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.Please follow us.”They led their visitors into an even larger chamber with yet more lights.Wide-eyed, Gildan finally managed to speak.“This is your home? How magical!”The Whittaker sisters giggled.“We love it,” Linette said.“And you must not fret about the disturbance in the street.We are accustomed to such incidents now.Soon Henry will attain the crown, and England will be at peace.”“You said your father has died,” Caresse spoke up, “and I see by your mourning tunic that you must be a widow, Lady Bronwen.”“My husband was killed in battle.We had not been married long.”“Did you love him?”Bronwen glanced at Enit in consternation at the unusual question.“He was my husband.I respected him.”“Had you many young suitors to sing you ballads and steal kisses in the halls of your northern castle?”Bronwen hardly knew how to respond to such a query.“Upon my honor, I was a faithful wife.”Lady Linette and her sister elbowed each other as they snickered behind their hands.“We are an amorous people here in London,” Linette said.“You’ll soon learn our ways.We shall take you all about London and introduce you to our friends, for we are cheerful all the year long.”At this announcement, Bronwen noticed her sister’s face beginning to regain its color.But their hostesses sobered when an elderly gentleman stepped into the room.“Girls, who is here? And what has become of my son?”The elder spoke.“Papa, Captain Muldrew sent these women to you with his commendation.They are noblewomen from the north.As for Chacier—the last we saw, he was racing out the door into a fray at the end of the street.”The old man’s face grew grim.“I must send him reinforcement.Go to the guard, good man.” He motioned to a servitor standing in the shadows.“Linette, will you please remember your manners and make introductions?”“Ladies, this is our father, Gregory, Lord Whittaker.Papa, these are Lady Bronwen and Lady Gildan, along with their nurse.They’ve fallen on difficult times—the loss of a dear father and husband.”“Then consider this your home until you have sorted out your affairs,” Sir Gregory told them.“Take your time and be in no great hurry to depart.It is often the hasty decisions that we most regret.”“Thank you, Sir Gregory,” Bronwen said.“Your generosity is more than we had ever hoped for.”He lifted a hand.“Think no more of it.Linette, Caresse—take these women to your mother.”“Yes, Papa,” the sisters said as one.In a moment the door had shut behind him.“That is our father’s counting room,” Linette explained, pointing out a closed door as she led the others through the chamber.“Near the stair is the storeroom where the wares are kept.Across the hall is the merchants’ room, where Father meets with tradesmen.”They climbed a steep flight of stairs, and Linette pushed open a door that led to a room with many windows and a great fireplace.Instead of a circular area in the center of the hall with smoke vents in the roof, as at Rossall, this fireplace stood against a back wall, and smoke rose through a hidden pipe or tunnel.Dismantled tables had been propped against another wall on which hung tapestries embroidered with battle scenes.“Here is the solar where we eat,” Linette announced.“Caresse, do go across the hall and find Mother.She is probably speaking to the cook.”“Is your kitchen inside the house?” Gildan asked.“Of course! Where else could it be?”Before Gildan could reply, a small red-cheeked woman rushed in, followed by Caresse.Flinging her arms toward the ceiling, she cried, “Oh, you poor dears! Come, come—we must draw you a bath at once.Do you like salmon pie? The cook has just brought one out of the oven.”“Allow me to introduce the ladies Bronwen and Gildan,” Linette said.“This is Lady Mignonette.”When Bronwen and Gildan curtsied, the woman urged her daughters to see to the welfare of their guests.After ascending to a third floor, the group emerged from the stairwell into a long hallway.Linette walked down it, calling out occupants of each room.“Here dwell Chacier, Roussel and Gilbert—our brothers.And here is the garderobe.”“Garderobe?” Gildan asked.“The room for privacy, of course,” Linette explained.Bronwen peered inside to find a wooden platform containing an oblong hole.How barbaric, she thought, to have both your kitchen and your privy inside the house!“Did you not have garderobes in the north?” Caresse wanted to know.“Certainly not,” Gildan replied.“Our privy stood near the stables.Do you not fear infections?”The Whittaker sisters laughed at the very idea.“Here sleep my mother and father, and here is our chamber,” Linette said.Much like the parents’ room, theirs contained a row of bright garments that hung from a pole near the ceiling.Each bed likewise was suspended from the ceiling beams by four thick ropes, and they were covered with blankets and furs.At the foot of each bed sat a large brass-studded chest and a washstand.The guest room was across the hall.Gildan paused to admire an embroidered hanging of an outdoor scene with several ladies serenaded by gentlemen who played pipes and lutes as they all lounged in the grass.“How marvelous,” she remarked.“Your home is so different from ours.Our father slept in the great hall with his men.We never imagined building chambers one on top of the other, did we, Bronwen?”“No, but Sir Gregory is a merchant and has no need for a great hall with many warriors.”A knock at the door brought in three servants.One bore a large oaken tub, and the others each carried buckets of warm water.They filled the tub and emptied a pouch of herbs into it.Bronwen frowned at the idea of stepping into an entire vat of water.But Linette and Caresse would hear of nothing but that both guests must strip off their clothes and enter the tub.Gildan shivered as she shook her head.“I shall die of frogs and worms that will eat my flesh!”Lest her sister protest further, Bronwen slipped into the tub and discovered that the water was not only warm and fragrant, but relaxing.Gildan finally joined her, but she sat trembling and clearly at the verge of tears.“How often do you take baths here?” Enit asked from the corner where she stood warily observing the event.“Two or three times a month in summer,” Linette said.“Less often in winter, for it is cold and damp in London.Crusaders started the fashion of bathing, and we adore it.”After much discussion of their different customs, the women dressed and entered the solar.Sir Gregory met them with a somber face.“Chacier is wounded,” he reported.“He lies below, tended by the leech.”His sisters gasped and fled down the stairs, Gildan trailing behind.“Are your son’s wounds grave?” Bronwen asked.“Our nurse is a healer.Perhaps she can help.”“Sit please.” Sir Gregory pointed to a pair of chairs and joined Bronwen near a window.“My son will live.His arm is slashed below the elbow, and he may never draw sword again—but that is well with me.He stands to inherit my trade, and I do not endorse these youthful adventures.”He paused and assessed his guest.“Tell me of your situation, Lady Bronwen.I wish to be of service.”“My sister’s plight is the greater, sir
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