The howling of the wolves made Widukind’s body come to mind. Then she thought of her father and cried, picturing him being devoured by vermin.
Suddenly Theresa sprang up, causing Lucille to also wake, but Theresa told her that nothing was wrong. The young woman wrapped up warm and left the hut. Olaf was surprised because it was still completely dark. The slave came out from behind the ox he was using as a shelter and gave her a confused look as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Theresa admired the moon in silence. In a few hours the sun would come up and then Alcuin would set off for Würzburg. She took a deep breath and looked at Olaf. Then she told him to make ready. “Come with me to Fulda. But before leaving I want to make certain arrangements.”
In the early hours of Sunday morning, the abbey stables were a hive of activity. Dozens of monks ran up and down bearing food, animals, weapons, and equipment under the close scrutiny of Charlemagne’s men. The cart drivers yoked their beasts, who were lowing and thrashing their heads in protest. The maidservants prepared to bring the final supplies of salted belly pork, and the soldiers stayed busy following their commanders’ instructions.
Theresa found Alcuin as he was loading a cart with his belongings. All she had brought for the journey were a change of clothes and her wax tablets. Everything else she had left with Helga the Black, whom she had only woken minutes earlier to tell her that she was leaving. Helga would look after her land until she returned, and Theresa promised she would be back even if it was just to collect the rent that her friend had promised to pay her.
When Alcuin saw Theresa, he walked angrily over to her. “May I ask what you’re doing here?”
“Nothing that concerns you,” she responded without looking at him. She threw her bag onto the cart.
“Remove your bag at once! Do you want me to call the soldiers?”
“And do you want me to walk to Würzburg alone? Because that’s what I’ll do.”
“You’ll end up in a ditch.”
“Then so be it.”
Alcuin took a deep breath through clenched teeth. Never in his life had he come across such an obstinate creature. Finally he murmured something and turned away.
“Pox on you. Get in the cart!”
“What?”
“Did you not hear me? I said get in the cart!”
Theresa kissed his hand, not knowing how to thank him.
At dawn, Izam of Padua appeared, sporting a striking robe of red serge and gleaming chainmail. He was followed by a large group of soldiers that would escort the Roman delegation. When the engineer spotted Theresa, he made as if to go and greet her, but stopped when he saw another young man approach her first.
Theresa let Hoos embrace her and he kissed her on the lips. Izam looked on with a perplexed expression, which Hoos happened to notice.
“How do you know him?” Hoos asked when he saw Izam walk off.
“Who? The one in the chainmail?” she asked, trying to act normal. “He works for Charlemagne. He helped me with the slave I told you about. The one with the wooden leg.”
“He seems very interested in you.” He smiled and kissed her again, making sure Izam could see.
Theresa thought it odd that Hoos was not surprised to see her, for at no time had she told him of her intention to travel to Würzburg. On the contrary, she was a little surprised to see him since she had thought that they would both stay in Fulda and continue their relationship in peace, and yet, there they were: abandoning themselves to whatever fate awaited them without any kind of plan. Hoos explained to Theresa that her friend the engineer had hired him as a guide.
“You should have seen their faces when I told them that snow still blocked the passes. They screamed and shouted like madmen. That’s when I suggested they travel to Frankfurt first and sail upriver from there. The thaw has already begun down there, so with a bit of luck we’ll be able to reach Würzburg by ship.”
“And you were going to leave without telling me?”
“I was certain you would come,” he said with a smile. “And anyway…”
Theresa gave him a wary look.
“Anyway what?”
“If necessary I would have dragged you myself.” He laughed and lifted her into the air.
Theresa smiled, happy in Hoos’s strong arms. She felt that while he was near, nothing bad could happen to her.
Theresa counted around seventy people who had assembled for the journey. A dozen or so belonged to the papal mission, around twenty looked like men-at-arms, and the rest were cart drivers, servants, and townspeople. As she expected, she was the only woman, but it didn’t concern her. Aside from the men, the delegation was furnished with eight ox-driven wagons and as many lighter carts pulled by mules.
At Izam’s signal, the whips cracked against the beasts, which lowed in pain and then laboriously set off in the direction of the city walls. Alcuin traveled on the first wagon with the papal mission. Theresa sat swaying on the second cart with her attention on Hoos, who navigated the march, while Izam brought up the rear of the convoy along with the main body of soldiers, setting course for Frankfurt.
During the journey, Hoos and Theresa traded news. He told her that in Würzburg folks were dying of hunger, which was why twelve carts were transporting grain, and that in Frankfurt they would gather whatever provisions they could fit on the ship. She spoke to him of Alcuin and how he had solved the case of the poisoned wheat.
“I’ll say it again: Don’t trust him. That monk’s sharp as a needle, but as shady as the Devil.”
“I don’t know… he’s been good to Helga. And he’s given me work.”
“It makes no difference. When this is over and they pay me, you won’t have to work anymore.”
Theresa nodded unenthusiastically and admitted to him that all that mattered to her was finding her father alive. When Hoos pointed out how difficult it would be to fulfill her wish, she refused to listen to him and curled up under a blanket.
The delegation trudged on wearily all morning. Two riders equipped with torches led the way in front, ensuring the carts could negotiate any obstacles in their path. Just ahead, four servants wearing gloves removed the stones that would hinder the progress of the convoy, while the cart drivers, with whip and oath, toiled to keep the oxen away from the sheer drops in the embankments. Alert to any dangers, another pair of well-equipped outriders guarded the rear.