Cacao or Joseph Ermeler's Travels
Copyright© 2026 by Argon
Chapter 7: The Benefits of Honesty
After next day’s noon meal, Barbara had to leave to help her mother with some thing or another. Thus, Joseph sat alone with Ursula. Both were sipping hot cacao. He told her of the cupbearer’s visit.
“You did not sell the beans you have?” she asked. “You could have sold them for a fortune.”
Joseph looked at her. “Maid Ursula, had I offered them at once, the price would have been lower, for they would seem like common trading goods. Having to order them makes the price go up.”
Ursula smiled and nodded. “I can see that. Also, selling all of them would deprive me of this enjoyment,” she added smacking her lips and smiling.
Joseph looked at her. “The way I see it, it takes only three cacao beans to make you smile. I may have a thousand of them worth three hundreds of your smiles and more. Never shall I give up three hundred of your smiles, not for all the gold in the Bishop’s coffers.”
“You make me blush, Master Joseph,” Ursula answered looking down. “Are you mocking me?”
“Nay, Maid, I was never more earnest. Seeing you smile fills me with happiness and ... more.”
“Those cacao beans, they will only last for a year.”
“I can get more,” Joseph answered. “My old master, Martin Welser in Augsburg, will take my order for them.”
Ursula blushed suddenly. “Please, forgive my presumption. I did not mean to make demands. Why would you keep inviting me once we are finished with the curtains?”
Looking at her, Joseph smiled. “You will be my welcome guest. Your company after the noon meal is to what I look forward during the morning hours.”
Ursula closed her eyes. “Do not mock me, please. I told you that I was ruined. Do not raise hope in me, only to crush it when you find a fitting bride. But you know, there is my sister. She is as pure as the first winter snow. Lukas the Cooper has been wooing her, but you could sway her with your sweet cacao.”
“Your sister is a fine maid, I grant you that. Yet, my heart speaks for you, Ursula. Besides, Lukas is a good man, and your sister will find happiness with him. Why should I woo a maid who does not covet me? Why should I woo a maid when I covet her sister?”
A shadow appeared on Ursula’s face, but her look was open when she answered.
“I have heard such sweet words before, Master Joseph. Know this: I shall not yield to sweet words again, nor to sweet cacao. If I stray another time I may become with child, shaming my father and ruining my sister’s prospects.”
“That is a worthy resolution, Maid Ursula, and woe to me should I ever lead you astray. Nay, your chastity is safe from me until the day when I may rightfully claim it.”
“Honestly, Master Joseph, why are you wooing me so sudden?”
Joseph debated with himself for a moment before deciding for a bold course.
“There is a reason, Maid Ursula, not for wooing you, but for pressing my courtship at this early time.”
He then described to her the deal offered by Lukas and his uncle. She was hurt at first, blushing under what she considered renewed scorn, and she remained unhappy until Joseph spoke the last words.
“And so imagine: they offered to reward me handsomely for something my heart was urging me to do anyway. I fancied you from the first we met, and now I get, no: we get our house rebuilt for free!”
This caused a different sort of blush in Ursula, and a smoulder in her eyes, too. Also, Joseph could see her mind setting to work with the information she just had received.
“Erwin’s offer is worth over forty Ducats, and it will be work well done. He is known far and wide for his workmanship. My father will offer a good dowry too, for he despairs over finding a husband for me. My stepmother will also rejoice. How can I refuse all that?”
Joseph looked at her. “How do you feel, Ursula? Do you feel that you may grow to care for me? Do you feel that you may grow to trust me?”
“Why did you tell me all about Lukas’s offer?”
“That is simple. You asked for the reasons why I courted you. Telling you a lie, I would have been as bad as your first groom. In the end, you would have found out, and then you could never trust me again.”
This time, her smile was not due to the taste of cacao.
“Will you agree to woo me for a moon? If you spoke to my father right away it would seem to Lukas like I was desperate to take any man. Also, he’ll be more in your debt if you have a harder time with your courtship.”
Joseph smiled. “What’s a moon? I’ll see you every day when you sew the curtains. We shall have cacao and talk. The days will pass quickly. May I call you mine in my thoughts, though?”
Ursula held out her hand which he took. “Yes, Joseph. Forgive me if I will only call you mine once we are joined before God. I will think dearly of you in my dreams, though.”
For another fortnight, Ursula and her sister came to work in Joseph’ house. Every noon they would sit and drink sweet cacao, and sometimes Ursula would stay behind in the evenings to help Joseph close the shop. After a few days, she joked that it was good practice for when they would be joined.
She also spoke friendly to Joseph after Holy Mass, and poor Lukas’ eyes popped open, and his mouth opened in a happy smile. Later, when Joseph showed in the tavern, Lukas ushered him to a table forcing a stein of ale on him.
“How are you faring, brave Joseph?” Lukas asked. “I saw you speaking with Ursula, and you have no scratches around your eyes. It must be going well.”
Joseph wagged his head. “She knows how people badmouth her, and she is afraid to give them more fodder. That makes my quest difficult.”
“Damn!” Lukas swore under his breath. “Would we had left her in peace! But is there hope?”
“I may have made progress by using a rare and precious potion on her. It sweetens the disposition, opens the heart, and gives happy thoughts.”
“It’s that dark brew that Barbara was talking about, isn’t it? She says, it has the taste of ambrosia, and yes, it makes her very happy.”
“Have you been stealing kisses?” Joseph asked nudging the younger man who blushed.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.