The Winter Love (4 page)

“It hurts, doesn’t it?”

She nodded, confident that he would feel the movement against his back.

“I have nothing that will help, but there might be a physician in the next town.”

“Some balm would help.”

“Very well.
Hold on tight. We have to go fast, so it will hurt even more.”

“I understand.” She tightened her grip to show that she was ready. It felt as if Solomon were flying, but the pain was quite intense.
She tightened her grip on Henry even more, but wondered how long she would be able to bear it. Henry covered one of her hands in his and stroked it lightly. Despite herself she was comforted.

“How long do we have to
ride today?”

“All day. We’re going to the coast.”

The coast! Eleanor had never seen the sea before. The largest stretch of water she had ever seen was the convent’s fish pool and she tried to imagine the pool, but many times larger. She was going to see the sea, how wonderful. She almost forgot that he had said that she would have to bear this pain for a whole day. Her mouth was gaping and she commanded it to close, but it would not obey. Then it spread into a wide grin.

“Is that where you live?”
she asked, when she finally had herself under control.

“No. There’s a ship waiting for us there. We’ll sail along the coast for a day
or so and then we’ll be close to my parents’ home. I think I’ll take you there.”

“
You have your own ship?” Eleanor was surprised; he must be much wealthier than he appeared and wealthier than he had tried to persuade her he was.

“
No. My brother is the captain. He trades with Gascony. I came back with him on his last trip, but we’re not quite home yet.”

“Then you do not intend to take me back to the convent?”

“Not today. It would be too dangerous.”

“How do you know that? Were you one of them?”

“No. It was your good fortune that I arrived at the same time as them.”

“Was it? Who are you? Why did you take me away? Why didn’t you fight them?”

Henry laughed. It was a pleasant sound and Eleanor knew that he was genuinely amused. It made her feel better, somehow, as if her situation was not as hopeless as she felt it to be.

“Let me see. I did not stand and fight because there were too many of them and I was unarmed. If it
ever becomes necessary for me to fight, I will, armed or no, but it was better for both of us that I took you away. Which I think answers your second question. I am Henry Attewood, which you already know. You also know that I’m a soldier returning home from the wars in France. I was injured, badly, so there was little point staying. I’ll never have the full use of my sword arm again, so, in one way, you’re right; I am now depending on my land. There won’t be any prize money or ransoms for me in the future.” Eleanor thought he did not sound too unhappy at the prospect of life as an impoverished minor lord. “As to your first question, I believe that if I had not been there they would have killed you or taken you away themselves and I did not feel that they would treat you well if they had done so. Does that answer your questions?”

“Not quite, but I sense you will
not tell me more.”

“It is not necessary for you to trust me
completely, Eleanor, but please accept that I will do you no harm and I will take you back to your convent when it is safe to do so.”

Eleanor
used this information to take her mind off the pain, but found that it was not enough to distract her.  It was only when she fainted and almost fell from the horse that Henry stopped. He held onto her arms, which were still wrapped around his waist, until she was conscious again. Then he eased her gently to the ground and followed her quickly, leaving Solomon to stand by himself. They were on the outskirts of a small village, but no one seemed to be interested in them.

Henry let her lie on the ground for a while. He
was impatient; they were very vulnerable here.

When
Eleanor sat up, he told her to go into the village and get some food for them. “It will attract attention if you do not,” he explained.

She managed to get up without his
help and to walk into the village, but walking was almost as painful as riding had been. She wiped away a tear, hoping Henry had not seen.

“Come here, boy.”

The speaker was a woman not much older than herself. “I’ve come to buy food for my master,” explained Eleanor.

“He looks like he could do with some.
He’s just skin and bones with nothing holding him together.”

Eleanor wondered how she could tell from this distance, then wondered if the woman had seen her faint.
There was nothing she could do if the woman had seen.

“
What do you propose for payment?”

“I have coin.” Henry had given her some, although he doubted that people in this out of the way
place would have much use for it.

The woman nodded. “I will take
it. It will be useful for the fair.”

Eleanor was relieved.

“You look as if you have been injured.”

“We both have.” Eleanor did not think this was a lie.
Riding on Solomon had certainly injured her. “My master is a soldier.”

“Does he
come from France? Does he have some news? Tell him to come to that house.” She pointed to a small house where a young child sat playing with a cat. “He can tell me the news from France while I cook for him.” Eleanor hoped that Henry would agree to this. Before she turned away she gave the woman the coins that Henry had given her. “That’s too much,” said the woman.

“That’s what my master said to pay.
“

“He’s either a fool or generous.”

“Generous,” replied Eleanor, certain that this was one aspect of Henry’s character that she understood.

The woman smiled. “
Then you must be very happy with him.”

Eleanor didn’t hurry back to Henry;
she wanted to be in control of herself when she faced him.

“Will she feed us?”

“Yes. You paid her too much.”

Henry smiled. “I have enough and
it pleases me to be generous.” Eleanor doubted the first was true.

“She wants you to tell her the news from France.”

“Why does she think I come from France?”

“You’re on a war horse
and you have a beard. She took you for a soldier.”

“
I told you I look like a soldier.” Henry stroked his beard thoughtfully. “She can’t see the beard from there.”

“She could see that you need a good meal.
I made up the bit about the beard.” Eleanor hoped she would not have to tell Henry that she had foolishly told a stranger that he was injured.

“Take Solomon, then, and lead the way, while I think up some good stories.”

Eleanor didn’t think he made up the stories that he told them over the meal. He told the story of the battle in which the French king was captured; he told about archers and knights and he told about the Prince.

“He is a good soldier,” said Henry approvingly, as if they might
have had some doubt after the way he had told the story.

“And do
all the soldiers come home soon?” asked the woman.

“
Some are coming now,” said Henry, “but soon it will be winter and they will not be able to cross the sea. And some must stay. There is still fighting to be done.”

The woman nodded, sadly. “Is your man in France?” asked Eleanor.
She knew that the Prince of Wales had gone to France several months ago and the soldiers had been away a long time.

“Yes,” said the woman. “Our lord is not
required to send many men to war, but he sent my man and my brother.”

Henry was silent. He did not want to give this woman false hope, but he also did not want to cause her more worry.

“Do you have enough to keep you through the winter?” Eleanor wondered what they could do if the woman did not, but asked the question, anyway.

“There is enough.
It will be hard, it’s always hard, but I will still be here when my man comes home.”

Henry stood. “Thank you for your
hospitality. You have been most generous. My brother sails back to France in the spring and he will seek news of your man.”

“That is very kind of you.”

Eleanor agreed. She did not think Henry was lying; he really would try to get some news of her man. She felt the eyes of everyone in the small village on her as she led Solomon through it. Once they reached the road Henry mounted and pulled her up behind him. “You will ride for a while and then walk for a while. It will slow us down, but there is no other way without killing you, it seems.”

Early in the afternoon they rode into a small town. True to his word, Henry sought out an
apothecary and bought some balm for her. As soon as they reached the wood just outside the town they dismounted and Henry handed her the flask.

“You can either trust me not to look or you can go further into the trees. Either way I will
trust you not to run away. But it will take less time if you trust me not to look and I turn my back.”

He turned away and Eleanor grinned. She didn’t
know why she trusted him, but she knew that he would not look just as he knew she would not run. She tended to herself quickly and found the balm instantly soothing.

“I am ready,” she said as soon as she had made herself decent again.

Henry turned and she gave him the small flask to put into his pouch. Then they set off again.

They made very slow progress
that afternoon, but Eleanor was able to stay on Solomon for longer periods with fewer ill effects. By the time they stopped for the night she was convinced that she would be able to sit astride the horse for the rest of the way tomorrow. Henry had grumbled that they had not managed to get as far as the coast today, but they had come a long way and must surely reach the ship in the morning.

As the afternoon darkened she asked Henry how
they would manage their accommodation that evening.

“You’ll have to
sleep with the other lads, unless it’s a very rough place.”

Eleanor’s
heart sank. “Could I sleep with Solomon?” she asked.

“Why?”

“He’ll protect me.”

Henry thought it over. “Very well. We’ll say that Solomon has need of a poultice during the night and you have to be with him. It
can’t be anything too serious, or we’ll have every thief for twenty miles coming after us in the morning. Whilst I may look like a peasant on a stolen horse, my stolen horse looks fast and dangerous and that keeps us safe.”

Eleanor hoped that he was smiling as he said this, but his back gave her no clue.

“It doesn’t have to be any weakness at all,” answered Eleanor, as if she had not heard her own words thrown back at her. “Sometimes, at the convent, we give special care to horses who have been working very hard.”

“You take very good care of your horses.”

“We have to; they’re very expensive.”

“
Will they miss you?”

“The horses?”

“The sisters.”

Eleanor was silent
for a while. “Most of them,” she said, finally. “Convents are not perfect communities, even though we follow the Rule. My brother sent me to the convent to be educated; he didn’t intend me to stay this long. Eventually he recognised my vocation and decided that I should stay.”

Henry kept his own counsel.
One of the few things that had lowered his opinion of Philip was the way that he had treated his sister. He had encouraged her in her vocation because the convent had accepted a smaller dowry than a husband would have. Henry had long since realised that most people who had money were more desperate to keep hold of it than those who had very little.

“You were happy there.”

“I am happy there,” she replied tartly. “You do still intend for me to go back?”

“Yes, I just don’t know when or how.”

“Good, I am to take my vows soon.” She felt something change in the way that Henry held himself and she thought he said “May God forgive me,” but she wasn’t sure.

The inn where they were to stay that night was large and busy. Eleanor stood outside with Solomon while Henry made sure that there was space for them. He accompanied her into the stable and again helped her to unsaddle the horse. This time he left the saddle with her while he went to eat.

Eleanor busied herself with
Solomon. He let her know that he was happy with her, standing stock still for her as she brushed him. This attracted the attention of the other lads, most of whom were having trouble with their own masters’ horses.

Eleanor enjoyed their attention and took longer than she needed, until Solomon grew bored and nudged her shoulder to remind her to feed him. After she had fed him she began to rub his legs in the way she had been taught. The horses at the convent were treated in this way when they had worked particularly hard and she thought that Solomon
deserved the attention.