Page 100 of Kingdom of Chains

CHAPTER 31

The scar had reduced to a coin-sized bump just above her heart. Isabel’s hand went to it whenever she paused throughout the day, eyes going south to the road that connected Maddock House to the rest of the world. It was in these moments that she thought of him. Not the man who had shot her but the one she had taken an arrow for. And she would have done it again without hesitation, despite all the pain it caused. Both physicalandmental.

It was incomprehensible that she could miss a person whom she barely knew this much. They had only gotten days together. A few weeks at a stretch. A handful of meaningful conversations. And one afternoon to sample what could have been. The emptiness left by him was not rational, and months later, she was struggling to fill it.

It was during one of these moments that Ita rode up the very road she had been watching, holding a letter in the air.

‘It’s from your mother,’ she called.

Isabel ran out to meet her. It had been two months since any mail had gotten past the marcher lords. In the process of shutting out the world, they had found themselves cut off from it. Funny, that. Isabel’s biggest fear was that Lord Hodgewould intercept correspondence to her family and use it to gain information. She did not want him knowing where her mother and brother were. The sooner her family made it to Carmarthenshire the better.

‘Is it sealed?’ Isabel asked as Ita stopped the horse in front of her.

‘It was, until it reached the border.’

The wastelanders were not taking any chances.

Isabel took the letter from her friend and opened it to read.

Ita dismounted and waited exactly three seconds before asking, ‘Well? Are they coming?’

Isabel’s hand went over her mouth, and then she emitted a relieved breath. ‘They are going to wait a few more months for things to settle, and then they will relocate to Maddock House in the spring.’

A smile spread across Ita’s face. ‘That’s perfect. We’ll have a house for them to live in by then.’

They looked over at the pile of freshly cut trees behind them. Maddock House would never be the grand house it had been, mostly due to lack of materials, but it would stand in exactly the same spot it once had. These kinds of rebuilds were happening throughout the region as people got to work restoring their homes and communities. But since a large majority of the men were away protecting the borders, it fell upon the women to do the bulk of the labour. They were more than happy to, however.

Isabel’s chest felt light with hope.

Margery flew down and landed on a nearby post, and the women walked over to shower her with attention.

‘Rabbit showed me how to use a trowel,’ Ita said. ‘We only have a small amount of stone to work with, but I thought I’d teach you how to mix and lay mortar.’

The day before, Rabbit had taught the women how to use an auger, and they had spent the day drilling holes into wood. Theday before that, they had spent six hours hammering wooden pegs into the ground. Isabel’s hands had been covered in blisters by the end.

‘There is something else I would like to learn how to do,’ Isabel said, playfully catching hold of Margery’s beak.

‘Oh? What’s that?’

‘I thought maybe you could teach me how to use a bow.’

Ita frowned. ‘What for? You have Margery to hunt for you.’

‘It is not only for hunting. It is for protection too.’

‘And you have me for that.’

Isabel looked back at the road again. ‘Be that as it may, I would still like to learn.’

Ita watched her for a moment. ‘You’re quite safe here, you know.’

‘I know.’

Hodge was rumoured to be lying low after losing favour with King Edward. The king had withdrawn his support after certain details about the camp surfaced, in particular the part about produce being shipped elsewhere for profit instead of being given to the people growing it. They had all hoped for a much bigger consequence, but the country still needed its marcher lords to insulate the border.

‘Of course I’ll teach you,’ Ita said. ‘Rabbit can help too.’

Isabel found it amusing that all this time had passed and yet they were unable to break the habit of using aliases.