bathhouse maid of Malesov, of Malesov
“I keep my hands in my apron and my head down, for it is safer that way.”
Things Isabel had written, latest first, with the glosses of her neighbours.
the Monday before Whitsun, at Vespers
The abbess watches me from the yard. She stares at me when I haul the buckets. I know she thinks I am slacking, but my hands are raw to the bone. I wish a traveller with silver would come and take me far from this bloody soot.
Nota scribaeThe girl kept her raw hands hidden the entire time she spoke, staring only at the floorboards.
the feast of St Mark, at None
Johanka has been crying for her mother Martha again. I told her to hush, but she just wept louder. Matilda snapped and threw a wet rag at her. I just stared at the wall. The loft is too crowded to breathe in.
the third day of Easter week, at Prime
Christ is risen, and the Kuttenberg men are still filthy. I stood at the back of the church yesterday. Joan was there, acting so pious. I know what she did to poor Jacob at Suchdol. Sending a lad for a wild apple right into danger. God sees it all.
He was a fool trying to show off. You have other things to worry about than Jacob, Isabel. Things hidden away.
Keep your mouth shut about things you do not understand.
Nota scribaeDictated loudly enough that the other maids could hear.
the eve of St Gregory, at Compline
I woke up in a fright thinking someone was rustling in my mattress straw. It was only the wind. But a poor girl cannot even sleep in peace without fearing for what little she has. The world is full of thieves and bailiffs.
What do you have in your straw worth stealing, except fleas?
Candlemas, at Terce
It is bitter cold hauling water from the stream today. I keep thinking of the march home from Suchdol last autumn. Poor Jacob rotting in the earth because of a stupid dare. And then the things we found on the road. Some people have no shame at all.
We found it together. Half of it is mine, and you know it. Do not make me tell Mistress Alice.
Nota scribaeThe speaker asked if I knew any silversmiths in Kuttenberg who did not ask questions, then pretended she had not asked.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
I am not looking at your buckets, Isabel. We both know there is something else that needs settling.