CHAPTER XVII
A MEETING
Hugh, Grey Dick, and David, trudged up and down through the streets ofAvignon. All that long day they trudged seeking news and finding little.Again and again they asked at the inns whether a knight who bore thename of Acour, or de Noyon, or Cattrina, was or had been a guest there,but none whom they asked seemed to know anything of such a person.
They asked it of citizens, also of holy priests, good men who, carelessof their own lives, followed biers or cartloads of dead destined to theplague pit or the river that they might pronounce over them the lastblessings of the Church. They asked it of physicians, some few of whomstill remained alive, as they hurried from house to house to administerto the sick or dying. But all of these either did not answer at all orelse shrugged their shoulders and went on their melancholy business.Only one of them called back that he had no time to waste in replyingto foolish questions, and that probably the knight they sought was deadlong ago or had fled from the city.
Another man, an officer of customs, who seemed half dazed with miseryand fear, said that he remembered the lord Cattrina entering Avignonwith a good many followers, since he himself had levied the customarytolls on his company. As for how long it was ago he could not say, sincehis recollection failed him--so much had happened since. So he bade themfarewell until they met in heaven, which, he added, doubtless would besoon.
The evening drew on. Wearily enough they had trudged round the greatRoche des Doms, looking up at the huge palace of the Pope, where thefires burned night and day and the guards watched at the shut gates,that forbidden palace into which no man might enter. Leaving it, theystruck down a street that was new to them, which led toward theirborrowed dwelling of the Bride's Tower. This street was very empty savefor a few miserable creatures, some of whom lay dead or dying in thegutters. Others lurked about in doorways or behind the pillars ofgates, probably for no good purpose. They heard the footsteps of a manfollowing them who seemed to keep in the shadow, but took no heed, sincethey set him down as some wretched thief who would never dare to attackthree armed men. It did not occur to them that this was none other thanthe notary Basil, clad in a new robe, who for purposes of his own wasspying upon their movements.
They came to a large, ruinous-looking house, of which the gatewayattracted Grey Dick's sharp eyes.
"What does that entrance remind you of, master?" he asked.
Hugh looked at it carelessly and answered:
"Why, of the Preceptory at Dunwich. See, there are the same arms uponthe stone shield. Doubtless once the Knights Templar dwelt there. SirAndrew may have visited this place in his youth."
As the words left his lips two men came out of the gateway, one of thema physician to judge by the robe and the case of medicines which hecarried; the other a very tall person wrapped in a long cloak. Thephysician was speaking.
"She may live or she may die," he said. "She seems strong. The pest, yousay, has been on her for four days, which is longer than most endure it;she has no swellings, and has not bled from the lungs; though, on theother hand, she is now insensible, which often precedes the end. I cansay no more; it is in the hands of God. Yes, I will ask you to pay methe fee now. Who knows if you will be alive to do so to-morrow? If shedies before then I recommend you to throw her into the river, which thePope has blessed. It is cleaner burial than the plague pit. I presumeshe is your grand-daughter--a beautiful woman. Pity she should be wastedthus, but many others are in a like case. If she awakes give her goodfood, and if you cannot get that--wine, of which there is plenty. Fivegold pieces--thank you," and he hurried away.
"Little have you told me, physician, that I did not know already," saidthe tall hooded figure, in a deep voice the sound of which thrilled Hughto his marrow. "Yet you are right; it is in the hands of God. And tothose hands I trust--not in vain, I think."
"Sir," said Hugh addressing him out of the shadow in which he stood,"be pleased to tell me, if you will, whether you have met in this town aknight of the name of Sir Edmund Acour, for of him I am in search?"
"Sir Edmund Acour?" answered the figure. "No, I have not met him inAvignon, though it is like enough that he is here. Yet I have known ofthis knight far away in England."
"Was it at Blythburgh, in Suffolk, perchance?" asked Hugh.
"Ay, at Blythburgh in Suffolk; but who are you that speak in English andknow of Blythburgh in Suffolk?"
"Oh!" cried Hugh, "what do you here, Sir Andrew Arnold?"
The old man threw back his hood and stared at him.
"Hugh de Cressi, by Christ's holy Name!" he exclaimed. "Yes, and Richardthe archer, also. The light is bad; I did not see your faces. Welcome,Hugh, thrice welcome," and he threw his arms about him and embraced him."Come, enter my lodgings, I have much to say to you."
"One thing I desire to learn most of all, Father; the rest can wait.Who is the sick lady of whom you spoke to yonder physician--she that, hethought, was your grand-daughter?"
"Who could it be, Hugh, except Eve Clavering."
"Eve!" gasped Hugh. "Eve dying of the pest?"
"Nay, son: who said so? She is ill, not dying, who, I believe, will livefor many years."
"You believe, Father, you believe! Why this foul plague scarce sparesone in ten. Oh! why do you believe?"
"God teaches me to do so," answered the old knight solemnly. "I onlysent for that physician because he has medicines which I lack. But it isnot in him and his drugs that I put my trust. Come, let us go in and seeher."
So they went up the stairs and turned down a long passage, into whichthe light flowed dimly through large open casements.
"Who is that?" asked Hugh suddenly. "I thought that one brushed past me,though I could see nothing."
"Ay," broke in the lad David, who was following, "and I felt a cold windas though some one stirred the air."
Grey Dick also opened his lips to speak, then changed his mind and wassilent, but Sir Andrew said impatiently:
"I saw no one, therefore there was no one to see. Enter!" and he openedthe door.
Now they found themselves in a lighted room, beyond which lay anotherroom.
"Bide you here, Richard, with your companion," said Sir Andrew. "Hugh,follow me, and let us learn whether I have trusted to God in vain."
Then very gently he opened the door, and they passed in together,closing it behind them.
This is what Hugh saw. At the far end of the room was a bed, near towhich stood a lamp that showed, sitting up in the bed, a beautiful youngwoman, whose dark hair fell all about her. Her face was flushed but notwasted or made dreadful by the sickness, as happened to so many. Thereshe sat staring before her with her large dark eyes and a smile upon hersweet lips, like one that muses on happy things.
"See," whispered Sir Andrew, "she is awakened from her swoon. I think Idid not trust in vain, my son."
She caught the tones of his voice and spoke.
"Is that you, Father?" she asked dreamily. "Draw near, for I have such astrange story to tell you."
He obeyed, leaving Hugh in the shadow, and she went on:
"Just now I awoke from my sleep and saw a man standing by my bed."
"Yes, yes," Sir Andrew said, "the physician whom I sent for to see you."
"Do physicians in Avignon wear caps of red and yellow and robes of blackfur and strings of great black pearls that, to tell truth, I covetedsorely?" she asked, laughing a little. "No, no. If this were aphysician, he is of the sort that heals souls. Indeed, now that I thinkof it, when I asked him his name and business, he answered that thefirst was the Helper, and the second, to bring peace to those introuble."
"Well, daughter, and what else did the man say?" asked Sir Andrew,soothingly.
"You think I wander," she said, interpreting the tone of his voice andnot his words, "but indeed it is not so. Well, he said little; onlythat I had been very ill, near to death, in truth, much nearer than Ithought, but that now I should recover and within a day or two be quitewell and strong again. I asked him why he had c
ome to tell me this. Hereplied, because he thought that I should like to know that he had metone whom I loved in the city of Venice in Italy; one who was named Hughde Cressi. Yes, Father, he said Hugh de Cressi, who, with his squire, anarcher, had befriended him there--and that this Hugh was well and wouldremain so, and that soon I should see him again. Also he added that hehad met one whom I hated, who was named the lord of Cattrina, andthat if this Cattrina threatened me I should do wisely to fly back toEngland, since there I should find peace and safety. Then, suddenly,just before you came in, he was gone."
"You have strange dreams, Eve," said Sir Andrew, "yet there is truth intheir madness. Now be strong lest joy should kill you, as it has done bymany a one before."
Then he turned to the shadow behind him and said, "Come." Next instantHugh was kneeling at Eve's bedside and pressing his lips upon her hand.
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