Hadassah Takes a Ride
This chapter begins the next book in the Island People series: Come the Day.
Hadassah rode back towards the river, her heart pounding. All her fears rode with her. How could she face the rest of the day? Her entire life was changing today.
Not that any of her life had been exactly stable recently. Over the last several months her Father had been working on her betrothal, which was bad enough. But then he had come home, two weeks ago, from a ‘trip’ and announced that he had been involved in treason, that he had been condemned to death, that the sentence had been commuted to exile, and that, oh, by the way, her betrothal was still on!
Her betrothal! To the Prince, the Son of the man her Father had tried to kill! The Prince, who had, himself, commuted her Father’s sentence of death! The Prince, who she would be marrying today! She looked out at the fields on either side of her; the beautiful fields that were, no doubt, the reason why the Prince was willing to marry her. It certainly wasn’t on account of her beauty. She had never liked the way that she looked. Mousy brown hair; which she kept tightly braided to avoid people noticing her half-hearted curls; a body devoid of most of the ‘curves’ that lasses her age were supposed to have. Plain brown eyes… she was no great beauty.
The sun had just risen over the fields. Today was going to be a warm, sunny day; in sharp contrast to the drizzle that had settled in late that day, that day two weeks ago, when her Father had come home. That day when her entire life had changed! How could her Father have done that??− and all without her even guessing! He had seemed, well, abrupt and distracted, but he often was. She still didn’t know how she felt about it. Her father, a traitor! But the King − and his foolish policies… It had still been raining three days later when Seth had first arrived.
She blushed brightly at the memory of that meeting.
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Her Aunt had decided that, with their move into exile, pretty much everything needed to be washed. With all the rain, she had festooned the castle with laundry lines. Hadassah had been coming up the stairs from the basement, a basket of wet laundry in her arms, her worst dress on, her hair a disaster, and had walked around the corner straight into Seth! He had arrived a few minutes previously, and her Father was showing him around. Her Aunt had actually sent her Sister to warn her, but as Ruth had gone down one set of stairs while Hadassah had been coming up another one, Hadassah hadn’t received the warning that she greatly would have appreciated! When she came around the corner she had almost lost her balance, but Seth had reached out quickly to steady her, his eyes impassive and calm.
She had drawn back, shocked and wondering who this lad was. He had not at all been dressed according to his station. But then she had noted the people with him: her Father, a Fashgen1, an Ellyll2, and a Svømte3 and realized that this was her betrothed Husband and his entourage! What a way for him to see her, for them to see her!
“Hadassah,” her Father had finally managed, recovering from his own surprise, “May I present his Highness, Prince Seth, your betrothed Husband.”
Wanting, in her anger at being embarrassed, to glare at her Father, Seth, and everyone else, she instead curtsied awkwardly, balancing her laundry and saying nothing.
“My Lord Prince,” her Father continued, “this is Hadassah, my eldest Daughter and your betrothed Wife.” At this Seth had matched her curtsy with a formal bow.
As her Father continued the introductions Hadassah and Seth stared at each other, her eyes downcast and flickering up toward him, he calmly looking her over. When her Father finished his introductions everyone stood awkwardly. Hadassah was standing on the stairs in such a way that the men could not pass her to go down. It would, however, be very awkward for her to back down the stairs with her basket of laundry.
Seth broke the impasse. “Gentlemen, let us go back up and go another way. We impede my Lady and her work.” She had watched them turn and go, her Husband’s eyes leaving her only reluctantly after all the others were well on the way, his feet moving quietly on the steps, while her heart pounded.
Oh, how she had wasted these last two weeks, she realized… now.
This would be her last time with her elders and siblings for a long time, and she had wasted it moping about. Nor had she gotten to know Seth at all, and here she was marrying him this afternoon. What had she been thinking of?
And what would happen afterwards? She would be left alone with her new Husband and his friends, though of course, various servants of the estate would remain. What were his plans? What part would she play in them?
She realized, now, that these were things she could have been asking him, and should have been asking him. What kind of Wife had she been? Her betrothal vows called for her obedience, and she could hardly have been said to be obedient. You couldn’t be obedient if you weren’t seeking to find out what your Lord wished you to do.
What must he be feeling about her? She had read about political marriages that started this way, and some that ended this way. Marriages where the Husband or Wife ignored their duty, and their spouse’s need, and continued in cold politeness and isolation. Now here she was acting in the same way. She turned her horse toward the house. She would begin her obedience right away-- late is better than never.
(Image via Hotspot)
She rode quickly back to the estate, her Father’s beautiful house at the side of the river. “Micah”, she called, catching site of her younger Brother, “Where is Aunty?”
“Ooooh, Hadassah. She is looking for you. She’s been looking for you for an hour now. Came right up to our bedroom she did, and woke us up looking for you.”
“Very well, where is she now?”
“In the kitchen, I think. I’m staying out of the way. Grabbed a Bearpaw, ”he said, waving the half eaten pastry at her, “and ducked out. I hate company in the house, all fussy and busy and noisy; ‘specialy since there won’t be any lads coming, least I don’t think so.”
“No, no lads,” Hadassah replied, grinning.
“’Cept that Elf Lad. But he’s always too busy to play.”
“Yes, I suppose he is,” she said, riding off toward the house.
Her Aunt was not in the kitchen, nor was she in the reception hall when she followed the servant’s advice to seek her there. Instead, her Aunt herself found her when she went to her room to change out of her riding dress.
“Hadassah! I have been looking all over for you. Hurry up and put your dress on, I need you down in the reception room.”
“Aunt,” Hadassah said, pulling her dress over her head and waiting while her servant tied it in the back, “I need to go talk to Seth.”
“Seth? Whatever for?”
“I need… I haven’t been a very good Wife to him so far. I need to go to him, and ask him about his plans, and what he wants me to do to help him.”
“No Dear. You can’t do that. Not today. You are perfectly correct that that would have been a good thing to do during these last few days. But it won’t do at all today. Not only don’t you have time today, but it would be very hard on the poor lad. He has been incredibly nervous the entire time he has been here, and is jumping out of his skin today.”
Hadassah’s eyes darted out at her Aunt, and then moved hurriedly back to her boots, which she and her Maid were lacing. “Nervous?” she asked.
“You couldn’t tell? He’s been so stiff and formal, especially when you are around. He relaxes some around his friends, and even your Father. But if you, your Sisters, or I, are around, he just stiffens right up.”
Hadassah grew cold, “I imagine that is because he is finding the idea of marrying me rather repugnant.”
Her Aunt laughed, “Oh, my dear! You don’t know much about lads. Now, that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t want you to ‘know about lads’ in that sense. But take it from someone who’s been married for years: he is not finding the idea of marrying you repugnant.”
“Oh, I don’t deny that he probably had some silly vision, as I know you did, of marrying ‘for love’; of finding some lass and just going all gaga over her.
But he is an obedient lad, and will marry as his Father wills. And, having met you, his will is very much in accord with his Father’s! I’ve caught him staring at you like a hungry dog at a bone.”
Hadassah blushed, “Aunty!”
“We’ll talk more during, ‘The Talk’, Dear. You will blush a lot more then. Now come, quickly, we have to go down to the kitchen. That dress will do well enough for now.” She turned to the servant, “Lay out a more formal dress for later, and of course have her marriage dress ready.”
“Yes Ma’am,” the Maid said, curtseying as Hadassah’s Aunt rushed her out of the room.
“Now Lass,” her Aunt said, as they went down the stairs, “until the guests start arriving, you must supervise the servants here. We aren’t going to have a big meal, as you know, (which is a shame; I would have really liked to host a big meal). But we aren’t. We will serve some food. Heavens, these people come from so far away, we have to serve them something. The King himself is coming…”
Eventually Hadassah was told what the servants were supposed to be doing, and she started ‘supervising’ them − which in this case meant mostly carrying trays of food, small bite-sized food, out to the reception room.
“Can I help you?” Hadassah looked up to see a nice looking middle aged woman standing at her side.
“Oh, thank you Ma’am,” Hadassah said, curtseying. “There are all these trays...”
“There always are, Dear. I have never been to any kind of event where there weren’t more trays than people. Come, show me the kitchen.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Hadassah said. “It is this way.”
While Hadassah went, she glanced nervously at the woman beside her. She was obviously a guest, but one she didn’t know, which was odd, as she should know pretty much all of the guests. This must be someone from her Husband’s family or friends. But she couldn’t figure out how to ask.
“Did − did you have a nice trip, Ma’am?” she finally managed.
“Oh, yes. It went smoothly,” the woman said, as the two grabbed trays and headed back. “The weather finally cleared up, so the roads weren’t bad. It was a bit rushed, of course, as Caleb just got back and we had to leave immediately to get here on time.”
Caleb?? Hadassah almost dropped the trays she was carrying, “Your Majesty,” she said, dropping down into a deep curtsey and staring at the ground.
“Oh, don’t start with that, dear,” the Queen said. “You are my Daughter now, and I don’t need all sorts of formality, at least when we are in private. So, how are you feeling about your upcoming week? Nervous, I imagine. I know I was, all those years ago.”
“Yes, yes Your Highness.” Hadassah stammered out, “I feel like such a failure already.”
“Now, Dear, how can you be a failure already?”
“Well here Seth − his Highness − my Husband has been here for several days already, and I haven’t even talked to him, or asked him what I should be doing.”
The Queen laughed. “Oh, my dear! I can just imagine if you had tried! I think you would probably have killed him, poor lad.”
“Seriously, if he had wanted to talk to you about anything, I am sure he would have called you in. I have raised a very shy lad, but one who is rather determined. He no doubt thought that you should spend these last few days with your family, and helping get ready, as you are now. He certainly wouldn’t have wanted to help with this party!”
“Eliezra!” the Queen exclaimed, catching site of Hadassah’s Aunt. She put the trays she was carrying down and the two women embraced and kissed, in the formal manner popular at court.
“I see you have met my Niece, or had you already met somewhere else?”
“No, no, I had heard of her, of course, but we had never met. I bumped into her in the ballroom, and we were having a very nice conversation.”
“Well, that is good. She is very nervous, poor lass. I’m sure that meeting you was helpful. One always worries about one’s Mother-in-law.”
Hadassah blushed, brightly, but the two women ignored her. “You will come to The Talk, of course?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of missing it. Nobody knows Seth better than I do, of course; unless it is those friends of his. But I don’t think that Hadassah would appreciate having those lads there when we teach her how to please her Husband in bed,” the Queen said, laughing.
Hadassah thought that she had blushed before, but it was nothing compared to now. Her Aunt turned to her, “Dear, go and put on your formal dress now. The guests are starting to arrive.”
“Yes, Aunty,” Hadassah said, and fled.
Seven hours later she stood in her room again, her Maid helping her dress once more, and she was sure that she would never, ever, stop blushing.
She was exhausted from the hours of standing around and having dozens of people greet and congratulate her, and had finally found a seat with a couple of her girlfriends, when she noticed that many of the women, the older women, were missing. Then she was startled, and embarrassed, when her Aunt came up and said to the group she was talking with, “I’m sorry, but I need to take Hadassah off for a while. I’m sure you understand.”
The lasses had understood, and one had even giggled as Hadassah, blushing brightly, had been led away, away to… she blushed again.
“You are married, aren’t you?” she asked her Maid.
“Yes, Miss. Last year.”
“Oh, of course, what a fool I am! I came to your bedding. It was very nice. Did you get ‘The Talk’ as well?”
“Oh, yes Miss. But for me it was just my Father, my Mother and my older, married, Sister. We don’t have the other family over for The Talk.”
“Your Father?” Hadassah said, blushing at the idea of having had her Father present while the women had gone on and on about… “Oh, yes Miss. We Plowfolk, we live much closer than you do, you know.”
“Yes, I know. I used to spend the night at your house, you remember.”
“Oh, yes Miss. So you would know. My Father gave me some good advice, Miss, which I appreciated. Lift your hands up now, Miss, if you will.”
“How do I look?” Hadassah asked, when the Maid finished pulling the dress down.
“You look wonderful, Miss,” the Maid said, looking up from the ruffle she was straightening.
“Do you think my Husband will like me?” Hadassah asked, nervously pulling at her bodice.
“Oh, yes Miss, of course,” the Maid answered, grinning with her face carefully directed at the floor, “especially if you listened to what your Aunt and his Mother said.”
She had been in the room for the entire talk, Hadassah suddenly remembered, blushing again. No one had thought of sending her out, so she had just stood in the corner. “So, you agree with them?” she asked, looking down at her.
“Oh, yes Miss,” the Maid said, her face still carefully toward the floor.
“A Husband isn’t hard to please, Miss, as long as you remember he is a man.
Respect and bed, Miss, just like his Mother said. Respect and bed and you will always please your Husband, even if you burn the dinner.”
”Respect and bed? Or bed and respect?”
She looked up at her, finally, and cocked her head over a bit. “They’re the same thing, Miss, to your Husband, or mostly the same thing. Men can be weak, or they can be strong, depending on their Wife. As it is written, Miss, but I am sure you know that.”
“The Bishop’s Wife didn’t let me forget any of that!” Hadassah said. “I think she read every passage with the word ‘wife’ or ‘marriage’ in it.”
The Maid did not reply to this but, finishing her straightening, she stood up, taking Hadassah by the hand and lead her over to the mirror. Hadassah’s heart stood still. For years now she had waited for this moment, to stand here in her Mother’s wedding dress, and now it had arrived.
“Am I pretty?” she asked her Maid. “Do you think he will like me?”
“He will love you!” came a voice from the door.
“Aunty!” Hadassah said, trying to turn and being hampered by the large dress.
“Stand still,” her Aunt commanded, “I want to look at you.” She came over and pulled and patted at various places. “Ah, my niece, that poor lad − having to wait through the whole ceremony with such a wonderful sight right beside him.”
“Do you, do you really think so?”
Her Aunt leaned over and kissed her. “Poor lass! Of course I do. You are lovely! Now, let us be going. This is all moving far too quickly, and everyone is already gathered in the chapel.”
Her Aunt holding her hand and her Maid holding up the end of her dress, Hadassah went out the door and slowly down the steps.
“Oh, my Daughter!” the Duke said, embracing his Daughter as the procession reached the bottom of the steps. “Are you ready?” he asked, looking her in the face.
“Of course, my Father,” she said, meeting his eyes and then kissing him.
He looked awkward at her answer, but what else could she say? ‘No?’ ‘How could I possibly be ready to marry the son of our greatest enemy?’ “Well, we should go then,” he said, holding out his arm. “Everyone is ready.”
A young Elf boy. Elven and other name words will be used occasionally throughout the book. An earlier version used only Eilish names, but this was found too difficult for English speakers to read.
An older Elf male, although the term can also refer to any older Elf, or Elves in general.
A young, male, Marshman.
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Von
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Island People
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
The entire book is scheduled on Substack, and there are several sequels. This is a book I wrote years ago, so it is in a bit of a rough form. Critiques and comments are more than welcome, they are requested.