Day of Judgment: The Janna Chronicles 6

by Felicity Pulman

  “Yes, Papa,” she said meekly, pleased that he valued her enough to want to protect her. All the same, she kept her fingers crossed behind her back. What she had in mind was far more dangerous than her father knew or could possibly guess.

  “Just between the two us, I want to see for myself how the situation lies in Oxeneford and if there is something – anything at all – that I might do to help free Matilda.”

  Janna was greatly relieved by her father’s words, both on the empress’s behalf and even more so on her own. She was desperate to escape her stepmother, for she knew exactly where the threat to her safety had come from, and knew also that she could not always be on her guard against whatever plan Blanche might devise next. The woman might have fooled her husband, but she could not fool her husband’s daughter. Putting distance between them was the only way Janna could think of that would help her stay alive.

  Chapter 3

  Traveling with her father reminded Janna of her days on the road with the pilgrims and the jongleurs as she’d followed the trail of information that had helped her unravel her mother’s past, and finally led her to her father. There were certain differences, of course. Winter had now seized the land in its icy grip, and they journeyed through freezing winds and flurries of snow, which made their passage difficult and unpleasant. But Janna was clad in an expensive woolen gown and a fur-lined cloak, she was traveling on horseback rather than on foot, and she was staying in lodgings rather than taking shelter in a barn or under a hedge. Not that anyone knew who they were, for John had taken the precaution of dressing as a merchant, not wanting to draw undue attention to their party in these troubled times. The empress’s messenger traveled with them, his wound now healing fast thanks to Janna’s ministrations. There were also several armed guards who were passing themselves off as servants. Janna herself was introduced as the merchant’s daughter, a role with which she felt entirely comfortable.

  To her relief, her relationship with her father had eased considerably after she, in company with Rosy to act as her witness, had searched the kitchen garden for healing herbs to make up medicaments to heal the groom’s wound, but also – and more important so far as Janna was concerned – for the phial that once had contained the lotion made of hemlock. As she’d hoped, they found it lying beneath a window which opened from the kitchen, thrown out by a careless hand. Janna had bid Rosy find their father and ask him to come immediately, while she waited beside the phial to bear testimony both to its location and its contents.

  John had made no comment but, under Janna’s urging, he had smelled the dregs inside it. He’d taken the phial from her and returned to their quarters. Janna didn’t know what he’d said to Blanche, or even if he’d said anything at all, but they had left the bishop’s palace soon after that, much to her relief.

  They were some days on the road, their destination being Godstow Abbey, where John intended to leave Janna while he went on into Oxeneford to negotiate with the king. The abbey was close to the town, and the groom had told them that the sisters there were known to sympathize with the empress’s cause. It was there that Janna intended to put her plan in train, although she fervently hoped she wouldn’t have to go through with it. Meanwhile she wrestled with her conscience about telling her father what she planned. She couldn’t bear to sit by and do nothing, not while the empress and her entourage were being starved into submission by Stephen, yet she feared that her father would never agree to her voluntarily placing herself in danger. Finally she decided to keep her plan a secret. Part of her decision hung on the fact that she was used to acting independently and hated the idea of having to ask permission to do what her heart decreed she must. Following from that was the belief that her father would forbid her request, and then she would be obliged either to abide by his ruling or risk her own future by disobeying him.

  They came at last to the small abbey, and were welcomed by the nuns and housed in the guest quarters, which at this time of the year were otherwise unoccupied. Once her father had left the abbey, with the warning that he could be gone for several days, Janna was again assailed by doubts. Her plan seemed foolhardy in the extreme; she wondered if it might be prudent to wait until her father’s return in case he managed to secure the empress’s release. Finally she decided to act, justifying her decision with the realization that later would be too late, for then she’d have the added difficulty of needing to slip out of the abbey without her father’s knowledge. Either that, or take him into her confidence, with the probability that he would forbid her to do anything at all.

  Now that the time had come, she knew a deep and all-encompassing fear. What had seemed rather heroic when seen at a distance now seemed risky beyond belief. What drove Janna on was the knowledge that this might be the empress’s best and only hope of escape. Her plan was daring enough that it just might work. She could only hope that, if the ploy was successful, Stephen would show mercy to those of the empress’s entourage who were left behind.

  Committed to action, Janna’s first step was to rinse her fair hair in the dark dye she’d prepared and brought along with her. Once her hair had dried, she dressed herself in the elaborate gown that her father had ordered for her audience with the king, warning that she might well be summoned for Stephen’s inspection if his business with the king bore fruit. It was dark green and embroidered at the neck with gold thread and small pearls. It was finer, more costly and far more beautiful than anything she had ever worn in her life. She was glad to have such a thing in her possession, although not for the reason her father intended. She wished now that she had a mirror to check her reflection, but apparently the good sisters of the abbey had no time for vanity and did not encourage it, for she could find no signs of one.

  She carefully draped a gauzy veil over her newly darkened hair, and secured it with the gold band that completed her ensemble. So might an empress appear, she hoped, as she ran her fingers lightly over the fine woolen fabric. Would it be enough to convince Osbern? She went down into the guest hall to test her new appearance.

  The groom’s response was all that she’d hoped and more. At sight of her, he leaped up from his stool and fell down on his knees. “My lady! You have escaped! This is surely a sign from God, a miracle!”

  “I have not escaped, Osbern. I have always been free. But alas, the empress is still in captivity.”

  The groom gawked at her, then shook his head as if to clear it of phantoms. Janna laughed, elated that her ruse had worked.

  “But…I don’t understand. Why do you impersonate the empress, my lady? And why has your father gone to Oxeneford to see the king?” The groom’s expression had changed from shock to suspicion. Janna wondered if he was having second thoughts about divulging the empress’s message to them, and for a moment she shared his doubts. Had she been too ready to trust her father’s word? If so, it was even more important that she act, and quickly.

  “My father told me he wanted to ask the king if he could see his half-sister, the empress,” she said, trying to allay the groom’s doubts as well as her own. “He also plans to plead with the king to set her free, as the king did once before when first she came to England. But I suspect the king won’t agree, so I have a plan of my own, Osbern, and that’s why I look the way I do. And I need your help. Can you go into Oxeneford and look around, find out what you can about where the king’s soldiers are deployed, and if there are any blind spots where the empress might be able to slip through the enemy’s lines if the king’s troops are occupied elsewhere?”

  The groom nodded, still looking somewhat bemused. Janna knew she would have to tell him everything sooner or later, and now was as good a time as any. She thought she could trust him, for he had shown his loyalty by almost forfeiting his life to bring the empress’s warning to her father. If he did as she asked, he would be risking his life once more in the empress’s service. She needed to have his agreement to her plan; otherwise, she would have to think again.

  “My father doesn’t know this, bu
t my intention is to go into Oxeneford dressed as I am now. You thought I was the empress, and I hope others will too. If I can show myself to the king’s troops, if I can make them believe that the empress has somehow managed to escape, and tempt them to come in pursuit of me, that will leave the castle unguarded for a time, hopefully long enough for the empress to slip away to safety. But I need your help. First, you must find out whether or not the king has agreed to my father’s request to release the empress. If he has, then there’s no more to be done and you may return. But if my father’s mission has failed, then I shall take matters into my own hands. And I’ll need you to play your part. Do you think you can find a way back into the castle so that you can tell your mistress of my plan, and set a time for her escape?”

  “Yes, my lady. They’ll be looking to stop anyone coming out rather than going in,” Osbern said eagerly. “I’m sure I can find a way.”

  “But you must first reconnoiter the surrounds of the castle, because I need to know what route I should take and where I should show myself.” Putting her plan into words sent chills of fear through Janna. She would be lucky to escape with her life if the guards were overzealous, or if she wasn’t quick enough. “You must take Gervase with you. He’s the strongest and most trustworthy of my father’s men, and he can bring word back to me if the plan is to go ahead. Show him where you think I should walk, and also the best route to escape any pursuers, for I shall need to draw them away from the castle. Tell him when I should come to Oxeneford to rescue the empress, so that he can serve as my guide and my guard. But tell no-one else of this plan. Do I have your word on that?”

  “Yes, my lady.” The groom looked at her with new respect. “But…” Suddenly flustered, he stopped abruptly.

  “But?” Janna prompted.

  “Forgive me for saying this, my lady, but although you look something like the empress, you do not walk or behave as she does.”

  Janna cast her mind back to her meeting with the empress at Wiltune Abbey, and smiled at the truth of the groom’s words. She threw back her shoulders and tilted her head in an imperious fashion. She strode closer and looked down her nose at him. “Go about the task I have given you, and make haste,” she said coldly.

  The groom gave a delighted smile, lightly clapped his hands, and bowed before bidding her farewell and wishing her a safe journey and success in her quest.

  “Good luck, and may God go with you,” Janna called after him.

  After he’d gone, Janna was filled with misgiving. She’d been told often enough that she bore a resemblance to the empress, but that likeness had never been more crucial than now. Would it be enough to fool the king’s troops, to lead them away from the castle? If her father couldn’t secure the empress’s release, then the groom’s role became just as vital as her own. But what most exercised Janna’s mind was the weather. Winter had begun unusually harsh and looked set to continue that way in the foreseeable future. They had suffered its icy grip on their journey to Oxeneford, had passed through blizzards and even traversed small streams that had frozen so hard they were able to step across the ice in safety. Yet she needed the day, or night, of the empress’s escape to be calm and clear enough for people to be abroad to witness her passage and sound the alarm.

  Waiting was hardest of all, Janna decided, as first one day passed and then another. She was filled with foreboding, her imagination conjuring up frightening scenes of pursuit and death, scenes which spilled over into her dreams. Just when she thought she was likely to go mad with the phantoms that tormented her, Gervase returned to the abbey and was shown into her presence.

  “Well?” she demanded, as soon as they were left alone.

  He swallowed nervously. “Your father is still with the king, my lady.”

  “Has he seen the empress? Has he managed to secure her release?” Janna held her breath, hoping for a last-minute reprieve.

  “No, my lady. He was allowed a brief meeting with the empress, but that is all. He asked me to tell you that he will return once he’s discussed some family matters with the king. And I – I am told by Osbern to let you know that – that you should be outside the castle walls tomorrow night, before the rise of the moon.”

  So Osbern had set their plan in motion! Part of Janna was relieved that there would be action at last, even while her heart thundered with dread. “You know you are to come with me?”

  “Yes, my lady.” Gervase glanced at her and quickly looked away. “But I beg you to reconsider. Your father will not approve your actions, I am sure of it.”

  Nor would he approve of Gervase’s part in the escapade. Janna knew that was the man’s real worry, and she sought to allay his fears. “With luck, my father need never know. We shall ride there tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll be back before daybreak.”

  He pursed his lips, looking dubious.

  “I am going, Gervase, and I bid you come with me,” Janna said sharply, borrowing the empress’s own imperious manner.

  “Yes, my lady. But could you not ask a few more of your father’s guards to come with us? You face great danger, and I would feel more comfortable with some extra men at my back to protect you from the king’s soldiers.”

  Janna considered Gervase’s request. While it was reasonable on the face of it, there was far too great a risk that someone would talk, that word would get out, either to the king or to her father. Janna wasn’t sure which of the two she feared most. “No,” she said. “I’m sorry, Gervase, but this must remain a secret between the two of us.”

  He nodded, his face smoothed into resignation. “Osbern has shown me the streets and laneways close to the castle so I’ll be able to take you to safety once you’ve attracted the attention of the soldiers and drawn them away from the castle walls, my lady. The empress will make her move just as soon as the alarm is sounded.”

  “The empress’s life is at stake – and mine too – if you betray our plans,” Janna warned.

  “Yes, my lady.” His hand went to his side, but found no weapon. Janna knew he would have been told to leave his arms at the abbey’s gatehouse. “I shall be armed when I escort you,” he reassured her, cheering slightly at the thought. “And the weather works in our favor too. The river has frozen hard, hard enough to bear the empress’s weight. If Osbern’s secret way out of the castle is still barred, then he will advise the empress to escape out the window facing the river and walk across the ice to safety. There is a groom known to Osbern, he’s in the employ of a baron who is still faithful to the empress. Osbern plans to accompany the empress when she escapes. He’s asked the groom to make arrangements for men and horses to wait for him at Abingdon, without telling the groom the reason for it. Once the empress has left the castle, they will need to move quickly to escape pursuit.”

  “Are you sure it’s safe for her to walk across the river?”

  “Yes, my lady. I’ve seen people with animal bones tied to their boots, skating across the ice.” Gervase’s voice reflected his wonder at such a sight. “If the empress can only escape from the castle, cross the river and walk to Abingdon, she will find men and horses waiting to take her to safety.

  “Some of the magnates who deserted earlier have been shamed into returning to Oxeneford in the hope of taking the city from the king,” Gervase continued. “I have been listening to the talk in the taverns. There have been several skirmishes, but the magnates and their men are not enough in number to defeat the king and drive him away. Their plan is to wait for the Earl of Gloucestre. He’s defeated the king’s troops at Wareham and made a safe landing, and is now fighting his way toward Oxeneford.”

  “How close have they come?” Janna felt a surge of hope that she wouldn’t have to risk her neck after all.

  “Not close enough. We’ve heard that the situation in the castle is dire. They are almost out of food and water. I doubt they can hold out long enough for the earl and his troops to save them, my lady, but the empress’s supporters who are here now may come to your aid if you need them – if
only you can tell for sure who they are.”

  Janna knew there was no hope of that. Nevertheless, she forced a smile for his benefit and dismissed him. She’d made the plan, and it was too late now to change her mind. Although she was impatient to leave at once, for she was frightened and wanted to get the ordeal over and done with, she knew she must delay to give Osbern enough time to breach the castle, to reach the empress and prepare for their escape.

  Waiting had frayed Janna’s nerves almost to breaking point, particularly as she was forced to stay in seclusion in the guests’ quarters so that no-one could see the new color of her hair and start tattling about it. She fretted under the strain, while her sleep was broken by nightmares. On the day she was to put her plan into action, she woke with a pounding heart and soaked with the sweat of fear. She ran to the window, anxiously looking for any signs of a change in the weather, or her father’s return. But the snowfall continued, while her father remained safely in Oxeneford.

  It was still snowing when, at noon and dressed in all her finery but with a hood covering her face and hair and a rough blanket thrown over to shield her from the weather and from prying eyes, Janna set out with Gervase. She huddled into her fur mantle, relishing its warmth against the freezing air but not begrudging the cold, for it meant that the ice would hold fast for the empress’s flight. On Gervase’s advice, they circled the town’s earthen ramparts and entered through the North Gate. Janna let Gervase talk to the guard. She kept some distance away, making sure that her face and hair were well shrouded. Once they were safely through, Gervase called a halt close beside the church of St Michael. “We should delay here a little longer, my lady,” he said, drawing Janna into the shelter of a wall, and preparing to dismount.