The Shield

by CJ Bentley

  “My Lady, we are to go back to the monastery, his Highness feels we will be safer there. He is to travel south tonight and is making arrangements accordingly.” Sir Kay spoke into my ear very quietly. “I have told his majesty about our suspicions and he has launched a plan to find out if there is anybody here who should not be, hence all of the guards.”

  “I do need to tell you something, Sir Kay. I have a suspicion that the Prince and I were being watched in this room when we thought we were alone.” I hoped I was wrong. “I am to wait for his highness here but if there is somebody who is a usurper in this room then it may be the person who has the real Lady Eleanor as captive.” Sir Kay listened attentively to me but all the time he was scanning the dark areas of the room with his eyes.

  He started to move towards a wall hanging that seemed to be blowing a little, which was strange as there was only one window in the room and it was not open. Sir Kay lifted the corner of the hanging and behind it was a door, slightly ajar. He looked at me and we both decided to investigate and disappeared through the doorway together. The corridor was dark, unlit with torches. We felt our way in the darkness until we came to another door in the wall. We opened it and slid along the wall and into a room. There was very little light, as again no window, but we could make out, as our eyes became accustomed to the dark, another doorway at the end of the room, which was sparsely furnished with a table and chair. We opened the door to this next room and found ourselves in a pantry. All manner of foodstuffs were hanging on the walls and on a large wooden table in the centre of the room beyond was the kitchen, with cooks, kitchen staff and fire boys milling around preparing food for the meal later in the day. They didn’t seem to be at all surprised to see a nobleman in a cloak and a young Lady in a blue wool gown standing amongst them. Most were so intent on what they were doing, they just gave us a quick glance and then continued with their work.

  “Hmmm, I wonder who uses this passageway then.” Sir Kay was putting my thoughts into words. “Let’s go back the normal route and keep quiet about all of this, my Lady.” Absolutely fine with me, I thought to myself. I had caught a whiff of something in the passageway which triggered a memory from the past, but I couldn’t place it. It will come back to me, I thought, as I followed Sir Kay out of the kitchen, through the main corridor and back into the main hall where the Prince was talking with his father.

  “Eleanor.” He called my name as I approached the hall full of people and they all turned to look at me with my gallant knight by my side. “Where have you been? I missed you.” I walked towards him past rows of staring eyes, all the time thinking that the person Sir Kay suspected could be one of them, and he now knew that Eleanor was here and not in the hiding place as he thought.

  My eyes were searching as I walked, looking for signs of surprise. I couldn’t spot anything untoward from anybody. I hoped Sir Kay was having better luck than me. The Prince caught hold of my arm as I approached and drew me to his side.

  “My father is taking his leave, Eleanor, he has urgent business to attend to in London and then he may have to travel to France. I will be left to attend to matters in his absence.” Edward spoke in a hushed voice. “The French are planning an invasion and he needs to put into place a counter plan to outwit them.”

  What a time this was, a ten year old helping to recover a kidnapped girl had nothing on a ten year old being in charge of the whole country whilst his father was absent. Strange times indeed.

  “Edward, Sir Kay and I have discovered a passageway behind the tapestry on that wall, it leads to a room and then to a food storeroom, before you eventually come to the kitchen.” I passed on the information we had discovered to the Prince. “Sir Kay and I think that if you and I were overheard, the person was hiding behind the wall covering and then escaped via the kitchen. Do you know who would use such a passageway, who could know about it?” I asked him while not taking my eyes from a stranger wearing a bright red cloak who had just walked into the room. A bright red cloak triggered a memory.

  “Who is that man?” I enquired. “Do you know him, Edward?” I couldn’t take my eyes from the stranger who swaggered into the room as if he owned it.

  “That is the Baron De Quercy,” whispered Edward. “He is the new steward to the castle and I am not sure I like the look of him.”

  “Well, I can tell you, Edward, I don’t like him, not one bit. He is the man who pushed me from my pony the other day when we came to York, I can still feel the bruises,” I announced in as quiet a whisper I could manage, when really I wanted to shout out about what happened.

  I looked closely at the stranger. He was stocky of build and with long dark hair and a full beard. His face was flushed and I noticed the smile on it didn’t reach his dark eyes, which were very close together either side of a rather long bulbous nose.

  Sir Kay came to my side as he saw the look on my face. “Methinks the fly is entering the web, my Lady, we may not have to wait long before he shows his worth.”

  I looked at the Baron, who stared back at me. He took a step back, not a big one but I noticed it and so did Sir Kay and the Prince; but we carried on our conversation, all the while watching the Baron to see what his next move would be. We didn’t have to wait long, as he came over to us and bowed low.

  “My Lady Eleanor, how are you liking staying here in York, enjoying the companionship of your friend again?” He spoke to me in French while keeping his eyes on the Prince.

  “Baron, the Lady Eleanor and I have business to discuss, you may be dismissed.” Edward at his most high and mighty gave the Baron a flick of his wrist to dismiss him. I watched the Baron’s face change from a smile into a snarl in a nano-second. He bowed to me, to the Prince and with a slight murmur of, “Sir Kay,” he was gone within a swirl of red.

  I looked at my friends. They were looking at each other with a knowing look. Sir Kay spoke first.

  “We have suspicions, your Majesty, but we need to prove them, we need to follow him to find out where he is going. I will do this but if for some reason I don’t return then you will need to look after the Lady Eleanor for me.”

  “Sir Kay, I have told Edward everything, he knows all and we are coming with you, it is too dangerous to go it alone.” With that we three left the room, Edward giving a few words to his father before joining us. We followed the Baron down the corridor and out into the courtyard. He was mounting his horse as we were entering the courtyard, and we hastily cast our eyes round for available horses. Two grooms were holding the heads of two ready saddled mounts; without thinking, Sir Kay mounted one and Edward the other, then he bent down and took my hand and I was drawn up onto the saddle behind Edward. All of this happened so quickly and with the Baron riding out of the gates and onto the drawbridge and away, we hastily followed him, but he had a few minutes’ gain on us and we saw him disappear into the crowds towards the centre of the city.

  Chapter 8

  We followed, hoping we were going the right way, not knowing where we would end up. Edward was in the lead, but my eyes were sharp and I kept seeing the flash of a red cloak and called out to Edward which way to go. We were soon in a part of the city not known to us. The cobbled streets gave way to rutted mud and riders had to slow down, to be aware of the horses slipping on the wet mud. I saw the red cloak disappear around a corner and then it went out of sight altogether. We slowed our horses and noticed a gateway which was closing as we approached. Sir Kay came to us and we looked and made a note of where the house was. It was easy to make a note, as the house was close to the Minster within the city walls but far enough away from the main market areas. It was built of stone so must belong to a wealthy merchant, or somebody of standing in the city.

  Sir Kay dismounted and gathered large stones from the side of the rough path and made a circle of them just out of sight of the gate.

  We now thought we knew where Eleanor was being held, and by whom. We made our way back to the castle and rode up the drawbridge and into the courtyard to find the King
waiting for us.

  “Edward, where have you been? You said two minutes and I am waiting to take my leave of you only to find you had taken my horse. What is Eleanor doing riding behind you? She could have fallen and this horse is not a pony, she could have been really badly injured this time.” With that, the King helped me down and then helped his son before speaking to Sir Kay.

  “Sir Kay, you are in charge of these two in my absence. I will be gone for a short time but must ride to London. The message you brought me tells of a French invasion planned soon and I must make ready my navy. Don’t let them get into any more mischief.” With that last sentence, he mounted his horse and rode out with a group of guards already on horseback, out of the castle and away at a full gallop.

  I looked at Edward, he looked at me and then we both looked at Sir Kay who shrugged his shoulders before telling us both that we had better behave and next time we decided what was dangerous we had to consult with him first. He was now responsible for two daughters of his friend and the son of his King, all too much for a man of his years who didn’t have any children of his own. He made his way towards the main hall and we followed with our heads down, feeling fully chastised.

  The Queen rose from her chair as we entered and dismissed her lady in waiting so we could be alone. She came towards us and spoke first to Sir Kay in English. It was then that I understood one reason why I was here: as Eleanor, I spoke French. Sir Kay didn’t speak French so I had to be his interpreter. Bingo!

  “Has my husband spoken to you, Kay? Has he told you to watch over these two young people until he returns?” She looked quite fiercely at Sir Kay, who informed her that her husband had well and truly given him his instructions. “Good, now sit and talk to me about my friend, how is she? I miss her so much and would love to see her again, maybe we will go together to visit her before my husband returns. It is only a full day’s ride, a good idea Sir Kay, yes?” Looking at Sir Kay’s face, which was a picture of disbelief, I knew he didn’t think it a good idea at all but he smiled at the Queen and told her it was a perfectly good idea and a plan.

  Edward and I got our heads together. We knew we had to act quickly as the Baron would find the real Lady Eleanor still a prisoner and then deduce that I was the usurper. We needed to talk to Sir Kay but he seemed to be in deep conversation with the Queen. Right, I decided, oh here we go again, making decisions and then having to live with the consequences.

  “Edward, we need to act and quickly. Sir Kay is caught up with your mother so it is up to us to find and release Eleanor, what do you think? Are you up for this? He looks to me like a very bad man so we need to be careful and gather proof for your father and Sir Kay.” I waited expectantly while Edward thought this through. He reminds me of Richard so much, I thought. Taking his time over making decisions, not at all like Hugh and I, we were straight in and thought about the consequences of our actions later.

  “Come on Edward, we need to act now, goodness only knows what that man could do to Eleanor if we hesitate. Let’s go!” I encouraged Edward, who made his decision and followed me out of the door and to the courtyard.

  “Stop a minute Eleanor, I do feel we need to tell people where it is we are going, we don’t want to be held like Eleanor, do we, and nobody knowing where we are?” Just like Richard, Edward was wavering.

  “Sir Kay knows, when it is discovered we are missing he will know where we are, don’t worry,” I shouted over my shoulder whilst disappearing around the castle walls and over the drawbridge. I hoped I was right. It would be just our luck for Sir Kay to be stuck with the Queen for some time and by then we would be right in the midst of our plan. Did we have a plan? Well, not really but sometimes you have to just go with the feeling to do the right thing regardless… oh dear…

  We walked for some time in silence, before Edward spoke in whispers in case we were overheard. What the townspeople would want to do with any information we might have goodness only knows, but he whispered anyway.

  “Eleanor, what are we going to do when we get there?” I had expected this from him. I didn’t quite know myself but felt we ought to enter the house and find Eleanor and then take it from there.

  “Edward, we are going to investigate the house, enter it, find Eleanor, release her and then bring her back to the castle with us where she can tell everybody about the Baron and what he has done.” A good plan, I thought. Edward pondered a while before whispering again.

  “Eleanor, what are we going to do if we can’t get in to the house?” Goodness, I thought to myself, and this boy is left in charge of a country.

  “We are going to get into the house, Edward. We are not looking for negatives, only positive thoughts please from now on.” Gosh, I could be a bit of a bossy boots when I put my mind to it.

  “Right, I understand, wish I had my sword with me just in case.” This was what Edward understood, the power of the sword. I didn’t; this was yet another difference in our time. I knew we had to use our powers of persuasion and our wits, while Edward’s first thought was to use his sword. He had a lot to learn before he became King, I thought.

  After a while we approached the house. We had walked for what seemed like a good half an hour (no clocks in evidence to confirm that), some of it uphill towards the Minster, and the walking was difficult when we left the cobbled streets and entered the dirt tracks. Our feet were muddy and the bottom of my blue gown needed attention from Brother Dominic again, a full wash and dry as it was covered in mud all around the bottom. We noticed the gates were still closed and wondered what we would find on the inside, and hoped it would be Eleanor and that she would be okay. We pressed ourselves against the wall and peeked through an opening in the gate to see a small courtyard with a tree planted in the centre. Two horses were tied to a fence around the tree, fully tacked up with bridle and saddle and ready for riders, but nobody could be seen anywhere. We slipped the gate latch up and opened it enough for the two of us to slide in, then shut it again and pushed ourselves up against the inside wall for cover. We couldn’t believe our luck, nobody in sight anywhere, but I knew they would be inside somewhere and I knew we had to find Eleanor and quickly. We made our way carefully around the inside walls and came to a door. We listened and could hear muffled voices of two men talking. Another gruff voice joined them. I looked at Edward and we both recognised the voice as that of the Baron.

  We couldn’t hear what they were saying; we needed to get inside this house. Further on around the wall we came across another door. It was on the opposite wall to the main door where we heard the voices. I glanced at Edward, took a deep breath and tried the handle. It opened and the door made a creak as we opened it to go inside. We both jumped at the noise and prayed the men didn’t hear it. We shut it behind us and found ourselves in a small kitchen. Again it was deserted, thank goodness, as we looked at each other and made our way to the other side of the room and through another door into a hallway. We knew from the layout of the house we needed to keep turning right to get to the room the men were in, but we hoped they would leave before we got there. Neither of us could speak, we were cold and it was starting to get dark. We knew we didn’t have much time to find Eleanor. What we were going to do when we found her, we didn’t know, but we pressed on regardless.

  Chapter 9

  As we made our way through the hallway we looked at each other. Was that crying? We pressed our ears to a thick wooden door, looked at each other and then listened again. It could be an animal, I thought, but then again it could be Eleanor. Edward pushed at the heavy door. Not locked, thank goodness. We both entered the room.

  It was difficult to make out the shapes inside the room as it was approaching dusk, but I glanced at a table and a solid looking wooden dresser pushed up against the wall.

  A fire was laid in the hearth but not lit and it was cold. There was a very pronounced smell in the room. At school we had visited an old people’s home with our school choir to sing carols at Christmas for the old people, and the smell in the room re
minded me of the smell in the home. They had tried to mask it with air freshener but it was a very strong smell, and we all talked about it after the visit. Our teacher told us what had caused it and we would all get old one day, so we would be like that when that happened. I remember thinking I would probably not notice it when I was older. Anyway, it wasn’t a very nice smell; along with a not-very-good smell of musty stale air it was all very unpleasant. Poor Eleanor, I thought to myself, having to be held prisoner in this place. I then noticed a shape on the floor near the hearth, animal or human, I wondered, and made my way towards it, bent down and touched it on the shoulder. A very dirty face looked up at me, a face a little like mine but far dirtier. It was Eleanor. She was making noises like she was trying not to cry and when I touched her shoulder she crouched lower to the ground as if she was going to take a blow.

  “Whhh—who are you?” she eventually asked and then she saw Edward and was up off the floor and towards him, flinging both arms around him in a big bear hug. “Edward, you have rescued me, I knew you would come to find me, oh thank you, thank you so much.” I looked at the two friends locked in a tight embrace, but then remembered where we were and what we needed to do.

  “Right Eleanor, we don’t have much time, you need to get into my dress and I need to get into yours, we need to be quick before the Baron comes back for you. Edward, turn your head away while we change.” Gosh, I could be bossy, telling the Prince of the realm what to do, and he did it.

  Eleanor didn’t take a second to realise what I had in mind. She was out of her filthy dress as quick as a quick thing and helped me remove mine. We looked at each other and smiled, we really did look like twins apart from I was a little taller and she a little thinner.