Alys Clare - The Joys of My Life

‘Here’s the figure,’ he said, thrusting it at her. ‘Have you thought of another place for it?’

‘No, Sir Josse.’ She took the figure and quickly bundled it away in the book cupboard. ‘It will have to stay there for the time being, for there is another matter I have to attend to.’

‘What? May I help?’

She gave him a grateful smile. ‘Yes, in fact I believe you can. Two days ago, we found a badly wounded man at the gates and he’s been in the infirmary ever since. I know nothing about him — he’s delirious, and I’m afraid he’s been rambling, telling us some weird tale of ancient secrets. Anyway, Sister Caliste has just come to tell me that he’s awake and I’m going to see him to hear if he makes any more sense today.’

‘And you’d like me to come with you?’

‘Yes, Sir Josse. Two of us together will do better than one alone in shedding light on whatever trouble he is in, and perhaps we shall be able to help him out of it.’ Without further explanation and looking slightly sheepish — he smiled, guessing that her real reason was to keep his mind off his anxiety — she turned and set off determinedly for the infirmary.

The infirmarer was waiting for them and led them to the recess at the end of the ward. The abbess preceded him through the gap in the curtains and stood at the head of the bed, so that to begin with all that Josse saw of the patient was his torso and his long legs.

‘You are feeling better today?’ the abbess enquired.

‘Aye, my lady. I have slept for hours, I believe, and it has been a healing sleep, for-’

I know that voice! Josse stepped to one side so that he could see the man’s face, but he needed no verification. The man in the bed looked up, saw him and exclaimed, ‘Josse!’

Josse, looking from him to the abbess, said, ‘My lady, why did you not tell me his name?’

‘I do not know it!’ she protested.

Josse grinned. ‘He is Sir Piers of Essendon,’ he said, ‘and he has a manor up on the high forest ridges to the west of here. We have known each other,’ he added, ‘for years.’

The wounded man was struggling to sit up but Sister Caliste, watching him anxiously, eased him back on to his pillows. ‘He is still very weak,’ she explained.

‘Weak I may be, but I am no addled fool whose wandering wits cannot tell a true tale!’ Piers said crossly. Then, fixing Josse with a hard stare, ‘Josse, they think I’m delirious, for all that I have no fever and when I try to tell them what happened to me, they look at me pityingly as if I were an over-imaginative child!’ He all but spat out the last word, wincing in pain as the violent movement tugged at his wounds.

‘We thought you were dreaming,’ Sister Caliste said apologetically, ‘and if we urged you to rest and not tire yourself by trying to talk, it was because we truly believed it best for you.’

Piers’s face softened at her gentle voice and he looked up at her. ‘I know, lass,’ he said. ‘Forgive me, for I’m worried out of my wits and if I yell at you, it’s only from frustration.’

‘Yes, I know,’ Sister Caliste said serenely.

‘What’s worrying you?’ Josse asked. ‘We can help, perhaps?’

‘Josse, it’s an extraordinary tale and I’m not sure I’d believe it if another man related it to me,’ Piers exclaimed. ‘Nevertheless, I’ll try.’ He paused, breathing deeply. ‘A very long time ago, a group of thirteen knights came across something amazing out in Outremer. It did not originate there — it came from an even more distant, darker land. It represents… No, I cannot yet reveal that.’ A shadow crossed his face and again he winced in pain.

‘The knights were permitted to know what this precious object was and they swore to protect it,’ he went on. ‘They formed themselves into a secret brotherhood, which they named the Knights of Arcturus; as you may know, in the heavens Arcturus lies in the constellation of Bootes, which we observe to have thirteen stars, and it is the guardian of the two bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The object that was found in Outremer represented something of vast importance and the Knights of Arcturus swore to protect it, for they understood that it was under grave threat and that with time this threat could only increase. They further comprehended — or perhaps they were made to comprehend — that if this important thing were to be lost to the world, it would be gravely, unimaginably to the world’s detriment.’

‘What was it?’ the abbess whispered. Her eyes, like those of Sister Caliste, Josse noticed, were wide with wonder.

‘I may not tell you. Yet,’ Piers added with an apologetic smile. ‘But listen to the rest of my tale. One of the original thirteen knights was my own forefather, back through many generations, and, as is our custom, his place among the Knights of Arcturus was taken at his death by a nominated member of his own family. Thus the secret is kept within the same clans and, in time, it was my uncle’s turn to join the thirteen. Now, I knew nothing of any of this until very recently when, knowing he did not have long to live, my uncle summoned me and told me of my strange inheritance. He warned me to prepare for the summons and told me that I must obey it. I had no choice.’ He sighed.

‘You said before — ’ the abbess spoke tentatively into the small silence — ‘that your uncle sent a note commanding you to stay away.’

‘Aye, my lady, indeed I did, and I could not fathom it because I had received a contradictory message from another of the thirteen. I did not know what to do — why should I be called by one of the knights, yet told in no uncertain terms by my own kinsman to stay away? Fool that I was, I told myself that my uncle was old and perhaps his wits had unravelled. Then I made my preparations and set off for France, where the knights had convened.’

‘You were curious, I don’t doubt, to discover what lay at the heart of this mystery,’ Josse suggested. ‘And, besides, your uncle had impressed upon you its importance.’

‘It is generous to ascribe such a noble motive,’ Piers said with a small smile, ‘but I fear simple curiosity is nearer the mark. So I announced my plans to my household and gave orders for my best horse and my new tunic to be prepared. I told my young squire that he was going to attend me on an exciting journey and set him to readying my gear. But then the poor lad fell down the courtyard steps and broke his ankle and, since I couldn’t present myself to the knights without a suitably trained attendant, I borrowed a lad from my neighbour. He was a good boy, bright, presentable and well mannered. He knew his stuff, and the two of us got on fine. We had an easy journey and reached the rendezvous on time, and a godforsaken spot it was too.’ His eyes clouded. ‘Dear Lord, but if only I’d obeyed my instincts and turned back,’ he muttered. ‘Well, I didn’t, and now I’m dealing with the terrible consequences.’

‘What did you discover?’ the abbess asked, in what Josse thought was commendably close to her usual tone.

‘Whatever pure motive may once have prompted the Knights of Arcturus,’ Piers said solemnly, ‘it and they have changed out of all recognition. But then they are now extremely powerful and wealthy, and that is very often a dangerous combination. They believe themselves to be above the law, for among their number are men from the very highest levels of authority. I mean that,’ he added forcefully. ‘You would not believe… But I must tell you what happened.’ He closed his eyes briefly as if steeling himself for some ordeal. ‘My lad and I went in all innocence to that dreadful place and, far too late, I found out why my uncle had tried to warn me off. I believe they killed the poor old man,’ he added. ‘I know he was ill, perhaps already dying, but I am almost certain that they found out what he had done and hastened his end.’ He looked sad. ‘It was cruel, for he was a good man, perhaps the last true Knight of Arcturus that there will ever be.’