own chambers above, and the house was silent.
* * *
In the early morning, Jervis awoke to find Belaset and Judith unbarring the shutters and letting in the daylight. Philip opened his eyes at the same time and, after looking round sleepily, realised where he was. He sat up and scratched his hair, leaving it standing up wildly in tufts all over his head. Jervis propped himself up cautiously, and went to touch his bandaged head, but Belaset was there before him.
"Now, Jervis," she said, kindly. "Let us look at this again, and see how you are mending."
Jervis sat up properly, and she untied the cloth from his head, and gently removed the pad. It came away easily. The wound beneath was clean and there was no sign of the swelling which would have indicated some infection. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"How does it feel?" she asked him.
"It itches!" said Jervis, sounding annoyed.
"That s what I wanted to hear you say!" said Belaset, laughing. "Itching shows the skin is mending again, and the wound is healing nicely. Some more of the poultice on a clean pad, and we will leave it in place again for another day."
"A head like a block of solid stone, I see!" said Philip, making to stand up. "Ow!"
He had discovered bruises and stiffness from the previous day s fighting, which had come out in the night. Limping slightly, he went to a stool and sat down, carefully. Jervis laughed, and got up more carefully himself, but he also hobbled as he made his way to another chair and sat in it.
"So, Jervis, what are we to do?" said Philip, as Belaset entered again, with the water and cloths.
"You are to break your fast, before you do anything," said Belaset, firmly, before Jervis could answer. "Bread and ale will be brought to you as soon as I have done this."
Jervis sat meekly, while his wound was bathed, and a fresh pad bound in place. As Belaset finished her work, the door opened and Judith appeared, with the promised bread and ale. The women left them to it, and the two young men ate ravenously.
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Belaset’s Daughter
"Now," said Jervis at last, with a sigh of satisfaction. "I think we must find out what has happened since the battle ended. Then we can decide what to do next unless, of course, my lord de Warenne is returned, in which case, we shall join him as swiftly as possible."
"You will know the answers to your questions soon enough," said Belaset, returning in time to hear what Jervis had said. "Judith and Aaron have gone together to the Priory, to see what they can find out. They should be quite safe now the town is quiet again, and both are known to the King s friends. Judith is also well-known to Prior Foville."
"How can this be?" said Philip, puzzled.
"That a Jewess knows the Prior of St. Pancras?" said Jervis.
Philip crimsoned at his lack of tact and glanced at Belaset. She laughed.
"Don t feel embarrassed, young man, it is an unusual situation that we find ourselves in," she said. "My daughter wished to aid the King s side, since neither of us have any cause to love de Montfort."
"Belaset and Judith come from Leicester," said Jervis. "They fled here following one of Earl Simon s attacks on their people. . . "
". . . where my husband, and Judith s dearly loved father, lost his life," finished Belaset, a shadow crossing her face as she spoke.
She sighed sadly.
"Why must men kill those who are different from themselves?" she said, half to herself.
"Why not try to understand, instead of simply destroying?"
The two young men sat silent, not daring to speak, in case they should offend their hostess by a thoughtless remark. Finally, Belaset looked at them with a smile.
"It is not your fault, and I must remember that not all Christians are the same!" she said.
"Perhaps one day . . ."
She did not finish her sentence. At that moment, there was the sound of Judith and Aaron s voices as they passed the window. She hurried to let them in, and Jervis and Philip stood as the two came into the room.
"What news?" said Jervis, eagerly.
"The King is safe," said Aaron. "And has agreed terms with de Montfort."
"So, we are defeated," said Philip, glumly.
"For the moment, it would appear so," said Aaron. "The King has surrendered his sword to Gilbert de Clare, and has agreed to stand by the original agreement made