‘He nearly told me just to burn it.’
‘So what are we meant to do with it?’
‘Hide it, keep it safe.’ He stretched and looked out of the window. ‘There are places I can go where no one will find me, and you will not have to be associated with whatever crime Old-manter decides I have committed.’
She nodded. ‘It’s a bit late to set off now. Stay tonight and leave in the morning. We can take you part of the way, if you wish.’
49
When they were all prepared to leave and make their way to Willdon, the little group stood at the edge of the camp to make their farewells. Rosalind and Antros — who had offered to go as hostage in exchange for Catherine — were to be accompanied by Pamarchon, who said he wanted to make sure they were safe on the journey.
‘Well,’ he said to Jay, who had come to wish them luck, ‘when you arrived I did not think that you would play such an important part in my life,’ he said. ‘I congratulate you on your intervention. It showed learning and wisdom in equal measure.’
‘Thank you, but I now think it is a lunatic scheme. It can’t possibly work.’
‘It is worth trying. From my point of view I gain nothing if Gontal becomes the new Lord. So I will throw the dice. I have naught to lose except my life, which I value little, but if I win, I win...’
‘Willdon.’
‘No! No, young student, a thousand times no! That is worth even less to me. I was going to say that I win back my name and my liberty, except that now I want a prize more valuable still.’
‘Do you really mean to tell me you wouldn’t grasp Willdon in both hands if you could?’
‘I can think of nothing I want less. It is beautiful, but nothing to me. I never had happiness there, nor do I have fond memories of it. If there was someone — good, reliable, true — who would take it from me, I would hand it over readily and be the happiest man in the world.’ He smiled. ‘You will not believe me, I am sure. So I will say no more. I will return probably tomorrow afternoon. Then I will have to prepare myself for whatever is to come.’
Antros and two others acted as scouts as they walked, while Rosalind and Pamarchon fell back, talking so intensely that they almost forgot where they were going. Several times Antros had to turn and gesture for them to be quiet, as their voices and laughter threatened discovery. Both were in a state of enchantment. They had never talked to each other properly before, not openly and honestly. They loved each other — the way their hearts fluttered demonstrated that — but did not know each other. For once Pamarchon, who had learned to be cautious and guarded, spoke freely in a way he could not do even with Antros. And Rosalind responded, no longer afraid of saying the wrong thing or of not being liked.
‘I wish this could go on for ever,’ she said. ‘Walking through the forest, just like this.’
‘I’ll see what I can arrange,’ he replied with a smile.
‘What do you do here? How do you live? There seem to be a lot of you in that camp.’
‘There’s about six hundred,’ Pamarchon said, ‘if you include the very young and the very old. Fewer than two hundred would be useful in a battle. As for living — we live. The forest provides much of what we need. There are farms around...’
‘You steal food?’
‘No. That’s what they say, but we do not. We buy it. In exchange for gold, or deer or boar, or even our work. We do not steal. I do not permit it.’
‘What sort of work?’
‘We hunt wolves, or protect from interlopers and thieves. We help in the fields sometimes, herd animals, hunt.’
‘You never steal?’
‘Only from people who have more than they need. Some have too little. We borrow, for a while.’
‘It’ll be The Wind in the Willows next,’ Rosalind muttered under her breath.
‘You must understand that we are all entitled to our plot of land. Others have taken it from us and make use of it. We take what would have been ours had we not been expelled. No more than that. When we get what is ours back, then we will be satisfied.’
‘Now, that is what I was going to ask. How do you plan to get it back?’
‘By agreement or by force. We will take it in the way that a good band of men with determination and weapons can take it, when no other possibilities are open to them. Willdon will either accept our claims or it will not.’
‘I don’t think Lady Catherine will just say — fair enough, I’ll leave.’
‘We will see.’
‘I assume that she also can call on men with weapons.’
‘She can call on the whole of Anterwold to come to her assistance. Many more people than we have.’
Rosalind kicked some leaves as she considered this. ‘I don’t rate your chances then. I imagine that Willdon can be defended, and from my history lessons I always thought you needed more men if you are going to be the attacker.’
‘Whoever said anything about attacking Willdon?’
‘You did.’
‘I did not. That would involve many people, and many deaths. I can win my victory with only a handful of people. It is a question of daring and skill. That plan is already laid, although I will not need it if I win my case.’
‘Can you?’
‘I don’t know. Certainly not without an advocate, which I do not have yet.’
‘Where can you get one?’
‘That would be something you can do for me. Ask at Willdon. Get the best available, because without one there will be no point turning up.’
‘We will stop here,’ Pamarchon said once night was falling and they could no longer see the path. ‘We are very close. In the morning, Rosalind and Antros will go on alone and I will return to the camp.’
The two men decided that it was too risky to light a fire which might attract attention, so they ate from the packs they had brought with them. They ate quietly, finishing off everything except for the few morsels that Antros — always careful — insisted be put aside for the morning.
‘Now we sleep. It will be best to wake early and start quickly. Although if you would spare me a few moments...’
He looked at Antros to hint that he should go to prepare the beds for them, to lay out the blankets, for they would be sleeping without tents or covering.
‘I am placing a great deal of trust in you, Rosalind. Am I right to do so? Not for me, you understand, but Antros is my best and closest friend.’
‘I plan to find Jay’s master, Henary. From what Jay says, he will have the authority to protect us both. Besides, I have a lot at stake as well.’
‘What?’
‘You, of course. I lost my heart the moment I first saw you. You could ask anything of me and I would give it to you.’
Pamarchon’s eyes searched hers.
‘I have watched you, Pamarchon. The way you treat your fellows, your captives. I have listened to the way you talk. I can find nothing bad in you. Will you swear that you are as you seem?’
‘I do. I am. Believe me.’
‘Then go and find your sleeping place. But remember, I know nothing, no matter how I appear. Everything I have told you is a lie, really.’
He said no more, but rose, and she watched as he walked slowly off to a place that was private. Rosalind’s heart was beating hard. She scarcely believed what she was doing, or what she was thinking of. But she never, not for a moment, considered changing her mind. She felt as though she would burst with longing. ‘Please,’ she said to herself, or to anyone who might listen and help, though she spoke so quietly not even the moths could possibly hear. ‘Please let this be the right thing to do.’
There was no guidance, no voice in her head telling her not to be so silly, that it was shameful what she wanted so badly. The thudding inside her chest just got worse, and her mind focused more and more on that need that was vague and clear at the same time.