Chapter 25

25

W hile Rennwick and Roger traded insults with the High Sheriff, Baldor and Terrowin were making preparations to make the treacherous descent down the face of the cliff. They took coils of rope and the sacks containing their personal belongings down through the undercroft and dungeon to the guard room. They arrived in Sabinius's room a scant half hour after Ellyn and only minutes before Roger and Rennwick, who quickly brought everyone up to date on the parlay with Harold Falconard.

"If the weather calms and the Channel is clear of storms, a three-day head start would almost see you to the port of Calais," Sabinius said. "Assuming you leave here in a timely manner."

"Assuming he believes I would sell the girl back to him."

"Do you think he believes you would?"

"Not for the blink of an eye. But he may be convinced when he reads the note I sent laying out further demands, including amnesty for all and safe passage out of England."

"And you believe he would honor those demands? "

"Not for the blink of an eye."

"Indeed." Sabinius frowned and looked at Terrowin. "Was there any sign of the ship?"

"Not yet. But the waters are rough in the bay and worse beyond the headland. All things considered, it might be better anyway for a vessel to arrive in darkness, for ‘tis a certainty Falconard will post sentries on top of the cliff. By the same thought, I would also say it might behoove us to make the descent while there is still daylight to see where we put our feet. We would not get ten paces in the dark without lighting a torch and that would draw any eyes on shore like a beacon. If it is true what her mam says and there is a cave halfway down," he glanced at Bethy, "it will make for a good place to rest and wait for the ship."

"If the courier made it through and if the message was delivered," Renn said. "And if the captain sailed promptly."

"Captain Giddings is a good man. Reliable. Even so, he will not linger at anchor any longer than necessary. You must be down the cliffs and ready to be picked up the instant his ship clears the headland."

Ellyn shivered. She had only seen the cliffs from the roof of her tower, but that was terrifying enough. The thought of climbing down a path that even made the men hesitant had sprays of gooseflesh rising on her arms.

Seeing her hug her arms and rub them, Rennwick sought to ease her mind. "The path is passable. We have plenty of rope. We will bind each to the other through our belts and if one slips, the others will prevent anyone from falling."

"Or a tumble off the edge will pull everyone down, one after the other," Baldor pointed out glumly.

Bethy came into the room in time to hear what Baldor said and she dropped the pewter flagon of ale she was carrying. It clanged like a gong on the stone floor, splashing the contents everywhere.

"F-forgive me," she stammered and started to drop to her knees to clean up the mess. Roger grasped her gently by the shoulders and prevented her from doing so.

"Baldor is only trying to frighten everyone because he is, himself, terrified of high places. Except when he has jumped up onto a stool after he has seen a mouse. That is where he decides which is the worst of the two terrors."

Bethy looked up at him and smiled shyly. It put a little dimple in both her cheeks, which prompted Roger's gaze to linger on the lovely oval shape of her face and the sweet outline of her mouth.

Sabinius levered himself into a higher position on the bank of pillows, waving away Ellyn's hands as she reached out to help.

"When you arrive in Calais, you are to seek out a tavern called the Red Fox. There will be a man waiting there to guide you to Dijon. His name is Rousseau, and you may trust him as you trust me. I also have some letters I would beg you to take into safekeeping. Bethy—" He glanced over. "Bethy, peel your eyes away from Sir Roger and fetch the packet I prepared earlier."

Blushing, the maid retrieved a heavy pouch and carried it to the bed.

"Letters to my family, mostly," he said, lifting out a bundle of ten or so bound together with string, all with wax seals. "The rest are for milady to keep her apprised of the news here in England."

Those letters he removed from the sack along with a large square of leather.

"Before I bind them, there is one more document to add," Sabinius said, pointing a gnarly finger to a small table nearby. "The gospel, child," he said to Ellyn. "Fetch it to me."

Ellyn retrieved the heavy book and set it carefully on Sabinius's lap. He opened the top board of stiffened leather then riffled down through several vellum pages until he came to a folded document bearing a red wax seal that had been tucked between the pages. When he removed it, his hand was visibly trembling. "This was acquired from the Abbey at Kirklees. It has been safeguarded there at great risk to the nuns for lo these past fifty years. The document must be delivered safely to milady in Burgundy. If there is the smallest risk of these papers falling into Falconard's hands… or, indeed, any ally of Longshanks… then you must destroy them by fire, water, whatever means are available. I charge you with this task, Rennwick de Beauvoir. And you, Roger Burke, should Renn fall to the sword. And you Terrowin and you Baldor should the task befall to the last one who draws breath. I will have you all swear it on your vows of honor."

The four knights exchanged a glance. At Rennwick's nod, they dropped to a knee, bowed their heads and pressed a fist over their hearts.

"I do swear it," they said in solemn unison.

The document was carefully placed into the packet with the other letters and the leather folded over and tied with a rawhide strip. When the knot was secure, the agate eyes turned to Ellyn.

"Put your faith and trust in these men," he said. "They possess the bravest of hearts and you would find no better to have at your command."

"Hardly my command," she said softly.

He only narrowed his eyes and smiled. After clutching the packet to his bosom one last time, he sighed and delivered it into Ellyn's hands.

"Get thee gone now," he whispered. "Go with God. May He guide your footsteps safely into Burgundy."

When Sabinius moved his hands away, the candlelight revealed a design stamped onto the leather and filled with gold.

It was a rose.

The same rose as the mark Ellyn bore on her upper thigh.

As recent navigators of the twists and turns, Terrowin and Baldor led the way down into the underbelly of the castle. They had left torches burning in iron cressets, and as they passed each one, they smothered it, so there was only blackness behind them.

The knights had chosen to wear only their mail hauberks under the same nondescript surcoats they had worn at Nottingham. They carried swords and multiple daggers in their belts, and each had a crossbow slung across their backs. The bulk of their armor, after much discussion, was abandoned as being too cumbersome.

Ellyn insisted on carrying the bow she had used in the forest and a quiver of arrows, both of which she wore comfortably over her shoulder, leaving her hands free to carry the canvas sack containing the items she had collected in her chamber as well as the leather folio. Bethy brought a sack containing a skin of ale and some foodstuffs she had taken from the cookhouse.

Ellyn followed as close behind Rennwick as she dared without walking up his heels. Her skin was clammy, her heart was pounding in her ears, her eyes were stinging from the smoke from the torches. The farther they walked into the honeycomb of passageways, the more she felt a growing sensation of dread.

When they came to the crypt the four knights paused, took a knee, and made the sign of the cross before the statue of the Virgin. Ellyn was tempted, but she had no real faith in the Christian God; she preferred the guardianship of the ones her mother had taught her to respect.

Terrowin and Baldor had cleared a path through the charred debris of the dungeon but there was little they could do about the stench of decay and dampness, or the shadows that shifted and flickered across the walls like dark spectres. Even with their torches throwing off bright halos of light, the stark chamber was an awful place and once again Ellyn saw things the others could not see. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and tried to will the creatures away, but the scorched, bloody faces were there when she opened them again.

She froze, halfway down the curved staircase, forcing the others to stop behind her. Renn went several steps ahead before he realized she was not moving.

"Ellyn?"

She looked at him, and despite the hot light from his torch, he found himself staring into large eyes, dark and wild, the black centres so wide there was only a thin rim of blue around them. The sight stripped the breath from his chest for a moment and he climbed back up the steps, reaching her just as the canvas sack dropped out of her hands.

He caught it and handed it to Roger.

"Ellyn?"

She turned her face to the wall.

"Ellyn, what is it? "

She shook her head and pressed herself against the cold stone, her hands splayed flat. Renn signalled the others to move past and stood with her until they had descended the rest of the way and were out of sight around the curve of the wall.

"Ellyn?" His voice was gentle with concern. "What is it? What do you see?"

"Death," she whispered. "This place is full of death. I can see it. I can see them all and… and it is horrible." She closed her eyes and leaned her brow so hard on the rough stone, it scraped the skin and drew tiny beads of blood.

Alarmed, Renn brought his torch closer so the light encompassed them both and the heat from the flame singed a few hairs that had escaped from her braid. "Ellyn… look at me. Look at me ."

Inch by ragged inch she turned her head until she could see his face.

"I believe you. I believe you can see them, but they cannot hurt you. While there is a breath left in my body, I will not let anyone or anything hurt you. No one in this world or any other. Do you believe me? Do you trust me?"

She managed a nod that was not much more than a shiver.

"Good girl. Lean on me now… put your arms around me."

The wall was solid, it was safe, and Ellyn was afraid to let go, but he was close and he was real, and she lifted one hand away, then the other, and put them around Rennwick's neck. He tossed his torch down to the floor and scooped her up into his arms, which caused the stairs to groan and wobble away from the wall for an unsteady moment. Without waiting to see if the whole structure was about to collapse beneath them, he carried her quickly down and through to the guard room.

There, he shook his head to avert any questions from the others and set Ellyn gently down on an upturned barrel.

She looked around in confusion for a moment, then focussed on Renn's face. "My bow. I dropped my bow."

"I will fetch it," Terrowin said and dashed out to the death chamber again. He found it lying beside the torch and brought both back to the guardroom.

At a nod from Renn, Baldor opened the sally-port, filling the chamber instantly with a gust of cold, salty sea air. It blew out two of their four torches and gave Ellyn the shock she needed to clear her head.

Roger stepped out onto the ledge and when he came back inside, his expression was grim.

"The rain has stopped but the wind is from the north and driving against the face of the cliff. We will have to have a care where we place each footfall. Step only where the person in front of you has stepped."

Terrowin retrieved one of the coils of rope he had brought down earlier. He took one end and looped it through the back of Renn's belt.

"Being our valiant leader, I shall assume you will want to take the lead."

He spooled out six feet of rope and when he approached Ellyn to tie her next in line, Renn took the coil from his hands and slipped it around her waist himself. When it was done, he handed the coil off to Roger, who then tied himself and Bethy before unrolling a length to Terrowin. The last ten feet of the coil was offered to Baldor, who brushed it away with a growl.

"If I go over, pillock, you would all go over. "

"Indeed. And if you did not eat every meal as if it was your last, you would not be the size of a barrel."

Baldor growled and took a mock swing at the grinning knight.

Renn ignored them and turned to Ellyn, making certain the knot at her waist was tight as he murmured, "Are you recovered?"

She nodded. "I am fine. I will be fine as soon as we leave this place."

"Stay close. Grasp hold of my belt and do not let go for any reason. Follow exactly in my footsteps and we will be at the bottom before you know it."

Reassuring words… but words that were snatched away on the wind as the slack in the rope was taken up and Ellyn had no choice but to duck through the sally-port and walk behind him out onto the ledge. The sea was still rough, the waves as gray as the metallic light in the sky. Gazing down at the view of the inlet and the headland that marked the far side of the bay, her stomach took a sickening slide down into her toes.

Behind her, Bethy gasped as she emerged from the portal. When she tried to turn around and run back the way they came, Roger caught her and drew her against his chest. "Courage, little one. I am right here behind you."

She shook her head. "I… I do not think I can do it."

He smiled gently. "I have a wooden foot and I am terrified of steep paths… but I have been down it once and, as you can see, lived to tell the tale. Take hold of my belt, as Ellyn has done, look at nothing but my back, and I will see you safely to the bottom."

Bethy whimpered. She looked like she might still try to bolt, but in the end, with her cheek pressed close to Roger's chest, and his hand stroking her hair, she nodded and whispered, "Yes, my lord."

Baldor was the last one to step out onto the ledge. He stood as still as a rock, his face set in grim lines behind the bushy beard. He had not peered over the edge the first time the portal had been opened, he did not peer over it now.

Several seagulls flew past, curious to see who dared to invade their cliffside territory, their shrill screes, adding to the sound of the waves and the rush of the wind. Ellyn pulled the hood of her tunic forward until only a small wedge of her face was visible and her view was limited to a patch of Renn's broad shoulders and the narrow strip of ground directly in front of her boots.

"Ready?" Renn asked.

"No," Ellyn said.

"Good. Come along. Hold tight."

She curled her hand through his belt and gripped it so tightly her knuckles glowed white. She had no choice but to step forward when he did, and placed her feet exactly in the spot his had just left. The gulls kept screeching and the wind kept buffeting them as one after another, the slack in the rope was taken up and they started the hair-raising descent.

The path at the top had been reasonably wide and not so very steep, but then the track narrowed and Rennwick's confident stride slowed to cautious, sliding steps as they had to take sharp turns to follow the indents of the rock face. Erosion had worn away some of the stone and in one place, there was a two-foot void they had to step across. The angle of descent also grew steeper and somewhere between the upper ledge and the promised shelf halfway down Terrowin twisted his ankle savagely enough for him to let loose a howl and a steady stream of curses that only ended when the path widened and they gratefully spilled out onto a flat indent carved into the face of the cliff.

Light was beginning to fade from the sky. The remnants of the storm clouds were racing swiftly out to sea leaving sporadic gaps through which the rising sliver of a pale moon could be seen. The temperature had dropped considerably and it was while Ellyn was hugging herself and rubbing her arms for warmth that she turned and noticed the cave at the back of the ledge.

"My mam were right," Bethy whispered in awe. "The Eagle's Eyre. She said as how it were used to hold special prisoners."

Ellyn was almost afraid to look, worried that she might have another glimpse into the past, but when the others walked inside the cave, she obeyed the tug of the rope and followed.

They had to step over the rotted remains of a door, the wood reduced to shreds. The ghostly outline of a table was off to one side, as well as a barrel with a few of the staves broken inward as if they had been smashed by an axe or a sword. There were bat droppings everywhere, splattered white on the stone walls. Other vermin had made nests in the nooks and crannies. But it offered some much-welcomed relief from the howling wind and a chance for everyone to loosen their ropes, set their weapons aside, and catch their breaths before embarking on the second half of the descent.

Roger took a precarious seat on the edge of the barrel and leaned over to rub the cramps out of his calf. Several times Ellyn had heard him slip on the uneven rock as the wooden foot miscalculated the firmness of where he was stepping.

"Does your leg pain you?"

"Only when I try to walk down an uneven goat path," he said, smiling crookedly. "Then it feels as though there are a thousand needles sticking into the foot that isn't there."

Bethy kneeled down in front of him. She chased his hands away and started running her own up and down the muscles of his calf, hard enough that his eyebrows arched and he sucked in a sharp breath.

"My mam's legs used to swell up and she'd suffer something fierce when she were heavy with child. Thirteen times she suffered for it."

"Thirteen? I envy you having a large family."

She shrugged. "Not so large now. Five died of the fever, two were hung for poaching in the king's forest. I have not seen the others since…" she paused in her rubbing long enough to make a fist then straighten three fingers slowly. "Three years gone now. My brother Ross was sweet on a girl in another village. And my brother Ned most likely joined the forest outlaws. Bit wild, he was. Never liked to have walls around him, holding him in. The others… just left."

Rennwick had unfastened the rope from his waist and was standing at the entrance of the cave, staring hard at the sea, watching the churning turbulence of the waves as they crashed onto the rocks below. Farther out, beyond the point of the headland, conditions looked no better with thick whitecaps on the waves and spume rising twenty feet in the air where they struck the rocks.

"I suspect the reason we have not yet sighted the ship is that it cannot make it safely around that rocky point. We may have to cross to the other side. According to Sabinius, there is a sheltered inlet a few leagues to the north. The captain may have pulled in there to ride out the storm."

"For those few leagues, we will be out in the open if we have to walk along the shore," Roger said.

"Aye, but we will have darkness on our side. And I strongly doubt Falconard would have put his best sentries where there was no hope in hell of anyone escaping this way." He turned and looked at Terrowin. "How bad is your ankle?"

"It hurts like a rotten tooth, but it is not broken. I can walk."

"I wager I will have him slung over my shoulder like a sack o' grain before we reach the bay," Baldor grunted. "There is blood in his boot and sweat on his brow."

"Dammit to hell, let me see." Renn crossed swiftly to where Terrowin was glaring at Baldor.

"The blood is leaking from a scrape on my knee." Terrowin pointed to the tear in his chausses and the red stain running down into his boot. "The ankle will not slow me down. I have twisted it worse leaping out of bedroom windows to avoid being caught by the husband of the house."

"Nevertheless, you will be of no use scouting the way ahead, and Baldor you move with the stealth of a bull in heat and make too big of a shadow. Roger, I leave you in charge of getting everyone the rest of the way down to the bay. If I move quickly enough, I can be across the headland, see if the ship does, indeed, wait on the other side, and be back by the time you reach the shore."

Roger objected. "We should stay together."

"And do what? Sit here and wait for the weather to clear? Wait for daylight when even a half-witted sentry would be able to see us climbing down and crossing a flat stretch of land?"

Roger raised a hand by way of conceding the pointlessness of arguing.

Ellyn had no such compunction. "What if the ship is not there?"

"If it is not there, then we keep walking until we find it."

"Let me go with you," she said. "I can move quickly and watch your back."

"Absolutely not. You will stay here with the others. You can help by binding Terrowin's ankle and staunching the bleeding from his knee so he does not leave a trail of ripe, bloody footprints for Falconard's hounds to follow."

He did a quick check of his weapons, ensuring his daggers were in place and his sword tight to his hip. Without even glancing at Ellyn again, he ducked out of the doorway and was gone, swallowed into the wind and descending dusk.

Ellyn looked around the cave. Baldor was tearing a cloth into strips for bandaging, Terrowin was grousing over the tear in his chausses, and Roger was wholly occupied with watching Bethy massage his leg. The light was poor and so no one noticed when she picked up her bow and the quiver of arrows. She chose her moment, made a small arc in the air with a wave of her hand and, almost as if she had become invisible to them, slipped out of the cave and continued down the path Rennwick had taken a few short minutes before.