Free The Clerk’s Tale by Margaret Frazer Page B

year and were moving on to discussing the condition of the road between Wallingford and Goring before Lady Agnes claimed his attention with a question about whether it was wool sales abroad or to clothmakers hereabout they should be looking to sell to this year, but that merely meant, equally for politeness’ sake, that Frevisse should take up talk with Nichola on her other side, and forgoing the overtried weather, she asked the only other bland thing that came readily to mind, “Have you been married long?”
     
    With a shy smile and happy eyes, Nichola said, “Six months the morrow of Epiphany just past.” And blushed a little and added, “I’m older than I look, truly. I’ll be sixteen come St. Mark’s.”
     
    Frevisse agreed graciously that she did look younger than that but kept to herself the thought that even so she was young to be a wife and, if things went as usual, probably soon a mother. It also meant she had almost certainly been married to Stephen by others’ decision rather than her own.
     
    Nichola, concentrating on neatly removing bones from her quail, said lightly, as if in answer to Frevisse’s unspoken thought, “It was because of the inheritance, you see. Lady Agnes held Stephen’s wardship but Father had his marriage.” And therefore the right to choose whom Stephen married and to make what profit he could from it. “With Stephen coming of age, we had to be married lest the chance be lost for it.” The chance that Stephen, left to his own choice, might have chosen to marry elsewhere when he was of age and his marriage out of Master Haselden’s keeping. It was common enough for orphans not yet come of age to be given in wardship to a kinsman by whoever was immediate overlord of whatever lands were their inheritance, as Stephen had been given to his grandmother; and it was at least as common for their marriage right to be sold or given to someone else for separate profit; nor was it any surprise that Master Haselden had chosen to marry Stephen and his inheritance to his daughter, seemingly with Lady Agnes’s good will, to judge by the friendship between them.
     
    ‘How long has Stephen’s brother been dead?“
     
    ‘Harry? A little over a year.“
     
    ‘Was he of age or did his grandmother have his wardship, too?“
     
    ‘She had both boys’ wardships, and Harry’s marriage, too. She had him betrothed and he would have been married just before he came of age but he died. Everybody was terribly unhappy about it. Especially Anne, the girl he was going to marry. Everyone liked her. But she’s married to an esquire over Reading way now, so that’s all right.“
     
    ‘But Lady Agnes didn’t have keeping of Stephen’s marriage,“ Frevisse said, almost too lightly for it to be a question, as if she were not much interested.
     
    ‘Oh, no. She meant to, along with his wardship, after Sir Henry her son died,“ Nichola chatted on happily, picking raisins from one of the tarts to eat one by one, ”but Lord Lovell saw to Father having it instead. But I think Lady Agnes would have agreed to our marrying anyway. There was halfway thought of Harry and I being married but then she had a chance for Anne.“
     
    Following after the one part of that that interested her, Frevisse asked, “Lord Lovell is overlord of the Lengley lands then?”
     
    Nichola paused with a morsel of quail on the tip of her sharp knife halfway to her mouth, thinking about it, frowning more uncertainly. “No. The Lengleys hold from the king. But Sir Henry and young Harry after him, they were feoffed to Lord Lovell.” Meaning they had been pledged his followers and he pledged to help them if there was need. “Sir Henry was in his retinue in France, in the war with him. So was Father. He and Sir Henry were friends.”
     
    Emme and Lucas had left the lower table a few moments ago. Now they returned with the second remove— dishes of ground pork mixed with bread crumbs, spices, and cheese and cooked to