The handsome red was a gift from King Charles for Darius’ work on the Queen’s birthday present; a stunning row of silver priory beads, alchemized with a ward against pox and plague. The pregnant queen needed all the health she could get - with her husband shuttling her between castles, Darius feared she would miscarry. He wasn’t fond of many women, but Queen Anne was both intelligent and a caring mother, with a fresh, direct common sense he found so lacking in many of the women at the French court.The horse came to a languid trot on the dirt road. Darius watched the farmers cull the early harvest - pearl onions, radishes, and sweet peas. The winter blight had killed everything, but still the farmers managed to scrape a living from the soil as they had for so many years. Power struggles and petty gossip meant little to them, and for that Darius was in awe. The house he arrived at was a thatched one-level farmhouse, the type soldered with hay and a prayer to keep the cold out. Darius tied his horse and made his way through the thick mud to the front door.
