Brewer's Tale, The (59 page)

Collapsing on the chair next to mine, she reached over and gripped my thigh. ‘Let me put it this way. I've shared my bed with five different men as their wife, but I've never asked anyone to share my business as partner. I'm asking you, Anna de Winter, I'm asking you.'

A thousand reasons not to accept Alyson leapt through my head. My ears were filled with ‘nays' and ‘naughts'. I could see Father's furious visage looming over me, rage burning in his eyes; there was Tobias, shouting; Cousin Hiske and all manner of people from my past letting me know I was finally living up to their low expectations: brewing in a bathhouse. Only Mother's face, as it drifted before me, tears streaming down her cheeks, offered a small smile of hope.
You can make it work, Anneke, you always do.

Nay, Moeder, I don't. I didn't.

But this time you will.

I rose, brushing against Alyson as I returned to the window, drawn to gaze across the river towards the bustling city. Watery sunshine struck the grey-brown surface, transforming it into something sparkling and inviting. London too became a patchwork of colour and shadow, smoke and greenery, golden opportunity and dark failure.

Below the sill, the cobbles were slick, the ditch that ran down the centre of the road a sludge of straw, animal and human refuse, and all manner of rubbish. Dogs and pigs snuffled in the soaking stench, while chickens clucked and squawked like clumsy balls of feathers among the vendors and pedestrians, unlike the urchins who darted about with practised ease. Hawkers cried their wares and women wearing yellow hoods wandered between them, inviting customers to consider another kind of purchase. Alyson wouldn't be happy that her business was being encroached upon. The smell of a nearby fullers drifted in the open window while to my left, I could just see the edge of one of the watermills churning upstream. I wondered if that was the one Adam had visited.

What if Mother was right ? What if this time I really could make it work? Not over there, in the city, but here? Perhaps here my status wouldn't be such a burden, not with Alyson as my patron; indeed, as my partner. The risk was as much hers as mine.

‘The risk is as much mine as yours,' said a voice in my ear. I jumped. Alyson joined me at the window, reading my thoughts. ‘It's a dirty old place, isn't it? Bankside, Southwark … Look at all that shit.' She laughed. ‘But as God is my witness, it's my dirty old place.'

‘Nay,' I said, turning to face her.

Squinting in the sunlight, she raised a brow. ‘Oh? And why do you say that, you cheeky chick?'

‘Because it's
our
dirty old place.'

It took her a moment to get my meaning. Then, with a small cry, she pulled me against her. Betje joined us moments later. Adam stood beside us, one hand on Alyson's shoulder, the other upon mine, as together we stared at our grubby demesne.

THE SWANNE

May Day

The year of Our Lord 1407 in the eighth year of the reign of Henry IV

I
'd been at The Swanne now for almost three months, yet every time I descended the worn steps to the cellar and entered the brewery, I was newly astonished by what we'd accomplished and the transformation that had been wrought. Tying an apron around my tunic, I wandered between the bubbling mash tuns, nodding God's good day to Juliana and Yolande who were stirring the contents and inhaling its rich, almost buttery smell. Steam rose to the ceiling before falling like a constant lament down the walls. Nearby, a fire roared in the huge old kiln, trays of grain browning within, Adam keeping a watchful eye.

‘How are the twins, mistress?' he asked as I approached.

‘Slumbering as only the innocent can,' I replied.

Behind one of the columns and on a slightly lower level, Harry, who'd become an apprentice of sorts — at least when he could be spared — was helping Master atte Place shift some barrels. Ofttimes, I would catch Harry out of the corner of my eye and my heart would seize as an unwelcome memory overrode the reality and another taller, older man took his place. As the days passed, this happened less often. Harry was nothing like Westel and, indeed, the brewery we'd created beneath The Swanne was nothing like my small concern at Holcroft House.

What we were building here was a much larger business altogether, one that required me to spend every available moment overseeing every aspect of production as well as training the servants. They were fast learners and keen to earn the extra coin they received for working with me. They deserved it. The cellar wasn't a comfortable place to be — even though the weather outside was warming, it was ofttimes cold below the bathhouse, despite the busy kiln, and quite dark. Only one small window admitted light and the battered door, sitting above the six steps that led into the courtyard, remained closed, except when there were deliveries, as did the other door that led to the kitchen. For now, our brewing wasn't exactly legal — but neither was it against the law. As I was slowly learning, Southwark made its own rules, many in spite of London, and the locals could be both flexible and uncompromising.

Paying poll tax and declaring my occupation as a brewer meant that I incurred not just hefty quarterage for the right, but also the attention of those who were curious as to whether or not I would succeed in my intentions. I wasn't the only female brewer in Southwark, or Bankside for that matter, but I was the only widow and the only woman who was in partnership with a member of my own sex. There were those in authority who watched us with sceptical and ungenerous eyes, finding fault where there was none, attempting to control what I did. I paid my dues without quarrel, and gave the appearance of quiet obedience. But, with Alyson's support and encouragement, I continued to make the ale and beer my way — the way Moeder and all the de Winter women before me had.

What I hadn't counted on was what the additional scrutiny of my endeavours meant for Alyson. The Swanne received extra inspections from Master Fynk, who took great delight in ensuring none of the girls were being held against their will (the notorious concubinage), were pregnant, wore the apron or had the burning sickness. Much to my astonishment, I found out that bathhouses were not supposed to serve food or ale to their customers but, if Alyson was forced to obey this law, then other establishments would have to acquiesce too, and for all his bombast, Master Fynk knew this would be nigh on impossible. So, he tolerated part of the hall being turned into a taproom, and along with visits from the bailiff, constables, watchmen and other assorted officials, and the subsequent checking of ledgers to ensure charges for rooms and sundries weren't too high, The Swanne became the most well-conducted bathhouse in Bankside.

Alyson shrugged it off with more good humour than I'd expected. ‘Let them regulate me till their boots get worn marching here and their quills snap with all their damn record keeping. I look after my girls and my servants and they can't help but say so.' Only then would her eyes narrow. ‘If they want corruption, they don't have to look too far to find it.'

Alyson was referring to our neighbours, ‘the Flemish', as she called them, who also ran adjoining bathhouses, ones that had reputations for gambling, violence and all sorts of wanton behaviour. Measuring the worth of one of these kinds of establishments against another wasn't something I ever thought I'd be putting my mind to, but there was a code of honour that was followed at Bankside and those who flouted it inevitably ended up drawing the wrath of the Bishop of Winchester and that often meant time in the notorious prison, The Clink.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of my mind, I ran through the list of tasks I'd still to complete. Today was May Day and there were festivities aplenty planned for the evening, and the girls would do a version of the maypole dance which Betje and I were forbidden to watch. For all that I lived and worked in a bathhouse, Alyson did her utmost to protect us from exposure to its customers and its more scandalous elements, and mostly she was successful. However, I was not completely ignorant. Aware of the occasional brawls, of drunken and sober demands that certain tastes be met, I also stumbled upon semi-clad men and women in the corridors, and had twice now been mistaken for one of the bathhouse girls. I'd quickly corrected that misconception and managed to maintain my dignity. There was an understandable assumption that any woman beneath this roof was there for one purpose only.

Long before the sun set, I would make sure the children and I were in my room. During the day, the twins remained with the wet nurses in the attic room that had now become a permanent nursery, while my sister was, as she insisted, by my side in the brewery.

Squatting at the base of one of the columns, Betje chatted to Harry. With only one good hand, it was difficult for her to hold an ale-stick or a rake, but she'd become adept at knowing just when the grain I still dried for beer was cooked enough to release its flavours. Able to overcome her fear of the flames, she would hover near the kiln and wait for the malted barley to dry. Just then, Adam hailed her. She rose awkwardly and limped to his side, staying out of the way until the hot tray was safely deposited on the table.

Spying me, she waved and popped a piece of hot golden grain between her teeth, biting through the husk. Nodding approvingly at the taste, Betje tried another from a different part to be sure before Adam pushed the tray to one side and replaced another in the stove.

One day, if she chose, Betje would be a fine brewer. Looking at her now, the twisted mass of flesh that cascaded down one side of her face and, I knew all too well, her body, the scant, fair hair that fell in a thin braid beneath her cap, and one functioning eye, I wondered what the future held for her … I wondered what it held for us all.

A wave of exhaustion washed over me. I let out a sigh and rested a hand against the trough, glancing at the cooling wort, noting the fine, creamy head that sat upon the ale. I'd sung it to life as the cock crowed this morning, relishing the texture, the taste I'd enjoyed — there was no doubt, it would be a fine batch. But, dear Lord, I couldn't recall ever being so weary.

Still, there was nothing for it but to roll up my sleeves and keep going. Moaning, never mind resting, was reserved for those able to afford such luxuries. God knows, I'd done enough of the latter my first few weeks here to last a lifetime. I'd lost precious weeks and had no choice but to make it up. I grabbed the old ale-stick from where it leaned in the corner hiding the suspicious wet patch beneath, one of my libations to the corner crones (much to my relief, they had heeded my call and joined me the first day I brewed), and relieved Juliana who, able to work without instruction, went to the troughs to drain the wort. Understanding what needed be done, Adam went to help.

Swirling the mash, pleased with the consistency, I was able to continue my reverie. In the darkness beyond squatted the barrels Master atte Place and Harry had moved. Already passed by the ale-conners, they awaited sale. Most of the contents would be sold in The Swanne. Some of it would rely on those of Alyson's girls willing to be hucksters — selling ale in varying quantities in the street — in their spare time. Already, this had been more successful than we'd hoped, and as soon as one of The Swanne women appeared on Maiden Lane or the High Street with the cart and barrel, so too men and women would queue with their jugs, skins and even tankards to be filled. Still, it was not enough, not when the girls needed to be paid, and we would have to find other means of distribution if we were to make money. I still lived in hope that one of the religious houses in Southwark or one of the nobles would order their supplies from us, or that the Bishop of Winchester, who'd already praised the drink, would place orders, but none had eventuated. There was something about a brewery and a bathhouse that, while it worked so well for me, was a deterrent to others. After all, what gentleman could hold his head up at table and claim, ‘This fine brew was bought from the Stews'?

There had be a way to overcome prejudice and, perhaps, I'd already found one.

Six barrels stood aside from the rest. Containing beer I'd brewed with the last of the hops, they'd been left to ferment and were almost ready for sale. With no standing orders, I had to rely on locals to buy it, just like the ale. There were good profits to be made from beer, as it was cheaper to make, but only if drinkers sought it as a preference. Knowing the men of the Stilliard across the river would be our best customers, and possibly also our Flemish neighbours, both of whom preferred beer to English ale, we determined to open a barrel tonight when we knew the Easterlings would sneak into Stew Lane and board wherries to Southwark. If only I still had the contracts to supply the Hanse ships, if only Captain Stoyan was once more able to act as my agent in the Low Countries … if only … if only …

I caught myself.

‘If only' was the herald of despondency. But there was something I
had
changed in the hope it would make a difference. There wasn't only the ale-conners official seal, the three xs, emblazoned upon the barrels. I'd added something extra.