Chapter 27: Bridges Built and Rebuilt

Elizabeth Burbridge and her escort approached the city walls with trepidation. Jonathan and Elena had given her time to consider the facts they had provided about her mother’s actions. She still hadn’t come to a conclusion but her anger was no longer spread to the entire world.

As it was, the one person she didn’t want to see was the one who spotted her at the entrance to the city.

King Joseph, flanked by half a dozen soldiers, walked toward her and she cringed. There was a part of her that still blamed the new king for disrupting her life so thoroughly.

“Mistress Burbridge, welcome,” Joseph said. “You need not search her. She is Jonathan’s sister.”

The soldier at the gate looked dubious but permitted Elizabeth and her entourage to pass without inspection.

“King Joseph,” Elizabeth replied as she gave a slight curtsy.

“I am simply Joseph to the rest of your family,” he replied with a smile. “I hope that once we know each other better, I will be able to count you among those comfortable enough to see past the title.”

“Thank you, King Joseph,” Elizabeth replied through gritted teeth. “Is my brother about?”

“He and Elena travelled to Westmont for the week,” Joseph answered. “You are most welcome to stay. I expect them back in two or three days. I fear you would no more than get started before you need to return and I know you’ve had a long trek as it is.”

Elizabeth stared at the king. The last thing in the world she wanted was to be forced to endure time with him. Still, she knew the other members of her travelling party had no aversion to spending time in the capital. She had vowed to act more grown up and she decided this was the perfect time to start – by thinking of someone besides herself.

“Thank you, King Joseph,” Elizabeth said again. “Is there somewhere I can obtain lodgings for my group?”

“You and your party can have the run of the castle,” Joseph told her. “Since the weather has warmed, we have opened the upper floors again. You may have as many rooms as you require.”

Elizabeth nodded. She couldn’t turn down the invitation. She knew enough about royal decrees to understand that much.

“Come,” Joseph said, smiling. “If you would like, I will walk with you and the woman who supervises the castle will find you accommodations.”

Elizabeth was silent as the larger group walked to the castle. She watched as the king interacted with the common citizen as though the person was landed gentry. He spoke to all and sundry – from a woman beating dirt out of a rug to a man that sold food along the street.

Lydia had just sat down after overseeing the opening of the upper castle floors. They weren’t as bad as she expected but it had been time consuming. She was thankful that the king had simply left her to her chores rather than stay under her feet for the duration.

She saw Joseph enter the courtyard accompanied by a sizeable group and groaned. She had been looking forward to being off her feet for the first time all day.

“Stay where you are,” Joseph commanded when Lydia started to stand when he entered the room. “I have a group that will need...”

He counted heads and came up with 10.

“Nine rooms and a suite for Mistress Burbridge and her attendant,” he concluded.

“Some of us are married, Your Highness,” a woman said, gesturing to one of the men.

“Oh, of course,” Joseph replied with a blush. “Mistress Elizabeth, how many rooms do you require?”

Elizabeth was put in a position where she was required to answer.

“I have brought four married couples, my maid and myself,” she replied. “I would think five would suffice if they’re available.”

“Of course,” Joseph answered lightly. “That was good thinking to bring the wives along to keep the men out of mischief. Can I claim the rooms beside Jonathan on the second floor?”

Lydia gulped. She had returned the king’s service only a few weeks prior and he already deferred to her on any matter regarding the castle. He had given her a staff of 30 to oversee and told her to grab as many soldiers as she needed to get things the way she wanted them. He had never once checked up on her and several times had brought her a cold drink or food if he thought she was working too hard.

“If you desire it, Your Highness,” she answered.

“Bah,” Joseph replied, laughing lightly. “If it mattered what I desired, I wouldn’t have asked you. I will say it again. This castle is your domain. I will do my utmost never to make a decision about food, beverage or lodgings without consulting you beforehand. Would it be convenient for me to place Jonathan’s sister nearby to his room?”

“Yes,” Lydia answered, gulping again. She was beginning to understand what the king’s soldiers meant by his abiding faith in their abilities. “Those rooms are clean and ready to be used, Your Highness. We have everything up to the fifth floor ready for your use.”

“Thank you, Lydia,” Joseph said with a smile. He held up a hand when Lydia started to arise to show the young woman and her party to where they would stay. “I can attend to the details. You have worked like a madwoman for two weeks. Enjoy a respite. We have room enough now for any who arrive. If we run out of space, then perhaps they should have shown up earlier. For the rest of this evening and the remainder of the week, I do not want you to fret about the castle or its occupants. The cooks know to feed us. The laundresses know to clean the clothes. The maids know to clean the rooms.

“If we require more than that, we can fend for ourselves. Rest, Lydia. Otherwise, I fear I’m going to have to go the chamberlain and ask for a loan in order to increase your wage. You have already accomplished in a week what I expected done in a month. So rest and relax. Go see your parents or take a stroll with Yerrick if you please. There is nothing here that will require your urgent attention.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Lydia replied with a blush. As with Elizabeth, she understood a command when she heard one.

Joseph turned to his guests.

“I am remiss in my duties as host,” he said. “Allow me to introduce my hostess, Lydia of Tyrell. Lydia, may I present Elizabeth Burbridge, Jonathan’s sister, and her entourage.”

That compelled Elizabeth to speak again, this time to introduce her travelling companions to the king and his servant. She was happy when the king bid farewell to Lydia and led the group up the stone stairs and down a hallway to the rooms she would occupy.

“Pray, wait a moment, Mistress Elizabeth,” Joseph said when she turned to enter her suite of rooms. Elizabeth closed her eyes tightly for only a moment before turning to face the host.

“I am certain you will wish to clean the road off of you,” the king said. “I will track down someone to bring a tub to your rooms. Would your group like to join us for dinner tonight?”

Joseph saw Elizabeth’s jaw tighten.

“If you prefer, I will have food brought up to you,” he said. “I seem to have forgotten that you have been travelling for several weeks. Please, feel free to make the castle your home. If you require anything, just let any of the workers know. If you cannot find them, come to my office on the first floor. Anyone you see can point you in that direction. I will attend to anything you might need. I bid you a pleasant day.”

Elizabeth watched the king as he walked down the hallway and turned to find her maid standing behind her.

“An amazingly pleasant man,” Catherine, the maid, noted. She and Elizabeth were the same age and had known each other as friends before Elizabeth had hired her to work for her.

“Façade,” Elizabeth countered.

“I think not,” Catherine replied. “You could tell from the reaction of ... Lillith.”

“Lydia,” Elizabeth corrected.

“Lydia,” Catherine agreed. She had been looking around at the austere, imposing castle during the introductions. It had changed little in the months since their earlier departure. “She clearly wasn’t cowed by him. She was embarrassed when he praised her but she wasn’t surprised. To me, that means he praises her regularly.”

“She is his bed warmer, no doubt,” Elizabeth said dismissively.

Catherine shook her head again.

“Again, I think not,” she stated. “There was no sense of familiarity between them. It was a matter of mutual respect. I doubt you would recognize it but it is how my mother and father would interact.”

Elizabeth scowled.

“And what do you mean when you say I would not recognize respect?” she hissed. Catherine offered a shrug. She was used to Elizabeth’s fits of temper and had learned to weather them. Besides, if Elizabeth dismissed her from service, she was certain she could find similar employment somewhere in the capital.

“You did not see true respect in your household frequently,” Catherine answered. “Oh, to a certain extent, you saw it from Jonathan and Rina but that has been only recently. While she was portraying a servant, he could not treat her as he truly desired. I don’t mean to speak ill of the departed, but your mother never showed respect to your father.”

“That’s absurd!” Elizabeth insisted. She had not confided her family’s darkest secret to even her closest friend – and she knew that Jonathan had told no one.

“I speak only of my impressions of what I witnessed,” Catherine replied. “I’ve lived with you at the manor since we were children. Oh, certainly, when Lord Burbridge was in the room, your mother was pleasant. That is not respect; that is fear. But recall how she spoke of him in passing when he wasn’t nearby. I overheard her make belittling comments to you about him more times than I have fingers and toes to count upon. If you think about it, I’m sure you will recall those instances.”

Elizabeth exhaled noisily. Catherine was correct – even more than she knew. What’s more, Elizabeth had spent the cold winter months playing many of those scenes over and over in her head as she tried to understand her mother’s deceit.

Elizabeth Burbridge stepped from the warm water and put a thin gown around her form. She had been lost in her thoughts while she washed the grime and grit from her skin but now she heard the sounds from around the castle.

She had to admit that the king had chosen lovely quarters for her and Catherine. He had been exceedingly accommodating, going so far as to send up tubs for all of her party instead of forcing the rest of her group to use the communal baths.

She chalked it up to the fact that she was Jonathan’s sister – and to the fact the king likely felt guilty about causing her mother’s demise. The thin silk felt cool on her wet skin – and the stone floors felt cold on her bare feet even through the rugs that covered them. Elizabeth walked to her maid’s door and knocked lightly before entering.

She smiled when she saw only the top of Catherine’s head in the water. Apparently, Elizabeth mused, she hadn’t taken that long in the tub.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I figured I would be the last out of the water.”

“Not this time,” Catherine said with a shake of her head. “I was almost hoping someone would come up to pour more warm water in. This feels amazing.”

“I will see if one of the maids will do that for you,” Elizabeth replied, deciding to take a cue from the king. “Do you suppose the others would like freshening?”

Catherine tilted her head inquisitively. Elizabeth had never been the most courteous of employers.

“You might dress first,” Catherine pointed out, glancing at Elizabeth’s chest which the thin silk robe did little to hide.

“Do you recall the pale girl from last summer?” Elizabeth asked with a raised eyebrow. “I can imagine that the castle maids have seen all manner of things. I hear someone in the hall. Please, take your time.”

She departed without waiting for an answer so she could attend to someone knocking lightly on the door to her room. Lydia walked in before Elizabeth could reach the portal. She had been pointedly looking away from the tub in the room – but that meant she found herself staring directly at Elizabeth in a wet robe.

“My apologies,” Lydia said, blushing and looking away. “I expected that you still would be bathing.”

“It’s alright,” Elizabeth answered, knowing full well that whatever transpired during the conversation would make its way to her brother’s ears. “It felt as though I had been in the water for days.”

“I get lost in my own thoughts when I am in the tub,” Lydia admitted. “I came to check on you before I depart. Joseph tries but I know full well that his idea of hospitality consists of telling you to find someone if you need anything. He tends to leave out the portion about where you actually find someone to help you. I suppose you could simply stand in the hall and yell but this seems a bit tidier.”

Elizabeth felt herself chuckling as she considered that the king had, indeed, omitted that part of the information.

“There is a maid and a laundress assigned to each wing,” Lydia explained. “They have rooms in the middle. That would be down the hallway to your right when you exit your door. Their rooms are the last before the oaken doorways. Either can help you. If they are attending to duties elsewhere, the first rooms past the oaken doorway will be the workers for that wing and they will assist you.”

“Thank you, Lydia,” Elizabeth said. “I wasn’t planning to scream but I did plan to look for assistance.”

“What can I get you?” Lydia asked at once.

“It isn’t for me,” Elizabeth replied, “but I was hoping we might get some warm water sent up to freshen the baths.”

“Joseph,” Lydia said with a sigh. “He tends to forget that women take longer to bathe than men.”

“I would be surprised, given what my brother has told me about his upbringing, if he even knows that,” Elizabeth said.

That thought caused Lydia to stop and consider the possibility.

“I believe you are correct, Elizabeth,” she admitted. “I will mention it to him and I doubt we will have this problem again. Please, accept my apology for the oversight. I will have someone bring a vat of water up immediately. The maid for these quarters is named Celestine. I will find her and send her to attend to it.”