The Copper Sign Read Free Page B

sunlight that penetrated the thick foliage surrounding the clearing.
    Aelfgiva was in her herb garden, bending down to gather up the yellow and orange calendula blossoms that she used to make salves and tinctures. Her snow-white hair, which she always wore tied in a bun, shone just like snow among the flowers. Aelfgiva placed her hand against her back and stood up slowly as Ellen came running toward her. “Ellenweore!” she cried out, delighted. Her face wrinkled up when she laughed, and her kindly, wise eyes glistened.
    Ellen stopped in front of her, choking back tears.
    “Come, come now, child, what’s wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost.” Aelfgiva spread her arms out and embraced the crying girl compassionately. “Let’s go inside. I have some cabbage soup left over that I can warm up while you sit yourself down and tell me all about it.” Aelfgiva picked up her basket and led Ellen by the hand back to the cottage.
    “She rolled around in the straw with Sir Miles, that disgusting show-off!” Ellen said, her voice full of hatred and despair. “I saw it myself.” As she told all that had happened, she grimaced with disgust, sobbing at first and then becoming more and more indignant.
    After she had finished, Aelfgiva arose, walked to the hearth, and stirred the ashes nervously. Then she sat down again, fumbled around at her décolletage, and pinched herself in the folds of her neck. “Your mother must have been about as old as you are now. Oh Lord, forgive me, I know I have promised never to tell anyone.” Aelfgiva turned her eyes up and crossed herself.
    Ellen looked at her, wondering.
    “She was promised to a very well-to-do soap merchant, but then she met a young Norman and fell in love with him.” Aelfgiva took a deep breath, as if it were difficult to go on. “Your poor mother knew nothing about the consequences of love, and soon she was carrying a child. Your grandfather was furious when he found out. The young Norman was of noble birth, which made a marriage impossible, but her betrothal to the soap merchant had to be broken off as well. That man was so angry, he even threatened to have Leofrun thrown into the stocks if she didn’t leave town at once.”
    Aelfgiva took Ellen by both hands and looked at her intently. “A harsh fate awaits a woman who has a child out of wedlock. They shear her hair and whip her. Some do not survive the pain and disgrace and die in the pillory. But even those who survive can no longer lead an honorable life. Many a poor lass like that later commits the gravest of all sins and puts an end to her own wretched existence. Your grandfather had to save his reputation and the life of his only child. So he forced her into marriage against her will, sending her away from Ipswich before anyone noticed the scandal.”
    Aelfgiva’s worried face turned soft as she continued. “Osmond fell in love with your beautiful mother at once. She was lucky then that he took her—otherwise she might have been dead by now.
    “She had to pay dearly for her innocence of mind, having to marry a simple craftsman rather than a rich merchant with whom she could enjoy a life of ease. She hates the dirt and poverty of the life she was forced to lead, and that’s why she’s so full of anger,” the old woman tried to explain.
    “And what became of the child?” Ellen asked curiously.
    Aelfgiva stroked her curly locks. “Ah, my dear, that’s you. Why do you think she treats you that way? To her, you alone are the reason for her misfortune.”
    Ellen stared at Aelfgiva in astonishment. “But then I am not his…and Osmond is not my…” she stammered, and hardly dared to think where this was all leading. No, that just couldn’t be true!
    “Osmond is my father, he raised me, and everything I know and love about being a blacksmith I learned from him.” Ellen stamped the ground with her foot.
    “Even if he isn’t your father, you were his one and all from the very first moment.”