The Traitor's Daughter Read Free Page A

loosen it before she could no longer breathe. She
could feel his anger at being called a coward and almost offered to take her
chances in the crowd so that he could go back and fight. Edmund slowed the
horse in his efforts to avoid trampling people. Their fear affected the horse
and Edmund struggled to control him. Alais realised that it was difficult for
him to manage with her perched in front of him. Although the horse was big, he
was not a warhorse, like the steed of Sir Hugh. Sir Hugh’s horse would have
been trained to walk through frightened and screaming people in a battle as if
he were walking through a quiet country lane on a spring morning. Edmund’s
horse, however, became more nervous and kept trying to dance away from the
noisiest people in the crowds. Alais knew that Edmund would never set her down
among the crowd, it could be very dangerous, even though he was armed, but
there was still the danger that the horse would throw them. Impetuously, she
leaned forward and began to smooth the horse’s neck and speak to him. Edmund
tightened his grip on her still further, but she placed her hand over his and
pulled it back slightly, so that she could lean forward even more. “My lady,”
he began, but stopped as he noticed the horse start to calm down. She placed
one hand on the saddle and he let go of her entirely so that she could stretch
out along the horse’s neck and they walked on at a sedate pace.
    Alais did not dare look back in case she saw more
Frenchmen. In these narrow streets there would not be room for anyone to run
and they would be massacred. Even Edmund would be at risk with so little room
for manoeuvre. It took them a while to make their way through the streets towards
the narrow Bar Gate to the north of the town. Alais gradually began to
recognise familiar streets and houses. Once through the gate, the crowds
thinned as people ran in different directions, seeking safety and help and, as
they reached the fields beyond the town, Edmund was able to push the horse
faster and they began to leave the fleeing people behind.
     
    Edmund was silent throughout the rest of the journey and
Alais had no wish to start a conversation. Once they had left the town behind,
there was no more need for her to calm the horse and she returned to her
position in front of Edmund. He returned his hand to her waist and she found
herself distracted by a thought about the tall knight. She found herself wishing
that she was riding with the knight and not with the servant. It was true that
Sir Hugh’s warhorse would have provided a more comfortable ride, but she
imagined that he would have held her close and that his body would be more
accommodating than Edmund’s. As soon as the thought occurred to her, she
realised how uncomfortable she was and shifted. Edmund grunted and gave her
more room. She also knew that if she had been riding with Sir Hugh they would
have talked all the way. There would have been no need for her to leave his
arms to talk to his horse and he would have held her safely all the while. It
was not that she did not feel safe with Edmund, just that she felt that he did
not approve of her, or had taken an instant dislike to her, not, of course,
that she cared what a servant thought about her, but it did seem important that
Sir Hugh’s servant should hold her in some regard.
    Alais glanced back at the burning town and wondered if
Sir Hugh was safe. Had he found her mother yet? Then she remembered Peter, the
servant who had stayed with them when their escort had returned to Leigh. She
could not bear to think of either of them hacked down by a vicious French sword,
but now no other thought seemed able to lodge in her head. She tried to
distract herself again by thinking about Sir Hugh, but she could only worry
about whether or not he had been killed before he could find Lady Eleanor. When
it was not occupied with those thoughts, her mind kept going back to the last
time she had seen her mother. A sudden