Shelved (Episode 6 - The Further Chronicles of a Young Lady (and her Maid))

Continued from Episode 5 - Stiffed

The story so far:  You can find out how our two heroines came to be where they are today by reading The Chronicles of a Lady (and her Maid) either here on ABCTales or in book form (link is external).  In brief, at the end of the last series,after a series of adventures,'Ethel' and Gwladys ran away from a life of servitude at the Inn, run by her former Lord, along with his partner (and their baby), to take their chances on the road (much to Gwladys's chagrin).  After a night camping out in a forest, they entered a small town and Gwladys wasted no time in getting rid of their illegally acquired coach and horses.  Which gave them temporary financial relief but left the problem -how to fund their life on the road?  A pawn shop run by 'Anty Marj' seemed to be the short-term answer and a lengthy negotiation secured a good deal on Aefelthrith's ring, until Anty Marj suddently vanished before the deal was completed.  Discovering her lifeless body in the Stock Room, Aeflethrith decided this was a sign that they should take over the business.  With 'Anty Marj' safely stowed in an outhouse, Gwladys and Aefelthrith set about seeing if they can run a pawn shop:

“It seems incredible to me that, that woman, managed to scrape a living from this business!”  Aefelthrith grumbled, as she worked her way around the stockroom, armed with paper and pencil.
“Anty Marj you mean?” Gwladys was enjoying her breakfast of bread and cheese, at the table.
“Yes, her” Aefelthrith sniffed, “these shelves, they’re full of…”
“People’s hopes and dreams?”  Gwladys suggested.
“I was going to say, tat!  Rubbish, detritus!”
“’ow d’yer mean?”
“Well, look at all these worn-down shoes, for example.  Where is there any possible value in those?” Aefelthrith picked up a particularly well-worn example and held them in the air.
“Any idea, ‘ow dahn on yer luck yer’ve got to be ter ‘ave to pawn yer only pair of shoes?”  Gwladys raised an eyebrow.
“But, how could she hope to ever realise any monetary value from things such as this?”  Aefelthrith looked hopelessly at the shoes.
“I dare say she couldn’t” Gwladys munched a crust, contemplatively, “seems ter me, the more I see of this place, she was really important to this ‘ere community”
“Well, there’s no money in that!” Aeflethrith frowned, “And what, pray tell, is the point of this?”  She held up an odd workman’s tool.
“’S’an Adze” Gwladys responded, “Tool fer shapin’ wood an’ stuff”
“Again I ask you, where’s the value?”
“There’d ‘ave been a lot of value in that to the poor bugger what ‘ad to pawn it”
“In what way?”
“Werl, look at it this way.  If yer dahn to the point where yer ‘avin’ to pawn the tools of yer trade, ter make ends meet if yer get me, yer in a pretty bad way, arncher?”
Aefelthrith looked puzzled.
“I mean ter say,” Gwladys sighed, “if yer dahn to pawning the only things what can bring yer work, earn yer a bob or two, then yer in an ‘ole an’ no mistake, aintcher?  ‘Cause, yer might get a few pennis on this ‘ere adze, an’ that might mean yer can eat fer another day, or two, but then what?”
Aefelthrith continued to look puzzled.
“Yer canna work, can yer, not without the tools of yer trade?  Yer’ve gotta be really desperate to do that” Gwladys shook her head, sadly.
“Huh, well” Aefelthrith sniffed, again, “I’m not at all sure that this is quite the profitable business that I originally thought that it might be”
“Bit late fer that, now, innit?”
“Hmm” Aefelthrith looked thoughtful.
“Speakin’ of ‘er what used ter own this place, ‘ave yer been out to check on ‘er lately?”
“Check on her?  Why would I need to check on her?”
“Make sure she’s still in one piece” Gwladys explained, “see that nothin’s ‘ad ‘er, style of thing”
“Had her?”  Aefelthrith looked astonished, “You mean, as in…ewww!”
“Wild animals an’ the like, they can smell carrion from miles away.  Bound to attract ‘em, innit?” Gwladys shrugged.
“How revolting!”  Aeflethrith screwed her face into an expression of extreme disgust.
“Yer’ve got to get yer food where yer can” Gwladys mopped up the last of the crumbs from her plate.
“Disgusting!  Thank heavens we’re more civilised” Aefelthrith sniffed.
“Oh yeah” Gwladys chuckled, “so civilised we let poor buggers who’ve got nowhere to turn an’ nothin’ to eat, pawn the only things that keep ‘em in work, yeah, that’s civilisation for ye.  Go an’ check on ‘er”
“YOU check on her” Aefelthrith suggested, “why should it be me?”
At that moment, the shop door-bell rang out.
“Werl, there’s yer answer” Gwladys grinned, “less’n you want ter deal with the customer?”
“Erm, no, I don’t think so” Aefelthrith looked as if an someone had made an improper suggestion to her, “I rather think that you have the ‘common touch’ that is required for these transactions”
 “Huh!  That right, is it?” Gwladys raised an eyebrow and stalked off to the shop counter.
Aefelthrith, despite her misgivings, headed off, outside, to the cold store, to check on the remains of ‘Anty Marj’.
A few minutes later, Gwladys and Aefelthrith reappeared in the kitchen, from opposite directions.
“Bit of pottery” Gwladys dusted the object on her shawl, “might mek a bob or two, who knows?”
“Gwladys!”  Aefelthrith was white as a sheet.
“Wha’ssup?” Gwladys looked up from her dusting.
“She’s gone!”
“Wotcher mean, ‘she’s gone’?”
“I mean, she is not there”
“Gerronwivyer!  She’s got ter be there”
“Go and see for yourself, if you do not believe me” Aefelthrith motioned to the kitchen door.
Gwladys led the procession back to the Cold Store.  She opened the door, cautiously, and looked at the empty thrall before her.
“She inna there!” Gwladys confirmed.
“Fancy!” Aefelthrith folded her arms and tapped her foot.
Gwladys went inside and peered behind the door, and in the nooks and crannys, in the apparent hope of finding ‘Anty Marj’ skulking in a dark corner.
“’Ow the ‘ell?” Gwladys came out of the Cold Store looking perplexed, “Was the door open?”
“No” Aefelthrith shook her head.
“Werl, she can’t ‘ave just walked out, can she?”  Gwladys frowned, “Didjer find any bits?”
“Bits?”
“Yeah, yer know…bits”
“What sort of ‘bits’?”
“I dunner know” Gwladys shrugged, “fingers, toes…teeth?”
“Yuck!” Aefelthrith shuddered, “No, I did not”
“Huh!  Werl, she didner ‘ave much in the way of teeth, not as I recall” Gwladys peered back into the Cold Store and then carefully studied the path leading from it. “Nah, I canna see nowt”
“I do not like this at all, Gwladys” Aefelthrith folded her arms and shivered.
“I ain’t all that chuffed, meself” Gwladys shook her head.
“What are we going to do?”
“We can’t do nothin, can we?’” Gwladys said, stomping back to the kitchen.
“We can’t just abandon her!”
“Sounds to me like it’s ‘er what’s abandoned us!” Gwladys said, grimly.
A little later, the two were seated at the kitchen table staring moodily into their mugs.
“This dunner bode well, not a bit of it” Gwladys shook her head.
“I just do not understand it” Aefelthrith stirred her drink and frowned.
The shop door-bell rang.
“You go and see to them, it’s your turn” Gwladys said, grumpily.
“But…but…I don’t know what I’m doing!”
“Oh, just say ‘hello’ to them, if they wanna pawn summat, give me a shout”
Aefelthrith, with a face like thunder, flounced off to the shop.
Standing in the centre of the shop floor was a tall gentleman, sporting an impressive badge of office on his jacket and a long and menacing truncheon hanging from his belt.
“Good morrow, ma’am” He nodded at Aefelthrith, “are you the proprietress?”
“Erm, one of them” Aefelthrith said, in a worried little voice.
“I am a Sergeant of the Watch and I have some questions for you”
“Really?” Aefelthrith giggled, nervously, “GWLADYS!” She yelled.

You can find the previous adventures of Gwladys and Aefelthrith in both Kindle and paperback formats at The Chronicles of a Young Lady (and her Maid (link is external)