Jack Simple

Chapter 7

Eidna finally reappeared near the outskirts of the village around midmorning.

Jack sat against a tree, concealed from the trail by the underbrush. He was in a dark mood. His neck was red where Raspor had handled it, but what hurt the most was the humiliation. To cower and shrink inspite of his very potent desire to crush the Constable's face with his fist had cost Jack no small measure of pride. If he had done what he desired he would be in the dungeon now, or perhaps dead. Then, he would be of no use to Eidna or anyone else.

The indignity you suffered is nothing compared to what she will suffer if you should misstep, Jack said to Jack, as he watched her trudge into the village. Despite everything, all the sacrifice and strife he must wade through to save her from the shadows in his dream, he was filled with joy at the sight of her. They had only been apart a day, had indeed only known one another a few days. It was of no consequence. His love was fierce.

He stood, shadowing her route from within the camouflage of the brush. As she entered the main square of the village Jack left his cover and followed. He kept a safe distance, but it didn't matter. Eidna looked oblivious to everything around her, eyes fixed on the cobbles of the street, shoulders bent beneath the herb bundles that she bore. She turned on Gøtter Street, passing the meat markets and bakery. At last, her path led her to an unremarkable lane behind a candy shoppe. A few humble cottages with white daub walls and thatched roofs were crowded on the slope of a grassy hill rising some elevation above the buildings surrounding it. Pressed against the brick wall of the shoppe, Jack watched Eidna make her way to the second cottage along the sinuous pathway that led up the hill. She disappeared inside.

Forging up the hill, Jack hopped the picket fence behind Eidna's cottage and made his way to a shed that sat near the edge of the property. Peeking in the window, Jack could see that the shed was filled with all the implements that Eidna would need to make the wine. The grapes had already been deposited in the trough where the juices would be trod out, and two large barrels fresh from the cooper were crowded upon small workbench that could hardly hold them.

From the direction of the house, Jack heard talking. Crouching low, he crossed the garden path and knelt beneath a window that had been left open to collect the cool morning breeze.

"...nothing but a hastily scribbled note left upon my bed and you leave for three days, with nary a fortnight until the festival? You will bury me, child!" It was the voice of a man of advanced years, and could only be Eidna's father-Heinrich.

"I could find no one in town that had enough Woodruff. What was I supposed to do?" Eidna retorted, though her voice did not have much fight in it.

"I thought you were going to ask that simpleton...what's his name? The woodcutter?"

"His name is Jack, 'da," Eidna said. "He said he was too occupied to retrieve the Woodruff for me, but he told me where I could find it myself. Off toward Elid Peak, to the north."

There was silence for a few moments. "What is this parcel?" Eidna asked. Jack heard the crinkle of paper.

"That gown you were measured for," Eidna's father replied, sounding a bit discomfited. "It arrived from the Mayor's tailor yesterday."

Paper ripping, the swish of cloth. "It looks quite...revealing. I am meant to wear this in front of all those people? Rather shear, don't you think?" Eidna asked. There was another moment of silence.

"What should I know about gowns?" Heinrich snapped. "Just be grateful for the Mayor's gift. It is no small fee to have a gown made."

"Yes, father," Eidna said. Jack heard his feet depart. There was silence in the room. Jack risked a peak through the window. Eidna was sitting upon a chair, the gown across her knees. Tears were misting her eyes.

Can't you see what she is trying to show you? Jack wanted to ask Eidna's father. He realized that Eidna had indeed arrived at the truth of it. Her father did know the whole story, he just refused to accept it. Eidna left the gown in a heap upon the floor and left the room. Jack sunk away from the window, his back against the wall of the cottage.

Maybe I was lucky I never knew my parents, Jack said to Jack.

He crossed the garden path again and opened the door to the shed, slipping inside. Lifting one of the barrels from its perch on the workbench, Jack stood it on end and took a seat. It was nearly an hour before he heard a door open and close, and footsteps approaching the shed. The door groaned open on rusty hinges. Eidna stopped dead when she saw him waiting, hand clutching at her heart as if trying to prevent it from leaping out of her chest.

"Are you mad!" Eidna hissed. She swept around and searched the yard, then entered and closed the door. "If my father catches you here he will have you arrested!"

"I had to see you again-" Jack started.

"You are mad! I thought I told you-"

"—to collect the remainder of my fee," Jack finished.

Eidna paused. She looked confused. "What?"

"Six marcs were agreed, I was only paid three. You forgot to give me the other half."

Now Eidna looked hurt. She shook her head and reached into her purse, withdrawing the coins. "I suppose I did..." She walked to where Jack was perched on the barrel and dropped the coins into his open palm. "Is there anything else, woodcutter?" Her voice was venomous now, and that told him everything he needed to know.

"I love you, Eidna," he said.

Eidna looked at him, her cheeks flushing deep and red. "What?"

"I love you, and I want you to be my wife," Jack finished. Dropping the heaviest bundle of oaken logs could not have made him feel lighter. Jack stood up and took her by the waist. "I know you love me too," Jack said.

Eidna looked up at him. "How do you reckon that? I have made no such proclamation." Her hands were pressed against his chest.

"Not in words, but I know it all the same," Jack said. "If it were not so, it would not have hurt you to learn that I came here only seeking coin."

She did not disagree with his determination. "We hardly know one another, Jack...and you want me for your wife?"

"I know enough," Jack said. "Your kindness of spirit, your loyalty and earnestness, your unbreakable devotion, the warmth of your kiss. You have rent me, Eidna. I can't live without you now."

Eidna searched his eyes. If she was looking for some sign of deceit she would not find it. He had meant every word he said. Jack gently cupped either side of her neck and pulled her into a kiss. Her lips were dry and cracked from the dust of the road, but the kiss was sweet as nectar. After what seemed like a very long time, their lips parted.

"Do you accept my proposal, Eidna?" Jack pressed.

Eidna sighed and glanced downward. She shook her head. "My trust in men has waned of late," she said. "Honeyed words mean very little to me anymore, because they can be so easily feigned." Eidna parted herself from Jack's embrace. The refusal was like a dagger of ice piercing his side. Eidna turned away, looking out into the garden from the window in the shed, her hands propped upon the small of her back. "Ask me again the morning after the festival, Jack," she said after a long moment of silence.

Pivoting, she looked at him again. "If you still want me after that...I will say yes."