Aggie didn’t see Mabill until she bumped into her at the Marketplace. Or more specifically, bumped into the ever protruding baby bump that Mabill was sporting. Mabill was preoccupied with Fuller and Miriam, who had got to the age when they were just old enough for mischief-making.
Wait… since when was Mabill pregnant?
She hadn’t seen Mabill in a few months, sure, but pregnancy??? Surely The Master himself was playing a joke, or a cruel trick on her today.
“Oh master. Aggie?” She seemed overjoyed to see her for a second, but winced when she saw the look of strong disappointment Aggie knew her face was giving away. She made no attempt to look pleased for her.
“It seems we’ll be needing to walk an talk, if that bein alright wi’ yer.” Why was she giving Mabs the option? She didn’t even deserve that. And why oh why had she reverted back to that old Tenebridgian peasant dialect she had been trying to lose these last few months?
“Of course,” Mabill only replied.
To get away from gossip’s ears, they walked to the old church that was Hawkland’s main religious place of worship, and skirted around to the graveyard. Mabill led the way to the ‘war memorial,’ if it could be called that. In reality, it was just a large gravestone, with the names of all that were lost in the Tenebridge war engraved. She knew Mabill was hoping that Lombard’s name wouldn’t appear on here one day, and even permitted herself to hope herself, although Lombard would be letting himself in for a hell of a shock if he returned to Hawkland now.
She also permitted herself to be a little more sympathetic with regards to Mabill’s case. The poor lass was missing her husband something terrible.
“What do you expect me to do, Aggie?” Mabill began. “Do you expect me to break down? Say that it was all a mistake? Because it wasn’t. I love Christopher and I love this child growing inside me, as much as I love Fuller and Miriam.”
“Yer don’t have ter be pretendin’ wi’ me, Mabs. But it would be helpin yer case considerably if yer were to be feelin’ some regret fer Sally’s sake,” Aggie advised.
“Look at you,” Mabill said sarcastically. “First-name terms with the Queen. At least I know what side you’re on.”
She started to walk away.
“This isn’t about takin’ any sides of anythin,’ Mabs. This is about yer carrying the bastard child of a King, fer Master’s sake.”
She turned around. “Is that what you think, Aggie? Master, you’ve changed. Acting all hoity-toity because the Queen just happens to like you. Well consider this. Will she still like you when she finds out you knew about the affair?”
“That’s not fair,” Aggie shouted. Mabs jumped back. She had never heard Aggie shout before. “Yer gettin involved in the most important marriage in the Kingdom. Sally is pregnant, wi’ what we all hope will be bein a nice healthy boy. Except it won’t be bein nice an healthy when Sally finds out that her husband is having an affair with a common whore.”
Mabill started to run off, but Aggie grabbed her hand and, with remarkable strength for someone her age, turned her around, trying to put the very fear of the Master into her.
“Yer know my positionin in this, Mabill. I’m givin yer an Christopher one more month to tell Sally. Else I will. An’ yer wouldn’t like the version I’ll be tellin’ the Queen.”
With that said, Aggie walked away, already regretting some of what she’d said. Calling Mabill a common whore for instance. But it had to be said. Now she only hoped Mabill would do the right thing.
- I’m taking another little break from this story to concentrate on some other projects. I’m redoing the profiles for Feelings & Memories (Each character will get their own page now, and I want to take the individual pictures this weekend) and I’m also writing something which I’m hoping will one day be published as a novel. I feel safe saying this now because I’m still making good progress with this, despite being just the 1st draft. I have a week off next week, so I shall focus on them. Thanks!
