The Minstrel in the Tower Read Free Page B

serving himtoday, but he threw me out. Why? Because I stole one of his silver plates. Imagine! And him having so many.”
    Inside the tower Alice whispered, “Lord Raimond! Did you hear him, Roger? He said Raimond!”
    “Shhhh! I don’t want to miss anything!” Roger lifted a finger to his lips.
    Simon added, “The baron had a sister called Lady Blanche. And that’s who those two are, in there. Her children.”
    Alice clutched her brother’s hand.

    Outside, Odo scoffed, “Those two ragamuffins? If they’re the children of a noblewoman, I’m Richard the Lion-Hearted.”
    “Then you must be King Richard,” Simon answered. “Because by my eyelids I’ll take an oath that those two are Lady Blanche’s fledglings. ’Twas the song that tipped me off. She used to sing that very same verse to her brother, Lord Raimond. I remember the melody and her voice and the words. Even the lute looks familiar. I daresay she was playing that very one.”
    Roger and Alice stared at each other. Blanche was their mother’s name.
    “And when I took a good look at that boy,” Simon went on, “I saw Lady Blanche beneath the dirt on his face. The yellow hair. The blue eyes. The same broad forehead. He’s her image, he is.”
    Roger dropped his head into his hands. It was true that he and his mother looked exactly alike. But if she was a noblewoman, why had they lived like poor serfs in a tiny cottage?
    “What are they doing here in the woods, then?” asked Odo.
    “Who can tell? The last I heard of Lady Blanche, she ran away. Seems the baron wanted her to marry a rich old count, and she wouldn’t do it.”
    “So she ran off?”
    “With a penniless young knight from a family of no importance. The baron was furious. He searched everywhere for her. Then, when the knight was killed at the battle of Acre, he searched again.”
    Roger’s eyes closed. It was certain, then. Father was dead. Everyone knew it—even these strangers. He clasped his legs and squeezed his forehead against his knees as though pressure could push away the grief, but tears seeped through his eyelids anyway.
    Simon went on. “Lord Raimond never found Lady Blanche. She vanished, like. But now…
now
…!” His voice rose with excitement. “We’ve discovered her two brats. They’ll lead us to her!”
    “Right you are, Simon. Haw!” Then Odo sounded puzzled. “But what will we do when we find her?”
    “Ask for ransom! He’ll pay for the brats!And he’ll pay double for his sister! Our fortune is made!”
    Odo burst forth with another “haw!” Then he added, “You’re a fine, smart fellow to think of this, Simon. We’ll guard them well.”
    “By my knees, we will! And we’ll take our time to think up a foolproof ransom plan. Weeks, if need be. Those two inside will keep.”
    Weeks! Roger’s heart sank even further.
Mother is so sick
.…Alice had the same thought. Her lips shaped the word
escape
. Roger nodded.
    As the hours of the day ran out, they huddled together inside the stone walls, devising their own plan. When Odo passed roast quail and a waterskin through a hole in the barricaded door, Roger gave Alice his share.
    At last the moon centered itself above the tower where the roof’s peak had fallen through. A shaft of moonlight shone straight down on them, just as they needed it to.
    “You don’t have to climb up with me,” Alice said softly.
    “Yes, I do. I shouldn’t be letting you do itat all. I’m older than you. I should be the one to go.”
    “But you’re too big,” said Alice. “You can’t fit through the space. I can.”
    Roger shuddered. In the pale light the window slit looked very high, and what Alice had to do seemed much too dangerous. He no longer had a father. His mother might die. How could he send his sister down that sheer stone wall in the dark?
    Alice hugged him. “I’m glad you’re going up the steps with me.”
    “I’ll throw your shoes down to you once you’re on the ground,” said Roger. He winced