General Peebles was also worried about this first meeting between his men and the women of the land, but he too recognized the look in the eyes of his fellow soldiers. Human life had taken on a new meaning for them all, especially female human life. Women were something to be truly cherished, and he realized immediately that he would have no trouble from any of them. Lust was not a component of his men’s expressions; it was entirely missing and replaced by wonder and awe. He was positive that the men would police their own behavior far better than he could.
The trucks were parked in orderly rows where they would sit unused unless absolutely necessary. Gasoline was now a very rare commodity and needed to be strictly rationed. The Humvees however, were parked directly out front in such a way that they could be deployed quickly, with a few dispersed throughout the new camp in order to cover against any possible attack. The tents went up that first day with quiet efficiency, much to the General’s amusement since he had not ordered them to make camp. He let it go however, sensing that the men were full of nervous energy, eager yet currently unwilling, to mingle with the local females. Despite his age, Stephen Peebles found that he shared their feelings and was very aware of the growing number of girls who were overtly studying them from afar.
They’d just finished setting up camp when a messenger from the Ealdorman appeared and invited the General and twenty of his men into the Hall for a feast, apologizing that he could not fit more. The messenger then assured them that a due number of hogs and cattle would be slaughtered so that all could share in the upcoming meal, and of course, there would be plenty of mead and wine available. The messenger also mentioned that the Lord of Somerset had sent out riders to notify the surrounding counties of their presence so that they could send proper greetings.
Peebles nodded that he understood, but couldn’t help but notice that the man before him acted just a bit uneasy as he passed along this news, and wondered about it. He left Sergeant Moore and Staff Officer Logan in charge of the camp, with orders to indulge themselves in moderation, but a perimeter guard must always be present and the M60’s manned. He was absolutely confident that his orders would be carried out to the letter.
He then gathered his team together; they consisted of Colonel Lemay, Major Thane, Rice, and Robertson, who carried along a small computer tablet. He also brought along Giles, Sadao, Jefferies, Private Brooks, and Captain Hersey. Only ten men in all, the General did not want to overwhelm his new friends, and felt it would be easier to watch and control a smaller group.
“I don’t need to tell you men,” he said addressing them outside his tent, “that the next few hours and days are crucial to the success of our mission. Be alert. Be careful. Be courteous.” Most smiled at him, excited, though he knew they shared his nervousness.
They moved out with an armed escort from the Ealdorman, which was not overly threatening since it consisted of only two men. Matt was giddy with expectation as he picked his way through the mud and filth of town’s streets. The wooden buildings that made up Athelney were crammed together tightly, with barely an alley between them and the roads were exceedingly narrow, barely wide enough to allow three horses to walk abreast. The place was definitely a fire hazard but thankfully everything appeared to be thoroughly soaked. However, despite the recent rains, the stench of the town was barely tolerable but even so Matt was as excited as he’d ever been in his life. From the moment he first caught a glimpse of a woman here, he was bubbling over with anticipation to talk to one of them. He’d forgotten just how much he enjoyed the company of females.
Dr. Rice was equally excited, not only to speak to the women of this time but also the men, to find out exactly how they thought, what they truly believed in and how they lived on a daily basis. It would be fascinating, and his head bobbed and jerked this way and that as he tried to take in every detail and nuance of his surroundings.
The Main Hall was large; perhaps four stories tall, impressive, but not overly so, with a round tower built onto one side, like an afterthought. The Hall itself was made entirely of white stone, the only stone building in town. The only windows on the front face were located well above ground level, and were heavily shuttered, probably to guard against an attack. A large door was located directly in the middle of the front of the Hall, and was made of wooden beams perhaps six inches thick, but what intrigued Matt and the rest, was the portcullis, a metal gate which could be raised or lowered directly in front of the door. Inside, the Hall was dominated by a huge room, which was conveniently called the Manor Hall and took up three-quarters of the lower level. The ceiling was very high; probably three stories up and was heavily beamed. Hanging from the ceiling were a great number of flags and pennants. Each one was different, but they were all colorfully designed, though what they represented none of the Americans could say. Just under the windows and along three sides ran a narrow, wooden balcony. At the moment there were a half a dozen bowmen gazing down at the hall from above, weapons in hand. Peebles and Lemay frowned together, but said nothing and the others paid the men no mind.
On either side of the great hall, a pair of very narrow staircases spiraled up past tapestries, shields, and a wide selection of medieval weapons. On the north side of the hall, the stairs angled past a large wooden shield displaying what Rice believed to be the Ealdorman’s coat of arms, before reaching the balcony above. The room itself was dominated by two enormous oak tables, which looked impossibly heavy and must have been built inside the hall, since they would never have fit through the front door, even if they could be lifted. The tables ran down the entire length of the room on either side, but the Hall was so large that there was still ample room between the two for dancing and performing or what not. The other dominating feature was an enormous fireplace, which stood on the north wall, complete with a large wooden mantel, and a blazing fire. Out in front of the fireplace was another smaller, though much more ornate table. Gordon Rice gasped at the magnificence of the room, and the others concurred with his sentiments.
“Brutish?” Peebles whispered to him jokingly. Rice only smiled.
The Ealdorman, who was conversing with a group of local men and a finely dressed lady, turned as they entered. He smiled a greeting and escorted the woman over to them. He was curious to see how these strangers would react to a situation where he was clearly in control, where they were firmly under his power and goodwill. He made a quick check to make sure his archers were in position on the balconies and that his huscarls were guarding the main door. Everything was in order, but as he approached the newcomers he was surprised to see that the General had brought along less than a score of men. The Ealdorman frowned. The strangers did not appear to be very worried at all.
“Ho Genaral...me wife, the Lady Merwinna of Somerset,” he said obviously proud of her, and though Merwinna knew herself to be no beauty, she suddenly felt like the Virgin Mother herself as she approached these tall, exotic strangers. They were very aware of her presence, and she was very aware of the rapt attention they were giving her...all of them, not one seemed distracted by the surrounding activities. They each watched her approach with such a mixture of open admiration, awe and lust that she found herself blushing strongly like a young maid. She gave them a helpless smile as she tried to control her emotions, and from that moment on she was very much moved in favor of these strangers despite her husband’s apprehension. They were clearly well bred and gentlemen.
“My Lady,” Peebles said bowing, and though the smell in the hall was nearly overwhelming the General couldn’t help but notice that the Ealdorman had recently bathed. Merwinna remained speechless by the enthralled attention of the men before her.
“Come,” the Ealdorman said confused by his wife’s lack of words. He motioned to the long table to the right of the fireplace.
“Ye’ve met me son Harden,” he said as they came upon the young lad, who nodded and smiled a greeting. Then the Ealdorman made all around introductions, of which seven included the knights of the day before, but there
were enough newcomers, knights and area noblemen alike, to thoroughly confuse the General. Peebles absently hoped that Dr. Rice was keeping all their names straight. Other local notables included Father Gillian, a priest and long ago Irishman, and Leoforic, the fifteen-year-old son of the Earl of Mercia, cousin of the King. His father was the nobleman directly responsible for the lands of Northern England, which included Yorkshire. But it was the women of the group who held sway over Peebles and his men.
The Ealdorman and his wife sat at the end of one table, and General Peebles was placed next to Merwinna on his right and Sir Oldalf was on his left and then came Colonel Lemay, then the Lady Cronin, then Sir Tomkin Cronin, and so on. They were placed in such a way that there were several locals, one of which was a knight in between any two of the strangers, and so that the newcomers were spread out throughout the hall. General Peebles noticed the ominous seating arrangements, as did Colonel Lemay, but if the others under his command were aware of the possible danger, they gave no sign.
Once everyone was seated, a small army of young men and women from the kitchens began to arrive with an impressive array of food, including enormous amounts of fresh pork and beef and a variety of vegetables and breads. The meat, which was freshly killed earlier in the day, had never been refrigerated or frozen and was delicious beyond belief. There was no water on the table, and the only drink was either a thick, strong mead, or a light red wine that was a bit old and full of small lumps. The atmosphere was strange and wonderful to Peebles and the rest, but despite everything, it was still the women who captured their fancy and attention. All of his men, even Lemay and Robertson were riveted on every movement and word of even the lowest serving wench. The Ealdorman, and a few of his knights, notably Sir Oldalf, noticed this undue attention.
“Ye be sailors?” the knight finally asked, who as an adopted Northman had some knowledge of this affliction.
General Peebles chuckled softly, partially because the question was such an apt one, and partially from the mead, which a strong alcoholic beverage brewed from honey. He warned himself against the dangers of over indulgence at this critical time, but then the Lady Merwinna was leaning toward him and laughing also, and he felt very good.
“No,” he finally answered Sir Oldalf, “not sailors, but none of my men have seen a woman in over five years. All of our women were killed by invaders.”
“All?” Merwinna asked very concerned. “Yor tormentors didn’t enslave any?”
Peebles shook his head slightly, growing suddenly sober. “No, all killed. All four billion,” he added though the number meant little to his hosts. He looked about the room filled with gaiety and noise and smiled sadly. His men seemed to be truly enjoying themselves, and only a few caught his eye.
‘We are very vulnerable now,’ Peebles thought simply, but he felt no threat at the moment. He looked down to the Colonel, who was conversing quietly with the Lady Cronin, though his eyes remained fixed on his General. The smile faded from Lemay’s face as he caught the General’s expression, but then Peebles held up a hand and shook his head.
The Ealdorman was still frowning, and looked around at his new guests. “Ye all be wanting a serving wench for the night then?” he asked, hardly believing his guests claim. They were much too calm if such a thing be true.
Peebles laughed again, very tempted, and was joined by Colonel Lemay, who thought it best to listen in closely, just in case the conversation turned serious. He now turned his full attention back to the Lady Cronin.
“We probably should go slowly on that account,” the General replied, knowing it would mean trouble soon enough.
“Sir Eadwulf has a famous wench,” the Ealdorman said with a twinkle in his eye. “She be helpin’ all of ye I’spect oncet word gets out,” he continued and belted out a contagious laugh that caught his wife, Peebles, and even a few who had not heard the jest in its grip. Then he clapped his hands, and the entertainers were admitted. There were musicians, dancers, jugglers, acrobats, and tumblers. There was much hand clapping and merriment as Peebles studied his surroundings once more. Dr. Rice was thoroughly enjoying himself, as were all his men, which was good. They’d definitely earned a little R&R. It was only when he spotted Major Thane that his disquiet returned. Matt was hardly paying attention to the entertainers before him, though they were surprisingly good, instead his attention was locked on a lovely young woman to his right, quite easily the finest looking female present. Neither the General, nor the pilot Major, needed this complication. He leaned over to the Lady Merwinna.
“Who is that next to Major Thane?” he asked and pointed out the young lady.
Merwinna smiled and placed a hand on his, and he nearly jerked at the electricity of the touch. He had all but forgotten the softness of a woman’s hand, but the Lady meant nothing by it and did it with a simple casualness. “She be too young for thee, Genaral,” she said in a whisper with a wink. “She is the Lady Ellyn. Sir Oldalf’s daughter from Bridgwater.”
Peebles was deep in thought but did not remove his hand from beneath the Merwinna’s, then looked up at her exclamation of surprise. He jerked, expecting some threat of violence but instead he saw that both Corporal Jefferies and Corporal Garraty had joined in with the performers, much to the surprise of the entertainers, and the local nobility. But Jefferies had competed in gymnastics at the University of Nebraska, and Garraty was apparently an accomplished juggler, though Peebles had not known that about him until now. Once over the initial shock, everyone began to clap in time with the music and all were thoroughly entertained.
As his General surmised, Matt Thane was barely aware of any of the festivities, because the Lady Ellyn on his right was commanding all of his attention, and though he was out of practice, he believed that she was as equally engaged with him. Matt was completely flustered and could think of nothing to say to the beautiful young woman, but his nervousness did not stop him from turning often her way to catch a glimpse of her profile, or her hair. He tried not to be obvious about his attention, or seem forward. He did his best to concentrate on the entertainers performing but the young woman’s beauty lured his eyes to her just as surely as a drug. The Lady Ellyn was of course aware of the handsome man’s attention, but it would be entirely improper for her to address him first. So from the very beginning of the feast, the air around the two was tense. Matt, despite his desire, could think of nothing to remedy the situation and was beginning to despair that he would ruin it all, but then the Priest, Father Gillian, who was on his left began to ask him question after question. He answered the questions as truthfully as he could, when he believed the locals could understand the truth, and soon the Lady Ellyn was speaking and asking her own questions. Soon the three of them were having a marvelous time.
For her part, the Lady Ellyn was also very tense. Never had she met a man so enticing, so attentive, so smooth of face…and so clean. It was all she could do not to reach over and touch his cheek. All the men she knew were completely bearded; only young boys were smooth faced like women. But she found she enjoyed begin able to see the Mayor’s face, plus he was so very clean, and smelled positively divine. She watched the tumbling and the players with only half of her attention, though usually she was very excited about any sort of entertainment. But some instinct told her, that though it was Father Gillian who asked most of the questions, the handsome Major’s answers were directed entirely to her. It caused her heart to thump wildly in her chest, and she found herself desperately trying to think of anything at all to say to him. However, when the old man Treymont began to play his harp, all the talking stopped and the three of them just listened as he played many of the current favorites. The atmosphere in the hall had grown quiet and still, calmed by the soothing music coaxed from the harp by Treymont’s nimble fingers, but even so the tension between the Lady Ellyn and the handsome stranger to her left continued to build. Finally the young lady could stand it no more and during the last of the love ballads she boldly, yet gently, pushed her leg against Matt�
��s, feeling a thrill at her own wickedness.
From the first moment Ellyn was shocked by her actions and almost pulled her leg away. She was afraid that he may pull away first or even publicly rebuke her, but instead he smiled slightly, and returned the pressure. Ellyn’s heart fluttered in her chest, like a small bird beating its wings against a cage.
The night had taken on a kind of fairy tale magic, and the hall seemed to be immersed in a golden glow, at least until a careless serving wench spilled a pitcher of mead down the front of Sir Elid’s leather jerkin. With a growl Elid gave her the back of his hand, striking the young maid across her temple. She went sprawling, which was no less than she deserved for her clumsiness. Elid was about to give her a tongue lashing as well, but before he was even aware that anyone had moved, both Sadao and Jefferies were in his face, each man pressing a cold bit of metal under his chin. The rest of the strangers were also instantly up, arms drawn, even Matt was up with a speed that absolutely startled the Lady Ellyn, as well as Father Gillian.
General Peebles was the only one of their group who remained seated, though his face was red with anger. Both the Ealdorman and the Lady Merwinna looked to him both out of concern and curiosity, because as yet they did not know what had caused such a reaction. It was well within Sir Elid’s rights as a nobleman to strike or discipline any common person, man or woman.
“Sadao, Jefferies, at ease!” Peebles yelled from his position, and the two immediately backed off, even though it was plain neither wanted too. Sadao backed away quickly and moved to the serving girl and gently helped her to her feet as if she were the queen herself. Sir Elid was insulted to be challenged in such a manner, though the quick movements of the strangers left him somewhat cautious.
“At ease,” Peebles yelled again, causing Merwinna to jump and all the other strangers lowered the odd metal pieces they held in their hands and sat back down. Up to this point the Ealdorman had remained calm, because he thought the strangers were unarmed. They had no visible swords or knives among them, but now he was beginning to wonder if he was not seriously mistaken. The strange pieces of black metal they all carried, perhaps they were some sort of weapon, strange and deadly, like all their weapons. He looked nervously to Peebles for an explanation, though he very impressed by the General’s instant control over his men, who were obviously upset. The hall had grown deathly quiet.
The Temporal Knights Page 9
