At Serlo’s signal, the villeins came together late in the afternoon to eat their dinner. Janna realized their steps had taken them close to the path again as she watched the villeins settle deep in the shade on either side of it, and unstopper leather bottles of ale to slake their thirst. She swallowed hard, trying to bring some moisture into her mouth. They must be moving back toward the manor; she could hear the faint sounds of the bell tolling mournfully through the silent forest once more.
Serlo turned to Janna and Godric. “You will continue the search. The rest of you can follow this track home after you’ve eaten your dinner.”
“What’s he playing at?” Janna whispered. Godric shrugged, and produced his own leather bottle, which he offered to her. She took it gratefully, and swallowed several mouthfuls of ale. It was warm from the heat of the day, and tasted somewhat of leather, but it ran down her dry throat like liquid gold.
“Thank you.” She handed back the bottle, and accepted a piece of bread and cheese from Godric. “You’re saving my life.”
“Again.” His smile took the sting from the word. With a weary sigh, Janna sat down, her back propped against a tree. Godric collapsed beside her, and they sipped and chewed together in companionable silence for a time. Looking around, Janna read the despair on everyone’s faces. They’ve given up hope of finding Hamo alive, she thought, and Serlo knows it. Her suspicions were confirmed when Serlo dismissed the rest of the search party.
“You two come with me.” He beckoned them up to follow him.
It was the trap Janna had suspected, the trap that could only lead to death. But she was the one Serlo wanted, not Godric. His life would not be in danger if he accompanied the reeve.
“Distract him while I double back to his cottage and look for Hamo,” she hissed.
“It’s you he’s interested in, not me, so he won’t go anywhere unless you’re there too.” Godric grasped her arm and hauled her along with him after the reeve. “If Hamo is hidden somewhere in the forest, you can protect him while I take care of Serlo. We can search the cottage later.”
Janna saw the wisdom of Godric’s reasoning and stopped resisting him. In single file, they tramped after Serlo, moving from light to deep shadow, and never in a straight line. “Did he do it? Did he do it?” a song thrush called, answering its own question: “Come out! Come out!” There was a rustle and flutter of wings as it flew off.
Serlo stopped for a moment to check on their progress, then began to push his way through the forest once more.
“I wonder where he thinks he’s going?” Godric stopped and looked at Janna. Janna wondered if either of them knew, for she herself was lost, and had been lost for most of the day. “We’ve already been this way once before. He’s taking us where we’ve already searched.”
“He obviously doesn’t realize you know the forest better than he does!”
Godric shrugged, and set off after Serlo once more, keeping a careful lookout for any signs of Hamo. Janna marveled at how silently he walked.
“Argh!” She gave a muffled scream as a sticky spider web suddenly wrapped around her face. Frantically, she clawed it off, sure that she could feel the tickle of spider legs across her scalp, down her neck, against her skin inside her smock. She beat at herself with both hands, hoping to squash the insect dead. Distracted by the spider, not looking where she was going, her foot sank into a hole, wrenching her ankle. She stifled a cry, but tears came into her eyes with the pain of it. She limped toward Godric, who was waiting for her. Serlo had vanished. “It’s as I thought,” Godric said, as she came up to him. “Serlo’s been leading us around in circles, and now he thinks we’re lost. He’s done it on purpose.”
“What about Hamo? Where is he?”
“Nowhere Serlo’s been leading us, that’s for sure.”
“Could Serlo have hidden him in his cottage after all?”
Godric lifted his shoulders and spread his hands in a helpless gesture.
“We must find Hamo. We must!” Janna was frantic. “Let’s go back and look, Godric. Quickly, while Serlo is still in the forest.” A horrible thought stopped her. “Do you know where we are? Can you find your way out of here?”
To her great relief, Godric nodded. “Let’s play Serlo at his own game first and buy us some time. Follow me, Janna, close as you can, and walk quietly.”
To Janna’s immense surprise Godric cut away at an angle from where they’d come, and silently began to make his way through a grove of trees. At once, she went after him, hoping he knew where he was going. Without warning, he jumped onto a fallen branch. The sudden crack sent her heart leaping in fear. She frowned, bewildered by his antics. “What—?” He pressed his finger against her lips. They waited a few moments. Nothing happened. Janna listened intently, but she couldn’t hear anything, nor was there any sign of the reeve. Godric picked up the fallen branch and hit it against a tree. The dull thud echoed through the forest.
“Janna! Over here,” he called. “Look what I’ve found! I doubt Master Serlo will be able to explain this away.” Again, he cautioned her to silence. Above their heads, birds began to twitter and sing, serenading the closing of the day. But Janna knew Godric wasn’t listening for birds. She strained her ears to hear if his ruse had worked, and became aware of a furtive rustling. Animal or human? Evidently Godric knew the difference for he grabbed her hand and swept her around a patch of holly, then pushed through a thicket of hazel, snapping twigs and swishing branches as he passed. He was making more noise than a charging boar. Putting his finger to his lips once more, he stopped and looked behind, waiting. This time Janna could hear the faint rustle of Serlo’s boots on dry leaves. Satisfied that he’d taken the bait, Godric drew Janna off in a different direction, cutting silently through a long stand of tall beeches and oaks then scooting across a patch of open grassland. He gave another raucous call.
“Follow me, Janna! I think I know where to find Serlo.” Janna had worked out by now what he was up to, and she grinned up at him. She couldn’t see the reeve, but she could hear him. He was still coming their way. Godric set off again, this time moving deep into a grove of yew, an impenetrable maze of knitted branches and leaves. “Call my name,” he whispered, and Janna did. The note of desperation in her voice wasn’t all pretence. She was terrified, as much for Hamo’s sake as their own, by this deadly game of hide and seek in the forest. Serlo knew, now, that they were on to him, and that they would betray him if they could. He couldn’t afford to let them leave the forest alive.
“Call again,” Godric prompted, and Janna obeyed. She listened, heart thumping and nerves quivering at the thought of what might happen. There was a smothered cough, and a faint rustling that told them Serlo was coming closer.
Godric nodded his head, satisfied. “Come,” he whispered. “Quiet as you can.” He took her hand and led the way, slipping silently through the dense growth. Once out of the copse, he kept on moving in a straight line through trees and weedy clearings, picking up speed all the way. To Janna’s amazement, they emerged from the forest almost directly in line with Serlo’s cottage.
“Hurry!” Godric urged, and began to race down to the water meadows. But Janna had noticed the shed where she and Edwin had once sheltered. If it came to defending themselves against the reeve, a weapon would be handy. She hurried inside to retrieve the sword, relieved to find it still in its hiding place. Ignoring the dull ache of her wrenched ankle, she sped after Godric, following him down through the water meadows and across the river. But the door of the reeve’s cottage was barred against them.
“The devil take him,” Janna cursed, although this confirmed their suspicion that Serlo had something to hide. “Hamo!” she called, and beat on the door with her fist. “Are you in there?”
Silence. Godric peered through a shuttered window, trying to see inside. “Hamo!” he bellowed, not caring now who might see or hear them. “Hamo!” They both stopped and listened.
Nothing moved. There was no sound in answer to their
calls. Janna knew a bleak despair. If Hamo was in there, he had been silenced—perhaps permanently. Godric pulled out his hunting knife. Large and very sharp, it was the knife he used for protection when walking through the forest. Not caring about the noise he was making or the damage to Serlo’s property, he hacked into a wooden shutter, tearing and splintering it. Wordlessly, Janna handed him the sword. At once he sliced through the shutter, making a large enough space for Janna to crawl through. She put her foot into Godric’s cupped hands and launched herself through and into the cottage.
“Hamo!” she yelled, as she hit the ground. She rolled over and sprang to her feet. In spite of the heat, a fire smoldered in the hearth, and Janna waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. There was no sign of anyone. She went to the door and unbarred it. She shook her head in answer to Godric’s unspoken question, and stepped aside to let him enter. Together they unlatched the remaining shutters to let in the light before beginning a systematic search.
Janna’s gaze fell on two wooden trenchers lying on the table, ready for food to be placed on them for the evening meal. Two trenchers? Janna felt a sudden surge of hope. “Hamo?” she yelled. “It’s Janna and Godric. There’s nothing to be afraid of, we’re here to help you.” She listened intently, felt her heart double thump as she heard a noise, but then realized it was the faint yapping of a barking dog.
“Hamo’s here somewhere, I’m sure of it,” she told Godric, “and he’s alive! Look!” She pointed at the second trencher.
“So where is Serlo keeping him?” With renewed vigor, they burrowed into unlocked chests and investigated cupboards, and even checked under the covers and frame of a finely carved wooden bed hidden behind soft drapes in a small alcove off the main room. With increasing desperation, they searched even those places too small to hide a little boy, just in case there was some clue to Hamo’s whereabouts, anything at all.
The sound of barking grew louder. A dog was coming this way. Bones? There was a furious scratching at the door, accompanied by a series of short, sharp yips. Desperate to stop the noise before it attracted anyone’s attention, Janna hurried to open it. Bones shot in. Janna could swear that the dog was surprised to see her. He wagged his tail but kept on moving, sniffing at the ground until he stopped and sat as if keeping guard. The floor of beaten earth was covered with rushes. By the look of them, they’d been down for some time and needed changing. Janna frowned and looked more closely. The rushes near Bones seemed unevenly distributed, as if they’d been recently disturbed. Bones was still barking, but not so ferociously now. He looked up at Janna with bright eyes. Janna thought he was trying to tell her something.
“You were here before, weren’t you, Bones?” she said softly. “Where is Hamo? Do you know?” The dog whined, and scratched at the rushes, scattering them. Janna looked at Godric. “I think there’s something buried down there.” She felt sick as an image of Hamo’s small body interred in the earth came into her mind. “Careful!” She flung out a hand as Godric’s knife flashed out and he knelt to dig. “You don’t know what’s down there,” she breathed.
Janna knelt beside him and they began to dig into the soft earth with their bare hands. The earth shifted easily, testament to the fact that it was the gateway to something below. With a feeling of dread, Janna plunged her hands deeper into the soil. Her fingers jabbed against something hard. She began to throw handfuls of earth to one side, fearing what she might uncover. A small wooden panel came into view. Janna frowned at it. “Why would anyone want to bury this?” She lifted it, and the answer was instantly revealed in the dark hole beneath.
“It’s a trapdoor.” Godric crawled forward and peered down the hole. “Hamo?” he called softly.
Janna listened intently. She thought she could hear something, but even as she strained to identify the sound, it ceased. She must have imagined it.”I guess this must be a storeroom?” She squashed next to Godric and they both peered down into the darkness.
“I’ll go and have a look,” he offered.
“No, I’ll go.” Janna looked about the room for something to light her way. Her eyes widened as she noticed a fat beeswax candle rather than the rush light she would have expected to find. A fine bed. A beeswax candle. Serlo must be saving them to impress Gytha—if only he could lure her to his cottage as he must have lured Hamo.
The thought stiffened her resolution to find the missing child. “Can you light that candle so I can see what’s down here?” she asked Godric.
He shook his head. “Let me go. You don’t know what you might find.”
An image of Hamo’s dead body came into Janna’s mind. No! She would not, could not think the worst. “Hamo might think you’re Serlo,” she said, her voice wobbling slightly with the effort to be brave. “He’ll be much less frightened if he sees me.”
Godric gave a reluctant nod. As he stood up to light the candle from the fire in the hearth, Bones pushed in front of Janna and jumped down the hole. He started barking once more, short furious yips that echoed the urgency they all shared. Wasting no more time, Janna grabbed the candle from Godric, picked up the sword and dropped down after the dog, ducking her head under the low ceiling.
A thin shaft of light shone down through the trapdoor. The rest of the cellar was in darkness. The air was stale and smelt of damp earth. Janna held the candle out so that its light could be shed more widely. A quick glance confirmed the cellar’s purpose. It was crammed with barrels and chests and newly combed fleeces, the latter piled high and ready for market. Truly this was a treasure trove, and not all gained by the honest toil of Serlo’s hands either—Janna was willing to stake her life on it. How long had he been planning to take over the manor, deceiving Hugh and amassing wealth at his lord’s expense so that, when the time was right, he would be in a position to make a worthy offer to the dame for the property?
Banishing Serlo’s dishonesty from her thoughts, for there would be time enough for Hugh to take revenge on his trusted reeve, Janna looked about for Bones. She could hear him barking still, but the dog seemed to have disappeared.
“Janna,” Godric’s anxious voice called out. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, but there’s no sign of Hamo. Come down and help me look.” Janna dripped a little hot wax onto one of the barrels, and secured the candle to it. With the small light to see by, she and Godric began a thorough search of the cellar. Almost the first things she found were the silver goblets and the length of woolen cloth supposedly stolen from the undercroft. “Look!” She snatched them up with a cry of triumph, pleased that she would be able to prove her innocence beyond question now.
Everything else was sealed tight. From their weight, Janna knew that the chests and barrels were not empty. She also knew that if Hamo was concealed in one of them, he must surely be dead, for there would be no air inside to sustain him. Despairing, she thumped hard on their sides, calling Hamo’s name. She didn’t think he’d be able to hear her above the cacophony of barking, but even that might comfort Hamo, if he was alive to hear it. Where was the boy? And where was Bones?
She listened for the direction of the dog’s frantic barking, then followed the sound toward a row of barrels shoved against the earthen wall at the far side of the cellar. The barks came from behind them. Janna realized that there was a narrow gap between the barrels and the wall. She hoisted herself half up onto one of them in order to peer over and down into the gap between—and drew in a painful breath, and then another. The dog was wedged there, standing guard over a small, still body.
“Hamo!” Janna’s cry echoed through the low chamber as she shoved at the heavy barrel barring her way, leaning all her weight against it so that she could get to the boy. Godric rushed to help her and, as soon as there was enough space, Janna darted in and crouched down. Hamo lay unmoving, but his eyes, wide and staring, gleamed in the faint light from the candle. Janna put her hand on his forehead, dreading to feel the chillness of death against her fingers. But his skin felt warm, although h
e did not move. “Are you all right?” He did not answer her frantic question. Then she saw why: Hamo’s feet and hands were tightly bound, and so was his mouth.
A great fury shook Janna. “He’s alive!” she shouted, as she crouched down beside the child and, with shaking hands, unfastened the gag that covered his mouth.
Hamo moistened his lips with his tongue. “Are you Janna?” he whispered.
“Yes, I am.” Janna swallowed over a huge lump that had somehow got wedged in her throat. Godric shoved her aside. He whipped out his knife and slashed through Hamo’s bonds. Janna reached out to take him in her arms. The child shrank back, moving as far from Janna as he could go. He cowered against a barrel. Bones began to lick Hamo’s face. Hamo pushed him away.
Janna knew rage and a grief beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Serlo had done this. He’d destroyed Hamo’s open, trusting nature. He had stolen his innocence.
“It’s all right, Hamo.” Janna kept her hand outstretched, but made no further effort to touch him. “You’re safe now. Master Serlo can’t harm you anymore.”
“We have to get out of here,” Godric said urgently.
“Just wait a few moments.” Janna inched closer to Hamo, willing him to take her hand.
“I’ll go for help.” Godric stood up. “I’ll let my lord Hugh know that Hamo is safe. I’ll tell his mother too. And I’ll suggest the lord brings men-at-arms with him when he comes.”
“No, don’t go.” Janna tugged on his tunic to stop him leaving. “If Serlo comes back, we’ll need you to defend us. But we can’t go just yet. Hamo’s too weak and stiff to walk after being tied up for so long. Just give him a little more time to recover.”
Godric nodded. He squatted down beside Janna, and gave Hamo an awkward pat on the shoulder. The boy gulped, and pressed himself harder against the barrel. Godric cast a helpless glance at Janna.
“Bones found you,” she said, with determined cheerfulness. “Do you know, he kept on barking and barking at Serlo. He knew what the reeve had done. And he came straight here as soon as he managed to escape. He showed us where to dig to find this cellar. He’s a smart dog, is Bones.”
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