A Daughter's Love - Book 2 The Frencolian Chronicles (complete)

Chapter Three

Jobyna had arrived at Spy Castle and hauled herself up into the tree. She heard the horses arrive at the secluded hideaway. At first she thought the crashing steps belonged to a bear or some deer, but then she heard her father's voice calling her.

"Jobyna? Jobyna, answer me. Jobyna! Are you there?" Dismounting, Sir Louis asked the servant, "Which tree?"

Jobyna peered over the edge of the platform. She could see the top of the two men's heads, illuminated by the golden light.

"Jobyna!"

The girl pulled her head back as her father looked up the thick, tall tree trunk to the logs of the platform that blocked her from his view.

"Jobyna! Answer me, or, I'm coming up!"

Jobyna called, "I is not here! Go ... a ... way!"

She didn't hear her father's sigh of relief.

The two men moved away from the base of the tree. Sir Louis pushed the stave of the cresset into the ground. Jobyna's ears strained to hear their whispered conversation.

Sabin murmured, "I'm not much good at that Sir but I'll try."

She heard her father say, "Gather cones and wood and light a fire."

The small girl's teeth chattered and she sneezed. She wondered what Sabin was talking about? He had climbed the tree many times, he who had fixed the logs in position and nailed the planks there. What was it that he was not good at? To Jobyna, the servant was good at everything. Sabin had built the platform with sides so that the two children could nap safely there.

"Jobyna, if you won't come down, I'll come up!" Louis called. He pulled himself up on to a lower branch. There was no reply from the little rebel. Moving out along a branch, Louis held tightly to the stronger one above him. The wood under him began to bend and he bounced on it until it cracked and splintered, breaking and falling to the ground. He swung for a few seconds, then with a cry, he dropped to the ground, landing with a heavy thud.

"Master," Sabin said, dropping the wood he was collecting and running to the baron. "Master. Wake ... up."

"Papa!" The small quavering voice called from the tree. "Sabin, what has happened?"

If Jobyna's teeth had not been chattering so loudly, she would have heard the urgent whisper that Louis sent to Sabin. The servant had spoken correctly, he wasn't good at acting.

"Sabin! Papa!" Jobyna swung herself over the edge of her sanctuary and began to descend.

"I shall go ... back to ... the manor house ... for help?" Sabin called out the words the master hissed at him. The servant looked up at the descending figure and watched the baron open his eyes, then close them as the small form dropped lightly to the ground beside them. Louis' plan had been to grab her and hold her tight but he hesitated, keeping his eyes firmly closed. He scarcely knew this small creature. How old was she now? Five? Six?

"Papa!" Her voice had the sound of a deep injury. "Oh, Sabin, it's all my own fault. Do you fink he'll die?" Jobyna gingerly stroked her father's brow, withdrawing her hand as he moaned.

"No, he won't die," Sabin said gruffly. Trying to maintain the act, he added, "Now that you're here to take care of him, I'll light the fire. He seems to be cold." Sabin moved off, listening to Jobyna shivering.

The servant returned with the rug and wrapped it around her shoulders. She promptly removed the covering and spread it over her father who groaned again and opened his eyes. In the dim, flickering light, Jobyna met her father's scrutiny.

"Papa! Is you hurt?"

She looked so serious that he felt unable to confess he had deceived her.

Feeling his head with one hand, he fabricated a struggle to sit with the other. He grasped her as she exerted herself to assist him. He groaned and put his hands to his chest. "It hurts here." The large frame leaned forward and he pulled the rug off himself and swiftly wrapped it around his daughter as she sneezed. He sat her on his knee.

"Papa. Let me go. I's all right. You's the one wot's hurt!"

"Where are we? How did we get here?" Louis asked as he saw the surprise on her face. He put his hand on his forehead and moaned. Rising up, he carried Jobyna to the fire and told Sabin to bring the food and flask. Still holding his daughter, he sat down heavily on the ground by the feeble fire. "I need a drink. Then I'll be all right."

"Papa?" Jobyna brushed his cheek gently with the back of her hand. He waited while she sneezed and rubbed her runny nose on the rug. She asked, "Is you ... is you ... really ... hurt?" Her trembling voice was filled with doubt.

"Just a little, but I'm improving." He watched Sabin pull the stopper from the flask. Taking it from him, he filled his mouth and swallowed, gasping in relief. "There! That really helps. I'm warm inside now. Here, have a sip." He held the flask to his daughter's lips. "Just a sip, mind." He watched her grasp the flask and take a mouthful the same as he had. She swallowed and gasped, then coughed. It was some moments before she could speak.

"Mmm, much better." Jobyna drew in her cheeks, trying to appear pleased at the pungent, spirited taste. She watched her father take another sample and again copied his actions.

"Now, tell me about this place?" Louis prompted. He swallowed another mouthful and held the flask steady while she did likewise. Jobyna giggled. Sabin, stoking the fire, shook his head and frowned his disagreement into the bright flames.

"I near went to John's," she said, relaxing against her father's chest, "you wouldn't'a found me there."

"And who is John?" Louis asked, knowing she had seen through his act.

"Jane's brother. I's going to marry John when I gets growed up."

"The shepherd's son?" Louis asked, "You are going to be a shepherd's wife?" He took another swig from the flask and supported it firmly while she again took it to her mouth. This time she drank deeply, and when he pulled the receptacle away, the liquid ran down her chin. The father frowned and said, "That's enough."

"I's going to have a father wot is always home! Jane and John ... is with their papa every day." She hiccuped then giggled. "They all sleep in one room. I'll have ten chil'ren and we will always be t'gedder. An' I won't let them quarrel or ... send ... their ... mother ... mad." Hiccuping, again and again, she closed her eyes, and her head slumped forward.

Tucking the rug around his daughter's small frame, Louis watched Sabin draw his horse around.

"The best place for her, is her bed!" Sabin muttered, as the baron mounted the horse. The servant collected Jobyna from the ground and was about to place her in Louis' arms when she struggled and moaned.

"Ohhh. My belly aches!"

The strong liquor was too much for her small stomach and she vomited it up, retching over and over, until she collapsed. Louis pulled the rug from her and wiped the brown remains of Jobyna's nausea from Sabin's arm. Flinging the sodden rug on the fire, he remounted the horse and wrapped his jacket around the inert form as he cradled her gently in his strong arms. Picking their way down the rocky descent with painful caution, the men rode their way silently back to the manor house as the sky began to lighten to greet the dawn.