| Scrubbed Clean | |
|---|---|
| Author | Brightknightie |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Where posted | Fandom Stocking, FKFIC-L |
| Rating/Warning | PG |
| Genres | historical fiction |
| Format | short story |
| Archive Location | |
Story Recap[]
Troyes, France, c.1275 Agnes Blanchisseur, the most skilled laundress in France is highly suspicious of three of her clients.
Notes[]
Written for Skieswideopen in the 2011/2012 Fandom Stocking game on LiveJournal. On her wish list, she wrote that she likes to read "outsider POVs," "slice of life" and "bittersweet endings". Beta'd by celli.
Author's Notes[]
- This story fits between the flashbacks of "Fallen Idol" and those of "Fatal Mistake." I drew on Life in a Medieval City by Joseph and Frances Gies, of course! Architecture, furniture, cleansers, etc.: I recommend their books highly. Surnames by profession (Blanchisseur means Launderer) emerged in cities in this period. I encountered the custom of addressing a peasant woman as "femme [Surname]" in Monsters of the Gevaudan by Jay Smith (though that covers a later era in which surnames are firmly established).
- Apparently, the "luck of the third adventure" is the oldest documented version of the saying "third time lucky" or "third time's a charm."
Quotes[]
- "Agnes Blanchisseur tugged her cloak forward and ran her fingers over the barbette and veil hiding her grey hair. Humble in cut, color and fabric, they were nevertheless as clean as the bishop's own, and she drew courage from her mastery of her craft. Lowly it was, but none could do without laundering!"