The guard opens the gate when he sees us coming, and we ride into a courtyard. Aodhán gets off his horse and speaks to the guard. “Bring the doctor for Lord John.”
I help the girl down and dismount. A leather-aproned man grabs the reins and takes my horse to the stable. We walk past a stone arch into another courtyard. It reminds me of an English garden with life-size Greek statues on stone pedestals between the hedges. Flower vines are hanging from large baskets, elaborate rose bushes with their own wooden arches, and trimmed hedges in the style of a topiary garden.
Rose would love this place.
We follow Aodhán inside the courtyard.
Aodhán walks up to a red-haired lady sitting in a chair in the garden, working on some needlework. “My Lady… Lord John took a fall and knocked his head after practicing with the swords.”
The middle-aged lady looks at me with concern as she stands, straightening her green dress and walks up to me.
“I called for the doctor,” Aodhán adds.
She glances at Clodagh and feels the back of my head. “Oh goodness me. That’s a fierce lump. Come, sit over here.” She grabs my arm and leads me to a chair where she was sitting.
“This is Clodagh,” I say. “We met her outside town.”
“Why bring her here?” she asks, furrowing her brow.
I don’t know who this lady is, hoping she has some compassion. “Her father gave her away to pay his debt, but they were intending to harm her. We paid for her release. She has nowhere else.”
“Then she will stay with us,” the lady says, looking at Clodagh. “Have you any skills?”
“I’m after cooking for my father, and I know the animals and how to tend a garden.”
“You can come work for us,” she says.
Clodagh’s eyes widen as she looks around the courtyard and house. “I’ll do my best. Thank you so much.”
“You’re very welcome. Now, what kind of schooling have you?” she asks.
“My dad taught me some.”
“I will get you sorted with a tutor,” she says. “Around here, we believe in education. Education is freedom. You’ve still a few years in you yet before you go venturing out.”
“Henry, Clodagh will stay with us,” she says to the man entering the courtyard.
“Where do you want me to put her?” he asks.
“She’ll be working in the kitchen. Also set her up with the tutor.”
“Ah, I will, my lady,” he says, turning to Clodagh. “Come. I’ll set you up in your new home.”
Clodagh gives me a hug. “Thank you, sir. I will never forget your kindness.” Then she grabs the lady’s hands. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Sure, it’s no trouble at all,” the lady says. “Now go and get yourself cleaned up. Henry will show you where.”
Clodagh follows Henry out of the courtyard and into the house.
“What happened to your accent?” she asks, looking directly at me and arching her brow.
I shrug. “Not sure. I don’t remember anything.”
“Not even his name,” Aodhán says, sitting in another chair across the table.
I am still wondering why he addressed me as Lord. Maybe it’s the same as Mister.
The lady looks concerned. “Do you remember my name?”
“Who are you?” I ask, looking around for anything I recognize. “I don’t remember this place.” Still unsure about what country this is.
“I am Lady Anna, your mother. This is your home.”
My mother? She looks old enough to be my daughter. I look at her in disbelief. It was only a moment ago that I was in the hospital with my wife. This has to be a dream. And what is this Lady title? I wish I had studied more about medieval history. Lords and Ladies were nobility of some sort, but this isn’t a castle, and I certainly am not a Lord.
Then she looks up, seeing the doctor coming into the courtyard. “Over here. My boy hit his head.”
The doctor is wearing a long black woolen cloak with a woolen cap over peppered hair and a trimmed beard. He comes over and puts his leather bag on the table, feeling my head. “You have a lump on you. Good thing you are young.”
Young? I am past sixty. Any minute I am going to wake up.
“He was knocked out for a bit when he fell off his horse,” Aodhán says. “He didn’t remember his name.”
The doctor shakes his head. “Do you know what year it is?”
I remember it being 2024, but I think it would land me in some kind of asylum around here. I had better not say, though it looks to be in the medieval time period with how people are dressing and talking. “Not quite sure.”
“This is the year of our Lord, thirteen sixty-nine,” he says, confirming my suspicion. Then he looks at Lady Anna. “Let’s get him to bed. I will apply some leeches to reduce the swelling. Maybe he will recover his memory.”
“Leeches?!” I ask. “Are you serious?!” I stand up and feel a little dizzy. “I don’t want leeches on me!”
“You have a choice,” the doctor says, grabbing my shoulder to steady me and looking at me with concern. “Either leeches or I will need to drill into your head.”
My eyes open even wider, realizing the choice he had just given me. I didn’t think they drilled into people’s heads in medieval times, but then I remembered seeing a history show on Egypt where archeologists found a skull with a hole drilled in it. “Okay,” I grumble as I sit back down in defeat, resting my hand on the hilt of my sword to make sure it is still there. I may need it.
“Let’s get him to bed,” Anna says as she takes my hand and helps me stand. She leads me up the steps into the main entrance.
We walk through a stone archway back into history. Black-and-white checkered tiles cover the floor, with marble columns and alcoves displaying bronze sculptures and paintings. A statue of a Greek goddess stands on a tall pedestal in its center. I follow Anna up a wide marble staircase to the second floor. She guides me along a mezzanine balcony overlooking the Greek gallery to a room at the end of the hall, opening the door.
The room has a four-poster bed with a high, plumped-up mattress, and long blue drapes that gather near the wooden headboard against the plastered wall. The room also has a lounge area with a glazed window that looks out onto the courtyard below.
Anna leads me to the sofa and releases my hand. “Remove your sword and get comfortable? I’ll be back.”
“Okay,” I say, gazing around the room at the fireplace and cabinets, taking it all in. My sword knocks against the wooden floor beside the sofa. I sit and try to untie my leather boots, but I feel a sense of vertigo and lie back on the sofa.
A woman watching at the door, wearing a simple dark green tunic and white bonnet, rushes over. “Here, let me help, sir.” She kneels and unties my boots, pulling each one off my feet.
Then she grabs each of my arms and unties my gauntlets. I slip out of them and remove my leather vest. She puts the gauntlets in the wardrobe and hangs up my vest, accidentally kicking my sword.
She glances at me, quickly arching her brow with a grimace. “Sorry, sir,” she says under her breath, while picking up the sword in its scabbard and placing it in the wardrobe.
“It was my fault for putting it there,” I say, putting my hand on my throbbing head, hoping the pain will go away.
Anna returns with the doctor.
He enters the room, carrying a jar. “We must remove his tunic so I can apply the leeches.”
I cringe at the thought and try to untie the leather lacing around my collar. I fumble with the knot, not making any progress. My head is hurting more, and I must be confused since the woman comes up to me, grabbing the lace from my hands.
“Let her help,” Anna says, stepping to my side and steadying me.
Once I am out of my tunic, Anna and the woman walk me over to the bed. The woman pulls back the covers as I sit on the edge.
“Lie down, my son.”
I lie back on the bed of feathers and feel like floating on a cloud, obeying Lady Anna and still trying to get used to her calling me son.
The doctor comes over to my side, put the jar of leeches on the nightstand, and feels my forehead. “I will prepare some medicine to help with your fever.”
He moves my head to the side and parts my hair to expose the lump. Taking off the lid from the jar, he reaches in with his wooden forceps and removes a thin black leech about three inches long. He places the leech directly over the swollen lump. Then he continues by placing a few leeches around my neck below my collarbone and a few on my chest. It feels weird, like gummy worms. But these prick my skin and suck.
I get nervous seeing so many. “Why are you putting leeches on my chest?”
“They help with the swelling and the fever,” he says. “They might even help restore your memory.” He replaces the jar lid. “Now lie here while I prepare your medicine.”
The doctor turns to Anna. “I need access to your kitchen.”
“Care for my son until I return,” Anna says to the woman.
“Sure, my lady,” she says, standing at the side of my bed.
I feel better with the doctor leaving. I don’t know how many more leeches I could have endured.
Anna leads the doctor out of the room and closes the door.
“What is your name?” I ask when the woman sits in the chair next to me.
The woman gasps. “Ah, you have lost your memory. I’m Aisling, one of the girls working in the house, and today your charge.”
“Aisling, that’s a pretty name,” I say as I look into her hazel-green eyes. “What does it mean?”
“My mother told me that it means a dream. She was dreaming of having me for a daughter.”
“That is beautiful,” I say, noticing her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “How long have you been a servant?”
She looks at me, arching her brow. “As far as I can remember, my mother is after serving in this house since before I was born.”
“Do you like working here?”
“Ah, for sure. I absolutely love working and living here. It’s the grandest house in Corke.”
She mentioned where I am. “Did you say Corke?”
“Sure, that’s what the English call it.”
“Where is Corke?”
“It is in the southern part of Éire along the eastern shore,” she answers, looking at me with concern.
“Éire?” I ask, never hearing of the place. Maybe this is a different world.
“The English call it Hibernia or Ireland.”
My eyes pop open. Finally! She confirms that I am in Ireland.
“Are you okay, sir?” she asks, staring into my eyes.
“I was just surprised, that’s all. Does your mother still work here?”
“Yes. She works mainly in the kitchen when she is feeling well. She’s getting on in years.”
“What do you do when you aren’t watching over me?”
“I’d be looking after the rooms above, tidying up and bringing fresh water for the basins, and taking out the chamber pots.”
“Chamber pots?!” My eyes widen in shock. I forgot this period didn’t have running water or toilets. That is when reality sets in. I sit up and look around the room for the chamber pot.
“Please lie down, sir,” she says as she lays her hand on my shoulder, avoiding the already plump leeches.
“Where is the chamber pot?”
“Under the chair.” She points to the corner chair. “Did you need it, sir? I can leave.”
“Not yet,” I say, thinking I would never use such a thing.
Someone knocks on the door. Aisling goes to open it.
The doctor comes in holding a tray with a ceramic pitcher and a small cup. “This will help with the fever.” He sets the tray on the nightstand and pours hot liquid from the pitcher into the cup. “Here, drink this.”
I take a sip, tasting a little citrus with hints of sage, chamomile, and a bit of honey. The tea is soothing, and it doesn’t take long to empty the cup. The doctor places some herbs in a cloth and folds it into a rectangle. Then he wets it from the pitcher and applies it to my forehead. The smell of sage is strong, and I start to relax.
“This should make you feel better.” He inspects the leeches and grabs his forceps, removing each of them one by one, placing them into an empty jar. He wipes the blood residue from my skin with a damp cloth. “It looks like your swelling has gone down. Try to sleep. You should wake refreshed.”
He turns to Aisling. “Let him rest and check on him in a few hours.”
Aisling nods. “I will, sir.”
Anna enters the room, smiling at me. “How’s John doing?”
“The swelling has gone down,” he says. “I gave him some medicine and a poultice of herbs. He should feel better in a few hours.” He picks up the tray and motions for Anna and Aisling to follow him out of the room.
I hear the door close with the clicking of the latch. My eyelids close, feeling the effects of the tea. What am I doing here? I have to get back home. Soon, I drift off to sleep.