Fate had reached down and plucked him from the heaving ranks of desperate nobility. Against every expectation, he had been singled out for advancement and granted this chance to make good. Spoil this, and Falkes knew another opportunity would never come his way. For him, it was Elfael… or nothing.
Thus, he must ever and always remain vigilant and ruthless in his dealings with the Welsh under his rule, nor could he afford to show any weakness to his countrymen, however insignificant, that might give the baron cause to send him back to Normandie in disgrace.
Although his cousin Philip heartily assured him that his uncle, the baron, applauded his accomplishments, Falkes reckoned he would not be secure in his position as Lord of Elfael until the de Braose banner flew unopposed over the surrounding commots. So despite the bonecracking cold, a most miserable Falkes remained with his visitors, sitting on his horse and shivering in the damp wind.
The surveying party had arrived the day before when the first wains rolled down into the shallow bowl of the valley. Bumping across the stream that was now a swift-running torrent, the high-sided, woodenwheeled vehicles toiled up the slope and came to a stop at the foot of the mound on which the fortress stood. The wagons, five in all, were full of tools and supplies for the men who would oversee the construction of the three castles Baron de Braose had commissioned. Building work would not begin until the spring, but the baron was anxious to waste not a single day; he wanted everything to be ready when the masons and their teams of apprentices arrived with the thaw.
By the time the wildflowers brushed the hilltops with gold, the foundations of each defensive tower would be established. When the stars of the equinox shone over the sites, the ditches would be man deep and the walls shoulder high. By midsummer, the central mound would belly to the sky, and stone curtains twice the height of the workmen would crown the hillcrests. And when the time came for the master mason to call his men to pack their tools and load the wains to return to their families in Wintancaester, Oxenforde, and Gleawancaester, the walls and keep, bailey, donjon, and ditch would be half-finished.
For now, however, the wagons and animals would remain in sight of Caer Cadarn, where their drivers would camp in the lee of the fortress to shelter from the perpetual wind and icy rain that roared down out of the northwest. All winter long, Count Falkes's men-atarms would be kept busy hunting for the table, while the footmen and servants foraged for wood to keep the fires ablaze in hearth and fire ring of caer and camp.
It was not at all a convivial country, Falkes decided, for although winter had yet to arrive in force, the count had never been so cold in all his life. Curse the baron's impatience! If only the invasion of Elfael could have waited until the spring. As it was, Falkes and his men had come so late to Wales that they had not had time to adequately prepare for the season of snow and ice. Falkes found he had seriously underestimated the severity of the British weather; his clothes-he wore two or three tunics and mantles at a time, along with his heaviest cloak-were too thin and made of the wrong stuff. His fingers and toes suffered perpetual chilblains. He stamped his way around the fortress, clapping his hands and flapping his arms across his chest to keep warm. By night, he took to his bed after supper and burrowed deep under the fleeces and skins and cloaks that served him for bedclothes in his dank, wind-fretted chamber.
Just this morning he had awakened in his bed, aghast to find that frost had formed on the bedclothes overnight; he swore an oath that he would not sleep another night in that room. If it meant he had to bed down with the servants and dogs beside the hearth in the great hall, so be it. The only time his hands and feet were ever warm was when he sat in his chair before the hearth, with arms and legs outstretched toward the fire-a position he could maintain only for a few moments altogether; but those were moments of pure bliss in what looked to be a long, grinding, bitter winter-more ordeal than season.
It was not until the light was beginning to fail and the surveyor could no longer read the chart he was making that the builders decided to stop for the day and return to Caer Cadarn. The count was the first to turn his horse and head for home. As the work party came in sight of the fortress, the skies opened and rain began hammering down in driving sheets. Falkes lashed his mount to speed and covered the remaining distance at a gallop. He raced up the long ramp, through the gates, and into the yard to find a half dozen unfamiliar horses tethered to the rail outside the stable.
"Who has come?" he asked, throwing the reins of his mount to the head stabler.
"It is Baron Neufmarche of Hereford," replied the groom. "He arrived only a short while ago."
Neufmarche here? Mon Dieu! This is a worry, thought the count. What could he possibly want with me?
Dashing back across the rain-scoured yard, a very wet Falkes de Braose entered the great hall. There, standing before a gloriously radiant hearth, was his uncle's compatriot and chief rival, accompanied by five of his men: knights every one. "Baron Neufmarche!" called Falkes. He shrugged off his sodden cloak and tossed it to a waiting servant. "This is an unexpected pleasure," he brayed, trying to sound far more gracious than he felt at the moment. Striding quickly forward, he rubbed the warmth back into his long hands. "Welcome! Welcome, messires, to you all!"
"My dear Count de Braose," replied the baron with a polite bow of courtesy. "Pray forgive our intrusion-we were on our way north, but this vile weather has driven us to shelter. I hope we do not trespass on your hospitality."
"Please," replied Falkes, oozing cordiality, "I am honoured." He glanced around to see the cups in the hands of his guests. "I see my servants have seen to your refreshment. Bon."
"Yes, your seneschal is most obliging," the baron assured him. Taking up a spare cup, already poured, he handed it to the count. "Here, drink and warm yourself by the fire. You have had an inclement ride."
Feeling uncomfortably like a guest in his own house, Falkes nevertheless thanked the baron and accepted the cup. Withdrawing a poker from the fire, he plunged it into the wine; the hot iron sizzled and sputtered. The count then raised his steaming cup and said, "To King William!" Several cups later, when a meal had been prepared and they all sat down together, the count at last discovered the errand that brought the baron to his door, and it had nothing to do with seeking shelter from the rain.
"I have long wished to visit the Earl of Rhuddland," the baron informed him, spearing a piece of roast beef with his knife. "I confess I may have waited too far into the autumn, but affairs at court kept me in Lundien longer than I anticipated." He lifted a shoulder. "C'est la vie."
Count Falkes allowed himself a sly, secret smile; he knew Baron Neufmarche had been summoned by King William to attend him in Lundein and kept waiting several days before finally being sent away. William the Red had still not completely forgiven the contrary noblemen who had upheld his brother Roberts claim to the throne, legitimate though it undoubtedly was. When the dust of revolt had settled, William had tacitly pardoned those he considered rebels, returning them to rank and favour-although he could not resist harassing them in small ways just to prove the point.
The delay Neufmarche complained of had allowed the count's uncle to make good the de Braose clan's first foray into Wales without interference from the lords of neighbouring territories. While Neufinarche was idling in Lundien, Count Falkes had, with uncommon swiftness and ease, conquered Elfael. The whole campaign had been closely planned to avoid extraneous entanglements from the likes of rival lords such as Neufinarche, for if Baron de Braose had had to beg Neufmarche for permission to cross his lands that lay between Norman England and the Welsh provinces, Falk-es was fairly certain they would all be waiting still.
"You have done well," the baron said, gazing around the hall approvingly, "and in a very short time. I take it the Welsh gave you no trouble?"
"Very little," affirmed Falkes. "There is a monastery nearby, with a few monks and some women and children in hiding. The rest seem to have scattered to the hills. I expect we won't see them until the spr
ing." He cut into a plump roast fowl on the wooden trencher before him. "By then we will be well fortified hereabouts, and opposition will be futile." He sliced into the succulent breast of the bird, raised a bite on his knife, and nibbled daintily.
Neufmarche caught the veiled reference to increased fortification. No one builds fortresses to hold down a few monks and some women and children, he thought and guessed the rest. "They are a strange people," he observed, and several of his knights grunted their agreement. "Sly and secretive."
"Bien sir," Falkes replied. He chewed thoughtfully and asked, trying to sound casual, "Do you plan to make a foray yourself?"
The bluntness of the question caught the baron off guard. "Me? I have no plans," he lied. "But now that you mention it, the thought has crossed my mind." He raised his cup to give himself time to think and then continued, "I confess, your example gives me heart. If I imagined that acquiring land would be so easy, I might give it some serious consideration," He paused as if entertaining the possibility of an attack in Wales for the very first time. "Busy as I am ruling the estates under my command, I'm not at all certain a campaign just now would be wise,"
"You would know better than I," Falkes conceded. "This is my first experience ruling an estate of any size. No doubt I have much to learn."
"You are too modest," Neufmarche replied with a wide, expansive smile. "From what I have seen, you learn very quickly." He drained his cup and held it aloft. A servant appeared and refilled it at once. "I drink to your every success!"
"And I to yours, mon ami," said Count Falkes de Braose. "And I to yours."
The next morning, the baron departed with an invitation for Falkes to visit him whenever he passed through his lands in Herefordshire. "I will look forward to it with keenest pleasure," said the count as he waved his visitors away. He then hurried to his chamber, where he drafted a hasty letter to his uncle, informing him of the progress with the ongoing survey of the building sites-as well as his adversary's unannounced visit. Falkes sealed the letter and dispatched a messenger the moment his guests were out of sight.
CHAPTER
18
~ngharad stirred the simmering contents of the cauldron with a long wooden spoon and listened to the slow plip, plip, plip of the rain falling from the rim of stone onto the wet leaves at the entrance to the cave. She took up the bound sprig of a plant she had gathered during the summer and with a deft motion rolled the dry leaves back and forth between her palms, crumbling the herb into the broth. The aroma of her potion was growing ever more pungent in the close air of the cave.
Every now and then she would cast a glance toward the fleecewrapped bundle lying on a bed of pine boughs and covered with moss and deer pelts. Sometimes the man inside the bundle would moan softly, but for the most part his sleep was as silent as the dead. Her skill with healing unguents and potions extended to that small mercy if nothing more.
When the infusion was ready, she lifted the cauldron from the fire and carried it to a nearby rock, where it was left to cool. Then, taking up an armful of twigs from the heap just inside the cave entrance, she returned to her place by the fire.
"One for the Great King on his throne so white," she said, tossing a twig onto the embers. She waited until the small branch flared into flame, then reached for another, saying, "Two for the Son the King begat."
This curious ritual continued for some time-taking up a twig and consigning it to the flames with a little verse spoken in a child's rhythmic singsong-and the simple chant reached the young man in his pain-fretted sleep.
Three for the Errant Goose both swift and wild.
Four for Pangur Ban the cat.
Five for the Martyrs undefiledAye, five for the Martyrs undefiled.
She paused and cupped a hand above the fire for a moment, allowing the smoke to gather, then turned her palm, releasing a little white cloud. As the smoke floated up and dispersed, she continued her verse.
Six for the Virgins who watch and wait.
Seven for the Bards in halls of oak.
Eight for the patches on Padraig's cloak.
Nine for the lepers at the gate.
Ten for the rays of Love's pure lightAye, ten for the rays of Love's pure light.
Though the young man did not wake, the softly droning words and the simple rhythm seemed to soothe him. His breathing slowed and deepened, and his stiff muscles eased.
Angharad heard the change in his breathing and smiled to herself. She went to test the heat of the potion in the cauldron; it was still hot but no longer bubbling. Picking up the big copper kettle, she carried it to where Bran lay, drew her three-legged stool near, and began gently pulling away the fleeces that covered him.
His flesh was dull and waxen, his wounds livid and angry. The right side of his face was roundly swollen, the skin discoloured. The teeth marks on his arm where the hound had fastened its jaws were puncture wounds, deep but clean-as was the slash between his shoulder blades. Painful as any of these wounds might have been, none were life-threatening. Rather, it was the ragged gash in the centre of his chest that worried her most. The iron blade had not pricked a lung, nor pierced the watery sac of the heart; but the lance head had driven cloth from his tunic and hair from the hound deep into the cut. These things, in her experience, could make even insignificant injuries fester and turn sour, bringing on fever, delirium, and finally death.
She sighed as she placed her fingertips on the bulbous swelling. The flesh was hot beneath her gentle fingertips, oozing watery blood and yellow pus. He had been wandering a few days before she had found him, and the wounds had already begun to go rancid. Therefore, she had taken great pains to prepare the proper infusion with which to wash the wound and had gathered the instruments to enlarge it so she could carefully dig out any scraps of foreign matter.
Angharad had expected him to come to her injured. She had foreseen the fight and knew the outcome, but the wounds he had suffered would tax her skill sorely. He was a strong one, his strength green and potent; even so, he would need all of it, and more besides, if he was to survive.
Bending to the cauldron, she took up a bit of clean cloth from a neat stack she had prepared; she folded the cloth and soaked it in the hot liquid and then gently, gently applied it to the gash in his chest. The heat caused him to moan in his sleep, but he did not wake. She let the cloth remain and, taking up another, soaked it and placed it on the side of his face.
When the second cloth had been carefully arranged, she returned to the first, removed it, placed it back in the cauldron, and began again.
So it went.
All through the night, the old woman remained hunched on her little stool, moving with slow purpose from one wound to the next, removing the cloth, dipping it, and replacing it. When the potion in the cauldron cooled, she returned it to the embers of her fire and brought it back to the boil. Heat was needed to draw out the poison of the wounds.
While she worked, she sang-an old song in the Elder Tongue, something she had learned from her own banfaith many, many years ago-the tale of Bran the Blessed and his journey to Tir na' Nog. It was a song about a champion who, after a long sojourn in the Otherworld, had returned to perform the Hero Feat for his people: a tale full of hope, longing, and triumph-fitting, she thought, for the man beneath her care.
As dawn seeped into the rainy sky to the east, Angharad finished. She set aside the cauldron and rose slowly, arching her back to ease the ache there. Then she knelt once more and, taking up a handful of dried moss, placed it gently over the young man's wounds before covering him with the sheepskins. Later that day, she would begin the purification procedure all over again, and the next day, too, and perhaps the next. But for now, it was enough.
She rose and returned the cauldron to the edge of the fire ring, and settling herself once more on the three-legged stool, she pulled her cloak around her shoulders and closed her eyes on the day.
)Bran did not know how long he had been lying in the dark, listening to the rain: a day,
perhaps many days. Try as he might, he could not remember ever hearing such a sound before. He could vaguely remember what rain was and what it looked like, but so far as he could recall, this was the first time he had ever heard it patter down on earth and rocks and drip from the canopy of leaves to the sodden forest pathways below.
Unable to move, he was content to lie with his eyes closed, listening to the oddly musical sound. He did not want to open his eyes for fear of what he might see. Flitting through his shattered memory were weird and worrisome images: a snarling dog that snapped at his throat; a body floating in a pool; a black-shadowed hole in the ground that was both stronghold and tomb; and a hideous, decrepit old woman bearing a steaming cauldron. It was a nightmare, he told himself. the dreams of a pain-haunted man and nothing more.
He knew he was badly injured. He did not know how this had come to be nor even how he knew it to be true. Nevertheless, he accepted this fact without question. Then again, perhaps it was part of the same nightmare as the old crone-who could say?
However it was, the woman seemed to be intimately connected with another curious image that kept spinning through his mind: that of himself, wrapped in soft white fleece and lying full-length on a bed of pine boughs and moss covered by deerskins. Now and then, the image changed, taking on the quality of a dream-a peculiar reverie made familiar through repetition. In this dream he hovered in the air like a hawk, gazing down upon his own body from some place high above. At first he did not know who this hapless fellow in the rude bed might be. The young man's face was round and oddly misshapen, one side purple black and bloated beyond all recognition. His skin was dull and lustreless and of an awful waxy colour; no breath stirred the unfor- tunate's lungs. The poor wretch was dead, Bran concluded.
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