To Be A Pilgrim! - Episode 7

Following on from 'With Dismal Stories'

The first light of dawn was beginning to make itself known on the horizon.  Gwladys, clutching two bags and a sack, was plodding doggedly ahead whilst Aefelthrith was lagging behind, somewhat.

“Can’t we stop for a bit?  I’m tired out!” Aefelthrith pleaded.

“Nope, want to put as much distance between us and that town as I can”

“But I’m so tired!  And hungry” Aefelthrith moaned.

“You’re tired!  I’m the one carrying all the luggage!” Gwladys snapped.

“Well, you’re my m…” Aefelthrith began, and then thought better of it in the face of Gwladys’ angry stare.

“Look, yer see there, on the horizon?  What does that tell yer?” Gwladys pointed to a faint smoke trail in the distance.

“Somebody’s burning something?” Aefelthrith suggested.

“Yep.  So, it’s a good bet there’s a homestead or summat up ahead.  If we’re lucky, we might get a bite to eat, yer never know!”  She set off at a pace, again, then turned around, “If yer get a move on, of course”

The rapid plodding continued.

“You know those girls in that alleyway” Aefelthrith began.

“Yeah” Gwladys answered cautiously.  She had been expecting this topic to come up again.

“You said it was like marriage, only instead of a ring, they got money!  How does that work then?”

Gwladys stopped her furious progress and turned around to look at her companion.

“It’s like this, right?  When it comes to men and women, there’s allus money involved, somewhere.  The only difference is, who pays fer what?  When a young lady, such as yourself, gets betrothed to a fine gentleman, such as it might be your Lordship, then there’s a dowry i’nt there?”

“Oh yes, my parents had to pay an awful lot of money for me.  They’ll be so annoyed if they find out that I’m no longer there” Aefelthrith said, miserably.

“Right, well, you see, that dowry, that money, it kind of pays your husband to take yer off of their hands for life, right?”

“Yes, I suppose so” Aefelthrith agreed, dubiously.

“Well, with them girls, it’s a bit the other way ‘round.  ‘Cause the man pays them a sort of…dowry so that he can be like, sort of married to them…just for a bit.  Do the things that married people get to do, if yer get my meaning?”

Aefelthrith looked at her blankly.

“Touchin’ an’ that” Gwladys said, desperately.

“Oh, I see!” Aefelthrith blushed, “and men pay for that?”

“Oh yeah!” Gwladys nodded, vigorously.

“But, how could they afford it?  I mean, a dowry is such a lot of money!”

“Ah yeah, if you’re payin’ for someone, like it might be yerself, to be taken care of for the rest of yer life, yeah, that’s a lot of money.  But if yer just payin’ to be, like, married fer five minutes, that’s not so much, d’yer see?”

“Five minutes?”

“Probably less” Gwladys picked up the bags again and began her relentless march onward, “from my experience, any road!”

Presently, they reached the brow of a hill and could see a small cottage up ahead, from the chimney of which, a trail of smoke was curling into the air.  There was a delicious smell of cooking on the breeze.

“Right, you grab these an’ just agree with what I say, alright?”  Gwladys shoved the bags and sack at Aefelthrith, straightened her clothing and tidied her hair, before marching to the cottage.

In the front garden, a little old lady was bent double, apparently picking some vegetables.

“Ho, old wench!” Gwladys announced in a very aristocratic manner.

The old lady straightened up, with difficulty, and stared at the intruder.

“Who’re ye callin’ old?  Yer no spring chicken yerself from the look o’ ye!”

“My apologies.  I am a gentlewoman and this is my maid, Ethel.  Curtsey to the lady, Ethel!” Gwladys instructed.  ‘Ethel’ gave her a look that could have contained daggers but curtsied, primly, anyway.

“Gentlewoman is it?”  The old lady looked Gladys up and down, suspiciously, “what ye doin’ on the road at this ‘our of day, then?”

“We are pilgrims, sadly separated from our companions because of an attack by brigands” Gwladys explained, to ‘Ethel’s’ astonishment.

“Pilgrims is it?  Where you pilgriming to then?”

“Erm…” Gwladys looked stumped but fortunately Aefelthrith intervened.

“Glastonbury!” ‘Ethel’ yelled out.

“Yes, that’s it.  Glastonbury” Gwladys said, with relief.

“Glastonbury?  Well, I’se ‘eard of it, right enough but I dunno where it is.  Not ‘ereabouts, tha’s fer certain!  Yer sure ye’s on the right road?”

“I was only saying to my maid, Ethel, that I was convinced we were lost.  We have been walking for some time now.  Is there a town near here where we could repair to, do you happen to know?”

“Town is it?  Werl, there’s a fine town a few miles back, but that’s the way ye just come, innit?”  The old woman asked, slyly.

“I could not say” Gwladys said, swiftly, “we have only just joined the road.  Prior to that, we hiked over hill and dale”

“Tha’ right, is it?  Kept yerselves ‘markable clean, considerin’” The old woman looked them up and down with suspicion.

“I wonder, would it be possible to ask you to spare us a little food from your table?  We have nothing with us and have been travelling for such a long time”

“Oh no, I couldna ‘elp wi’ that.  I’ve precious little ‘ere to keep me old bones together as ‘tis” The old lady shook her head, vigorously.

“We would, of course, recompense you for your trouble” Gwladys poured coins from one hand to the other, and watched the old woman’s rapt attention.

“Ah, well, ‘appen I might find a bit of summat for thee” The old woman beckoned them into the cottage.

The old woman sat and watched as they made short work of the thick vegetable soup and crusty bread they were supplied with.

“Looks like yer needed tha’?” She observed, “where d’yer say yer goin’?”

“To the next town, wherever that might be?” Gwladys responded, ladling a little more soup into her bowl.

“If’n yer keep on this road, yer’ll come to the harbour, it bein’ the Coast Road an’ all”

“Why, that would be excellent!” M’Lady Gwladys pronounced, “perhaps we could obtain passage on a ship?”

“Wha’, to Glastonbury?” The old woman looked astounded.

“Yes!” Gwladys said, firmly.

“If’n yer say so!” The old lady shrugged.

“How far is it to the coast?”

“Werl, if yer walkin’, I’d say it were a day, mebbe more”

There was an audible groan from ‘Ethel’, still slurping soup.

“But Old Jim, the carter, ‘e’ll be by soon enough, mebbe ‘e could take yer that way?”

“That would be wonderful!  We would, of course, recompense him for his trouble” Gwladys smiled at the old woman, and then became aware of a distinct snoring sound coming from the table.  ‘Ethel’ had finished her soup and was now sleeping soundly, with her forehead resting against the table.

“I wonder,” Gwladys began, “if my maid might lie on your bed for a little while?  She is exhausted and, as you can see, has no stamina”

“Ar, she can kip ‘ere right enough.” The old woman nodded, “I don’t know why yer give ‘er ‘ouse room, there ain’t a bit of flesh on ‘er!  She can’t be no use fer ‘ard work, lookin’ like that!”

“I fear you are correct” Gwladys nodded, “I took pity upon her as she had been abandoned by her parents but,” She sighed and shook her head, sadly, “she does try my patience!”

‘Ethel’, oblivious to this conversation, slept on.