Belaset's Daughter - By Feona J Hamilton Page 0,54

Gregory.

She nodded dumbly, too amazed by what she had heard to answer.

"I wonder," said Gregory, slowly. "How trustworthy is that ship’s captain, who was so ready to take you across the Channel."

"He was a friend of my helpers in France!" protested Judith.

"But with whom else was he friendly?" said Gregory. "Was he there by accident, or by design?"

"How could he have known that I would be taken there and by those people?" she said.

"It’s not impossible that you were allowed to get away from the ambush that, in fact, you were never meant to be captured there at all. And once driven to take shelter in Abbeville, what other part of the coast would you be taken to, if not the nearest?"

"So everything might have gone exactly as somebody had planned," interrupted Aaron.

"Until Judith escaped on the bridge."

"Correct!" said Gregory. He turned to Judith.

"Did they find the message?" he said.

She shook her head.

"It is well hidden," she said, with a wan smile. "I have memorised it."

"They have the means of getting into the mind of anyone, as well as searching the person by more conventional methods," said Gregory.

"There is a package for them to find," said Judith.

She put her hand inside her tunic and drew it out. It was a small pouch of soft kid, drawn tight at the mouth. From the tie, a small seal dangled.

"And yet they did not find that?" said Gregory.

"I was not searched," she said. "Guy de Montfort took great pains to assure me that I was safe from him and his companions."

"Strange," said Gregory, musingly. He stared at the floor, obviously thinking hard, then looked up, with a determined expression on his face. "There is something very odd here,"

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Belaset’s Daughter

he said. "I cannot yet understand everything that has happened to you, other than to know that it is far more complicated than it appears. One thing I am certain of you must not linger here in London, but must return to Lewes with all speed, for your own safety, at least. Possibly there is more to this message than we can know."

"I cannot tell you the message," said Judith.

"And I do not want to know it!" said Gregory. "The fewer that know, the less chance there is of it reaching the wrong ears."

He turned to where Aaron stood waiting, warming himself in front of the fire.

"We will have horses ready as soon as it is light," he said. "We will make our way back to Lewes with all speed but we

must

be

careful crossing the bridge, in case there are

soldiers posted to watch all travellers. If we leave early, we can get all the way to Lewes within the day. Meanwhile, eat and rest here. I will make arrangements."

He hurried from the room.

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Belaset’s Daughter

CHAPTER TWELVE

Slowly and quietly, Gregory opened the massive oak door and peered round it. The street appeared devoid of life, in the grey light of the dawn. Nothing stirred, but the cold was enough to sting his lungs, as he took a deep breath of relief. He turned to Judith and Aaron, waiting anxiously behind him, and nodded.

The three well-muffled figures slipped out of the house. Gregory led the way along the street, to where it intersected with West Cheap. He held up a hand to halt the other two, and looked carefully in each direction. Again, there was nobody to be seen, far less to challenge them. They walked quietly and swiftly along the street, past the empty shopfronts, barred and shuttered at this hour. The silence was unnerving. Compared with the bustle and noise of West Cheap in its normal daytime guise, this was eerie.

Involuntarily, Judith shivered, and pulled her cloak more tightly around her.

Gregory crossed over to the other side of the street and darted down a side alley. He was so swift that the other two almost overshot the turning. It was still shadowed down here, the rising sun’s feeble rays not likely to penetrate for hours yet, if at all. Squinting to see, Judith could just make out the figure moving in front of her, still walking briskly almost,

indeed, trotting in his

haste.

A

faint

suspicion

stirred

in

her mind.

Where were they being taken? What about the promised horses?

She dismissed the thought. Aaron trusted this man, and Aaron knew him. She knew that no Jew would betray another, so Aaron would not betray her. In any case, she was his betrothed: the whole idea was ridiculous!

They were going downhill, she realised. It must mean that they were heading toward the river. Once across,