Chapter 9: Salvation
Dawn.
The gentle sunlight drove away the early spring chill. Martha tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and stirred the rice soup in the pot, letting out an involuntary sigh.
Since her child’s father got killed by a wild boar, life had gotten harder and harder.
The new lord had also collected taxes, leaving the whole household with less than 110 pounds of rye—one meal less with each meal eaten.
She’d been thinking that if worst came to worst, she’d cook the seeds for food, but then the day before yesterday the lord collected all the spring planting seeds and issued an order forbidding cultivation.
Although the messenger said the lord wouldn’t let anyone starve, looking at the lord’s fierce appearance, could those words be trusted?
Martha felt completely lost.
She looked up at her two daughters working hard to carry water outside—one eighteen, one fifteen.
If it really came down to it, she’d have to break up the family and marry them all off.
But—
Martha glanced at the child lying on the bed babbling.