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smithy that would hold a pot. A little chimney ran up the outside of the shed, which was now quite habitable. Both men were delighted when Elf thanked them profusely.
    " 'Twere nothing, lady," John said quietly. "I know little of your skills, but I did not think you should have to go outside each time you needed hot water. Especially if the weather were foul."
    "I hope I have not taken you from your manor chores," Elf replied. "I would not want the lady to be angry with you on my account."
    "The manor is well looked after by your serfs, my lady Eleanore. We do not need the likes of that knight telling us what to do. He is not a man of the land, and knows less than nothing. You will forgive my frank speech, lady, but my mother says you are too good, and I would have no harm come to you, or yours." John then gave a little bow, saying, "We are your serfs to command, lady, and will protect you if we must." Then he turned from her, leaving Elf quite puzzled in her new domain.
    During the week the shed was being made useful again, Elf had enlisted the company of several young female serfs to go searching in the fields and woods for many of the things she needed to make her remedies. Pinecones had been gathered, for they were useful in healing problems of the kidneys and bladder, although if not used properly were known to excite lustful desires. She had found a small store of acorns in a storage room beneath the hall, and was grateful for them. There would be no more acorns until the autumn. There was some wheat and barley remaining in the granary from the previous harvest. Elf took a basket of each. She roasted the latter grain, for otherwise it was mildly laxative. Mixed and cooked with dried figs in a sweetened water, it was a cure for abscesses. She found a host of capers growing on some rough ground near the granary, and gathered them, for they were most valuable for any number of complaints from a toothache to sciatica and cramps. A beehive in a half-rotted log in the nearby wood gave her a large cache of honey. The kitchen gardens yielded cabbages, marrows, cucumbers, leeks, onions, and garlic, as well as asparagus, spinach, lettuces, parsnips, and beets. There were mustard greens, mint, sage, parsley, and fennel. In a nearby meadow Elf discovered horehound growing, and behind her shed, elecampane.
    Very soon sheaves of herbs were drying within the little building. Jars were filled with violets, dandelion roots, crocus bulbs, as well as figs and dates that Elf had taken from the kitchen. She had been surprised to find them there, for they were items not easily come by, but, the cook told her, the lady Isleen likes a sweet dessert occasionally. Albert had opened a small garden for Elf next to her shed. She planted all manner of herbs not grown in the kitchen’s gardens, including chamomile.
    Dickon seemed to be growing weaker every day despite her efforts, but she found herself with a growing number of patients from among the serfs. When she questioned Ida about it, the old woman told her that Isleen was not particularly skilled at healing, and disliked such labor.
    "But it is the lady’s duty to care for her people," Elf said, shocked. "Do you mean in all the years she has been married to my brother, she has not healed those who came to her for aid?"
    "Not once," Ida said. "She does not give your brother an heir, although he has children among the serfs. She will not bind up her people’s wounds, or prescribe for an ague, or flux. She is useless."
    "But Dickon loves her," Elf said softly.
    Ida made a rude sound. Then she muttered, "A lot of good it does him to love so useless a female. When my poor lord Richard is dead, you will be a better mistress for Ashlin, my dear lady."
    Elf said nothing more. It was foolish to argue with Ida. Her mind had been set against Isleen from the very moment she had arrived at Ashlin. Still, Elf was concerned about her sister-in-law. Just last night she had caught her feeding Dickon a