by Shel Pais
“That was your doing, not mine. Alycia was given to me, and I want her back.”
Henry looked at Edgar’s men. They looked like an unkempt lot, and he was sure his men could take them if given the opportunity.
“Tie everyone together except the baron and that young arse,” Edgar ordered, and his men obeyed.
“Baron, and you, get down,” Edgar demanded, pointing to David.
“Donald, I’m frightened,” Alycia whispered to David.
“Don’t worry. It will be all right.”
Henry dismounted, and David jumped onto the ground. They both stood in front of Edgar. Edgar did not notice David’s sword had been lying at his feet in the carriage, covered to protect it from the weather.
“So, Edgar, I see you’ve become an outlaw,” Henry said.
Edgar scowled at the baron. “No, I’m not an outlaw. I only want what’s mine.”
“I will never be yours. You’d better let us go or the king shall hear of this.”
Edgar laughed. “Be quiet, my love. I’ll deal with you later.”
“Sir Edgar, I have no quarrel with you,” David asserted. “You recall I never said anything against you. Alycia had made it up. I also have forgiven you for the wound you gave me.”
Edgar grunted. “You mean nothing to me. I should kill you and be done with it.”
“Edgar,” Henry said, “think of what you’re doing. I will never give Alycia to you. I was fearful for her safety and happiness because of what you did before, and now even more so. I demand you let us go. If you do it now, I’ll forget this ever happened, and say nothing.”
David saw the anger in Edgar. It was obvious this knight had a dangerous temper, and one wrong move could set him off.
“I don’t believe you. I’m taking Alycia.” He turned to three of his men. “Tie the baron and the boy together by that tree.” The men did as he ordered. Then Edgar turned to Alycia.
“So, my love, you aren’t happy to see me? You look more beautiful than ever.”
Alycia turned away from him. It appeared he had been away for some time. His clothes were dirty, and it was clear that he had not washed for a while.
“Get away from me,” she screamed. “I hate you!”
“This wench needs some discipline, Edgar,” one of his men said, laughing.
Edgar was not amused. “Take their horses. We’ll leave them here to hopefully freeze to death.”
“Edgar, it’s almost dark. No one travels these roads at night, so you’re just leaving us here in this miserable weather?” Henry said.
Edgar laughed. “Warm yourself with the boy.”
“I won’t go with you,” Alycia said, and she tried to jump off the carriage. Edgar’s man grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“Do that again and I’ll have to tie you up,” Edgar yelled.
Alycia then realized David’s sword was covered by a blanket, and decided if she were not tied, perhaps she would have a chance to use it. Hopefully, Edgar’s man would not notice it.
“Very well, Edgar. I won’t do it again.”
“Good. Let’s go, men.”
Henry and David watched as Edgar and his men and the carriage with Alycia soon were gone in the darkness. Henry and David struggled to free themselves from their bonds, but they could only slightly loosen them.
“Donald,” Henry said. “Can you reach into my pouch?”
“Yes, I think so. Why?”
“I have a small dagger inside it. The sheath broke, and I put it there in the meantime. Edgar must have thought the pouch too small to hold a weapon and didn’t check it.”
David struggled to pull on the ropes to get a little more slack. He maneuvered enough to reach the pouch, but he could not open it.
“Baron, can you move to the left a bit?”
Henry did, and that enabled David to carefully open the pouch and grab the small dagger.
“I have it.”
“See if you can cut the rope.”
It was difficult, but David’s dexterity helped him to slowly cut it strand by strand. The rope was poorly made, and it did not take David long to get through it. He and Henry removed their bonds, and then freed Michael, the men-at-arms, and Bryce.
“Baron, what do we do now?” one of the men-at arms asked.
“We’ll follow their tracks until we catch up to them. They can’t travel very fast.”
“But we have no weapons.”
“They won’t be expecting us, so we’ll surprise them. Our weapons are in the carriage, and we may be able to take some of theirs. Come men, we have a score to settle.”
“Are you comfortable, Alycia?” Edgar asked.
She scowled at him. “I will never be comfortable around you.”
Edgar knew of an abandoned farmhouse just off the road and had directed his men there for the night. He planned to leave at first light back to his father’s castle. He did not know how his father would react to what he had done, but he was going to find a priest to marry him and Alycia before arriving there, so it would be too late to do anything about it.
“You’d better get some sleep. We have a long journey tomorrow.”
The farmhouse only had two rooms. Edgar put Alycia alone in the back one that had a very small window, too small to crawl out of. It had been used as a storeroom. Edgar posted a man outside at the door, and he and the rest of his men slept blocking the storeroom door, so Alycia could not get out.
Edgar had an old bed in the farmhouse moved into the storeroom for her, but it was in horrible condition, and she refused to lie on it. She stayed awake, thinking how she could escape her captors. As the hours passed, all she heard was the snoring coming from behind the storeroom door. She was afraid to try to open it, not wanting to risk waking Edgar or any of his men. Then she heard a light knock on the window. She got up to investigate and smiled at what she saw.
It had not been difficult to find Edgar and his men, even in the relative darkness. There was enough moonlight to follow the carriage tracks, and they saw where it had left the road. There it was, in front of the old farmhouse. While Henry, Michael, and the men-at-arms stayed hidden, David quietly crept up to it, noticing the sentry had not fallen asleep. David slowly made his way to the back. He carefully looked into the window. With a little moonlight at his back, he was able to see Alycia pacing inside. He lightly tapped on the window and saw her turn to see him. With a huge smile, she quietly opened it.
“Alycia,” David whispered as low as he could, “are you all right?”
“Yes,” she whispered back.
“Are they all inside?”
“I believe so. Except for the one guarding the door.”
“Are our weapons still in the carriage?”
“No. They brought them inside. Except for your sword, which is still hidden.”
“Close the window and stay quiet. I’ll be back.”
She blew him a kiss and did as he said.
David returned and reported what he had learned.
“What do you think we should do?” Henry asked.
“We should rush them while they sleep,” Sir Michael said. “We can surprise and easily overtake them.”
Henry shook his head. “That’s too risky. The guard may sound the alarm, and they can quickly get their weapons before we can find ours.”
“My lord. I have an idea. It’s bold, but should work,” David said.
“Go ahead.”
“You still have the two poison containers Geoffrey gave you?”
“Yes, they’re in my pouch.”
“I can get them to Alycia. She can offer to make porridge for Edgar and his men for breakfast. They probably are quite hungry. Our carriage has the provisions. If she can put the poison in their food, we can at least weaken them, if not kill a few of them. Then we can attack.”
Henry nodded. “Donald, it’s a risky plan, but it may work. Here, take my pouch. Tell Alycia to put some of the poison in their bowls, but don’t cook it, as it will weaken it. Warn her to be v
ery careful. They must not see what she’s doing.”
“I will.”
David carefully crept back to the farmhouse and tapped on the window. Alycia was waiting for his return.
“Donald,” she whispered, “are you going to attack?”
“No. We don’t have any weapons. Here. Take these two jars of poison and be careful with them. When they’re awake, offer to cook porridge for them. Everything you need is in the carriage. Somehow, before you serve them, you have to put a little poison in each bowl. If you can, put a little more into Edgar’s. After they’re affected, we’ll attack. Can you do that?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Be careful.”
“I will,” she said, slowly closing the window. She hid the jars in a pocket inside her cloak.
David crept back to Henry and told him the plan had been conveyed. Now they had to wait.
As dawn approached, Edgar arose and checked on Alycia. He found her lying down on the old bed, wrapped in her cloak. She had dozed off after David’s second visit.
“Good morning, my lady,” Edgar said. “I trust you slept well?”
Alycia sat up. “It’s hard to sleep well under these conditions. Anyway, I’m starving. We didn’t eat last night, you will recall. There are provisions in the carriage. I can prepare groats for all of us.”
Edgar nodded. “That’s a good idea. We’re all hungry. Go ahead. We’ll get a fire started in the old hearth. I’ll have one of my men fetch water.”
“The groats, a caldron, and bowls are in the carriage.”
“We’ll get them.”
Edgar woke up his men, and had the items brought into the farmhouse. Some men gathered firewood while another brought water from the well. After the fire was lit, one of the men placed the pot over the fire and filled it with water. When it was boiling, Alycia poured in the groats, stirring occasionally. They all ignored her as she spread out the bowls. There were not enough for all of Edgar’s men. She also worried about diluting the poison so it would be ineffective, since she had never done anything like this before.
After it had boiled for several minutes, she took the ladle and tasted it. She thought it was vile but did not spit it out. With her back to Edgar and his men, she carefully took out the poison jars. In one bowl, she poured a little more, and then ladled some of the runny substance into it. This would be for Edgar. She prepared the remaining bowls the same way, being extra cautious. Her cloak worked well to keep any prying eyes away.
She picked up the bowl for Edgar and handed it to him.
“Here, my lord. I hope you like my cooking.”
Edgar took the bowl and laughed. “I will expect much better than this slop.” Alycia watched as he quickly downed the contents. She served the other five bowls, and those men downed them quickly as well. She then refilled them without any poison, handing them to the other men, including the one who had been guarding outside.
After a few minutes, Alycia saw Edgar begin to exhibit the effects of the poison. He complained of dizziness, pressed his hands against his stomach, and fell to the floor. The other men who had eaten in the first round also began to feel the effects, and soon all were on the floor, moaning.
“What have you done?” Edgar said, barely able to speak.
The four men who had not had the poisoned bowls were confused and did not know what to do. Suddenly, the door burst open and Baron Henry, Sir Michael, David, and the men-at-arms all jumped on Edgar and his men. David was holding his sword he had retrieved from the carriage after disarming the sentry, and the other men grabbed whatever weapons they could find. Edgar’s men surrendered without a fight, most too sick from the poison to resist.
Edgar looked up at Alycia. “You poisoned me, you witch,” he spurted out, retching as he spoke.
“Yes. Die, you bastard.”
Edgar’s body began shaking, and his eyes became glassy. In a few minutes, he was dead. The other men who had eaten the poison were ill, but probably would survive. Apparently, the poisons were too diluted to kill them. Henry had them all tied up. Alycia ran to her father and embraced him.
“Father. You saved me.”
“It was Donald, my dear. It was his idea.”
Alycia tightly embraced David. “Again, you have saved me. You’re not only brave, but also clever. It was a very good plan.”
Sir Michael then called out. “My lord, you must see this.”
Henry and David went outside, where Michael stood at the carriage. “Look, Henry.”
They saw a small chest, and when Michael opened it, they saw it was filled with silver coins. The chest had the crest of King Henry carved into its lid.
“My God,” Henry cried. “The king’s tax money. Edgar must have killed the tax collector and stolen it.” Henry turned to David. “Donald, when the king hears of what you have done, I’m sure you finally will be knighted.”
David could not believe what he had heard. “My lord, I thank you for that, but I still haven’t fought in a tournament or a battle.”
“Knighthood may be won in different ways and saving the king’s taxes I would wager is one of them.”
Alycia took David’s hand and squeezed it. “My love, now I’m sure we we’ll be wed sooner than later.”
David tried not to show any expression of panic. If what Baron Henry says is true, I may be knighted sooner than I thought. However, I will not be given any lands. I do not believe I could marry Alycia without an income. Just being a knight would not be enough. I must stall her as long as I can.
“We must return to Northampton with the tax money and turn it over to Geoffrey,” Baron Henry said. “The king is known to visit Northampton, and Geoffrey will ensure he gets it.”
They placed Edgar’s body in the back of the carriage and prepared to take his remaining men back as prisoners.
“You cannot take me,” one protested.
“Why? Who are you?” Henry asked.
“I am Jonathan, Sir Edgar’s brother. When my father hears of this, he’ll have you all punished.”
Henry laughed. “You were part of this group that abducted my daughter and stole the king’s tax money, serious crimes, and you think just because you say you are Earl Tristan’s son you should be treated differently? King Henry will no doubt have your head, and I hope I’m there to witness it. You will stay tied with the rest of these scum and await Baron Geoffrey and the king’s pleasure.”
Jonathan spat at Henry but missed. “We shall see.”
Geoffrey ran his hand through the coins in the king’s chest.
“Edgar did this?”
“Yes,” Henry answered. “We found it in the back of our carriage.”
“We should inform his father. Do you think he’ll believe what his son has done?”
Henry shrugged. “I don’t know. Earl Tristan knows his son has a temper. That’s why we broke off his betrothal to Alycia. He may not believe his son abducted my daughter and stole tax money from the Crown. He also may want an inquiry into his death. And Jonathan may lie about what happened.”
“I’ve sent for the sheriff to report the entire incident. With the tax money as evidence, and plenty of witnesses, I don’t expect any problems. The sheriff will question Edgar’s men, and he’s quite skilled at learning the truth. It was Donald who came up with the plan to use the poison I gave you?”
“Yes, it was.”
“I believe he’s proven himself several times already. The king will most certainly grant him knighthood now,” Geoffrey said.
“Yes, I believe he will, and sometime afterwards he’ll be my son-in-law.”
John de Oxenden left the castle after hearing about the entire encounter Baron Henry had with Sir Edgar. Edgar’s men were locked in Geoffrey’s dungeon. Jonathan was kept separate, since Henry worried Jonathan may order his men to lie.
John thought the explanation very plausible. He again wondered why this Donald was involved, but he could not argue with success. Edgar might have gotten away with abd
ucting Alycia, but his theft of the tax money was a serious crime, punishable by death, so he got what he deserved.
The sheriff returned home and told his wife what he had learned.
“I think you should forget about your suspicions of this Donald. When the king learns what he has done, he will no doubt be rewarded handsomely.”
“I believe you are correct. Imagine. Hubert accused him of being a Jew! No Jew could ever be that brave and accomplish those feats. It’s not possible.”
“No,” his wife agreed, “it’s not possible.”
After being summoned by Baron Geoffrey, Mordecai hurried to the castle. I wonder what he could want, he thought. He had hoped not to prepare more poisons. The guards let him in, and he was led to the great hall, where Geoffrey and Henry were there, and to his surprise, David.
“Ah, Mordecai,” Geoffrey said. “Welcome. Let me introduce you to Baron Henry de Percy of York.”
“My lord,” Mordecai said, bowing.
“And this young warrior is Donald.”
“I met him the last time I was here, my lord.” Mordecai nodded to his son.
“I called you here to tell you your poisons were put to good use.”
Geoffrey then related the story to Mordecai.
“So, you unknowingly helped to stop an abduction and the theft of Crown taxes. You should be proud.”
“My lord, I am glad for the outcome, but I am a healer, and do not wish any of my work to be used for harmful purposes.”
“Hah,” Henry said. “See, Jews have no stomach for anything except prayer and study. And to think Donald was accused of being one.”
“My lord?” Mordecai said.
“Mordecai, Abbot Hubert accused Donald of being a Jew and your son.”
Mordecai looked at David. “My son is in Germany, studying. This man may resemble him, but he’s a Christian, so he cannot be my David.”
“So that’s it,” Geoffrey said. “Donald resembles your David. Hubert must have misunderstood what those boys were saying, or they were confused at the archery tournament.”
David smiled at his father. “May I escort this Jew out of the castle?”
