Belaset's Daughter - By Feona J Hamilton Page 0,58

they saw some trees on a small rise. Imperceptibly, the ground firmed on either side of the path they had been following and they could feel the greater effort necessary for the horses to walk, as the slight upward slope began. Aaron urged his horse forward, until he was riding alongside Judith, instead of behind her. She gave a great sigh.

"I shall never go into that place again, Aaron," she said, her voice breaking.

"Nor I!", he answered. He reached across and touched her.

"It was not your fault," he said.

"But I am the reason why he had to go into the marsh in the first place," she said.

Aaron shook his head.

"There is no gain in trying to decide who is to blame. You would never have been in London in the first place, if Guy de Montfort had not captured you, and FitzHugh himself was one of the party who took you there," he said.

"Do you believe he is for Henry after all?" said Judith.

Aaron looked down at the still unconscious young man.

"I think he is for Jervis FitzHugh," he said. "Whoever pays the most, buys his loyalty until a better price is offered."

They were very near to the shelter of the trees. There were scarcely more than a dozen of them, forming a small coppice. The bare branches of February gave little protection, yet they felt safer once they had walked the horses in between the sturdy beech trunks.

Aaron swung down, and slid Jervis’s inert body off the horse. He propped him against one of the trees, where he lay like a puppet without a puppet-master, his head slumped to one side, and his arms lying limply on either side of his body. Judith slid off her horse, rather than dismounting, and Aaron caught her. She leant against him for a moment, grateful for his strength, and felt his arms tighten around her. They stood together, both BOSON BOOKS

-106-

Belaset’s Daughter

finding comfort in the other’s nearness. As she raised her head to speak, Aaron bent his and kissed her firmly on the lips. She felt herself responding to the warmth of his mouth on hers and the odd tightening in her stomach came again. It was some moments before they separated.

"Well," he said, smiling at her. We are betrothed, after all!"

"And we have not yet had time to greet each other in a fitting manner," agreed Judith.

"I think we have now?" said Aaron, his black eyes fixed on her grey ones.

She nodded.

"Yes, Aaron, we have now," she said, softly.

Keeping an arm around her, he turned to survey their surroundings. The ground sloped away again slightly, on the other side of the trees. On their right, the stream widened slightly, into a small river. The path which they had followed thus far led across it from this side of the slope, and followed its course over what were more properly described as undulations in the landscape, rather than hills.

"I think we must keep following the path until we reach somewhere with people in it,"

said Aaron. "Then we can get food, at least, and perhaps some help for FitzHugh. Now that the ground is firmer, I will lead the horse, with him on its back, to give the poor beast less weight to carry."

They set off again. The ending of the marshes, with their grim atmosphere, and the memory of what had happened there, was a relief. The river chuckled past them, the sun shone and the birds sang. Now they could travel side by side, and both felt less anxious.

The kiss had made them aware of each other in a different way. Judith had expected to feel some embarrassment, but there was none. It had seemed natural to be kissed now it seemed natural to discuss what they should do next between themselves. She welcomed the opportunity of sharing the decisions, and the relief of no longer struggling along on her own, unsure of whom to trust and whom to suspect.

They were feeling the extreme fatigue that comes after a crisis. They breasted the next rise, and stopped by another coppice, as they saw what was on the other side.

There was what looked like a well-used road in front of them, leading to a cluster of buildings to their left, about half-a-mile away. Aaron looked across to the right and Judith saw him stiffen suddenly. She leant forward and looked beyond him, to see what had caused his reaction.

Coming towards them was a long column of riders, interspersed with carriages. The sun