Marta's Good Luck

The Hart & Hind Tavern was busier than usual and Marta was trying her best to keep up. The early winter storm had people coming in to warm their hands by the fireplace and warm their bellies with a pint of ale or cider. Marta delivered two plates of food while another table called out for a round of drinks. The front door opened as she turned to fetch the refills and three gentlemen walked in looking for a table. The open door let in a brace of cold air which felt refreshing from the heat and smoke of the fire and many men puffing on their pipes after dinner. She pointed to the last open table in the front corner by the window and the men took their seats.

When she got the other tables caught up, Marta went to the newcomers to get their order. “Gentleman, we have cider and ale. If you are so inclined for dinner, we may have a bit of beef and potatoes left or bread and hard cheese,” she said as she finally caught her breath and surveyed the men at the table. Two of them were well dressed, most likely merchants, the third man was somewhat rougher looking but all three smiled pleasantly and could all possibly be related.

“Yes, a pint of ale for each along with dinner if you have enough. The blowing snow has slowed our arrival to the village, and a warm dinner would be just delightful miss,” the older merchant said.

“Make mine a cider if you please, I hear it’s the best around,” the younger merchant said with a smile that made Marta blush just a little. He was a handsome man in his early twenties.

When she turned to fetch their orders, she caught her foot on the leg of a chair and fell to the wood plank floor. The younger man jumped up immediately to help her up. “Oh my, what a dreadful fall. Are you hurt?” he asks as he grabbed her hand with one of his and wrapped his other arm around her back to lift her to her feet.

“Thank you, I think I am fine.” Marta looked around the room to see how many people saw her embarrass herself, but no one seemed to notice other than Norbert, the owner of the tavern, who glared at her. She dusted herself off and inspected the palms of her hands.

“Aleksander Augustine at your service miss…?” he said with a bow.

“Uh, Marta, my name is Marta. Thank you again.”

“Marta, what a lovely name. Please allow me to introduce my father Thelonius Augustine, and my cousin Robin Hawkins our muleskinner. Both men stood and gave a slight bow. Aleksander looked at Marta’s hand she was rubbing. “Looks like you may have a splinter there. May I?”

Marta bashfully held her hand out for Aleksander. He gently took it in one hand while the other pulled a small knife from his belt. He quickly but carefully pinched the splinter between the blade and his thumb and gently pulled the splinter out. Marta watched his face while he concentrated on the splinter.

“Marta, you have patrons wanting their tankards filled,” Norbert yelled from behind the bar. He then came closer to the merchant’s table and offered up an apology. “Sorry gents for my clumsy barmaid, she’s new here. It’s hard to get good help anymore. I’ll teach her a lesson after closing.”

“She wasn’t any trouble at. She’s actually quite charming,” Aleksander said. Marta was filling a tankard from the keg on the bar when she heard this and looked over to meet Aleksander’s eyes and smiled. “A little kindness and encouragement usually gets the best results from those in your employ I’ve found.”

“Well, I’ve found that a leather strap can get good results too,” Norbert said as he turned and wiped the bar with his rag.

Marta continued hustling to serve all the patrons in the tavern and each time she stopped at the merchant’s table, she seemed a bit flustered. She wasn’t sure if it was because she felt like a fool earlier or if it was because whenever she glanced at Aleksander, he met her eyes and smiled.

The evening was ending and the patrons were fastening their coats and donning their hats to brave the winter storm blowing outside. Marta stopped at the merchant’s table one last time to clear their plates and tankards. “That old barkeep won’t give you any trouble when we leave, will he?” Aleksander asked as they were preparing to leave.

“He’s all talk, and I think he’s probably forgotten about it by now,” Marta said but she knew that wasn’t true. She was going to be reprimanded tonight or worse. Norbert has already demanded that she will marry him and if she won’t then he’ll have her anyway. The thought of sharing herself with that man who was at least twice her age made her skin crawl, but she was not about to burden these gentlemen with the troubles of a peasant girl.

“I’ll go check on the mules in the stable before heading over to Mrs. Stonefeather’s,” Hawkins stated as they opened the front door. They were the last to leave the tavern.

“I as well,” Aleksander replied. “I wouldn’t want you to get lost in the storm Cousin.” He patted Hawkins on the back and turned once again and smiled at Marta as she closed the door and locked it.

#

Marta finished clearing the tables and swept the floor worrying the whole time about what Norbert was going to do to her. She grabbed three tankards that she missed from the bar when she saw Norbert return from the kitchen and unbuckle his belt. “You thought I would forget to give you your punishment, eh? Flirting all night with that young man made you think you were something other than a disposable bar wench.”

He came around the bar with the belt in his hand and an evil look in his eye. Marta still had two ceramic tankards in one hand and one in the other. As Norbert came closer Marta held her ground. She was not about to take any further abuse from this man. He seemed a little surprised when she didn’t try to run from him and even more surprised when she smashed the two tankards across his jaw, sending broken bits of ceramic everywhere. He staggered a bit and looked at Marta with glassy eyes. It’s now or never she thought and smashed the last mug against the side of his head and Norbert fell to one knee.

Marta knew he wouldn’t be down long, so she scurried past him, grabbed her shawl and bolted through the back door into the storm. She had a small room she stayed in as part of her employment and a few personal items there, but it was too risky to try and get them. She stumbled into the snow drifts and looked around her thinking about what to do. She had nowhere to go.

She thought about the stables. Yes, she could find warmth there amongst the animals and straw. She turned toward the stables but with the blowing snow and few lanterns still lit she wasn’t sure exactly where the stables were. She trudged through the snow, the wind biting at the exposed skin of her calves, hands and face. It was exhausting ploughing through the drifts, and she kept pausing to get her bearings. She had to navigate another deep drift and was almost through it when a gust of wind swept her off her feet and she landed face first into the snow.

She was so tired and cold. At this point she didn’t even care if she made it to the stables. She just wanted it to end. Marta lifted her head once again to look for any sort of shelter. She must try to go on. When she brought her hands under her to push herself up, she felt a cold metal object in her hand. She didn’t know what it was but grasped onto it, nonetheless.

Just then she heard voices shouting. “Are you sure that girl didn’t swipe it from your finger when you helped her up?”

“Yes, I know I still had it when we left. I always twirl it once around for luck when I walk through a door.”

“We’ll never find it in this storm.” Shouted the first voice.

“If anyone were to find it and return it to me, I would be forever grateful. Come let’s head back to Stonefeather’s”

Marta took a deep breath and yelled as loud as she could, “Help. Someone please help me.” And then with her face numb, her fingers and toes frozen, she passed out.

#

When Marta opened her eyes, she was in a strange room wrapped in a wool blanket on a chair in front of a fireplace. Her toes were still ice cold, so she slid her feet out of the blanket to expose them to the radiant heat of the fire. “Oh good, you’re awake,” came a voice entering the room. “You gave the boys a dreadful fright when they found you in the snow.” Mrs. Stonefeather set the tray she was carrying with tea and biscuits down on the side table. Marta had seen Mrs. Stonefeather around the village once or twice but had never met her. She knew she was a widow that boarded travelers from time to time.

“Who found me?” Marta asked.

“Mr. Augustine and Mr. Hawkins. The lads were coming from the stables and said you were lying in a snow drift nearly dead from exposure,” Mrs. Stonefeather said as she was pouring some tea and handed it to Marta. “They brought you in worried so and asked if I could keep an eye on you through the night.”

When Marta went to reach for the tea she noticed she still had something clutched in her hand. When she unfurled her fingers which were just now starting to thaw, she saw it was a gold ring with a large emerald embedded in it. She held it up for Mrs. Stonefeather to see. “I found this in the snow,” she said.

“Young Mr. Augustine lost the ring his grandfather had given him, and they were looking for it on the way back here,” Mrs. Stonefeather said as she examined the ring and set it on the serving tray. “This must be the ring he lost. He was especially distraught when he lost it. He said it brings him good luck. It seems that losing that ring has brought luck to you. If they hadn’t been searching for it, they would have been straight back here and never found you.”

Marta pondered this for a moment. She’d been foolish wandering off in the blizzard like that, but she also was not going to let Norbert have his way with her. She’d rather been dead than give in to him.

“I hear voices, is the young lady awake?” Aleksander asked as he walked into the room.

“I am, many thanks to you,” Marta replied. “Although I am no lady, just a foolish peasant girl.”

“My ring, you found my ring,” he exclaimed as he picked it up from the tray. “However did you find it and why were you out on such a dreadful night?”

Marta told him the details of Norbert’s intentions and the altercation after the tavern closed, and how she had to flee from there without a chance to retrieve her belongings from her room. She told him about losing her way in the blowing snow and pushing through the drifts until she fell and found the ring. That was all she remembered.

“Well, it seems that Grandfather’s ring brought us both luck,” he said. “If I hadn’t lost it, you would not be here with us now.” He turned to Mr. Hawkins who had entered the room. “Robin, after breakfast we need to run a few errands. I think we’ll be delayed here in Brakenford for a few days until the weather turns.”

“I washed your clothes dear. After breakfast you can get dressed and help me clean up,” Mrs. Stonefeather said as she returned to the room with Marta’s dress and hung it by the fire. Marta looked at the dingy old dress and instantly felt ashamed of her peasant upbringing being around these merchant class men. At the same time, she realized she was naked under the wool blanket and awkwardly pulled it tighter around her. She glanced at Aleksander who gave her a smile and slight bow as he and Mr. Hawkins took their leave.

#

Marta was dressed and putting dishes away when Aleksander and Mr. Hawkins returned. Their arms were full of bags and packages which they set on the kitchen table. “I got you a few things, hopefully they are the right sizes,” Aleksander said to Marta as he pulled a pair of tall leather boots from one of the bags.

Marta looked at the table full of packages and then back to Aleksander. “You got all this for me? I don’t have any money to pay for this,” she said. “Norbert hadn’t even paid me for my week’s wages before I left.”

“Oh, that reminds me, we stopped by the Hart & Hind and retrieved your things from your room along with your wages for the week,” Aleksander said as he dug in his coat pocket for a coin purse and handed it to Marta.

Marta felt the heft of the purse and knew it was more than what she would have earned for the week. Then she moved to the table and gingerly removed the lid from a large box to reveal a new winter traveling cloak. Tears started forming in her eyes as she said, “I am grateful for my personal things and wages. I find it hard to believe that Norbert willingly handed them over. But these other items, I just can’t accept them. I am just a peasant girl, and these gifts are just too much.”

“Norbert took a little persuading,” Aleksander said glancing down at his knuckles which were scraped up a bit. “In the end he did offer his apologies and doubled your wages for the inconvenience he caused you.”

Marta looked at the scrapes on Aleksander’s hand but didn’t feel sorry for Norbert at all. He got whatever he had coming to him. She looked at the packages on the table again but didn’t open any more of them.

“As far as being a peasant girl,” Aleksander continued. “There is no shame in that. My mother was a peasant girl when my father married her.” He took a few steps closer to Marta and took her hand in his. “Mrs. Stonefeather has agreed to keep you on here at the boarding house and chaperone my visits back here during our engagement until we can have a proper wedding in the spring.”

Marta looked at him in surprise. She tried to speak but nothing came out.

“But when this weather breaks, I would like to bring you home to Westreach to meet my mother. I’m sure she will adore you as much as I do.” He leaned in and kissed Marta on the lips.

The tears that were forming now sped down her cheeks as Marta wrapped her arms around Aleksander and kissed him back. When he finally pulled away, Marta said, “I guess that ring really has brought us good luck.”

They both laughed and kissed again.