Page 22 of Cadell the Dragon

“But… Why would I throw her out for being with child?” she murmured. “It makes no sense. Unless it was…”

Yes. He understood what she had not dared to say. Unless she found out that the girl had been sharing her husband’s bed and decided to make her pay for the humiliation inflicted on her. It would not be the first time someone in a position of power destroyed a servant’s life to soothe their hurt pride. He understood Efa’s worry. These were the type of things that happened all too often. But he trusted Johanna not to act in this manner. Neither did he think she would be the type of mistress who would get rid of a servant simply because she had fallen with child.

“I think I should just ask her who the father is,” he told her under his breath. No point in dragging this out for anyone. “I will translate what she says, but I think you will quickly see from her reaction if he is who you fear he is.”

The girl would pale at the very least when asked if she had shared Rhun’s bed, if not dissolve in panic, dreading punishment.

“Do it.” Johanna said, looking about to collapse under the strain.

“Efa,” Cadell turned back to the two Welsh women. “We need you to tell us who the father of your babe is.”

The girl raised a tear-stained face to him, looking bewildered rather than panicked. “Why? What difference would it make?”

There was such guilelessness in the question that Cadell’s insides lit up in hope. If she thought the identity of the father made no difference, then it could not be Rhun. Because then anyone would agree it would make a difference in Johanna’s reaction.

“Just tell us, please.”

“I met a…a man a few months ago. He was one of the stone masons brought over from England to repair the castle by the coast. We fell in love.” Efa shook her head as if unable to explain why the connection between them had been so immediate. “My mam had always told me the English were the devil but Richard was nothing like that. He…loved me. And I loved him.”

The sobs redoubled.

Cadell turned to Johanna and told her what he had heard. He saw life flow back through her veins as he spoke. Rhun had not committed an unspeakable crime, nor had he been unfaithful to her. She could breathe. Then her face grew serious again. Like him, she had not missed the fact that the girl had spoken of her English lover in the past.

Throwing him a glance, she walked over to Efa and asked softly: “What happened to Richard?”

He repeated the question in Welsh. While Efa spoke in halted speech, Cadell murmured the translation in Johanna’s ear so she could follow.

“Through a friend who spoke some Welsh, Richard told me he would go speak to his family in England, explain to them why he would not come back, but stay in Wales with me. We would get married as soon as he got back and be together. I found out I was with child a few days after he left. When my mam found out I had been…you know…intimate with an Englishman, she told me never to come back home, that I was a disgrace. But I didn’t mind, as I knew I would be with Richard when he came back. I found a job here at Bryn Glas, thanks to Master Rhun, God rest his soul, who saw how desperate I was when I inquired about a position in the kitchen. But that was four months ago and I still have no news of Richard. And now I’m worried he will never come back, never know about this babe, never want me again. Or perhaps he’s dead, like the old master. Oh, my lady, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for putting you through all this trouble. Please don’t send me away.”

Though she was pleading, she held her head high as she spoke. She was not ashamed of having gone to a man she loved before marriage. The cook wiped at her eyes, as if proud of her courage. This time the girl was not fleeing.

“Efa. Listen to me,” Johanna said in Welsh, before carrying on in English. “You need not fear I will throw you out of Bryn Glas because you’re with child. You will be looked after here, while you wait for Richard to come back. I’m sure he has a good reason for taking so long. England is a big country, you know, much bigger than Wales, and he is probably walking most of the way.”

Indeed. The stone mason, who did not have a horse, would have had to walk, managing to get only the occasional ride on a merchant’s cart. Cadell nodded his approval to Johanna. She had reacted exactly as he had hoped, with compassion. She really was a worthy mistress for Bryn Glas.

“Did Richard say where he was from?” she asked Efa next.

“He did, but I cannot remember, as it was a name I had never heard before.”

“Of course.”

Johanna took in a deep breath. Now that she was reassured as to the identity of Efa’s baby’s father, she could think straight. And there was much to think about, many decisions to make.

“If—or rather when—Richard comes back, how will he know to find you here at Bryn Glas?”

Not knowing about the babe and the new employ, he would naturally go to the village where he had left the woman waiting for him. It was doubtful that Efa’s mother would give the Englishman she despised any indication allowing him to find the woman he was looking for. Perhaps she didn’t even know where her daughter had taken refuge after she had been thrown out.

“I told my friends to keep an eye out for him before leaving. They know where I am and they will tell him.” As she spoke, Efa started sobbing again. “They want my happiness, unlike my mother.”

Johanna’s heart went out to the poor girl. She knew what it felt like to not matter to her mother. And no one should be shunned for falling in love.

“It seems to me that you have found another mother here at Bryn Glas,” she said quietly. “One who will help and support you. And soon, I’m sure, you will be reunited with the father of your child.”

The cook nodded, gratitude shining in her eyes, and spoke in Efa’s stead. “Diolch yn fawr, f’Arglwyddes.”

Even before Cadell murmured his translation in her ear, Johanna had understood that the woman was thanking her. Well, at least she had made two allies at Bryn Glas. But at what cost? With child, estranged from her mother, and ignorant of her lover’s whereabouts, Efa’s situation was far from ideal. But there was nothing they could do, save wait for this Richard to come back.

After thanking her again, the two women left.