‘Thank you, sir, for bringing me back,’ Anna said to cover up the embarrassing pause.
‘I was happy to do so, Anna,’ Chassim replied. He did not seem to hold against her the pointed remark she had made earlier. Then he quenched the torch, placed it in a corner and walked to his horse which was still saddled. He mounted and Anna opened one side of the barn door, peeping out to see whether the coast was clear.
‘Will we see each other again?’ Chassim asked.
‘It depends,’ Anna answered.
‘On what?’ he wanted to know.
‘On how much longer you will be staying at Landskron Castle. I will certainly be going there regularly with the medicus to check on the countess.’
Chassim nodded. ‘Do that. I have to report back to my father. But I am often here in Oppenheim. Look after yourself, Anna.’
Anna put her eye to a knothole in the wall of the barn looking after Chassim until he had disappeared. Then she reached for her satchel and, lost in thought, strolled towards the door and into the house.
Around midday Anna woke as hungry as a wolf from a brief but refreshing sleep during which for the first time in weeks she had not been tortured by nightmares. Hearing noises in the laboratory, she got dressed and went to check. It was the medicus in high spirits, taking the instruments out of his satchel. He turned around when he heard Anna enter.
‘How is the countess doing?’ Anna asked.
‘She is looking well,’ Aaron reported, ‘but she might not make it yet. For the time being we will have to check on her daily, and because I cannot neglect my many patients, you will have to do it. It is too exhausting for my old bones to walk every day to the castle through the secret passage. This I have already agreed with the count. You are not obliged to sneak into the castle in secret. I have here—’ and he pulled a letter from his satchel, handing it to Anna, ‘an entry permit for you, issued by the count personally. You will just show it to the guard at the castle gate. I do not imagine that he can read, but the count’s seal will convince him. You are now the countess’s official medica. Congratulations. The army surgeon of the castle will be beside himself with jealousy, but it is what Count Georg wants. I have never seen as young a person as yourself appointed medica. What do you say?’
In disbelief Anna twisted and turned the letter with the count’s seal. She could not believe what the medicus had just said.
‘I don’t know,’ she eventually managed to say and swallowed hard, ‘it is a great responsibility . . .’
‘It certainly is,’ Aaron replied. ‘I have vouched for you. But your help at the delivery was . . . let’s say – masterful. You are, of course, still young and lack experience, but in terms of coolness and expertise, you are miles ahead of every barber whom I have watched pulling teeth in the market square.’
‘With all due respect – but there are treatments of which I have no knowledge whatsoever that are far more demanding than pulling teeth.’
‘You will learn all of that in time. You have a natural aptitude for our profession, let me tell you that, Anna Ahrweiler. To be a medica is your vocation. I have been working in this profession for such a long time that nobody is going to convince me otherwise at this stage. Besides, pulling teeth is not as easy as it looks, if you want to do it right.’
Aaron, assisted by Anna, continued putting his instruments back.
When she bent down, Aaron remarked disapprovingly: ‘You may want to make sure that you make a decent impression; after all, you won’t be mixing with just any and every type of person. Ask Rebecca to help you coax some shape into your – well – unusual hairstyle. We don’t want everyone to know on first sight that you were thrown out of a monastery.’
Anna rolled her eyes. The medicus simply could not resist a joke. She reached for the expensive mirror on the shelf and looked at her face. Another week or two and her hedgehog-like hair would have fairly grown out. ‘That won’t be my biggest problem,’ she said.
‘Oh no,’ Aaron agreed. ‘But first of all it is better if nobody suspects your origins, asks uncomfortable questions and then reaches the wrong conclusions. Secondly, it is an issue of your appearance. You are not a nobody any longer. From now on you are a respected person, enjoying the count’s approval, do not forget that. Always endeavour therefore to do your new position justice also in the way you look and dress. Well then, do we have many patients?’
Anna put the mirror back in its place and, almost overwhelmed with gratitude, dared to hug Aaron however briefly. He was so taken aback that for once, he was speechless.
‘Thank you for your confidence in me and for the fact that I may learn from you, master,’ she said and hurried out of the laboratory.
The next day Anna set off for Landskron Castle for the first time on her own. It was raining again, but it was the usual rain for May and nothing like the storm on that day last March when she came to Oppenheim with Aaron. Nevertheless the roads were getting muddy due to the many people and wagons flocking to the city for market day and she had to elbow her way tediously through the lanes.
Oppenheim was an important trading town and so things were busy despite the poor weather. Boats on the Rhine brought goods from all over the world; countless stalls offered not only foodstuffs such as meat, fish and vegetables but also cloth from England, wine, exotic fruits and spices. The din was immense as shouting traders offered their wares or pursued clucking chickens that had fled their coop. Pigs grunted in their pens, bickering market women fought for the best spots and a merchant swore as he tried desperately to protect his precious draperies from a torrent of rainwater that sluiced down suddenly from where it had collected in the awning of a covered stall as it collapsed.
Utter chaos reigned, and yet there seemed to be certain rules that not everybody understood immediately, especially someone like Anna who was from the country and had never experienced anything like it. She held on to her satchel more tightly as there was any amount of riffraff about waiting to steal a fat purse in the dense throng.
At every corner beggars stood or crouched, silent and pitiful, many of them frail or holding a scruffy child in their arms, appealing to Christian charity in their distress. Others pointed loudly to their war wounds and waved their crutches at passers-by. A leg amputee dragging himself on a little cart pursued his victims until they took pity and threw him a mite.
Anna disliked the city with its constant excitement, bustle and dirt. Having spent most of her life in seclusion and contemplation, she quickly tired of the constant pushing and shoving, shouting, screaming and stench. She crossed the market square as fast as she could and headed for the north eastern city gate where the winding path to the castle began.
But close to the gate the road was blocked by a close-packed crowd that had formed around a faith healer. Outside a house a tall, bald man stood on a chair and presented a patient to his audience with an eloquent flood of words. He intended to operate on him and remove a stone from his head.
‘Look here, look here! A miracle is about to happen!’ he shouted to gain the attention of the crowd. As if it were the Host, he reverently held aloft a drill capable of boring holes the size of a gold ducat.
‘What you are about to see you will want to tell your grandchildren. God has chosen me as an instrument of His will. This unfortunate man has been punished for his sins with Saint Vitus’ Dance, a very serious illness . . .’ Next to the charlatan stood a chubby pale man in a floppy hat whom Anna had not noticed until now. He was trembling like an aspen leaf and foaming at the mouth as he constantly took small dance-like steps as if unable to stand still.
‘Every day this man is seized by Saint Vitus’ dance, and he can only be saved if I cut out the stone which the devil has conjured into his head.’ At these words the unfortunate man was forced to sit on the chair and the healer positioned himself behind him with a whole array of strange drills, funnels, knives and bowls on a little table beside him. Next he removed the floppy hat from his victim’s he
ad and threw it to one of his helpers, who caught it and went around the onlookers collecting money for the show. As the healer waited behind the patient with his arms crossed, people donated generously. Only one man in front, a very tall, broadly built monk in the black habit of the Benedictines with his hood pulled up, refused any donation. With his arms folded, the monk let his grim gaze roam over the onlookers and briefly focus on Anna. He had the bushiest eyebrows Anna had ever seen. At last the monk turned away again.
Anna had had enough. A charlatan-healer was defrauding people of their money, she thought. The poor patient most likely suffered from solanum plant poisoning or perhaps an overdose of angel’s trumpet. But she had to move on. She barely noticed the huge monk in the black habit rushing up to the healer and grabbing him by the collar. Not in the mood to witness a general brawl, Anna hurried off.
Striding up the winding path to Landskron Castle, she could see on her right the camp of the king’s soldiers with its tents, horses, wagons and campfires. She stepped onto the drawbridge and held her entry permit ready as one of the sentries in the count’s livery approached her.
‘Halt, what business have you here?’ the man asked gruffly, barring her way with his lance.
Anna remembered the advice of the medicus so she stood up straight and tried to put as much importance into her voice as possible.
‘My name is Anna Ahrweiler. I am the medica of the countess and you would do well to treat me accordingly. Here, read this,’ and she thrust the letter with the count’s seal at the wary soldier.
‘Apologies, medica, I did not know. Shall I accompany you?’ he asked politely.
Anna took back her permit and pushed it into her wide sleeve in case it was needed again.
‘No, that won’t be necessary,’ she said briskly, ‘I know the way and am expected.’ Then she turned and with her black hood over her head and the leather satchel swinging from her shoulder, she walked proudly across the drawbridge through the main gate and into the outer courtyard of the castle.
‘Let her pass, she is the medica of the countess!’ the sentry called to his comrades who were guarding the gate.
What a difference a letter and a title make, Anna thought to herself while heading straight through the portal without being detained by anybody.
Passing through yet another gate, she reached the inner courtyard. She looked around in amazement at how impressive and majestic everything looked, and what a contrast it was to the chaos of the city. Though here too the place was busy, teeming with servants and armed men, and everybody seemed to have a task to perform. Nobody stopped her or asked her business. She tried to avoid giving the impression that it was the first time she was in the inner courtyard of Landskron Castle as she walked towards the palas doorway. Here, a sentry displaying the Staufer arms stood armed with a halberd. Without being asked, she handed the man the count’s letter, who cast a brief glance at it and opened the heavy oak door without a word.
When the door closed, Anna found herself in the massive reception hall, its heavy columns and ribbed vaults reminding her of the nave of a church. The rectangular room was gloomy and smoky, with a massive fireplace the height of a man and ten feet wide in the back wall. In front of the fire and taking up half the room were long heavy tables arranged in a U-shape. Great armchairs for the nobles were drawn up behind the main table to face down the hall, while along the side tables stood benches for guests. The walls of the hall were hung with splendid tapestries, and Anna stood marvelling at one displaying a fearless knight battling with scary mythical creatures.
The deserted hall was silent but for the cracking and crackling of the fire in the great fireplace. As Anna stepped back to have a better view of the tapestry with the dragon and the winged giant snake, she heard quick padding paws on the straw-covered floor behind. She was about to turn round when something big jumped on her with terrible force and pulled her to the floor.
She screamed with fright, believing herself to be in the clutches of a snarling monster. She rolled around with arms flailing to fight off the supposed beast, but what she saw was a big slim wild cat with thick paws, a narrow head, small ears, a long tail and yellow fur like a lion’s but with black spots. The animal hissed and bared its fangs in Anna’s face. In her mad panic she managed to grab hold of a leather collar that was tied around the animal’s neck. But the beast was strong, and pulled and shook its narrow head free from Anna’s hold. Strangely enough, the cat’s claws did not injure Anna as they scratched her chest.
At that very moment a hand took the animal by the collar and pulled it away.
‘Will you ever leave the girl in peace?’ chided a childlike voice.
The animal was finally held back and Anna could get up again. She couldn’t believe her eyes as the young person who had restrained the spotted wild cat was none other than the king! He smiled apologetically and a bit sheepishly as the beast licked his hand submissively.
‘He frightened me to death!’ Anna said.
‘Well that’s the fun of it,’ the young king laughed. ‘But the he is a she. Lea is still very playful and I am trying to tame her. But she just does not seem to want to be taught manners!’
Anna was staring at King Conrad who was tussling with the animal for fun. Only now did she notice that the young man was wearing leather gloves. This enabled him to reach into the animal’s jaws without risking injury.
‘Now she is still young,’ he said, ‘but in a few months it will be too dangerous and I won’t be able to do this any more.’
As Anna brushed the straw from her cloak she looked at her hands but they were not even scratched.
‘We cut her claws,’ Conrad explained. ‘Nothing could have happened to you.’
‘Well, that is reassuring to know,’ Anna sighed. ‘Please accept my apologies, your majesty, but I did not recognise you immediately because of all the commotion.’
‘Oh never mind. My father once told me that I need to have two faces. One for the world, and another, the one that you are seeing now. I was playing with Lea and once again she escaped and I had to go after her and catch her again. Everybody is afraid of her, even though she is well fed and only wants to play.’
His face was glowing with enthusiasm.
By now Anna had got over her shock and picked up her satchel. ‘She is a beautiful animal. Where did you get her?’
‘Lea comes from the Orient,’ he said with obvious pride, ‘these animals are called cheetahs. She is a present from my father. He sent it to me from Apulia, where he is staying at the moment. He himself had received her as a present from a friend, the sultan of the land of Egypt.’
Conrad stroked the wild cat who was enjoying it lying on her back – she even purred loudly and clearly. Casually he asked: ‘And who might you be?’
‘Apologies, your majesty, for not introducing myself,’ Anna said. ‘But I did not really get the chance yet.’
‘Indeed,’ the young king laughed merrily. ‘So – who are you?’
‘My name is Anna from Ahrweiler. I am the medica of the countess and have come to examine her.’
‘Oh, is that who you are! The whole world is talking about you and the medicus. You are supposed to have worked wonders. The count is full of your praise. He has already had two Masses said in thanksgiving for the health of his little son and the countess.’
‘Are they well?’
‘Yes, I think so.’
‘Then I have to go and look after them, and I do not want to detain you any longer.’
She curtsied and the young king nodded.
Anna walked towards the spiral stairs in the corner which led to the upper rooms, but King Conrad called after her.
‘Anna Ahrweiler . . .’
She stopped and turned around to face him.
‘May I give you one piece of advice?’
‘Yes, of course, your majesty.’
‘Be careful of the castle chaplain. He is spreading the rumour that something strange was going on wh
en the countess and her child were both saved. A Jewish medicus and his little witch ought not to ignore God’s will and interfere in his creation. But he only talks like this behind the count’s back.’
‘How do you know this?’
‘I was eavesdropping. I know that this is not worthy of a king. But it was a coincidence. Looking for Lea I noticed the chaplain whispering to one of the count’s soldiers. I became curious and sneaked up. I am good at that.’
‘So I noticed.’
‘With you it had not been my intention. It is a game between Lea and myself.’
‘In any case, thank you for warning me.’
The king nodded. ‘My father and Count Georg tell me that I must always be careful and keep my eyes and ears open, as somebody might want to kill me.’
‘But why do you trust me of all people? You don’t even know me.’
With great seriousness, he replied: ‘Because you save life rather than seek to destroy it.’
Anna was surprised. Even though in some ways the king still made a rather childish impression, he was wiser than one might have thought. He seemed to realise how weak his support was in the realm.
‘May I give you one piece of advice?’ she said.
Conrad looked at her seriously and expectantly.
‘If I were you I would make sure that Lea does not get outside. It might be impossible to catch her and a soldier might kill her. It would be a pity for such a beautiful animal.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Conrad replied, ‘I usually have her on a leash or else she is in her cage. But my father wrote that once a day I have to let her go about freely or she will get sick and unhappy.’
‘The emperor is a great and wise man.’
‘Oh yes, and he knows a lot about animals. Did you know that he has written a book about falconry?’
‘No, I didn’t. Have you gone hunting with him?’
The king’s face grew profoundly sad as he replied.
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