Hope and the Knight of the Black Lion

by Mary C. Findley

  “Aye, we shall aid thy knight if it can be done,” Lord Godwin said when Robert had left. “Haply thy young earl can yet be a man, lady Hope. My good lady,” he said tenderly to his wife, embracing her and kissing her unashamedly, “I go to right a wrong, I hope. Do thou gather our guard and make thyself safe. I am doing a thing the earl will not like, I mind me, whether we have his son’s help or nay, and I do not want to wonder if thou art safe from his wrath.”

  “My lord, he will be sorry an’ he come to my chamber,” Lady Godwin said with a smile. She touched Tahira’s arm and kissed her cheek. “We shall never let anyone harm thee, dear Tahira,” she said earnestly. “Have courage. Go thou with my husband and the Lady Hope. I mind me that the imprisoned knight may need thy healing skill.”

  The three of us went quickly downward toward the dungeons. Several times some of the earl’s men tried to prohibit us, but they withdrew when we said Robert had given us permission, and seemed some of them in great awe of Lord Godwin. I knew little of life at court, but I was beginning to realize that Godwin must be a man of great power with the king. No one dared oppose him too strongly. Still, it was some time before we could gain admittance to the prison.

  “We must make haste, Lady Hope,” Lord Godwin whispered as we walked down a narrow, reeking hallway behind a gaoler with a spluttering torch.

  “Here is the prisoner,” the guard said sullenly. He banged on a heavy door with only a small window to let us look in. “You! Visitors!”

  No one answered from within. I could not even see into the cell if I stretched up on tiptoe. Lord Godwin looked in. “It is too dark,” he reported. “I cannot see if anyone is in there.”

  “Open the door,” I ordered the guard.

  “Nay, that I cannot,” the man exclaimed.

  “I said open it!” I cried. The man looked uneasily at Lord Godwin, who was clearly uncertain how far he could push his authority. I was sure he was also uncertain, having never met or spoken to Sir Chris, whether he could trust him.

  “Please, Lord Godwin, make him open the door. I must know if Sir Chris is all right.”

  “What ho, my lady Hope,” called a weak voice from inside the cell. “Is that your sweet voice I hear? It is most welcome.”

  “Sir Chris!” I cried, bursting into tears and flinging myself against the door. “Oh, I am so sorry! Are you all right?”

  I heard chains rattle. “In sooth, lady, I cannot altogether say,” Sir Chris’s voice replied, sounding a little stronger. “Aye, I think I am better, now, that you are here.”

  “Are you very much hurt?” I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

  “Nay, nay, do not trouble yourself about it,” Sir Chris said in a gruff voice. “It is only .... This is a close place, my lady. I have a .... I have trouble being comfortable in something so much like a hole as this is.”

  “Sir knight, I am Godwin, Duke of Sherbourne,” Lord Godwin said, stepping up to the window of the cell. “Canst hear me?”

  “Aye, well, my lord,” Sir Chris replied. I seemed to feel him force himself, as was his wont, to be stronger and steadier in spite of the agony he must feel. “What will you with me, most noble sir? I did not think I would ever be important enough for your lordship to trouble about.”

  “You have a ready wit for a man in such circumstances,” Lord Godwin said with a smile. “Hear me, sir knight. I come to know the truth about what happened at John of Colchester’s manor the night it burned. Canst thou tell me aught of it?”

  “But little that I can prove, my lord,” Sir Chris answered. “I came that night myself to the manor to speak with John Cloyes…”

  “To speak to him about what?” Lord Godwin interrupted.

  “Nay, my lord, that I cannot say,” Sir Chris answered. “It was a matter most private, for his ears only.”

  “Sir knight, Colchester may be dead,” Lord Godwin said. “Canst thou not speak of this thing to me? It casts a shade over all thy trustworthiness. I hear that thou wilt say neither thy name nor thy true business to anyone. Is this so?”

  “It is so, my lord. It is a vow I have made, that Baron Colchester must be the first in England to know of these things. I will keep it until I know for certain he is dead. Once already I have tried to break the vow and it availed me nothing, but only brought me more distrust and scorn.”

  “Man, thou canst not judge whether thy story might not turn my heart completely to thy cause,” Lord Godwin said, frustrated. “As it is, how can I help thee if I do not know if thou be a true knight indeed?”

  “Let it lie, my lord.” Sir Chris coughed several times. I heard a noise, and remembered that hopeless animal sound he had made when we camped in the woods. I shivered and hid my face in my hands. When Sir Chris resumed speaking, his voice was very weak.

  “It matters little now. The earl … has said I am to be made to … confess to the burning of the manor house. To that … I cannot confess, and so .... Lady Hope? Are you … still there?”

  “Yes, Sir Chris.” I forced the quiver out of my voice.

  “Othaneri -- I am sorry … I could not help you,” he said in a voice I could scarcely hear. “I am most heartily … sorry for that, lady. I am sorry, too, that you … were not persuaded to know Christ.”

  Chapter Twelve: A Prisoner Exchange, A Reunion, A Revelation

  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

  For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

  He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.

  Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me?

  Isaiah 50:6-9

  “Oh, Sir Chris,” I cried, “do not despair of that. I could not resist your brother knight in the diary, that man who lost his life so far away because he spoke and sang the message of Christ. I could not resist your speaking the Scriptures to me either. I have asked Christ to save me.” I did not add that I had only done it that moment. But in truth, I did it. “Lord Godwin, he is a true knight. How can you doubt it when all his care is for me and for my soul? You must help him.”

  “Indeed, I must,” Lord Godwin said. “Open this door, turnkey, in the name of the king, I say, open it.”

  “Do as he says,” a voice behind us ordered. We turned and saw Robert come into view.

  “The earl gave strict orders … “ the turnkey began.

  “Am I not the earl’s son?” snapped Robert. “I say let them go in and see the prisoner.”

  The gaoler hastened to obey. As soon as the door swung open I raced into the dark cell. Lord Godwin seized the torch from the guard’s hand and followed me in with Tahira behind him. Sir Chris hung from the wall in chains, naked from the waist up, his back a bloody ruin and his hair matted with blood.

  “Unchain him,” Robert said sharply.

  “Thank you, Robert,” I whispered.

  “Lord Godwin, my father is coming with armed men to stop you,” Robert whispered, ignoring me. “I am sorry. I should not even have tried to speak to him. I only brought his wrath down upon the innocent as I did by my cowardly outburst to Brun about this knight. But I will give you what aid I can. You and this knight have made me see that I might be wrong about many things. We must hurry.”

  “I am glad, young earl,” Lord Godwin said. The guard unlocked Sir Chris’s shackles and he dropped to the floor. Tahira came up beside me and pulled a small bag from beneath her robes. I noticed that it very much resembled the one Sadaquah had tried to offer Sir Chris. Tahira opened the pouch, took out a small piece of brownish, tarry substance, and pressed it to Sir Chris’s mouth. He had fainted, I thought, and started to suck on the thing in a half-stupor. Suddenly his eyes flew open. He spat the object forcefully out of his mouth.

  “No,” he said hoarsely. He tried to look a
round but could scarcely raise his head. “Sadaquah?” His eyes focused on Tahira but all he could see in the darkness was her heavy veil. “You know better than to give me that. I warned you…” He stopped and I could see the puzzled look in his eyes. Then he slumped over in a faint again.

  “We must get him out of here,” Lord Godwin urged. “By my faith, I knew not he was such a large fellow. How shall we bear him hence?”

  “Robert, let us have Sadaquah’s help,” I begged.

  “Where is the Arab whom the earl arrested?” Robert demanded of the guard. “You must release him as well.”

  “Aye, my lord.” The gaoler was all done being sullen and uncooperative now that Robert was on our side. He hurried out. Tahira got some water from a jar out in the hall and gave the dipper to me to give to Sir Chris. She seemed afraid to come near him. I forced him to drink a little water. He choked on it and roused a little.

  “No opium,” he said in a slurred voice. “I will not fight that demon again.” Sadaquah came to the doorway of the cell, hesitated only a moment, then pushed his way in and knelt beside Sir Chris.

  “Allah be merciful, my brother,” he whispered. “Not this again.”

  “Can you walk, my friend?” Lord Godwin asked Sir Chris. “We shall take you out of here, but we must hurry.”

  Sir Chris looked up at him, not seeming to understand. Sadaquah pulled off his outer mantle and threw it over Sir Chris’s shoulders. He ducked his head, winced, and made a small noise of pain.

  “Come, my brother,” Sadaquah urged. “Out of the hole we go again.”

  “Nay, nay,” hissed Sir Chris. “He is there waiting. I saw him. The horses – I cannot do it again.”

  “Not so, my brother,” Sadaquah whispered. “Up on your feet. This is the way to freedom. No one will harm you. I swear it by Allah.”

  “That is no comfort, Sadaquah,” Sir Chris said with a harsh laugh. He struggled to get up. Lord Godwin helped, and Sadaquah wrapped the robe closely around Sir Chris. “La oreed -- I have told you Allah is no help to me. The Lord God of Heaven seems to have interested Himself in me again, though, and sent these friends of his to help.” He smiled at Lord Godwin and Robert, then collapsed onto the floor. Nothing we could do could rouse him again.

  At Robert’s direction the guards rigged a litter and helped to carry Sir Chris out of the dungeon. The light outside was fitful, the sky overcast and the air heavy with thunder. We met some of Lord Godwin’s retinue, ten soldiers and Arabs, as we struggled across the courtyard with Sir Chris. At the same moment the earl arrived, and Sir Hugo Brun as well with a company of guards. Lord Godwin’s men quickly ringed us and drew their swords.

  “How dare you take my prisoner, Lord Godwin?” demanded the earl.

  “It is in my heart that thou hast condemned this man unjustly, Earl,” growled Lord Godwin. “I wish to question him myself. Tell thy men to stand off.”

  “You cannot let ‘im do this, mah lord,” snarled Hugo Brun. “You ‘ave the killer of John of Colchester in your ‘ands.”

  “We will speak of this later,” Lord Godwin said icily. “I will take this knight to a place where he can be tended. You have most cruelly overstepped your authority, Earl. You knew the tribunal was assembling to look into this case and yet you went ahead to examine this man without our leave or knowledge.”

  “He shall not leave,” the earl exclaimed. “You cannot take so much upon yourself, Lord Godwin, to defy my orders in my own castle.”

  “Father, I have helped them,” Robert said. The earl noticed him for the first time. “Have you not considered that in all that has happened we have only Sir Hugo Brun’s word of this knight’s guilt? Lady Hope is not mad or possessed, and she tells a different tale. Perhaps we are being too hasty.”

  “You are my son, and you will obey my commands,” the earl growled.

  “I will not permit you to return the man to the dungeon, father,” Robert said. “I do not think he is guilty. I have heard him speak – He cannot have burned Colchester.”

  “Indeed?” sneered the earl. “You have learned in a moment’s time what I could not get from him in half an hour of questioning? I will deal with you in private. The knight stays here. Godwin, your men will lay down their arms and surrender the prisoner.”

  Lord Godwin drew himself up to his full height. “I will have him taken to my chambers and there my wife will care for him,” he said. “My own guards will see that he does not escape. I will offer myself as surety for him. Put me in the dungeon in his place.”

  “So be it, then,” the earl said with a cruel smile. “Let it be as Lord Godwin has said. He came in under your emblem, after all. Perhaps it is fitting.”

  “You dare accuse me –?” Lord Godwin roared.

  “My men will take you now, my lord,” the earl snapped. “Robert, come with me.”

  “Oh, my lord, must it be so?” I gasped as the earl’s men took Lord Godwin by the arms.

  “Take care of your knight, Lady Hope,” he said calmly. “Tell my lady what has happened. She will know what to do.” The earl stepped up and took Robert roughly away.

  The next hour passed in a kind of haze. Lady Godwin hardly seemed disturbed to learn that her husband was in the dungeon. She directed Sir Chris to be put into her own bed, and spoke very kindly to Sadaquah in a few words of Arabic. Tahira tended to Sir Chris’s injuries. Sadaquah stayed close by the bed but he kept looking at Tahira. She kept her veils close-wrapped as she bathed Sir Chris’s wounds in fragrant oil mixed with herbs. She never glanced at Sadaquah or spoke a word. Lady Godwin pulled me aside.

  “If thy knight can be saved, Lady Hope, Tahira is the one to do it,” she smiled. “My husband and I were pilgrims in the Holy Land and I was terribly injured in a fall from a camel. For almost a year I could not walk or even move without great pain. Then my husband found Tahira. She healed me. She hath a skill almost magical. I have kept her by me ever since.”

  “But my lady, will they not abuse your good husband?” I asked. “What have I done, putting him in this danger? This is all my doing.”

  “Not so, sweet child. My husband was sent to judge this matter, and he followed where it led him. Ease your heart. God will protect him, or give him grace to endure. We cannot help him by fretting.”

  She and I drew near the bed as Tahira finished her ministrations to Sir Chris. I noticed how much Tahira’s hands trembled and I saw how Sadaquah’s eyes burned as he tried to get a look under her veils. Perhaps Sadaquah had only glimpsed how beautiful she was and wanted a better look. The look he was giving her would certainly make me nervous.

  “He is not such a devil to look at,” Lady Godwin said softly as we looked down at Sir Chris. “His fair English hide is but baked from too much Araby sun, and there is that spear cut from long ago. Look at his poor bruised face. How can they call it justice when a man can be beaten to death for not confessing to something he may not have even done? He hath a good face, Lady Hope. I am not sorry my husband sought to help him.”

  Sir Chris groaned and stirred. He opened his eyes and the first thing he happened to see was my hand as I pushed his unruly curls from his face. He caught my hand in his and kissed it. I felt it start a fire in me.

  “Well met, Lady Hope,” he said. “God forgive me for endangering your husband, Lady Godwin. Is he taken in my place, then?”

  “Do not trouble yourself about it, good knight,” said Lady Godwin. “You know me, then? But I do not think I know you.”

  “Nay, lady, it is not likely.” Sir Chris sat up in spite of mine and Sadaquah’s protests. He still wore nothing but his braes and boots. “Sadaquah, I thought I heard they had taken you as well.”

  “Your lady has opened the prison doors for us both,” Sadaquah said with a smile at me. I blushed. He had never spoken so much praise of me since I had known him. Sir Chris put his legs over the side of the bed.

  “My lady, he should not get up so soon,” Tahira protested. She had faded back into a dim corner of the roo
m and we had all forgotten she was there. Sir Chris squinted to see her but she made no effort to come nearer. He got up and walked slowly toward where she stood in the shadows. I had never seen Sir Chris’s old scars exposed like this before. I wondered especially about the terrible marks around his wrists, as if ropes had cruelly burned him.

  Tahira inexplicably kept retreating from him until she was against the wall. Sir Chris stopped when he realized how afraid she was. He said something very gently in Arabic. Her hands flew up to the veils shrouding her face and she began to weep. Sadaquah started up and came toward her as well.

  “What is it, Tahira?” Lady Godwin asked sharply, running past Sir Chris to Tahira’s side and putting an arm around her. “Sir knight, she has tended you for my sake. Do not importune her.”

  “No, no, my lady,” Tahira whispered. “He has done nothing wrong. Oh, no, nothing wrong. It is my knight, lady. It is the knight of the black lion, who set me free.”

  Sir Chris spouted a long string of Arabic and Tahira replied timidly, stepping out of the darkened corner with Lady Godwin supporting her. Sir Chris spoke to her again, and the two of them began to go rapidly back and forth in Arabic. Sadaquah appeared to lose interest in the proceeding and walked away to look out the window. Lady Godwin let go of Tahira and came over to me.

  “Lady Hope, can this be possible?” she said in amazement. “Do you know of this story? Tahira told me of a brave Christian who rescued her from slavery.”

  “I read … I read a diary … “ I faltered. My mind would not take this all in and make sense of it. “But … my lady, it cannot be Sir Chris. They tried to tear that man apart with horses. He was tortured four hours. Before that they had abused him … I know not how long … He cannot have lived through so much.”