Belinda: A Maiden of the Early 1300's

Scheming

A few days later, Lady Kendra sat the shuttle aside, bringing work to an expectant halt. Everyone listened to hear what their mistress had to say. "Ladies, my noble husband informs me that the men are in need of new cloaks this year and we are to supply them. We must weave this tapestry quickly so as to free up the loom and then embroider it afterward."

There was a general groan of dismay from the assembled gentlewomen. Embroidering the tapestry as it was woven gave the ladies ample opportunity to weave in loose threads as well as to keep the tapestry tight while fine details were embroidered on. Once the tapestry was finished, it would be rather bulky and when removed from the loom, unwieldy embroidery frames would have to be employed for the task.

Suddenly, it seemed as if a good deal of excitement about the project faded. It was about that time that Lady Kendra's moods grew mercurial, more so than usual, and there grew a chill between her husband and she. She did not often join in the jovial chatter and would not gossip at all, often reprimanding her maids for the slightest infractions.

The forgotten tunics were distributed but the lady didn't seem as generous about it as in previous years. Weaving the tapestry became a chore to be completed rapidly, so it wasn't long before the great panel was removed from the loom.

"Belinda, would you please thread the loom for the first of the cloaks? The thread for it has already been brought in from the storeroom." Lady Kendra looked at her maid expectantly, knowing how much her maid enjoyed the loom and not caring for the task herself, eager as that lady was to finish her tapestry.

"I would, Milady, thank you." Belinda sat aside her embroidery frame carefully so as not to seem in any great hurry and grabbed up a spool, ready to run the required threads up and down the loom. When she'd finished her task, she took up the shuttle and began weaving, hoping her ladyship wouldn't call another to the task instead. Lady Kendra smiled at her, allowing Belinda the coveted task.

Belinda settled in to the loom's shuttle and beam, allowing herself to fall into the rhythm of the task. The thread was an uneven gray, of undyed wool from dark-colored sheep, making the cloth seem mottled and uneven when it was not. Belinda wondered if Lady Kendra had chosen the thread on purpose to show her displeasure.

As she wove, Belinda had an idea. In such a cloak, she would blend in with the peasants! Yet her ladyship would surely be counting the number of times Belinda bound off her edge and set another cloak aside to have ties threaded in a deep U-shape for the hood.

Deliberately, in order to give herself time to think, Belinda slowed down a little so that she hadn't finished the first one before it was time to move on to other tasks. As her hands slowed, Belinda's mind raced. What if she wove the cloth into one long bolt? It would require the cloth to be cut and hemmed. With the number of cloaks to be made, a hand's span off the end of each one should leave enough material for Belinda to make one last cloak.

That night, while the others slept; Belinda carefully measured herself, using the length of her own hand as a guide. She would need fifteen. With no less than twenty cloaks to weave, Belinda was sure she could manage it.

It was near the end of the next day before Lady Kendra looked up from her beloved embroidery frame to see that Belinda had neglected her bindings. "You stupid girl!" her ladyship cried. "What knight amongst the men is over twelve feet tall?"

Belinda made a pretense at horror. "Oh, My Lady, I am so sorry! Please forgive my lapse." She pretended to study the short bolt of cloth in consternation. "Binding edges is time consuming, My Lady; and when the edges fray, the cloth unravels. Perhaps if I finish weaving all the cloth into one bolt, the cloaks could be then cut and hemmed evenly?"