Fire and Ice

Chapter 16



It was two months since Richard de Gant had taken Juliana from the Lincolnshire shores of the Humber and in that time Juliana had finally admitted to herself that she was carrying Ulfric’s child. Her morning sickness had been an unwelcome guest and stayed with her until after she had been given bread which was usually when the sun was climbing high into the sky. So far she had managed to hide the fact from de Gant and was thankful that he had made no demands on her so far but knew that she would have to tell him soon when the baby became noticeable. Her slim figure was much the same as always but her breasts were becoming tender and heavy and her complexion was paler than usual, especially after a bout of sickness.

They had passed close to many settlements and de Gant’s method of restraining her was a leather collar around her neck which chafed her tender skin when he pulled her along. The sight of a woman being led this way, although not uncommon, was enough to draw her to the attention of many who thought that she was an unfaithful wife and had to be kept tethered to stop her from running away. Her thoughts constantly strayed to Ulfric and she wondered if he was searching for her or if he had decided to let her go, but she knew deep down that he would still be on her trail and hoped that she would soon be free again. But what then? Would he be pleased about the baby or would he send her away like Alice? But Alice wanted to go away, she would argue with herself, it had been her choice – and all because of the same man who had defiled her, and was just biding his time, torturing Juliana with threats that he intended to marry her. Their arguments were heated and Juliana gave back as much as she received from the Norman but her physical tiredness was wearing her down and she often felt like lying down and dying on the spot, but she would never admit as much to de Gant. Her strength of character came to the fore during their arguments and she would stand with her hands on her hips defying de Gant to do his worst.

Christmas had come and gone and now the New Year brought snow and wind making their advance even harder.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked for the thousandth time.

“I’ve told you, wait and see,” he replied once again.

“Can we not find shelter, sire? The wind is cold and the sky is full of snow. If we get caught in a blizzard we will both die.”

De Gant looked at Juliana and for once gave in to her demands. They found shelter at an inn at the next settlement and ate bread and cheese washed down with ale before Juliana stretched out on a bench and fell asleep in front of the fire, wrapped in her voluminous cloak. The innkeeper glanced at the strange couple and wondered what had happened to cause them to travel in such weather. He looked out of the window and saw the first flakes of snow fall.

“Sir, it’s snowing now. Do you want beds making up for yourself and your wife? I can tell my wife to ready pallets for you. She’s a good cook too and will be topping up the broth later which will warm you both through,” he called over to de Gant.

The cauldron hung from the beams, bubbling away over the central fire. The thought of hot food was enough to convince Sir Richard that they should stay for a while. If the snow was too bad for them to travel through then it would be too difficult for Ulfric and Thorvald. He knew they would be following them and had deliberately taken the most winding route to York just to confuse them. He nodded his consent to the innkeeper who called through to the kitchen for his wife to ready a pallet each for them. Palliases were placed on top of each pallet and de Gant picked Juliana up and placed her down on one tucking in her cloak around her before settling himself on the other. The flickering tallow candles provided a gloomy light and the smell of the boiling vegetables and meat drew de Gant into a dreamless sleep.

Juliana dragged herself awake thanks to the persistent shaking she was receiving. She opened her eyes to see who was rudely interrupting her blissful slumber. A woman was leaning over her putting her fingers to her lips to warn her to be quiet. Fully awake now, Juliana sat up and looked around allowing her memory of the past days to fill her mind. The woman was wearing a woollen cloak with the hood pulled up keeping her face in shadow. She beckoned for Juliana to follow her to the far end of the room which was in darkness. Juliana could see that de Gant was sleeping heavily and quietly left her pallet to join the other woman.

“My lady, Juliana, is it really you?” the woman whispered.

Juliana was taken aback to hear her name spoken by this stranger.

“Yes, I’m Juliana,” she whispered back, “who are you?”

The woman pulled her hood down and Juliana’s face broke into a smile as she recognised Alice. “What are you doing here?” they both asked together as they embraced.

“I’m married to the innkeeper here, my lady,” Alice said.

“But I thought you were staying with my uncle in York.”

“I did stay with him for a while but I lost the child I was carrying and once I was recovered I knew I couldn’t come back to Bertone so I had to make a living for myself. I cooked and served behind the bar of the Black Boar in York, which is where I met Sigurd, my husband. We moved to this place about six months ago.”

“And are you happy, Alice?”

“I’m very happy, thank you, my lady. But what I can’t understand is why you’re with that filthy Norman over there.”

“It’s a long story, Alice, but things didn’t get any better when you left. When his sister turned up and I had to put up with her taking over the Hall and terrifying my mother to the point of losing her wits, I was pleased when Ulfric and Thorvald sent her to the nuns at Goxhill. De Gant doesn’t know that though, not yet, so don’t say anything.”

“I won’t say a word, but that doesn’t explain why you are here with him, of all people.”

“He took me by force from the banks of the Humber and we have been wandering all over this shire. Where are we Alice? Where do you think he’s taking me?”

“We’re just outside York. I’ve no doubt he’s taking you there for some reason of his own.”

“I haven’t been to York, for many years. I was but a child when my mother took me to see my uncle. Is it a good place?”

“Your uncle lives in Coppergate, as you know, and he has a comfortable home, but there are parts of York where I would not go. You must be careful, my lady!”

“Don’t worry, Alice. I’m sure Ulfric and Thorvald will be looking for me. It has been two months at least since we began our journey,” she hesitated and then confessed, “I’m carrying Ulfric’s child, Alice. Its three months since I last saw him and I’m afraid he won’t believe me and think that it’s de Gant’s child.”

“He’ll know you would never willingly give yourself to de Gant, my lady. I know what it’s like be away from home with no hope. Please - let me help you. I’ll do anything that is in my power to help you to escape, if that’s what you wish.”

“No, Alice. You’d better stay out of sight. If he sees you and recognises you, then who knows what he’ll do? Look – he’s stirring, I’d better go back to the pallet. Explain to your husband that he must serve us and not you.”

“I will, my lady. He’s a good man and we’re very happy.”

Juliana smiled her pleasure and carefully made her way back to the fire where she sat on the end of her pallet and stared into the flames. She looked across at de Gant who was sleeping peacefully again unaware that she now had an ally, one who would never let her down; one who would tell Ulfric, if she saw him, that she had been here and hopefully the news would spur him on. She would have been heart-warmed to know that they were only a day behind them.

***



Ulfric and Thorvald had followed as Kyle led them from village to village hoping to catch up with de Gant and Juliana, and in each one the news was the same. Yes, people had seen two strangers, one of whom had a collar around her neck they were informed, which made Ulfric’s blood boil. Thorvald’s thirst for blood was even more drastic, he threatened to perform the ‘blood-eagle’ on the worthless Norman, which made Ulfric smile. On the surface Thorvald appeared to have adopted the English ways, but deep down his roots were firmly entrenched in the old, Norse customs of torture and execution. Ulfric remembered the sagas telling stories of the ‘blood-eagle’ being performed two hundred years earlier, when the Norsemen invaded the shores of England in their longboats. Anyone standing against them when they raided and pillaged the coastline were killed by being spread-eagled on the ground, and their bodies subjected to the horrific ordeal of having their heart and lungs revealed whilst still alive. He shook his head to clear away such deadly thoughts.

Kyle lay in front of the fire, twitching his feet and whimpering as he chased imaginary things in his sleep.

“It’s still snowing,” Ulfric said unnecessarily.

“I know,” Thorvald muttered under his breath. They had been cooped up in the village inn for two days and his patience was wearing thin. He and Thorvald had been friends for virtually all their lives, but of late, Thorvald himself was used to some space between them.

“I’ll buy another jug of ale each and you can insult me and tell sagas like we did in the old days. Then I’ll insult you back and we can sleep off the ale until tomorrow when hopefully it will have stopped snowing,” Ulfric smiled, knowing what was going through his friend’s mind. They both laughed and Ulfric raised his arm for the innkeeper to bring more ale.

But it hadn’t stopped snowing the next day, nor the next. It was a full week before they could once again set out on the quest to find Juliana and dispose of de Gant in any way they saw fit. There would be no mercy from either of them, never mind that William had decreed there would be no fighting between his knights. This was different and Ulfric was determined to see his own justice done.