Alys Clare: Out of the Dawn Light

‘I didn’t think you’d have the courage to do it,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure I could have done the same thing for you.’

I felt a little hurt. ‘ Thank you wouldn’t go amiss,’ I remarked.

‘Oh, Lassair !’ Surprising me greatly, for he was usually so distant, especially in a physical sense, he opened his arms and embraced me in a hard hug. Just as quickly he let me go again. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘You saved my life.’

Now I felt embarrassed. ‘You’ll just have to save mine, then,’ I said lightly, ‘then we’ll be even.’

We went on staring at each other. Neither of us seemed to know how to end the awkwardness, but then we heard a commotion and, spinning round, I saw Lord Gilbert standing in the doorway, flanked by several of his men.

We all fell silent. His face was grave and it was obvious he hadn’t come to add his congratulations and accept a mug of ale.

‘What has happened?’ My father’s voice was wary.

‘The gold crown has gone,’ Lord Gilbert said. Somebody gasped. ‘While Lassair walked the fire pit, my hall was left all but unguarded, for my wife and my son were tucked safely away in her chamber and everyone else was outside watching the ordeal. When the guards went to release Sibert, one of them noticed that the chest in which I had locked the crown while its ownership is decided had been broken open.’

‘I did not take it!’ Sibert cried out.

I smiled grimly. It was understandable, I suppose, for him to instantly defend himself, for he had only just been set free from Lord Gilbert’s cell and obviously didn’t want to be thrown back down there. As a general rule, though, it is unwise to protest your innocence before you’ve even been accused.

Lord Gilbert had turned to Sibert, and I heard him say, ‘No, Sibert, I know that. You could not possibly have done, for you were still under lock and key when the theft was discovered.’

‘Whom do you suspect?’ my father asked.

I knew. Before Lord Gilbert answered, I knew what he would say. I had seen Baudouin slip away and, although at the time I had been far too full of my triumph to think about where he might be going, now it was obvious.

‘Baudouin took it,’ I piped up.

‘ Hush! ’ my mother and my father said together, both turning to glare at me.

‘He must have done!’ I persisted. ‘Now that we all know Sibert didn’t kill Romain, the real murderer will have to be found and brought to justice and that could take ages, and meanwhile Baudouin’s desperate to get his manor back and he needs the crown to persuade the king to be merciful!’

Nobody spoke. Lord Gilbert and the men with him were staring at me. It was all so obvious to me and I couldn’t understand why they were prevaricating. ‘He — Baudouin — must have realized that he’d accused the wrong person when he said Sibert was a murderer,’ I pressed on eagerly. ‘That man Sagar can’t have been close enough to see who the killer was, but Baudouin was so desperate to bring someone to account for Romain’s death that he picked the obvious person, which was Sibert.’

There was a squawk of protest from Sibert and Lord Gilbert said, ‘Why was Sibert the obvious person?’

‘ Because he was there! ’ Really! ‘Well, he wasn’t there , not in the clearing when the murder was committed, but he’d recently been in the vicinity and Baudouin must have known that. He — Baudouin — was worried about Romain, aware he was planning something reckless to try to help win back Drakelow, and in order to protect him, Baudouin was following him. He probably saw me and Sibert and when Sagar said Sibert killed Romain, there was no reason for Baudouin to disbelieve him.’

‘Hmm.’ Lord Gilbert looked thoughtful. Then, as if suddenly tired of the whole perplexing matter, he said, ‘I do not intend to pursue Baudouin. The crown was, after all, found on his land, or what used to be his land, and I had all but decided to return it to him anyway.’ Lord Gilbert quite often showed a tendency to do the easy thing as opposed to the right thing; we had all noticed it. ‘My involvement in this sorry business,’ he went on grandly, ‘only came about because one of my people was accused of murder; wrongly, as it turns out’ — he flashed me a smile — ‘and now that this has been resolved, I am content to let a matter belonging to the manor of Dunwich find its eventual resolution in Dunwich.’

Did he mean Romain’s murder? He must do, but it hadn’t taken place at Dunwich.

I watched him, filled with the angry realization that he was far more concerned with his own peaceful, indolent, self-indulgent life than with seeing justice done. But he had been kind to me and I couldn’t find it in my heart to hate him for his weakness. Life was so complicated, I thought, quietly fuming, and human beings the most complicated things in it.

Nobody else seemed to find anything to reprove in Lord Gilbert’s decision and when a little later two of his servants showed up with another barrel of even finer beer, he was hailed as the finest lord a peasant ever had.

By nightfall we were all far beyond tipsy and I was starting to feel very tired as the drama and the excitement caught up with me. My mother, noticing, began shooing people away and soon just our family were left, wearily settling for the night.

I went outside to the jakes and on my way back in, heard a hiss from the shadows. Sibert stepped forward.

‘I thought you’d gone home,’ I said.

‘I did. Hrype needs to talk to us.’

‘Very well, then. I’ll just tell my parents where I’m going and-’

‘No, you mustn’t!’ Sibert looked strained. ‘Wait till they’re all asleep, then slip out and come to our house.’

‘But I’m tired and-’

‘Lassair, just do it!’ He sounded both impatient and scared. ‘Please,’ he added.

‘Oh, all right.’ I was excited, despite my protestations. ‘I’ll be along as soon as I can.’

In fact it was not long at all before I deemed it safe to leave. The beer and the festivities had caught up with my family and soon I could detect the familiar sounds of the adults’ snores and my siblings’ soft, deep breathing. I got up, slipped off the leather band that secures the door and crept out into the darkness.

I sprinted across the village and, reaching Sibert and his family’s house, tapped softly on the door. It was opened immediately by Froya and without a word she wrapped me in her arms. We stood for some moments and then, breaking away, she stared into my eyes and said, ‘You saved my son’s life. I am in your debt, Lassair, and if ever I may help you, you have but to ask.’

The emotion that pulsed through the little room slowly ebbed and, with a quick nod, she stepped back and sat down on a stool beside the hearth. Bending down — I could see the blush on her pale face and guessed she was as embarrassed as I was — she poked at the embers of the cooking fire and set some small flames dancing along the charred logs. Hrype, seated on a bench with Sibert beside him, watched her and then turned to me. ‘So, Lassair,’ he said with a smile. ‘You survived unscathed.’

‘Yes,’ I agreed. I realized I had not spoken to him since my ordeal. ‘I should have thanked you before, when we were all busy downing the celebratory ale,’ I said, ‘but I did not see you again after you arrived with Sibert and Froya. Were you with the group outside in the yard?’

‘No. I did not stay.’

I remembered his exhausted face, the sweat of great exertion dripping from it and the knotty blue cords that stood out on his temple and snaked up his neck. ‘You’re not unwell?’ I asked anxiously. ‘It wasn’t too much for you? The ordeal, I mean.’