Neither Kelly, nor Paul said anything when the professor looked at them for support, but Paul seemed to be thinking hard about the problem.
“Looking for Dodo? This is nonsense,” said Robert. “How will you even know who Dodo is? Are you going to interrogate everyone on that road; stop at every inn and farm you encounter? You… a woman alone on the road?”
“That won’t be necessary,” she said. “I’ll only have to concern myself with those that seem to have horses at hand. That will narrow things down considerably. A horse was expensive to own and maintain in those days. This is why the Franks were largely an infantry force at Tours. Right Paul?”
Paul raised his eyebrows, nodding in the affirmative. “There might only be a few estates or inns on that road that would be keeping horses,” he agreed.
“And what?” Robert was still arguing. “Is she just going to steal the damn thing and ride off looking for this Dodo?”
“No, thievery would be very unwise,” said Maeve. “So I’ll simply buy one.”
“Buy one?” Robert frowned. “I don’t think they’ll be accepting Federal Reserve Notes, Maeve. They’re damn near worthless anyway.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Robert.” She reached in her pocket and fished out a small nugget that gleamed with the sheen of gold. “I’ll use this!”
Kelly immediately recognized the object. It was a gold nugget the two of them had found together on a hiking trip in the mountains, a rare and special find when they were digging out a pit for a camp fire. It was a token of the bond they had forged, and he realized what Maeve was proposing.
Paul remembered how Maeve had shown the nugget to Kelly when they were reunited here in the lab. She had whispered something to him… Heart of Gold, so he assumed it held some special sentimental value between them.
Maeve looked at Robert. “I think they’ll accept this in payment,” she said. “Gold is gold, then and now, and this will buy me a couple horses, along with bed and board at the finest inn on the road. I’ll take a rock hammer and break it into a few smaller pieces before I leave. It should meet all my needs—and then some.”
“That it will,” said Paul.
“You mean to say you agree with this?”
“Look, Robert,” Maeve pressed her advantage. “You said yourself that it’s all of sixteen miles or so from Heristal to the Villa.”
“The chronicle says Dodo left after ‘roiling at banquet’ with his sister. When would that be? Sometime around sunset?”
“No,” said Maeve. “The main meal of the day was taken at mid-day, most often at noon or shortly thereafter. It was an ostentatious display of wealth, for those that were well off, and Alpaida certainly was. That’s why she was taken as Pippin’s consort in the first place. The word ‘banquet’ leads me to believe that this was indeed the main meal of the day. It could last hours, so let’s say Dodo finishes up and gets on the road by four or five in the afternoon.”
Nordhausen was listening, clearly upset, but not in disagreement. He knew the history as well as anyone there.
“Around dusk, when we have our main meal today, they just took a light supper, usually eaten right at or after sunset.” Maeve continued. “Folks went to sleep soon after that. It was expensive to illuminate homes with candles in those days. Or even to waste firewood that could be better used for cooking.”
“OK, Dodo leaves the citadel late in the afternoon, or perhaps even closer to dusk.” Paul began to reason the scenario out.
“He was probably planning to ride at night,” said Maeve, “using the cover of darkness to forestall any rumor of his approach. Most dirty deeds were done in the thick of night, eh?”
“We calculated sunset time earlier for Tours in October at about 6:40 PM.,” said Paul. “This is in mid-September, so you’ll have just a tad more daylight. But my question is this. Kelly said this fellow changed mounts at a farm before the planned attack on Lambert. Well, that’s not a great distance for a horse to travel. Why would he need a fresh mount?”
“How fast would he be going?”asked Kelly.
“A horse walks about four miles per hour, but the most common gait on the road would be a trot, about twice that speed. I’d say he could make the 16 miles in two hours, then. Four if they were taking their time.”
“Then he could easily arrive at Lambert’s villa before midnight,” said Paul.
“That’s what the history says,” said Maeve. “Dodo and his retinue arrived ‘around about the middle of the night.’ He probably left at dusk, rode a few hours, then stopped briefly after dark to secure a fresh mount. We don’t know why, or exactly where, but we really don’t need to either. The history says he needed a fresh horse. That’s all we need to know.”
“This is preposterous!” Nordhausen had been listening, shifting restlessly as they talked, but now his disapproval was obvious. “The man could have ridden south from the old Roman town of Tongres, as well. You’re making too many assumptions. That’s what got us in to trouble earlier, and we jumped the gun at Tours.”
“No,” said Paul. “Our reasoning was sound then, but our adversaries pre-empted us with this counter-operation aimed at preventing Lambert’s martyrdom.”
“Well, assuming you do all this, just appear there and find a horse to buy with that gold, then what? How do you plan to stop Dodo from securing this ‘wilful’ horse for himself and having this mishap?”
“Our assumptions are valid here as well,” Maeve argued. “We’ve already selected Heristal as the most likely site for the banquet. Dodo leaves the citadel to approach under cover of darkness, stopping somewhere along the road to change mounts.” She paused, taking a breath as she realized the scope of what she was proposing.
“So I’m going to be on that road as well,” said Maeve.
“Looking for Dodo? Do you realize how dangerous this is going to be?”
“Forget Dodo,” said Maeve. “I’m going to be looking for an Arabian horse, a Kuhaylan, and as the Chronicle states, ‘you shall know him by his eye, and the fire of his hoof, he that felled heathen.’ And believe me, Robert. I know these horses. I can spot an Arabian in a heartbeat, particularly one with a spirited temper. I’ll find him, damnit. One way or another I’ll find that horse.”
The silence was thick. Robert just blinked at her, saying nothing. He knew in his stubborn heart that she, among all of them, was the only one who could possibly pull a mission like this off. She could ride, by day or night, an experienced equestrian. The gold in her hand would buy her anything she desired. And she alone could find and recognize this steed, and somehow prevent it from running afoul of Dodo.
“I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t know an Arabian stallion from a mule,” he confessed at last. “But a woman alone? It just wasn’t done, Maeve. It would be highly irregular. You would be immediately noticed on your own like that, particularly if you had the means of buying a horse.”
Maeve shrugged. “That’s possible, but I’ll be wearing a heavy riding cloak with hood. Yet an escort at the beginning when I bargain for a horse would be welcome. Perhaps someone should accompany me in. Once I secure a mount I’ll have to ride off on my own, and I can just keep to myself as much as possible. So anyone who wants to come along for the entry had better get suited up. And Kelly, you had best run numbers for the 16th of September, 705, mid afternoon. By the time Lambert is killed it would be the 17th, and that date is still celebrated today as the feast of Saint Lambert, marking his death. Put us on the road just south of Heristal. That way I would come to any farm site before Dodo. If I spot the Arabian I’ll propose a trade, my horse for the Kuhaylan. If the owner balks I’ll still have some gold to persuade him.”