4

The next few days were a nightmare. Both Amelia’s parents had taken to their beds ill. It had started with a headache that could have been a response to the stress they were under. Then her parents began to complain of chills and fever. They were exhausted and prostrated. Like Charles, they were soon stricken with nausea, vomiting, and back pain. Their arms and legs were heavy and sore. The servants had kept the drapes around the beds drown to shut out the light, which had become painful to their eyes. In a matter of days, the swelling appeared. The hard, painful, burning lumps covered each of their bodies.

There was no question in Amelia’s mind her parents had fallen ill with the Black Death. It had taken so much from her, and now it would take her parents as well. Soon the swelling and lumps had turned black, split open, and began to ooze puss and blood. There was blood in their urine and blood pooling under the skin, resulting in black boils and spots all over their bodies. Everything that came out smelled utterly revolting.

Amelia cried for a week as her parents suffered great pain before they breathed their last. She stood out in the hall with Margret hugging her tight while the servants washed, wrapped and carried the bodies of her parents from their bed-chamber. Her father was dead. Her brothers were dead. She had been given no time to secure a husband. Ludden had no heir. As a woman, she could offer her home no protection. What would she do now? Surrounding Lords would no doubt try to acquire her land by treaty or force. She had no way to stop them.

Amelia looked down the hall and saw Deon leaning lazily against the wall. He had not left Ludden, and though he had been here for over seven days, they had not met in passing, nor had they dined together. With the swift deterioration of her parent’s health, Amelia had been too occupied to notice him.

As the last body was removed, Deon pushed off the wall and walked over to Amelia, drawing his sword. Amelia’s back tensed as she watched him place the tip of the blade on the stone floor while he rested his hands on the hilt respectfully. “You have my sympathies, Mademoiselle. I understand you will have a great trial ahead of you,” he could not be more right. “On this night, on this hour, I pledge to you my sword for as long as you may need it. I am your servant.”

“I know you must feel some obligation to me as my brother’s friend, and I appreciate it really I do, but I free you from your pledge,” she said, stepping away from him and Margret.

“I do not think that wise,” Margret piped up. “Amelia, we have no heir. We have no defences. It would be best if we accept his assistance. Just as a show of force for anyone that may try to take the land from us.”

“How is one soldier going to stop an army?” Amelia asked.

“I can train troops and help you build defences,” Deon offered.

“Train troops? What troops. Most of our fighting men have already died. The rest are ill and farmers. We have women and children. We can barely feed ourselves, let alone build the strength required for strong fighting men,” she might have been a woman, but she was no fool.

“Perhaps I can help you with that as well. I can lend a hand in rebuilding.”

“Rebuilding what?” Amelia snapped, stepping in front of him and holding his gaze with hers. “We are in ruins. There is nothing left. My people are dying. How can you help with that? Can you speak to God himself and beg his mercy?” When Deon did not reply, she began to walk away. She needed time to think.

“Your brother trusted me,” she heard him say, bringing her feet to a stop. “All I am asking is that you trust me as well. Or do you not have faith in your brother’s judgment?” Amelia felt a sting from his words. Her whole family was dead, and now this stranger wished her to put all her faith in him.

Amelia turned around and walked back to Deon. She squared her shoulders and thrust her chin upwardly. “Very well, Sir Dabell, I will accept your assistance, but I seriously hope I do not live to regret it.”

“Before I leave these lands, your village will be restored and strong. Of this, you have my word,” Amelia nodded and turned to leave once more. She felt the need to cry more and wished to be alone. “Might I suggest that the bed and clothing be burnt to reduce the risk of further infection?” Deon suggested.

“Very well.”

“And that we burn the bodies as well,” Amelia stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. She could see in his eyes that he believed it to be the right thing to do. Amelia nodded her consent. “I have a few more suggestions to make about preventing the spread within the population,” Amelia stopped and watched as Deon walked her way, sheathing his broad sword once more. “I know this is not the time you wish to do deal with matters of state, but I assure you it is important.”

“Walk with me,” she instructed. Margret stayed behind to deal with the servants and the room. “What changes would you have me make?”

“First, I think those who are ill should be taken to the church and kept away from the healthy with the acceptance of some volunteers to care for them. The village should be searched, and the clothes and belongings of the ill should be burnt as should all the bodies of the dead new and previously buried.”

“Why can we not bury the dead?”

“When the body rots in the ground, the plague sinks into the dirt and is washing into the creek below. The creek is where the village gets its water for the crops and the animals. To bathe with and drink. It is infecting people and the animals which are slaughtered and eaten, which in turn infects the villages once more,” she had to admit his theory made some sense.

“The people need food and water. What would you have me do to let them starve to death instead?”

“No. We burn up the bodies as well as anything that may have come into contact with the sickness. We dig a new well away from the graveyard. In the meantime, we use barrels to catch the rain and fresh drinking water. We inspect the livestock, and any of which seem sick we slaughter and burn, assuring the plague does not spread among the animals further. We search for rodents and kill them; they only make things worse. We eat and drink nothing unless we are sure it is fresh and untainted. As well as wearing masks and washing well each time we are forced to come into contact with the sickness.”

It was such a detailed plan. He had clearly thought long and hard about it all though she could not find fault in his logic. “Do you really think it will make any difference?”

“I do.”

“And our defensives?”

“I think it is in your best interest to hold back the news of your father’s death, for a while, long enough for us to fortify the wall and other exterior defences. With a few weeks and a bit of help, I can make Ludden fairly defendable. During which time, I can also train volunteers to fight.”

Amelia stopped at the balcony, looking out over the street below. There was so much work. If this man could really do what he claimed, could she really bring life back to this village? “Do you believe all you have said?”

“My Lady, I would not have said it if I did not believe I could do it.”

Amelia nodded. “Then let it be done.”