As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann Read Free Book Online Page B

fickle, tasting one love and flying on to another. There had been a
    tramping woman, older than himself and no innocent, when he was but fifteen: I had caught Peter letting him in late at night, flushed and exhilarated. Being once alerted by Izzy, I had observed Zeb's steady heating of Patience, who was only too hot already: his tickling her, putting the point of his tongue in her ear, and generally laying siege to that tottering fort, her virtue. Whenever I saw him at it, rage choked me. Had he been younger, and under my authority, I would have prescribed him a beating.
    Back indoors, I again took up the tray and went on with my scouring, pressing the grains of sand against the pewter until each dish would have passed, at a distance, for silver. Near me sat Izzy, scraping teasels over Sir Bastard's coat to raise the nap.
    'That will have to do.' He stood and held up the garment. 'What do you think?'
    'You've wrought marvels with it.'
    'It stinks of wine. God, how the man slobbers and sicks!' He threw it aside. It was not like my brother to let ill temper gain on him and I saw in his petulance how weary he was.
    'The house is quiet without Zeb,' I ventured.
    'Why do they keep him so long!' Izzy moaned. 'Is he suspected?'
    'No reason he should be.'I rinsed the pewter clear of sand and began drying the pieces on a cloth. At that moment the sound of rapid footsteps came to us from the corridor. With a quick glance at me, Izzy ran to the doorway and looked out. I heard someone whispering and saw him gesture in reply. He closed the door and came back to where I was stacking the dishes.
    'That was Caro. Zeb's back.'
    'Has he seen the Master yet?'
    Izzy shrugged. We left the scullery and made our way to the hall, where we found our brother in council with Godfrey.
    'If the Mistress would be so good,'Zeb was saying.
    Godfrey listened judicially, nodding from time to time. 'I will inform her. And when does he expect to have the cart, did you say?'
    'Tomorrow. O, and he asks that the boy's friends here may be let go to the funeral.'
    'We shall see,' the steward answered, frowning. The frown meant nothing, for Godfrey had never been known to grant anything on the first request and we would most likely get a half-holiday if we wished it. For my part I had just as lief stay home.
    'That is all the message he sent,' Zeb prompted.
    'Thank you, Zebedee. Now, have you and your brothers sufficient work?'
    'Were we not to beat the hangings?'
    'Indeed. Pray do so.' Godfrey turned and strode towards My Lady's parlour. I groaned inwardly, for if there was one task I detested, beating hangings was it. 'In God's name, why remind him of that?' I muttered as the door closed after the steward.
    'I want to talk to you both, out in the orchard. Anyway, Jacob, we should have to do them some day soon, so why wait until it rains?'
    'What did Biggin say?' demanded Izzy. 'Is he coming over to fetch the body? Do they know what the boy was doing here?'
    'During the night? No,' Zeb returned. 'He is to be carried back there tomorrow. The most suitable cart is out at present, but they will send it over with a coffin — the carpenter is put to the job already.'
    'And the surgeon?' I asked.
    'They had no cause to tell me. I guess they'll call one to the house when the boy arrives. You washed him, Jacob. Did you see—?'
    'Slit right up the belly. They won't need a surgeon to interpret that.'
    'O, the little fool!'
    Izzy stared at him. 'Fool?'
    My heart began to thump. Supposing Zeb was risen, gone to the chamber window. It was bright moonlight when I grabbed the boy's knife, and my empty bed — but no, his way of speaking to me earlier on—
    'Out,' Zeb insisted. 'Let us go out. You fetch the hangings, I will set up the line, when I have once rid myself of these clothes. I am not Sir Bastard, to ruin them with dust.'He hurried off towards the stairs
    leading to our chamber. Izzy and myself gazed at the hangings which covered three walls of the hall, and then at one