has been involved in something, that’s certain."
As he spoke, he hurried his wife back upstairs to where Judith lay, oblivious to all that was happening. Benjamin strode into the room and shook her by the shoulder, urgently.
She opened her eyes and stared at him, then started up, with a look of fear, as she saw the expression on his face.
"Judith," he said. "You must come with us to a safe place. There are soldiers searching the Jewry might they be looking for you?"
She nodded her head, mutely.
"Come with us, " Benjamin repeated. "We will hide you quickly!"
He grasped her arm, pulling her to her feet. Dorcas darted forward and snatched up the cloak which Judith had discarded as she lay down. She flung it round the girl’s shoulders.
The three hurried downstairs again and turned toward the back of the house. As they did so, the door at the back opened, and a young man ran in, slamming it shut behind him. He stood with his back pressed against it, breathing heavily, but smiling triumphantly at them.
"Aaron!" cried Dorcas, joyfully.
He strode forward and hugged his mother, hard. Benjamin slapped his shoulder, with a look of relief on his face.
"We thought you might be caught by the soldiers," he said.
"Not I!" said Aaron, cheerfully. He threw of his hood, and a mop of black curls fell forward over his face. Judith felt her stomach give a strange little lurch. This was Aaron?
This was the earnest youth she remembered? And she was betrothed to him he was seeing his life companion clad in men’s clothes, exhausted and travel-stained. Ah, well, he would never see her looking worse than this, she thought.
"We must hide Judith!" said Benjamin, urgently. "I am going to take her..."
"You will take her nowhere," said Aaron, firmly. "I will take her to Milk Street, while you delay the soldiers. They will be here very soon."
He turned to Judith.
"Come with me, and keep close behind me," he said.
"But how can we go anywhere?" said Judith, in bewilderment. "Surely, the soldiers are in every street? We cannot leave here."
"Not by the door," said Aaron. "But under the house!"
BOSON BOOKS
-96-
Belaset’s Daughter
He darted into the kitchen, and Judith followed. There were two other servants there, apart from the man who had let her in. Aaron gestured to him and together they dragged a heavy settle to one side. Then, on one knee, Aaron levered up a flagstone from the floor.
A dark pit gaped under it, with a ladder just visible to one side. The manservant, still without speaking, took a burning branch from the fire, and handed it to Aaron.
Taking it, he climbed swiftly down the ladder. Judith followed, as quickly as she could.
No sooner had her head sunk below the level of the floor, than the manservant lowered the flagstone back into place. It fell to with a soft thud, and she could hear the settle being dragged back into position. She felt her feet touch the earthen floor of the passage and turned round.
Aaron, the torch held high, had already begun to walk away from her, along a dank, odorous tunnel. The flickering light added to the horror of the walk, as it lit damp, stained walls, oozing with slime. The smell was of the cesspit and she breathed as shallowly as possible, to avoid inhaling the noisome reek of it. She noticed that they were walking along a brick-lined way, which seemed to be of great age. She saw a movement and looked down, to see a rat scuttling away from the light, across her path. Horror and bile rose in her throat and she fought them both down, mastering the urge to retch at the sight of the rat and the stench of ordure. She concentrated on Aaron’s back in front of her, and hurried as fast as she could, thankful that he was setting such a pace.
After no more than five minutes, he stopped and waited for her to catch up with him.
he pointed upwards and she gazed up and saw another entrance above them. For the moment she could not see how they were to get to it, until the torchlight showed a series of iron rungs set in the wall, leading to it. Giving her the torch, Aaron climbed nimbly up them and rapped a signal on the underside of the stone covering the exit.
Nothing happened immediately, then there was a strip of light visible, which gradually became wider, as the stone was lifted up. A face