my eyes shut, but as I stood there helpless, chained to the pillar, nothing, but nothing, could shield me from the stench of the rotting, maggot-filled corpse rolling up towards me.
Chapter Six
Henry II of England cast his falcon at a heron. The heron seemed to be on the point of escaping the falcon, when Henry swore aloud, ‘By God’s gorge, that heron shall not escape, even if God Himself wills it.’
No sooner were these words uttered than the heron rounded upon the falcon and, as if by a miracle, struck the falcon’s head with its beak, killing the bird instantly. Thereupon the heron cast the dead falcon at the feet of his master King Henry, to prove to all those who witnessed it that God’s will must always prevail even above that of a king, though it turns the natural order upside down, and causes the prey to become the hunter.
Belém Isabela
Eyas – a young hawk taken from its nest in the wild before it can fly and reared in captivity.
‘You’ll all sleep here,’ the ship’s master said gruffly. We were standing in a low compartment beneath the forecastle in the bow of the ship. Two narrow openings in the wooden walls on either side showed tiny glimpses of water and of the quayside. The sun blazed down through the hatch above our heads, illuminating a space that contained little except for a line of small wooden chests and bulkheads hung with wooden and metal tools and coils of rope as thick as my arm. I glanced up at the square of blue sky above us and wondered how dark it would be in here if the hatch was shut. I swallowed the lump that rose up in my throat as I thought of my father sitting there in the damp, stinking darkness of that dungeon, unable to stand or even lie down. How long could a man live like that before sickness took hold of his body, or despair seized his mind?
The master continued, ‘There’s a chest apiece to stow your belongings in, and see that your bedding is rolled and hung on the sides at first light. Seamen need to get to their tackle and they don’t want to be falling over your blankets, especially not in rough seas.’
A plump, middle-aged woman squawked in a mixture of alarm and disgust as she surveyed the bare boards, on which white lines marked out the sleeping space allotted for each passenger. ‘But where are my husband and I to sleep? My husband is a wealthy and distinguished silk merchant, you know.’
‘I told you,’ the master said wearily. ‘All passengers sleep here.’ He glanced at me and then back to her, for we were the only women in the party of eight passengers. ‘Some ladies like to hang a blanket in the corner to screen themselves when they’re dressing.’
‘A blanket!’ the woman echoed, her voice shrill with disbelief. ‘When we were on the pilgrimage last year the better class of passenger all had private cabins with locks on the doors and beds suspended on chains from the ceiling. The cabins were hardly bigger than my linen press at home, and the beds were far too hard and small, but they were at least proper beds. And I put up with all that discomfort and inconvenience without a single word of complaint, isn’t that so, husband? For one expects to suffer on a pilgrimage. But this … this dog kennel isn’t even fit for slaves to sleep in.’
‘This, Senhora, is a cargo ship, not a pleasure trip,’ the master said tersely. ‘But my men would be glad to swap places with you if you don’t fancy sleeping here. Perhaps you’d rather bed down with them in the hold among the grain and spices.’
‘Now see here,’ the small, stout merchant said, indignantly puffing out his chest. ‘I won’t have you talking that way to my wife.’
‘Then you’d best disembark now while you still have a chance, for as master on this ship I talk to passengers and crew alike any way I please. All that matters to me is getting this ship safe to Iceland and back again and I’ll not let any passenger endanger that.’
‘Iceland?’ the merchant said sharply. ‘What business has a cargo ship to do with Iceland? You cannot trade there. They’ll not permit traffic with any Portuguese merchants, not even with the English now. I’m reliably informed that any halfway decent harbours on that island that are able to