The Temporal Knights (55 page)

“Yes, Hester Manning.
She was one of the refugees from Pilton. We got to know each other a bit before I left, and well, I was hoping to get to know her even better.”

“Can you ride?”

Hersey shook his head. “Not well, I’ll be taking a hummer. The Lady Merwinna says she left in a group the day before yesterday. They’re on foot; I should be able to catch them before they get home.

Matt smiled. “It’s your leave...be careful and have a nice time.”

“I hope to Sir, Mortehoe is right on the sea...it should be nice. There will be other men asking for leave, they’re to report directly to you and give an itinerary.”

Matt nodded and Hersey saluted and left to get some sleep. He had a feeling he would need it.

Matt found he envied the man immensely, and the ache for Ellyn grew stronger.

At that moment however, Ellyn was not thinking of Matt. She was busy kissing Sir Gospatrick on a balcony overlooking a small lake at Winchester. He was kissing her and in his opinion, kissing her well. His opinion was reinforced by the fact that she was no longer resisting his advances, though she had for the better part of the day. He’d spent the afternoon escorting her around the festival grounds, buying her little presents and sweat meats. Despite her love for Matt, Ellyn found that she enjoyed both Gospatrick’s company and his attentions. She finally gave into temptation as they watched the sliver of moon and its bright companion Venus, sink toward the horizon, slowly following the sun in the west. She was not sure how the actual kissing started, only that he had made some witty remark as he was prone to do, and she had pushed him gently. He quickly grabbed her hand, and held it, his touch burning her soft skin, and then they were kissing.

Finally she broke away, a cauldron of stirring emotions. That she liked the kiss was undeniable, that she liked Sir Gospatrick was also true, but she loved Matt, did she not? Her head finally cleared, and she stumbled away from the knight of Winchester.

“I...I must go now.”

“Must ye,” he said and was on her again, holding one hand in his while his other encircled her waist.

“Yah, this canna
be,” she replied, but let him kiss her again despite her better judgment. After a few more deliciously wicked moments she regained control of her senses and broke away and then without a word ran from the balcony and to her rooms. Sir Gospatrick was left smiling, but still wanting. 
‘Ædwin does na know everything about women,’
he thought, smelling her on the air about him. It had been a very good day.

§

The next morning, just before sunrise, Captain Hersey was up, dressed and on his way. He was both excited and nervous about the coming reunion, after all he had only slept with Hester once, and their conversations did not even hint at anything more permanent. All he knew was that after that night, that glorious night, he could not get the red headed woman out of his mind and it was driving him mad.

He drove slowly, knowing that it was only ten miles to Two Potts, fifteen to Crook, another five to Lynton Comb, and all told about forty-five miles to Pilton. Going very slow he could make the entire trip in less than an hour and a half, even taking the roundabout way. The
Lady Merwinna assured him that this was the way, the road that the people of Pilton would take. Whether he caught them before they were home, he couldn’t say. They were on foot, which would slow them somewhat, but even on foot a forty mile journey in three days would not be overly hard, especially for people accustomed to walking. So he drove slowly, knowing the General would have his head if he broke an axle for such a frivolous reason. It was still early morn when he reached Two Potts but the village was up and about. The people were very friendly and excited to see him. The Marshall of the town even invited him to breakfast, but Hersey politely declined and was told that the widow Manning had indeed passed through the day before. Hersey climbed back into the hummer, knowing that the refugees were planning to spend last night in Lynton Comb, which was more than he knew an hour earlier.

The countryside was strange and wonderful, a mixture of hilly grasslands, strewn with rocks and boulders, with patches of towering oak groves. Tom felt utterly alone in the eerie quiet of the morning and flipped the vehicle’s computer on and tapped into the musical library where he selected the complete compilations of John Coltrane, a jazz musician from the last century. Coltrane was his personnel favorite and music soon flooded the vehicle. In his opinion, the speakers were sub-par, but at least he had something to occupy his mind. The first song was not even finished when he reached the village of Crook, where the Americans spent the night following the defeat of the Danes at Countisbury Hill. He remembered a few of the locals and was surprised when they all remembered him. They stopped their work to talk with him, so he obliged them and told of how the General had moved down to Rochester, but left out the news of Sir Eadwulf’s demise. They could get that news elsewhere. They asked about the Ealdorman and his wife and many others and Hersey answered the questions as best he could, anxious to be on the move again. Finally, he broke away and traveled on. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm, and the rain from the previous week was all forgotten. He sped a little faster on the pathetic road, becoming more impatient as his destination grew closer. He hoped Hester would be happy to see him…surprised and happy. He was not sure he could bare it if she felt otherwise. He would know instantly however, by the look on her face. He reached Lynton Comb ten minutes later, and after a quick conference discovered that Hester Manning had indeed spent the previous night in the town and she and the rest had left but an hour ago for home, almost the exact time he left the Ealdorman’s.

He waved his thanks after receiving archaic directions to Mortehoe. The road he was traveling led to Pilton, no road actually led to Mortehoe, which was much smaller and located farther to the south. The locals gave directions easily enough, but they left Captain Hersey uneasy about trusting them. But in the end he had little choice if he wanted to see Hester again, so after traveling a mile or so out of town he turned left off the road after passing a lone oak with a white boulder three paces to its right and headed to the southwest. He continued on across the countryside, acutely aware of the smell of the ocean, though he had yet to see it. He was getting close. Once off the road he drove very carefully though the hummer was made for such duty and had little difficulty with the rolling grasslands of the area, still large boulders and sharp rock formations often appeared out of nowhere, strewn about like toys in the yard. The smell of the sea grew stronger as he traveled but it wasn’t until he reached the top of an unusually large hill that he got his first glimpse of the sea beyond. 

The view was stunningly beautiful, with the ocean in the distance beyond an endless line of towering cliffs. He pulled to a stop and without turning off the hummer climbed out to get a better look around. He could see no signs of life anywhere, no buildings, no roads and no signs. It was as if he were the only man left on earth and it made him feel small, but somehow happy.
He gazed to the south and then far below his position, almost due west; he caught movement in the open field below. Hersey studied the area for a moment and then broke into a large grin and hustled back to the vehicle. He pulled a set of binoculars out and set to scanning the area below him.

It took a moment but finally he zeroed in on a group of travelers, perhaps a mile away. He recognized the trio instantly. It was Hester and her two small boys, red hair evident even from this distance. She was walking hand in hand with one of the boys, Hersey couldn’t tell which, while the other was just up ahead of them, chasing something. Hersey smiled. She looked dignified, happy and dignified, walking as she was, a lone brave woman with her two children. Even from so far away Hester was a vision and Hersey found his eyes growing misty. He blinked away the moisture and studied the tiny figures for another long minute. The woman moved so easily through the tall grass, so gracefully and it made him realize that humans were made for walking.

Even so, he wasn’t going to abandon his ride and run after them. He raced back to the hummer and carefully started down the hill. The wind was blowing strongly off the sea, so they didn’t hear his approach until he was quite close. The scene before him changed quickly from idyllic to abject terror as they turned to face the threat from behind. Hester gathered her boys quickly to her and it was clearly evident that they could not see him through the reflection of the windshield. They huddled, cowering together, until he stopped the hummer nearly twenty feet from them, detesting their fear. Hersey once more stepped from the vehicle and was overjoyed when their fear changed quickly to excitement, and smiles. His eyes met Hester’s and he knew he’d made the right choice coming. He moved forward to greet and embrace her but was suddenly rushed by the two boys. Lawson, or Dwennon, he didn’t know which; climbed up onto his back, while the other hugged his leg. He carried the two, only limping a bit from the one attached to his leg, over to their mother, and then she too came and embraced him, kissing him hard and throwing her arms around his neck. They all fell into the grass together laughing. They kissed again, while the boys laughed and watched.

“I was thinking you might like a ride home,” Hersey finally said with a smile.

“Yahoo!” Both boys yelled, for they were very tired of walking, their exhaustion however did not keep them from running quickly to the hummer. Hester was not so quick to accept, however.

“Ye took yor sweet time, Thomas...we only
be another hour or so walkin’,” she said with fake indignation.

“Well, if you would rather walk...”

“Na...na, but ye must promise na to go too fast.”

“I promise,” he said and led her over to the still running vehicle. He opened the passenger door and moved the boys into the back, where they fidgeted with barely controlled excitement.

“I be glad ye did na go to all thee way to Rochester with the others, Thomas,” she said shyly, wanting him to realize what his attention meant to her.

Hersey frowned then smiled. “Ah, but I did go...and came back.”

Hester looked at him confused, wondering why he was playing with her, but then suddenly realized he was not.

“Forsooth?”

“Yes, Eadwulf is dead and we now hold Rochester, the castle and the town.”

“Good,” she said with a confused frown.
“Tis na an easy thing to understand.”

“Your carriage, M’lady,” he said with a flourish and a bow. Hester giggled and nervously stepped into the machine. The boys had ridden in a hummer on the day of Ellyn’s flight, but Hester was cautious and did not. She watched as Hersey moved around the front of the vehicle, struck again by his great size and dark skin. He was a handsome man even so, though very different from any she’d known. She smiled at him as he took his place behind the wheel.

“Na too fast now,” she warned.

“Fast!
Fast!” the boys yelled from the back. Hersey laughed and started away, too fast for Hester’s taste and too slow for the boys. In any case they were home after only a few minutes.

Home was a small squat building, made mostly of stone, with a thatched roof of mud and grass. Directly beyond it was a towering white cliff and
then the deep blue of the Irish Sea. There were pens for animals and a small hut alongside but Hersey saw no livestock of any kind. There was one fair-sized window and a small door that faced the sea, and on the back side there were two smaller windows, all without glass. At the moment all the windows were closed up tight with thick wooden shutters. Hersey pulled the hummer around to the front of the building and stopped and gazed out across the ocean. The Mannings all climbed out as Hersey paused to feel the sun on his face and smell the clean, salty air. It was remarkable, pleasant and strange. He’d grown up and spent most of his life in the Midwest, well away from the sea. Oh, he’d visited the ocean on many occasions and always felt the same awe, wonder, and happiness. Today was no different.

“Lads, ye go and find the stock,” Hester said and would have none of their protests. “We turned them loose when the Magistrate from Mortehoe came to warn us of the Danes,” she explained to Hersey, who was staring at her.

“How far is Mortehoe?”

“Tis
na far, an hour’s walk to the north...in that thing it wold take na time at a’tall. Come ye can help with the bread,” she added and led him to the house.

The door was impossibly low, only about five foot in height and even Hester had to duck a little to go through the frame. Hersey, who was just over six foot tall, had to bend over considerably. He worried momentarily that the ceiling would be so low he wouldn’t be able to stand upright but he needn’t have bothered. The ceiling was a good six inches higher than his head in the small kitchen, but opened up to the rafters near the hearth. The place was small but cozy and every square inch was put to some use. There were two stone fireplaces, one in the large room and one in the kitchen. In total the main floor was no more than four hundred square feet but above the kitchen hung a loft where the family obviously slept all together. Hester left the door open for the light and swung open the shutters of all the windows until it was relatively bright inside. The floor was dirt, but there was a thick layer of straw down to keep out the chill of the damp sea air.