Maja looked and realized that her morning had become even worse. “Only if by ‘dreamy’ you mean nightmare-inducing. The first time I saw him he was throwing knives at Lena’s pet finches. Inside, where they couldn’t fly away from him.”
Stina’s eyes widened, and Maja added, “To work, all of you. Now.” They scattered, and she turned to face—what was his name? Algott, that was it.
“Good morning,” he said smiling pleasantly. “Could I speak to whoever is in charge here, please?”
“That would be me.” Maja forced herself not to sigh. I still can’t believe the Prior thought I could do this job. “I was not aware that the Brotherhood of the Bereaved had a presence in this neighborhood.”
“The what?” Algott looked blank, and then actually blushed. “Oh, that. I’d forgotten about it.” He frowned at her, obviously searching his memory. “I don’t remember meeting you.”
“I was the person at the Temple in charge of caring for Aurelia—and Lena. And I have Animal Mindspeech.”
He winced at that. Apparently his memory was returning enough for him to guess what she had seen.
“I was also, as far as I know, the last person your order tried to blackmail.”
“I’m sorry,” Algott said. “I sincerely apologize. It wasn’t a real order; we just started it as a joke.”
“Given that Lena’s brother fell dead at my feet while we were both being questioned about it under Truth Spell, I am well aware of that.” Maja was glad that she at least managed to keep her voice calm and level. “So, what brings you to Thenoth’s Temple?”
“I’m Lady Magdalena’s game warden for this estate—”
“You’re what?” Maja’s voice was not calm and level this time.
“Yes, Lady Magdalena is a gentle soul, and has shown me forgiveness I can only hope to deserve over time. As to why I’m here,” he continued, “there is a boy in the village named Johan. He’s eight years old, simple, and the son of the milliner. About a year ago he killed some of the godwits for their summer plumage—the feathers are bright orange—and gave the feathers to his mother who made them into hats. She didn’t know,” he added hastily, “but when Lady Magdalena and her husband came here, they saw the hats at the Spring Faire. I knew the godwits were skittish, but I didn’t know why. As soon as I told her, she knew.”
“She would,” Maja agreed. “What happened to the boy?”
“Standard punishment for poaching around here,” Algott said. “Field work. There’s generally someone who can use help.”
“So has he done it again?” Maja asked.
“Oh, no.” Algott looked startled. “Lady Magdalena explained to him that killing birds was wrong, confiscated his slingshot, and arranged for the godwits to leave their feathers in a pile away from their nesting area. That way his mother can still use the feathers.”
“That’s a typical Lena-style solution,” Maja remarked.
“Absolutely,” Algott agreed. “But I’m a bit worried now that the Temple is here. Johan has the firm idea that you have all sorts of exotic birds here, and I’m concerned that he might sneak in here and inadvertently do harm.”
Unfortunately, he has a point; and our walls are designed more to keep animals in than people out. “Let’s go talk to Brother Thomas. He’s setting up the mews and the bird loft. Perhaps he would be willing to give the boy a tour.”
Brother Thomas was willing. “I’ll show the lad what we do here, and either he’ll be bored because we don’t have anything glamorous like His Majesty’s peacocks, or he might decide he wants to help out here. Either way, Sven-August,” he raised his voice to attract the boy’s attention, “will stick with him and make sure he doesn’t hurt anything.”
“Absolutely,” Sven-August said. “I hate it when people hurt animals.”
Maja, remembering Sven-August treating a bird injured by a hairbrush his mother had thrown at it, nodded.
“Sven-August,” Brother Thomas ordered, “walk our guest to the gate and arrange for a time for him to bring the boy. Tomorrow or the day after would be better than today.”
“Yes, Brother Thomas.” Sven-August and Algott headed for the gate.
“You’re doing well, Sister,” Brother Thomas said when they were out of earshot. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
“After what happened to that poor horse last night,” Maja admitted, “I’m tempted to do everything. I know I can’t, but I think I had better at least do stable rounds before bed.”
“No harm in that. I realize that either you or Lena—or Britta or Nalini—could check on all the animals after you went to bed, but you’d still have to get up if you found anything wrong.”
“Like this morning,” Maja sighed. “I feel as if I’ve been up for a full day, and it’s not even noon yet. I can understand why the Prior sent all the girls with me, but having a group of boys the same age is a challenge. I wish we had the Peace of the God here.”
Brother Thomas frowned. “I don’t know why we don’t,” he admitted. “The Prior gave me a portion of the altar to use to build the new altar here. Perhaps it needs to be assembled and put into place. I’ll do that this afternoon.”
“Thank you, Brother,” Maja said with feeling.
The altar was in place in the chapel in time for evening prayers, and Maja’s rounds before bed showed nothing out of place. But as the days passed, it was apparent that the Peace of the God was still lacking. The animals were twitchy, and the novices were worse.
“I’m not sure whether I’m being punished for the sin of pride,” Brother Magnus said one night when he, Brother Thomas, and Maja were meeting in her office after the novices were, she hoped and prayed, in bed. She thought Dexter was watching them—and lately she suspected that he was smarter than most of them. “But when I remember how smug I was when my friends from other orders defined novices as ‘creatures who spill lamp oil, break crockery, and giggle,’ I want to cringe.”
“And those were single-gender orders,” Brother Thomas added. “I broke up a shoving match today between Edvin and Hugo over who was going to help Stina in the kennels.”
“I hope you sent both of them to work somewhere else,” Maja said.
“I sent them both to look after the pigs. Stina is perfectly capable of doing her assigned work without their help, and she’s actually fairly good with dogs. Birds, of course, take more skill and a more delicate touch.”
Not that you’re biased, of course. Maja didn’t say that aloud. She didn’t feel safe teasing anyone these days, not even the priests, who were grown men and secure in their vocations. And speaking of vocations—
“I’m concerned about Stina,” she admitted.
“Because she doesn’t have Animal Mindspeech?” Brother Magnus asked.
“No, it’s not that. Mathilda doesn’t have it, and she doesn’t worry me the way Stina does. None of the boys have it, including Sven-August, who has more skill with birds than anyone other than Brother Thomas. And if either of you has the Gift, nobody ever told me.”
Both men shook their heads.
“What bothers me,” Maja continued, “is that she doesn’t seem to want to be here.”
“As opposed to in Haven?” Brother Thomas asked.
“Doesn’t seem to have a vocation?” Brother Magnus said at almost the same time.
“More like acts as if she’s serving a prison sentence.” Maja sighed. “We get people dumped on us by their families—Keven is an example of that—but generally they’ve at least chosen the Temple, if not whether to live in one or not.”
“She actually did choose our order,” Brother Magnus said. “But if you are concerned about her vocation, Sister,” he emphasized the title slightly, “you are the one to speak to her about it. It’s part of your job as Superior—or as Acting Novice Mistress, whichever applies here.”
“Probably both
,” Maja agreed. “Thank you. I’ll talk to her.” She stood up. “Time for us to seek our own beds. Is it me, or does morning come earlier every day?”
“It’s you,” Brother Thomas said. “It’s after the Equinox, so morning is actually later each day.”
“Go to bed, Sister,” Brother Magnus said kindly, sketching a blessing over her head. “May Thenoth send you good dreams.”
“Amen to that,” Maja said fervently. “Thank you, Brothers. I appreciate your company and advice.”
What she actually dreamed was that she was in the street in Haven, trying to enter the courtyard of the Temple there, but the stone threshold kept rising up and hitting her knees. She was surprised not to have bruised knees when she woke up.
She was splashing water on her face from the basin in her cell to help her wake up—she didn’t bother with a real wash until after the early morning chores—when the shouting started. She swiped a cloth across her face with one hand while reaching for her robe with the other, and ran for the courtyard as soon as she was decent. She remembered as she ran that the Prior had told her that a Superior should be calm and dignified at all times. I wonder how he manages that—aside from decades of practice.
She arrived to find Karl and Sven-August rolling in the dirt, fists flying. Sven-August was two years younger than Karl and had been raised by his widowed mother, so Maja wasn’t surprised that he was getting the worst of it.
Brothers Thomas and Magnus arrived right behind her, and each of them hauled a boy to his feet. Maja notice that Sven-August still needed to be restrained, despite the blood dripping down one side of his face and what looked like a developing black eye.
“Take it back!” he snarled at Karl.
Karl seemed to be willing to stop the physical fight at least, but he was not in a conciliatory mood. “She doesn’t care about you,” he sneered. “She just likes boys—or men.”
“Enough!” Maja said firmly. She didn’t need to ask who “she” was. Time to break this up before they make it worse. She looked at Karl and didn’t see any visible injuries, but it was her job to be certain. “Karl, are you injured?”
It didn’t help that Karl looked insulted. “Of course not,” he snapped.
“In that case,” Maja said, “you are now on silent retreat. Meals will be brought to you in your cell, where you will remain until breakfast tomorrow.”
Karl looked outraged. “What about him?” He glared at Sven-August.
“It is my place to deal with him,” Maja reminded him. “It is your place to do as I tell you, and I strongly suggest that you consider the state of your own soul and vocation before worrying about his.
“The rest of you, back to your chores,” she ordered. “Sven-August, come with me.”
She was relieved to see that Brother Magnus had decided to escort Karl to his cell. She headed toward her office with Sven-August limping beside her. As they arrived, Brother Thomas caught up with them. “Sister, before you talk to the lad, perhaps I should patch him up?”
“Thank you, Brother. That would be a kindness.” She let them into her office and waited outside. It didn’t require her three years of experience with Sven-August to know that he would be mortified to have her patch him up; he was a sixteen-year-old boy. The rumble of voices coming dimly through the door gave her hope that Brother Thomas was talking some sense into the boy, or at least calming him down.
She waited until Brother Thomas came out and said, “He’s all yours.” She smiled a thank you, and then straightened her face before entering her office. Sven-August stood before her desk, looking thoroughly miserable. She sat down and gestured him to do likewise.
“All right,” she said quietly and calmly. “What happened?”
“He called Stina a lightskirt!”
“I do hope he’s not stupid enough to actually believe that,” Maja said. “Do you think he really does, or was he just trying to provoke you?”
Forced to stop and think about it, Sven-August winced. “He was provoking me. He said she doesn’t really like me, that I’m just a spoiled little boy.”
“Are you?”
Sven-August looked outraged. “You know I’m not!”
“Well, I certainly didn’t think so,” Maja said. “So we agree that you are not a spoiled brat and Stina is not a lightskirt.”
Sven-August nodded.
“So why do you care what he thinks?”
“He said it in front of Stina,” Sven-August explained. “So I couldn’t just let it pass.”
“I can understand that,” Maja agreed. “She’s next on my list of people to talk to anyway.”
“No!” Sven-August protested. “It not her fault!”
Maja looked at him steadily. “I have seen that she seems to notice cute boys—and comment on their looks.”
Sven-August now looked truly miserable. “We’re trying to keep my mother from finding out.”
“Finding out what?” Maja asked cautiously. Please don’t let her be pregnant.
“That we’re in love and want to get married.”
I did not see that coming, so I guess they’re making a really good job of it. “Are you sure? You’re both rather young, and marriage is a lifetime commitment. At your ages, that’s how many decades together?”
“We’ve been seeing each other for two years. Our families lived next door until hers lost their money. They wanted to send her to the Sisters of Ardana, because they could have paid her dowry with books they were going to sell anyway, but she didn’t want to go there.”
“Why not?” Maja asked. “It’s probably a much easier life than this one.”
He chewed his lower lip. “It’s not my secret to tell,” he said at last.
Oh, joy. I can see an interesting interview coming up. “Are you certain that she still wishes to marry you? With the change in her family’s circumstances, your mother is going to be difficult.” Knowing Lady Efanya, very difficult.
“Once we’re married, there’s not much my mother can do,” Sven-August pointed out. “The law says that we both become adults when we marry.”
Maja rubbed her aching forehead. “You know, Sven-August, there is a big difference between legally grown up and really grown up. Think about that while you’re spending today in your cell.”
“That’s fair,” Sven-August conceded. “And you’re right when you say we should think things through. But I’m not going to change my mind. I’ll wait if I have to, but Stina is the one I want to marry.”
“Go,” Maja said. “Grab some breakfast and take it to your cell. Stay there.”
“Yes, Sister.” Sven-August smiled at her and left.
Maja decided to go to breakfast herself before her next interview. It was time anyway, and perhaps it would help her headache. She went to wash up properly before taking her place in the refectory.
They were eating in silence this morning, and Maja found her mind going back and forth between her dream and the prayers she should have said that morning, something about stumbling stones. Maybe we need some to slow things down here. In her mind she saw the smooth stones of the threshold of the Temple gate in Haven. Or maybe not.
She pulled Stina into her office as soon as the girl finished her morning chores. The first words out of Stina’s mouth were, “Is Sven-August all right?”
“Mostly bruised, I think,” Maja said. “Is it true that you want to marry him?”
Stina nodded. “Yes. We’ve been secretly promised for over a year. We were going to talk to our parents when we turned sixteen, but . . .” Her voice trailed off miserably.
“But your family’s finances changed,” Maja said sympathetically. “So why not the Sisters of Ardana? Were you afraid they wouldn’t let you go?”
Stina stared at her lap and mumbled something.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t hear that.”
&
nbsp; “I’m stupid, all right?” she said resentfully. “I can’t read!”
Maja considered her. “The law says that every child has to learn to read, write, and do sums. Did you not get your certificate then?”
“No, I got it. I can do sums, and write, and I memorized the reading part.”
“If you got your certificate without being able to read, that doesn’t make you stupid. Quite the opposite, in fact. A good memory is a useful thing to have. I’m guessing you never told anyone.”
“Sven-August knows I can’t read.”
“I thought he must. He told me that why you didn’t go to the Sisters of Ardana wasn’t his secret to tell.”
“Are you going to throw me out?”
“Because you can’t read? Of course not. The animals don’t care.”
“At least Sven-August doesn’t think I’m stupid. Or a lightskirt,” she added defiantly.
“Nobody with any sense thinks you’re a lightskirt.”
“Karl said—”
“As I said, nobody with any sense.” Maja frowned. “Has Karl been bothering you? Or have any of the boys? Or anyone else?”
Stina kept shaking her head, and Maja relaxed a bit. “So why are you doing the ‘what a cute boy’ routine?”
“It was Sven-August’s idea. Because of his mother. She’s, um . . .”
“Back in Haven. And the only way to get her anywhere near here would be forcible abduction. I’ve met her.”
“You have?” Stina said in surprise.
“Yes. She mistook me for Lena’s maid.” Maja grinned. “But she’s not here, she’s not going to be here, and you can drop the act. And speaking of acting, do you actually like animals?”
“Better than books.”
“But you’re mostly here to wait until you and Sven-August can get married? And to be able to see him?”
Passages Page 7