Page 22 of Peregrine's Call
Robin noticed a little rustling movement in a stack of hay in the farmyard, and then the flash of a hand, quickly hidden again.
A girl is hiding in there. How Robin knew, she wasn’t sure. But she was absolutely certain that someone was at home, and that that someone was a wise little girl who knew better than to trust what appeared to be two strange men—a dark-skinned soldier and a faceless monk.
She dismounted. Then she stepped into the fenced area and put the silk bag near the ground, carefully releasing the chicken.
The hay rustled once more.
She pulled her hood down, earning an annoyed grunt from Octavian, who stood behind her.
“You can come out,” she told the hay pile. “We won’t hurt you.”
The hay didn’t move.
“My name is Robin,” she said, shaking her long hair loose. “And this knight is Sir Octavian. We were passing by, and thought you might need help.”
“If you’re a girl,” the haystack said suspiciously, “why are you dressed as a holy monk?”
“A disguise for the road,” Robin replied. “Just as you disguised yourself as a haystack. We women can never be too careful. Your mother must have taught you that lesson.”
“My mother is dead.” The haystack shivered and a little straw-covered girl emerged.
“We’re sorry to hear it,” Octavian said quietly.
“Can you help me bury her?” the girl asked him, her initial wariness now gone. “The ground is hard with frost, and I broke the handle on the shovel.”
“Your mother just died?” Robin asked, alarmed.
“Last week. I put her in the barn to be safe from wild animals.” The girl looked at the closed barn and then promptly broke down in tears.
Robin rushed to her, kneeling to pull the straw from her hair and then enfolded her in an embrace. “We will help you,” she promised. “What’s your name?”
“Ada.” The girl sniffed. “I don’t know what to do!”
Octavian strode up, his form towering above them. “Robin, take her inside the house and clean her up. Find out what happened. I’ll take care of…whatever is in the barn.” He then walked to the barn, but didn’t open the large door. From his expression, Robin sensed that he had some suspicions about the girl’s story. He wanted them out of the way before he went inside.
Robin nodded and took Ada by the hand. “Octavian will know what to do,” she said reassuringly. “Show me your house.”
Ada led her to the house, which was barely warm from the tiny fire in the hearth.
“You need to keep that going,” Robin advised.
Ada said, “I need more wood. I was too busy trying to catch the animals. A wild boar ran through here two days ago and ruined the fence. The animals escaped. I didn’t know what to do. So I tried to catch them, but I can’t repair the fence…”
“Hush,” Robin said. “We’ll help you. Now, point me to the wood pile.”
Not long afterward, Robin had a much larger fire going in the hearth, having refilled the wood supply in the home. She sent Ada for water, and they began to heat it over the fire. Robin heard the sound of digging from somewhere behind the house, and so she distracted Ada by asking her many questions.
She learned that the family had started this farm when Ada was just a baby. She had two older sisters, who’d married and moved to their husbands’ farms, and a half brother, who was apprenticed to a carpenter in the nearest town. Ada’s father died a year ago, and her mother was hurt badly a few weeks ago when she struck her foot with an axe, and the wound festered, leading to a fever. Ada tried to tend to her, but was afraid to leave the farm to get help. Then her mother died, and Ada was immediately beset by the new problem of losing the animals when the fence was destroyed.
Robin washed Ada’s face and hands with the warm water, and then looked at the meager food supply. No bread, a small amount of grain and some vegetables from the harvest, and not any meat to be found. “When did you eat last?”
“I had porridge this morning.”
“We’ll have to make something more filling.” In fact, Robin decided that one of the chickens would have to sacrifice its life to feed them tonight.
Just then, Octavian opened the door. He looked at Ada. “Come. It’s time to put your mother to rest.”
Robin and Ada wrapped themselves in cloaks and followed Octavian. On the edge of the property, a little spot had been cleared. A body wrapped in cloth lay at the bottom of a new pit.
