Page 14 of Apple Boy

CHAPTER TEN

ZEPHYR

Morning came quicker than I’d expected. I was awoken once again in pre-dawn darkness by Adam’s hand across my mouth. I did not want another bath. What I wanted was to stay curled up in my nest of hay until I had to get up for work.

“C’mon, it’s time,” Adam whispered “You’re leaving.”

I shot upright and searched for his face in the low light. “What?” Were they getting rid of me because I was a troublemaker, or because I was in danger? The harvesters sleeping around me snored on loudly.

“Come with me,” Adam beckoned and then left the barn. I had no idea what foolishness this was, but intrigued, I scurried from the barn and followed the light of the lantern held by Adam as he skirted the perimeter of the farmhouse. He stopped by the back wall and hunched down.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a furious whisper, to then have the wind knocked from me by a fabric bundle Adam tossed my way.

“That’s Evan’s spare traveling cloak. Put it on, and here”, he tossed a leather pouch which, instinctively I reached for and caught. The contents were weighty and jingled within.

“Your wage and a little extra Ma added for yer troubles,” Adam declared stoically. “I washed your old clothes, an’ they’re in the pack with some food fer the journey. Change into them quick smart. The Zephyr leaves Mallowick town at first light, so you’d best get a move on.”

There was something masterful and alluring about Adam’s decisiveness. The night air was fragrant and icy cold. I was stunned for a second by Adam’s words and then leaped to action stripping the oversized clothing from my body and hurriedly donning my clean pale blue silk britches and shirt. They were scented with the apple and lavender soap that Adam used on me in the bathtub. It was such a glorious memory.

It appeared I now had the coin to travel as well as food and suitable clothing. There was nothing to keep me here. I pushed the old clothing into the small traveling pack then unfurled the heavy green woolen cloak and fastened it around my neck. I tied the coin pouch to my belt and then picked up the bag with the extra clothing and food.

“Thank you, for everything,” I said hoping the sincerity in my voice would communicate how keenly I meant it. “I will never forget your kindness Adam, never.” I leaned in and cupped his face in my hands, my gut twisting as in the low light I saw how Farmer Sewell had bruised his son. I kissed Adam’s soft lips and inhaled his spicy natural scent, then, hating emotional goodbyes; I turned and headed for the farmyard gate.

Clumsily, I clambered over the gate and turned to take one last longing look at the swarthy young man who had turned me inside out in two short days. I would never see him again, and I sensed that from now on I would measure each man I desired against Adam.

Then, with alarm, I noticed that Adam was dressed for traveling and he too shouldered a pack. My brow furrowed in confusion as he rushed forward and hopped over the gate after me with more panache than I could ever muster.

“What are you doing?” I asked insistently.

“Traveling to Serein to find my brother.” He replied.

“But I said you could not travel with me.”

“I’m not traveling with you, and you’re not traveling with me. We’re traveling at the same time, is all. If it upsets your plans so much, we can just pretend we’ve never met.” Adam announced triumphantly and then stalked off in the pre-dawn darkness down the road to Mallowick, his small lantern lighting the rough road ahead.

Oh, Gods! This could not be happening. I would be traveling in close proximity to a man I desired, and yet, I could not touch. Damn it! I clenched my jaw with frustration, holding in the roar I so wanted to expel so as not to wake up everyone else on the farm. I had no idea if my lot was improving or getting worse. One thing I did understand was that I needed to get to Serein and now I was able to do so.

Adam’s long stride took the lantern light further from me. I hitched the pack on my back and drew the woolen cloak closed to keep out the morning chill, then rushed after Adam. When it came to the journey, I had no say on how and when he traveled. So, I conceded that Adam was indeed correct. We could travel together and pretend we did not know one another.

The Zephyr Stagecoach we boarded in Mallowick was not the type of stagecoach with which I was familiar. Six other passengers sat inside the cabin, so Adam and I were squashed together. I was at the window, and Adam sat warmly by my side. So much for pretending not to know one another!

In Thorn, stagecoaches were common modes of transport. They sat four passengers and were pulled by two small-but-swift Palinka stallions. Our family owned a fleet of carriages for personal use, so I’d only shared public stagecoaches on the rare occasion that I became so drunk I could not find my liveried coach to take me home. I was not proud of those memories!

This particular Zephyr stagecoach was of an unusual design. It was double the length of coaches from my province, owing to a canopy covered cabriolet affixed to the back. It had small front wheels and excessively large back wheels, so the small front wheels lifted from the ground when we were at top speed. There was room inside for eight passengers, and space for two at the back of the coach beneath the canopied cabriolet. But, it was the horses that I found to be most extraordinary. These Argento beasts were huge in comparison to the Palinka that traditionally pulled stagecoaches back home. These horses were sliver-white from mane to hoof, tall and long-boned, with a robust musculature. There were four of them to pull the coach, and I could now see why this was called the Zephyr Stagecoach because with these horses at the helm we flew like the wind.

“I rode the Zephyr twice before te visit my ma’s people in Cattershawe. Never gone as far as Serein though.” Adam had informed conversationally as we’d walked the road to Mallowick town that morn.

“The price for the journey all the way is one silver each,” he continued. “But there’s traditions. I don’t know what you do in Thorn, but in Erias we tip the driver and his guard a copper at each staging stop. Ye have te pay fer other things too—food and drink, and two nights at coaching inns.” He said as if I were the innocent who had never traveled before, and he was worldly-wise having journied all the way to Cattershawe, no less! I held my tongue. I knew I had to choose my battles wisely and I did not want to sour the comfortable camaraderie that now existed between Adam and me.

I was pleased that an armed guard was riding at the front with the stage driver, and a copper per stage to keep the man on his toes would be coin well spent. I could see that this was going to be an expensive journey, but Adam’s wonderful mother had been more than generous with the coins she’d added to my first ever wage purse.

The interior of the coach was comfortable with two well-upholstered banquette benches seating four people’s either side. Adam and I traveled with two women and four men. Among them, a very portly couple, several men of business, a stern-faced elderly lady and a bespectacled man. Adam recognized the man as Mr. Jennet. Adam informed me that he was a cloth merchant who owned a shop in Mallowick town. I dozed but listened in as Mr. Jennet conversed politely with Adam for a time, telling him he was on his way to the city to deliver this season’s silk and brocade samples and to meet with his daughter, who was at the University. He asked how Adam came upon such ugly bruising and Adam concocted a swift lie in reply,

“Oh, I was just playing the eejit and fell out of an apple tree”, he said—and how I wished that were true.

With so many bodies crammed into the coach the air soon became stifling. The bruises around my throat smarted, but I did not dare remove the emerald green neckerchief. I hadn’t seen a reflection of my mottled skin, but it itched, and I could not cease from fiddling with the fabric.

“You stop that now,” Adam nagged, leaning to speak quietly to my ear. “Ma said the bruises will itch as they get better, so that’s a good sign. She gave me a pot of salve to put on you before bed.” I turned and glared at Adam, bemused.