Page 32 of A Court Bright and Broken

I was halfway through the bowl of stew, which was without question the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted, before it occurred to me to wonder… where its ingredients had come from.

Though Sorcha had an abundant garden, accounting for the carrots and celery and potatoes, she didn’t raise livestock. In fact I didn’t know of anyone in the village who raised sheep.

The meat had probably been a trade from a petitioner like me, but I didn’t ask. It seemed like a rude response to a hospitable free meal.

Besides, I had a more important query on my mind.

Sorcha finished her bowl and glanced at mine, which had long since stood empty.

She winked at me. “More, dear?”

My belly was full, but Ididwant more–for my family. Would she allow me to borrow bowls and carry them home full of stew? Before I had the chance to ask, Sorcha pinned me with a stare.

“Why are you here, Raewyn? Tell me what I can do for you—other than giving you your first meal in a week.”

“It hasn’t been a whole week,” I protested.

At her disbelieving glance, I went on. “But you’re right. I’m here because I do need your help.”

She listened attentively as I told her the story of going to the Rough Market, losing the locket, and how worried I was about my family now that my last hope of buying food and medicine for them was gone.

“I’m hoping it’s still in the market somewhere, that I might–”

“It’s not,” she said flatly. She seemed completely confident of the fact.

“Oh, well, I thought probably not, but I was hoping…”

“Is that why you came to see me, Raewyn?” she prompted. “Or was there something else?”

Under her intense gaze, I began to feel a bit queasy. But this was what I’d come here for. I steeled myself to do something I hadn’t done in many years, since my mother’s death—ask for help.

“Thereissomething else. As I mentioned, Papa’s medicine has run out… and without the locket we have no means of buying more.”

She nodded for me to go on.

I licked my lips, drawing a quick breath.

“I don’t expect to receive something for nothing. I thought… well, I thought you might have some work around here that I could do for you… to pay for it.”

The Earthwife held both arms out to her sides. “Take a look around. As you can see, my cottage is already quite tidy, and I’m more than adept at cooking my own food. I don't need help with either of those things.”

“What about your gardens?” I asked eagerly. “Could I work in your gardens?”

“They're quite tidy as well,” she said. “Are you suggesting they are not?”

I cowered at her foreboding tone. Clearly she was as proud of her gardens as she was of her immaculate home.

“No, not at all. Every time I walk by your cottage, I think about how lovely they are, in fact.”

She gave me a regal nod. “Thank you. As you can see, there is nothing you can do for me… around my home.”

I couldn’t get over the feeling that she was waiting for something. But what?

I swallowed hard. “Would it be possible to get the medicine on loan then, just until I find another way to pay you?”

At this point marrying Dreadful Dardick or working in a pleasure house seemed to be my only two remaining options. Perhaps Katricia would be able to check in on my sisters and father every day if I did have to move away from home and sell myself into sexual slavery.

It was a lot to ask, even from a friend as good as she was. The girls would need care for at least another six years.

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