“It is done, lady.” The man held out the empty basket. “We even hid a few of the trinkets in the gardens to keep the children busy.
“Go and enjoy the festivities.” Lucy pressed a coin into his hand. All the servants were to be given coin today in celebration of the holiday.
“Thank you, lady.”
While people no longer celebrated the end of the harvest with three days and three nights of festivities, Lucy thought they had enough planned for today and tomorrow to make everyone happy.
Children and adults alike donned masks painted with animal faces, monsters, or evil spirits to protect them from being kidnapped by the faeries or taken by a spirit out to do harm.
The gates of Blackford stood wide open so the villagerscould come and go, making Lucy second guess the decision. But after they hadn’t found any sign of Agnes or her men, Lucy couldn’t find a reason not to leave them open for the holiday.
From the moment she woke this morning, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. When she’d told William of her fear, instead of dismissing her, he told the men to be watchful. They would take shifts so everyone could partake in the celebrations.
The men thought Agnes and the remaining mercenaries had either perished of smallpox or had moved on to easier prey, but she wasn’t so sure.
She’d seen the madness in Agnes’ eyes, so while everyone celebrated, she’d be on the lookout for the woman.
A huge bonfire to protect everyone from evil spirits and faeries stood in the courtyard, waiting to be lit when it grew dark.
Lucy couldn’t wait to hear new scary stories. One musician said he would tell a story of a ghostly pirate ship that appeared on Samhain and would steal men away, cursed to sail the seas for all eternity. A few of the knights boasted of outdoing each other, but she hoped they wouldn’t scare the kids too much.
The musicians played inside the great hall while people ate and bobbed for apples. It was warm inside, with roaring fires in the hearths to help keep the chill at bay from the doors being left open.
An old custom was to leave food out for the ancestors along with leaving every single door and window open so the ancestors could come and eat, and people could talk to them on this night when the veil between worlds was thin.
While the custom was now frowned upon by the church, many still practiced it.
Normally, Lucy would be all for it, but a sense of uneasesettled on her shoulders that she couldn’t shake as the open gates, windows, and doors left her feeling exposed and nervous. Someone ran past her wearing a mask of a boar’s head as Lucy tried to push the worry away and enjoy the afternoon.
By the time she came back from the nursery, after checking on Peter, darkness had fallen over the land.
William waved her over to stand beside him as the music and voices died down, all eyes turning to Lord Blackford.
Lucy slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, smiling up at him. They’d both dressed in black. The women in the castle had embroidered his black velvet surcoat with his hellhound crest and leaves in gold thread, while they’d embroidered her dress with ravens in silver thread. Margery had put her hair up with jeweled clips that sparkled in the firelight.
“Good people,”William began, his voice booming to reach the furthest corners of the courtyard. “I thank you all for celebrating Samhain with us at Blackford.”
Murmurs of appreciation rippled through the crowd. William allowed himself a slight smile before continuing solemnly.
“This night holds meaning for many. A time of harvest’s end when we give thanks for the bounty provided this year.”
Heads bobbed in agreement. The harvest had been plentiful across Blackford’s lands this year.
“We leave the doors and windows open so our departed ancestors may visit and partake in the feast as we tell them of our year.” This comment, William noted, caused a scowl from the village priest.
His wife liked to tell the children when they scowled thattheir faces would freeze that way for all time if they were not careful.
“We must don our masks this night so evil spirits and faeries do not take us away,” he went on, eliciting a few murmurs of unease from the more superstitious folk.
His wife squeezed his arm, no doubt remembering the night that brought her to him, and the awful day he thought he’d lost her to time itself.
“But above all, let this be a night of kinship and community.” William’s piercing gaze encompassed them all.
“So eat, drink, and celebrate tonight to welcome the coming winter, a time of reflection and rest.” William proclaimed.
A roar went up from the enthusiastic crowd. William grabbed a torch and strode toward the waiting bonfire. With a mighty swing, he plunged the torch down into the kindling as several of his men did the same.
Flames erupted with a mighty whoosh, licking higher and higher into the night sky as the fire took hold. Sparks swirled upward, mingling with the stars, bathing the courtyard in flickering orange light.
