That evening, everyone was excited as they sat down to eat. It was a hopeful way to go into the sabbath. A high note to cap off the week. The last thing done before the workweek ended was to put the covers on the tipis. The stated purpose was lodgings for their guests that would return with John, but a day off and a bit of extra privacy was a cause for celebration by many.
Chance Encounter on the Road
John had been headed toward the villages for several hours when he saw a humorous sight coming his way. A rather haggard looking Dr. Gupta was pulling a long bodied, intricately carved wooden modified wheel barrow of sorts loaded with chests and boxes. He was sweating profusely and obviously under some strain. Beside him, struggling to pick her way through the thick scrub brush, was a very attractive woman in what for the area would be an expensive dress. Obviously not appropriate wear for a daylong trek through the back country. She too did not look to be enjoying the experience and while she carried a parasol from the color of her face the sun burn she already had was going to be very painful by morning. Behind this very young woman came another woman about the same age who was less expensively dressed but not more suitably so, and an older woman who appeared to be in her mid to late twenties dressed almost identically. It was only a moment before it sunk in and John had to struggle not to laugh. He had heard that Dr. Gupta’s wife was from a family of some means in the other village; they had sent them out with baggage and two maids. Whew, he might make it back with the observers before they did. For a brief moment he considered going back for a rescue party, then decided not to. Start as you mean to go on. If Dr. Gupta’s people were going to make it here, they would need to learn how to adapt.
He steeled his face into a neutral, friendly mask, and waved to the doctor as he jogged up. “Afternoon Doc. See you’re making it back from your honeymoon. Hope everything with well.” He nodded politely to the misses. “Ma’am” he said in greeting. The woman had a startled look. You could almost read the thought, ‘Anju, this creature it is speaking to me’. John fought back the open laughter.
Dr. Gupta let the oddly balanced and ungainly wheelbarrow down and the relief on his face was evident. “Ah hello Lt. St. Claire. Surprised to see anyone this far out this morning.”
“Davidson’s got a new toy. Wants to show it off. Sent me as messenger boy. He seems to think he can help them with the harvest and free up some manpower for a few of our projects like the waterwheels. Uh, speaking of manpower. Not to butt into your business Doc, but you seem to be a might short on it, or maybe a bit long on gear.” Gupta just gave him a sickly smile. John almost let it go but at the last minute figured he should help if he could, “Like I said, not my business, but about four hundred yards over there,” he pointed northward, “you’ll find that creek that flows from by the house. Nice place to camp there. You and the ladies just extend your vacation a bit, and when I get back, I can send a couple of extra hands to help you get all this stuff lugged back up to our spot. Not sure where you’ll put it all when you get there, space is at a premium at the moment but at least it means you’ll not have to pull something trying to do-it-yourself right now. Whaddya say?” He looked at Dr. Gupta, waiting for an answer.
The other man sighed. “I wish it were that simple,” he turned to his wife and gave a very fake smile, then back to look at John. “I will simply need to make this work this time. After this it won’t be a problem, but for now...” His smile was back.
John actually felt sorry for the man, but hey men do it to themselves. So he just nodded. “Ok, Doc, I get it. I gotta get moving, though. My ladies want me back home soon as I can be too.” He nodded to the doctor’s wife. “Ma’am.” Then to the maids he just waved “Ladies” and jogged back off toward the village. Once he was certain he was clear of earshot, John howled with laughter. No, Dr. Gupta didn’t deserve this, but damn if it wasn’t funny. Dr. Stone and Dr. Young were going to eat that girl alive. He was still chuckling at the thought a half an hour later when he stopped for the first time to grab a quick snack and a bit of water.
New Perspectives
Relative Importance
It was late morning of the following day when Anju and his small, and now very bedraggled entourage, arrived before the large iron bound wooden doors of the Great Hall. Despite his near dangerous levels of physical exhaustion, Anju couldn’t help but admire the progress that had been made since he had been gone. The second story was in place and the gates were truly imposing. Even by twenty-first century standards, it would take an especially well equipped SWAT Unit, with some exceptionally powerful breeching charges, to enter uninvited. What ever one may think of Commander Davidson’s other qualities, one could not fault his understanding of the necessity for security. Surprised to see no one out and about, Anju staggered forward and banged on the large door.
Inside, Dr. Young had been taking advantage of this day off to spend a little quiet time trying to sculpt a chess set. She had wanted to play, but not having pieces found that the only option was to make some. She wasn’t much of an artist, but they could dig clay up for free, and she had the time. She had been at it most of the morning and while she could make pieces that were mostly recognizable; she was frustrated because she could not seem to make them of uniform size or shape. Currently on her fourth attempt at making what a “Bishop” should look like when there was a knock at the door. She was a bit confused. Who would knock and not just come in? She headed to find out. She was most of the way across the room when John’s two girls came down the stairs. What were their names again? She hated that she couldn’t remember, but it was just so hard to keep them all straight. What with all of them acting like love struck idiots mooning over men way too old for them, no matter what their bodies may look like. She shook her head at the absolutely ludicrous situation. She waved the girls back, she’d get this she was already up after all. She opened the door and there was Dr. Gupta. The poor man looked as if wild animals or something had set him upon. “Dr. Gupta! Are you ok?” she asked, stepping back to let him stumble in. “Were you attacked?”
Before Anju could respond, Hypathia had entered behind him. She took in the scene. The place certainly was big enough, but it was as open and empty as a barn. She would need to do something about that. Other than some crude tables and benches, there wasn’t really even any furniture. This woman, a maid by the look of the mud on her, kept yammering at him in that babble language of his. Really, she must teach these servants a civilized tongue. She may have to learn her husband’s language, at least passably for his sake, but she would not be dealing with it with the servants. She looked over the condition of the place; it was a disaster. It looked as if people had actually been just sleeping in corners of the room. She turned to the woman and asked, “Have you not cleaned this since the master has been away?” The maid only stared at her uncomprehendingly, though from the insolent expression on her face Hypathia decided that she should either be flogged or dismissed.
Evita saw the young girl come in the door. She didn’t recognize her, but she had known that Dr. Gupta had gotten married. All the rest of them had chased women way too young for them. Why would she think Gupta would be better than the rest of his ilk? Gupta had started to answer her, but then the girl started talking. Evita wished she understood Greek better but learning a new language was hard and the girl spoke so fast... and that tone, and the look on her face, maybe it’s a good thing I don’t know what this little brat is saying, she thought and her brows furrowed. She turned back to Dr. Gupta so he could explain what was going on, when she heard the girl give some orders behind her and then felt a hand grip her arm...
Hypathia was insulted enough that the maid had not acknowledged her, but then to show insolence, and then to turn her back on her was more than could be tolerated! She told her maids to, “Clean up this oversized barn, while I teach this maid how to act before her new Mistress!” and she took hold of Dr. Young’s arm to spin her around.
Watching from the stairs, Helena and Syria had been wide eyed with
surprise, and then with amusement seeing the scene unfold. Had they been typical American teens, they would have wished for popcorn, as this was likely to be the best show they would see for a while. That all changed when they heard the order issued to the maids. With only a quick glance at each other, they knew they were in complete agreement. Neither of them particularly liked Dr. Young. She wasn’t mean to them exactly, but they could also tell that she also didn’t entirely approve of them, or more accurately something about them. They could sense it wasn’t personal, but that didn’t really help. Still someone was attacking their home, and one of the people that John cared about. They had seen Dr. Gupta with the others at the Festival, and they knew he spoke the English, so that meant he was one of their countrymen, right? They didn’t know him, though, and they certainly didn’t know this new bitch! Like a pair of wailing banshees, they descended the stairs in a run that approximated a controlled fall and landed upon the two maids, knocking them to the ground. As their knees drove the air out of the two maid’s chests, they saw Dr. Young’s shocked expression as the woman spun her back around, and they heard the loud smack as the slap landed. Without coordination, Helena and Syria sprung up in unison. All four hands wrapping in deeply in Hypathia’s long curls. Like a lioness taking down its prey the girls pulled the struggling Hypatia to the ground and Helena sat on her chest and arms firmly pinning her in place, while Syria, her hands still firmly locked in Hypathia’s long hair pulled hard and said through gritted teeth, “Stop fighting or I will pull your whole head off!” After a very brief struggle Hypathia when limp.
Anju called out, “Please don’t hurt her, that is my wife.”
Evita rounded on him, Hypathia’s hand print still red and swollen on the left side of her face. “You need to get her under control then!” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized what she had said, and nearly choked on the words. She knew what she meant, and he knew what she meant. And damn it, she was pissed. “What the hell was THAT all about?”
Anju’s eyes were wide. He spread his hands wide and shrugged his shoulders. “It has been a very hard trip for all of us. My Greek isn’t great yet... Uh.... are you ok?”
Evita took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She looked over and the two maids were also getting to all fours now and gasping for air, holding their sides. Evita nodded her head after a moment. She looked at Anju. “If they let her up?”
He nodded his head, “I’ll see to it.”
She looked over at the girls and nodded. “Thank you. I owe you one.”
Helena and Syria both grinned, proud of themselves, both to have proven their worth and to have won so decisively. Before they finally released the girl, Syria looked down at the tear-streaked face and sniffed, then looked up at Anju and Evita and just bellowed one word loudly and with a bit of disgust, “Bath!”
Evita choked back a snort of laughter. To his credit, Dr. Gupta simply drew himself up straight and summoned all of his tattered dignity and in an effort to inject some humor into this utter disaster affected his best British accent, “Capitol Idea, That!” He offered his hand down to help Hypathia stand, “Come along dear.” Of course the locals did not know what any of that meant, but seeing Dr. Young nod and smile, Helena and Syria both relaxed. Then came the shakes as the adrenalin crashed out of their system.
Dust in the Wind
Elena was very understanding when she agreed to trade a pair of very fine whale bone hair combs from Anju’s personal wealth, for a large section of sailcloth from the stores of the group as a whole. Having heard what had happened, and having witnessed the obviously forced and less than sincere apology to Dr. Young, Helena, and Syria, separate living arrangements for a time at least seemed prudent. To say that his new bride was a bit waspish about her new situation was generous. Elena thought saying anything not completely vile about the woman was generous, but Eli had asked her to let him handle it, so she would be nice, or at least avoid the woman if she could. It was just that work had begun this morning, and other than her maid coming to collect food for them, she had seen neither maid nor Hypathia to help out. John would likely be back by lunchtime. There was much to do.
Elena wasn’t the only one noticing the absence. Georgia slid over to where Evita was replacing, kindling and restocking the firewood rack by the oven after breakfast. “Haven’t seen your friend this morning. Saw one of her maids come to get three plates of food... but no one to help cook any, wash up after, or any of the million other things that need doing around here every day.”
Evita gritted her teeth. “I know!” she almost shouted, then inhaled and slowly exhaled. “Eli talked to me last night. Asked me to let him have a chance to talk to Gupta today and get a handle on things. So yeah, it burns me, but give it a rest, my blood pressure doesn’t need it.”
Georgia chuckled softly, “Hey, I was just sayin’ if you want some backup and John’s girls are busy...”
Evita snorted, then gave her a lopsided grin. “They really were a pair of hell cats. You should have seen it.” She shook her head. “I didn’t even think that they liked me, much less fight for me.”
Georgia laughed softly, started to say something, then hesitated, started again and thought better of it...
Noticing this, Evita rolled her eyes. “Ok, what? Just out with it already!”
Georgia frowned momentarily collecting her thoughts and decided, what the hell, she asked for it... “Ok I know we’re not what you’d call close, and I’m not trying to make this worse,” she took a deep breath and then just continued on in a rush to get it all out there. “They probably weren’t real excited about you. I mean, I know this total mess has been hard on you, hell it’s been hard on us all. I know that you think you were cheated out of whatever fame or life you left behind, and I left the same stuff behind, so I understand. Yeah, the guys all have lost their minds and started chasing girls that would have gotten them jail time back home, but honey, it ain’t back home. Here and now, these girls would all already be married to someone else if not these guys. Also, if you haven’t noticed, the girls are happy. I think you might be the only one who hasn’t noticed how much better their lives are since we showed up. Yeah, are guys are idiots! They’re guys! It’s genetic, that we love them so much, is our own defect.” She gave a bit of a snort. “Our guys with all of their flaws are modern American guys, with American values, and when you compare that to even ‘good men’ through most of history, there is no comparison. So the point is, love you or hate you, someone attacked the best thing that has ever happened to those girls, and they weren’t going to just let it pass. You can keep looking at this as the greatest disaster of your life if you want to, and there is nothing any of us can do to stop you, or you can get inspired by those two and fight to hold on to the good things you’ve got. All I’m going to say on it.”
Tears were in Evita’s eyes. The words hurt. She knew part of the reason they hurt was that there was truth to it, but she wasn’t quite ready to let go of the pain. It felt like all that she had left. “Easy for you to say. Marcus Godfreed’s arms making holding on to the good things a lot easier.” She turned and hurried away. She couldn’t help it. The tears were going to come, and she didn’t want it to be in front of everyone.
Syria had been trying to soften up a hide that John had skinned but gotten side tracked and let dry out. She was on her knees between some bushes in a quiet section of the little creek when she saw Evita come running up, crying. She lept to her feet with anger flashing in her eyes startling Evita. She hissed one word, “Hypathia?”
Seeing the tiny girl so rigid with instant anger, so ready for war, Evita couldn’t help but let out a genuine laugh through the tears, which really brought a confused look to the tiny face. Evita just pointed to herself, “Sad, miss home.”
Slowly, Syria nodded. “John,” she shook her head, “Talk home. Maybe sad.”
Evita didn’t know how to explain the loss John was really sad about so she just nodded, “Maybe he’s m
issing home too.” she agreed. “You really love John, don’t you?”
Evita could see Syria struggling to parse the sentence. Like she got the words individually, but needed time to put them in place to figure out the meaning. Then she nodded. “Melina say John good. Little, not little. Uh. Old soul. Melina knows John.” she put her hand to her chest, “Learn John. John good good good!” Her little head was nodding up and down vigorously now, “Love John.” again she indicated herself, “For John!”
‘For John,’ Evita thought glumly. Then to Syria she simply pointed to herself and said “For...” trailing off and showing confusion, “Sad”
Syria said nothing more. She simply hugged her. Evita didn’t know why, but somehow it felt better, at least a little.
This had better be important
Life is Magical
John had been a bit surprised that Chief Dorien had eagerly decided to come himself rather than sending a representative. It had equally surprised him at his rather chilly reception at the second village. Many of the locals seemed unhappy about his presence and as a general rule, while not openly hostile, weren’t welcoming nor in any way supportive of sending even an official observer. He only relented and sent the most ardent opponent of any continued cooperation or even contact with anyone from his side of the island.
Chief Teppo had even originally forbid Magus Ries from attending, until the Magus had pointed out that if there were magic being used, who else could evaluate if it posed a danger or not? Of course John was privy to none of the details of this because of the language difficulties, but between the body language and the warning looks from Chief Dorien when the others weren’t looking, he knew that he needed to get a translator on the job and quick.
The trip back was mostly uneventful. John had been this way multiple times by now and had memorized the least challenging course. The men traveling with him were traveling light, and were in moderately good condition, so having left just after first light, they arrived just after the lunch hour. Of course they had been spotted by the signalman nearly two hours out. So when they arrived, food had been prepared and a new segment of meadow had been staked out. While Eli did the meet and greet with Elena and Melena, John quietly snagged Sapphira and let her know about the bad vibes coming from the second village. With a quirk of her eyebrow, she quickly pulled him away to a small clearing where there was a small blanket spread in the shade. He couldn’t help but smile as he saw Helena and Syria there chatting happily with... Dr. Young? Ok, that was unexpected. Upon seeing him both girl’s eyes lit up but then seeing the confusion on his face, and the concern in Sapphira’s, they started to ask questions instead. Greek flew back and forth in rapid succession. Three sets of hands waved at speeds that made John wonder if they would soon take flight. In the end, Sapphira frowned. She turned to John. “They said when they left that some of the young men had been complaining, because we came for Eli, there were no wives for them. At the Festival there was a shortage of women from our village for the young men from the other village. Then, many women had wanted metal jewelry but the men of the village didn’t have any. From what you say it sounds worse than this, right?”
World Wright Incorporated (World Wright Inc. Book 1) Page 12