Winds of Time Read Free Page B

out my hair and
braided it … and then stopped, still holding onto the thick plait
with one hand. What to tie the end with? A scrunchie wouldn’t do.
They didn’t have rubber bands in the Middle Ages. I rummaged in the
pack and came up with a dark blue ribbon from the hem of the
broomstick skirt. I cut a length of it with the scissors from the
first aid kit.
    Then I slipped the chain, on which my
ex-husband’s diamond ring was strung, around my neck, took off my
watch (very reluctantly) and stowed it in the pack, which I put
back behind the stones. There was no help for it. I couldn’t keep
it. I stacked a few more rocks to hide it better and mused that an
archaeologist of the future was going to get a major surprise.
    By the time I got back to Thomas, he was on
his feet. He glanced at the moon. “I reckon it’s after midnight
now.”
    “ You’re probably right,” I
said. “Would you rather stay here until morning?”
    “ No!”
    “ So let’s get
walking.”
    Much cheered, Thomas led the way out of the
fort and headed west on the southern side of the wall (so as to
avoid any stray Scots). I followed, trying to keep a steady pace,
but Thomas, who’d been sad and scared before, rather than injured,
was irrepressible now that he had company. At one point he broke
into a run. When I refused to keep up, he slowed and then stopped
to wait for me.
    “ My uncle will be very
worried about me,” he said.
    “ How many men were in your
company?” I said.
    “ Twelve, in addition to me.”
Thomas bit his lip.
    “ Was it your first scouting
trip?”
    Thomas nodded. It might be a long time
before he was allowed out again.
    The wall rose and fell to our right,
following the hilly terrain. Neither Thomas nor I had any idea how
far it might be to Carlisle. We walked for several hours, but some
time before dawn, clouds blew in to cover the moon. I couldn’t see
see the dips and stones in the road any longer and stumbled twice
on rocks before falling to my knees on a third impediment.
    “ We have to stop,” I
said.
    Thomas gazed west, his hands folded on the
top of his head and his eyes straining for any sign of the city.
“It can’t be much farther.”
    “ It really could, Thomas.
Let’s rest until morning.” A small stand of trees grew to our left.
I eyed it, thinking it might provide enough shelter for us to pass
what remained of the night. As soon as the sky began to lighten, we
could set out under better conditions.
    Reluctantly, Thomas allowed me to lead him
across the fifty yards of grass to the trees. As we passed under
them, their leaves obscured the moon and it was quite dark. Thomas
found a tree that was free of brambles, and settled himself at its
foot. Neither of us wore a cloak so I sat beside him and put my arm
around his shoulders. He leaned into me, resting his head against
my breast.
    “ I never asked your name,”
he said, after a minute.
    I smiled. A ten year old’s oversight. “You
can call me Margaret.”
    “ You speak strangely,” the
boy said.
    “ To me, you speak strangely
too. I have never been here before and much of this land is unknown
to me.”
    Thomas didn’t reply and I thought he might
have fallen asleep.
    “ Thank you for saving me,”
he said.
    Within two minutes, his breath came slow and
even.
    I eased my back further down the tree so I
didn’t sit so upright and closed my eyes too. But I couldn’t sleep.
In the cold, dark woods, alone but for a ten year old boy, the
fragility of my position pressed on me. I sat a little straighter
again, opened my eyes again, and watched.

Chapter Three
     
     
    I awoke to find two boots next to my nose.
One of them shifted to poke me in the ribs.
    “ Wake up!”
    I could have sworn I had stayed awake the
whole night, but just when I should have been watching, I must have
fallen asleep. Isn’t that always the way of it in the movies?
Thomas still slept, cradled against my side. His weight prevented
me from shifting so I could see the