Bromley had eaten very little and he hadn't prepared to go further than Bourne. He had expected to be home by evening.
The news that the priest bore had drained the energy from Bromley. 'Aye, I am 'ungry and tired. I will receive a meal gratefully,' said Bromley hanging his head.
'Give thanks to God,' returned the priest and directed Bromley to the house.
The priest's house was very finely appointed and it made Bromley feel a little uncomfortable. He had rarely been in a house so nicely furnished. The priest sat Bromley at a long table. The priest left Bromley at the table and went for the food. This gave Bromley ample time to study the room. Over the table was a beautiful chandelier. Many crystals dangled from the chandelier and scatter light rainbows around the room. The chandelier was not lit, because light entered the room from two large windows on opposite walls. A large fireplace was at the opposite end of the table from where Bromley sat.
The priest returned with bread, milk and some meat. Bromley didn't often get to enjoy meat and he was glad that he had accepted the priest's invitation. The sight of the wonderful meal took Bromley's mind off his brother momentarily and the meat caused Bromley to think about the bulls that he had seen earlier in the day. It would be so nice to be able to run with the bulls and then dine on their flesh. What a treat that would be.
Bromley finished the meal and expressed thanks to the priest.
'Me sone,' said the priest, 'you are nay prepared to spend the night on the road. I am sure that you 'ave no muney, and I can see that you 'ave no food or bedding. 'ere, take these.' With that, the priest handed Bromley a bundle. It was a nice wool blanket with some food wrapped inside.
Bromley was very grateful. 'Father, you are very kind.'
The priest had an old piece of leather and he drew a rough map of the area for Bromley. Bromley expected that Elizabeth and her family would at least make it to Oakham that day, not realizing that they had left the day before. He resolved that he would travel straight to Melton Mowbray to get ahead of them and then come back on the road toward Stamford until he met them. He expected that he would have to travel at least twice as fast as they would be traveling in order to make his plan work. 'That shuld be possible,' he thought, 'since the ox wuld be so slow.'
Leaving Bourne, he made a good pace for the first several miles, then the sky began to darken and a light rain began falling. Before long the rain had picked up and Bromley was getting cold and wet. He found himself wishing that it was August and not November and he really wanted to find a warm and dry place to rest. He didn't dare do so for fear that he would miss Elizabeth and her family. After about 8 miles, he passed a public house and he could see people inside enjoying a meal and a warm fire. He didn't allow himself to gaze on the scene or to think about how nice it would be to stop, but instead, he pressed ahead.
______
Elizabeth didn't feel right about wearing men's clothing. She had never seen a woman wearing trousers. She had even considered that Joan of Arc had deserved her punishment for doing so. Now as she climbed into the wagon with her hair up under a hat and wearing her father's shirt and trousers, she wondered whether her fate might be the same.
The road was clear for the first several hours as they traveled. Twice they met wagons coming in the opposite direction. In each case her father told her to not make eye contact with any of the other travelers.
It began to rain in the late in the afternoon. Initially, it was a light rain, but it continue to increase. Her father covered himself with some heavy cloth. She was getting wet and cold as was her mother and brothers. Soon the road became very slick and it was difficult to keep the wagon aligned with the ox because the back of the wagon seemed to want to slide off the road. Eventually they came to a gentle hill. The ox leaned into his harness as the wheels sunk deeper into