The Copper Sign (45 page)

A gentle breeze came wafting in from the sea, driving wisps of clouds before it as a shepherd would his sheep. Many ships had set sail in recent days to take advantage of the fine weather and were now plying the seas like so many little nutshells with billowing sails. The sea was calm, with a promise of a pleasant journey. Ellen sat on the deck, lost in thought. Since Madeleine’s death they had been fleeing Thibault and finally had found a safe haven for the winter in L’Aigle Castle. They knew they could no longer work at tournaments because of the danger of running into Thibault there.

The more Ellen thought about her future, the greater she felt her homesickness. She looked over at Rose, who was sitting nearby. It was evident the girl had a guilty conscience. She had fled without a cent a few months earlier and since then had been unable to save anything. She had nothing left and could not even afford the fare for the voyage. If the pony had not died of colic shortly before they left L’Aigle, Ellen would have at least been able to sell him to pay for the trip. But under the circumstances, she had had no choice but to dispose of Athanor, not as she wished by giving it to William, but by selling it to a merchant.

She smiled as Rose looked over at her and was happy she and Jean were going to England with her. A smile played on her lips at the thought of returning home. In her mind’s eye the meadows around Orford were indescribably green and full of flowers, and her mouth began to water at the thought of Aelfgiva’s tasty goat cheese. She propped herself up and tried to find a more comfortable sitting position. In the past five months she had put on a lot of weight. She was now in her ninth month, her belly was round as a ball, and her legs were so swollen that the anklebones were no longer visible. Ellen could feel a pulling in her back and said a quick prayer that the Lord would see to it she reached the English mainland before the child was born.

The second night on board she felt strong cramps in her lower abdomen, and by morning she could no longer bear the pain. She looked around for Jean. His blanket lay rumpled up beside her. Then she turned to Rose, took her by the arm, and shook her out of her sleep. “Rose, the child is coming,” she said.

“What?” Rose was seized with panic. “Oh, God, what shall I do?”

“Go and get Jean!” Ellen knew Rose wouldn’t be able to help her much. Thibault had forced her to dispose of two more children. Finally, she convinced him to let her keep the last child, but it was stillborn.

Jean would know what to do, she was convinced of that.

When he arrived, he stroked her forehead gently. “Well, then let’s go ahead and do it,” he said cheerfully. “Rose, ask around and see if anyone knows what to do when you’re having a baby.”

“The men, too, or only the women?”

Ellen groaned.

“Only the women, Rose, and keep calm, everything will be fine,” he assured her, patting her on the arm.

He is much too grown-up for his age
, Ellen thought, slightly dazed, but also grateful that he would take care of everything.

Shortly afterward, Rose returned with a friendly-looking woman. Her clothing was simple, but cleaner than that worn by the other passengers. Jean spoke briefly with her, then asked Rose for help in taking Ellen to a quieter place.

“Ellenweore, this is Catherine, she’ll help you,” Jean finally said, introducing the woman.

“Don’t worry, you can do it!” Catherine encouraged her. “I have five children,” she said with a smile. “My two eldest are on board, too. I’ll introduce you to them later.”

Ellen tried hard to smile as well, but the birth pangs caused her to wince.

Catherine caressed her sympathetically.

“When it gets really bad, just scream. It actually doesn’t help much, but it makes the whole thing a little easier to bear. And you two,” she said, turning to Rose and Jean, “stand in front of her so everyone doesn’t stand there gaping while she is delivering the child.”

“Dying can’t be any worse,” Ellen moaned, gasping for air during a short pause in the contractions.

“You’ll forget the pain soon enough,” Catherine consoled her. “Why did Eve have to take that apple?” Ellen said in a long moan. She had never liked the story of the Fall and Eve’s responsibility for suffering that women had to endure.

“Give me a few blankets so we can make her a little more comfortable. Above all, her back needs to be well supported,” Catherine ordered. “And she also needs water to drink. Giving birth makes you thirsty. And after that, something good to eat.”

Ellen groaned again at the thought of food.

“Is this your first child?” Catherine asked, and Ellen nodded. “For a first time it seems to be going quickly. It took me two days!”

“Oh, my God!” Ellen’s heart sank at the very thought it could last that long.

“No, no, don’t worry, I don’t think it will take you that long. My sister’s first child came faster, too. Try to breathe deeply and regularly. That will help,” Catherine advised her, and asked Rose to go and fetch a bowl of water, and to have some thread and a knife or scissors on hand if necessary.

“Why do you need thread?” Jean asked inquisitively.

“You have to tie the umbilical cord before you cut it off,” Catherine explained patiently.

In the afternoon the child came into the world, feet first.

“It’s a boy! Ellen, your premonition was right!” Rose exulted.

Catherine held the child up and slapped his backside. The child’s skin was blue. First he coughed; then he screamed and with every breath seemed to turn a little redder. Quickly but gently Catherine rubbed the child down with oil and a little salt, and washed him in warm water the captain had sent them. Then she wrapped the child securely in the clean linen cloths that Ellen still had with her.

“What name will you give the child?” asked Rose, beaming.

“William!” She closed her eyes in exhaustion.

“Of course…” Rose smiled knowingly.

Ellen carefully stroked her son’s tiny cheeks with her finger. The child would probably never know his father, but at least he should bear his name.

The baby began to pout his lips as if he were sucking.

“You have to nurse him, he’s hungry!” Catherine explained, visibly moved.

Ellen could feel a sense of displeasure coming over her and didn’t move.

“Ellenweore!” Catherine shouted, and Ellen was startled as if being roused from a bad dream.

Of course she would nurse her child and do everything she could to be a good mother, even if her own bad experiences kept her from knowing exactly what that meant. Timidly she bared her breast.

“Come, I’ll show you how to do that.” Catherine placed one hand underneath the child’s head and with her other hand pinched Ellen’s breast so the nipple protruded.

Little William reached out for the breast avidly as soon as it touched his mouth. He sucked on the nipple firmly and evenly, but it seemed to Ellen as if her breast was as barren as a dried-up well.

“It will take a little while for the milk to come,” Catherine explained, as if she could read Ellen’s thoughts. “Let him suck as often as he wants to, and soon the milk will start to flow by itself.”

“I’m hungry, too,” Ellen whimpered. Her body felt beaten down, yet she was fully awake.

“Here!” said Rose, handing her a slice of coarse bread with savory lard and salt.

“Thank you!” Ellen wolfed down the bread in just a few bites.

“Now, we don’t even know if you are an Englishman or a Norman,” she whispered to her child.

After William had fallen asleep, the ship’s captain performed an emergency baptism since it was not possible to know if the little boy would survive the next few days.

“Now go to sleep yourself, Ellen,” said Rose, “and I’ll keep an eye on William. You have to rest, because after we arrive in London we still have a long trip ahead of us. If he gets hungry, I’ll wake you up.”

Ellen lay down, and the gentle rocking of the ship soon put her in a deep, restful sleep.

Ellen learned from Catherine how to put diapers on the child, and as she did that she couldn’t help noticing that his left foot looked different from the right one. It was crooked and turned inward.

“It’s certainly nothing serious,” Catherine assured her. “Infants’ legs are often crooked right after birth, and later they straighten out. He’ll grow out of it. Just always wrap him as tightly as you can. And just look how sweet his little feet are,” she replied with delight, stretching one out toward Ellen.

Hesitantly Ellen breathed a kiss on it.

“You shouldn’t do that too often, or it will take him too much time to learn to walk!” Catherine laughed and shook her finger at Ellen.

“Then I won’t do it again, I promise!” Ellen stammered guiltily and wrapped the boy even tighter in the cloth. For the first time since she had left Orford she had someone who really belonged to her and she had to care for. She would try to do everything right and teach William all he needed to know. The only thing she couldn’t figure out yet was how to explain to Osmond and Leofrun that she had a son but no husband. So many years had passed since she had fled, and at least she wouldn’t have to be afraid of Leofrun and Sir Miles.

After she had wrapped up the child, Rose picked him up and carried him around for a while. Jean did not leave her side, and they could both have easily passed for the parents of the child.

Ellen’s thoughts turned sadly to Jocelyn and then, full of longing, to her beloved William, whom she would probably never see again. Was it her fate never to be happy?

At noon they arrived in the harbor of London, and most of the people who were not seafarers were green about the gills. The wind had picked up in the morning and caused the ship to pitch and toss as it entered the Thames.

When Catherine learned that the four of them were supposed to be continuing their travel that very day, she suggested they remain in London as her guests. “Edward, Nigel, come here!” she called out to her two eldest sons. They came running over and politely bowed to their mother. She patted them lovingly on the head. Edward, the older one, was the very image of his mother and had the same full, chestnut-brown hair. Nigel must have taken after his father, because his hair was finer, smoother, and as black as a raven’s feathers. “Your father will come to pick us up. Don’t forget to greet him properly,” she reminded the boys firmly.

Only after the ship had been tied up and a wooden gangway put out could the travelers disembark. It was a strange feeling for them to have solid ground under their feet once again. Staggering slightly, they took their first steps on shore.

Ellen recognized Nigel’s father at once in the crowd. He was tall, good-looking, and dressed very elegantly.

“Father, Father!” the two boys cried out, waving.

Rose was so impressed with the man’s stately appearance that she just stood there gaping.

At first he eyed his wife’s companions suspiciously, but after Catherine had whispered something in his ear he smiled cordially and invited them to be their guests for the next few days.

When they entered the house on Wine Merchants Street, Jean nudged Rose. “Have you ever seen such a beautiful house?” he whispered. His gaze wandered admiringly over the colorful wall coverings and the heavy oak furniture.

“No, at least not from the inside,” she answered, equally impressed.

Catherine’s husband had to have a very successful business, as there were a number of servants, maids, and a cook to care for them.

A little girl with big eyes and black curly hair came rushing into Catherine’s arms crying, “Mama!”

The younger children had stayed home while Catherine and the two older boys had visited their family in Normandy. The two other children also embraced their mother joyfully. Then the nanny came out and took the little ones into the kitchen.

“Would you like to take a bath?” Catherine asked her guests. Ellen nodded vigorously at once. “Oh yes, bathing…that was so long ago!”

Rose and Jean were somewhat more restrained but finally nodded as well. They didn’t want to make a bad impression in such a fine house.

“Then I’ll tell them to heat some water in the kitchen.”

“But, my dear, you must know that Alfreda has been busily preparing for your arrival since this morning and heating enough water so you and our sons can have a nice bath.” The wine merchant beamed at his wife’s happy smile.

“You are right, my dear. Alfreda simply thinks about everything.” Turning to Ellen she continued: “When we married, my father-in-law gave her to me. She raised my dear husband, and at first I found it a bit hard to accept that she always knew everything better than I did. Today I can’t do without her.”

“I think Edward and Nigel will let our guests go first and bathe later.” The wine merchant waited for a response from his sons. Since they were well-mannered, they nodded politely even if they seemed a bit disappointed.

“Of course, Father,” they said and left the room with him as he had indicated they should.

“I’ll leave you alone for a moment. Come, sit here by the fire,” Catherine said with a welcoming gesture, and followed the rest of her family.

No sooner had she left the room than Rose began to talk excitedly. “I noticed her right away on the ship because she is so beautiful. Her children are so lovable, and even in her simple linen dress she positively radiates elegance! Certainly she will put on some finer clothes later on.”

“Well, I don’t know, it’s all a little too fine for me, too happy and orderly. Things like that always make me suspicious.” It was evident Jean felt uncomfortable in the elegant house.

A short time later when Catherine returned, she seemed a little tense but tried hard not to let it show.