Isabel: Taking Wing

London, England – 1592
Author Annie Dalton
Illustrator Mark Elliott
Originally Published © 2002 Pleasant Company
ISBN 1584855177
 

A Kindred Spirit

Isabel wakes up on Christmas Eve morning to a layer of frost covering each window pane. Sabine, her older sister, is already awake and is working on preparing the house for Christmas. Isabel hears her baby sister, Hope, coughing next to her in bed. Oh, Isabel wishes her mother was there. Isabel’s mother died of childbed fever the spring before, leaving her, Sabine, Hope, and Robert, Isabel’s older brother, motherless.

Isabel crawls out of bed and dresses herself as Meg, their new maid, comes in to dress baby Hope. Isabel suspects Meg is about her age, but it seems Meg intentionally avoids Isabel. This time, Isabel tries to get a conversation going between them. Meg politely dodges answering all of Isabel’s questions, but Isabel is determined to find a kindred spirit her own age.

Isabel follows Meg down to the kitchen, where she’s preparing a bath for Hope. Isabel comes in to help. Even with Joan, their cook, hovering, Isabel manages to catch Meg’s smile and ask if she’d like to join Isabel for a walk someday. Meg agrees she’d like that. But then as soon as they finish with Hope’s bath, Isabel’s Aunt Elinor comes in and pulls Isabel out of the kitchen.

 

“Lullay My Liking”

Isabel knows Aunt Elinor is disappointed in her. Not just for today, but in general. She’s always criticizing Isabel for not being ladylike, unlike Sabine, who Aunt Elinor insists is just like her. But out of all the children, Isabel is the only one who resembles their mother, which makes her her father’s favorite.

Isabel’s father is a spice trader who has gone as far as the Indies working. Isabel wishes that she could travel the world someday. Alas, she’s a girl, and so she won’t be allowed to leave London like that.

Isabel greets her father in the parlor for breakfast, where he kisses her cheek and wishes her a “Merry Christmas.” Isabel is still upset about her interactions with Meg that morning, and her father notices. Hastily, Isabel claims she simply misses Robert, who’s doing an apprenticeship with Master Johnson. Isabel recollects how she used to play a made up game called Samarkand with him and Sabine. In the game, they’re explorers who sailed to a magical land where they’d trade silks and spices. When they were done, they’d travel by pack mule along the Silk Road to bring them back to England and Queen Elizabeth.

Isabel’s father suggests that Isabel go to the docks to meet Robert and bring him home. Isabel hastily finishes her breakfast—she’ll have a few minutes of Robert all to herself! As she prepares to go out the door, she approaches the family’s old nurse, Alice. Alice has gotten old over the years, and is in pain.

After being assured Alice is all right, Isabel asks her what she could get Meg for Christmas. Alice reminds Meg that she may not want a gift from Isabel. Isabel is educated and wealthy, while Meg is illiterate and poor. Isabel insists on finding a small gift for Meg anyway.

On Isabel’s way out the door, Aunt Elinor comes in to see Isabel off. She reminds Isabel to use her pomander so she won’t catch the black plague. Although cases of the black plague haven’t been reported in years, Aunt Elinor is still afraid it’ll come back. In the 1560s, the black plague had killed over 20,000 people in London.

On her way to the docks, nearly four miles away, Isabel stops to do a little shopping for Meg. She ends up finding some cookies shaped like a mother pig and a few piglets. The street seller wraps them up, exclaiming that even Her Majesty the Queen loves sugar!

Isabel finds her way down twisty streets to the river Thames, where she greets her older brother. He can still pick her up, but Isabel has to rush to keep up with Robert’s long legs. This further reminds her that Robert is a man now, and she’s still a child. As Robert explains that soon he’ll be sailing to the Indies to trade spices for Master Johnson, Isabel reminisces of the days when she and her brother were equals. She could have adventures, too. But since she was growing into a gentlewoman, this wouldn’t be her destiny.

When they get home, Robert and Father pull in the Yule log. They light it together, and with Sabine’s candles, the room lights aglow in flickering light. They settle down for a light Christmas Eve supper, and although they’ll feast more tomorrow, this is always Isabel’s favorite day, since everyone is excited for Christmas. And when Isabel plays “Lullay My Liking” on the lute, her whole family joins in.

 

Sabine’s Secret

After Christmas, Isabel gives Meg her cookies. Isabel can tell Meg is genuinely thrilled to receive them by the pink flush in her cheeks. But soon after, Meg goes home for the New Year, and then Isabel hears that Meg has taken ill. And then, Robert sets sail for the Indies, leaving an empty air in the house. Isabel notices that Aunt Elinor and Sabine have been having many secret conversations in hushed tones, and whenever Isabel comes through the door, they stop talking or shoo her away.

Isabel starts to keep herself occupied by taking long walks outdoors in the fresh air. Although, Isabel must be careful! She accidentally stays outside too long one day, and comes down with a chill. For days after, she’s kept indoors for Alice to take care of her. Isabel is relieved when she starts feeling better, so she can resume her studies with Master Hart.

Isabel loves to study with Master Hart! Her old master, Master Strype, believed girls were incapable of rational thought. But Master Hart indulges her with poetry, music, and stories. He also is a quirky man. For example, today Isabel watches him almost get hit by a cart outside on the street, but he doesn’t even notice because he’s so involved in his book!

After completing her Latin and music lessons, she asks Master Hart why it is that poets and writers never have the heroine die in a fantastical adventure, like the male heroes. Master Hart explains that those stories are uncommon, but he can think of one where a woman is a slave, who must risk losing her life to free her sweetheart from an evil lord.

By the time Master Hart finishes his story, it’s midday and he needs to leave. Aunt Elinor finds Isabel in the study, still deep in her thoughts. Aunt Elinor explains they have visitors that evening, and Isabel must hurry to get ready. As Isabel changes into her new kirtle and slippers, she hears the bellows of Sir Edmund Glover downstairs. Sir Glover’s son, Henry, was an old friend of Isabel from when they were younger, and Isabel used to have a crush on him.

But when Isabel comes downstairs, she finds not just Henry and Sir Glover, but many other people as well. Her father welcomes her inside, and then Sabine enters. Sabine is wearing a new rose-colored wool dress with tiny flowers, and her hair is impeccably brushed into her crisp, white cap. And then, Isabel feels her heart drop to the floor when her father announces that Sabine is to take Henry as her betrothed. Isabel watches, stunned, as Sabine and Henry exchange rings, followed by a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Through the cheers, Isabel realizes that she was the only one who didn’t know. Robert was told before he left for the Indies. Aunt Elinor and Sabine’s continual whispering. Even Alice and Meg had looked at her with pity over the last few weeks. Well, Hope didn’t know either, but Hope was just a baby! And by not telling Isabel, it shows that they consider Isabel like a small child, too.

That night, as Sabine climbs into bed beside Isabel, she tells Isabel that she’s so excited to marry Henry. They’re to be married in the spring, and there’s so much to do. Sabine asks if Isabel will help her; Sabine reminds Isabel they used to do everything together. Isabel tells herself that of course she remembers… it was Sabine who had forgotten.

 

Isabel Steals a Boat

A few weeks have passed since Sabine’s betrothal, and thus far everything at the house has been the same. Except, Father has gone up North to work, so Sabine and Aunt Elinor are taking care of the house. And when Master Hart gets sick, Aunt Elinor takes it upon herself to train Isabel in how to run the house. After all, Isabel realizes that after Sabine leaves, Isabel may be left to take over her work. They spend hours pouring over the household accounts, learning how to do laundry and remove stains, and which herbs can keep away fleas, moths, and household vermin. Isabel feels like she’s dying of boredom!

So when Aunt Elinor and Sabine leave to go to a dress fitting, Isabel suggests that she and Meg cross the Thames and go to the Rose Theater, where Meg’s brother, Kit, works! There, they can see the latest show. And Meg suggests borrowing her uncle’s boat to cross the Thames so they don’t have to cross the London bridge and look at all the criminals’ decapitated heads.

So that afternoon, Meg and Isabel leave on their adventure! The boat they take has a little bit of water in the bottom, but Meg assures Isabel that all boats leak a bit. And in a jiffy, they’ve crossed the river. Isabel feels like suddenly she is in a foreign country on the Southwark. There’s dirty children playing in the street, women with a mouthful of black teeth shrieking to each other in strange accents, and drunken men hobbling about. While Isabel’s clothes look completely normal where she lives, here on the South side, she feels completely out of place.

Finally, they make their way to the Rose Theater. Once inside the doors, Isabel is amazed with the theater! The ornately carved galleries rise in tiers up the walls, and the theater has an open top so you can see the sky from inside! There’s massive columns that look like real marble, even though Isabel knows they’re just painted wood. And the stage is more magical than anything Isabel had ever dreamed.

But not just the theater itself astonishes Isabel. She’s never seen so many people in one place! The richer playgoers are seated in the galleries, where she knows they paid a few pence extra to sit. At the bottom of the theater people stand. Butchers, poor scholars, tailors, and fishwives all huddle together to make room. The stench of so many unwashed bodies start to make Isabel feel queasy. But when the play starts, Isabel is transported to another world.

The show is from a new fellow named Will Shakespeare, and all of the actors are men. But they play the heroines so convincingly that Isabel almost forgets. After the show, Meg takes Isabel backstage to meet Kit. He introduces them to a few of the actors, and he explains what they do in the show. Oh, how Isabel wishes she was a boy, then she could act with the theater, too. And when the theaters close for the summer and the theater troupes travel, Isabel could travel with them!

After they’re done at the theater, Meg drags Isabel back through the streets to the boat. All is going well when Isabel realizes she feels water sloshing at her feet. She tries to start bailing the water out with a pail, but the boat keeps sinking faster. And right at the last second, Meg’s uncle comes and grabs them out of the water. He doesn’t say much, but he takes them back to shore and escorts them back to Isabel’s home.

Isabel tries to sneak upstairs, but her soaking wet stockings and kirtle move slowly. And right before Isabel gets to her chamber door, she hears an angry voice behind her. Aunt Elinor has caught her.

 

Banished!

As punishment for coming back late all sopping wet, Isabel is forced to sit in her study alone for seven days. Aunt Elinor even tells her she can’t read her books. All Isabel can do is sit and do her embroidery and needlepoint. And even when her work is flawless, Aunt Elinor makes her unstitch it and do it all over again. When Alice comes in to give Isabel her midday meal, she explains that she knows that Meg was with her, and about the boat drowning. She lectures Isabel for risking Meg’s position—the only reason Meg isn’t fired is because Aunt Elinor doesn’t know Meg was with Isabel that night.

That afternoon, Isabel sneaks a piece of gingerbread to Meg. She apologizes to Meg for only thinking of herself and not of realizing the risk she was putting onto Meg. Meg accepts her apology, and they laugh at Joan’s singing together.

When Isabel’s father gets home, Isabel stays in the study waiting to be called for. Under normal circumstances, she would rush downstairs to greet Father, but not this time. She waits what feels like hours, until Sabine calls for her. Even though Isabel apologizes, she can tell it’s too late. Her father is very disappointed. When he asks her what she was doing, she doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t want to incriminate Meg.

Father tells Isabel that she’s to go live with Aunt de Vere in Northamptonshire, about seventy miles northwest of London. Isabel barely remembers Aunt de Vere, and is nervous… apparently Aunt de Vere is a religious widow. Isabel will never get another chance to have exciting adventures again.

That evening, as Isabel goes back to her chambers, she can hear Sabine sobbing into her bed—Isabel will miss Sabine’s wedding. Instead of going to her own bed, she goes into Hope’s room and crawls onto Hope’s tiny bed. Isabel sings her little sister to sleep, comforting herself just a little bit, too.

 

Brigands on the Road

The next few weeks, Father manages to avoid Isabel’s gaze the whole time. They purchase new travel bags, new boots, new gloves, and a new travel cloak for Isabel to take to Northamptonshire. On the day Isabel’s set to leave, John, one of Aunt de Vere’s servants comes to escort her with a horse. As they leave, Meg runs up and drops a pendant into her hand. It’s a circular necklace, with a red stone in the center. Isabel vows to keep it forever.

A few hours into their journey, their horse loses a horseshoe. John and Isabel have to walk it into a village to be refitted. This delay means the journey will take them three days instead of just two. They make do and stay at a rundown tavern. Isabel is forced to sleep with the innkeeper’s wife, since she’s traveling with no female chaperone, and Isabel is sure the bed has fleas.

The next morning, John and Isabel set off on their way. It smells much better out here in the fields with the flowers, and for the first time, Isabel is happy she has left London. They enter a forest, and John swears this’ll cut hours off their journey.

Suddenly, Isabel hears the sound of horses galloping towards them. A group of brigands come out of nowhere and surround their horse. The horse rears, and although Isabel stays on, John falls and lands on a tree stump.

A man kicks John with his foot, and Isabel sees blood running down his face, and his empty eyes staring into space. The man shrugs—the boy is dead. And then the man mounts Isabel’s horse and gallops away.

Now Isabel has lost all her food and belongings, and is alone in the woods, and her chaperone is dead.

 

A Voice in the Dark

Isabel yells for help until her voice grows hoarse. But nobody comes to her aid. When it starts to get dark, Isabel realizes she’ll never find her way out on her own in the dark. She remembers the brave heroines from Master Hart’s stories, and tries to think of what they’d do.

Isabel comes to the conclusion they’d climb a tree for the night. Isabel walks a little bit until she finds a big oak with large branches and footholds. She carefully climbs to the first branch, and settles in for the night.

As it gets dark, she notices some firelight a little ways away. She shrugs it away—of course she’s seeing things, after all, she watched a person die today! But then she hears singing. In fact, it’s one of Meg’s favorite songs.

She scrambles down the tree, and finds her way to the source of the fire and noise. There she sees a boy alone rustling in a cart. The boy turns, and Isabel notices it’s Meg’s brother, Kit!

He recognizes Isabel, and helps her to the fire and pours her some stew. Isabel eats greedily, as she hasn’t really eaten all day. She explains what happened to her horse and John, and asks if he knows how to get her to Northamptonshire.

Kit ponders. At last, he says that he can’t leave his Master Pink, but they do plan to do a performance in Northampton in three weeks. If they can convince the troupe to let Isabel come, then Kit should be able to deliver Isabel to her aunt safely.

The only catch is: the troupe won’t let Isabel come along since she’s a girl. Isabel agrees to dress and act as a boy. After all, she doesn’t have much choice in the matter. And besides, she’ll never get the chance to travel with a theater troupe like this ever again.

When the other men come back, they find Isabel dressed in boys clothes, going by the name of Isabel’s brother, Robert. Kit explains the situation to his Master Pink, and only embellishes a little by saying Isabel’s aunt will offer a handsome reward for the return of Isabel, a.k.a. Robert.

Convinced by Isabel’s small performance as a boy, and encouraged by the promise of a reward, Master Pink agrees.

 

An Actor Born

The days pass on, and Isabel travels with the players up the countryside. She manages to hide every slip that she is not a boy, and does all right. She almost is caught when she picks up a small boy that’s fallen, but she wittily makes a comment about taking care of her younger siblings.

When another player falls sick, Master Pink ends up putting her into the show as the Princess—she’s the only other one that fits in the costume. Everybody tries to give her notes on how to act like a girl, and she secretly thinks it’s fun to pretend to be a boy pretending to be a girl.

She goes on as the Princess in several shows, and finds herself a natural actor. But as much as she loves being on the stage, she knows that the traveling troupe life isn’t for her. They have to travel in all weather, and often sleep outside, wet, and hungry. She’s developed large blisters on her heels, and they’re ridiculed, blamed for stealing things they didn’t, and even had to leave in the middle of the night once when they were threatened.

But after a few weeks, they’ve reached Northampton, and it’s almost time for Kit to bring her back to her Aunt’s. She’s tried over the weeks to tell herself she didn’t miss her family, and that they don’t miss her either. But she knows she does miss them, and she wishes she was back in London. And for the first time since leaving home, she cries herself to sleep.

 

A Merlin for a Lady

The next morning, Master Pink lets Kit and Isabel borrow their horse. But even so, it’s almost dark by the time they get to Aunt de Vere’s mansion. And it’s not just a mansion, but it’s a whole estate! It has its own chapel, stables, gardens, orchards, and a moat! Isabel had no idea that Aunt de Vere was so wealthy. She knew that Aunt de Vere married three times, and each time the husband died, and she has no children, but only a ward. This whole time, Isabel was hoping that Aunt de Vere could act like a mother figure, but now she’s picturing a more stern version of Aunt Elinor.

When Aunt de Vere came outside, she recognized Isabel almost immediately. It really seemed like Aunt de Vere was happy to see Isabel again, although she didn’t fuss over her. Aunt de Vere introduced her ward, Olivia, who is about Isabel’s age. Olivia lets Isabel borrow a dress, and accompanies her upstairs to her new chambers. Olivia is friendly, and insists that later, Isabel should tell her all about her adventures with the players.

The next day is the annual May Day celebration, where the whole town gets together for a walk through the woods, surrounded by flowers, music, dancing, and maypole dances. It’s like nothing Isabel has ever seen before in London. While there, she sees her troupe, and they even do a performance of the show! It’s strange for Isabel to be in the audience again, but she’s happy to see the audience laughing at all the right spots.

But for some reason, she and Kit’s conversations all afternoon are awkward and quiet. It’s like since she put her dress back on, Kit doesn’t know how to talk to her anymore. When they have to say goodbye, it’s harder than it was before. Kit insists it isn’t goodbye, and that he’ll see her again.

The next day, Olivia shows Isabel around the estate. The highlights include the mews where a man named Cole watches over several hunting birds. Although Isabel can’t really see inside, she’s very interested in her aunt’s hobbies.

That afternoon, Olivia and Isabel accompany Aunt de Vere to the clinic. It turns out Aunt de Vere is very well educated, and is knowledgeable in medicine. Apothecaries around England write to her asking questions, and she volunteers her time at the clinic assisting villagers.

At first, Isabel feels nauseous seeing so many sick people with boils, blisters, and open wounds. But after a while, she gets used to it. Aunt de Vere teaches her how to identify ailments, and how to mix together herbs to make medicines to give to people. One woman in particular is worried about the plague. She explains there have been rumors that the plague has come back to London and that people may start to get sick. Aunt de Vere eases her worries by telling her to keep a clean house and bathe themselves often. But in private, Isabel hopes her family is still well.

The next morning, Aunt de Vere volunteers to show Isabel the mews with the hunting birds. It turns out Cole and Aunt de Vere are falconers, and they’ve been raising a merlin bird who is ready to start training. Cole brings the bird out to show Isabel, and Isabel watches as Aunt de Vere feeds it a mouse from a kitchen trap. When a kestrel flies toward Isabel’s head, Isabel barely bats an eye; she’s so fascinated by watching them fly.

Cole offers to let Isabel help train the merlin. After all, he says, merlins are well-suited for a lady.

 

The Plague Mask

Each morning, Isabel trains her hawk, whom she named Nicolette. They work on slowly getting it to trust her, and soon they begin to let the leash out a little more to give it room to fly. Soon, it’ll be time to let Nicolette fly without a leash, just hoping she’ll choose to come back home.

In the afternoon, Isabel joins Olivia for lessons, where Aunt de Vere teaches the girls Greek, Latin, mathematics, and astronomy. In addition, Aunt de Vere tells them lovely stories like Master Hart.

And twice a week, the girls join Aunt de Vere volunteering at the clinic. She teaches them about the four humors, leeches, and how ailments can be affected by the positions of the sun and moon in the sky.

Isabel has become less squeamish over the weeks, both with handling the raw meat to feed Nicolette, and with helping clinic patients. She’s proud to know someday she’ll become a medic like her aunt.

One day, Aunt de Vere leaves Olivia and Isabel alone while she travels to Northampton on business. Isabel is excited to try out her new skills. The girls treat a man with ague and a boy who pushed a bean up his nose. When a mother comes in with her little baby, Isabel recognizes the symptoms of asthma right away. She looks up dosage in the herbal book, and gives them a remedy of bryony.

As they’re closing up the clinic, Olivia stops Isabel. She asks if she gave the baby the same dosage as the book states. Isabel says yes. Olivia immediately explains that dosage is for an adult. If fed to a baby, the child will die!

Olivia and Isabel ride to the mother’s house, and are relieved to find she hasn’t yet fed her baby the remedy. Olivia says that Isabel thought of a new remedy that will be far more effective, and she hands over the correct dosage for a child.

Isabel is ashamed of her mistake. She knows she must tell Aunt de Vere she almost killed a baby! To her surprise, Aunt de Vere doesn’t seem angry. Instead, Aunt de Vere lectures Isabel how we must always remember to keep our feet firmly on the ground. If we let ourselves get carried away, we can cause harm. Isabel promises to never make such a mistake again.

The next morning, a man comes riding up and tells Aunt de Vere that a townsman’s wife got sick with a fever on their way back from London, and they fear it’s the plague. Isabel and Aunt de Vere ride to their house. Isabel knows she can’t fear for her life, but if it is the plague, just being in the same room could get them sick, too.

When they arrive, they find the doctor already looking at the wife. He’s wearing a large, hollow mask that makes him look like a beaked devil, and he carries a long stick to use to poke and prod the patient. Isabel wonders how the patients don’t die of fright seeing doctors in their plague masks. Aunt de Vere calmly explains that medics must actually see the patient to discern whether it’s the plague. She walks over and inspects the woman, paying special attention to her skin on her armpits, groin, and neck.

At last, Aunt de Vere stands up. She says it is not the plague, since she has no blisters, but most likely just severe quinsy. For the next few hours, Aunt de Vere and Isabel work to bring down the woman’s fever, until she’s conscious and placid again.

When they return home, they find Olivia waiting with a letter. Isabel immediately recognizes the handwriting as Sabine’s. Sabine writes to explain how since Father is away traveling, Aunt Elinor has been left in charge of the house. Apparently since Aunt Elinor has been so afraid of the plague, she’s let all the servants go except Alice. And now baby Hope is sick, and Sabine fears Alice and Aunt Elinor cannot take care of her well enough to get Hope better.

Isabel immediately knows she must go help her sister. If Hope contracted the plague, she could be dead already, but Isabel must try. Aunt de Vere explains that they hear no street in London is unaffected by the plague. Isabel understands the risks, but her family needs her.

 

City of Ghosts

The first thing Isabel notices when she arrives back to London is the stream of running water. In the past, the city would be hustling and bustling with movement. Merchants yelling out their wares, carts and horses along the streets, screaming of children running down the streets. But now, things are quiet. The whole city is smokey. The smoke from the fires hangs over the city, muting all the colors. Isabel can see the crudely painted red crosses on the doors, which indicate where somebody from the plague has died.

A weary voice calls out to the streets for people to bring out their dead. The cart he pushes carries all the dead bodies of those who died of plague. He’ll take the bodies to a fire to be burned, along with the dead’s clothing and other possessions.

When Isabel arrives at her house, she can’t believe there is no cross painted on her door. She knocks quietly, and Alice lets her into the house, grateful to see her. Alice shows her into the room where Aunt Elinor and Hope are. They’ve set Hope’s bed up by the fire. Isabel can see that her Aunt, who she’s never seen cry in her life, has finally broken. Aunt Elinor fears Hope won’t live through the night.

Isabel assures Aunt Elinor that Hope doesn’t have the plague—she has flushed, but otherwise flawless skin. No boils, blisters, or discoloring of the skin. But Hope is very sick. Isabel sits with her the whole night. She bathes her face and body with cooling flower water to try to bring down fever. She lights scents in the room to try to clear out the bad smells and infection. She sings and tells stories to the child, trying to coax out her spirit. She tries to feed Hope minute quantities of porridge to help her regain strength. Slowly, both Alice and Isabel’s eyes start to droop from exhaustion.

The next morning, Isabel is awoken by birds singing outside. She looks down, to find Hope sleeping peacefully in her bed. By a miracle, Hope is still alive!

A few days later, Isabel leaves the house to run some errands. She suggested that Aunt Elinor sew a new dress for Hope to try to lift her spirits. So Isabel’s run out to get supplies. She visits a few merchant stalls and purchases some thread, frankincense, and myrrh. She almost stops to look at a book at a bookseller’s, but she refrains, for it might be contaminated with the plague.

Suddenly Isabel hears a familiar voice behind her. She turns and sees none other than Kit! They run to each other, but immediately Isabel senses something wrong behind Kit’s eyes. He blurts out that Meg has died. Apparently a woman next door to them got sick with the plague. When her husband realized, he abandoned her and their children. Meg went over to help take care of the kids. After the woman died, the city came and boarded up their house for six weeks, as is the law. By the time six weeks were over, everybody inside had perished.

Isabel can hardly comprehend what Kit told her. How is it possible for someone as saucy and rosy-cheeked as Meg to be dead, when Isabel’s frail little sister is still alive? Suddenly, Isabel realizes Hope may have gotten worse since Isabel’s been gone. She tells Kit she must hurry home to take care of her little sister. Kit promises to come find Isabel at the end of the plague, if they both survive. And on that promise, Isabel goes straight home.

When Isabel gets home, she’s intent on cleaning the entire house, which has fell by the wayside since Aunt Elinor let go of all the staff. Isabel sweeps and scrubs the flagstones. She polishes the furniture with beeswax. She strips sheets from the beds, boils them, and hangs them out to dry. And she prepares simple soups and porridges to help them all keep up their health.

Aunt Elinor questions what they’ll do if Isabel gets sick. Fed up with Aunt Elinor’s worries and questions, she curtly tells Aunt Elinor that she is strong and smart, and she’ll do everything in her power to keep all of them alive. That seems to do the trick, and Aunt Elinor, out of her slump, insists on helping Isabel.

That evening, Isabel’s father comes home. Isabel is grateful to see him again, and after a small reunion, he urges her to sing on her lute. At the end of “Lullay My Liking,” a small voice starts to sing with Isabel. They look down to see little Hope, sitting up in her bed with her eyes open, singing merrily as a blackbird.

 

The Limitless Sky

For the first time in a long while, Isabel is awoken by the sound of carts on the streets and voices calling out. These days, Isabel doesn’t sleep much, and she’s kept busy throughout the day working with Aunt Elinor and Alice to keep the house in ship-shape order, along with the new cook and maid.

But since their gardener isn’t arriving until later today, Isabel takes the opportunity to walk through the gardens, which are overgrown and unkept. But the lack of gardening has made them rather fruitful, and this year, the crimson roses have flowered twice, when they usually only flower once. She picks some of the flowers.

Isabel brings them upstairs to her study, and sets them on the hearthstone above the fireplace. She lays Master Hart’s notebook beside them. Master Hart died of plague, along with the rest of his family. Isabel remembers how he used to sit nice and cozy beside Meg’s fires, and she thinks setting everything up by the fireplace is the right place to honor both Master Hart and Meg.

Then, Isabel’s father comes inside. He announces that he’s made a decision. He says it’s clear to him that Isabel benefitted from being in the company of Aunt de Vere. He wants Isabel to go back to her estate to finish her education. This isn’t a banishment, and he wants them all to come up to Northamptonshire to visit Isabel when she gets settled, including Sabine and her new family!

Isabel is very happy with this decision. She loves London, but she misses Aunt de Vere, Olivia, Cole, and Nicolette. She wonders if Cole flew Nicolette without her, and if Nicolette chose to come back to Cole, or flew away into the limitless sky. Living with Aunt de Vere, she feels free.

That day, Isabel visits the river Thames. She brings the last of the picked roses, and slowly drops them into the water. They float down the river, bright red against the murky water. Isabel sits back and thinks of Meg, and when they traveled across the river to visit the theater. They were just children then. Isabel fingers Meg’s charm around her neck. Isabel whispers to Meg that she’s finally free. As free as a flying merlin.

 

Then and Now: England

Discusses a girl’s life in 1592 England. Topics include:

  • The Elizabethan Age and Queen Elizabeth’s wealth
  • Elaborate clothing women would have worn
  • Merchants and the spices they traded for
    • England was one of the top trading nations
  • London’s streets and their conditions
    • The streets and River Thames were dirty, crowded, and filled with garbage and human excrement
    • Rats ran rampant throughout the city, spreading disease
  • The Plague and plague doctors
    • The plague was spread through the air and by bites of rat fleas
    • Outbreaks occurred every two or three years
  • The popularity of Shakespeare’s plays
  • The death of Queen Elizabeth and England today
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