‘I have a few questions about this, Sir Roderick, but you’re paying me not to ask them, I suppose.’
‘I am.’ Roderick gave him another coin. Jonas nodded. ‘Five minutes, sir.’ He beckoned his stableboy and they stepped outside.
Roderick quickly laid the knights’ packs on the ground and then knelt and searched them. Sir William’s luggage consisted of underpants, vests, food, saucepans, a plate, cutlery, a bed mat, food and water. Sir Egmont carried the same, but with one addition: a small orange teddy bear. Of the Queen’s letter there was no sign. Roderick sighed. They must have it with them.
He jumped to his feet. Wherever it was, they wouldn’t take it into the bath. Roderick rushed outside and pushed two more coins into Jonas’s hand.
‘Thank you, Jonas. Have their bags taken up to their rooms and –’
‘I know. You never did nothing.’
‘Exactly.’
Roderick raced across the courtyard and into the castle to the bath chamber on the ground floor. He entered the large tiled room. Benches ran down two walls, while the other two contained doors to eight cubicles, each of which contained a bath. Two of the doors were shut, indicating the baths were occupied. On one of the benches sat two piles of clothes. Roderick had to be careful, as either knight could emerge at any moment, and servants came in regularly bearing fresh jugs of hot water.
He rifled quickly through their clothes, casting frequent glances back over his shoulder and listening hard for approaching footsteps. The first pile contained just a singlet and a big robe. Its owner – Sir Egmont, he guessed by the robe’s size – must have first gone up to his room to change out of his riding clothes.
Sir William’s pile, too, contained only a robe and singlet. Roderick cursed. The letters must be in a pocket of their clothes in their rooms.
Sir Egmont’s room key was sitting on top of his robe, which meant he would probably notice immediately if it wasn’t there when he got out of the bath.
He looked through Sir William’s pile again. His room key was in the pocket of his robe. If Roderick took it, William probably wouldn’t realise it was gone until he reached his room.
He heard Banfor’s words again. Be bold.
Roderick grabbed Sir William’s key and rushed out, nearly colliding with a servant carrying a jug of water. He climbed the spiral stone stairs briskly. As he passed the first floor he realised he didn’t know where Sir William’s room was. He examined the key but there was no number on it. He couldn’t ask anyone, because if he did end up finding and taking the Queen’s letter from William’s room, William would soon discover the theft and anyone who had been asking where his room was would be a suspect.
He heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and around the bend came one of the stableboys. Roderick smiled, and with renewed energy bounded up the stairs. The stableboy must have just delivered Egmont and William’s bags. All he had to do was look for the room with bags outside.
He checked the corridor on the second floor. No bags outside any door. Same on the third, fourth, and so on until he reached the eighth floor. There it was: a room with saddlebags outside. Roderick checked the corridor was empty, walked to the door and tried the key. It didn’t work. Rats! This must be Sir Egmont’s room. On the tenth floor he found another pile of bags outside a door. This time the key worked and he slipped inside the room, closing the door behind him. He hoped William liked long baths.
In a pile in the middle of the floor were the clothes William had been wearing. They smelt disgusting: of dirt, sweat and horse. Roderick sucked in a big breath and rifled through them.
The letter was in an inside pocket of William’s tunic. A moment later it was inside Roderick’s. He opened the door a crack, peeked out, and then quickly pulled it shut again. Someone was coming down the corridor. He prayed to no one in particular and everything in general that it wasn’t William. The footsteps came to the door. And passed! He heard a key turn in another door, and then a creak as it opened and shut.
Roderick eased the door open again. This time the corridor was empty. He slipped out and locked the door behind him. In the stairwell he stepped softly and listened hard. If he ran into Sir William now, it would be awkward. When he was between the eighth and ninth floors he heard footsteps. He turned and retreated back up to the ninth floor and scuttled down the corridor. The footsteps got louder, and then softer again as the person continued climbing.
Roderick hurried back to the stairs and ascended a few until he was able to glimpse a pair of bare feet and the bottom of a white robe. It was William. Roderick took William’s key out of his pocket and placed it on a stair, and then turned and headed for his room. When Sir William got to his room and discovered his key was missing, he would retrace his steps, find it on the stairs and hopefully think it had fallen out of his pocket.
Roderick sat on his couch staring at the letter. To read it he had to break the Queen’s seal, and that was treason, a crime punishable by imprisonment, or even death. He turned the letter over and over, and then looked at the fireplace. He could just burn it and no one would ever know he had stolen it.
And his curiosity would drive him crazy.
He took a deep breath and cracked the seal. Inside was a single sheet of parchment, one side covered in perfect handwriting. The words were surely identical to those on the letter that Roderick had given Banfor, which had convinced him to return to Palandan.
To the most esteemed Sir Ganfree Banfor, greetings. Please forgive the intrusion of the knight bearing my message. He is but my servant and any displeasure you feel towards him should rightly be directed towards me. I have been forced to take this action by an unfortunate series of events that I hope to soon be able to explain fully to you in person.
I must convey to you the unfortunate news that our Lady Sonya may be in considerable danger. I believe your special skills could greatly assist in securing her safety.
I hope this will prompt your speedy return to a place you were once very familiar with. My knight would be pleased to escort you to Palandan as speedily and in as much comfort as is possible.
I hope to see you very soon, Sir Ganfree.
Her Majesty,
Queen Emily
Roderick sat back, his head spinning so fast he thought it might take off. Was the ‘Sonya’ referred to his sister, or another Sonya? Surely it must be his sister, but since when was she ‘our Lady Sonya’?
Could there possibly be some connection between the disappearance of his sister and the search for Banfor? Sonya had gone missing the day before Roderick and the other knights had left to search for Banfor. The letter he had just read had been slipped under each of the knights’ doors the evening before they left. That is, the evening of the day upon which Sonya had disappeared. But how would the Queen have found out Sonya had disappeared so quickly? More importantly, why would she – or Banfor, for that matter – care so much about the disappearance of an ordinary peasant girl, even if she was the sister of one of her knights? And why would the Queen think that Banfor could help?
And why would a reference to ‘Lady Sonya’ being ‘in some considerable danger’ cause Banfor to decide to return to Palandan when he clearly did not want to leave the mountains? Why would he care so much about her?
And why did the Queen’s letter say nothing about the threat Baronia was facing from the Nareeans? Wasn’t that the reason she had sent them to search for him?
After sitting and thinking awhile, Roderick knew what he had to do next: tell the Queen that he had discovered that Sonya had been abducted by Fromley, acting on the orders of Sir Lilley. That was the best way to help his sister, and it was his duty as a knight. He would go and find her immediately.
He walked to the door, and then stopped. He couldn’t just walk into the Queen’s throne room. Access was tightly controlled by Drouk. And Drouk worked for Sir Lilley. What if Roderick told Drouk w
hy he wanted to see the Queen, and Drouk was in on Sir Lilley’s plan?
That wouldn’t be good.
He remembered that the parade to honour himself and Banfor would be held the next morning. Surely he would be near the Queen then. He would wait for the parade, and look for an opportunity to speak privately with her.
He folded the letter and tucked it in an inside pocket of his tunic, and then thought about it all some more until he was even more thoroughly confused. Eventually, the bell rang and he headed down to dinner. Afterwards, he went straight to bed. He had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be a big day.
CHAPTER 16
THE PARADE
The next morning Roderick put a ceremonial robe over his tunic and made his way to the stables. He mounted Fruitcake and walked him out into the courtyard where the other knights were assembling. Roderick had ridden in several parades before, but always near the back. He still could not quite believe that today it would be he, along with Banfor, who was being honoured. As he moved past more experienced, skilful and senior knights to take his place at the head of the column the confusion that had enveloped him over the last few days receded, and he felt a burst of pride.
They would ride two laps of the giant town square and then he would take his place on a stage that had been erected near the town gates.
I’d better not do anything silly, he thought anxiously.
Banfor and the Queen arrived, surrounded by a group of guards. The Queen looked magnificent on her white horse. She wore a flowing purple robe over a sparkling silver tunic, and her long golden hair cascaded behind her. Banfor had on a plain green tunic and ahead of him strode Chester, who came over to Roderick.
‘What a kerfuffle this is! Horses, knights, people who aren’t knights and even a bear. Me, of course! The only bear in the parade! Of course we are not parading yet. We are standing still, waiting to parade and talking to each other. Or at least I am talking to you but when I finish you will probably talk back and that will mean that we will be talking to each other. And then soon we will parade and I will be the only bear parading, just as now I am the only bear waiting to parade!’
‘Hello, Chester,’ said Roderick with a smile.
The Queen had pulled in next to Roderick, with Banfor beside her.
‘Your Majesty,’ Roderick said nervously. He twisted sideways in the saddle to face her and bowed low. Too low. He overbalanced and started to slide off his saddle. Instinctively, he threw out a hand to steady himself. It landed on the Queen’s knee. Six guards instantly sprang alert and raised swords. No one was allowed to touch the Queen! Roderick quickly pulled his hand away, which meant he resumed falling, collapsing with a thud onto the cobblestones between Fruitcake and the Queen’s horse.
Guards and knights stifled laughs.
Paws lifted him up. ‘Bears are not good at bowing, Roderick,’ said Chester solemnly. ‘Bears never bow, in fact. But if we did bow, we would try very hard not to bow like that.’
Roderick’s face was burning as he scrambled back onto Fruitcake.
‘Roderick,’ said the Queen kindly. ‘A bad start, yes? But you had a bad start as a knight, too, and now you have proven that you are a great knight. Come. Let us begin.’
She raised her arm high and walked her horse forward, a mounted guard on either side. Roderick fell in step behind her. Next to him were two guards and next to them Banfor and Chester. The castle gates swung open and a great cheering began. Crowds had crammed into the square. People pressed forward, trying to get as close as they could to the heavily guarded and cordoned-off track that encircled the square. So many people! So much noise! It was overwhelming. Roderick started to panic.
A voice spoke inside his head. They’re cheering for you.
It was Banfor. Roderick looked across at him. The old man met his glance and gave him the smallest of smiles. Roderick heard his voice inside his head again. Try to enjoy it.
Roderick nodded. Feeling a bit calmer he tapped Fruitcake lightly with his heels and they walked through the gates. The cheering was deafening. Streamers rained. Whatever progress CAKE had made, an old-fashioned parade to honour a hero still got people excited. As the waving and smiling knights walked their horses slowly around the square, Roderick finally felt a part of the group he had been so unwillingly drafted into. Today he belonged. He deserved to be a knight.
By the time he was halfway around the square, Roderick wanted the parade to last forever. As they rounded the final bend and headed back past the castle gates, he heard boos and jeering coming from one part of the crowd. It was a group of forty or fifty mainly young men and women on the inside of the track. CAKE. Several held banners with slogans such as ‘Knights Feast While We Starve’, ‘Goodnight Knights’, ‘Our Taxes Fatten Your Bellies’, and ‘Abolish Knights For A Fairer Baronia’.
The demonstration was loud but peaceful. As the Queen trotted past she looked straight at the group and smiled delightfully, and the jeering and booing seemed to quieten. One man even lowered his banner.
On the second lap Roderick was able to ease Fruitcake over to Banfor’s side. He had to shout to be heard above the crowd. ‘Thanks for calming me down back there.’
Banfor nodded and Roderick was suddenly at a loss for words.
‘How do you like Palandan?’ he asked lamely.
‘It is much as I expected,’ said Banfor.
‘Are you missing your home?’
The old man smiled thinly. ‘I miss fishing. But Chester is very excited by it all. Everyone knows he can talk now, and he likes all the attention.’
The bear was ahead of them, waving and strutting along proudly, pushing his chest out as if the whole parade was for him.
Roderick realised what he had to ask Banfor.
‘Um . . .’ he began. There was no way to ease into it. ‘Do you know my sister Sonya? I mean, have you met her?’
Banfor’s head snapped around like a door slamming shut in the wind (except much quieter). He stared at Roderick.
‘Is that a yes?’ asked Roderick.
There was a long pause. Eventually Banfor spoke sadly. ‘No. I do not.’
‘But why did you react like that when I mentioned her name? I read the Queen’s letter.’ The words tumbled out. ‘It was about Sonya. That’s what changed your mind and made you decide to come back. Is that my sister?’
Banfor looked long and hard at Roderick. ‘I am doing what I can to help. What I think is best. That is all I can tell you. I’m sorry.’
‘But that’s not telling me anything. Why did –’
Banfor spoke sternly. ‘That is all I can tell you.’ He looked around, then leant in. ‘You have made progress, but you must keep going! Keep thinking. Keep being brave. Question everything. And everyone. Even those you trust.’
Roderick stared at him. He opened his mouth, but before anything could emerge there was a whoosh! and the guard directly in front of him screamed terribly and fell from his horse. The reason he had behaved in such an unprofessional manner was obvious. An arrow was sticking out of his neck.
The crowd’s cheers turned to screams. Horses bucked and neighed. The guard had been one of the two on either side of the Queen. There was a second whoosh and the other guard fell from his horse, an arrow in his back. Panic broke out. People screamed, tried to run in all directions. The Queen turned her horse and urged it back past Roderick towards the castle. As she did, another arrow whistled past her. Knights shouted orders that nobody obeyed. Chester appeared, grabbed the reins of Banfor’s and Roderick’s horses, and growled furiously. He put the reins between his teeth, dropped to all fours and ran towards the castle. Even in their panic, people had sense enough to get out of the way of a bear, and a pathway opened in front of them. Soon they were inside the gates, where they stopped.
‘A bear such as me,’ panted Chester, ‘might be clever enough to be able to talk with w
ords. But sometimes a clever bear has to know when it is best to just be a bear.’
The Queen was nearby, surrounded by nervous-looking knights. She seemed calm. ‘Come,’ she said, ‘we must go to the tower balcony. The people must see I am unharmed.’ She strode towards the main tower, followed by about a dozen knights. Roderick looked at Banfor, who sighed, then dismounted and followed. With a steadily increasing amount of huffing and puffing they finally reached the main castle balcony on the fourth floor, which overlooked the town square.
Below them the panic continued. Thousands of people were trying to get out of the open by squeezing into the alleys that led off the square. There were bottlenecks of hundreds of people around each alley, and those in the middle were getting crushed. Every second, more people added to the pressure. The huge city gates, which could have quickly released the tide of people, had been closed for the parade and no one had thought to open them.
‘I need their attention. The gong,’ said the Queen.
Sir Malarf ran to the giant gong at the end of the balcony and struck it hard three times, but there was too much noise below for it to be heard. The Queen’s eyes found Banfor’s and she looked long and hard at him, asking something unsaid.
A look of distaste flickered across Banfor’s face; then it was gone. He made his way to the Queen’s side. Together they stared out into the crowd, and then both shut their eyes.
Roderick felt a great wave of calm wash through him. He started to smile, not knowing why. Everything seemed just fine. He looked around at the other knights on the balcony. They were clearly feeling it as well.
Down in the square the panic was subsiding. People stepped back from the edge of the bottlenecks. The crush un-crushed. Some people even sat down. The Queen motioned towards the gong and its deep bass note rang out three more times.
The Adventures of Sir Roderick, the Not-Very Brave Page 16