Read Traitor, Book 1 of The Turner Chronicles Page 18
Chapter 10
Aaron smiled at the rumbling squeal of a rickety barrow being wheeled up to his grocery. Only Mistress Turnbull had a barrow like that. It was made so loosely that every joining of wood rubbed against one another, making the barrow sound like it would fall apart at any moment. Heavy footsteps stomped on the outside boardwalk, and then Mistress Turnbull carefully eased herself through the door.
"Hoy, Mister Turner." At five-two she was the largest woman Aaron had ever seen--only her size was not measured in her inches from the ground to the sky. Almost, he could feel the building shake as she walked because she weighed at least four times his own one thirty, which meant she was one hefty woman. However, she was also one of the strongest people he knew. Though the strength of her body was not unusual, the strength of her mind was insurmountable. Her iron will could not be reasoned with.
"Mistress Turnbull. How are the children? I haven't seen them in weeks."
With a quiver of flesh, she leaned toward him. Small pinpoint eyes stared out of mounded flesh. Her vision was not the best, but she did not miss much. At this moment those eyes dissected him.
"A lump still and ugly as sin with the stitches and the bruising, but it is coming along nicely. The children are fine, sir, and keeping away from you. A bad influence you are; all this handing them things under this pretense and that pretense. Bad lessons they'll learn if you teach them to expect something for nothing. Once a month I told them. No more are you to go bothering that man and begging handouts all the time."
Aaron shrugged and raised his hands. "It's hard to resist the little skivers."
"Not so little, sir," she corrected. "Not so little at all. My Betty is getting married in a month, and to her wedding you will come, or I'll know the reason why. Her Ryan is a good man with only the one wife already to his name, and isn't she a dear to welcome my Betty into her home. My Mister, he will do a fine job of hitching them together, that he will."
Aaron was surprised. "Isn't Betty too young to get married?"
"Oh she looks young she does, the little minx. She looks young, but she is almost hitting fifteen, and it is a good thing she's getting married for she's one who would get into family trouble very easily--but this is social chat, and I am here on business."
So Aaron helped her gather her goods, put the charges on her account, and helped her load her barrow. If anything, the barrow was overloaded.
"Not brooding on your incident, are you?" she asked.
"I am angry, Mistress Turnbull, but not, perhaps, brooding, though I will have to explain to the gentleman that further incidents will not be acceptable."
She looked surprised. "Knows it not, does Mister Knight, and he still abed and groaning so all can hear and be shamed for him."
"Excuse me?"
"Know you not? Burly smith across the way spent half a day in this store while you lay senseless in your bed, and then him standing before Mister Knight with an entire group of people and the Marshal mysterious in her absence. I hear it was a fine row though disappointing in its brevity. Yon smith is a hard man and known well for owning a slow temper with heavy hands at the end of it."
"No, I didn't know." Aaron wasn't sure what he felt. This was his trouble to deal with, not Jorrin's.
"Aye, and didn't Mister Bran's Mistress make this hat with her own hands, and didn't I go around and have handed to me bits of copper that could be sewed into it so you would know we be thinking of you."
She pulled a floppy brimmed hat from her oversized bag, round crowned and covered with more than seventy copper coins. "For wearing it is not, but for you to know it is. To us you belong and time for all to know it well." Awkwardly waddling behind the counter, she hung the hat on a wall hook. "There it shall stay. Good day, Mister Turner."
Aaron had little time to dwell on how the honor made him feel. Throughout the rest of the day the store suffered a suffusion of so many people that Cathy was forced to drop her project. She stayed busy filling orders and bullying Aaron into doing no more than the slightest work. By lunch he felt exhausted, and he became consumed with the need to get away. He removed his apron and headed over to the Traveler's Rest. After winding his way through the scattered tables, he took his usual seat.
"What will you have?"
Aaron started and then slowly smiled. "Missy?"
She grinned exuberantly. "Can you believe it? Mistress Halfax hired me to work here. I get a room and food and three fourths gold a day and Cathy can stay in my room for only four coppers."
"Well good for you. I hope Mistress Halfax doesn't work you too hard."
"Six to four every day with a half hour for lunch. I have to clean and serve and later I get to learn about ordering and cooking food proper. Ann Flinders is helping. I don't think she likes me too well. So what will it be?"
"Just bread and cheese and a bowl of soup today."
"Sure thing. Oh yeah. Mistress Townsend said thanks for the breakfast you bought her this morning, and I was to give you the bill."
Aaron shook his head, smiling slightly. Twice now he had "volunteered" to buy Sarah breakfast without having first been asked his opinion on the matter. "I thought she was Sarah to you now?"
"That's in private. In public it's best to show proper respect."
"Okay then, Miss Bayne. Could you please fetch a poor starving wretch a bit of bread and cheese?"