Marinette leaned forward to make Lila's bed. Then she straightened up and pressed her hand to her lower back. She was not yet accustomed to sleeping on the hard bed in the maid's quarters.
As she looked down at the comfortable bed where Lila slept, she allowed herself to feel something like envy, but only for a moment. With a shake of her head, she reached for the empty pitcher on the night table.
It had come as a surprise to discover that her sister did not share either a bedroom or a bed with her husband. But it was not in her place to judge. For her part, she had always thought the best time of day was when she could climb into bed next to her Luka. Resting safely in his arms had made her feel that she and Manon would never come to harm in the world.
How wrong she had been.
« Marinette ? »
She startled when she heard the gentle voice of the master of the house. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she nearly dropped the pitcher.
« Yes ? » she said, pausing to collect herself before turning around.
His kind green eyes were fixed on her, and she felt the blood rush to her face. Quickly she lowered her eyes. She did not know how to behave around her husband. Adrien was always so kind to her and Manon. He was both a vicar and a master of the house. And she was merely a servant in her sister's employ. A widow living on the mercy of a household that was not her own.
« Josse says you can cure milk fever. My best milk cow is afflicted. »
« Is it Eclair? » Marinette asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. « The boy mentioned something about it this morning. »
« Yes, Eclair. Are you busy or might you come with me to have a look at her ? »
« Yes, of course I will come. »
She set the pitcher on the night table and silently followed Adrien out to the cowshed. The cow lay on the stable floor at the very back, bellowing. She was clearly in pain and unable to stand. Marinette nodded to the boy named Josse who stood nearby, looking dismayed.
« Go to the kitchen and get me some salt. »
She squatted down and cautiously caressed the cow's soft muzzle. Eclair's eyes were wide with fear.
« Will you be able to help her? » asked Adrien quietly as he too patted the brown-and-white spotted cow. For a second their hands touched. Marinette swiftly pulled hers away, as if she had been bitten by a snake. Again she felt the blood rush to her face, and she noticed a slight flush on the master's face before he straightened up as Josse returned, out of breath.
« Here you are, » said the boy with lisp of his, and he handed the container of salt to Marinette.
She poured a mound of salt into the palm of her left hand. With the index finger of her right hand she stirred the salt in a clockwise direction as she loudly spoke the words her maternal grandmother had taught her:
« God, be with my living soul today.
Their disease is greater than what they think they can handle, and their hope seem nonexistant.
They feel helpless, God, but You are still powerful. I'll pray that You'll give them comfort
and strength knowing that while they are weak, You are strong.
There is nothing too big for you to handle. You are all the hope they need.
Thank you for being powerful and always present.
Amen. »
« Amen, » said Adrien, and Josse hurried to chime in. Eclair followed.
« What happens now? » asked Adrien.
« All we can do now is wait. Praying over slat most often will do the trick, but it can take time and ti also depends on how bad the fever is. But have a look at her early in the morning. I think this will have helped her. »
« Hear that, Josse? » said Adrien. « Look in on Eclair as soon as you get up in the morning. »
« That I will, master, » said Josse, backing his way out of the cowshed.
Adrien turned to Marinette.
« Where did you learn such things? »
« From my grandmother, » said Marinette tersely. She could still feel the touch of his hand.
« What else can you cure? » asked Adrien, leaning against one of the stalls.
She scraped her toe on the ground, pausing before she answered. « Most things as long as the pain is not too far gone. »
« Both people and animals? » asked Adrien curiously.
« Yes, » replied Marinette.
It surprised her that Lila had never mentioned this to her husband. Yest the boy Josse had heard rumours about Marinette's skills. Perhaps that was not so strange, after all. When they lived together under their father's roof, her sister had always spoken scornfully about Marinette's grandmother and her wisdom.
« Tell me more, » said Adrien as he headed for the door. Marinette followed reluctantly. It was not prper for her to be chatting with the master of the house in this manner, and it was all too easy for gossip to begin spreading on the farm. But Adrien was the one in charge, so she had no choice but to follow him. Lila was standing outside, her arms hanging at her sides, a dark look on her face.
Marinette's heart sank. This was what she had feared. He risked nothing, but she could easily land in disfavour. And Manon along with her.
Her trepidation about how it might be to live at the mercy of her younger sister had been fully realized. Lila was a stern and unkind mistress, and both she and Manon had felt the sting of her sharp tongue.
« Marinette has been telling me with Eclair, » said Adrien. Calmly meeting his wife's eye. « Now she is on her way to set the dinner table for us. She suggested that we might spend some time together, you and I, since I have been away so much lately, tending to church business. »
« Did she now? » said Lila, still suspicious, though not quite as stern as usual. « Well, that was a good suggestion. »
She briskly took hold of Adrien's arm.
« I have been missing my lord and master terribly, and I think he has been neglecting his wife of late. »
« My dear wife is perfectly right about that, » he replied, heading for the house along with Lila. « But we will now make amends. Marinette said we might sit down at the table in half an hour's time, which suits me well, as I will have time to wash and dress properly so I will not appear like a shabby ruffian next to my beautiful wife. »
« Oh, come now, you can never look shabby, » said Lila, slapping him on the shoulder.
Marinette walked behind them, forgotten for the moment and sighed with relief. The darkness she had glimpsed in Lila's eyes was all too familiar. She knew her sister would not hesitate to do harm to anyone she thought had wronged her. But this time Adrien had saved her and Manon, and she would remain eternally grateful to him for that, even though he should not have placed her in this situation to begin with.
She picked up her pace and hurried to the kitchen. She had only half an hour to set out the food and ask the cook to prepare something special.
She smoothed her apron, feeling again the warmth of Adrien's hand.
