The Traitor's Daughter (9 page)

“Your frankness surprises me.” He was astonished at the
ease with which she matched his tone exactly.

“It is not frankness, my lady. The truth is obvious to
those who would look for it.”

“But you do not think my situation calls for such
treatment.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

His expression thawed. “I cannot see that you are to be
held to account for what your father did when you were a child. Did you
influence him to turn against his rightful lord?”

Alais shook her head.

“Then no, unless you give me cause to do otherwise, I
shall always treat you with the respect that is due to you as my father’s wife.”
Alais took a step back. He thought he must have insulted her. He blinked in
surprise at the sudden change in her attitude. Taking a deep breath he attempted
to gather his wits. They had discussed everything important to do with their
journey. He tried to smile, to show her that the worst was over, but he
suspected that there was more to come. “Now, if there is nothing else, we can
waste no more time here. We have many miles to travel today.” Alais’ attention
snapped back to him and she moved back behind the screen.

Hugh went outside to join Edmund who was preparing the
horses.

“Did you succeed in convincing her to sin?” he asked,
with a smile.

“Yes,” Hugh replied grimly. “Another item to add to the
many already on my conscience.”

Edmund’s face clouded. “You can’t be responsible for
everything.”

“How can I not be responsible for this? She is alone and
unescorted.” Somehow his encounter with Alais had left him frustrated and now
he took it out on Edmund.

“She is your father’s responsibility, not yours. If you
want to blame someone, blame him.” Thankfully, Edmund did not seem to take his
anger personally.

“Do not worry. I know where his share of the blame lies
in this.”

“You think to save her!” Edmund’s face showed his sudden
comprehension.

Hugh shook his head despondently. “I know I cannot. I
wish I could. I just take her to her fate.”

“Then what is this about?”

“I do not know. But I think it would have been better
for Lady Alais if we had left her to be killed by the French.”

Eventually Hugh, Alais and Edmund were gathered together
in the hall to break their fast. Hugh had told Edmund not to comment on Alais’
clothing, but when he saw Edmund frown slightly as he caught sight of Alais
before he turned to take his seat at the side table, he knew that Edmund feared,
as he did, that Alais still looked far too much like a woman and not enough
like a boy. Hugh was angry with himself for risking their lives in this way,
but there was nothing else that he could reasonably do. He had to get Alais to
Liss within the next three days and this was the safest way to do it.

None of them was inclined to talk as they ate. Hugh was
aware of the servants staring at Alais. However well-trained they were, they
knew it was a sin for a woman to dress as a man and they were scandalised. It
could not be worse if she were sitting there naked. Hugh quickly put that
though away. It would not do to dwell on something like that. He did not want
to make Alais feel any more uncomfortable, so he said nothing to the servants,
but resolved to do something on his return. Alais had noticed the servants’
reactions, for she squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. She blushed, as well,
and Hugh thought how pretty she looked. Then he realised that he had something
else to worry about and his anger grew. Alais caught him staring at her and he
turned his head away in embarrassment and frustration. Until this morning, he
had been looking forward to this time with Alais. Now he thought it would be
torture of the cruellest kind.

Although he knew it was making her uncomfortable he
could not stop himself staring from time to time. He found himself wondering
what his reaction would be if he saw Alais and did not know that she was a
woman. No one would be closer to her than he was now. With her hair under her
hood as it was now, she would bear distant scrutiny, but someone sitting by her
at meal-time must surely recognise her for a woman. He and Edmund would have to
make sure that they were always between her and any strangers. He sighed loudly
and realised that both Edmund and Alais had turned to look at him. He frowned
at them and they quickly turned their attention back to their food.

After an eternity the meal ended. The servants fussed
around them clearing and tidying and then they were ready to leave. They walked
out into the overcast morning to their waiting horses. Hugh took it upon
himself to help Lady Alais mount. He wanted her to know that he was more
concerned about her needs than anything and that he knew it was no small thing
that she was doing. She was going to a strange place, with an inadequate escort
of two strangers and dressed in a way that would scandalise all who knew what
was happening. Certainly everyone at Liss would know that she had travelled in
his clothes. He would have to make time to explain to Father Alonso what had
happened, but it was Sir William’s reaction he feared the most. How would his
father feel about the wife he did not really want coming to him dressed as a
boy? Perhaps it would be best if they stopped just out of sight of the manor
house so that Alais could change into her own clothes. That would definitely be
best, even if it was another addition to the list of things to worry about.

At last they set off. Hugh was angry and knew that his
anger made him a poor companion. He felt that Alais was angry with him for
causing her to sin and Edmund was keeping his distance for reasons he did not
yet know. It would not be a secret that Edmund would keep for long.

 The weather had turned colder and rain threatened. He
had looked forward to this time with Alais, even though he knew that it was
wrong. Now he was wasting it with his anger, but he could not change it. The
journey was endangering all their lives and even though that had been his own
choice and to a lesser extent, Edmund’s, it was not Alais’. She had gone from
one dangerous situation to another and the risk of danger would not end when
they reached Liss.

Alais, too, was miserable. He knew she was uncomfortable
in his old clothes and he wondered which humiliation was the greater, the one
that his father had put on her, or his own. At least he had the consolation
that he had had no choice. This was the best way to keep her safe. He wished he
could have agreed to her plan to return to Leigh, but then she would still have
had to make the journey to Liss alone in the future and she would have to face
his father’s anger.

At least she rode well. Hugh rode beside her and then
behind her to convince himself that she rode like a boy. In that one thing he
was assured that she would not give herself away. Now he only had to worry
about anyone seeing her face, hearing her voice, catching sight of her hair or
looking too closely at her figure.

Edmund said nothing and Hugh preferred it that way, for
the moment. He seemed to disapprove of Alais and Hugh knew that he would have
to find out why. He trusted Edmund’s judgement.

He could at least let Alais know that one of her
problems would be resolved before they arrived at their destination. He guided
his horse closer to Alais’ side.

“My lady, I was at fault this morning.”

She turned towards him, but said nothing.

He continued, “I should have told you that you do not
have to wear my clothes for the entire journey”

“No? For how much of the journey must I travel naked?”

Hugh ground his teeth as he tried to decide whether he
wanted to laugh or think again about Alais naked. “There is no chance of that,
my lady, unless we are set upon by robbers.” He was relieved when she laughed
with him. "When we get near to Liss it would be best if you changed into
your own clothes. You need not cause any scandal there. I doubt my father would
approve and the priest would preach against you for many months.”

“I thank you, my lord.” Now she smiled warmly at him and
he knew that she understood.

Alais was not used to travelling in this style and at
this speed. Apart from Edmund, there were no servants. Hugh’s clothes were not
very comfortable. They seemed to fit nowhere except where they were tied
against her body. It had been ridiculous to think that Hugh’s clothes would turn
her into a convincing boy; he was so much bigger than her. The cold air seemed
to attack through every gap and there were many of those. At least they were of
good quality. Hugh did not strike her as vain and his clothes were not
particularly fashionable, but they were made of a very good cloth, so they were
not as uncomfortable as they might have been. The strangest thing was that they
smelt of Hugh. He had assured her that they were clean and she had no reason to
doubt him; she could smell their freshness, but there was a faint smell of Hugh,
a combination of man and horse and leather. She wondered absently if he would
think of her the next time he wore them. Would they then carry her scent? And
what did she smell of?

They had very little baggage, so there was nothing to
sit on when they stopped. They ate and drank standing by the horses. Both men
seemed to be in foul moods and there was little conversation. Alais was bored
and uncomfortable after the first hour. Despite her anger with Hugh, she had frequently
tried to start a conversation with him. She accepted that he had done what was
necessary to keep her safe and it was not his fault that her husband chose to
humiliate her, but Hugh had barely responded. He at least had been civil. When
she had turned to Edmund he had responded merely with grunts; he had been more
talkative when he had carried her to safety and when they had been alone at
Hill. She felt her humiliation was complete. Then, in the early afternoon, it
started to rain. Already tired, she was relieved when Hugh called a halt. They
were approaching a small monastery and he indicated that they would request
shelter from the storm and for the night from the monks. As they rode towards
the monastery, Hugh leant towards Alais, “Your name will be Alfred.”

“Alfred! Why am I to have a Saxon name?”

“I did not choose it to insult you, my lady. Alfred was
a great king.” He shook his head and looked at Edmund, who was pretending not
to be able to hear their conversation.

“I am sorry, my lord.” She raised her voice, “I
apologise Edmund. There is nothing wrong with having a Saxon name. Even the
king has a Saxon name.”

“As my mother never tires of telling me,” said Edmund,
obviously feeling he had been invited to join the conversation. “I, however,
have a Saxon name because I come from a Saxon family.”

Alais was embarrassed and hastened to conclude the
conversation. “I suppose I must have a name and Alfred is as good as any.” She
was sorry to have hurt his feelings, but she did not want to be a boy at all
and being a Saxon boy seemed like yet another humiliation. They pressed on
towards the monastery.

The monks welcomed them warmly and, accepting Alais as
the lowliest member of the group, began to lead her to the stables. Hugh
stopped them quickly, explaining that the boy was his cousin and that Edmund
would take the horses. With one of his more expressive grunts, Edmund took the
horses and followed the monk. Hugh and Alais were taken to one of the small
guest rooms. They were left there to wait until mealtime.

Alais wondered aloud how Hugh intended for her to join
the company for a meal while keeping her cloak and hood on.

“I will tell them that you were made ill by the day’s
journey and cannot leave your bed. And I will bring you back some food.”

“You are a poor liar, my lord,” she said, wryly. “They
will know that you dissemble.”

“Better that than anyone find out that you are not a
boy.”

He grinned and his bad temper seemed to pass away.

Impetuously Alais asked the question that had been on
her mind all day, “Why did you come, my lord, for me and my mother?”

“I told you, you needed an escort.”

“But, surely your father will be angry with you.”

Hugh shrugged, “Then I will suffer the consequences of his
anger.”

“I am sorry for that.” Alais suspected that her husband’s
anger would be terrible, even for his son.

Hugh smiled again, “I am a soldier, my lady. I have had
to bear much worse.”

“But not on my account.”

Hugh’s expression turned serious again, “I would endure much
for you.”

Alais felt herself blush. This was just such a situation
that she should have avoided and she had brought it about herself. They should
not have been left alone.

“I hope that will not be necessary,” she said,
brusquely, hoping to break the sudden intimacy between them, but she could not
tear her eyes away from his face. What she saw there disturbed her. If ever
Hugh decided to be a traitor, she reflected bitterly, his career would be
short. It was as if his thoughts were laid bare to her. Surely her own face
could not be so treacherous. She saw his desire as clearly as if he had
stripped her clothes from her and laid her on the bed beneath him.  The
tenderness and concern that had led him to call short their day’s travel,
despite his haste to get to Liss were also clear to see. And then there was
fear, whether for himself or for her she could not tell.

She felt her breath becoming shorter and knew that she
had to do something before one or the other of them betrayed their vows.

“Tell me about my husband,” she said, more loudly than
she had intended.

The effect was instantaneous. Hugh jerked away from her,
then turned his back on her. Knowing that he was going to lie, Alais was
disappointed.

“I would rather have the truth,” she said, walking round
and facing him.

Hugh swallowed. “I did not think to lie to you. I merely
wish to gather my thoughts.”