The farther north we traveled, the more soldiery we came across. Not fighting, just minding their own business: wars were things that happened all the time. Some soldiers were quartered in the villages we went through, and there food was scarce: for whatever king, lord or seigneur they served made it a practice to utilize their subjects to supply their troops. Cheaper than having them loll around the castles idle, and out on the borders they were nearer the action, if and when it came.
Apparently no one had fought any battles for at least three years but rumors were rife of imminent attacks here, there and everywhere and hostilities were expected any time. I began to wonder if we should find Gill"s home under siege or razed to the ground, but said nothing of my fears, for each day he grew more and more tense, fuller of longing to see his home again-for he was sure, too, that once back his sight would return also.
"It is a fine place, Summer: not a fortress, more a fortified manor house, as I recall. . . . I seem to remember my nurse"s name was Brigitte. I think my mother was as tall as my father, but very thin. . . . We have lots of hounds. I seem to remember a friend called Pierre. I don"t think I enjoyed my lessons. .
. ." And so on.
I tried to keep him as clean, shaved and smart as I could, just in case we suddenly came across someone who recognized him, for I remembered only too well how magnificently he was dressed and accoutered that never-to-be- forgotten day when he had asked me the way to the High Road. Now I doubted even his mother would recognize him, in spite of my care. I bought a length of linen and made him a tunic that reached mid-calf, as befitted his station, but kept it hidden till the time was right. When the light lingered in the evenings I would take it out, to complete the key pattern I was edging the hem and side slits with, in a blue to match his beautiful, blind eyes. . . .
One August morning, around ten of the clock, we came to a confused halt, we and the dozen or so we were traveling with, for ahead of us the highway, which had broadened out considerably during the last few days, was now blocked by a formidable line of the military. A caravan ahead of us had also been halted, for beasts were already tethered for foraging by the side of the road, carts and wagons were drawn up in orderly rows, their occupants either resting or arguing with the captain of the troops, with much gesticulating and nodding and shaking of heads.
Whatever it was, it obviously meant delay. Seating Gill in the shade, I pushed my way forward, asking first one and then the other the reason for the delay, but got only confused replies. "It"s the war. . . . Road ahead is blocked. . . .
Plague . . . Robbers and brigands . . ." In the end I approached one of the ordinary soldiers, relieving himself in a ditch some way away from the others, a bored expression on his face. I remembered what the Wimperling had said about thinking oneself into what people expected to see, so I tried to project myself as pretty.
"Excuse me, captain. . . ." He turned, shook off the drops and tucked himself in again. I saw the boredom on his face replaced with interested speculation.
Perhaps it was working!
"Yes, missy? How can I help you?" His gambeson was food- and sweat- stained, he hadn"t shaved for days, his iron cap was missing and his hose full of holes. Most of his teeth were rotting or gone, and he spoke with a thick, clipped lisp.
I smiled sweetly. "I can make neither head nor tail of what is going on, sir, so bethought me to seek one out who surely would." Mama had taught me how to flatter. "One can tell at a glance those worth talking to." I smiled again. "A man of experience such as yourself must surely know everything. . . ."
It worked. He grinned self-consciously, then with a quick look over his shoulder to where his captain was still waving his arms about and shouting, he settled the dagger at his belt and took my arm, drawing me away behind a clump of elder bushes, strutting like the dung-heap c.o.c.kerel he was.
"Well, look here, pretty missy, it"s like this. . . ." The Wimperling had spoke true! He had called me "pretty"! "You knows of course we is at war, has been for as long as I can remember. . . ."
"But there haven"t been any battles for years. . . ."
"That don"t matter round here. "Readiness is all," as the captain says, and we can"t afford to relax for a moment." He spat on the ground. "Arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Thinks he knows it all because he fought in a couple of campaigns abroad! Still, no use crossing him. Worth a flogging, that is." He peered at me.
"What"s a nice-spoken la.s.s like you doing here, anyways?"
But I was ready for that. "Traveling north with my father, a spice merchant," I said quickly, conscious that he had moved closer. "He"s over there," and I pointed in the direction of the still-arguing captain. "He"s also trying to find out what is going on-but I think I am having a better success! Er . . . I heard somebody say something about a renewal of war?" And that was the last thing we needed, I thought.
"Not exactly, but there have been a couple of skirmishes on the border last few days. Still it puts us on alert, and means the border"s closed for a while.
Usually it"s open twice a day for trade and barter: they likes the wine and fruits from the south, we likes their grain, cider and cheese. Everyone gets searched, "cos that"s enemy territory over there, there"s a small toll, and everyone"s happy. Not strictly official, mind . . ." He sucked his teeth. "Still, none o" that for a week or so." He looked disconsolate: I could imagine in whose pockets the "tolls" went.
Oh, no! Gill, I was sure, could not bear to be patient for so long now he was near his home. Our money was running out, there"d be little food nearby and as for entertaining, with only the soldier"s pay to depend on, we should soon starve.
"Is there no other way across?"
He turned me round to face north, taking the opportunity to put his grimy hands round my waist. My mind shuddered at his touch, my nose wrinkled up at the stinking breath whistling past my left ear, but I kept my body still. He pointed over my shoulder.
"See there, that line o" trees? That"s the border between here, what belongs to our king, and there, what belongs to the king over-water, Steady Eddie, they calls him. Got quite a bit o" land over here: that"s what the battles are about.
Road across goes through the trees. Left there"s thick forest for miles, fifty or so, and their patrols go up and down there day and night." He swiveled me towards the right. "There"s the village. T"other side o" that"s the river what runs into enemy territory. They got their camp on the banks; we patrols this side, they patrols the other. No way through . . ."
But there had to be: somehow we must cross that border. From the other travelers I had confirmed that what lay ahead was indeed Gill"s part of this divided country, so for his sake it was imperative we lingered no longer than was necessary. But how to evade the patrols? Alone, I might have tried to creep through their lines at night, especially with Growch to spy ahead, but a blind man was clumsy at the best of times and the Wimperling"s bulk precluded any attempt for the four of us together.
Successfully evading the importunate soldier we ate what little we had left and lazed the day away, but in the evening, to quiet Gill"s restlessness, I took him to the tavern in the village for an indifferent stew and a mug or two of thin ale, together with half-a-dozen or so other disconsolate travelers.
And there, in that stuffy, malodorous little ale house, came the answer to our prayers. . . .
Chapter Twenty.Five.
"Hullo, Walter! How many this time? A dozen? Good. Welcome to our side, gents-and lady. . . ."
A trap, a stupid, miserable trap! All we had thought of was crossing the border, too eager to question the ease with which our "safe" pa.s.sage had been procured. If I had had half the sense I credited myself with we should have been suspicious from the start and never joined this sorry enterprise.
Thinking back, Walter the ferryman had been a shifty-looking individual from the start, but his suggestion of slipping through enemy lines on his raft-at a price-had seemed like the answer to a prayer to all of us. He said that if we set off around three in the morning we could drift past the sentries on both sides, and a.s.sured us he had done it many times. Twelve of us had paid the silver coin demanded, and rushed back to gather up our belongings. The Wimperling said that nothing in the world would get him on a raft, he would spread his wings and float past, and Growch said that if he couldn"t slip past a sentry or two we could chuck him in the river. Next time . . .
The raft nearly tipped twice, although the river was low and sluggish, for most of the other pa.s.sengers were frightened of the water and didn"t heed instructions to keep to the center and be still, but rushed from side to side, imperiling us all. The boatmen poled us out from the bank with a suck and a slurp and a pungent smell of mud, and once all was settled we drifted downstream through the oily water.
There was a quarter moon, few stars and an absence of sound: no wind, no birds. It was warm and still, the heat of the day still lingering in the heavy air.
I trailed my fingers in the river: water warm as my skin. The banks on either side seemed deserted.
All at once the sneaky Walter started to pole us in towards the bank-surely we couldn"t be beyond the enemy lines yet?-and I could see a makeshift landing stage through the gloom. The raft slapped against the pilings with a jolt that nearly had us all in the water, sudden torches flared, a dozen hands pulled us from the craft and hauled us up on the bank. By the flickering light I could see we were surrounded by soldiers. Different ones.
"Welcome," said their leader again, snickering. "Line "em up, lads, and let"s see what they got. . . ."
They relieved us of our packs and bundles, chuckling and commenting to themselves all the while. "Sorry-lookin" set o" b.u.g.g.e.rs . . . Which pack belongs to the Jew? Pity they don" close the border more often. . . . Got a blind "un here, with "is girl. . . ." One of them gave a couple of coins to Walter, our betrayer.
"Bringin" more tomorrow?"
"If"n I can con "em. Two lots if possible. Twenty-four hours"ll make "em keener. Don" let any o" these slip back to give a warnin". . . ."
A moment or two later the Jew broke away from the rest of us and fled into the darkness and another of our companions jumped into the river, where he foundered and gasped and was twirled away on the current, flowing faster here, his mouth open on a yell drowned by a gurgle of water. A moment later he was swept out of sight.
They brought the Jew back five minutes later. He was unconscious and had obviously been beaten. He was thrown to the ground and disregarded, while the soldiery enjoyed themselves opening the packs and sharing out the contents, including our blankets, which they declared "a fine weave-good against the winter," and promptly confiscated. Luckily they could find no use for Gill"s new tunic, and by the time they had emptied the other pack they were so surfeited with some golden spices, oils and unguents, jewelry, embroidered cloth, carved bone figures, some fine daggers and a silver crucifix that they tossed my pots and pans to one side. They were momentarily puzzled by my precious Boke, ripped off its cover looking for a hiding place, then tossed the loose pages into a bush.
Anyone who protested was beaten quiet. My pens and inks were scattered on the ground but they took what little food we had, chomping noisily on hastily divided cheese. The ten of us who could still stand were then searched. Rings were pulled from fingers (mine went suddenly invisible), brooches unfastened, earrings torn from ears, embroidered clothes ripped from the owner"s back, leather boots pulled off. Ours were too tatty to bother with.
Luckily Gill and I looked so poor that our search was perfunctory, and they didn"t discover the dowry, or the few coins I had left of ordinary money.
Some of our compatriots were weeping and wringing their hands, but I held Gill"s hand and preserved a stoical silence. What else could I do? I was worrying about Growch and the Wimperling, but at least we no longer had Mistral, Traveler and Basher with us: I could well imagine what would have happened to them if we did.
Searching and scavenging done, one of the soldiers ran off in the darkness to return a moment or two later with a man on a horse, obviously in command.
There followed what was a well-rehea.r.s.ed interchange between the captain and his troops. I don"t think it fooled anyone.
Captain: "What have we here, then?"
Soldiers: (One, two, three or seven, it didn"t matter which: sometimes they answered singly, sometimes together, like a ragged chorus. Suffice it to say they all knew their parts off pat.) "Infiltrators, sir! Crossing the border without permission, sir!"
Captain: "Have you examined them and their belongings?"
Soldiers: "Yes, sir!"
Captain: "And?"
Soldiers: "All guilty, sir! Carrying contraband, some of "em . . ."
Captain: "Let me see the goods."
Here some of our fellow travelers tried to protest, but a stave round the legs, a buffet to the jaw soon silenced them. The captain dismounted and pawed through the heap of spoils, finally selecting the silver crucifix, one of the more ornamental daggers, a ring set with a ruby and the gold coins. "Mmmm . . ."
He shook his head. "Obviously stolen goods. I shall have to confiscate these while further enquiries are made." He carried a big enough pouch to hold them all. "Now then, men: what is the punishment for spies and thieves?"
Chorus: "Death!"
I gripped Gill"s hand so tightly I could feel my ring biting into flesh. One of the other travelers broke away and flung himself at the captain"s knees, scrabbling at his ankles, sobbing pitifully.
"Mercy, kind sir, mercy! I have a wife, three children. . . ."
The captain kicked him away. "So have I, so have the rest of us! You should have thought of that before you entered a war zone." He rubbed his chin.
"Mind you . . ."
I think we all took an anxious step forward, for the soldier"s voice held a considering tone.
"Mind you . . ." he repeated: "If they were willing to pledge themselves against a little ransom, as an earnest of their repentance, men, I think we might reconsider, don"t you?"
Immediately the man still on his knees was joined by three others, all well- dressed, pledging house, money, jewels, coin or livestock as bribes. The four were led aside into the darkness, their faces now expressing a hope none of the remainder could hope to match. The captain gestured at the unconscious Jew. "And him?"
"Caught trying to run off, sir . . ."
"His baggage?"
"Nothing of consequence. Papers mostly, sir." The soldier pointed to a scatter of vellum.
"Cunning b.a.s.t.a.r.d; not worth the investigation. Get rid of him!"
To my horror two of the soldiers came forward, picked him up and flung him into the river. A couple of large bubbles broke the surface and that was all.
The captain surveyed the rest of us. "Send the rest of them back: let their own side deal with them." My heart leapt, but I might have known it was just a cruel jest. "No, wait: they can either enlist with us or work as slaves: give them the choice." He turned away to remount but one of the soldiers who had been eyeing me with a leer went over and whispered in his ear. The captain turned back, beckoned us nearer. "And what have you to say for yourselves?"
He addressed himself to me.
I kept my gaze modestly lowered, my voice meek. "My blind brother and I are returning home, sir. We traveled south in a vain attempt to find a cure for him. We live in this province, we are not spies, and we have spent all our money in doctor"s bills. We are only here because war does not take account of innocent travelers. . . ."
He stared at me in a calculating manner. "What was in their baggage?"
One of the soldiers indicated the scattered pots and pans, the flasks, odd bits of clothing. "Just these, sir."
"Whereabouts do you come from? What does your father do?"
I had dreaded such questioning. "Our-our father is a carpenter. We were sent-" I twisted the ring on my finger in my agitation and out of nowhere came a name I must have heard somewhere, sometime I could not recall. "We were sent south with the recommendation and blessing of Bishop Sigismund of the Abbey of St. Evroult," I said firmly, and raised my head to look at him straight.
He raised his eyebrows. "I see. . . . Let them continue their journey." He crossed himself. "I have no quarrel with the church." He turned away again, but once more the soldier whispered to him. He turned and looked at me again. "Very well: I am sure she will cooperate. But no rough stuff, mind."
And with that he remounted and clattered off into the darkness.
The importunate soldier came over and took my arm, not unkindly. "You come along o" me, you and your brother."
"Our things . . ." I pointed to the pots and pans.
"Well, pack "em up, then," he said impatiently. "Coupla minutes, no more . . ."
Well within that time I had retrieved everything, even my torn Boke, and tied it into two bundles. The pans were dented, one of the horn mugs was cracked and one of the flask stoppers had disappeared, but at least we were alive. The soldier plucked up one of the torches stuck in the ground and nodded to us to follow, winking at his fellows as he led us off.
"She"ll keep till later!" one of them yelled, and suddenly I realized the implication of the captain"s words: "I am sure she will cooperate. . . ." and a cold finger of fear and revulsion touched my spine.
He led us to a broken-down hut that must once have housed sheep or goats, for the earthen floor was covered with their coney-like droppings and the place smelled of fusty, damp wool. There was no place to sit so we huddled against a wall, and he took the torch with him so we were left in darkness. As we became more used to our surroundings, however, I could see, through the gaps in the wattle and daub walls and the rents in the reed thatch, a certain lightening outside: false dawn preceding the real one.
I tiptoed over to the flap of skin that served as a door and peeked out. To my right, about ten yards away, two soldiers sat cross-legged by a small fire, playing dice. No escape that way. Coming back into the darkness I felt my way round the wall seeking for a weakness, but apart from a few fist-sized holes there was nothing. If only we had been able to reach the roof, now, there was- I nearly leapt out of my clothes as something damp and cold touched my bare ankle.
"For "Eaven"s sake! It"s only me. . . ."
I knelt down and hugged him, tacky though he was. "Where"ve you been? Are you all right? Where"s the Wimperling?"
""Ush, now! We"re all right. More"n I can say for you . . . Now, listen! I gotta message for you from the pig." And he told me what they planned to do, but when I started to question, he shut me up. "No time to argue: we gotta get goin". Be light soon," and he slipped out of the door as I felt my way back to Gill and explained, slinging our packs ready as I spoke.
This time he didn"t argue about talking to animals but shrugged his shoulders fatalistically. "Just carry on: we couldn"t be in a worse position, I suppose."
I felt like saying that it was me, not him, that was liable to be raped, but thought better of it. "It"ll be all right, I"m sure: just a couple of minutes more. .
It felt like an eternity, and I kept wiping my hands nervously on my skirt because they were sweating so much, I pulled Gill over to the doorway with a fast-beating heart so that we were ready-ready for the shout that came moments later from over to our left. Peering through a gap in the hide covering I could see a tongue of flame shoot upwards at the fringes of the forest, some quarter-mile away, then heard the drumming of hooves from a couple of panicking horses. The two guards outside leapt to their feet, undecided what to do, but when a second tongue of flame started to run merrily towards the tents of the soldiery and there were more galloping hooves, ours abandoned fire and dice and started running towards the confusion.
Now was our chance. Grabbing Gill"s hand I led him, stumbling, out of the hut and to our right, where the river should be. It was much closer than I thought and in fact we nearly fell in, because at the wrong moment I risked a glance behind us, to see a merry blaze had caught the summer-dry gra.s.ses at the fringe of the forest and, fanned by the dawn breeze, the flames were creeping towards the encampment. Luckily Gill fell full length as we reached the riverbank, just before we both plunged down the slope into the water, and a moment later Growch appeared to lead us further downstream to where a small rowing boat was tethered in the reeds. Untying the rope I helped Gill aboard, instructed Growch to jump in, and- "Where"s the Wimperling?"
"Right here," grunted a hoa.r.s.e, cindery voice and he rolled up, panting and covered with s.m.u.ts. "Don"t wait: I"ll float. Need to get rid of the smoke . . ."
"You"re sure?"
"Just get going! Push off from the bank, keep your heads down and the boat trimmed."