Murphy bowed slowly to hide his own growing nervousness. The Countess was indeed lovely, but it was her sister…younger obviously, who captured his attention. She was startlingly beautiful and watched him with wide, curious eyes.
‘Abbess,’ he thought bleakly and his heart fell, though he’d only just been introduced.
“Ladies,” he said as he straightened up.
“Countess, if you’d follow me,” he said and held up a hand to lead the way. He could hardly believing that this dark eyed beauty could be Leoforic’s mother, after all Leoforic was fifteen, or there about, and he had an older brother who was pushing twenty or so. The woman before him could be no more than thirty and didn’t look that. Her hair was raven black, as were her eyebrows which stood out starkly against her pale, clear skin, but somehow Murphy did not find this unattractive, instead it made her look all the more real, which only added to her beauty. She had a small nose and mouth, but her lips were full and dark red. She smiled at him, but her eyes were large and sad. Leoforic had obviously already informed her of her husband’s recent demise.
The Countess quickly turned back to her sister and gave her a quick hug.
Murphy’s glance returned to the smaller woman, her features were much the same, though fresher, unspoiled by time or pain. As she embraced her sister, Æthelgifu stared boldly up into Murphy’s eyes and he felt his face grow hot.
“I’ve told Mum all ‘bout the flying plaines,” Leoforic said excitedly, “but she na one to believe me much.”
“Twas na disbelief,” the Countess said in a soft clear voice that tinkled to the pilot’s ears. She looked from Leoforic, to her sister and then back to Murphy before her eyes settled on the nearest plane. “Well, forsooth, mayhap twas disbelief. Whilst ye help me son, I be terribly a feared,” she admitted easily.
“Mayhap ye should take the carriage,” her sister said softly, almost as if she didn’t want Murphy to hear.
Murphy welcomed the excuse to look at the young woman again, amazed to find that his heart was pounding heavily in his chest.
‘Get a grip!’ he thought and smiled at her.
“It’s perfectly safe,” he said, though he still addressed the younger of the two.
Murphy smiled again, feeling somewhat mechanical and slightly goofy. “Come I will help you,” he encouraged and moved slowly toward the Countess, which thoroughly aggravated the nearby knights. Æthelflæd, sensing only kindness in this dark haired stranger, waved them off.
She turned and shot a glance at her sister. “We’ll meet ye at Athelney Giffu,” the Countess said and gave the younger woman a quick kiss on her cheek. “Escort the Abbess to Athelney,” she told her knights in a loud, clear voice, full of authority. The Captain of the guard lingered for a moment, undecided, but then finally nodded and signaled to the others.
With the Countess on his arm, Murphy took one last look at her sister before turning back to the planes. Even through normal magnification, Colonel Lemay could see the large smile resting comfortably on the pilot’s face and actually felt a twinge of jealousy.
“Hope he doesn’t wet himself,” the Colonel commented offhandedly and Gardner laughed. But when Giles glanced to the west his smile fell away almost immediately. Low on the horizon was a dark band of clouds, sinister looking and promising great problems.
“Please ma’am, we must hurry now...a storm is rising and we mustn’t get caught in it,” Murphy said and hurried her along, pulling her closer and closer to plane. He did not notice her look of dread as they closed within a few feet of the machine; instead he signaled to Gardner and then nodded toward the approaching storm. The other pilot instantly realized the danger and flipped open the passenger door.
“Come on Leoforic, time for us to go,” he yelled. “Colonel we’re going to have to cancel Kingston. We’ve got a pretty good squall line coming in from the west,” he said then slipped his helmet back on and turned to give them a view.
“Roger that,” Matt answered. “Any idea on its speed or heading?”
“Negative, but it’s dead calm here at the moment,” Gardner answered as Leoforic jumped in beside him. Gardner looked over at Murphy who was busily trying to stuff the Countess’ dress into the small cockpit.
“Pay the dress no mind Captain,” Æthelflæd said, nervously watching the man work familiarly with her clothing. But Murphy just smiled and continued to carefully tuck it in here and there, trying to be safe and gentle. She studied him as he worked. He was tall, with dark curly hair and a boyish face, which was quick to grin. He wore no beard, which the Countess found a bit disconcerting and a little unmanly. But she had to admit it made it easier to read his thoughts and expressions. It was clear to her that he was only trying to please her and did not mean any real affront.
“This can be quite frightening at first,” he said leaning over her, his chest very close to her face. Æthelflæd colored slightly and couldn’t help but notice that the strange man smelled very good, almost like flowers to her, which she also considered unmanly. Men, being men, rarely smelled good, though even she had to admit there was something oddly attractive about a sweaty man. “But I assure you flying is quite safe,” Giles continued and reached for the safety harness. He eased it over her head, not wanting to muss her hair and began to snap her in. It wouldn’t do to have the Countess attempt to climb from her seat at an inopportune time. He pulled a strap around her waist and then clicked the shoulder straps in place completely oblivious to the extreme discomfort the woman before him was feeling. Leoforic had told her that this man was a stranger to her country so she said nothing and let him buckle her tightly into the chair. She was quite relieved however, when he finally finished, closed her door and quickly circled around the plane.
“Me son twill ride in the other?” She asked when he opened the far door.
“There is only room for two,” Murphy said and jumped into the seat next to her. He smiled his boyish smile at her again. She smiled back and she found that she liked that he was always smiling. In her experience men tended to be too gruff and serious. She immediately changed her mind about his lack of facial hair, manly or not, she decided it was good to see his face. She glanced over at the far plane and caught sight of Leoforic. She smiled, thinking of her son’s smooth face. At the moment he was wearing a helmet, a bit different from the one the flying man was wearing, but he was watching out for her and waved. She waved back, though at the moment she felt sick, sad, and frightened to death.
‘Mayhap these beasts won’t fly,’ she thought hopefully, but somehow deep inside she knew they would. Many of her guards had watched them circle overhead though she was in her chambers and did not see for herself. Murphy held up a helmet but then looked at the Countess and then at her hair, which was smartly done and drawn up in a very intricate knot. She had enough hair that Murphy instantly realized that it was not going to fit in the helmet. In any case, it was going to ruin her look, but the Countess, who was following his train of thought, reacted quickly and immediately pulled two pins from her hair and it fell in long dark waves. Her hair was thick dark and shining. Murphy raised a hand, very tempted to touch it, but somehow he resisted, and when his gaze returned to the Lady next to him her mouth was smiling but her eyes were not.
“Insult me na,” she said a bit icily and Murphy gulped and nodded.
He held out the helmet, and only had to help her a bit in placing it over her head, then lowered the clear visor for her. If anything, she looked even more attractive with the helmet on, it accentuated her face somehow. Murphy then slipped on his own helmet and lowered his visor, effectively hiding his face from her.
She frowned. ‘Tis like a beard,’ she thought, a little disconcerted by the fact that now she could no longer see his eyes.
“Don’t worry I’m still here,” his voice boomed in her head, though she did not see his mouth move. He raised his TVD faceplate and smiled at her again. She smiled back fretfully, lips quivering from the fear that threatened to overwhelm he
r. Murphy gave a brief glimpse back toward the castle and spied the sister climbing back into the carriage. His attention then moved to the storm, but it was still a ways off so he quickly signaled to Gardner.
“Here we go,” he said softly and gunned the engine. She gasped so Giles reached out and patting the Countess’ hand. She was shocked at his forwardness, but also comforted and strangely thankful, especially once she saw that Leoforic’s plane was beginning to roll forward all on its own, as if by magic. She gasped again, and then with a roar from the engine, they began to follow. Faster and faster they went, and she watched it all with a mixture of awe, fear, and fascination, now holding her breath as the contraption carrying her son actually took to the air. Still they went faster until the Countess could stand it no more and she reached out and put a hand on Murphy’s forearm. He glanced down briefly to look at her hand and so did she, but she did not remove it. Murphy looked into her eyes and smiled reassuringly, then pulled gently back on the stick, and before she could react they were airborne. Once flying however, Murphy turned his entire attention away from the Countess and concentrated on operating the airplane. He wanted no accidents at this juncture...as if he ever wanted an accident. To her credit, the Countess beside him did not scream or faint, even though she was more terrified than she had ever been in her life, even more so than on her wedding night, far from home, in a strange land, in bed with a strange Anglish nobleman.
“Woooooooooeeeeeeeeeeee!” they both heard Leoforic yell. Murphy smiled, but the Countess did not, since she did not recognize it as either her son, or as a sound of happiness.
They flew higher and higher still, before Murphy noticed that her nails were digging into his arm causing him considerable pain.
“Aathellflaad,” he said butchering her name, but it was near enough that she understood, “relax your grip or you’ll hit bone,” he said.
The Countess took her eyes from the ground only briefly to look at him, then down at her hand, and she loosened her fingers. There were four spots of blood on his forearm where her nails had bit and she was horrified that she’d hurt him so. She pulled her hand away but immediately put it back as they banked slightly and flew over her knights and personal carriage.
Murphy smiled as he caught sight of the sister…Aathellgiifu, her head sticking out of the carriage window as she stared up at the planes. He immediately wished their altitude was higher as several horses in her entourage scattered in fright, but seconds later they zipped past.
The Countess also saw the horses scatter but most of her attention was on her son Leoforic who was leaning out and waving down at the carriage.
“Oh Leoforic, do na lean out so,” she scolded absently, truly frightened and worried for his safety.
“Yah Mum,” he answered to her surprise and pulled his head back in the plane. She frowned, surprised.
“Leoforic?” she whispered tentatively.
“Yah Mum...isn’t flying grand.”
“Ye can hear me?”
“Yah Mum.”
“We have communication devices that allow us to talk over great distances,” Murphy explained and she glanced over at him now truly frightened. “You could talk to the Ealdorman now if you wished...if he’s available.”
“He’s not about,” a voice informed them but the Countess did not know whose it belonged to.
“Tis remarkable,” she said, hardly believing the man. It was not possible to talk to the Ealdorman from this distance…it just wasn’t. She remained silent for the rest of the trip, all but ignoring the voices talking close to her ear. She watched as the ground moved quickly by. Never had she gone this fast. The ground was a blur beneath them, but every now and then she caught sight of a peasant or a shack or barn below. And it was only after about twenty minutes that she forgot her fear and was able to truly loosen her grip on Murphy’s arm and after a moment she even took her hand away. Finally she began to enjoy the flight, especially when off to the right, she spotted a large goose flying very fast in the same direction but just below the plane. She laughed out loud in delight, and pointed the bird out to Murphy with a very engaging smile.
He smiled back. “I love flying,” he said simply, understanding exactly what she was feeling. To her surprise, the Countess agreed.
A few minutes later she was equally surprised to find that they were over Athelney. It could hardly be possible. They’d just left Tamworth and her home. It would be a three day trip for Æthelgifu by carriage, yet they were here.
Murphy followed Gardner as they flew on by and circled back into the wind, and it was only then that they noticed the squall was very close and moving their direction quite rapidly. They landed on the first pass and rolled to a stop next to each other. Leoforic was out of his seat in a split second and running to his mother.
“Twas it na grand?” he asked excitedly as Murphy cut the engine.
“Tis truly,” she answered as she allowed Murphy to unbuckle her. This time she welcomed his closeness as he helped her up and then down onto the ground. She looked into his eyes a long moment before they turned to greet the teams of people coming their way.
The Ealdorman and Lady Merwinna were rushing to welcome her, and seemed not the least bit surprised by either her early arrival or the flying beasts. Alongside the pair walked a host of enormous men, all clean shaven like her pilot and new friend. Within the span of an hour or so she’d become a great fan of the smooth clean faces on these men and found most of them to be very, very attractive. She chided herself silently, for she had grown to love her husband so recently deceased, still she was a woman, and these were men.
“Come,” the Ealdorman said gently holding out his arm in greeting and indicating that they should hurry for the hall. “We’re in for a blow.”
The Countess moved to go, then paused and turned back to Murphy. “I’ll see to the planes,” he told her, but that was not her worry. She was wondering if he was to join them, but she quickly regained her senses and moved off without uttering a word.
Chapter Eleven
By the time the squall hit the general’s party, thirty-three miles to the east, the last of the hummers had just crossed over the rickety wooden bridge at Kingston, which spanned a major tributary the locals called the Bane. Peebles was smiling despite the downpour, which was dumping an enormous amount of cold rain in the area, making the road a muddy mess. But of course, he was inside a hummer where it was dry and warm. Father Gillian happily accepted the invitation to join them just as the rain was beginning, and squeezed between the General and Dr. Rice. The Father was chatting away about any and all subjects, very thankful to be out of the elements. Peebles was not listening at the moment, instead he was thinking about Sir Eadwulf, who woke late this morning and delayed the start of the day by nearly two hours. Word was that the Earl was feeling poorly. The General was naturally sympathetic and when it became clear that they were in for a shower he initially invited the Earl to join them inside the hummer, but Sir Eadwulf coldly declined. It was obvious that the man was fighting not only a hangover, which must be a doozy, but also with his fear and superstition. So the Father joined them in the Earl’s stead, his horse now being led by one of the Earl’s men. Sir Oldalf, whose fear of the magic wagons was completely gone, readily climbed into the other vehicle. The rain came down in buckets and the General had to stifle a grin as he spied the soaked Earl leading his men through the torrent.
“You’d think he’d stop and find shelter,” Rice said drawing the General out of his thoughts.
“He’s a stubborn man,” Captain Hersey commented. Thus far, the Captain was not impressed by the Earl of Kent.
“Tis just so,” Gillian agreed.
“How much farther do you figure it is to Chisbury?” Peebles asked the Father.
“About twenty or so miles,” Hersey said simply.
Father Gillian shrugged not knowing just what a mile was, but he reckoned it would take at least another three hours or so to reach their destination and said so.<
br />
“Any place to stop between here and there?”
“Na, mayhap Sutton, but that be off the road to the north, or mayhap Bratton.”
“I wonder if he’ll stop,” Peebles mused. No one answered and soon they were talking of other things.
As it turned out, the Earl did not stop and they reached Chisbury just before sunset as the dark and gloomy day turned into a dark and gloomy night. They stopped at an inn at the very edge of town and the Earl did not even speak to the General before moving inside. He tromped heavily up the wooden steps, obviously in a foul mood and left his horse to be tended to by his underlings. Sir Eadric went with him but no one invited either the General or his men inside, so they found some high ground about a quarter of a mile south of the town and quickly erected their tents. It was still raining and everyone helped, but even so they were all soaked to the bone by the time they finished, but once inside, they changed into dry clothes and even found a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt in the Father’s size. Sir Oldalf, who was a large barrel of a man, was much harder to fit, so in the end they settled on a pair of nylon running pants and an oversized sweatshirt.
“You need to head to Wal-Mart my man,” Rice commented once Oldalf was dressed. Hersey laughed but the knight just looked quizzically at the doctor for a moment before returning his attention to his pants. They were warm but the nylon felt very odd to the touch as he ran his hands quickly up and down each leg.
“Verily fine trousers,” Sir Oldalf said with a smile.
They ate a quick meal fixed on a portable stove and drank hot coffee before climbing into their cots to sleep. But before he retired, Peebles set the night watch, two men on at all times, and he even volunteered for the 0400 to 0600 shift, which he would share with Corporal Chuen. It continued to rain off and on but thankfully the night passed uneventfully.
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