Page 25 of Rogue Knight
As he looked out over the city, Geoff pondered what the people of York might be thinking. “William demands the people of York accept his rule,” he mused. “Do you believe they will?”
Malet crossed his arms over his chest and looked beyond the rising castle. “I know not, but having seen the stubborn resistance in their eyes, I doubt it. Many of the rebels have fled into the woods where they hide among the trees. We believe some went north to Durham. Their leaders remain at large.”
“The rebels and their leaders will no doubt return.” The realization made Geoff lose hope for peace in York.
“Mayhap even this year,” Malet added in a somber tone.
“I understand William has sent Gilbert and a group of Flemings to Durham to root out the rebels there.”
Malet shrugged. “You can hardly blame him. Durham supplied men, arms and money to the rebels in York. The king would see them all dead.”
“Mayhap Gilbert will be successful and the rebels will no longer trouble us.”
“We will see,” said the sheriff. “In any event, William has made Gil the new castellan, so he will remain in York when he returns.”
“The king needed another after FitzRichard’s murder.” Geoff remembered the morning the foolish castellan had been killed by the angry rebel throng and ruefully wondered if the men from Durham had done the deed.
Malet looked at him with sudden interest. “What about you, Sir Geoffroi? What task is yours?”
“I am to hunt with my knights to add to the storehouse of meat for William’s army. Sir Alain readies the men even now.”
“Feeding William’s army is a worthy task and will keep you busy with so many mouths to satisfy. The pigs and cattle from the surrounding countryside will soon be exhausted. Roast venison, boar and hare stew will be welcomed by the men.”
Geoff loved to hunt but he didn’t relish being the supplier of food for so great an army. “Others will surely hunt as well. Not all William’s men will be building the new castle or searching out rebels.”
“You can be glad the king will leave within a fortnight, taking his army with him. Will you go as well?”
“My men and I are to remain in York,” said Geoff, not unhappy at the prospect because of Emma.
Malet grinned. “Then I shall look forward to seeing more of you.”
“Aye.” Geoff said, as he waved his goodbye and headed toward the bailey.
***
Emma stole a glance at Inga as they broke their fast together. Days had passed since the rape, and while the girl’s body was recovering and the bruise on her face was fading, she still woke at night screaming in terror. Though hidden from view, the violent taking of Inga’s innocence would leave scars that would remain forever. It was those deeper wounds of the soul Emma feared the most for her friend.
Inga drew her arms tightly around her body as she stared at the bread before her, trembling even now, mayhap tormented by thoughts of that night.
Emma reached out and touched her hand. “You are safe here, Inga. And your father recovers. In time, you will both be well, you will see.” Knowing Inga worried about her father’s livelihood, she added, “Artur has seen that Feigr’s shop is secure and your servant knows you and your father are here.”
Inga turned, her gray eyes looking at Emma. “You have been kind to do so much for us. I only wish the terrible dreams would leave me. I wake in the night with frightening pictures in my mind, my body drenched in sweat. Oh, Emma, I shall never forget.”
She would not lie to her friend. In her experience, the truth, while painful, was better handled than a lie. So it had been when she was told of Halden’s death. “No, I do not expect you will. But, in time, that memory will fade, replaced by other, happier ones.”
Inga reached for some bread. Emma was glad to see she was eating. In the first days after the rape she had refused food.
Watching the young woman with her emerging beauty, Emma recalled the young men of York who had flirted with Inga when her father’s head was turned. The flirting had been a harmless foreshadowing of the courting that would soon follow. Inga was pretty and many young men had noticed. Would those young men still want Inga now that her innocence had been taken and her body befouled by one of the French knights? Or, would they pity her but refuse to take her to wife? Emma was determined they would not know, for it was certain they would reject Inga if they did. She had seen it happen before. Inga had been an innocent victim, but no decent man would want as a wife a tainted woman.
Sigga entered the room carrying a tray laden with bowls of steaming gruel. “’Tis well your hound hunts, my lady. Even if Artur would allow me to go to market, I hear the stalls are bare. What the fleeing rebels did not take, the Norman soldiers devour.”
Emma was thankful for the provisions they had stored and the meat her hound put on their table. “It’s as if Magnus knows to do his part. He keeps us well stocked with hares. As long as our few chickens lay eggs, we’ll have those, too. When the weather warms, we can plant vegetables.”
“We’ve enough stored for stew till then,” said the cook. “And there is hope the Norman king and his army will leave. Surely he has business elsewhere. Saxons to slaughter in Wessex mayhap.” The last of her words had been spoken sarcastically, Emma knew. None of them wished the Norman king on the English in the South.
“I imagine half of England is in rebellion against him,” Emma said, glancing at Inga eating her gruel. She did not have to remind the girl that Eude would likely remain when the army left since he had been garrisoned in York with the building of the first castle.
Suddenly, Ottar exploded into the room, followed by Finna at a slower pace. They climbed onto the bench seat at the large trestle table across from the two women. Ottar’s eyes roved over the steaming oatmeal and his countenance fell. “Gruel again?”
