Stew (Episode 3 - The Further Chronicles of a Yound Lady (and her Maid)

Continued from Episode 2 - Coach

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, after a series of adventures, at the end of the last series, '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.  With the funds from this, courtesy of 'Onest Maurice, they now have a place to stay:

“Is this it?” Aefelthrith sniffed, sitting down heavily on one of the beds in the dark and dingy attic room.
“Yeah” Gwladys responded, puffing and panting as she dragged their bags through the narrow doorway, “S’alright i’nt it?”
“I am not sure that ‘alright’ would precisely be my description” Aefelthrith looked around at her surroundings with barely concealed disgust.
“What’s wrong with it?” Gwladys dropped onto the bed beside Aefelthrith and mopped her brow.  “I could live without the stairs, I’ll grant yer, but we’ve got a bed apiece”
“Be still my beating heart!”
“Yer what?”
“I was trying not to get over-excited!”
“Oh, right” Gwladys nodded, “bein’ a bit smart, there, were we?  Look, yer’ve got a roof over yer ‘ead an’ somewhere to lie down of a night.  There’s a lot’d be very grateful for that”
“Well, I’m not a member of ‘the lot’.  I have higher expectations”
“Gonna be disappointed a fair bit then, ain’t yer?”  Gwladys grabbed one of the bags and parked it on the other bed.
“Why, may I ask, are we sharing a room, yet again?”
“Two reasons” Gwladys said, pulling various items from her bag, “first off, they’d only got one room left…”
“Oh, I see” Aefelthrith’s faint hope that another room might be found for her, crashed to the floor.
“…an’ second, even if they ‘ad ‘ad another room, we couldn’t afford it, not fer more than one night, any road” Gwladys arranged her bits of clothing into orderly piles.
“But…but…we had that money from the sale of the coach and horses.  The ones you sold to your friend ‘Onest Maurice”
“’E’s no friend o’ mine” Gwladys shook her head, “an’ yeah, we did make a bob or two on that, but it won’t last more’n a few days livin’ ‘ere.  Still, it’ll give yer time to figger out ‘ow we’re gonna earn a crust without doin’ no work” She looked at Aefelthrith, pointedly.
“I am quite sure that a suitable scheme will present itself” Aefelthrith got up and marched across to the grimy window.
“Werl, I ‘ope so, ‘cause otherwise, I dunno what we’re gonna do” Gwladys sat down again and folded her arms.
“I suppose…I suppose there is my jewellery” Aefelthrith said, in a small voice.
“Werl, yeah, that’s one option” Gwladys nodded, “d’yer want me to ask around, see what’s doin’?”
“I would not wish to part with any of it forever” Aefelthrith said, quickly, “I suppose…I suppose that I hoped it might be possible to acquire a loan using my jewels as security?”
“Yeah, yer can normally do summat like that” Gwladys agreed, “I’ll go an’ ‘ave a word with the Landlord, see what’s what”
Gwladys stomped back down the stairs.  Some time passed before Aefelthrith heard her familiar footsteps making slow progress back up again.
“Yer dunner seem to ‘ave [hic] done much” Gwladys noted, on entering the room, “I thought as ‘ow yer’d ‘ave [hic] unpacked yer bag, if nowt else”
“Well, I thought you might…” Aeflethrith began.
“Werl, yer [hic] thought wrong, didn’t yer” Gwladys glared at her, “I may ‘ave been yer maid a whle back but that’s been a [burp] long time since.  Unless yer fancy payin’ me fer all these months, of course?”
“You know I am in no position to do that” Aefelthrith sniffed.  “However, were I to be…”
“Yeah, well, better get a [hic] shift on then, ‘adn’t yer?” Gwladys raised an eyebrow.
“You seem to have taken your time” Aefelthrith said, suspiciously, as she opened her bag and began to pull out a few items.
“Werl, yer can’t just expect a [hic] favour fer nowt, can yer?” Gwladys shrugged, sat down heavily and belched softly, “’’Ad to ‘ave a [hic] drink with ‘im, didn’t I?”
“I hope that has not diminished our resources, even more?”
“’Ardly!  It were only the one” Gwladys burped again, “’S’cuse me.  It’s stew tonight, if yer interested?”
“What sort of stew?”
“Ah, yer dunner [hic] ask stuff like that.  Costs more if yer want to know what’s in it”
“It’s not…It’s not one of the horses, is it?” Aefelthrith looked horrified.
“Like I say, best not to ask, cheaper ‘n’all” Gwladys collapsed back on the bed and started to snore, softly.
“Gwladys!”  Aefelthrith snapped.
“Wha?”
“What did you find out about raising some money from my jewellery?”
The snoring began again.
“Gwladys!”
“WHA?”
“The jewellery?”
“Oh, yeah, tha’” Gwladys, reluctantly, dragged herself nearly back up to a sitting position, “yeah, there is [hic] someone.  I thought as ‘ow there would be, place like this, there’s bound to be folk who’ve [hic] got more week than money”
“Who?”
“Who?  I dunno, just folk?”  Gwladys looked confused.
“I meant, who is the person who might advance monies against my jewellery?”
“Oh ar, right, calls ‘erself ‘Anty Marj’.  Got a place on a corner of one of them side roads.  We could [hic] take a look tomorrer, if yer’ve a mind?”
“Anty?”
“Yeah, like ‘er what’s married to yer uncle”
“Oh, Auntie!” Aefelthrith nodded, “And she will lend us some funds?”
“Ar, if she likes our faces, and what we’ve got ter offer” Gwladys slumped back on the bed.
“I only hope we can raise enough to ensure a reasonable standard of living, for a little while at least” Aefelthrith said, hopefully, as she extracted clothes and attempted to fold them.
She was answered by rhythmic and contented snoring.

* * * *

“Is this it?” Aefelthrith looked very doubtful, as they stood outside the corner shop, with its darkened windows and grimy exterior.
“Yep, ‘Anty Marj’s’” Gwladys nodded.
“I am really not sure about this” Aefelthrith turned to go.
“It’ll be fine, dunner fret, but best leave me to talk to ‘er.  I’ve ‘ad some experience”
“You have had valuables to use as security?” Aefelthrith looked at her in disbelief.
“Yeah, in a manner of speakin’” Gwladys nodded and looked shifty.
“How did you come to be in the possession of items of value?”
“Yer know ‘ow it is” Gwladys shrugged, “yer ‘appen on these things, sometimes”
“You STOLE them?” Aefelthrith looked aghast.
“I didner say that!” Gwladys snapped, “Came across ‘em, is what I’d say”
“It’s still stealing!”
“Look, just remember as ‘ow I got yer bloke’s ring back, right?”
“You found his hand on the battlefield”
“Yeah, an’ the ring, it weren’t mine to take, but I knew it were important to you…plus it were worth a few bob”
“Even so, stealing!” Aefelthrith looked very serious.
“Yer ‘ave to do what yer ‘ave to do to get by, sometimes, that’s all I’m sayin’”
“I feel sick!” Aefelthrith said.
“Oh, don’t make a ruddy song an’ dance about it!” Gwladys snapped.
“I don’t mean about you stealing, it’s because of that stew from last night”
“I thought it were alright” Gwladys smiled at the memory.
“I noticed!  You mopped up all of yours and most of mine”
“Well, if yer weren’t gonna eat it” Gwladys shrugged.
“It could have been our horses!” Aefelthrith said, sadly.
“It could ‘ave been anything, to be fair!  But, if it fills yer belly an’ keeps yer goin’ fer another day, then there’s a lot to be said fer it.  Now, are yer comin’ in, or what?” Gwladys went to open the shop door.
“If we must” Aefelthrith agreed, miserably.
“Yeah, we must! Werl, we must if yer want ter be eatin’ owt other than nameless stew” Gwladys pushed open the shop door and marched into the gloomy interior.

You can find The Chronicles of a Lady (and her Maid)(link is external) in both Kindle and paperback formats.

Now read Episode 4