A Brother's Love - Book 3 - The Frencolian Chronicles (complete)

Chapter Nineteen

Elissa followed as her husband carried Jobyna up the stairs. Selig Paul was not sure what he should do, so returned to the great hall, followed by Sabin. The servant spoke to Gunhilda, saying, "Seems the child has suffered another of her faints!" To which Gunhilda gave a run down of the previous times Jobyna had fainted, right back to the time she was eight years old, and they could not stop her vomiting. The reeve perceived that these tales were not entirely fabricated. Even if some of them were exaggerated, these 'faints' sounded terrible.

Sabin steered the conversation away from the cause of her faints, and Gunhilda and June, great gossips of their time, did not realize he was manipulating their comments.

"Remember the time she fell down the stairs? Head-first?" Sabin began another tale.

By the time Ivan arrived, Selig Paul wondered what he had been thinking of in seeking marriage with the maid; and how relieved he was that the king had intervened. The reeve wondered if he should inform the king of these serious faints?

Ivan, now possessing the title 'Doctor' was one of the few people who were not banned from working. His task, like the reeve's, was considered too important to forgo. The baron ushered him into his daughter's bed chamber and explained the situation, "He... that old Selig Paul... he wants to marry Miss Jobyna?" Ivan gazed appreciatively at Jobyna, who sat on the window seat. Reflections from the setting sun caused a crimson halo to shine from her hair. "I am nearer Miss Jobyna's age," Ivan asserted, then colored as the baron shot him a warning stare. The doctor added, "But I'm going to marry Nancy."

"Nancy?" Jobyna asked. "She's too old for you!"

Ivan put his finger to his lips. "Shhh!" He hissed, smiling, "Nancy doesn't know that! She thinks I'm twenty-two!"

"How's Nancy coping?" Elissa asked, thinking how hard it had been for the young village-woman to lose her husband and two children from the plague.

Ivan gave a short discourse on Nancy, and then said, "We're going to live in the house at South Corner, in the village. Nancy's cleaning it up... the house, I mean. Some of the furnishings are exquisite. I bought it, lock, stock and cellar, from the reeve. Twenty gold pieces! A real bargain." Ivan explained that the house had been vacant since a whole family had died from the plague. Chatelain realized, as the doctor spoke of other such sales, that the reeve was amassing a fortune from the sale of abandoned, unclaimed properties.

"Now, what can I do to help you?" Ivan offered.

Chatelain told him of the king's proposed visit and Ivan agreed to issue a statement that Jobyna was too sick to rise for such a tiring, demanding occasion as a royal visit. They were chatting away as to how they could make the whole affair plausible, when Luke entered.

He had the stain of blueberry pie around his mouth. "Oh, Luke, why didn't you bring me some? I have to stay here. Now I'll miss out!" Jobyna pouted a little. "I hope you didn't eat it all. I made you rice pudding with plums in it so that I could have an extra helping of the blueberry pie!"

Luke licked his lips, saying, "Where is it?" He turned to leave, "In the kitchen?"

"That's all you think of... food!" Jobyna laughed. "And I'm in the middle of a... a dilemma!"

Ivan stepped close to Luke, grasping his arm. He ordered, "Poke out your tongue?"

Luke laughed and exclaimed, "Jo is the one who's sick, not me." However, he obeyed the doctor's request.

Ivan asked, "Are there any more blueberries? Fresh ones?" Elissa said there were a few.

"Good," the doctor said, "have a couple of dozen of the fresh ones here for me tomorrow and Jobyna shall have a case of the mysterious 'Black pox.' I'm not sure how long it lasts, or how contagious it is. 'Black pox' will keep the king and any others like the reeve, away from her. Actually, the pox could last a month or so, and it'll mean Jobyna will have to be confined to the manor house."