Walter was sure of one thing; he needed to leave soon. He had told himself, it was just an information delivery. But something made him feel uneasy as he was not given a doc.u.ment, but had to give instructions himself. This told him the lady was testing him. He had no money but the gold in his pocket, neither did he have the status to give instructions to someone of Jodanham"s standing. Confused about how to go about it, he decided to go home instead. He had to figure out how to approach this. The lady did not give him a time limit. He decided he will do it in the morning.He rode home with a small pouch of gold, and a nest full of thoughts hatching in his head. He arrived home and tied his horse in the backyard stable. He unlocked the door and walked into the house to find it dark and silent.
"Is that you Walter?" his mother called from her room.
"Yes Ma." he answered back. He made his way to his room and walked in to find his little brother asleep on his bed. He looked at the other side of the room, at his brother"s bed too small for him to sleep in, and took a seat on the wooden stool by the bed side, rested his back on the wall and closed his eyes. It did not take him long to fall into deep sleep.
Morning came fast, as Walter woke to find himself on the floor. Shocked more that he did not wake up as he fell to the floor at night, than that he fell at all, he tiredly got up. He washed his face with a bowl of water and used a wet cloth to clean the rest of his body. He looked on his bed to find a clean white dress shirt, dark brown trousers and coat, left for him by his mother. He wore them quickly and went out for breakfast hoping there was still some left on the table. He walked out to find his family eating. He greeted his mother and father before taking a seat.
"You are not going to work today, son?" his father asked.
"No. Someone is covering for me." Walter answered. It was a lie as far as he could tell. Today was the fifth day of the week; his off day. He could stay back if he wanted, but he had never before, as he knew they needed the money.
"And you"re doing what for this?" his father asked.
"Nothing. I covered for him many times. He owes me." he answered.
"Ma, what are you doing today?" he asked is mother.
"Mother!" she corrected him, "I want to get Amie at least three dresses for the coming white cold. She"s outgrown all her dresses."
"Mother, I get to come right?" Amie, Walter"s little sister asked. She was not really little as she was turning seventeen come the white cold and Ma would start fussing about getting her married off. His mother was a lady. Born the last daughter of a baron, she lost her t.i.tle when she married Pa. This did not deter her from her upbringing, and her need to impact them unto her children. She was all about speaking right, being clean and acting proper. She always seemed to miss her time as a lady and forgets that her children had no status to worry about. His sister did need the clothes, though. She and Pa were the only red heads in the family and he could not say that he had not noticed the way the boys in the village looked at her.
"Of course you can come. How else will we know if it"s your size?" his Ma answered.
"I"ll come too, Mother." he announced, confusing everyone.
"Why? That you got no work today, means you can just go "bout town lazying?" his father asked.
"No. I have not been to town a while. I won"t take long." he answered almost lazily, making his father frown. They ate in silence for a while before he got up and went to his room.
He looked again into the pouch of gold since given. He counted twenty gold coins. The lady was generous, he thought for a second, before wondering if she had a motive for doing so. He divided the gold into two. He tied in clothe the remaining ten pieces and hid it under his bed. Placing the leather pouch in his coat pocket, he put on his coat and went out to meet an empty table. His father stood by the door, ready to leave for work. He took out two pieces of gold and handed it to him. His father"s eyes grew at the sight of the coins which for a moment glittered, as though to emphasize it"s splendour.
"I was paid yesterday for delivering the doc.u.ment." he said and turned away before his father could conjure a protest. He took a seat on the table and waited for his mother to finish with the dishes. Amie arrived soon after his father had quietly left, wearing a pale pink dress. It was her favourite and the only to still fit her now tall form. She put on her cream over-washed coat. He could tell she was excited. She never gets the chance to go out into town as she was always at home taking care of their six year old brother, Allen, or learning proper etiquette from her mother. She did not work, as mother said it was unbecoming of a woman, for working was a man"s job. He felt bad for his father. While the wives of his peers worked to make sure there was enough income to the house, his wife did not and did not allow her daughter to work either.
His mother always stood by the principles of her upbringing, disregarding the reality of who she now was. Soon his mother finished washing the dishes and went in to freshen up. She too came out in her afternoon dress. His mother"s dress, though old, was a memoir of her former status. Though she wore less of them at home, she still had so much clothes from her former life. Clothes she once hoped to pa.s.s to her daughter. Unluckily for her, like Walter, Amie had taken father"s tall genes in contrast to his mother"s small and pet.i.te form.
"Allen! We"re out into town for a while. Stay in the house. Do not go anywhere. I don"t want you going to the neighbours for games of any sort." She warned strictly.
"Yes Ma" Allen answered from inside his room. Walter did not in anyway believe Allen would do as told.
Walter got on his horse and his mother and sister did as well. If anything they had, it was horses.
Ten horses stayed in the stable behind their house. They were his mother"s dowry. His mother made his father build a good and secure stable as she claimed it was now Amie"s dowry. As their house was far from the village and isolated, people did not know it was there. They never went into the village with them as their mother wished that no one would know of them. She was against riding into town too as she had grown up in a carriage instead of on top a horse.
Town was far from the village and took a while to get there. The smell of the town hit them before they saw it. It was rowdy as ever, as the lower town was where marketing of the lower cla.s.s happened. Then the upper town connected to the main city, where the n.o.bles stayed. His mother stood out like a sour thumb.
She was overdressed for the location, but she knew where she was going enough to steer her way through the people, finding her way to a much cleaner part of the lower town. Though she wanted to stop, Walter had plans to meet with Mr. Jodanham. He knew his mother had taught him that he needed to inform the household before making an appearance, but he wanted to go unannounced. He felt it good for his confidence when delivering his orders. He remembered the look on the lady"s face. With that picture in mind, he brazed himself. After all, he had no one left to fear, not even society.
"Ma, let"s go to upper town instead." he said.
"Mother!" she corrected him, "Walter, you know how expensive things are in the upper town. Clothes are bought in silver there. Here we can buy anything in copper and iron." she protested.
"I have been paid, Mother. Lets go." he led them ahead regardless. Upper town was much cleaner and organized than lower town. His mother had been here in another life and led them toward a popular market. It was loud but not as rowdy as lower town.
"You both go. I"ll be back." he said, handing them five gold coins. His mothers eyes grew into large green pearls at the sight of the coins.
"You were paid...in gold?" she asked and he nodded, leaving them to it.