has arranged a good and safe place for us all to meet, I have no doubt. As long as we follow Hubert, and do exactly as he says, we shall make that meeting-place safely!"
They crept along the base of the walls, until they reached the gate itself. At this time of the day, it was wide open, despite the rioting. It was an indication, as nothing else could be, that the mob was acting with the full knowledge of authority, and that no attempt would be made to control whatever might befall the hapless Jews.
The four refugees crept through the City gate and down the other side of the wall. The smell of the Flete told them it was not far off. At this time of the year, the water-level was at its highest, but still the bridge was built high enough to stay dry at all times.
Swiftly, they crossed one at a time, and sped into the shelter of a group of shacks on the other side.
When they were all together again, Hubert set off at a fast pace. They were taken through an area of poor hovels, much like the ones in the City and then, suddenly, they BOSON BOOKS
-140-
Belaset’s Daughter
were passing the properties of the rich. Great stone walls cut off their view, but now and then a drive or a gate gave them glimpses of the splendid palaces which lay behind them.
They slowed to a walk, and gazed around them in amazement.
"Who lives here does the King?" said Belaset, in awe.
"No the King normally lives in the Tower, when he is pleased to be in London," said Hubert. "These are the palaces of his court, and of the Princes of the Church, such as my Lord Bishop of London. They are magnificent, are they not?"
"Indeed they are," said Judith. "And yet the people who own them are not content.
They would have more power such as
the
right to rule the country, instead of their
King!"
She sounded so fierce, that Aaron could not help laughing, despite their predicament.
"No-one here disagrees with you, Judith!" he said. "So save your anger for a proper occasion. You need all your energy to get to safety with the rest of us!"
"We are almost there see!" said Hubert.
They rounded the end of the Bishop of London’s estate, and there, in front of them, lay the Abbey of Westminster. It rose from the flat, marshy island on which it was built, its towers reaching for heaven, its golden stone gleaming in the sun. Beside it stood the heavier bulk of the Great Hall, built by the Conqueror almost two hundred years before.
But the Abbey was Henry’s pride, and his monument to his hero, King Edward the Confessor, as he had been called, in recognition of his saintliness. Henry had caused a beautiful memorial to be raised over Edward’s tomb. Now he was having installed the stained glass windows of which he was so fond. The sun glinted on the glass here and there, too, and sparkled on the Thames, flowing behind it all. All this glory to a Christian saint, thought Aaron, wryly, built with money borrowed from, or obtained by heavy taxes on people like his father.
The thought of his father spurred him into movement, and he led the little group of weary people down the hill towards this place which, if all had gone according to plan, should be their sanctuary for the moment, too.
BOSON BOOKS
-141-
Belaset’s Daughter
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
They walked swiftly down the slight slope towards the Abbey. Here there was a bustling crowd of people going about their various business. Some were monks, clad in the long, rough habits of black cloth which proclaimed them to be Benedictines; some were in the brown habit of the Franciscans. All were tonsured and their sandalled feet showed beneath the hem of their rough woollen habits as they walked.
Other men who passed to and fro were mounted on horses, or carried in chairs. They were richly dressed, contrasting with the flaunted poverty of the mendicant friars.
Merchants, on their way to meetings and discussions, thought Judith, looking at the scene with interest. A noise of hammering from overhead made her look up. There was another entire community up there, she saw. Dozens of masons and other builders clambered over the walls and towers of the Abbey, using the wooden scaffolding which had been built precariously against the facade.
She was so fascinated by these new surroundings that she almost forgot the reason for being there. A nudge in her