Edward Marston - The Hawks of Delamere

Surprised and alarmed to see her, Eiluned took her by the arms and lowered her gently to the floor before fetching a cup of water to hold to her parched lips. The old woman swallowed the liquid eagerly and nodded her thanks. Eiluned’s home was an abandoned hovel in the north-west part of the forest. It was falling to pieces but its vestigial roof offered a fair amount of shelter and the two surviving walls gave her good protection from the wind. It made the old woman’s own home seem almost palatial but Eiluned had no complaints about her accommodation. It was essentially temporary.

While her visitor recovered, Eiluned scouted the area to make sure that she had not been followed to the refuge. When she was certain that the old woman had come alone, she went back to kneel beside her and cradle her head in her lap. Dabbing a rag into the pail of water, she used it to mop the still perspiring brow.

‘What happened?’ she asked.

‘They came looking,’ said the old woman.

‘Who did?’

‘Soldiers.’

‘What did they want?’

‘To know about you.’

Eiluned stiffened. ‘Is this true?’

‘Yes. They asked me who was weaving a basket with me the day of the stag hunt.’

‘What did you tell them?’

‘As little as possible.’

‘Good.’

‘One of them spoke Welsh. He questioned me closely.’

‘How did you get away?’

‘By a ruse,’ said the old woman with a tired smile. ‘I told them you had left the bow and arrow in my cottage and I went to fetch it. While they were talking outside, I slipped out by a little door at the rear then hid in the forest until they called off the search.’

‘Where did you hide?’

‘Under some brambles.’

‘It must have been very painful.’

‘I could not allow them to catch me, Eiluned. I would put up with anything rather than let that happen.’ She looked up with a pathetic need for approval. ‘Did I do right?’

‘Yes.’

‘You are sure?’

‘We are proud of you.’

‘They knew too much, Eiluned.’

‘But how ? That is what I cannot understand.’ The younger woman shook her head in anxiety. ‘We took such pains to avoid detection. What put them on to me?’

‘A lucky guess?’

‘No, it was more than that. If they came all the way out from Chester to interrogate you, they must have had strong suspicions. Thank goodness you had the wit to escape.’

‘I could not let you down, Eiluned.’

‘You are a heroine.’

‘No,’ insisted the other, ‘you are the real heroine. You rid us of that ogre, Raoul Lambert. I lived on his property and I know what a pig he could be to people like me. You rescued us from him. I’ll never forget that. I owe you a big debt.’

‘It was more than repaid today.’

‘I had to get to you, Eiluned.’

‘And you did.’

‘Warn her — that’s what I kept telling myself. You must get to her today and warn her.’ The old woman went off into a fit of coughing and Eiluned poured fresh water for her. ‘I am sorry,’

said the other, after meekly sipping from the cup. ‘I am too old to walk such distances now.’

‘You got here. That is all that matters.’

‘Yes.’ She looked up. ‘Will you take care of me, Eiluned?’

‘Take care?’

‘How can I go back to my own home?’

‘I had not thought of that.’

‘They drove me out. If I try to return, they will catch me and punish me cruelly. My body could not stand that.’

‘It will not have to, I promise.’

The old woman squeezed her arm. ‘I knew that I could rely on you, Eiluned. You are so like my daughter. She would have looked after me if she had lived, but … it was not to be. But you will save me, won’t you? I’ll be no trouble to you.’

‘Just rest,’ soothed Eiluned, stroking her hair with gentle fingers. ‘Have no fears for the future. Just rest. If they found you, then they must have worked out that I was the assassin.

No matter. We will not be here long enough for them to find us.

In a couple of days, it will all be over and we can go across the border to Wales again. To live in freedom among our own people.

Would you like that?’

The old woman’s eyes were now shut and she seemed to be dozing peacefully, but her head felt strangely heavier in Eiluned’s lap. Bending over her, she saw that her guest had quietly expired.

The flight from her home had pushed her beyond the limits of endurance. However, there was one tiny consolation. As Eiluned gently laid the head down, she saw that there was a contented smile on the woman’s face.

After one last important service to her native country, she had died happy.

‘Do you feel better now?’ asked Golde as he rolled off her.

‘No, my love.’

‘You dare to say that!’ She gave him a sharp but affectionate dig in the ribs.

‘That hurt!’ complained Ralph.

‘It was meant to after such an insult.’

‘I was only jesting.’

‘Well, your jest was in poor taste,’ she said, delivering another jab to his body. ‘You were in a terrible state when we came up to our apartment. Tense, moody and not fit to share a bed with anyone, especially with a tender and loving wife.’

‘Is that what you are?’ he teased. The third punch took his breath away. ‘I asked for that,’ he conceded.

‘It is no more than you deserve, Ralph Delchard.’

‘I know, my love.’

‘When I give myself to you, I expect some appreciation.’

‘That is what you had, Golde. Have you so soon forgotten?’

‘I am talking about now — not then.’

‘Ah!’ he sighed. ‘Afterwards and not during.’

‘Preferably both.’

She rolled him over so that he lay face down then sat astride his naked body, massaging his neck and shoulders with practised hands. Ralph soon purred with pleasure. Golde had learned that this was always the best moment for an intimate conversation.

Her husband was responsive and off guard.

‘Let us start again,’ she suggested. ‘Do you feel better?’

‘Infinitely better.’

‘Has all that tension gone?’

‘More or less.’

‘And will you promise to stop telling me about what happened in the Forest of Delamere today?’

‘Is that what I have been doing?’

‘Unceasingly.’

‘It must have been excruciating for you.’

‘We have had more interesting exchanges.’

‘This is the kind that I enjoy.’

‘Why do you think I brought you to bed?’ she said. ‘If we had stayed at the table any longer, you would have talked my ears off.

And all because some clever old woman managed to hide from you in the forest.’

‘There was more to it than that, my love. You see-’

‘Enough!’ she ordered, slapping his buttock hard. ‘I do not wish to hear another word about her. There is no room for anyone else in this bed. It belongs to you and me.’

‘It does, my love.’

‘Remember that.’

Golde’s massage took all of the stiffness out of his shoulders and banished the memory of his setback in the forest. One woman might have escaped him but the one he loved was there to welcome him and to soothe his troubled mind. An hour alone with Golde was the perfect antidote.

When he felt completely relaxed, he changed places with her so that he could stroke her back, shoulders and arms. His strong hands could be surprisingly delicate. It was Golde’s turn to murmur with delight.

‘What did you do all day?’ he wondered.

‘I spent most of it with the Lady Ermintrude.’

‘How did you find her?’

‘Friendly and honest,’ said Golde. ‘One part of me admires that woman very much. She is so gracious and dignified. Another part of me pities her.’