Chapter 11
The small village hall was filled to overflowing by the time the sun dropped behind the mountains. People are drawn to a scandal, and they are getting it here aplenty, thought Keira bitterly. She wished she could climb into bed, pull the covers over her head, and wake up to find that this had all been a terrible dream. Except, was it so terrible? The events at the lake had brought Aaron to her, and Keira could not regret that.
She glanced around, wondering if Aaron had arrived yet, but a quick sweep of the small hall brought no sight of him. Next to her, Keira’s mother sat stiffly on the long, wooden bench, looking straight ahead. As Keira looked at her, a familiar numbness settled over her heart. Keira was the oldest, the firstborn, and she knew that her mother had been happy with her once, when motherhood was still full of promise. But while Mary Hobbes had borne four sons, Mother had lost four, one after the other. And each time Mother had buried one of her children, she’d buried a little piece of her heart along with them. Anna was the answer to all Mother’s prayers – the child that survived infancy when the previous babies had succumbed to various childhood ailments. And even though she wasn’t the longed-for boy, Anna was Mother’s miracle child. By the time Anna was a toddler, Keira knew that the affection her mother had once had for her had been transferred to Anna. It was a tough lesson for a girl of eight, but Keira was filled with natural optimism, and it never occurred to her to be jealous of her little sister. Instead, she shouldered the additional burden of care that Mother placed on her small shoulders without complaining. But her heart ached for a mother’s soothing love to heal it.
Soft murmurings and the sound of shuffling feet caught Keira’s attention, and she turned to see the reeve amble through the crowd, passing the villagers with a wave and a friendly word. Edmund walked behind him, flashing a charming smile at the crowd as he hobbled along with a crutch for support. His leg was swathed with bandages, and a sling kept his arm in place. Cuts and bruises marred his handsome face, but did not detract from his good looks. His eye fell on Keira, and for a moment the smile was replaced with a scowl, but it was quickly wiped away. Keira shivered. Edmund would never forgive her for this latest insult.
The reeve reached the front of the room and turned to face the crowd with a smile. His gaze fell on Mother, and he nodded at her sympathetically, before his gaze moved on to look at Keira and the smile became a little more brittle. He turned back to the crowd.
“Thank you, friends and neighbors, for joining us tonight. There has been much speculation about what happened yesterday at the lake between my son and Mistress Keira. There seems to be no doubt that Edmund and Keira met there, perhaps by design. There also seems to be no doubt that Mistress Keira was removed from the lake by the dragon that has been plaguing our village, and returned, unharmed, quite a few hours later.” He paused a moment, allowing this to sink in. “Mistress Keira, for reasons of her own, has decided to level the most heinous accusations against my son. Now, I think we all know that Edmund is an upstanding and honorable member of our community, and these accusations stretch our incredulity. Even though he is my son, you also know that, as your reeve, I hold myself to the highest standards when judging a person’s character, and would not allow the prejudice of a parent to sway my objectivity.
“Of course, Mistress Keira is a young woman; friendly and amiable, to be sure, but, like all women, prone to excitability and nervous emotion. You all know what I’m talking about,” he continued. “How many of you have come home to your wives fussing and fuming over some trivial incident that she’s blown up to gigantic proportions?” There were a few snickers around the hall as the women glared at the reeve. He raised his hands as he continued. “And if it hadn’t been for the interference of a stranger, we would be able to forgive her and move on to other matters. However, a stranger did interfere, and now we are forced to give up precious time to sort out the facts in this matter, and absolve Edmund of wrongdoing.” He turned to Edmund. “Would you like to tell us what actually happened?”
Edmund hobbled forward with a grimace. Beside her, Keira felt her mother tense in sympathy. He glanced around the crowd. “Many of you know Keira and I are intended for each other,” he began. “Although we haven’t yet named a day, we are, er, eager to spend time together. She was pleased to meet at the lake that morning – in fact, she may have even suggested it. Of course, I was quite happy to oblige.” Keira listened in mounting anger as a few laughs ran through the crowd. He gave a contrite smile. “She was eager at first, allowing me to get close, but then began to play coy and tried to push me away. She wanted me to stop touching her, but, well, you know how it is. It isn’t always so easy to stop.” His eyes settled on Keira, taunting her, and she leapt to her feet, trembling with rage at his insinuations.
“No,” she shouted, but her voice was drowned out by another that rang out from the back of the room.
“It seems that your professed affection for Mistress Keira does not prevent you from casting her in the light of a coquette.” Keira turned to see Aaron striding down the aisle. He was strikingly dressed in a gold silk shirt worn beneath a red velvet doublet, gold silk hose and long leather boots. Over his shoulders he wore a woolen coat of radiant scarlet lined with blue silk, clasped together over his chest with a gold brooch of a dragon, inlaid with precious stones. Murmurs rippled through the crowd as the villagers took in his splendid raiment, far more spectacular than the reeve had ever worn. “It does make me question how sincere you’ll be when you give your vow to love and protect her. After all,” he continued, “will you protect her from yourself?” He looked out over the crowd. “Perhaps we should give Mistress Keira the opportunity to give her version of events.”
Keira gasped in surprise – women were never invited to speak for themselves, but no sooner had he said the words than the reeve quickly dismissed the suggestion.
“Now, milord, I don’t think that’s necessary. She’s just a woman, after all, but if there are any men who would like to speak on her behalf …” The reeve looked out over the assembly for a brief moment, then turned back to Aaron. “Perhaps you’d like to speak for her?” he asked graciously.
Aaron gave the reeve a derisive look and turned to the audience once more.
“I was walking in the woods yesterday morning when I heard Mistress Keira crying, begging Edmund to let her go. It was clear from her pleas that she was very much afraid. I hurried towards the lake to lend my aid, but before I reached her, the dragon snatched her in his claws, rescuing her from her persecutor.” He stopped and looked out over the crowd. “Do you know that dragons can smell fear? That the dragon would’ve known that Mistress Keira was in a situation not of her own choosing?”
“You’re lying,” Edmund snarled. “You weren’t there. I would’ve seen you if you were.”
“Of course you didn’t see me,” Aaron replied, unperturbed. “You were lying on the ground surrounded by flames. When I saw that the dragon had already dealt you a fitting punishment, I left you to your own devices.”
“So you left me to die?”
“Well, clearly you didn’t die,” was Aaron’s reply, “so any interference by me was unnecessary.”
Before Edmund had a chance to respond, a voice rose from the center of the room.
“You live in Storbrook Castle.” Keira looked back to see Widower Brown pushing his way forward. He shook his finger at Aaron as he spoke. “We all know that the dragon has his lair around there. It’s even been said that the dragon comes and goes as it pleases. You’re probably in league with that monster. For all we know, the dragon brought the girl back to you so that you could ravish her.”
“Yes!” Will Hunter shouted. “How else do you know that dragons smell fear?”
“You’re in league with the dragon,” yelled Jem Young.
“You don’t belong here,” shouted someone else. Around the room a babble was starting to grow.
“Silence!” ordered Aaron, his voice rising above th
e din. The word rang out with an air of command and authority, and a hush fell over the room as everyone turned to face him once more.
“I have had business dealings with many of you. I’ve bought your wares, traded with you for your livestock and bartered with you for food for my pantry.” He paused and allowed his gaze to slowly sweep across the room, his eyes lingering on people he knew before; they looked down in embarrassment. “Have I ever been dishonest in my business dealings? Ever given any of you cause to question my honor? Have I ever underpaid you, or driven too hard a bargain?” Aaron paused for a moment, his eyes sweeping across the room. “No!” Aaron shook his hand in emphasis. “Yet you refuse to listen to me because I’m a stranger to these parts. You imagine there exists some alliance between me and this dragon that has taken up residence in the surrounding mountains.” Aaron’s hand swept across the room as he continued. “Have any of you actually seen the dragon’s lair? Can any of you say for certain that it’s below Storbrook Castle, the home of my ancestors? And what has this dragon done that has given you cause for concern? Has he stolen your property? Killed your daughters? Burned your houses? No! But when the dragon saves one of your own, you are ready to assume the worst.”
“We all know what happened the last time a dragon took up residence around here,” Jem shouted. “It seemed friendly enough at first, but in the end it burned down half our village.”
“I’ve heard of this dragon,” said Aaron, his voice dropping so people in the back had to strain to hear him. “But I’ve also heard that it was sorely provoked when one of the villagers killed a woman when she was seen in its presence.”
“The dragon was abducting her,” Edmund shouted. “It would have killed her.”
“Indeed?” Aaron said. “The story I heard was that the lady was killed at the hands of a villager, despite the dragon’s efforts to save her.” He turned to face the reeve as he spoke. Reeve Hobbes met his gaze for an uncomfortable moment, before dropping his eyes to the ground. Aaron looked at the crowd. “However, I’m not here to debate what happened more than seventy years ago, and only wish to suggest that the dragon then may have had his reasons for attacking the village. Regardless, the dragon who lives here now did rescue Keira from her attacker, as I can attest.”
There were some murmurs around the hall, but the hecklers had been silenced. The reeve stepped forward.
“Well, friends, you’ve heard what Master Drake, a stranger to our village, and maybe even an associate of the dragon, has had to say. And you’ve heard Edmund relate the events as they unfolded. I will leave you to decide who to believe, but for myself, I know that I will place my trust in someone I know. I can only urge you to do the same.” He motioned to Edmund and headed out of the room, as his son limped out behind him.
As they left, others in the room stood up and began to take their leave as well. The crowd was hushed, but as the noise of departure grew, so too did the sound of voices. Aaron grabbed Keira by the hand and hauled her to her feet.
“You should go home,” Aaron said. “It would only take one ill-considered comment to get the crowd going again.” He turned towards Keira’s father, his expression grim. “Get your daughter home while it’s still safe.”
Father gazed at Aaron for a moment before nodding his head in acceptance. “Thank you for coming forward to defend my daughter’s honor,” he said softly.
“Since there seems to be a dearth of supporters willing to speak in your daughter’s defense, it was the least I could do, especially since I related nothing but the truth.” His eyes regarded Mother as he said the words, his features hard. Father looked down in embarrassment, but Aaron had already returned his gaze to Keira. She stepped around him, and he turned to face her.
“Thank you,” she whispered fervently. “But if they turn against you, I’ll hold myself responsible.”
“No!” His response was vehement. “This was my fault. I’m so sorry that you have been placed in this position.”
Keira placed her hand on his arm and gazed into his eyes. “I’m so glad it was you who saved me,” she murmured. “I cannot regret that.” She smiled up at him before continuing. “Meet me by the river near the old mill tomorrow morning. I’ll be there as early as I can, but if I’m not, it’s only because I couldn’t get away.” She gave him one last, longing look, then turned and headed for the exit.