“When we had a moment where it appeared no one was pursuing us, we removed the bolt. You were lucky. The guard was either a poor shot or he only sought to wound you. It was buried deep in the flesh of your hip and you lost a lot of blood. But it was not a killing blow. Robard held you down while I removed it.” She added, “It was not pleasant.”
“She means you screamed like a little gi-like a person in great pain,” Robard corrected himself as he felt the sting of Maryam’s baleful stare. “Grew up in a monastery, you say? Never heard such curse words.”
My face grew hot with embarrassment.
“Stop teasing him, Robard,” Maryam insisted. “You’re lucky you’ve never felt an arrow pierce your thick hide. I can assure you it hurts, although a longbow does hurt more.”
“Thank you, Maryam. . Robard, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t stopped those Guards from capturing us,” I said.
“Most likely died,” Robard replied. Maryam and I both couldn’t help but laugh. We were all relieved to at least be temporarily free and alive.
“So you rowed us all the way to England?” I asked.
Robard and Maryam looked at each other, something passed between them and they decided to abruptly change the subject.
“Yes, well, now we’ve arrived in England and I’ve found it cold, gray and wet. Why didn’t the two of you tell me the sun never shines here?” she said.
“It does,” we both answered at once.
“Well, we’ve been here three days and all it has done is rain and grow colder by the minute,” she complained. She pulled her tunic up around her neck and scooted closer to the fire.
“Go back to the how-you-sailed-here part,” I said. “I’m not quite following.”
“I need to go on a scout,” Robard said, “and see if I can find a stand of birch where there might be some seedlings. I have a few points left and need to make some arrows.” He fussed with his wallet, counting the shafts he had left.
“All right, both of you stop. Tell me what happened,” I insisted.
Robard swallowed. Maryam was silent. Apparently it was his tale to tell.
“Nothing happened. Not really. It wasn’t a very large vessel. Three oars and a small sail.
“We tied you down in the front and rowed until we were well out into the channel. After the other boats turned back, we kept at it. You were still bleeding and crying out all the time. After a while we got tired and I thought it might be better if we raised the sail and caught the wind. We just pointed it west and hoped for the best,” Robard said.
“You hoped for the best?” I asked, incredulous.
“Yes,” he replied, suddenly interested in the maintenance of his bow.
I stared at both of them.
“What?” they both asked.
“That was your plan? Every time I come up with an idea, you two do nothing but belittle it. But when I’m lying near death, you put me in a boat and ‘point it west’ and ‘hope for the best’?” The very thought of it made my wound throb again. “My goodness! What if the wind and current carried you past England? What if you were pushed back to France? Do you even know how to sail?”
“Of course-we sailed all the time in Sherwood Forest,” Robard answered sarcastically. “What are you worried about? We got here, didn’t we? Sailing isn’t as hard as it seems, as long as there’s wind. Without the wind, there’s all the rowing, and that’s some work, I’ll tell you. Luckily, though, being an archer is ideally suited for rowing, as we tend to be strong in the arms. So I was able to compensate for Maryam. . I mean when Maryam tired. . ” Too late, Robard, my friend.
“Robard,” Maryam said quietly. “I don’t think we really want to talk about this now, do we?”
“Um. No. I guess not,” he replied sheepishly.
“Anyhow, it worked, didn’t it? Here we are, safe in England,” Robard said.
“Ohh,” I said. I had to lie back against the rock and close my eyes. Weakness washed over me, and I covered my face with my hands. “And the two of you have the gall to complain. . I’m the one without plans. .,” I muttered. “Where in England?” I asked, sitting up again.
“What did he say?” Robard asked.
“Nothing,” Maryam said. “Tristan, tell me how you feel. Can you stand? Do you think you can walk, or ride if we can find horses? Robard says we really should be on the move. Sir Hugh will no doubt find our trail soon enough, if he hasn’t already.”
“Do we know where we are?” I asked. “Which direction we need to go?”
“West,” Maryam said.
“North,” Robard said at the same time.
“You have no idea where we are, do you?” I asked.
“Yes. We most certainly do. We are in England. And for a long time we had the cliffs of Dover in view. Then, well. . we may have drifted a bit,” he said.
“A bit?”
“Quite a bit, perhaps-a lot, actually. The wind really catches the sail, and if you don’t get the rudder turned correctly, you end up going. . Never mind. We’re safely home, Tristan. In England.” Robard gave me his best smile.
Maryam brought us back to reality. “Regardless of where we are, we need to get moving. Tristan, can you stand? Walk?” she asked. I had been sitting by the fire, my head in my hands, wondering how far we would have to travel to reach Rosslyn. I couldn’t really blame them, though. We were still alive.
“I’m not sure. Let me try,” I said. Standing was going to be painful, but there was no way around it. Maryam was right. It was time for us to be under way.
I put one leg under me while Robard knelt, holding my other arm. Together we stood and the pain was only slightly less than excruciating. The world spun and I feared I might pass out. “Easy,” Robard said. “Steady.”
After a moment, the pain lessened and I could stand unaided. Taking a few tentative steps back and forth, I could manage a sort of shuffling walk. But at this rate, it would take me years to reach Scotland.
“Careful,” Maryam said. “Getting shot by an arrow hurts.” She stared at Robard pointedly, but he refused to meet her gaze.
“Yes, it does, I’m told. But not as much as being stabbed by a Hashshashin dagger,” Robard shot back.
“We’re going to need horses,” I said, interrupting.
“You know, riding a horse. .” Maryam let the words trail off.
“I know. It’s going to hurt even worse. But the pain will pass. We’ll never make it on foot, and I’ll only slow us up,” I said.
Robard and Maryam nodded in agreement. I decided it was a good idea to sit back down before I passed out.
“So how do we do that?” I asked. “Find horses.”
Neither of them spoke, staring at the fire, thinking.
“Do we have any idea where we are exactly? Where in England specifically?”
Robard shook his head. “I said sailing is not as hard as it looks. Navigating is an entirely different matter. We’ll just need to find the nearest town or village to find out where we are. Then we’ll see about horses. You still have money?”
I nodded. I also had Sir Thomas’ ring, but trading it for horses would leave a clear clue for Sir Hugh if he followed us here.
“Good. I’m not opposed to stealing, since this is something of an emergency, but it would be better for us if we had just one group chasing us at a time,” he remarked.
“I say we rest here tonight and leave refreshed in the morning,” Maryam suggested.
“Good idea,” I said wearily. Exhaustion and pain were enveloping me again. My hip still burned and my eyes grew heavy.
Robard stood, kicking at a few of the logs on the fire with his boot. The flames died down and he banked the coals so only a slow warm glow flowed over me. He strung his bow.
“What are you doing?” Maryam asked.
“I’m going to scout around a bit,” he said. “Keep an eye on things. You won’t see me until tomorrow morning, so don’t be alarmed. But I’ll always be nearby. If there’
s trouble, give one of those Al Hashshashin war cries of yours. They’re loud enough to wake the dead. I’ll hear it and be back before you know it. Tristan, rest easy. Try not to injure yourself any further, if you don’t mind.”
Then as if he were a ghost, Robard disappeared into the night.
5
My eyes opened as dawn broke. Maryam slept on the other side of the fire with Angel curled next to her. It was too early to rise, I thought, and there was no sign of Robard. It wouldn’t hurt for me to rest awhile longer.
When I opened my eyes again-surely just seconds later-Robard was standing by the fire, leaning on his bow, staring at me with a giant grin on his face.
“Good morning,” he said. He surprised me and I lurched awake, straining my side. I lay back quickly with a groan.
“Don’t do that!” I exclaimed.
“What?” he asked.
“Sneak up on us!”
“Who is sneaking up?” Robard made a show of raising his bow and twisting his neck around as if an attack were coming.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” I said. I braced against the boulder and lifted myself to my feet. “Did you see anything or learn where we are while you were parading about?”
“Parading? I most definitely was not! Perhaps scouting, but I don’t know about parading,” he said in an irritatingly cheerful tone as he knelt to warm his hands by the still-glowing coals.
“Please, Robard, I don’t feel well, and your cheerfulness is making me irritable,” I pleaded. My head ached and my side still burned.
Robard paid no attention. “I found a village not far from here and spoke to a smith. Told him I was on my way home from the Crusades and had gotten turned around. Friendly fellow. We’re about two, maybe three days’ walk south of Dover. You, however, are probably four or five days’ walk,” he said, pointing at my wounded hip. “So Maryam and I will meet you there.” His grin told me he was joking, but I was stiff, in pain and not in the mood for comedy.
“Robard, please. . stop. .,” I said, my voice tinged with exasperation.
Robard laughed in response. “Ha! We couldn’t have planned it better if we’d tried. Well, of course we could have hit Dover directly, I suppose, but still a remarkable feat of sailing, if I do say so myself. And if we can find horses, it’ll take us even less time to get there.”
“Get where?” Maryam asked groggily from the ground.
“Well, good morning, sunshine!” Robard nearly shouted.
“Ugh,” Maryam said, staring up at the sky, which was overcast and gray again. Rain would be coming later in the day. “Sunshine! Pfff. I’ve yet to see any of it since we landed here!” She sat up and stoked the fire, and soon had water boiling in a small pot she had procured somewhere.
At Robard’s mention of Dover, my mind raced.
“Dover,” I muttered to myself. “Not everyone I knew and trained with left for Outremer when our regimento did. There may be squires and even knights who remember me, and they might be willing to help. If I show them Sir Thomas’ letter. .” My words trailed off. It felt like the best option. We were so close, it seemed foolish not to at least try.
“Okay,” Robard agreed. “There is a village not far north of here. We should be able to get horses there, or at least find someone in the nearby countryside who has them for sale. You two start walking. Follow the coast. As soon as I can find horses, I’ll catch up.”
“Isn’t it the first place Hugh would look?” Maryam asked. “And you,” she said, looking at Robard. “I don’t like you always disappearing into the woods and leaving us alone. How would we ever know if something happened to you?”
“I’m going to get the horses,” Robard said, “because I’m a native who didn’t grow up in a monastery and thus has no idea how to bargain. I’ve purchased stock before and know how to deal with horse traders. I’m less likely to be noticed. We’ve been waiting here for two days while Tristan recovered. We can’t take the chance Sir Hugh hasn’t put the word out about three wanted criminals traveling together. I’ll catch up to you with the horses, and I promise we won’t split up after that. At least then we’ll be on horseback and have a better chance of eluding capture.” Robard was trying hard to convince her. Maryam had woken up in a foul mood.
“I think Robard’s plan makes sense. But go quickly,” I said, removing the small bag of coins from the satchel and adding Sir Thomas’ ring to it. “We need good mounts, and this is all the money I have left. If you have to use the ring. . I. . would rather keep it, but if you must.”
Robard’s hand closed over the coin purse. “I’ll do my best,” he said.
He handed his bow and wallet to Maryam. As we had traveled through France, after escaping from Montsegur, Robard had been teaching Maryam to shoot his longbow.
“Take care of these,” he said. “You’re becoming quite a proficient archer. Remember, shoulders steady, feet set and breathe out when you loose.”
“Robard! You might need it,” she exclaimed, pushing it back to him.
He shook his head. “No. Not this time. They’ll be searching for an archer fitting my description. So if I don’t fit the description. .,” he trailed off. “Besides, I have this!” He grasped the hilt of Sir Thomas’ battle sword hanging from his belt.
Maryam glanced at me with a pained expression. “Robard. Please don’t take this the wrong way. .,” she said.
“What?” he said, curious.
“You know you are a gifted archer,” she said.
“Of course.”
“Well, you are not so talented with the sword. In fact, you are a horrible swordsman. There, I said it,” she finished quickly.
“What? I am not! I can fight as well with a sword as anyone!” he nearly shouted.
He pulled the sword as if to make his case. It was a clumsy draw, though, and the point hung up on the scabbard. Then the blade became stuck and he had to push it back in and draw again. In all, about a half minute passed before the sword cleared.
“See what I mean?” Maryam said.
There was no need to let Robard’s temper get the best of him, so I jumped in. “You are right, Robard. Go and return as quickly as you can. Maryam and I will start out for Dover. I’m sure you’ll be able to track us. But if you lose us somehow, there is a well-trod road, called the traveler’s road, west of the city, about three leagues out. We will gather there if need be.” I even gave him a little salute.
“Right. Well, I’d best be on my way,” he said. He tried to return the sword to the scabbard and succeeded after three attempts. Please, God, I prayed. Keep him safe until he returns to us. I crossed myself and Maryam uttered a prayer to Allah. We watched until Robard disappeared from sight.
Angel whimpered, as she always did whenever we separated, but she rolled over onto her back and Maryam gave her a good belly rub. Satisfied, she sat up and sniffed the air. I took the opportunity to walk back and forth around the campsite, testing my wounded side. Each step brought a small wave of pain, but it was bearable, and slowly I worked at returning to full strength. I remembered my dream. Sir Thomas warned me danger was coming. I had no idea what he meant. Was it that the closer I got to Scotland, the more desperate Sir Hugh would become? Was the Queen Mother trying to find me as well? Or was it that some other as yet unseen or unrealized danger awaited? Knowing our luck thus far, I wouldn’t be surprised if a dragon awaited us over the next rise.
“How are you feeling?” Maryam asked, rising from her morning prayers.
“Better, thanks. Maryam, don’t worry. Robard will be fine. He knows a lot more than he ever lets on. He told me when we first met that he was a poor and simple farmer. But I’m finding him much more complex. I have no doubt he’ll return unharmed, with mounts for us. This will all be over soon, and you can return home.”
Maryam stared off in the distance. “Home. I dared not think of it,” she mumbled. But I knew she wasn’t thinking of home but rather how much she wished Robard had not left us alone. In France, Robard had dec
ided to make it back to England on his own, separating from us for a short time. Every hour he was gone, Maryam was miserable, and her joy at our reunion a few days later was palpable. Watching them since, I’d seen how much closer they’d become. Robard would look at her and a small smile would cross his face. When she had been held captive by Sir Hugh in Calais, he had nearly gone mad in his desire to save her. Neither of them thought I noticed what was happening between them, but I did.
For some reason, Maryam’s worry over Robard made me think of Celia, the Cathar princess we had left behind at her mountain fortress in southern France. It had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done. On some level, I understood Maryam’s feelings, for I often wondered if Celia still remembered me. I tried to push her face and smile from my mind, for the thought that she might have forgotten me already was too horrible to bear.
“Maryam,” I asked. “Do you think. .”
“What?” she prodded me. you think … ”
“What?” she prodded me.
“Nothing.” Best I change the subject.
“I think Robard is right,” I said. “We should get moving and follow the coast. If we’re out in the open, we have less chance of walking into an ambush, plus we won’t get lost that way. If we come upon any settlements, we’ll turn inland and go around them. Robard will be able to track us easily, and the quicker we get to Dover, the better.” Taking the pot of tea off the fire with a stick, I kicked dirt over the coals.
“Why? Why not wait here for Robard to return? What do you think you’re going to find in Dover, Tristan?” she asked. I’d seldom seen Maryam like this. Robard’s absence made her uneasy. I was not sure whether it was because she felt safer when he was with us, or because her feelings for him had grown.
I thought of the Commandery, my months of living and training there, of the knights and squires and the controlled chaos of dinnertime in the main hall, of the hours of training on the fields and work, and the laughter from the squires’ barracks as we fell dead tired into our beds each night. They were some of my happiest memories. Someone had to be there who would remember Sir Thomas.
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