The next day we went down to the settlement. There was four Elite Guards each for the Council members and Lady Maxine and I. We did not want to overwhelm the new residents so the Guards stayed on the boardwalk in front of the house.
Councilwoman Anna knocked on the door. A tall woman with long black hair answered the door. "Good day to you. We are here to welcome you to the area." Councilwoman Anna said.
"Whose is at the door MaryAnn?" An older woman's voice said from further in the house.
"Some local people welcoming us to the area Martha." MaryAnn said to the voice.
"Well is that not nice of them invite them in for some tea."
"Please come in." MaryAnn's face paled when she saw the eight men waiting on the boardwalk.
"It is all right. They are only our escort." Councilwoman Anna told her.
"Oh?" She looked slightly relieved.
We entered the sparsely furnished house.
"Please follow me to the parlour."
We did.
There was an elderly woman sitting in a chair near the fireplace. We startled her when we walked in. "Oh! Who are you?" She cried.
"It is all right Aunt Bess. They are here to welcome us to the area."
"Awe that is so sweet of them." The Lady spoke with a raspy voice.
"Welcome Ladies to our humble home." This was the voice we heard earlier. We turned to the voice. The Lady was standing behind us with a tea tray.
MaryAnn went to help her. "Here Martha I will help you."
"Thank you MaryAnn."
MaryAnn put the tray on a small table in the center of a group of chairs.
Martha moved slowly to the nearest chair. She sat with obvious pain.
"We did not mean to cause you pain my dear Lady." Councilwoman Anna said.
"Nonsense I am only sore from a fall I had earlier this week."
"Oh my are you all right? I have some willow bark if you need any." Councilwoman Anna offered.
"Willow bark? Are you a healer?" Martha asked.
"Yes I am." The Councilwoman smiled.
"That pleases me greatly to hear." Martha smiled. "Do you have some with you?"
"Yes I do. I carry a small satchel with me always."
"MaryAnn can you bring me some hot water."
"Of course Martha." MaryAnn went into the kitchen and brought out another tea pot.
"Excellent MaryAnn."
Councilwoman Anna put two spoonfuls of the willow bark in the tea pot.
"I have been too sore to go forging for some. This is a most welcoming relief." She sipped the tea.
"I am glad I was able to help. I am Anna by the way. This is Maxine, Cassie and Kylie. We live across the river in the hills."
"You are not from the town?" Martha asked
"No we live outside of town."
"Oh well. I am Martha. This is my sister MaryAnn Mullin and our Aunt Bess."
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Councilwoman Anna said.
"Anna the men outside who are they?" MaryAnn asked.
"Our husbands were very busy with their work. They asked some of their friends to escort us here."
"So none of those men are your husbands?"
"No MaryAnn." A bright smile appeared on her face.
"Would it be all right if I brought them some refreshments?"
"I am sure they would enjoy that."
"I will be right back." MaryAnn jumped up and went into the kitchen. She came back with a tray of mugs and a large pitcher of mead.
I went to help her with the door. I quickly signed to them 'that it was all right to have a drink.'
I could hear Martha telling the other ladies that MaryAnn has a fondness for men. I returned to their parlour.
"Martha where are you from?" Councilwoman Anna was asking when I sat back down.
"We are from Salem Mass. We needed a change of scenery. The moist air was too much for Aunt Bess. Her rheumatism was becoming steadily worse. Her pain and mobility have improved greatly since we arrived here."
"That is very good."
"Where are you all from? I hear different accents in your speech." Martha asked.
"I am from Edinburgh Scotland." Councilwoman Anna said.
"I am from London Great Britain." Councilwoman Cassie told them.
"I am from Loren Nederland." I told them.
"I came from Normandy France." Lady Maxine said.
"How interesting? How did you all manage to end up here?" Martha asked with great interest.
"Pirates!" I said quietly.
"Pirates?" Aunt Bess exclaimed.
"Yes Madam. Our ship was headed for a warmer climate but pirates boarded us and killed our Captain."
"Oh dear."
"We were not sure of the coastline. We had followed a great river and ended up here."
"How long have you been here?" Martha asked curiously.
"It has been awhile." I said.
"I am sure it does considering ..." Aunt Bess said. We stared at her.
"Yes considering that you left the modern world to come here with no conveniences." She said.
"True but we make do with what we have." Lady Maxine said.
MaryAnn walked in. "Your men are truly handsome." She smiled mischievously.
"Thank you." Councilwoman Anna said. She smiled shyly knowing who was outside Dennis, James, Philip, Liam, Quinn, Cory, Hugo and Curtis were our escorts today.
"Perhaps I could invite them in for dinner later on." MaryAnn said.
"I am sure they would be honoured but we will be returning home shortly. Our order at the butchers should be ready soon."
"Oh? Perhaps next time?" Martha said.
"Perhaps." Councilwoman Anna said standing up. "Enjoy the willow bark tea Martha. We must be going."
"Yes thank you again. Please come by again when you are in town."
"Thank you we will."
We left the house and was immediately surrounded by the men.
Quinn offered me his arm. We walked to the butcher shop where we had placed an order earlier.
Councilwoman Anna and Hugo went in to see if our order was ready.
"We are just finishing up the last of the chickens Mrs. Boulder." We heard the butcher say.
"Thank you Mr. St. Pierre."
