s memory: For relief of human suffering. The pastor watched her pray, his face lightening with every word. Lily noticed this and clinched the deal with two more prayers.

  I’m on the right path.

  Finally, the pastor made the sign of Aldonai again and Lily got up from her knees. She had scraped them up during the fight the night before and they hurt terribly. The pastor still had doubts on his face.

  Sure he is. I’m bossy and I have a bunch of Virmans running around the castle.

  So she added, “Would you share my humble meal with me?”

  Judging by the surprise on the pastor’s face, he had not expected such a bland meal at the countess’ table: plain oatmeal without honey or jam, a piece of cheese and a glass of cold well water. She didn’t want to eat too much because she could feel her temperature rising.

  She had the servants bring meat and mushrooms and eggs for the pastor. He watched Lily eat her oatmeal for a few minutes before bursting out, “My child, you demonstrate laudable moderation.”

  Lily looked down. She was afraid of laughing if she looked at him. “Pastor, how can I eat my fill when there are children dying of hunger on my estate?”

  “But…”

  “Especially after I lost my baby. I must live a pious life if I am to have any hope of forgiveness for my sins.”

  His eyes are getting warmer. I hope I can keep this up.

  “Pastor, I hope you will allow Mark to study alongside Mirrie.”

  “Of course.”

  How could he object? Education is expensive in these parts.

  “I want them to learn self-defense, as well.”

  “My lady?”

  Lily made a sad face and told him about the killer in her room. The pastor gasped. He grabbed his napkin. He stared. Finally, he asked, “My lady, how were you able to save yourself?”

  “It was a miracle, pastor. What concerns me is that the man could have hurt Mirrie. She’s just a defenseless child. Your boy should be able to defend himself, as well. They can learn together. With the Virmans.”