Once Upon A Story | Fits & Starts: From the Beginning
Chapter 9

Lin awakened to the sound of jingling bells and heavy clomping hooves. She slipped from the bed, trying not to disturb her sisters. Pressing her nose to the window she saw a huge peddler’s cart slowly making it’s way along the narrow lane that led to the clearing. She hurried over to Josi, shaking her shoulder to wake her.

“Some peddler’s come. Why do you suppose he’s here?”

“Do you think it’s some trick of the Queen’s?” Josi asked, alert.

“It doesn’t seem likely, but why would he come here? We’re so out of the way, and it’s hard to find the lane.”

“I don’t know. Let me get up, I want to look.”

The two girls watched from the window as the wagon halted between the barn and the cabin. Troy stepped from the barn, his hair wet, still buttoning his shirt.

“’Ello, there!” the stranger’s voice sounded friendly enough. Troy greeted him a bit warily.

“I ‘eard in Glen Mar there was some people living out ‘ere, thought I’d cum see if ye needed any o me wares.” The large man climbed down from his high perch and went to his horses’ heads. He gently stroked their noses, affection shining from his face. “Be there a place I could water me ‘orses? They’ve a long pull ahead of ‘em today.”

Troy’s expression relaxed at the man’s handling of his horses. “You can unhitch them and take them to the stream, or just haul water up for them. That’s the closest water, and you’re welcome to it.”

“Much obliged, milord. Think I’ll just bring some up for them.” He pulled a bucket from the wagon, as well as a water pouch. “Feel free to poke about.”

By now the other three men had emerged from the barn, and Troy left them peering into the wagon to go knock on the door of the cabin. Josi opened it a crack and peeked out, “Well?”

“He seems safe enough. He’s good to his horses, that says a lot about a man. He heard about us in the village, so he came to see if we’d buy anything-“

“You don’t say!” Josi teased him.

He made a face at her, “You girls may as well come out and see if there’s anything you’d like.”

Tim came up behind him, “Oh, no! You’re letting them go... SHOPPING!”

“We’re going shopping?!” Joy was finally awake, and overheard Tim’s remark.

Josi winced, “Oh dear.” She shut the door on the brothers, who laughed and went back to the cart.

Inside, Josi called up to the loft, “Alysian, Beth, get up. There’s a peddler here, we’re going to look at his things. You’d better wear skirts.” The wake up and the requirement produced louder groans than usual.

The girls took turns preparing breakfast and running out to the cart to examine the treasures there. After everyone, including the peddler, whose name was Tom, had some breakfast, they began perusing the goods in earnest.

“Oh!” Beth exclaimed, “A piano! Isn’t it awfully big to carry?”

“Yes’m, it is,” Tom pulled the cloth cover all the way off, “Some one gave it to me, free like. So I took it, but I’d wish to be rid of it. Don’t suppose ye’d want it?”

“It’s probably terribly expensive,” Josi stroked her fingers along the top longingly.

“Seeing’s how I need to be rid of it, I’d take as little as five pounds for it,” Tom looked hopeful as Lin and Alysian came up, quietly testing the keys. Beth disappeared, unnoticed, into the house.

“It’s a fine instrument,” Tom praised, hoping to convince the girls, “Good workmanship, lovely carving, don’t even need to be tuned!”

Alysian brushed her fingers against the keys, “I wish we could, but I don’t think we have that much even combined.”

“Here!” Beth excitedly thrust a pouch into the trader’s hands. “That’s five pounds for the piano! Can you help us bring it inside?”

The other three girls pulled her aside, “Where’d you get that much?” “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I got it washing dishes, before I met you,” Beth responded, “And I really want to do this. We all want the piano, why shouldn’t we have it?”

“Well,” Josi was tempted, “It doesn’t seem right. We should pay some too, at least. Are you really sure?”

“Really sure?” Lin seconded.

“It’s her money,” Alysian eyed the piano, “Let her spend it if she wants too.”

“I really do want to. And you don’t have to pay.” She lowered her voice, “That wasn’t all I had anyway!”

“Well?” Tom asked as they turned back to him.

“We’ll take it,” Alysian announced.

“Wonderful! I’ll even give you a stool to go with it.”

“Thank you!” The girls exclaimed.

The four men and Joy rounded the corner as Tom help the girls ease the instrument to the ground.

“What’s going on?” Clayton asked.

“The ladies and me ‘ave struck a bargain.”

“A piano?” Allen asked suspiciously, “How did you afford that?”

He received four identically prim, secretive smiles.

“Nice the way they trust us,” he grumbled to his compatriots.

Once the new piano was safely inside, Joy pulled Alysian aside, “I don’t care about the piano, but if we got that, we should get some fabric, too. He has some silks and brocades I think would be lovely!”

“Silks and brocades?” Alysian didn’t look convinced.

“She might be right,” Josi’d overheard the conversation. “Not about the silks and things, but we might be wise to get some fabrics, our things won’t last forever.”

“Couldn’t hurt to look, I suppose,” Alysian returned to the wagon.

Joy chased after, “Why can’t we have silks? Even the village girls get a nice dress!”

“It’s not that you can’t have something nice, dear,” Josi soothed, “But you may have to wait a bit, we don’t have that much money.”

“But look,” Joy pulled out her favorite bolt, a creamy pink silk with little scarlet flowers scattered across it. “I want this one,” she draped the delicate fabric across her, “I’d be darling in this!”

“You’d be darling in anything,” Lin laughed. “And we’d all like to have nice dresses, Joy, but we can’t afford them right now. At least you can have a new dress, that’s nice isn’t it?”

Joy pouted, “It isn’t the same.”

“I know, love, but it’s something. And if you hurry over you can help Josi and Lisy pick what we do get.”

Joy sadly relinquished her silk and went to her sisters. Lin wistfully fingered a sunny yellow silk before joining the others.

“Good bye!”

“Safe journey!”

They all waved as Tom and his cart pulled out of sight.

“I’m hungry,” Alysian announced, “Let’s make lunch.”

“Good idea,” Troy rubbed his hands together.

“You’re going to help cook?” Josi was surprised.

“No,” Troy grinned, “I meant it was a good idea for you to make lunch!”

Alysian stuck her tongue out at him, allowing Lin to tow her into the house. “I say we douse his food with pepper!”

“No pepper,” Josi pointed out.

“Drat,” she was disappointed, “Well, he’d better watch out. Someday we will have some, and then...” her face looked gleefully evil.

“What’s wrong with Joy?” Beth asked Lin.

“She wanted to get some silk, but we couldn’t afford it.”

“That’s too bad.” She sat down next to Joy, “You know, you can use my good dress anytime you want.”

“Yours doesn’t fit,” Joy crossed her arms grumpily.

“I know, but we could let down the hem, and take it in for you.”

Joy looked away, “Some other time.”

Beth sighed, shrugged at Lin, and went to chop vegetables.

“Can I use your dress?” Lin asked.

“Of course,” Beth set her knife down.

Lin caught her shoulder, grinning, “I didn’t mean right now. Just sometime.”

“Oh, ok.” Beth resumed her cutting.

The men came in then, only to be sent right back out with orders to go wash their hands and faces.

“Why do you boss them around so, Josi?” Lin questioned.

“I want to see how much they’ll let me get away with! Besides they were horribly dirty.”

When the four returned, damp and flushed, lunch was ready. They lined up and Josi inspected their hands.

“Do we pass?” Clayton shook the remaining drips from his hair.

“Hey!” Josi jumped back, “Don’t get cheeky young man.”

He meekly tugged at a pretended hat, “Yes’m.”

“Good, you may eat now.”

Ten minutes later only the dishes were left on the table. Lin rose to clear the table, but Allen stopped her. “We have a surprise for you.”

“For me?” Lin asked warily.

“Yes, but for all of you.” Tim clarified.

Clayton and Troy stepped outside and retrieved the gift. They came back in to hear Tim expounding, “...kindly letting us come with you, and of course, for letting us sleep in the barn-“

“Tim!” Troy interrupted, exasperated. “We got this,” he informed the five curious girls, “Because we felt that after all you’ve all been through, you deserved something. And we hope you like it,” he added. He gently set the large, soft bundle in the center of the table. The girls looked from it to him. “It helps if you open it,” he teased.

“Let’s have Joy open it,” Lin fetched a pair of scissors and handed them to the younger girl.

“Yes, open it, Joy,” Josi needlessly encouraged. Joy carefully cut the string, and began daintily folding back the multiple layers of brown paper.

“Hurry up!” Alysian was trying, but was loosing the battle with her impatience.

Joy pulled back the final layers of wrapping and gasped, then, squealing, she flung her arms around each man’s neck in a second long strangle hold.

Josi peeked into the package at the brightly colored, shimmering silks lying there. “Oh! They’re lov-oof!”

Joy was now randomly hugging whomever came to hand, Josi, in that case.

“Joy! Calm down.” Joy obediently quit hugging everyone and instead swirled her beloved pink and scarlet fabric around her and began dancing around the room, the ends trailing after her in a banner.

“I think she likes it,” Clayton commented to no one in particular.

“I hope you like the colors,” Troy told them, “Allen chose them, he’s rather good at those things.”

Lin smiled at Allen, “Thank you, they’re very lovely.”

Allen pulled a yellow on yellow striped fabric out and held it against her, smiling down into her eyes, “I thought you might like this, you seemed rather partial to yellow.”

“It’s my favorite color! You’re very sweet to notice,” Lin blushed as his smile broadened.

Clayton picked up a brightly printed silk and offered it to Alysian, “I think this suits you.”

Alysian looked dubiously at it, “It doesn’t look very strong.”

Clayton laughed, “Ahh, but it isn’t meant to be. You’re supposed to save it for special things, like dancing. You do like to dance don’t you? I’m told the village has dances quite often.”

Alysian brightened, “Dancing?” She imagined herself in a dress, wide silk skirts spinning round her bare ankles as she whirled around the floor to a country jig.

“Oh, dances!” Joy cried happily, visualizing herself in her beautiful dress, waltzing with one of a large crowd of admirers.

“I think you would look charming in any of them,” Troy said to Josi, “I’m rather partial to green myself.”

“Green is my favorite color!” Josi stroked a forest green cloth with embroidery of the same shade covering it.