Alys Clare - Whiter than the Lily

He stood in the shelter of the long hall’s thatched roof for some time, perfectly still, listening. Other than the calming sounds of animals’ and humans’ snores and deep regular breathing as they slept, not a sound. Finding a gap in the warped planks of the wall, he peered through it and, by the last glow of a torch set in the wall that was slowly spluttering to extinction, made out the sleeping forms of men and women. If one of the women were Aebba, there was no way of knowing. The chieftain’s area had been closed off by a hanging that had been drawn across the doorway; presumably he and his immediate circle — including, no doubt, the man with the silvery eyes — were within, but Josse did not think it necessary to confirm it. Necessary or not, it was far too dangerous; the very idea of sneaking inside the hall and peering around the heavy hanging made sweat break out on his back. If he were to be caught, there would be no mercy and he was beginning to think he had made a bad mistake in coming.

It was not a good thing to think. Still, he was here now and he might as well try to accomplish what he had set out to do. Moving silently along the length of the hall, he stepped out from under the thatch and made his careful way to inspect the huddle of outbuildings. There were four of them, as far as he could see, and all were circular in shape, quite small — about three or four paces in diameter — and in an even worse state of repair than the long hall. One smelt of woodsmoke — the bakehouse? — and another seemed to be a workroom of some sort; Josse thought he could make out a workbench through the partly open door. He stepped inside and felt along the rough wood of the bench. His fingers touched the cold metal of tools, then something that gave a faint clink as his hand knocked against it, the tiny sound magnified by his fear. Feeling the links of a chain, he waited for his heartbeat to slow down.

The last hut, furthest away from the hall and set apart from the others, was empty. Or so he thought, stretching up to look through a knothole in the planking. But it was dark inside and he went round to the door to see if he could open it. The door was bolted on the outside with a heavy wooden bar that had been thrust through four iron hoops, two on the door and one on each of the walls on either side.

He was turning away when it occurred to him that you only bolt a door on the outside to keep somebody in.

It could, of course, be livestock; a sickly hound, a farrowing sow. But there was no animal smell and Josse did not think that whatever was inside walked on four legs.

Standing right up against the door, as if he hoped to muffle any sound he made by his body, he took hold of the wooden bar and slid it slowly and carefully to the right. Despite its weight, it moved easily, as if this action were a frequent occurrence. When it was clear of all four hoops, Josse placed it very carefully on the ground. He had, he was almost certain, made not a sound.

He pulled the door towards him, opening it just enough to cast a little of the night’s soft radiance within. The light fell upon a beaten earth floor — not very clean — and upon a dark shape, perhaps a bundle of old sacks, lying against the wall on the far side of the hut. He was just wondering why it should have been thought necessary to bolt the door on a heap of sacks when the sacks gave a low, mournful groan.

His heart gave a great lurch of alarm. As the shock subsided, he knelt down and put out a hand …

… and touched a bare ankle, around which was the chill clamp of a shackle attached to a chain. Following the chain upwards, Josse found its other end, securely fastened to a ring set in the wall.

Whoever the prisoner was, he — or perhaps she, for the ankle felt slender — was clad in sacking and lying on the bare floor. Muttering quiet words of assurance, Josse felt for where he thought the shoulder ought to be and gave it a gentle shake. There was a wad of some rough cloth beneath her head and, stuck to her cheek, it moved with her.

There was no response and so he shook her a little harder and, hating himself, gave the soft flesh quite a hard pinch. Again, nothing, other than a soft moan. Getting his arm round behind the girl’s back — he was sure now that it was a girl — he propped her up and said, right into her ear, ‘Can you hear me? Do not be afraid, I wish only to help you.’

The head lolled heavily forward and sticky rats’ tails of ill-smelling hair fell across the face. Was she unwell? Was that why she had been isolated in here? Suddenly fearful that he had done something foolishly rash that might result in some dread sickness developing in his own body, he cursed under his breath. Then reason came back; for one thing, you did not normally chain up a sick person — unless they were mad and dangerous — and for another, she was cool to the touch with no hint of fever.

Why was she chained there all alone? And why, if she were not ill, was she so unresponsive?

The thought came to him that she might be drugged.

Carefully he laid her heavy head back down on the hard earth. How was he to get her out? The first problem would be how to get that shackle off her ankle and he remembered the workroom with its array of tools. If he could find something that he could use, then he-

From somewhere quite close, somebody coughed.

Josse froze.

Dear God, he had left the door of the hut ajar! There was a watchman after all and he was doing his rounds, would any moment now be outside the hut!

But then there came the blessed sound of water falling on the earth. There was a grunt of satisfaction — a deep grunt, so it was a man — then he must have finished urinating for there was silence once more. Then, faintly, there came the sound of a wooden door closing.

Josse crouched for some time, utterly still. Then, when his cramped legs could stand it no longer, slowly he stood up.

He stared down at the girl, who had not stirred. There was nothing he could do for her just then, he realised that now. Any attempt to free her would make a noise, and then he would probably end up chained in there beside her.

I won’t leave you here, child, he told her silently. I don’t know what you’ve done but, whatever your crime, it’s inhuman to chain a child away in the darkness and drug her to insensibility. I will come back for you.

Then he crept out of the hut, carefully closed the door and replaced the wooden bar and hurried away.

As he ran, crouching, back to the thorn brake, he realised that the mist had thickened considerably while he had been at Saltwych. He could make out the hawthorn trees — just — but they were disappearing fast into the milky whiteness. Breaking into a sprint, he raced over the last fifty paces and gained the shelter of the trees. Horace, moving his feet in restless unease, gave a soft whicker of greeting; patting his neck, Josse unfastened the reins, swung up into the saddle and said, ‘You are not near as relieved to see me as I am you, old friend.’ Then, giving the horse a cluck of encouragement, they hurried away towards the track that led up to the top of the escarpment.

The way up through the trees was even more sinister by night and darkness reduced the visibility almost to nothing; Josse and Horace went by instinct alone. Reaching the top, it was a relief to emerge into the relative brightness of the starlight. Dismounting, Josse was about to find himself some sheltered spot in which to sleep away what remained of the night when they jumped him.

There were at least two of them, he knew that because he saw someone grasp Horace’s reins just as another man threw a length of cloth of some sort over his head and flung him to the ground. He opened his mouth to yell out his protest when a large hand was clamped across his lips and a voice — a man’s — hissed in his ear, ‘Do not make a sound! They are abroad and they must not find us!’