The Temporal Knights (70 page)

“Nasty business about the Lady Ellyn, that Helmstan character and your friend,” Jefferies said to Ædwin, as they sat on the ground sipping cool water.

Ædwin shook his head. “Yah, the man has na honor.”

“Sir Oldalf twill
be wantin’ to challenge him,” Sir Elid said with sympathy, for he and Oldalf had been friends and associates for many years.

“Sir Oldalf should na,” Ædwin replied. “Helmstan tis verily skilled and wold kill him. And wot of this Mayjor Thane...is he as skilled as ye?”

Sadao smiled. Thane was big, and strong. His skill was mostly boxing, and Sadao had little doubts the Major could inflict much damage if he was forced to box him, but with weapons, and the martial arts, the Major was just average and had little innate talent.

“No, the Major is good, but I’d hate to see him fight anyone with a sword.”

“Helmstan will challenge him, says the King desires it, though I think na. Tis na Alfred’s way, but I’ll know more from Ealhswith tonight,” Ædwin said simply. “If’n yor friend is na skilled he should na come.”

“No, he should not,” Sadao agreed, anxious to pass on this information. Ædwin saw the worried look in the eyes of his new friends.

“I will kill him for ye,” he said simply. “Tis a fight Helmstan be wantin’ for a long time now.”

§

“Well husband, wot will ye do about Sir Helmstan?” Ealhswith asked in the King’s private rooms.

Alfred looked at her annoyed, but said nothing, so the Queen looked to her daughter for support.

“Ye canna just let it go. Sir Oldalf and the Ammericaans are verily upset that such a thing could happen with yor blessing,” Æthelf
læ
d added, supporting her mother completely in this matter. Helmstan, despite his long loyalty to her father, was a beast and no gentlemen.

“Twas na with me blessing,” he answered angrily.

“Tis wot Sir Helmstan has claimed, and twas nathe Ammericaans who heard the boast, but yor own people,” F
læ
d argued.

“Tis
na the time. Na matter wot ye think. Helmstan’s been a valuable advisor and I’d na abandon him so quickly,” Alfred argued. “He danna trust the Ammericaans, and believes they be taken matters into their own hands, na matter wot I say as King,” he added and then fell silent.

In truth, Helmstan was a worry. He was all about the fight, whether it be personal, or in matters of the state and he was far too rash. In fact, if he’d listened to Helmstan he’d be at war with these Americans now…and that was not something Alfred liked to contemplate
.

Alfred realized that Helmstan was likely finished as a close advisor, but he could not let it appear that the Americans forced him into such a decision. He must show no weakness. But even Alfred had to admit, Helmstan was very clever…too clever maybe. The attack on the girl would certainly test the American’s word, though Alfred would never have condoned such actions. Still, he was curious as to how the Americans would react. Would they meddle in the affairs of state as he feared? Perhaps this was indeed a fortunate turn of events. Whatever else the man may be, Helmstan was clever; there was no denying that.

“Sir Oldalf will na sit idly by...” Ealhswith continued, but Alfred held up a hand and she stopped.

“Will the Ammericaans interfere with my rule?” He asked his daughter, feeling as if the two women closest to him were both against him.

Now it was F
læ
d’s turn to be quiet. She was not sure what they would do if Sir Oldalf was killed, as he surely would be if he challenged Sir Helmstan. “They be powerfully upset,” she said slowly, wanting to get just the right words, “and Sir Oldalf is a strong friend of theirs.”

“Will yor Genaral interfere with my rule?” Alfred asked like a slap, and watched as his daughter’s face turned red with anger.

“Yah, he might. They prize women above all else, as ye seemed to have guessed, but methinks it twill take the death of Sir Oldalf for them to act,” she retorted, angry now, which was not what she wanted. “Wot are yor plans for them, father?” she asked just as Sir Wulfhere entered the room. Alfred waved him over and pondered the question that had troubled his brain since the fields of Exeter.

“I know
na,” he answered simply, “if it comes to war, they can take me lands, but knowing that, do I just hand it over to them...I think na.”

“Mayhap ye can offer
them lands and titles. Give them Rochester and the lands east to the sea as with Eadwulf, but keep Sussex and Surrey,” Sir Wulfhere suggested. “Keep them east of the Arun, and make them swear their fidelity to ye as King.”

“Yah, but twold they honor such a vow?”

“They behonorable men,” Sir Wulfhere replied before either Ealhswith of Æthelf
læ
d could come to their defense. The two women glanced at each other, though they were both careful not to smile. They knew Alfred; he had the tendency to become stubborn if he thought he was being manipulated. Still with Wulfhere, who was a cautious man, on their side, they began to hope that they could sway Alfred from deciding against the Americans, which they all realized would only lead to disaster.

“Sir Eadwulf was
na an honorable man, but he bound himself by such an agreement,” Ealhswith added and moved to her husband and put a warm hand on his arm. She smiled at Alfred and he smiled sadly back.

“Yah, but Eadwulf could
na smash me armies like so much fodder,” he added thinking. “Tis a worrisome thing.”
“M’lord, ye have na taken the time to know them, talk to them,” Sir Wulfhere said simply. “They be men of yor own heart; men of enlightenment, as well as warriors. Move among them,” he pleaded.

Alfred shook his head.
“Na yet. I’ve called for many of me subjects and I will hold council with them first, and if the King’s subjects embrace them, how could the King na. I will keep Helmstan near me, in the inner halls of Maiden for now, but ye watch these Ammericaans closely. Ye be me ears and eyes,” he finished, looking first to his wife, then to his daughter and finally to his oldest advisor.

§

Three days later, and after a considerable amount of searching Sir Oldalf spied Doctor Rice across the wide courtyard outside the main keep. He moved quickly in the Doctor’s direction but did not call out, not wanting to call attention to himself. He was still not over the attack on his daughter, and the very thought of it would throw him into a rage, but Sir Helmstan stayed well hidden and did not show himself about the castle. It was said that Alfred ordered the man to stay within the inner corridors of Maiden. In some ways the King was a very wise man. It was a good thing he kept Helmstan close, because Oldalf was not sure he could control himself if he came in contact with the man. His need for vengeance was eased a bit by the fact that his daughter had recovered completely. She seemed much her old self, though now she did not go anywhere unescorted. Two of the Queen’s guards were always with her and another American soldier supplied by the General himself.  He finally caught up to the Doctor near the stairs to the lower levels. They greeted one another amiably.

“I’m going exploring,” Rice told the old knight with a smile and since Sir Oldalf was not pressed at the moment he decided to tag along. So they moved down several levels and entered the lower rooms of the castle.

‘The docktor tis a strange man with strange tastes,’
Oldalf thought as he followed the man into the large washroom. Oldalf thought they might be just passing through but the Doctor stayed and watched for a long time. And all the while he conversed with the washer women, who were cleaning the linens and clothes of the nobles. Rice appeared to be very interested in the process, much to the delight of the women, who giggled and carried on, excited to have men in their midst. At first, Oldalf thought Rice was just lonely and was huntin’ for a passable washer woman, but then the doctor wandered off to the kitchens. There he watched the preparations for the coming noon meal, so naturally Oldalf suspected the doctor fancied a cook above a washer woman, which the knight could well understand. But after studying the layout and preparations, the doctor again wandered off to the stables. He watched a carter replace the iron fittings to a wagon. And surprisingly, after a spell, the doctor, though he be like a nobleman, began to help the carter. A fact Sir Oldalf found most puzzling.

“I
was wantin’ to thank ye. Me dottir’s spirits have been better all morn,” he said as he followed the doctor around the stable area. After a moment they stopped to watch the smith work on hammering out some additional fittings.

“No need to thank me,” Rice replied with a distracted smile, though he had not taken his eyes from the smith, who was hammering and folding a hot piece of metal over an anvil with the help of his apprentice. “We’ve all become quite fond of Ellyn...she’s a strong, healthy girl. She’ll be fine,” he added watching the folding process several times with apparently great interest.

“Why do you keep folding the metal over on itself like that?” The doctor finally asked much to the surprise of the smith and his helper.

“Beg, M’lord,” the smith answered, not understanding.

“What is the purpose of what you are doing?”

The smith frowned and became very anxious, shifting from one foot to the other, and he had such a look of helplessness on his face that Sir Oldalf began to chuckle. He calmed the smith down and then he translated for him.

“Eh,” the smith said nodding happily, pleased that his work should so interest a nobleman, and one of the strangers to boot. “Me works the iron t’geeve it st’ngth M’lord, which surprisingly the doctor understood.

“May I try it?” Rice asked and stunned both the smith and Sir Oldalf by taking off his shirt and climbing the low fence which separated them from the foundry. The smith was reticent at first, but the doctor was insistent and had watched the smith carefully. He grabbed the hammer and tongs, and repeated the sequence of moves with some ineptness at first, but with a bit of help and encouragement from the smith he was soon pounding away, and thoroughly enjoying himself, much to the confusion of Sir Oldalf.

“What are your names?” Rice asked after a good bit of time.

“Pensley,” the smith answered.

“Offa,” the apprentice answered very perplexed by this friendly stranger.

“I’m Gordon,” Rice answered, but neither of them would ever call him anything so personal. They remained quiet and just looked at one another with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

Rice continued to work the iron for the better part of an hour, until the bells sounded telling them of the approach of the mid-day sup. Rice thanked the smith, who was truly impressed with the man for his interest and attention. It was his experience that the noble class, though wanting iron work done, had little interest in the sweat it took to create the wondrous things around them.

On the way to wash up, they passed Private Brooks, learning to shoe a horse; Corporal Trotsky was practicing fencing with a pair of knights, and Goldstein was sitting against a stone wall working on carving out a round flute like instrument with the help of one of the local musicians. But what really struck Sir Oldalf was that after washing up, and Doctor Rice demanded that their hands be verily clean, the two of them went to fetch Ellyn, who was attending Lady Ealhswith. And who should they find but General Peebles, along with Sergeant Sadao and Captain Hersey, sitting among the ladies and helping with the mending and embroidery.

Sir Oldalf frowned and scoffed a bit, but said nothing to challenge these men, for he knew that any of them could match him easily. Instead he held his tongue and greeted his daughter and the rest of the ladies.

They headed downstairs to sup together and were all surprised when the King joined them, but even this bit of news took a back seat when the Lady Merwinna and her party from Somerset arrived in the middle of the meal. And it was quite a party, over sixty folk in all, most of them retainers but there were also a few surprise guests and old friends, including Ellyn’s Aunt Eldreena, Hester Manning and her two boys. Tranter Church, the small boy from Pilton who’d broken his arm, was also in the group standing shyly next to his parents. His arm was still in the cast, though it was due to be removed soon. 

Also traveling to Winchester were Beatrice Conner, Selby’s mother, Friar Padstone, Meg Jones, the cesarean mother, and her new baby Gordon, plus her husband. The group from Athelney now made up a vast contingent of local Englishmen and women who would speak for the Americans.  Father Gillian was also present. He’d arrived the previous evening with the Bishop of St. Albans, both traveling with the renowned Madame Lisette from Rochester. The gathering made quite a mix and included nearly everyone who’d been in close contact with the Americans. There were others also, some from Kingston and a few from Doncaster and a strange man none of them knew from Long Eaton.

The Americans were all happy to see everyone again, and the Lady Ellyn and her father were equally glad to see so many of the people from the town of Athelney. However, the arrival of the Lady Merwinna made Ellyn all the more aware of the fact that Matt was not present. She missed him terribly. But Sir Gospatrick was ever dutiful now that he was up and about and slowly regaining the use of his right arm. He was a constant presence by her side and determined to protect her at all times. Gospatrick was now the perfect gentleman, his endless wooing had finally come to an end. Ellyn was grateful to a degree, but she couldn’t help but notice that the man now acted a bit uncomfortable and standoffish since her attack.