Dream of Me/Believe in Me

learnin' to read. Says he gonna have a word with Lord Hawk 'bout that, see if the monks here can teach me.”
    The good sense of this was greeted with nods all around. A little girl, Aedwynna by name, blinked her big blue eyes, smiled sweetly and said, “My da says Lord Hawk's the toughest son of a bitch he's ever met but it's all right because he's our son of a bitch.”
    Edythe coughed delicately and cast an eye in Krysta's direction. She also said, “Aedwynna, don't say bitch, itisn't nice. Leastways not unless you're talking about your dog.”
    The little girl shrugged. “Oh, all right. Anyway, my sister gets so silly every time she sees Lord Hawk. Her and her friends go all giggly. They say that woman who's coming better be really, really nice.”
    Suddenly, she remembered who was listening. “She is, isn't she, Ilka?”
    Caught off guard, “Ilka” did not answer at once, prompting Edythe to look at her with concern. “She's pretty and kind, and she'll be a good wife to Lord Hawk, won't she?”
    “Oh, yes, of course. But you know … she might be an even better wife if she knew more about Lord Hawk, knew what he likes and doesn't like, for instance. That might help her to do a better job right from the start.”
    Edythe understood that immediately. “We could help. We could tell you things and you could tell her.”
    “I suppose you could….”
    “Well, then … Lord Hawk is very, very strong. He's had to be all his life because he spent most of it fighting up until a few years ago when King Alfred got the Danes to stop trying to take any more of England.”
    “I saw him once pick up a man the size of a horse,” Howard declared, “and throw him all the way to the other side of the training field. The fellow wasn't hurt, fact they were both laughin', but it was really somethin' to see.”
    “I saw him lift up the whole back end of a cart loaded with rocks,” another young boy chimed in, “and hold it while a man who was caught under it crawled out.”
    “That was Old Finney, he could've gotten killed right then. You know, he goes to mass every single day and lights a candle for Lord Hawk?”
    “My ma always puts him in her prayers,” Edythe said.
    The other children nodded, one after another, as though this was common practice.
    “My ma helps cook for the high table,” Aedwynna said, “and she makes Lord Hawk's favorite rhubarb pie whenever she can.”
    “My ma weaves,” said Howard. “She says he doesn't pay much mind to what he wears but she's still always trying to come up with colors and things she thinks he'll like.”
    “He definitely needs a wife,” Edythe decided. “After all these years of Daria—” She shuddered.
    “A good wife,” little Aedwynna amended, and they all nodded firmly.
    Edythe kept an eye on the passage of the sun and called a reminder to the rest when it was time to return. They were back within the walls of the fortress as Daria's litter bumped and swayed up the river road.
    The berries were apportioned behind the wash house with Edythe handing out shares in what was apparently an established process. Krysta would have declined hers, not wanting to take from the children, but Edythe stood firm.
    “You helped gather so you must have some, too.”
    Thus did she return to her quarters with an apron filled with summer's fruit and a bemused expression. Raven joined her a short time later.
    “Wonderful berries,” the black-garbed woman said as she settled on a stool beside Krysta. “I've been eating them all afternoon.” Yet her appetite must not have been sated for she made quick work of a handful while she described what she had seen.
    “Rich land, orderly farms, far more people living closer together than we're used to. I suppose that's because of the milder climate.” She popped another berry into her mouth and continued. “There are watchtowers inboth directions along the coast for miles. I saw several patrols, all wearing the colors of the Hawk. They looked as though they knew their business.”
    “Anything else?” Krysta asked.
    Raven hesitated. She tilted her head to one side and peered at her mistress. “I saw him, too. He has a chamber at the top of the keep.”
    Krysta shifted on the stool, pretending great interest in whatever was going on outside the small window. “Was he alone?”
    “No.”
    At her mistress's exasperated look, Raven laughed. “Oh, all right, he was with that fellow I think must be his steward. They were going over