An Earthly Knight

by Janet Mcnaughton

  “But why would they choose you?”

  He sighed. “This is the part I would rather not tell. The queen of the fairies cast a powerful charm over me, Jenny, but that charm is broken now because of you. She knows that and is sick with jealousy. She will not let me go, but she wishes herself rid of me.”

  Jenny drew back as she understood what he was saying. “You were her lover?” As he nodded, she felt something whole and pure inside her shatter. “Why, you are as bad as Earl William.” She tried to draw away, but he held her hands tightly.

  “No, Jenny! Think what it was like for me. I was fourteen! Barely more than a child! And she, she is as old as the forest. I was grateful to her for saving my life. But she used me. As long as I loved no other woman, she could keep me in her thrall.

  But she is nothing to me now. I am held to her world by the finest thread of a charm. She would give me to Hell gladly rather than see that thread break.”

  “But I am not the only woman you have loved,” Jenny said. Everything was clouded by her pain.

  “You are, lass. Loving and the act of love are not the same. I never knew what it was to love a woman until I met you.”

  Jenny struggled to see beyond her feelings. If she was going to save him, she could not afford to feel slighted by his past. “Then tell me what I must do, Tam,” she said at last.

  She saw the relief in his eyes. “I was so afraid you would turn away from me.” Then he paused. “But how can I ask you to risk your life?”

  Jenny lost her patience. “Tam, I will sit here until you tell me. All night if I have to.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You must be the most wilful lass in Scotland. You know I cannot let you stay.” She said nothing for a long moment. He sighed. “All right then, this is what must be done. At midnight, on Hallowe’en, the fairy folk will ride to Miles Cross, the first crossroads between here and Rowanwald. Once the procession has started, they cannot stop for any reason. If you pull me from my horse and hold me, they must pass without me.”

  “That is all?”

  He shook his head. “They will not be able to turn around, but they will use all the magic they possess to make you let me go. You will have to be very brave and very strong to resist their magic until they have passed.”

  “I do not know if I am brave, Tam. I know I am not strong, but I am wilful enough to do this. How will I know you, though, in the darkness, among all the others?”

  “A black horse will pass first, then a brown, then you will see Snowdrop. Run to him and pull me off. If I burst into flames, throw me down. Otherwise, hold fast.” He paused. “Jenny, if you let go too soon, flee. Never stop for any reason. Take La Rose and ride until you reach your father’s gate. I will never see you again, but you must know that I loved you, and only you.”

  Jenny was terrified she would forget his face. She tried to fix him in her mind’s eye as he looked now, tall and fair in the autumn sunlight.

  He kissed her forehead. “It is dangerous for you to stay, my love. Go now, while the sun is high in the sky.”

  As they came to La Rose, Jenny remembered the bags of food. “My nurse sent these, so you would not be tempted to rely on magic,” she told him as they lifted them down together.

  “Good. The magic grows the weaker with disuse. Now, go quickly.”

  As she went into the forest again, Jenny carried the feeling of being with Tam like a cloak around her. But the warmth and safety of that feeling suddenly vanished when she reached the river. On the opposite bank, a woman stood, silently watching. The woman’s dress was white, but shot through with the colours of a rainbow. This was no earthly garment. Remembering Galiene’s words, Jenny said nothing, but once she had locked eyes with the woman, she found it impossible to look away. She was the most beautiful woman Jenny had ever seen, with long, black hair and pale white skin. But, even at this distance, Jenny could see something hard and cruel about her mouth and eyes.

  As Jenny crossed the river, the woman smiled and reached out a hand in greeting. Jenny felt drawn, like iron to a lodestone. It took all the strength she possessed to reach into her sleeve for the piece of silver. She clutched it until it bit into her palm. Only then could she pull her eyes from this woman’s face. When they reached the riverbank, she kicked her heels hard into La Rose’s ribs and fled without looking back.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Jenny guessed by the sun that it was barely noon as she approached her father’s bailey. Alric waved from a pasture near the gate, and she rode over to him. “Give the mare to me now, my lady, and I will walk her to the stable. You may follow on foot so anyone who sees you will think you were out walking.”

  Jenny wondered if this was not overly cautious.

  “None of the servants would tell my father I was out riding, Alric.”

  “No, but we have those strangers, the musicians, among us. Galiene says they will know the gossip now, and if one saw you abroad he might tell the lord to win a coin. Cospatric is keeping them busy in the hall, but Galiene says there is no such thing as too careful.”

  Jenny smiled in spite of everything. She could almost hear Galiene’s voice. She dismounted and handed the reins to Alric, still shaky from that glimpse of the fairy queen. She followed as soon as she dared, relieved to be back where others might protect her.

  Galiene would be waiting in the bower, Jenny knew, but she needed time to recover from her fright before she could speak of it, so she let herself be drawn to the faint strains of the music spilling from the hall. Inside, the travelling musicians were sitting with Cospatric, who was patiently showing them some fingerings on his harp. The two who played harps were trying to copy him. The lesson was of no interest to Jenny but she stayed, trying to think what she would tell Galiene. Without Galiene’s help, she could not hope to get away on Hallowe’en, but Jenny was not sure her nurse would let her take such a risk.

  When the harp lesson was over, all the musicians played together. One had a set of bagpipes, but he was not as skilled as the piper she had heard in Roxburg. There were plenty of bad notes. Jenny wondered how these men managed to earn a living. When they finished, the leader, a man about Cospatric’s age, gestured to his two harpers.

  “These lads could learn much from you. We travel to Galloway next, for the winter. Do you not long to hear your own tongue again, man? Come with us.”

  Jenny’s heart lurched as Cospatric nodded. “Let me think on it. I was going to stop here until Christmas, but the travelling will be bad by then. Perhaps I should move now.”

  The leader of the troupe slapped him on the back. “Good man. A harper of your skill would double our earnings. We will treat you well, Cospatric.” They all agreed.

  Jenny slipped from the hall. When she entered the bower, Isabel turned from her loom with a smile so sweet and unclouded that Jenny saw at once her sister knew nothing of Cospatric’s possible departure. I have often been selfish this summer, Jenny thought, and Isabel has been so good. How can I let the harper go without trying to secure my sister’s happiness? Perhaps I can accomplish this one good thing.

  But now, her own troubles loomed. Galiene sat in the corner, carding wool as calmly as if Jenny had only been napping.

  “I just remembered, the cheeses need turning today,” Isabel said. “I should see if Hawise has set someone to the task.” She put down her shuttle and left so that she would not have to lie to their father if he asked her what she knew.

  “Your sister is a good lass,” Galiene said. Jenny only nodded as a lump rose in her throat. Even if things went well, it seemed impossible that she and Isabel could stay near one another. Galiene noticed her distress. “Was he gone then, my honey?”

  Jenny smiled. “No, Galiene. He lives, and the magic that binds him grows weaker. I know what I must do to free him.” She sat on the floor like a small child with her head in Galiene’s lap and told her old nurse everything. Near the end, when she told Galiene about the fairy queen, she felt the old woman’s body ten
se with fear. Then, when Jenny finished, there was a long silence.

  “I cannot stop you,” Galiene said at last. “No one should. You are a woman now, and you have the right to try to win your love, even if your life is lost in the effort.”

  Jenny sat up and gazed into the old woman’s eyes. “My life or my soul, Galiene, it matters not to me if I lose one or both if I cannot save him.”

  Galiene stroked Jenny’s hair. “A love like this is rare, Jenny, more precious than gold. It will be your only weapon. Some of us have a bit of magic to work spells, but I have known you since the day of your birth, and a more earthly lass never walked in this world. You have no magic to use against the fairy queen. That is just as well, for our magic would shrivel like grass in a fire before her. But you have your love to guide you,” she touched Jenny’s belly briefly in blessing, “and the proof of your love for protection. I will get you safely out on Hallowe’en. After that, everything depends on you.”

  Somewhere deep inside of Jenny was a little girl who had dared to hope that Galiene would forbid her to go out alone on Hallowe’en, who would lock her up and keep her safe. Jenny said goodbye to that little girl forever as she rose. “I must do my penance now. I had no time this morning.” Then she remembered something else. “Galiene, he has been so long among the other folk that he is hardly like us now. If I release him, will he return to himself again?”

  “Maybe not right away, hen.” Galiene looked away, then she seemed to force herself to meet Jenny’s eyes. “And maybe never. You must learn to take him as he is.”

  Jenny only nodded. She could not speak for disappointment. Outside, she tried to comfort herself. He may never be like other men, but I loved him first because of that, she thought.

  As she neared the chapel, she saw Cospatric walking with his head down as though lost in thought. On impulse, she seized the chance. “Cospatric,” she said, “I would speak with you. Will you step into the chapel?” She saw him hesitate and realized he thought it dangerous to be seen alone with her now. She struggled to keep her temper. “For pity’s sake, just give me a moment of your time.” She hoped he might be moved if she begged, and he was.

  Inside the chapel, her words rushed out. “I heard those musicians talking to you in the hall. It hardly matters whether you leave now or later, I suppose, but tell me, Cospatric, please, would you take my sister with you if you could?”

  Even in the dim light, she saw him pale. “What manner of question is this, my lady? Do you mean to see me hanged?” Jenny could see he was badly shaken. Only in the ballads could a harper gain the love of a noblewoman. Even then such love was often fatal.

  “I cannot bear to think of Isabel in that priory. It is loathsome to her. You could marry her and take her away. I think my father might agree.”

  He relaxed a little, and Jenny realized he had imagined she was suggesting something far worse. She cursed her clumsy tongue.

  “Does your sister know you ask me?” He seemed to warm to the thought.

  “No. Her modesty would never allow such a thing.”

  He looked shocked. “Then why would you ask?”

  Jenny silently begged Isabel’s forgiveness before she went on. “Because I know her heart. She loves you, Cospatric.”

  Now he looked torn. “But you ask the impossible. Even if we somehow won your father’s approval, my life is hard. Your sister would go hungry. She would sleep on the ground and walk abroad in all weather. How can I ask her to share such a life? She is far too fine.” He poured his heart into that last sentence.

  “But you do love her. Why not let her decide whether she prefers the life you offer to that of the priory? Then I will ask my brother to intercede on your behalf. My father loves Isabel dearly, in spite of everything that has happened. I feel sure he will not refuse her as long as you agree to leave Teviotdale forever.”

  Cospatric put his hand to his forehead.

  Jenny bit her lip. “Cospatric, you must not dither. This must be settled before Hallowe’en. Go now, before anyone finds us here.” She dismissed him quickly before he could ask why she felt the need to act with such urgency.

  Jenny hoped Cospatric’s love would overcome his natural caution. She watched Isabel for some sign that he had spoken. For two days, Isabel was unchanged. On the afternoon of the third day, Jenny lay down for her nap, afraid the harper would never find the courage to speak to her sister.

  When Jenny awoke, the afternoon sun was low in the sky. In the outer room of the bower, she found Galiene and Isabel working as usual, but Isabel blushed scarlet when she saw Jenny, and fumbled with her shuttle. Isabel never dropped her shuttle.

  “Do you know where Eudo is?” Jenny asked Galiene.

  “I believe your brother is over at the forge,” she said, with a look that told Jenny she knew something was afoot and she was not entirely sure she approved.

  Jenny found Eudo at the forge, talking to the smith about a new kind of saddle girth fastening he had seen at Lilliesleaf. Jenny paused to take pleasure in the sight of her brother. She would always feel Isabel was close as long as he was near, they were so alike. When he finished, she drew him aside, telling him everything about Cospatric and Isabel.

  Eudo was astonished. “And my sister agreed to go with him?”

  Until that very moment, the thought that Isabel might refuse had not occurred to Jenny. “I . . . I am not certain.”

  Eudo laughed. “Jenny, do you imagine every girl’s heart is as easily won as your own? We must ask, for I cannot speak to Father without first knowing what Isabel wants.”

  In spite of the sting of her brother’s joke, Jenny smiled, for he had agreed to help her.

  Isabel had regained her composure when they found her in the bower. Eudo dismissed Galiene in a way that neither Jenny nor Isabel would have been able to. “Now sister, tell us,” he said as soon as the old nurse had left. “Has Cospatric asked you to marry him?”

  Isabel met his gaze directly. “He has.”

  “And will you take him, if our father allows?” Isabel blushed deeply, but she smiled. “I will, Eudo. I would give my heart to him gladly. He has promised to take me to his land. We will live among folk who will not scorn me.” Jenny noticed something new in her sister’s manner, a strength beneath her gentleness that was not there before.

  That night, Eudo paid all the musicians to play for the folk in Langknowes, and asked their father to talk in the bower after supper. Jenny insisted both she and Isabel be present.

  Jenny had feared her father’s temper, but when Eudo finished talking, he sat in a stunned silence for a long time. All his anger seemed spent. Jenny realized how greatly he had changed.

  “What of the Church?” he said finally. “How can I disappoint the Church?”

  Jenny had not expected this question so soon, but she had the answer. “Now that my betrothal with Earl William is broken, the Church will want a tocher and we have only one. Papa, if I cannot find a father for my child, I will go in Isabel’s place.” Jenny had made this decision after speaking to Cospatric. She was fairly sure she would never see the priory, no matter what happened. She would either save Tam or die in the attempt.

  “But I shall be disgraced in the eyes of men,” her father said.

  “No, Papa,” Isabel said gently. “We will go in secret to Galloway. All will know me as the wife of a harper, who sings for her supper beside him. I will be Isabel Avenel no more.”

  “Isabel, can this be what you want?”

  Isabel held her head up and looked directly into her father’s eyes, even as the tears spilled down her cheeks. “It is, Papa. I love Cospatric.”

  Jenny thought her heart would break at the sorrow in her father’s eyes. “Then I give you my blessing, child. But go soon, before I have a chance to change my mind.” He looked like a very old man. Jenny had won, but she felt no joy.

  Eudo sent the other musicians on their way early the next morning so they could spread no gossip and, after Mass, asked Brother Turgis
to perform the wedding. As Jenny had expected, the priest sputtered and fumed like a wet candle. “This cannot be. She was promised to the Church.”

  Jenny was surprised to hear her father speak.

  “No vows were made. Lady Isabel is still mine to give, and I have made my decision. Let the sin be on my head. If Lady Jeanette does not go in her stead, I will accept whatever penalty the Church places on me.”

  Even Brother Turgis could see it was useless to argue. He pursed his lips. “I will hear the lady’s confession first, then the harper’s. The wedding will take place at noon.”

  Jenny ran to the bower to see what warm, plain clothing she might have to give her sister for this new life. She opened her trunk. Lying on the very top was her scarlet silk dress, shredded to tatters. As Jenny picked it up, it fell to pieces in her hands. It was utterly destroyed.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Isabel and Cospatric went the next morning, into a grey October dawn that promised rain. Only Jenny and Eudo saw them off. Their father would not. The harper did his best to look solemn, but his joy could not really be hidden.

  Jenny wondered if she would ever see her sister again, and tears came to her eyes. Isabel hugged her. “No tears for me, Jenny. I have won a love I dared not hope for. I only wish the same for you.” Too late, Jenny realized she had not had a chance to tell Isabel about her love. Everything had happened so quickly, and since the wedding, her sister had not left Cospatric’s side.

  On the road outside the bailey, just before they disappeared into the mist, Jenny saw Cospatric put his arm around Isabel and draw her close. She looked safe and protected.

  “I hope they will be happy,” Jenny said to Eudo.

  “I think they will. Cospatric is a good man. He spoke with me yesterday after the wedding. They will go to his master’s house where he apprenticed, in Girvan, for the winter. He can teach there. He plans to teach her to play as well.” Eudo looked embarrassed. “I gave him money enough to buy a harp for her. That was my wedding present.”