Belaset's Daughter - By Feona J Hamilton Page 0,13

the cold, she urged her horse across the ancient stone bridge without hesitation. It was narrow, with one bay in the middle, where it was possible to pass someone coming the other way. She could see a horse and cart just stepping on to the other end. The carter seemed completely unaware that there were riders coming towards him, and the horse pulling the contraption continued to amble slowly along, head down. Judith was nearly across, and just managed to squeeze by. It was a mistake; the carter suddenly pulled at his right hand rein, and the horse swerved across obediently, completely blocking the bridge. Judith’s escort tried to stop their own horses, pulling frantically at the reins. The back rider managed to stop completely, without hitting the two in front, but the middle rider was powerless to stop his mount cannoning into the leader, which promptly whinnied in surprise, and kicked out to the rear. Losing his balance, its rider was tossed over the animal’s head, straight into the icy waters of the River Somme.

The rider of the second horse, which was now standing rigid but unhurt, dismounted hurriedly and ran to the side of the bridge. The carter gazed at them stolidly, but said nothing, nor did he make any attempt to help, or move his cart out of the way by backing off the bridge. It was an obvious and successful attempt to separate Judith from the men. She could see no-one else as yet, but there was a thick coppice of trees just down the road on her right. The left side was clear, and open scrubland. Without waiting to find out the fate of the rider in the river, she galloped off, veering to the left to make a wide detour round the threatening trees, lest anyone should be waiting there to ambush her.

Sure enough, as she drew abreast of them, two riders burst from the trees. Judith dug her heels into the horse’s flanks, and it responded slightly, despite the speed it was already making. She knew she could not keep going at such a pace for long, and there was always the danger that the horse might stumble. The road had been uneven enough, but here the going was even rougher. She gritted her teeth and crouched low over the animal, trying to keep her balance and fighting for control of their direction.

The ground flew past beneath the animal’s hooves. Tussocks of grass were flattened beneath their passage, ice cracked sharply and flew in all directions. Judith could hear the heavy snorting sound of the horse, as it laboured for breath, but she dared not slow, nor turn to look behind her. They slithered down a steep slope and up the other side. At the top the horse, slowed by the effort of the climb, paused momentarily. Judith sat up and risked a glance behind her.

The leader of the two riders chasing her stumbled at that moment, as he reached the bottom of the slope. The one following wrenched at the reins, so that his horse reared, but the effort to avoid crashing into the horse in front was in vain. There was a sudden cry of fear, whinnies of pain, and the sickening crunch of something breaking. The front rider lay on the ground, motionless, where he had been flung by the impact. His head was at an odd BOSON BOOKS

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Belaset’s Daughter

angle, his neck apparently broken by his fall. His horse struggled to rise, but could not.

The horse behind with its flanks heaving, while its rider hung weakly in the saddle, before sliding off and standing dazed beside it.

Judith hesitated a moment, then turned away and, patting her horse’s neck, urged it into a trot. She could do nothing for the poor beast which had been injured in the accident, and the men had been trying to catch her no doubt followers of de Montfort. Still, her natural instinct had been to go to their aid; it had been hard to simply turn away.

She shook herself, and put the matter behind her. For now, she must make a decision.

Should she go on alone, or circle back and see what had happened to her escort? She was not sure of the route, but thought the road they had been travelling along led straight to their destination. Circling back would only delay her and, perhaps, mean her capture after all, she decided. She pulled on the reins, directing the horse back across the open