June Francis Read online

  Jack gazed out over the expanse of sand between the mainland and the small islands in the Dee estuary where the Hercules was anchored. According to a couple of fishermen mending their nets, it was going to be a few hours before the tide turned. They had given him directions concerning the safest path to walk to the largest island two miles away—a path he had traversed with others on his arrival, but he had appreciated being given fresh directions for the return journey. He had handed over his hired horse to the stables and quaffed a tankard of ale and eaten some bread and cheese at the inn and was now about to set out. His eyes narrowed against the sun glistening on the sand. He guessed it would take him about an hour to reach Hilbre Island where he would signal to his ship. He could see the silhouettes of people making a similar voyage, so he knew he was not alone. Putting his best foot forward, he headed across the sands.

  Anna arrived in West Kirby half an hour or so later. Whilst leaving her horse in the charge of a stable boy, she recognised the stallion that Jack had ridden. ‘How long since this horse’s rider left?’ she asked.

  ‘An hour or more,’ he replied.

  She thanked him and made her way to the waterfront. Her heart sank when she saw that the tide was out. After making a quick search of the small fishing village without seeing any sign of Jack, she gazed across the sands where she could make out figures crossing to and from the largest island. Was Jack amongst them? Her brow creased in thought and she decided to have a word with one of the fishermen mending his nets.

  He confirmed her supposition that Jack had set out to walk to Hilbre Island. Filled with dismay, she was now having second thoughts about the risk involved in following him. Yet if she delayed, she could be caught out by the tide. Coming to a decision, she hurried to the stable and discussed with the stable boy the care of her horse. Money changed hands and then she removed her belongings and set out after Jack.

  Anna knew from a previous occasion that she must not walk directly to the largest island but go via the two smaller ones, Little Eye and Middle Eye. She was over halfway across the sands when she started to question whether she had been a fool to set out so late, burdened as she was with her possessions. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she thought she could catch a glimpse of its rays sparkling on water towards one end of the island. If that was so, then the tide had turned and was coming in. It was too late to go back, so she must walk faster.

  She managed to cover the next quarter of a mile with great speed and now Hilbre Island loomed closer. But already the sea was starting to trickle through grooves in the sand at her feet. Her saddlebags and lute were weighing her down and damp sand clung to the hem of her gown, which was flapping against her legs and hampering her progress. Determinedly, she forced her painful limbs on, keeping her eyes fixed on the hump of the island, where she could now see grass. Water swirled about her ankles, soaking her boots and the bottom inches of her gown. She trudged on, aware the sea was creeping higher. She told herself that she must not panic, for she was almost there.

  With aching arms, she scarcely managed to fling her saddlebags on to a rock and was reluctant to throw her lute after them. As she hesitated, a harsh voice said, ‘God’s blood, Anna! What are you doing here?’

  Her heart leapt in her breast at the sound of Jack’s voice. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and now loomed over her. His expression was thunderous as he snatched the lute from her and placed it beside her saddlebags. Before he could drag her up beside him, she placed her hands on the pinkish-brown rock and clawed herself up out of the water as it sucked about her thighs.

  ‘Your wits, my lady, have gone begging,’ he snapped, seizing her arm and hoisting her into a standing position.

  ‘I would not deny it,’ gasped Anna, staggering against him. ‘I will understand if you wish to toss me back into the sea.’

  ‘Don’t tempt me!’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Why are you here? You’re supposed to be on your way to the convent.’

  ‘I changed my mind. I wish you to take me to France,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I will pay for my passage. I have coin on me.’

  He stared at her in horror. ‘You must be mad! I have no intention of taking you anywhere.’

  ‘I thought you might not and that’s my reason for not asking you earlier.’ Anna managed to avoid his gaze by reaching down and taking a handful of sodden skirt. She attempted to wring it out, but her efforts achieved little. There was no doubt in her mind that another of her gowns was ruined and would never be the same again.

  He swore and ran a hand through his wind-ruffled hair. ‘If you knew that, then why did you make such a risky journey across the sands?’

  She gave him a look of entreaty. ‘I thought that by making such an effort, you might take pity on me. I have to get away, Jack. Somewhere completely different, where no one knows me. Please, do not reject me out of hand?’

  Jack determined not to weaken, but knew he would have a struggle with his conscience. ‘I don’t believe in insulting people by showing them pity. Why do you want to go to France? Don’t you know that King Edward’s army has invaded the country to do battle with King Louis?’

  ‘I knew of it, but it escaped my mind,’ she said in a trembling voice. ‘Anyway, I don’t see why either army should be bothered with me.’

  The sudden heat in his gaze seemed to scorch her. ‘Those are the most idiotic words I’ve ever heard a woman say,’ he roared, startling her so much that she lost her footing and would have fallen into the sea if he hadn’t shot out an arm and dragged her back.

  ‘See what you did?’ she cried, trembling as she clutched his sleeve. ‘There really is no need to shout.’

  Jack took a deep breath. ‘There’s naught a soldier loves more than a stray wench sauntering around the countryside.’

  She fought down a blush and said in a dignified voice, ‘I am no wench and I have no intention of sauntering. I have my reasons for going to France and they are not for dallying with soldiers.’

  ‘I know. You want to get away somewhere different where no one knows you. But why France? Why not another place in England? There must be another reason for your wanting to go there.’

  ‘Of course.’ Anna was convinced that if she told him the truth then he would definitely refuse to take her. ‘Do you think we might move from this rock?’ she asked, needing time to think of an answer that should be acceptable to him.

  Jack stepped on to another rock and then grass, avoiding a clump of sea thrift. She lifted her skirts and leapt towards him. He glowered at her as he picked up her saddlebags and began to walk. ‘Your other reason had better be good, or I will leave you on this island to wait until the tide ebbs and you’ll have no choice but to trek back to the mainland.’

  Chapter Four

  Anna stared after him in dismay and, picking up her lute, hurried after him. ‘But it will be dark by then and I might wander into soft sand and never be seen again.’

  ‘You should have thought of that before leaving the safety of the mainland,’ he said tersely. ‘What about Owain sorting out your affairs? What about Kate worrying herself to flinders about you?’ he raged, striding along at a heart-racing pace, so that she had trouble keeping up with him.

  ‘They’ll believe I’m staying at the convent.’ Her sodden skirts caked with wet sand clung to her legs most unpleasantly, but she dared not suggest that he slowed down. ‘I left a message with the stable boy in West Kirby to take care of my horse. If I have not returned by the time the money I gave him runs out, then he is to return my horse to Rowan Manor. Only then is he to tell Owain that I have gone to France with you.’

  Jack stopped in his tracks and stared at her. ‘You have completely lost your wits. I did notice there was a full moon last night.’

  ‘I am not a lunatic,’ she said indignantly. ‘Although it would not be surprising if I were half-crazed. Surely it is obvious to you that Will and Hal between them are determined to be rid of me?’

  ‘I think Hal had something else in mind for
you altogether,’ he growled. ‘You should have told all to Owain. Running away to France is no way to deal with this matter.’

  ‘I have my reasons for not doing so,’ she said firmly. ‘And it did not occur to me that I was running away. Rather I have something completely different in mind. But at least I should be safe from Hal and Will in France.’

  ‘But there are other dangers that lurk for the unwary traveller abroad and sea travel is not without its risks,’ he said, exasperated. ‘I really should leave you here.’

  ‘Please, Jack, don’t do that.’ She prayed fervently for words that would convince him to take her with him. Then an idea struck her that she believed was truly inspired. ‘I asked for God’s guidance and I feel he has told me the path I must take,’ she said piously.

  He glanced at her with suspicion in his eyes. ‘And what path is that?’

  ‘A pilgrimage.’

  He smiled grimly. ‘You’re not serious.’

  She was taken aback. ‘Why not?’

  Jack began to walk again and his pace was just as brisk as before. ‘Have you given this pilgrimage much thought?’

  Thinking quickly, Anna said smoothly, ‘I have it in mind to follow Kate’s journey through France, taking in the various shrines on the way to Spain.’

  ‘Your words only serve to convince me that you have scarcely thought about what such a pilgrimage entails,’ said Jack, shaking his head. ‘St James’s feast day was in July, so you’re much too late to get to Santiago de Compostela in time for the celebrations.’

  Anna groaned. ‘You’re so right, Jack. I haven’t given it enough thought. I can only say that during my last retreat, one of the lay sisters suggested that a pilgrimage would be good for me. I thought little of it until this recent débâcle with Will and Hal.’

  Jack’s dour expression relaxed a little. ‘Now that sounds more probable, but a pilgrimage in our own land would serve your purpose just as well.’

  Anna tried to conceal her dismay at this suggestion. ‘But I have to go to France.’ At the look on his face, she added hastily, ‘Although, I suppose, had I thought of it sooner, I could have travelled the pilgrims’ way through England and then crossed to France with other pilgrims.’

  ‘There’s no reason why you still can’t travel one of the pilgrim ways in England,’ he said reasonably. ‘Of course it goes without saying that it would be wise to take a companion. A lady travelling alone, even with a group of like-minded folk, can still meet with trouble.’

  Anna tried to look pleased with the idea and nodded meekly. ‘You’re right, of course, Jack. But I really don’t want to have to go back to the mainland and start again. Perhaps you might suggest where I could start my pilgrimage now I am on this island, seeing that you are so knowledgeable about such ventures?’

  He looked at her with an expression that said he didn’t quite trust her when she tried to flatter him. ‘I need to think about that. I cannot stress enough, Anna, that travel is about discomfort and danger. I am not saying that it doesn’t have its excitements and amusing sides, but a journey demands careful planning. You must always be on your guard. It’s not like a stroll to the nearest village.’

  Her eyes flashed with annoyance. ‘Why do you speak to me as if I am a fool? You were a witness to the way Will and Hal behaved towards me. You can have no notion of what it is like to be accused of being an adulteress, a murderess and a witch and thre-threatened with b-burning!’ Her bottom lip quivered and she turned her face away from him, blinking back tears.

  Immediately, Jack saw himself as an unfeeling monster. He didn’t know who he blamed the most, himself or Anna. ‘If you had not told me to keep silent, I would have spoken out about what I had witnessed and all would be well.’

  Anna kept her back to him. ‘You’re mistaken. All would not be well. I know most likely it would be safe for me to stay at Rowan, but I am not a child any more. I have been a wife, a mother and now I am a widow and need to stand alone. I’ve made a decision to cut all ties with home and family.’ For the moment, she added inwardly.

  He was shocked. ‘You’ve no idea, Anna, what it feels like to be completely alone,’ he snapped, out of all patience with her.

  She turned and stared at him. ‘Of course I do. I presume you deem you know better than I because you felt so alone when you were cut off from your family when you were a slave.’

  ‘Aye. But it’s not only that. Women aren’t meant to stand alone,’ he rasped.

  ‘Sometimes we have no choice, Jack,’ she retorted. ‘And there are different kinds of solitude.’

  ‘This debate is getting us nowhere,’ he said, walking away.

  Even as he did so, he was remembering how he had hated not having the ordering of his own life when he was a slave. But Anna was a woman and it was different for women. He believed that God had ordained men to be the dominant gender so as to protect and cherish women. Although not all women were vulnerable and weak. He had known many strong women in his time. His sister, Cissie, had a very strong will and had shown amazing strength of character after the murder of their father. Fortunately, she had met a man of understanding and a similar strength of character. Mackillin had loved Cissie and needed a strong woman to stand at his side in the Border country. Monique had been a different kind of woman altogether, beautiful, vulnerable and so easily frightened into doing what she was told without question. She had believed she had no choice but to obey her husband’s perverted orders. She had roused Jack’s finer feelings and he had determined to rescue her from what he had regarded as the slavery of her marriage. Anna was different again. He had never met any woman quite like her. There was a contrariness about her that filled Jack with a whole barrel-load of conflicting emotions. He should have known how to handle her, but didn’t.

  ‘So are you going to give me passage to France on your ship, or not, Jack?’ asked Anna, interrupting his thoughts. He did not answer because he had not made up his mind. ‘Am I going to get the silent treatment? Giles would do that sometimes when he was vexed with me, but did not want to argue.’

  ‘I don’t want to argue with you either, Anna,’ said Jack. ‘But I have to make the decision of what is best for you.’

  She sighed. ‘What else can I say that might persuade you to help me? Maybe if I told you that I believe by giving up my comfort and risking my life on pilgrimage that God will grant places for my loved ones in Heaven in appreciation of my sacrifice. I would like to think that my child and a good man like Giles would be welcomed straight into Heaven, but according to the Church I have to doubt it.’

  Jack could so easily have been drawn into voicing his feelings about such teachings, having read some of the scriptures translated from the Latin, but again that control over his speech and temper that he’d had to exert during his years of exile meant he was able to keep silent.

  ‘You talk of risks,’ said Anna. ‘Yet we both know that Kate travelled abroad on pilgrimage and lived to tell the tale. I deem that it is your experience of being abducted and sold into slavery that makes you so immune to my plea to give me passage to France.’

  Jack felt his control slipping. ‘Of course what happened to me affects the advice I give you,’ he snapped. ‘Knowing that, you should be prepared to see the sense in what I say. If you were abducted, my fine lady, and were to end up in a sultan’s harem, you’d soon regret you’d ever been born.’

  She flinched at being on the receiving end of such anger, but put a brave face on it. ‘I don’t know what a harem is, but I beg your pardon for annoying you. I do not mean to harass or make you angry. It’s just that I desperately want to go to France. I am convinced my fate lies there.’

  Jack’s anger abated. He could understand only too well what it felt like to labour under a conviction so strong that one would risk all to achieve one’s goal. He realised she had got under his guard again and knew that he should harden his heart and refuse to take her. Yet if he left her here on the island to make her own way back to the mainland there
was no guarantee that his conscience would be clear. Rather he would not be able to get her out of his mind, wondering if she had made it safely back to the mainland and then to Rowan.

  He looked away from her and out over the estuary and was able to pick out the Hercules from other ships anchored in the estuary. He took a polished circle of steel from a pouch about his waist and flashed a signal to his ship. He was pretty certain that his master mariner would be watching out for his signal. There were several small rowing boats with oarsmen pulled up on the shore. He did not immediately make a move to approach one. Despite what he had said to Anna earlier about pity, he did feel compassion for her. The struggle he had was with himself, knowing that by having her aboard his ship, day in, day out, the physical attraction she held for him could endanger his mission. Having decided that, he doubted she would welcome any advances he might have made, not with his scarred face that filled him with shame.

  He glanced at Anna and saw that her eyes were closed and her lips moving in what must be silent prayer; she also had her fingers crossed. His doubts evaporated and the corner of his mouth twitched. Who was he to argue with God? He would just have to pray for strength to resist as he’d done in the past.

  ‘Come on, Anna. Let’s go.’

  She opened her eyes and gave him a sparkling glance. ‘You are taking me to France with you?’

  ‘I’m not yet sure about France, my fine lady,’ he answered with a grim smile. ‘I have to consider your safety. Maybe I will land you at a port on the south coast of England. There you will be able to find lodgings at the nearest religious house. You will be able to ask whoever is in charge for their advice concerning pilgrimages. I have no doubt they will provide you with a pilgrim’s habit and staff if your calling is true. If you decide to travel to Canterbury, you are bound to meet numerous other pilgrims intent on crossing the channel to Europe.’