There was still no sign of the ladies where they slept, so I shouted into the bushes.
‘Lady Livia! Lady Alice! How are you feeling?’
A thin voice called back.
‘We are not well this morning. I don’t think we’re going to be able to travel.’
‘Most of the men are the same. Find somewhere in the shade and rest. I will bring you fresh water as soon as I can.’
‘Alice is not good. She has a fever and a lot of pain in her belly.’
‘Try to get her into the shade. I will bring something to help.’
I joined Eadmer and the fit men and left two of them to guard the ladies. Eadmer took two men in search of a stream, while I took the rest to scour the countryside looking for remedies among the wild vegetation. Apart from me getting a nasty bite from one of those fat-arsed scorpions, we found what we needed without too much trouble. The pain from the sting was excruciating, but Eadmer helped me draw out the venom and after a couple of hours I was able to carry on, if a little incoherently. The limes were a bit lean, but there were plenty of them, and I found what looked like yarrow. It had red flowers, where I was used to seeing white or yellow, but it looked and tasted the same.
By late morning, we had replenished our water and I had mixed my remedy and distributed it to the men. Even so, some of them were in a bad way. So was Lady Alice.
‘Livia, give her this and take some yourself. How are you feeling?’
‘Better, but I’m worried about Alice.’
‘Make her drink. It’s important. I’ll be back in a while.’
When I returned to the men, I greeted the return of the two scouts we had sent out the previous afternoon. Eadmer’s face foretold bad news. I looked at the scouts.
‘Sir, you should come with us. We’ve been waiting for you about three miles ahead.’
‘What is it?’
‘You should come.’
I asked Eadmer to stay while I followed the scouts through a narrow track just off the beach. After a few miles they stopped and beckoned to me to turn right into a small clearing. What I then saw made me shudder in revulsion.
Sandro and his men were naked and had been hung upside down by their ankles, their heads no more than a foot off the ground. Their bodies were covered in flies and had started to decompose. Their faces were badly disfigured and their torsos covered in blood. Beneath them were large dark patches in the earth, the residue from hours of heavy bleeding. They had been castrated and emasculated. I looked at the scouts, one of whom was an Anatolian Christian.
‘Seljuks. It is a common punishment for any Christians they capture. They learned it from us. We do it to them; they do it to us. They use the whip and then they kick their victims’ faces like a pig’s bladder. They make it into a competition.’
‘How long ago?’
‘At least a week.’
‘Will they still be around?’
‘In the hills somewhere. They may have moved on, but they may have seen the smoke from the camp last night.’
‘How many?’
‘Thirty at least. They usually move around in large raiding parties.’
‘Cut them down. I will bring back some men. We don’t have tools to dig a proper grave, but a shallow resting place in the sand is better than this charnel house.’
By the following evening, when the full impact of our circumstances became clear, we had lost six men to what Eadmer was sure was the bloody flux, caught from the dirty water, and Lady Alice was close to her end. The rest of the men were recovering but were in no fit state to move. All the while, we were still at risk from attack by the Seljuks who had murdered Sandro and his men.
We were now just eighteen survivors from the great entourage that had left Venice. We were still in grave danger, and Livia was a long way from her destination. I needed a new plan.
Lady Alice died later that night. Livia was inconsolable and immediately said she did not want to go on to Antioch – yet another issue for me to wrestle with. I tried to help her, but she just wept and wept, uttering the odd semi-coherent sentence in between the tears. She spent the night curled in a ball at my feet, crying for at least an hour before she eventually fell asleep.
My only priority was the safety of Livia. Despite her pleas, my commission had come from her brother, the Doge. Therefore, my duty was to get her to Antioch. Our greatest threat was from the Seljuks lurking in the hinterland. I decided that we should make for the small village that had been Sandro’s destination. My only fear was that rather than it being a small fishing village, able to provide us with a boat to get to Kalonoros, it may be a nest of Seljuk Turks – a species with a bite far worse than the horned vipers of the undergrowth.
When Livia woke early the next morning, I told her that I planned to make for the fishing village to find a boat.
‘Thank you for staying with me last night.’
‘It was the least I could do. How are you feeling this morning?’
‘I have felt better … I just want to go home now, to Venice.’
I decided not to pursue the issue of which direction we would take when we got to Kalonoros.
‘Today we will bury the dead and after a few days’ recovery for the men, we will move on. When we do, I need to ask you to do something important.’
She looked very apprehensive.
‘I want you to crop your hair short, like a boy. I’m going to pass you off as a boy servant.’
To my surprise, she did not baulk in the slightest at my request.
‘I understand. It will grow again. I suppose you will be my master?’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so.’
‘Don’t be concerned. From now on, I will address you as “sir”.’
I was relieved that she had acquiesced so readily to the more eccentric details of my plan.
For the rest of the day, Livia stayed at Lady Alice’s graveside. When she came to the fire for food that evening, she had cropped her hair as tightly as a sharp blade would allow. She had dirtied her face like a street urchin, stuck a dagger in her belt and tried to adapt the elegant bearing of a lady to the ungainly gait of a young boy.
I had to smile.
‘Why are you laughing at me, sir?’
‘I’m not! I’m admiring you.’
‘You’re not supposed to admire me. I’m your servant boy, remember … sir?’
‘Quite so, sorry.’
She was playing a game with me, and I was enjoying it. Despite her new appearance, she was still a goddess and my urge to have her had not diminished in the slightest. I was sure she knew my feelings and was also enjoying the frisson of the game.
Four days later, we were on our way. I had told the men to treat Livia as a boy servant, stressing to them how imperative it was for her safety. As we walked, I thought about our good fortune in avoiding contact with the band that had killed Sandro and the marines. I then wondered whether the Seljuks had asked them where they had come from and why they were there. I realized that it was probable that Sandro and the others had been tortured in order to get them to talk. I would never know for sure, but I imagined we must all owe a great debt to Sandro and his brave marines.
When we reached the point where we thought the village was located, we turned to our right, through the trees, to find high ground so that we could put the surroundings under observation. After choosing a place where we could see the smoke from the settlement and a few boats in its small harbour, I sent Toste and Wulfric and two marines to make a thorough reconnaissance.
We waited for over two hours, but there was no sign of their return. I took Eadmer to one side.
‘What do you think?’
‘It’s not good. They are four good men, no noise, nothing. I suspect a trap.�
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‘So do I. Scratch “ddwyrain” in the ground.’
Eadmer looked puzzled.
‘It’s Celtic for “east”. Wulfric and Toste will understand it. The Seljuks will expect us to go north or south, and there’s no chance of them being able to read Celtic.’
‘Shouldn’t we try to find Wulfric and Toste?’
‘We can’t risk it. We must get Livia away. The boys can take care of themselves.’
‘I doubt it, with that lot of murdering bastards! Have you forgotten they’re our comrades?’
‘No! But we must get her away.’
‘Bugger that, you’re obsessed with that bloody girl. Our friends are more important than her.’
‘Eadmer, they’re professional soldiers. And so are you. We’re moving east, now! Let’s go.’
As usual, Eadmer had spoken his mind and then got on with it. I called to the other men and beckoned to them to move east, further up the hillside away from the beach. There was a small path, slightly overgrown, but manageable in single file. Livia came to stand by me, and I looked back to see Eadmer scratching our signal in the dirt.
‘Hal, I could hear you arguing with Eadmer. I couldn’t understand everything you were saying in English, but I think you were arguing over me.’
‘No, we were arguing about which direction to take.’
‘But you can’t leave your friends! Not for my sake.’
‘I can and I must –’
At that moment, two minutes of mayhem began. Arrows came cutting through the air, swords clashed and men shrieked and shouted. I looked up the path to see a melee of men fighting furiously. Eadmer had drawn his sword and was running towards us. I grabbed Livia and ran to meet him.
‘Go south, it’s a trap!’
We three ran and ran, until the sound of the ambush subsided. As soon as it did, we turned left and followed a path eastwards into the hills.
‘Let’s make for high ground – the higher the better.’
We ran for at least an hour, at which point Livia could run no more. The ground was getting steeper and Eadmer and I took it in turns to carry her over our shoulder. We climbed higher and higher. When the slope became too steep to run, Livia was able to walk.
We walked the rest of that day, until the coast became a distant ribbon of sand against the blue of the sea far below us. The air was much cooler now, and the trees started to disappear in exchange for barren crags and mountain meadows.
We made camp and gathered our thoughts. Eadmer was still brooding, as he had been all day.
‘Why have we come so high?’
‘I spoke to Andros, the Anatolian-born marine, about our position. We needed a reserve plan should it prove too difficult to reach Kalonoros, and he described the hinterland behind us. He also said that there could be more Seljuk bands further up the coast. We are heading into the Taurus Mountains. They rise thousands of feet, but there are several routes through them –’
Eadmer interrupted me.
‘You mean we’re leaving Wulfric and Toste and the others?’
‘Do you really think we have a choice?’
It was one of the most difficult decisions in my life – one that I thought about for many years afterwards – but Livia was my priority, and a soldier’s duty was what it was. Eadmer went quiet; he looked more disappointed than angry. It was Livia who asked the next question.
‘But where do the mountains lead us to? Anatolia is a huge place.’
‘Andros said that it was about sixty miles across this first range, but then there is a valley where we will find the main route from Iconium to Tarsus. He was certain that the road would be garrisoned and under Byzantine control, as would be the two cities. We will be able to find horses when we reach the road.’
‘So we’re going to walk the sixty miles across the mountains in the middle of summer?’
‘There’s no better time, it’s nice and cool up here.’
Livia looked at me as if I had lost my sense of reason. Perhaps she was right. Eadmer stirred himself and got to his feet.
‘Hal is right. There’ll be no Seljuks up here. If we stay high, we’ll be safe.’
Livia looked at Eadmer with the same expression of incredulity.
‘How long will it take?’
‘Five days, perhaps six. It depends how quickly you can walk, my Lady.’
Eadmer then set off at a fast pace, leaving Livia to stare after him.
‘You English are very strange. Only a minute ago, he wanted to go back.’
I just nodded and followed Eadmer.
A few moments later, Livia started to follow us.
It was unlikely we would ever see Wulfric and Toste or any of our Venetian comrades again. As we trudged across the rugged Anatolian landscape, I thought about the demise of our friends – two likely lads from Norwich, as honest as the day is long, meeting their end in a far off land. They had done their duty, and I had done mine. But their deaths were my responsibility, and my conscience would have to live with it for the rest of my life.
Andros had been very specific about a possible escape route: climb until you see a high limestone plateau, on the right of which will be a craggy peak, the Caga Tepesi. Keep it on your right, cross the plateau eastwards until you descend towards a valley where you will see a broad river below, the Göksu Nehri. Stay high, keeping the river on your left. Eventually you will come to Mut, a settlement above the valley where two broad rivers meet. There will be a Byzantine garrison there. There is also a ruined monastery at Alahan, which all the locals will know about, now the home to some famous mystics and hermits.
Andros was a good man and I had every confidence that his route was accurate and reliable. Besides which, it was the only viable option we had.
The following two days would prove to be a major challenge for Livia. Her life had been one of comfort and privilege, with every conceivable luxury to hand, lived within inches of the cool lapping waters of the Lagoon of Venice. Now she was high in the deserted Taurus Mountains, shorn of any feminine accoutrement, with a few berries and strips of dried meat to eat and only a meagre ration of water. She endured by sheer willpower, which was a great testament to her courage.
When we reached the top of the plateau, it was just as Andros had described it, a wide barren landscape with almost no shade. The winter’s snowfall had long since trickled away through the limestone; where occasional small pockets of water were to be found, they were green and brackish. We made most of our progress in the early morning and in the late afternoon. We walked slowly, resting in the middle of the day when the sun bounced off the white limestone like the blast from a blacksmith’s furnace. Little was said between us. Thankfully, Livia did not mention returning to Venice again, which was an issue I was relieved not to have to confront.
When we reached the eastern edge, late on the fourth day of our trek, we prepared to spend our last night on the plateau. The valley below was already in deep shadow, but we could see the murky green of acres of thick forest and the swirling shape of a wide river snaking its way along the valley bottom. By now we had run out of water and the last of our dried meat and berries had gone. Livia was looking quite frail, her lips were cracked and swollen, and her skin had lost its sheen. I wanted to make her well again. The first step was to get her down the valley to fresh water and food.
‘Fresh water by midday tomorrow,’ was Eadmer’s relieved comment.
Livia simply said, ‘And a cool bathe in fresh mountain water.’
The next day, we made good progress and reached a small stream in the middle of an open clearing amid the pine trees long before midday. I decided it was better to give Livia a chance to recover there before moving on to the unknown challenges of Mut.
We stayed for a week. In some ways it was idyllic. It seemed to be too high for snakes and scorpions, the game was plentiful and the water clean and refreshing. Livia would bathe in the stream in the heat of the day and then dry herself in the sun. I was so tempted to join her and relish the inevitable consequences.
Eadmer constantly goaded me to do so.
‘When are you going to take her and have done with it?’
‘I’d love to. But our duty is to deliver her to Roger of Salerno, at Antioch … and intact.’
‘Don’t let that stop you. You can still deliver her. Not quite as a virgin – but no one would know.’
‘She would. And besides, she would never allow –’
‘She’s desperate for you to forget about your “duty”. Why do you think she goes to the stream every day and then lies in the sun, naked?’
‘To get dry!’
It was difficult enough to keep my hands off Livia, even without Eadmer’s encouragement to act on my desires, so I moved away to spend some time alone. I chose a part of the stream further up the hillside, where I bathed in private and lay down to relax and close my eyes for a while. I fell soundly asleep. Sometime later, I woke with a jump. Livia was tugging my arm. I reached for my clothes.
‘I’ve hidden them!’
Livia was grinning at me like a naughty child. She was dressed, but only in her underwear, and her chemise was unbuttoned almost down to her waist. I covered myself with both hands and appealed to her.
‘Where are my clothes?’
‘I’ve told you … they’re hidden.’
I tried to ignore the playful tone in her voice.
‘Livia, this is not right.’
‘Don’t be cross. You never came to watch me bathe, so I came to watch you.’
She lay down on the grass beside me. I pulled up my legs to hide my manhood, trying to conceal the effect she was having on me.
‘How long have you been here?’
‘Long enough to see you get out of the water. You have a fine body, Hal.’
When she said my name, I struggled to maintain my self-control.
‘Oh God, Livia, behave yourself. I’m not made of stone!’
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