It was a very short carriage ride down Castle Hill. Eden looked longingly at other people making their way to the markets, and thought how much nicer it would be if they were walking amongst them; laughing together in the fresh air, and being warmed by the exercise.

"Doesn't look like there's been much snow here," she said, for there was only a bit of dirty slush in the streets.

"No, hardly any," Lucy said. "They say it's been too cold for snow this winter."

"That's right," Nurse May nodded sagely. "This is the kind of weather that freezes, not snows. An unhealthy winter, my mother always said, for if there's been no proper snow by Yule, you can be sure of many deaths before the spring."

"What was the weather like on your birthday, Miss Lucy?" Nurse Melia asked, as if struck by a thought.

"Oh, it was nice," Lucy said, giving a little start. "A bright, crisp, sunny day. We went for a walk in the woods after lunch, and I saw a robin."

"Well, they do say in our country if the weather is fine on Mother Earth's Day, then she will send the gift of snow by Winter Light," Nurse Melia said comfortingly. "That's your birthday, isn't it, Miss Lucy?"

"Yes, it's the thirteenth of December," said Lucy. "What a lovely saying, Nurse Melia! Perhaps Mother Earth will send us some snow as a Yule gift after all."

Nurse May looked slightly peeved to have her gloomy prognostication countered, but Maeve chipped in with, "And if it does nothing but freeze, we'll be able to go skating soon. Would you like that?"

Soon Eden and Lucy were eagerly discussing skating, asking Maeve what the chances were of the river actually freezing hard enough for it. And before they knew it, they had passed the Wintertide Temple in Black Swan Court (which was just as hideous by daylight as Eden had imagined) and reached the bottom of Castle Hill.

The carriage came to a gentle halt in an alleyway, and they all sat up straight. The nurses clutched their handbags in front of them; Nurse Melia looking slightly nervous, and Nurse May steely and determined, like a soldier preparing to go into battle.

"In a few moments, we will be leaving the carriage," said Maeve. "As long as you remember everything Jarvis told you, there will be nothing to worry about." She gave Nurse Melia a reassuring smile.

"Jarvis and I won't be hanging over your shoulders, so please relax and enjoy your Yuletide shopping," Maeve went on. "The more you look like ordinary shoppers at the markets, the better you'll blend in, and the safer you will be."

"And what about paying for the shopping?" Nurse Melia asked.

"I want you to carry your handbag in your left hand," Maeve instructed. "When you are ready to pay, place your handbag in your right hand, and wait for either Jarvis or I to come to you. We will pay for anything you want with the money you gave us, and arrange for it to be delivered."

Nurse Melia listened carefully, and nodded her head to show she had understood.

"We are in Tarry Lane," Maeve told them. "The carriage will return here at one o'clock. If by some chance we become separated, we can meet up at the entrance to Tarry Lane, or by the carriage if it has arrived."

Both nurses placed their handbags in their left hands, and then Jarvis opened the door for them. He chivalrously helped the nurses to alight from the carriage, while Eden and Lucy tripped lightly down the steps after them.

Once again it was Jarvis who led them down the lane, while Maeve kept to the rear. The nurses walked together in the middle, while Eden and Lucy were behind them. Tarry Lane was a narrow, twisting alley, between high buildings so that it was dark even during the day. Eden couldn't imagine anyone wanting to tarry there, and thought Lurk Lane seemed more apposite. It was a good place for lurking.

"Sorry about all this," Lucy said quietly. "I should have told you what it was going to be like, but I was so scared you'd refuse to go."

"That's alright," Eden said. "I don't mind, it's actually quite exciting. I feel like I'm in a Jem Bones novel."

"Oh, do you read those?" Lucy asked with interest. "I read the first one – Jem Bones, Spy Royale. But when I started on Jem Bones and the Accursed Rubies, Mummy took it away and said I wasn't to read such trash."

"Well, they probably aren't great literature," Eden admitted, "but they're awfully thrilling. I can lend you Jem Bones and the Girl With the Silver Sword if you don't let anyone catch you."

"I'm not listening to any of this," Maeve said behind them in an amused tone, "but Hawkins has the entire Jem Bones series if anyone was interested in reading them. I'm just talking to myself, you understand."

Lucy grinned at Eden as they emerged from Tarry Lane onto Little Market Street. A barrier had been erected to prevent any but foot traffic passing further, with a high open doorway decorated with twining evergreens. Above it was a large sign with YULETIDE MARKETS – OPEN DAILY – ALL WELCOME written upon it.

A big jolly looking man in a dark green coat and a red hat stood in front of the sign, calling out, "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! The Yuletide Markets have everything you need to celebrate Yule! Food, wine, decorations, gifts! Prices for every pocket! Step right up!"

Jarvis walked up to the man, saying, "Good Yule to you. One for the markets, please."

"Good Yule, sir!" the man exclaimed. "That will be one copper coin to enter. All money raised goes to help the poor."

Jarvis pulled out his purse to pay, and then glanced back at the others who were behind him, as if he'd just noticed them.

"One copper coin for me," Jarvis said, placing it in the man's hand, "and I'd like to pay for the four ... no, five ladies behind me. Compliments of the season."

"Now that's proper Yuletide generosity, to give alms to widows, children, and spinsters," said the man delightedly, accepting five more copper coins. "And it all goes to charity sir, as I said previous."

Jarvis walked through the doorway, and when the rest of them reached it, the big man in the green coat said, "Good Yule, ladies! That gentleman has already paid for you all, so you may enter the markets for free."

"Most kind of the young man," said Nurse May, rather distantly, as they all walked through the doorway together.

Little Market Street was lined with charming old-fashioned shops, their plate glass windows filled with tempting displays, and further wares for sale on tables outside on the cobblestones. There were stalls and kiosks shoved into every available street corner and even a few people selling goods on trays around their waist. It was thronged with shoppers; a busy, bustling crowd with cheeks and noses red with cold, eager to part with their hard-earned coins.

To one side of the doorway as they came through was a huge wooden image of Father Time holding up a giant hourglass with a sign inscribed with the words, Only 6 Shopping Days Left Until Yule! The number was in a separate slot, so that it could be changed each day.

"Back when I was a girl, the Yuletide markets opened on the first of December," Nurse May said disapprovingly. "But they begin trading earlier and earlier every year. This year it was November the eleventh – at such a rate, we will soon see Yule decorations up before Wintertide."

"Never mind, nurse," Lucy said. "It gives people more time to do their shopping, and besides, everyone loves it."

"In my mother's day, the markets were open for a week before Yule, and in my grandmother's time it was but four days," Nurse May went on in an insistent lament.

"And ten generations ago, people were only permitted a single minute in which to do their Yule shopping," Maeve whispered into Eden's ear.

Eden knew better than to giggle and give the game away, but her eyes sparkled, and her lips curved into a smile. She turned her head slightly to look at Maeve, but she had somehow vanished. No matter how much Eden looked around the markets, she could see neither Maeve nor Jarvis, but had to trust that they were there, watching, the entire time.

"Where shall we go first?" Eden asked.

"Um ... I thought we might split up," Lucy said awkwardly. "Because ... you know. To keep our shopping private."

"Oh," said Eden blankly. Then she realised what Lucy meant, and said, "Oh. Oh, well. That's a good idea."

Although Eden agreed with Lucy's suggestion, she was disappointed when it was decided that Lucy would go with Nurse Melia, and she would be accompanied by Nurse May. It made sense that each visitor would be paired up with someone who knew the markets and the city, but spending time alone with Nurse May proved something of a chore.

It was not that Nurse May complained so very much, but her natural voice was one of grievance and fretfulness. And she kept up a low drone of constant warnings that was slowly driving Eden mad.

"Mind your step, miss, the cobbles are uneven there. Lift your dress a little, lest it drag in this terrible mud. Don't let anyone brush against you, or you never know what they'll be up to. Be careful along here miss, the crowd can get very rowdy around the puppet show."

Eden immediately craned her neck to see the puppet show in the bright red and white striped booth, but Nurse May said firmly, "Avert your eyes, miss. Such vulgarities are not suitable for a young lady to look upon."

Eden spent her time trying to ignore Nurse May, while simultaneously reminding herself what a good, kind, helpful person she was. Meanwhile, Nurse May was not allowing her to look at any of the merchandise on sale, saying, "This is poor stuff here. These prices are too high, nothing but robbery. Not that stall, she doesn't look clean. Don't eat food sold at the markets, it's unwholesome. Never buy from someone in the street, it's sure to be some kind of confidence trick."

At last they arrived at the place Nurse May had been making her way towards with inexorable determination. A large, handsome store painted a refined burgundy with Carillo's Grand Emporium written across the window in curly gold writing.

"Carillo's has everything we need," Nurse May said in satisfaction. "It's clean and well organised, with good prices and courteous staff. I won't shop anywhere else, and Senor Carillo himself will often serve me. A lovely gentleman."

Carillo's was indeed a fine establishment, with fresh food sold on one side, and household goods on the other. Well-stocked shelves lined broad aisles where two might walk abreast, and pretty girls and handsome youths in freshly starched white aprons were ready to assist with any possible enquiry.

Much as Eden might admire the grand emporium, it had nothing that looked like a Yule present for Lucy. For that matter, she didn't know what sort of gift Lucy would like. Her life was so luxurious – would she expect diamonds and silks?

It had been no idle boast of Nurse May that Senor Carillo would serve her personally. He was an elderly man, courtly in manner, elegantly dressed, with silver hair down to his shoulders and jet black eyebrows. Senor Carillo came over to Nurse May, saying, "Ah, my dear madam! It is good to see you again. How may I help you?"

Eden listened in something like despair as Nurse May happily chatted away with Senor Carillo. Everyone at the castle was very well, it was so kind of Senor of Carillo to ask. Nurse May hoped Senora Carillo was feeling better after her cold, and asked after all their grandchildren by name. Yuletide arrived faster each year – why, it seemed only a week since the Spring Festival!

Senor Carillo said the markets were filled with shoddy goods, and it was shocking how standards were slipping, but Madam could be quite confident that everything in his store was of good quality. Could he show her some beautiful fabrics imported from the Persian Empire, at very reasonable prices?

There seemed no chance of Nurse May ever leaving Carillo's Grand Emporium, and no chance of Eden finding a gift for Lucy there. Neither Nurse May nor Senor Carillo paid her a particle of attention, and Eden gradually inched her way closer to the doorway.

She pretended to be very interested in a tray of dessert apples with a waxy shine on them, and when Nurse May disappeared around a corner to look at fabric, she took an experimental step outside the door. She spent some time examining a table covered in Yule decorations before slowly backing away until she was in the street.

Eden allowed a strolling group of carollers to separate her from the store. It was a large choir, who sang an energetic song for the season:

Yule, Yule, radiant Yule! We fear not ice and snow
For darkness flees, and light defeats shadow
The sun shall come again
Rise in the sky to reign
Bringing joy to the Earth at the dawning –
Joy to us all in the morning!

The singers' voices almost shouted with happiness on the last line. Eden smiled as she tapped her feet, and even sang along with the refrain, wishing she had some coins to give to the carollers. She breathed the free air, and thought about all the things she would do now she'd escaped from Nurse May.

She would watch the vulgar puppet show; she would eat a bag of unwholesome hot chestnuts; she would shake hands with the dirty-looking woman; she would purchase shoddy goods and pay too much for them. And she would buy a postcard from the man selling them on the pavement, and she didn't care if it was a trick.

So lost was Eden in this delightful dream of liberty that she didn't notice the tall person dressed in dark clothing until they bumped into her.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you have the time? I'm afraid I've mislaid my watch," said a familiar voice.

Eden looked up apprehensively.

Maeve gave her a look of amused exasperation before adding, "It's quite a surprise how many things are going astray this morning!"

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

LINDENSEA LORE

The man removed the hessian sack covering his head, to reveal a darkly handsome face with a savage scar slashed against one cheek. 

His deep blue eyes flashed like cold fire as he said in a hard voice, "I am not Wat Hopkins, the village simpleton who had to hide his face because it was disfigured by the pox! Allow me to introduce myself – my name is Bones. Jem Bones."

He received only a curse and a harsh spitting sound in response.

"I am the king's own spy, loyal only to King Robert, answerable only to His Majesty," Jem Bones cried. "I am the scourge of traitors, and I kill with a single stroke. So put your sword up, and have at you!"

From Jem Bones – On His Majesty's Most Secret Service by Ivor Fenwick