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wrists free, lay down again and rolled over on her farther side. Her back was
to him. She did not respond; and Jim knew there was no point in repeating his
question or any other for that matter. The Great Wall of Silence had been
erected; and at least until some future time hopefully sometime tomorrow Angie
would not be speaking to him.
Jim sighed. There was a resentment kindling inside him. Certainly, Angie had
a point. She had indeed had to carry a double load all the time he had been
gone, every time he had been gone. Ideally, heshould be around this place,
twelve months a year. But that was simply not the way this feudal world worked
for knights, particularly knights like himself who had picked up an added
importance, one way or another. Chandos, he knew, was always on the move, as
now, about some business connected with the affairs of the Crown.
The more he thought about it the more his resentment grew. After a moment he
got up, dressed and went downstairs. As he had suspected, Sir John and Sir
Giles were still at the table talking and drinking. Jim had left them early,
on the plea that he had not seen his wife in a long time; and after some jokes
that were not much broader than he would have encountered from his male
friends in the twentieth century, they had said good night and let him go.
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Now, when he returned, they had the good sense not to question him. Giles
shoved another full cup of wine in front pf him. And Jim drank deeply from it.
He continued to drink deeply. In fact, he got drunk. He had a vague memory of
being carried up the stairs by a couple of panting servants; and not worrying
at all about the fact that one of them might slip and all three, including
himself, go plunging off the unguarded side of the stone steps that wound up
the circular wall of the tower down several stories to bloody death.
They even took him clear into the solar, undressed him, put him in bed, and
covered him up. All the time this was going on, Angie lay where she was, on
the other side of the bed, in complete silence; as if no one was within forty
miles of her including Jim.
This was the last thing he remembered. He woke to a splitting headache, a
touch of nausea in the pit of his stomach and light coming through the narrow
windows that indicated it was much later in the day than he was used to
getting up. Both he and Angie had fallen into the medieval habit of rising
with the sun, if not before it. His mouth was dry, he had a terrible
thirst and then he noticed that the bed beside him was empty. Of course, Angie
would have gotten up, dressed and left some hours ago.
The thirst was overwhelming. He struggled to his feet and stumbled over to
the table holding pitchers of drink, yearning for water. At the last second he
remembered that drinking the local water would make him sick. So, carefully
averting his head from the smell and sight of the pitcher of wine that was
there, he located the pitcher containing small beer and poured some into a
cup.
It tasted terrible, but it was wet. For a moment he was not sure that he
could keep down what he had just swallowed; then it turned out that he could;
and he drank some more. Gradually and thirstily he worked his way down until
he had the pitcher almost empty.
He dropped into a chair at the table, with a cup holding the last of the
small beer, and tried to pull his wits together. To make the trip toFrance in
the face of Angie's absolute opposition was impossible.
On the other hand, he was in direct fief to the King. He would not be at all
surprised in fact he would be surprised only if the contrary were true if Sir
John was not carrying a paper stamped with the Royal Seal, that put him, with
Giles, under Sir John's orders, Sir John would probably prefer not toorder him
toFrance if he could help it. That was not the way to get the best out of
whomever you sent on such a duty. He was trying first to get Jim's agreement
to go willingly. Plainly, Giles had already agreed to go.
Jim felt caught between two fires. Two impossibilities. Angle's refusal to
let him go; and Sir John's hidden, but doubtless present, authority that could
make him go whether he wanted to or not. The worst of all solutions would be
for him to let himself be ordered with Angie still persisting in her
opposition.
It might be that she would cave in, once she saw that he had no choice. But,
knowing Angie, that was no certainty. Also, he would not feel he had the
freedom of action inFrance , if he went there under orders but against Angie's
wishes. Only if he went there of his own free will could he be confident of
doing as Sir John would expect, as he saw fit in whatever circumstances he
faced.
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He finished off the last of the small beer. He was still thirsty. But
downstairs, there were duties waiting for him that he should have been at
several hours ago. He dressed and went down.
The Great Hall, as he had expected, was empty. Judging by the light coming
through the window slits here, it must be nine A.M. at least.
Since the thought of breakfast did not appeal to him, he did not sit down at
the high table himself and call a servant, but simply passed on through the
hall and was just about to emerge from the door when he was waylaid by the
blacksmith.
"M'Lord please, m'Lord " The blacksmith tugged at a forelock that was the
scanty remnant of his brown-gray hair, and made an attempt at a bow.
Jim stopped, suddenly very conscious of his aching head and queasy stomach.
But noblesse oblige. Or, in other words, always keep on good terms with the
servants, if possible.
"Yes?" he asked.
"M'Lord, if you would be so kind " The blacksmith gave him an ingratiating,
gap-toothed grin. "It occurred to me I might be of some small use in examining
and fixing any little damage that the noble Sir John's armor might have
suffered. I didn't want to ask him myself& "
The sentence trailed off, leaving Jim to supply its unsaid finish. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]