[Roger the Chapman 03] - The Hanged Man Read Free Page A

world where I either burned or froze, but which was never free of demons.
    The second time I came to myself, it was night. Rushlights burned in candle-holders set on table and chest.
    Shadows flickered and curtseyed across the walls.
    Margaret Walker was spinning by the light of a dying fire, while the girl Lillis sat and watched her. I realized with a shock that I had been moved to the comfort of the bed, and that the mattress I had lain on formerly was rolled up, together with the blankets, against one wall, and was, presumably, being used by the women. Had I been so ill that such a sacrifice was necessary? It must have been so, and indeed, when I made an attempt to move and call out, my limbs and voice refused to obey me. The most I could achieve was a feeble motion of one hand and a kind of mangled croak.
    It was enough, however, to attract Lillis's attention and to bring her immediately to my side. 'He's awake, Mother,' she said, and the chatter of the spinning-wheel ceased.
    Margaret Walker crossed the room in her deliberate, unhurried fashion, and smiled down at me. 'Don't try to talk,' she instructed, placing a soothing hand on my forehead. 'I expect you're thirsty. Lillis, fetch water and put some of that dried lettuce-juice powder in it. It'll make him sleep and that's what he needs just now. You've been very sick,' she added, confirming my own suspicions, 'and it will take a day or so yet before you're fit enough to be allowed out of bed.' She took the beaker handed to her by Lillis and held it to my lips. 'Get this down. It will do you good.' She propped up my shoulders while I drank, then lowered me back on to the pillows. 'Can you manage to tell me your name?' she asked. 'It's difficult not knowing what to call you.'
    'Roger,' I whispered and closed my eyes. It worried me that I felt so weak, and that so little effort left me exhausted. I needed to get back on the road as soon as possible and to stop imposing on the charity of these good women.
    Margaret seemed to read my thoughts. 'You're not to worry,' she admonished me. 'You must stay here until you are completely well. It's no hardship to us. In fact, it's a pleasure to me to have a man to look after again. I've missed the sense of purpose since my father died...' She broke off short, as though she had said more than she intended, and got up from her seat on the edge of the bed. 'There! Try to sleep now.'
    She returned to her spinning-wheel, calling sharply to Lillis, who showed a tendency to linger at the bedside, smoothing my forehead with small, cold fingers. I smiled at the girl and let my eyelids droop, but continued watching her from beneath my lashes.
    Lillis Walker was slight and very dark. Thin and plain, her huge brown eyes and coils of thick black hair were her two redeeming features. Her skin was sallow, her face elfin, and her body had the sharp angularity of a child's.

    I still remember the surprise I felt when I learned that she was less than two years younger than myself, and was approaching her twentieth birthday. Her movements were quick and birdlike as she darted impulsively from one thing to another, her bright, inquiring gaze taking in everything around her. She had a strong Celtic strain, derived from her maternal grandmother, a Cornishwoman, and her father's people, who had originally come from Wales. All this, however, I learned much later, when I was up and about. That evening, as I lay and watched her as she returned reluctantly to her mother's side, I simply thought her a rather odd child.
    The dried lettuce juice was starting to work its potent spell, lulling me once more into a troubled sleep, when there was a knock on the door which jerked me awake.
    Both women stared silently for a moment, first at the door, then at each other.
    'Don't answer,' breathed Lillis.
    The tapping came again, soft but persistent. With a resigned sigh, Margaret rose to her feet and drew back the bolts and bar before opening the door a crack. From where