Chapter 13

With help from Torvin and Quin, harvesting marsh hay and clover from the meadow was possible. Quin was not as able at first, but by the second week his shoulder was less painful, and he managed fairly well. They were able to fill a good sized portion of the hayloft. Combined with the extra feed they had gotten in Rosewood, Indeira thought the harvested hay would be enough to get them through the winter.

Quin still worried that he was not doing a fair share of the work. Indeira reassured him that this was not the case.

"You are going to teach Rafe to play the harp." She told him at dinner one evening. "That is something none of the rest of us can do. I am sure there are other things you can do, as well."

She looked at him, considering. "You are no farmer. Do you come from a noble household?"

He looked at her sharply, clearly startled. "I, yes I do. But what made you think that?"

"Your words are different. You sound so formal sometimes." She tipped her head to one side. "I bet you had more teaching than just enough from the priests so you could read, write, and count."

"Well, yes." Quin admitted. "I have, at that."

"Then you can teach Rafe and Elli." Indeira said firmly. "And maybe me and Mirria, too."

Quin blinked a couple of times. "I suppose I could."

"Good." said Indeira. "That's settled, then. And it will help time pass this winter."

-x0x-

They worked on making small improvements in the barn and in the house. They hung canvas walls in the loft so that there were private spaces. Elli and Rafe slept in one end, and Quin and Torvin slept in the other. Indeira and Mirria both slept in the big bed on the main floor, since Indeira could not easily get up to the loft.

The nights were getting cooler, but had not yet turned truly cold. They all worked on filling cracks in the half timbered portions of the house and barn. Door latches and hinges were checked over and oiled to make sure they would be tight when closed. Mirria and Elli had made needed repairs to the roof over the summer, but they checked it again to be sure.

Indeira and Rafe worked on preserving food. They dried herbs and hung root vegetables in braided bundles. They also smoked the venison that Mirria and Torvin brought in. Quin found he had a talent for braiding fine cord out of wool and horsehair, which was useful for many things.

With all of them working together, they were well on their way to being ready for winter. The root cellars, two spaces cut into the stone of the bluff off the back of the kitchen, were both full. One held root vegetables and hardy things like acorn squash and cabbages, the other held smoked and salted meats. The hay loft was half full of marsh hay, and held a good supply of straw and rushes. The grain room in the barn nearly overflowed with all the sacks they had brought back from the Harvest fair.

There were two looms in the front room of the house: a large one for weaving blankets, shawls, and other large pieces, and a small one for bands, belts, and trim. Indeira checked them over to make sure there were no parts needing replacing. She worried there was not enough wool to make much over this winter, but she would use what she had. There was also a spinning wheel for spinning flax into linen thread. This year, they had not managed to process any flax, though, so Indeira had Quin move the wheel over against the wall. Maybe next year they could work on that.

In the evenings she taught the children to spin with a drop spindle, a stick with a disk shaped weight and a hook on the top. They both picked up the skill quickly, and were soon turning the remaining wool into yarn to be woven or knitted.

-x0x-

On a day with more than a touch of frost in the air, Blaze whinnied a challenge on the track leading to the main road. Torvin and Mirria went out to see what was going on. Indeira told the children to hide, just in case. She gathered her crutches and stepped out of the door, and then around the end of the barn.

Blaze and Frida stood side by side, blocking the track. Indeira could see a rider leading a heavily laden pack horse coming down the slope from the trees beyond the pasture. Mirria walked in between Blaze and Frida, while Torvin walked around them, stopping at Frida 's shoulder.

"Helloo!" called the rider. "I see I have the right place. I've seen that mare before." He rode to within a couple lengths of the guarding horses and stopped. "Is Indeira Harvaldsdottir here?"

Now Indeira recognized the rider. It was Balgerd, one of the sheep farmers they had met in Rosewood. She continued towards them.

"I am here." she called. She mindspoke the horses, asking them to let him through. They stepped aside, turning to follow, as did Mirria and Torvin.

Balgerd stopped in front of the barn doors and dismounted.

"What brings you here?" Indeira asked.

Balgerd smiled at her, which made him look very different from the man she had seen in Rosewood, when she heard the dispute between him and his neighbor, Lorgan.

"My wife said I must bring you some things." he said. "When I told her of your judgement, well," he looked down at his feet, "she told me I was a fool. Turns out it was my donkey who was breaking the fence. And Sadie agreed with you. My sheep's ears are now purple, and Lorgan's are green. Both flocks are running together, with my donkey as herd guard, and they are all happy." He turned to his pack horse.

"Sadie said you and your ma were weavers. She sent some wool."

He pulled down four large sacks of wool, opening one of them to show that it was washed and carded, ready to spin. Indeira stared at it.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. "I had been wondering how long the wool I had would last. But this is a lot! Surely you can't mean it all as a gift!"

Balgerd beamed at her. "The sheep are happy, so my wife is happy. My son is going to marry Lorgan's daughter in the spring, so he's happy. This means my family and lands are more secure, so I'm happy. Lorgan gains a son in law, so he's happy. None of this would have happened if you had not told us to run the sheep together. It's all yours!"

He mounted back up on his horse and led his pack horse out of the piles of wool. "I can make it back to the first campsite if I leave now." he said. "Perhaps I will see you at the next Harvest Fair!" With that, he waved and took off at a trot.

Indeira, Mirria, and Torvin stood there looking at one another with their mouths hanging open.

Quin poked his head out of the barn. "I guess I can tell the children its safe to come out?" he said.

Indeira nodded at him.

They managed to get all the wool into the empty stall closest to the house door. They spread a canvas sheet to lay it out on, making sure it was not damp. In one of the sacks there was a smaller bag of spun linen thread. Indeira thought there was enough to make at least two shirts, and a band or two of trim.

"I will have to send at least one band of trim to Sadie next year." she said.