The Paths of the Air (30 page)

Helewise had a dozen questions buzzing in her head but she said nothing. The narrative was compelling and she did not want to interrupt.

‘Then,' the young woman went on, ‘the man known as Brother Ralf was selected for a secret mission. There was a young prisoner of the Hospitallers called Fadil who was to be ransomed back to his master. Only the payment for him was not gold or coin; it was something far more valuable and potentially very dangerous. The prisoner's family had no intention of parting with this precious thing and the Hospitallers were planning to keep both prisoner
and
payment. Of the monks, Brother Ralf alone survived. He fled across the desert with Fadil and he had the ransom in his satchel. He knew he had to keep it out of the hands of all of those who so badly wanted it; he must take it so far away that they would
never
find it. He came for me, my lady, for he had to leave Outremer and go back to England, never to return. He could not go without me and one night he was
there in the little courtyard below my window, and he said I must put on travelling clothes and steal a pair of stout boots, then pack up just a small bag for we had to travel fast and far.'

‘And that is what you did?' Helewise was incredulous. ‘You abandoned your home and your family and you left?'

‘I loved him; I love him now,' she said, her face softened by emotion. ‘Yes. I packed, dressed in my riding clothes and my travelling cloak, took my horse, my knife and my weapon and, before anyone even knew he was there, I joined him and off we went.

‘We rode by night and hid by day and in about a month we reached Constantinople, where as I told you we said farewell to Fadil. Lord, what a relief – I've never known anyone complain like Fadil! Brother Ralf and I had everything to lose if we were caught but so did Fadil, for he would have been returned to Hisham and Hisham would have found exquisitely awful ways of punishing him for running away. Yet, despite that, he constantly moaned that he was hungry, he was tired, it was uncomfortable to ride for such long hours at a stretch and why did we have to ride at night in the dark?' She smiled. ‘The three of us shared a farewell meal in Constantinople, which Fadil paid for, and what a feast it was! After a month on short rations, it was wonderful to eat such delicacies and we wolfed them down. I paid for my greed, though. I was sick as a poisoned dog all night.'

Helewise liked the young woman's frankness. ‘So then it was just you and Brother Ralf on the long road home?'

‘Yes. A month to get from Antioch to Constantinople; two years to travel from there to our eventual destination. It has been a hard journey, my lady.'

That, thought Helewise, was an understatement if ever she had heard one. ‘You must have been frightened sometimes,' she said. ‘You knew you were being followed.'

‘We did and I was,' the young woman agreed. ‘Brother Ralf was incredible. He developed an instinct for danger – perhaps it is common among fighting men; I do not know – and for the most part he led us safely. By the time we reached Greece we had identified the three groups who were on our trail and Ralf thought our best bet was to take ship across to the kingdom of Naples and then make our way up through the Papal States to Lombardy and north across the mountains. We found a ship but we were caught in a storm and blown ashore on the island of Sicily. We had to stay there for almost three months because, of all the evil luck, one of the groups pursuing us had also ended up on Sicily and we had to hide till they left.'

‘I am amazed that these separate parties who pursued you did not lose you on the road,' Helewise said.

‘They frequently did,' the young woman replied. ‘We didn't reach England via the same route. But it wouldn't have worried any of them if they did lose us because they knew where we were going. They were all aware of Brother Ralf's English origins and they knew where he was bound.'

‘Then why did you not make for a different destination? You could surely have evaded your pursuers and settled in some foreign land, safe from capture?'

‘We could have done, except that there was an imperative reason why Brother Ralf had to come here.'

‘Because he—'

But with an apologetic smile the young woman interrupted. ‘I cannot tell you, my lady. I am sorry.'

Helewise wondered why not. She thought for a few moments and then said, ‘There were the two Saracens sent by Hisham after Fadil and the ransom, the trio of Knights Hospitaller hunting their runaway monk, and who else?' She thought she already knew the answer.

‘Leo Rubenid is not a man to suffer an insult in meek silence. As soon as he discovered his betrothed had fled with her lover, he selected two of his most ruthless and efficient Frankish mercenaries – their names are William and Tancred – and a Turkish bowman called Touros to go with them. It was this trio who landed on Sicily and, for me anyway, they presented the worst threat.'

‘Naturally so, for they would have taken you back to Leo and to a marriage you did not want.'

The young woman was watching her, one eyebrow slightly raised. ‘It would not have been marriage that awaited me, my lady,' she said. ‘Leo would only accept a virgin bride, and the moment he discovered I'd had a lover he would not have wanted me any more. He would, however, have been determined to punish me. He would have made sure nobody knew he'd captured me and then he would have offered me to his men and watched as one by one they raped me. Then he would have had what was left of me sent down to one of the brothels on the coast and ordered some whoremaster to chain me up in a very small cupboard for the exclusive use of those men who were too diseased and too repulsive for the other prostitutes.'

‘You – how can you know this?' Helewise whispered.

‘Because that is what he did to the girl he wished to marry before me when he found out that
she
had taken a lover.'

‘And still, knowing this, your parents were keen for you to marry him?' she asked incredulously.

‘They did not know it, my lady. Please do not think worse of them than you probably do already.'

‘How did you find out?'

‘It was I who was being forced to marry him; it was up to me to discover all that I could about him and so I found people who, for a price, would root out such things. As I told you just now, I kept hoping that I would come up with something that would change my mother's mind, and indeed I suppose I did, only it became irrelevant because I fled with – with Brother Ralf.'

A look of intense sadness crossed her face. Helewise believed she knew its cause and she got up and stood by over the young woman, putting out her hand. After a moment, it was grasped and tightly held.

‘Your mother would understand if she knew the truth,' she said gently.

‘I keep hoping so,' the woman said. ‘I torment myself with the thought that my mother and my dear father believe me to be an impulsive ingrate who abandoned them without a backward glance.'

‘If you love them and they you, then they will feel in their hearts that cannot be true.' Helewise squeezed the hand and the young woman squeezed back; her grip was surprisingly strong. ‘They have known you all the years of your life. Their understanding of you will have told them what you are and I believe they will be well aware that whatever made you run away, you had no choice.'

There was a short silence. Then: ‘Thank you, my lady. Your words console me.'

Helewise returned to her chair, moving slowly and giving the young woman time to recover herself. When once more she was seated, she considered what she was about to say. Then, meeting the young woman's eyes, she began, ‘I do not suppose that you are aware of it, but there are two Hospitallers lying in the infirmary here. They are the surviving members of the group that followed your Brother Ralf all the way from the desert outside Margat. One thing puzzles me: if Brother Ralf was not an avowed monk in their Order, why should they have gone to such lengths to try to catch him and punish him? Did they not know that he had not taken his vows?'

The young woman's green eyes were steady and she did not look away. She said, ‘Thibault of Margat knew all about Brother Ralf. He was well aware that in fleeing Outremer Ralf had committed no crime against the Knights Hospitaller.' She leaned forward, her expression intense. ‘My lady, it is not Brother Ralf that the Knights Hospitaller want so desperately to get their hands on. It is what he carries with him.'

Eighteen

‘
S
o just who is it,' Josse demanded, ‘these Frankish mercenaries whom you fear so much wish to find?'

John Damianos looked into his eyes. ‘She is the daughter of Gerome's kinswoman Aurelie and her husband, Count Hugo of Tripoli. She was betrothed to a man who regarded her already as his wife and whose men, if they find us, will kill me and take her back to Outremer and to the very worst sort of captivity.' He paused, then added softly, ‘Her name is Paradisa.'

Several pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Josse said, ‘So, in addition to the other reason for your flight from Outremer – to take your prisoner to safety and deliver up the treasure to whoever you thought should receive it – you also had to ensure that this Paradisa escaped from her would-be husband.'

‘Correct,' said John Damianos. ‘I love her,' he added.

Josse grinned. ‘So I imagine.' Then – for this was no time for levity – ‘Where is she?'

‘There is an abandoned house deep in the Great Forest,' John replied. ‘We came across it when we were making for Hawkenlye Abbey, where I had to go because – where I was hoping to have my wound treated.' Josse was sure he had been on the point of saying something else but he did not press the matter. ‘We found a key and let ourselves into the undercroft. We knew we were doing wrong and had no business living in someone else's house, even in the undercroft, but we were careful and we kept it very clean and tidy. We intend to—'

‘When did you last see Paradisa there?' Josse interrupted.

‘Three days ago,' John replied. ‘I left her while I sought another hiding place – this place – and I told her I'd return as soon as I had found somewhere.' There was sudden anxiety in his eyes. ‘Why do you ask?'

‘I have been to the house in the woods,' Josse said. ‘I followed Akhbir there early in the morning the day before yesterday.'

John Damianos shot to his feet and grasped Josse by the collar. ‘You let Akhbir escape? How could you be so careless? Dear God, but I must get to her—' He lunged out of the shelter but Josse grabbed his arm and held him tight.

‘
Wait
, John!' he cried. ‘Listen. Akhbir knew where the house was. Either he followed your tracks or he had already discovered it. Anyway, he was striding up to it when he was shot and killed by a bolt from a crossbow.'

John had subsided. He looked at Josse, his eyes wary. ‘He's dead? You are absolutely sure?'

‘Aye, I swear it's true. I returned the next day and discovered someone had buried his body in the woods. I too found the key but the undercroft was empty. The hearthstones were still warm so whoever had been there cannot have long gone.'

John said nothing.

‘John, you must tell me what has happened!' Josse cried, exasperated. ‘Who shot the crossbow bolt? I am quite prepared to believe it was in self-defence, or rather in defence of Paradisa, but who is it that's such a deadly shot? He was confident enough in his skills to fire a couple of warning shots that landed far too close to me for comfort.' Still John did not speak. ‘Tell me! Who is guarding Paradisa while you are away?'

John raised his face and looked straight at Josse. ‘Nobody. It's just the two of us, as it has been all the way from Constantinople.'

‘Then who fired the shots?'

‘Paradisa.'

‘But she – she's a woman!'

John smiled suddenly. ‘Indeed she is,' he murmured.

‘Women can't fire crossbows! It's unheard of!'

‘
You
might not have heard of it, Sir Josse. Paradisa was born into a family that longed for sons and she was encouraged in activities traditionally reserved for boys. Her father bought her a falcon and she was taught how to fly it. She also wields a knife very effectively and a foot soldier who came out with the crusaders was employed to teach her how to use the crossbow.'

Josse was shaking his head in disbelief. ‘She killed Akhbir,' he muttered. ‘Killed him stone dead with a bolt through the heart!'

‘Good for her.' John Damianos's tone was rough. ‘He would have killed her, had she not fired the first shot.'

‘Aye, I realize that,' Josse said hurriedly. ‘I do not question the action, John. It is merely that I am staggered to learn whose hands performed it.'

‘She is strong,' John said, his tense face relaxing into a smile. ‘In many ways any man's equal. But we must find her, Josse!' He leapt off in the direction of the horses. ‘She is probably back at the house,' he called back, ‘but I have been away from her much too long. Come!'

As they rode, Josse turned over in his mind where this woman with the romantic name might have gone if – as he strongly suspected – they did not find her at the house in the woods. She will have fled, he thought, because she'll reason that if Akhbir managed to find her there, then others – specifically, the Frankish mercenaries so dreaded by John Damianos – might do so as well. She may have made her way to Hawkenlye Abbey, he thought hopefully, encouraging Horace to a fast canter as he pounded behind John Damianos. She'd have known of its existence because John obviously did: he went there to have his wound treated. What terrible conflict caused that frightful burn? Josse had no idea. Had there been an attack by one of the pursuing parties? He could not imagine how such a wound could be inflicted . . .

Paradisa would know she would be safe at the Abbey. Even if she had learned that the Knights Hospitaller were in the infirmary, surely she had nothing to fear from them? It was their runaway monk they were concerned with, not her. Anyway, she would be aware of the rules of sanctuary. If she hid in the Abbey church then the Abbess and the Hawkenlye community would uphold her right not to be taken away.