Labyrinth Read Online Free PDF

had drawn from the well.
    Alais smiled. “Bonjorn.”
    “Bonjorn, Dame,” he answered cautiously.
    “Here,” she said, going down the stairs before him to open the door.
    “ Merce , Dame,” he said, a little less timid now. “ Grand merce .”
    The kitchen was alive with hustle and bustle. Great billows of steam were already rising from the huge payrola, the cauldron, hanging on a hook over the open fire. An older servant took the water from the scullion, emptied it into the pot, and then shoved the barrel back at him without saying a word. The boy rolled his eyes at Alais as he headed out and back up to the well once more.
    Capons, lentils and cabbage in sealed earthenware jars stood waiting to be cooked on the big table in the centre of the room, together with pots containing salt mullet, eel and pike. At one end were foga c a puddings in cloth bags, goose pate and slabs of salted pork. At the other, trays of raisins, quinces, figs and cherries. A boy of nine or ten was standing with his elbows propped on the table, the scowl on his face making it clear how much he was looking forward to another hot and sweaty day at the turnspit, watching the meat roast. Next to the hearth, the brushwood was burning fiercely inside the dome-shaped bread oven. The first batch of pan de bl at, wheat bread, was already standing on the table to cool. The smell made Alais hungry.
    “May I have one of those?”
    The cook looked up, furious at the intrusion of a woman into his kitchen. Then he saw who it was and his bad-tempered face creased into a cock-eyed smile revealing a row of rotten teeth.
    “Dame Alais,” he said with delight, wiping his hands on his apron. “Benvenguda. What an honour! You’ve not come to visit us for quite some time. We’ve missed you.”
    “Jacques,” she said warmly. “I wouldn’t want to get in your way.”
    “In my way, you!” he laughed. “How could you ever be in my way?” As a child, Alais had spent a great deal of time in the kitchen, watching and learning, the only girl Jacques had ever allowed across the threshold into his male domain. “Now, Dame Alais, what can I get you?”
    “Just a little bread, Jacques, some wine too, if you can spare it?”
    A frown appeared on his face.
    “Forgive me, but you’re not going down to the river? Not at this time of day, unaccompanied? A lady of your position… it’s not even light. I hear things, stories of…”
    Alais laid a hand on his arm. “You are kind to concern yourself, Jacques, and I know you have my best interests at heart, but I will be fine. I give you my word. It’s nearly dawn. I know exactly where I’m going. I’ll be there and back before anyone even notices I’ve gone, really.”
    “Does your father know?”
    She put a conspiratorial finger to her lips. “You know what he does not, but please, keep it our secret. I will take great care.”
    Jacques looked far from convinced, but feeling he’d said as much as he dared, he did not argue. He walked slowly over to the table and wrapped a round loaf in a white linen cloth and ordered a scullion to fetch a jar of wine. Alais watched, feeling a tug at her heart. He was moving more slowly these days and he was limping heavily on his left side.
    “Is your leg still giving you difficulty?”
    “Not much,” he lied.
    “I can dress it for you later, if you like. It doesn’t look as if that cut is healing as it should.”
    “It’s not so bad.”
    “Did you use the ointment I made for you?” she asked, knowing from the expression on his face that he had not.
    Jacques spread his podgy hands in a gesture of surrender.
    “There is so much to do, Dame – all these extra guests, hundreds once you count the servants, ecuyers, grooms, ladies-in-waiting, not to mention the Consuls and their families. And so many things are difficult to find these days. Why only yesterday, I sent—”
    “That’s all very well, Jacques,” said Alais, “but your leg won’t get better on its own.