A Servant's Security

Chapter 4

For the rest of the day, her brothers tried to convince her to marry Bailiff Richard. Even her mother tried to tell her all the ways it would benefit Isabel if she married the bailiff. Isabel said very little, letting them think she was considering the idea. But secretly, she promised herself to never go near the bailiff.

After everyone went to bed, Isabel collected her belongings- a few books, clothing, a brush, and some soap- and stuffed them into a bag.

The thought of leaving home and living at the manor house, being at Lord Goodwin's mercy, had her stomach tied in knots, but she had no choice. The lord was scarred, but it was his behavior that made her nervous. She would have to avoid him and not make him angry. But would that be possible? Lord Goodwin had a temper, the episode in the village proved just that, but it also showed his desire to protect women.

She had heard about a nearby lord who regularly took advantage of women and then tossed them aside. Was Lord Goodwin capable of doing something so horrid?

She pictured him again, forcing Bailiff Richard to apologize to her. The scars gave him a freighting look, and while his clothes looked sophisticated, his beard was strangely out of place. All of the men in the village were clean shaved. Lord Goodwin looked like a beast while holding Richard.

Richard.

She froze. Since Richard was Lord Goodwin's bailiff, he would be at the manor house, with her, almost every day. He would look at her, speak to her, and possibly even manage to get her alone.

Dear God, how can I do this? How can I work so closely with the bailiff? How can I see him every single day?

She couldn't do that.

But what choice did she have? If she didn't become the lord's servant, she would have to marry the bailiff. Even if she told her brothers she was afraid of the bailiff, they wouldn't care. She knew exactly what Thomas would say: "And what did the bailiff do to you?" If she told him the whole story, he would say, "Well I did tell him he could marry you."

And Adam would say the same thing, that she should simply marry the bailiff. As always, her brothers would fail her.

She had no choice but to go. And she has to find a way to protect herself.

Isabel got up early after sleeping very little. The sky was still dark outside of her window, and instead of lighting a candle, she dressed in the dark. She grabbed her bag and tiptoed down the hall towards the kitchen. The moon gave little light to see their sharpest knife sitting on the counter. She took a small piece of leather and wrapped it around the blade, then slipped it in her skirt pocket.

The bailiff would quickly learn about her position working as a servant. Would he be able to get her alone, away from the other servants? Would he finish what he started yesterday? The thought of him touching her again made her feel sick to the stomach.

Would she truly use the knife to protect herself from him?

Yes. She could. And she would.

She went out the back door and stepped into their garden. I hope someone will remember to pick the vegetables. What would her family eat if they didn't tend to the garden?

She couldn't worry about that now. I shouldn't feel so sad. I'll be coming back in three years. But a feeling inside of her told her that she wouldn't live in her family's house ever again.