Belaset's Daughter - By Feona J Hamilton Page 0,81

had witnessed had been bad enough: but he had never seen such total destruction of place, or such pointless, witless murder. The people who had done such things must have been fed some kind of story by a consummate rabble-rouser, which had whipped them into a blind frenzy of hate or fear. Only one man combined the force of personality to command the attention of the populace with a manic hatred of the Jews.

Simon de Montfort’s hand was in this somewhere, thought Gregory, and he was determined to find out where.

A soft tapping on the door penetrated his consciousness.

"Who is it?" he said, hearing the despondency in his voice.

The door opened. Hubert, who had returned with him, stood in the doorway, a steaming bowl of broth in his hands.

"I thought, master, a little food...?" he said, uncertainly.

Gregory beckoned him in.

"You are a kind and thoughtful fellow," he said. "And you have suffered as much as me, if not more. Put the bowl here, on the table, and tell me of your own experiences. How did you find the Yechiels?"

He gestured to the servant to sit down, and the man perched on the edge of a stool. He clasped his hands tightly together, and furrowed his brow as he gathered the details of the journey in his mind before speaking. He knew that Gregory would want as full a description as possible.

"Well, Master Gregory," he said, after a pause. "I was on my way to the Jewry, when I realised that most of them were going the other way, towards the Tower. So I stood at the corner, just before the gatehouse, scanning the faces in the crowd. It was lucky that I caught sight of Master Aaron, just in time. I managed to work my way across and grasp his sleeve. A minute later and he and his party would have been through the gatehouse and into the Tower. He recognised me and came after me, when I explained that you had sent me. His womenfolk came with him."

Gregory nodded.

"Yes," he said. "That was fortunate for all of us. Go on."

"We came along the side of the Jewry, just as the mob reached it and began their attack,"

said Hubert. "We saw the smoke, as they set fire to the houses, and we heard..."

BOSON BOOKS

-147-

Belaset’s Daughter

His voice faltered, but he swallowed and went on.

"We heard them attacking everybody who had not escaped in time," he said. "We heard the women screaming, master, and..."

He shook his head, silently. His eyes, fixed on Gregory’s face, glistened with tears, and his mouth worked.

Gregory leant forward.

"You could not have helped," he said, urgently. "You did the right thing, to keep on your way, and you saved my friends by doing so. Do not reproach yourself."

Hubert looked down, and his knuckles went white as he strove to control himself.

"You are very understanding, Master," he said at last, in a low voice. "But I shall never forget that screaming, as long as I live!"

"Neither of us will forget this day," said Gregory, grimly. "Nor should we. If such sights and sounds can fade from our minds, we would be as inhuman as those who started this awful thing. But we can do our best to help those who have escaped, and to try to prevent such actions happening again in this City."

Hubert looked up again and gazed at Gregory with respect.

"Let me have a part in this work, Master Gregory," he said. "And I shall ask for nothing more."

"You shall play your part," said Gregory, firmly. "I shall remember your words, and your bravery today. Finish your story."

"We came out through Ludgate," said the servant. "And made our way across the Flete Bridge and through Westminster, until we met with you outside the Abbey. It was strange" he said musingly. "Once we were through the gate, no-one was about. It was as if we had stepped into a different land. The silence was almost as unnerving as the noise had been."

"I know what you mean," said Gregory, with a nod. "It was strange to wait there at the Abbey, after we had taken the rest of the family to safety. Everyone around me was going about their business, and nobody knew why I was there, or what had happened in the City. I thought they would have heard."

"Perhaps they had," said Hubert shrewdly. "Perhaps they knew, but did not want to know."

A sudden thunderous knocking at the front door of the house broke the silence. Gregory and