Chapter 7
Learning About The People of Bernodia, Especially One
Louise regarded that summer at Denville as one of the happiest
times in her life. She and Alexander traveled together all over Bernodia.
The people truly did love him. When he traveled, he did not stay at inns, as
many travelers did. He had so many friends among the common people that
he was always invited to stay in their homes, which was exactly what he
enjoyed doing. He didn't do it out of economics. Though the people would
refuse to take anything from him, he always found a way to hide some
money where they would find it later. For that reason, he often chose the
homes of those who could use it the most. "The worthy poor," he called
them.
They all knew he did this and would jokingly threaten him if he did
it again. He would only look innocent and declare he had no idea what they
were talking about. It seemed to be a game between them - him trying to
secretly hide the money and them trying to catch him at it.
They never did catch him, and he even involved Louise in the game.
More than once she helped to distract a good man or woman of the house so
Alexander could leave a few gold coins in their cupboard. The poorer the
family, the more he left.
He also always left them with another gift which they gladly
accepted. He had dug up many little strawberry plants and packed them in a
dirt pouch. Since they ate with the families wherever they stayed, they
didn't need to take much food, and no bedding, so he had more room for
gifts. Each family received a small strawberry plant or two with instructions
on how to grow them, but he made them promise that, as their plants created
new ones, they would also share. The people were always appreciative of
this contribution to their small gardens.
The meager homes they stayed in usually had only one bedroom and
the main living quarters, so the hosts had always insisted he take the one
bedroom. Now that she was with him, he insisted she take the bedroom and
he slept in the living quarters with the family. "Besides," he laughed, "I've
slept on those beds, and I'm sure I can do just as well on the floor."
She had to admit he really had a point there. She was amazed,
however, at the things she found she could sleep on after a long day of
riding.
When dining with these poor families, their fare was always simple,
but prepared perfectly. There would be fresh vegetables from the garden,
coarse, ground bread hot from the hearth, and if lucky, chicken or some kind
of roast pork. She had no doubt they were served the very best the family
had, and the food was always extremely delicious even if it was simple. In
fact, Louise decided the simplicity of it was what made it so good.
After dinner, Alexander did something else that drew her heart to
him. He would go to his saddlebag and pull out a beautiful book and an old
blanket. The book was his pride and joy. He said it was a gift from his
grandfather. He would invite his host's children to join him near some tree
or on a grassy spot, and he would sit down on the blanket. It seemed the
children of the village were watching for this moment, and they would come
running from all directions.
The children, even some in their teens, would gather around, the
little ones sitting and the older ones standing. Usually the smallest ones
would sit on his lap. He made sure to turn the book around now and then so
that everyone could see the pictures. Their little faces would strain to see
every detail. As the sun was setting in the sky, he would read of princesses,
knights, dragons, and kings. When the stories ended, he would send them
home with small bits of sweets in their tattered pockets.
Alexander loved children and often told Louise he always wanted a
little brother or sister, but his parents couldn't have any more after he was
born. He had said he'd adopt every child in the villages if he could. Louise
thought that, in some ways, he already had. One thing that saddened
Alexander was that so few of the Bernodians could read, and books were so
hard to come by. He said he hoped someday every one of his people would
have a book.
Louise could remember how her heart had been touched the first
night Alexander sat down to read with the children of a small town. Even
with what happened in the mountain village, Louise wasn't ready for the
scene that appeared before her. As he sat down and all the children
clambered around him, she was, at first, nervous. But as his clear, strong
voice read the stories, the children looked at him intently, serenely, hanging
on every word, and she could feel something in her heart she didn't
understand.
Her emotions overwhelmed her, and she slipped out of sight and
sobbed at the memory of the way she had previously treated him. Could she
ever forgive herself? Alexander didn't seem to hold any resentment, but at
times his eyes belied the scar that had been left in his heart.
That first night, after the children departed, he came looking for her.
"Louise, are you all right?"
Seeing him coming, she had wiped the tears from her face. She
turned to him and smiled. "I've never been better."
She had never known a man like Alexander. What had made him
the way he was? She learned he had traveled through the villages with his
father as soon as he could sit astride a horse. When he was almost thirteen,
he was allowed to venture on his own, first nearby, then further and further.
Duke Reginald and Lady Margaret were well-loved by their people.
She began to understand that Alexander was indeed his parents' son. He
was who he was because of them. They were concerned about everyone.
They levied the lightest taxes in all of her father's kingdom. In fact, the
national taxes were their heaviest burden in Bernodia. In many of the
provinces, the local taxes imposed by the dukes were far heavier than the
national ones.
But Duke Reginald and Lady Margaret didn't demand a high
lifestyle. They even had their own gardens and produced much of the food
needed for the castle. Louise learned to love these gardens and would often
go with Alexander to pick a few fresh raspberries and blackberries, and
occasionally some strawberries. He was careful to protect them because he
said the Esconodian trader charged him a fortune for a few plants, but he
said they were multiplying, allowing him to give some to the villagers to
grow.
There was another plant that he valued highly. He said the
Esconodian trader had sold it to him, telling him it came from the New
World. He said there they called it "maize" but the trader said that it had
been called "corn" here. Alexander said that the previous year they had
gotten very little off of it, mostly only enough for some new seed and a little
to taste. The trader told him he needed to add lots more manure for better
production. He had done this, and the plants looked fantastic.
Louise had never seen anything like it. It looked like a grass, but the
leaves were big. There was lots of it, and Alexander promised, if it turned
out well, they would try eating it together at the end of summer. He talked
about so many of the plants that she could hardly keep up with him on what
was new and what wasn't.
Though servants did most of the work in the gardens, Alexander
would take her out there so they could pick their own berries. He said there
was nothing like getting your fingers stained with berry juice to make the
food taste better. As she ate, she knew he was right.
Another thing he taught her to enjoy was snacking on peas right
from the garden. Alexander had checked them out for days before he finally
declared a pod ready to eat. He cracked one open and had her hold out her
hand. He scraped the peas out into her cupped hand.
She had been reluctant to try them and told him she didn't really like
peas. He told her cooked ones and ones fresh from the garden weren't even
in the same pod. He often added little bits of dry humor like that. It had
annoyed her before. Now she found it to be a fun part of his personality.
She carefully put the peas in her mouth and started to chew, fully expecting
to spit them out. To her amazement, she did like them. As the peas came
on more and more, the two of them would sit out in the patch and munch on
them, leaving very little room for their meals. They would visit about so
many wonderful things, and the servants would simply look over at them
and smile.
Alexander also loved to read and to learn about new things. He was
always trading with someone for something new. That was how he learned
about honey candy. Many of his prized trades were in foods. He had no
qualms about trading or learning from the lowliest peasant. She discovered
that he often got up before everyone else so he could read in the library
when his mind was sharpest. She would stop there in the morning so he
could accompany her to breakfast.
The first time he told her he was going to a market where the
Esconodians came to trade, she was very frightened. She knew they were
the enemy. But Alexander assured her they were not that different. In fact,
he said that many of the people of Bernodia and Esconodia came from the
same cultural background. He said they just spoke a slightly different
language. He told her he had many Esconodian friends and knew that the
animosity between their nations was born of misunderstanding, not of evil
intent.
With his assurance, she went with him. She found the market to be
fascinating. Many of the traders smiled and called Alexander by name. He
never used a title. He liked to simply to be called "Alexander".
Alexander seemed to understand most of what the Esconodians said,
though he could not really speak their language. As they walked past the
vendors, she loved looking at their intricate carvings, beautiful rugs,
tapestries, and fabrics. She was impressed by their artisans and weavers.
She found their languages were not as different as she had imagined and
found she, too, understood much of what they said, even if she couldn't
speak it.
At one point, some of the Esconodians gathered around them. One
said something to Alexander. He blushed, and they all laughed, even
Alexander. When she asked him what they said, Alexander said, "Oh,
nothing really."
One of the men who spoke more of their language smiled. "We say,
'You woman friend much pretty. How she get with ugly man like you?'"
The man then burst out laughing, and all of the others laughed again.
It was her turn to blush.
Though many Bernodians intermingled there, Alexander stood out
simply because he was the only one of nobility that ever came. The men
were all shocked when Alexander told them she was the princess.
"She is really not my woman. She wants to get to know the people
as I have," he told them.
The men all nodded their approval. The one that spoke the best said,
"You much welcome, Princess. We not think royal family think Bernodia
and Esconodia good or worth much."
She had to bite her lip as thoughts of her own past prejudices came
back to her. She smiled at them and told the man that she hoped their
people could be better friends. Many of them wanted to gather around and
visit with her. She found she did cause a stir wherever she went. Alexander
didn't because he had become just one of them. But she was the princess
and from the south.
As everyone finally returned to their market stalls, she continued to
admire the beautiful craftsmanship of the items. There was one particular
necklace that she loved. The man said the words, "pearl, jade, and gold."
She didn't want to act too impressed with it, for she carried no money, and
she knew Alexander's supply was quite limited. But he had noticed her
longing, and when she was not looking, he purchased it for her. He told her
he had wanted to give her a birthday present, but on her birthday he figured
she wouldn't accept one from him.
When he put the necklace around her neck, the whole market
erupted into applause. The Esconodian man said, "It good your woman
have much pretty necklace."
Alexander was again very quick to assure the people that she was the
princess and did not belong to him - too quick, Louise thought. She could
sense, however, that it was not because of his lack of feelings for her, but,
instead, because of them. She knew that what her father had said about her
finding someone more worthy was always on his mind.
She had long since decided that Alexander was who she wanted, but
he never seemed to be able to put far from his thoughts that there were those
who felt he was not worthy of her. She tried in every way to hint that her
heart was his, but she felt his fear of an inevitable separation always hung
over him and their friendship.
They never talked about it directly, because anytime she tried to
move the topic of conversation toward anything of that nature, he just as
quickly changed the subject.
Wherever they went she took his arm. He seemed to really enjoy
that. But every time she did she would hear him take a deep breath as if
steeling himself against the emotions he was feeling - emotions he felt he
must not allow himself to have.