The Silver Falcon (23 page)

When David had spooned up his broth, he pointed at William’s food and looked at her questioningly.

Enid frowned with annoyance, but then she nodded.

David fell on the second helping like a starving animal. Once he had wiped that plate clean, too, he leaned down toward Enid, sated and happy, waiting for her to kiss him good night on the forehead as she did every evening. Then he crawled onto his pallet, wrapped himself up in his blanket, and huddled up close to the wall. That was the only way he liked to sleep.

Enid remained seated awhile longer at the big wooden table that Nana’s husband had made. In truth, it was too big for the little hut, but it was of great service to Enid when she had to sort large heaps of herbs. For a while she watched David as he slept the sleep of the innocent; then she stared into the tiny flickering flame of the tallow candle, brooding. It shed very little light on the room and cast agitated shadows on the walls.

The longer Enid sat, the heavier her head grew. At length it slumped forward and she started. Weren’t there noises outside, as if someone was up to something outside the hut?

“Will, at last.” Overjoyed, she leaped up, lifted the wooden latch, and threw the door open. Then she stood there, thunderstruck.

It was not William she had heard. Three young knights stood by their horses. One of them thrust a torch in her direction; another, the leader, to judge by his self-important manner, approached her.

Enid shrank back involuntarily. The man’s broad shoulders almost filled the doorway. His beardless face was fresh and smooth. His straw-blond hair was shaved behind the ears in the Norman manner. He glanced briefly past her into the hut and nodded with satisfaction. He turned to one of his companions, and the flame of the torch made his blue eyes shine.

“Have Bevis tie up the horses—we’ll stay here tonight,” he ordered, grinning broadly at Enid. “If you’ve no objection, dear lady,” he added with a small bow.

Enid suspected he was mocking her, but she was not afraid of the blond knight. He’s too good-looking to be wicked, she thought, taking a step back and letting him in.

The man with the torch extinguished the flame and followed him. The one called Bevis came in, too. In contrast to the blond one, neither of his companions looked very trustworthy. Like their leader, they wore swords and hunting knives on their belts. Not only did they look as though they knew how to handle them; they looked as though they were actually eager to get to work with them.

Enid immediately regretted letting in the men. But had she really had any choice? She closed the door and indicated, with a curt gesture, that they should sit at the table.

The spurs on their boots jangled at every step. The strong smell of horse sweat, leather, iron, and ale emanating from the three of them caught in Enid’s throat. Bravely she fought back the urge to retch, swallowed a few times, and then silently withdrew into the
most distant corner of the room. She glanced swiftly at the corner where David was sleeping. He was not moving and still lay close to the wall, so that he was almost invisible. The men had not noticed him yet. Enid prayed to God that it might stay so.

“We’re thirsty,” cried Bevis, who was shorter and fatter than the others, pounding his fist on the table so hard that Enid jumped. His plump cheeks glowed as red as raspberries. “Bring us drink, and be quick about it.”

Enid stood up as quickly as her condition allowed and placed the water bucket on the table, along with its wooden dipper.

“Water?” Bevis looked into the bucket with disgust. “Have you no ale or wine?”

Enid shook her head, looking down at the floor.

“Can’t you speak? Or don’t you want to?” the second knight intervened. He was somewhat bigger than the blond one with the friendly look, but he was leaner and his face was angular. He wore his shoulder-length black hair in a ponytail, tied up at the neck.

When Enid did not answer, he grabbed her by the arm and drew her close to him. She looked at him, frightened. His left eyebrow was disfigured by an ugly, bulging red scar that resembled a glowing worm. Enid looked down. The muscles in his sinewy forearm twitched as he clasped his fingers more tightly around her wrist.

“No,” she cried, trying to escape his grip.

“Come now, don’t be shy.” The lean one came even closer. Since his head was tilted slightly upward, Enid could not help looking right up his long, slightly hooked nose. Hairs sprouted from it. They were as dark as the hair on his head and the bristles on his chin. His breath smelled terrible.

“If you haven’t anything decent for us to drink, at least let us have a bit of fun with you instead.”

Enid felt sick.

The knight grinned, grabbed at her breasts, and started kneading them roughly.

Without hesitation, Enid slapped him in the face. The blond knight with the clear blue eyes and fat Bevis laughed and clapped their thighs with mirth.

The lean one, however, grabbed the hand that had struck him. “Who do you think you are? Mistress Touch-Me-Not?”

“Leave her alone.” The blond one stood up with exaggerated slowness and looked threateningly at the lean one. “You shall not touch her.”

He won’t allow him to do anything to me, thought Enid with relief, looking at him gratefully.

The lean one stared at him with hostility; he seemed to be toying with the idea of rebelling. “But I want her.” He turned to face Enid, lewdly licking his lips and repulsive yellow teeth.

Enid inched closer to the blond one.

“Tomorrow. You’ll have to wait till tomorrow, my friend,” he answered condescendingly. The icy tone of his voice was chilling, but Enid did not believe he really meant what he said. She was sure he only wanted to protect her and would not think of leaving her to his companions.

“Why wait?” growled the lean one impatiently. The red scar on his brow was even more prominent now.

Raspberry-cheeked Bevis nodded in agreement, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

The blond knight laid his hand on Enid’s hip as if it were his. “You shall wait till tomorrow. Tonight she belongs to me. Now leave me in peace.” Almost tenderly, he pulled Enid toward her bed.

Since she still thought of him as her protector, someone who clearly was just trying to get her beyond his companions’ reach, she thought mainly of David. He mustn’t on any account wake up. It didn’t bear thinking about, how the two coarse youths would treat him. So Enid was even relieved when the blond one told his companions to extinguish the light and lie down to sleep. But when he
began pressing himself against her eagerly she understood, bewildered, that it was not her virtue he had been defending but his right to be the first to have his way with her.

Crippled by fear, she allowed him to lift her shift. If she wanted to protect her brother, she realized with horror, she could not put up a fight. Mute with desperation, she offered up her rear end to the blond man, holding her hand protectively against her belly. God in heaven, don’t let him notice that I’m with child, she prayed silently, else he’d ask where the father was. She buried her face for shame in the wool blanket she used when she slept. It smelled of William. God, don’t let him come back now, Enid prayed fervently. The knights outnumbered him, and they were armed. William wouldn’t stand the slightest chance against them and would be killed if he tried to rescue her.

Hot tears poured down her cheeks, seeping into the blanket.

When he had finished with her, he embraced her from behind, like a lover, holding her firmly between his arms.

Enid could hardly bear his breath against her neck. It was only her desire to protect David that gave her strength.

“Just wait till tomorrow. Truly, it’ll be incredible. Nothing else will matter.” It was a voice in the dark. It must have been the lean one.

She began to tremble at the thought that her martyrdom was not yet at an end. Bravely she fought back the urge to vomit. She did not want to wait until the other two fell on her, too, and cudgeled her brain to think of a way to escape further humiliation.

Meanwhile, the blond one had fallen asleep and was making small smacking sounds.

Enid did not dare move, though she found it intolerable to feel his arm across her breasts.

After a while, he began snoring softly.

Enid kept her eyes wide-open and listened in the darkness. Nothing but regular breathing could be heard. The other two men
must have fallen asleep, too. Enid did not know what she should do. If she tried to flee, she would be leaving David at the mercy of these brutal men.

At the thought of what shameful acts they might still be capable of, her ire rose. But she had to think not only of David but also of her unborn child.

Just before dawn, Enid decided to creep out. The men were fast asleep. If they were still in the hut at daybreak and David woke up, he was in danger anyway. But if she managed to lure the men from the hut by fleeing, she might even be able to shake them off. Certainly no one knew the forest better than she did.

Enid sent a quick prayer up to heaven. She had to try, and hope that God and all the saints were with her.

Holding her breath, she slowly removed the arm that now lay on her hip and crawled toward the door on all fours. She stopped repeatedly to check that the men had not stirred. Carefully, she picked up the poker in case she needed to defend herself. Then she quietly lifted the wooden latch and stood up, heart pounding. She felt sure she had managed to leave the hut unnoticed, but then she felt her shift being grabbed from behind.

“Where are you off to in such haste?”

Enid turned, startled.

It was the lean one. Grinning cruelly, he was holding on to her and pulling her toward him.

Enid’s hand twitched. She wanted to lunge at him and hit him over the head with the poker, but he saw through her, gripped her arm, and twisted it with lightning speed. All she could do was drop it.

“What’s happening?” The blond one’s voice sounded sleepy. He stretched pleasurably.

“The little thing tried to leave us,” guessed Bevis, who had woken up, too.

When the lean one turned toward them, Enid was able to free herself. She flung herself out through the door, but her adversary was swift as a ferret. Enid had run only a few steps when he grabbed her by the hair and held tight. Enid flailed about in desperation.

Unfortunately, David chose this moment to come out of the hut. “En?” He rubbed his eyes and looked at her questioningly.

The blond one looked him up and down disdainfully. He grabbed David’s chin. “Now who have we here?”

Enid tried to escape once more, but the lean one held her back by the hair and shoved her to the ground.

David cried out with shock and tried to rush to her aid, but the blond one punched him right on the nose. David fell to the ground.

Enid froze and stopped struggling. The lean one removed his sword belt and started fiddling with his clothing. As the lean one undressed, Enid’s eyes were wide with terror and shock. The blond one had been modestly equipped and had caused her hardly any pain, but the lean one was built quite otherwise. God protect my child, she begged mutely, starting to weep, which seemed to excite her tormentor even more. Egged on by Bevis, who could obviously hardly wait for his own turn, he put his hand under her shift and lifted it up to her chin. When he saw her rounded belly, he hesitated for a moment.

“You can’t be very particular if you carry on with this booby. It’s high time you had a real man.” He grabbed her crotch contemptuously and thrust more than one finger into her womanhood.

Enid’s whole body shuddered. She turned her head aside and locked her gaze on David. The poor fellow was desperately trying to protect his head with his hands, but he could not fend off his attacker’s repeated punches. He tried again and again to escape and reach Enid.

“Straw in his head, but fire in his loins,” sneered the blond one. “We’ll soon beat that out of him.” He continued to punch David,
kicking him in the belly and sides until he was on the ground weeping like a child.

Instinctively, Enid started singing the lullaby that Nana had always sung for her when she needed comfort. David’s whimpering subsided gradually. Enid could not tell whether this was the effect of her song or the kicks, but she was relieved nonetheless, for even the blond one stood silent for a moment, as if spellbound.

“Silence,” the lean one roared in a fury, grabbing her by the throat and squeezing until she could only croak. She nearly fainted. He let her breathe again and forced his way into her.

A fierce burning sensation between her legs made Enid cry out. Tears ran down her cheeks. She feared for the life of her unborn child and began to sing quietly again.

But her song so enraged her tormentor that the veins in his neck filled with blood, bulging and pulsing visibly. He shut her mouth with the flat of his hand and then, not long afterward, arched back with pleasure.

“Let her breathe! You’re suffocating her! I still want her,” Bevis told him, his face bright red with arousal. He started undoing his chausses.

When the lean one pulled out of her and released her mouth, Enid gasped for air, spluttering. In desperation, she started singing again.

Fat Bevis lay down on her, but her singing made him lose his temper, too. “Shut your mouth,” he cried furiously, punching her in the face.

But the lullaby brought Enid comforting memories of affection and warmth, and this time she did not fall silent. Suddenly, it was as if Nana, through this song, were watching over her, David, and the unborn child.

“I can’t do it with this howling,” snorted Bevis in annoyance, but he did finally manage to take his pleasure. It did not take long, and she sang with even more desperation all the while.

“Just wait and see what happens if you don’t stop singing this moment,” the lean one threatened. When she went on singing, he came closer.

Bevis had finished with her and was adjusting his clothing.

There was a rushing sound in Enid’s ears. Wavy lines and tiny dots obstructed her vision. The lean one’s face was right in front of hers now, and in disbelief she examined the scar on his eyebrow. It was glowing bloodred with fury, and it made his sallow skin look even grayer.