Authors: Emily Murdoch
Catheryn laughed bitterly, tears in her eyes. “Please do not say that she had every opportunity to be happy, because you and I know that is a lie that will stick in your throat. My daughter was – is – a beautiful woman who deserved to have the chance to be happy. And yet you stole that from her, because you saw her as piece of property, something that could be bought and sold and swapped between other men. You disgust me.”
Richard stared at her, aghast that there was a weeping woman sitting on the floor in the entrance hall.
“My lord Richard,” Orvin said quietly. “If you could tell us where this Norman lives – Mauger, or Maynard, or whatever his name is – then we will be on our way.”
“Yes,” Richard could not take his eyes off Catheryn. She had pulled herself to her feet, and stood resolute, almost regal, and yet still weeping. “North. They went north. He is Lord of Ulleskelf. It should not be too difficult to find him.”
“And yet what condition will she be in?” Orvin muttered darkly. He took Catheryn by the hand, and began to lead her out.
“Wait!” Richard said, rising in haste, his eyes moving up and down Catheryn’s body. “Will you not stay, and rest here overnight? The journey is long, and –”
“I would rather die on the road than spend one more moment here.”
Catheryn’s voice was dark and full of hatred.
Richard stared with amazement as the lady Catheryn and her companion left. But he smiled as he saw Orvin come back.
“Changed your mind?”
“Never,” Orvin said curtly. “I only wished to enquire what name my lady’s daughter has taken for herself.”
Richard slumped, and gave out a sigh before he answered.
“Avis.”
“And how many days do you think it will take?”
Catheryn’s question, unfortunately, had no easy answer.
“I think,” Orvin said slowly, as they ate their evening meal in another inn, “that if we try to leave before dawn each morning, and continue on into the evening, never stopping to eat or drink but instead going onwards, then we could reach Ulleskelf by this day a sennight.”
Catheryn’s face fell. “Seven whole days?”
Orvin could not help but chuckle as he finished off the delicious chicken that they had ordered. “When was the last time that you ventured north, my lady?”
Catheryn blushed. “In truth, I have never been much further north than London. I have family there, but they always came to visit us. Is it really that far?”
Orvin shrugged. “During the time of King Edward, it would only have taken you four days; three, if you rode hard. But now there are Norman soldiers manning the roads, demanding to know why you are travelling. You often have to pay to pass certain points, and even then you may not gain safe passage. I think a week is a good time to aim for.”
Catheryn sighed in resignation. “I suppose a week will not make much difference to my daughter’s life.”
Orvin shook his head in wonder. “I thought that you would be happy – that you would be overjoyed! – that you now know your daughter is alive. Annis is alive!”
“You are right.” Catheryn’s dull expression brightened a little.
“And from what we heard in the inn at Dover, she has certainly been doing good, protecting our people.”
Catheryn’s smile broadened. “That sounds like my Annis.”
“Which proves to me,” Orvin continued, “that she is both definitely your daughter, and thriving. Annis has not been destroyed by her circumstances.”
Catheryn leaned back in her chair, and sighed. “Annis may not have been defeated by her circumstances, but I think I am. Forced to marry a Norman man? What kind of life is that? It is certainly not what I wanted for my daughter.”
Orvin was silent. Once again, a darkness seemed to overcome him.
Catheryn spoke hesitantly. “Orvin… is there something –”
“We must rest,” he cut across her. “Our journey begins tomorrow, and it will be long. You should try to get as much sleep as you can.”
*
As Catheryn and Orvin rode further and further north, the wind became icier, and the temperature dropped. They tried to find safe and warm places to stay each night, but it was difficult; many people seemed to be on the move, although they were all travelling south, in the opposite direction. Many of them looked tired, exhausted, and frightened. Some of them could not control their sobbing.
Catheryn tried not to catch their eyes. The suffering that they had undergone had been largely avoided by her; she had fallen in love with a man very like the ones oppressing her people. She had, in a way, completely betrayed every sensibility and every rule that her people held; and what had it brought her? Nothing but misery.
Orvin had tried to lift her spirits, but with each passing day bringing them closer and closer to a woman bound to a man she was sure to hate, Catheryn could not help but sink further and further into despair.
“What will you do, after you have found your daughter?”
Catheryn shook her head, and looked up at Orvin. It was the sixth day of their journey, and every one of her bones ached.
“I do not know,” she said sadly. “If it is true – that she is married – then I cannot see how I will get her away. Her place will be at his side.”
Orvin muttered a dark curse under his breath.
Catheryn hesitated, and then spoke quietly. “What is it, Orvin?”
She received no reply but a look; a look that told her that he did not want to talk to her. But Catheryn persisted.
“I know that something happened,” she said quietly, “and I think it involved a woman… a woman that you cared very much about.”
Orvin continued to keep his eyes ahead of them, but he did at last relent.
“Her name was Gytha, and she was my sister,” he said quietly. “She had hair of flame, and a temper to match. She had never agreed with my father’s approach to the Normans, and was not content to simply wait, and watch them take over our lands. But then…”
Orvin’s voice trailed off, and Catheryn saw the familiar shadow pass across his face.
“What happened to her?” she whispered.
Orvin swallowed. “A man came to my father. A Norman man. He had seen my sister, and desired her. He told my father that he was willing to pay a price for her, any price, for her to become his wife.”
Catheryn’s heart sank. She knew the ending to this story.
“I tried to reason with him,” Orvin continued bitterly. “I tried to explain to him that accepting King William did not mean obeying every Norman that walked across our path. But he would not heed me, he would not listen to my words. He was so concerned about being an Anglo-Saxon in a Norman world that he sold my sister to a man that he had only known for three days. She looked at me, on that wedding day, and it was as though she had already died. He took her away from us, and within five months, he wrote to my family to say that she had died. Gytha died trying to bear him his child, and by the next Christmas, he was already married again. Another Anglo-Saxon girl, trying to obey her father by taking up a life of servitude.”
Orvin finished speaking, and then looked guiltily at Catheryn.
“I am sorry, my lady, you must forgive me; I know that it must be difficult hearing of such a tale, when your own daughter has suffered a similar fate.”
Catheryn tried to smile, but she could not summon the strength. She had lived through so much sadness now that she was barely surprised when she encountered more. “Not too similar, I hope.”
“We shall find her,” Orvin reassured her, “and when we do, we shall kill the man who took your daughter from you, and in the name of the man who took my sister from me, we shall bring Annis home.”
Catheryn opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a coarse man, walking in the opposite direction from them.
“Annis, you say?”
Catheryn pulled her horse to a stop.
“Yes,” she said fervently. “Do you know her?”
“Know her? Not as such, my lady,” said the man. He was of Anglo-Saxon stock, tall, and with blonde hair. “But my mother lives in the village that she cares for – she was saved by my lady Annis. Although she called herself Avis then,” he hastily corrected himself.
“Where is this place?” Orvin said abruptly.
The man pointed in a direction slightly to the left of the road that they were on.
“’Tis only but a few miles in that direction, my lord,” he said deferentially.
Catheryn smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said. “I cannot tell you how grateful I am.”
The man blushed slightly, and muttered something about it not being a problem – but Catheryn was not there to hear him. She had already turned her horse in the direction that he had pointed, and was forcing her steed forward as fast as it could go.
Within a moment, Orvin had caught up with her.
“Eager?” he said with a smile.
Catheryn finally felt able to smile. “I am ready to see my daughter.”
Another rider was moving in the same direction as them, but he had left the road from the opposite direction. His dark hair blew backwards in the wind, and Catheryn could see that he was a young man – but a man of some power. The horse that he rode was fitted with a beautiful saddle, and the cloak around his neck was thick.
Catheryn and Orvin slowed their horses to a walk, as was polite, but Catheryn grew irritated. Should she really be following the rules of decorum when her daughter could be so close? Annis had waited for so long; surely it was only right that she was put out of her misery as soon as possible?
“Well met.”
The man’s voice was deep, and had a Norman lilt. Catheryn smiled at him, and the smile that he gave in return almost dazzled her. It completely altered his appearance, softening his jaw and bringing a light to his eyes.
“Well met, my lord,” Orvin returned. “Where do you ride to?”
“Only on to Ulleskelf,” the man returned, “and yourselves?”
“We seek my lady Annis,” Catheryn said.
Her words had a strong effect; one that Catheryn could never have imagined. The man immediately drew his horse to a stop, and dismounted. Catheryn and Orvin stopped also, and stared at the man in surprise.
“Why do you seek Lady Annis?” said the man darkly, his right hand moving to the long sword that hung by his side. “What business have you with her?”
Orvin dismounted, and carefully rested his own hand on his blade.
“Her safety concerns you?” Catheryn asked. “We also seek her, to ensure that she is safe. She has nothing to fear from us.”
The man’s eyes darted from Catheryn to Orvin, as if trying to discern whether or not they told the truth – but eventually he merely stared at Catheryn. She grew hot as he looked intently into her eyes, and she was glad that her veil covered the majority of her hair.
Orvin had not moved, but was keeping a careful eye on the man. “Why does my lady Annis come under your protection?”
Melville laughed. “She is my wife.”
Before Catheryn could say anything, before Melville could even move, Orvin drew his sword and leaped forward.
“Defend yourself!” he cried.
Melville did not hesitate. Drawing forth his sword, he blocked the initial attack that Orvin brought against him, and immediately began his own. Catheryn could see from her seat on her horse that Orvin was a skilled swordsman, but Melville was older, stronger, and more experienced. Before long, there would be bloodshed.
“Enough!” Catheryn’s cry was so loud that both men paused to look at her, and she took advantage of their stillness. Jumping down from her horse, she forced herself between them, one hand on each of their chests. It was clear from the tensed muscles underneath her palms that she was no match for them, but Catheryn knew that they would not dare harm her. Not yet.
“You say that you are Annis’ husband?”
Melville was breathing deeply, and took a step backwards, sheathing his sword.
“It is my joy and my honour to tell you that I am,” he said in his deep voice. “And I know who you are, though why you would have your man attack me, my lady mother, is currently unknown.”
Catheryn blinked. “You… how do you know that Annis is my daughter?”
Melville laughed kindly. “My lady, it is absolutely written all across your face. Not only are your eyes very similar to Annis’, but there is no care and concern like a mother’s care and concern. She will have many questions for you.”
“And we have many for you!” Orvin said with gritted teeth. He had not put down his sword, and he was still balanced on the balls of his feet, ready to advance at any moment. “Why did you force her to marry you? Why is she here – and what do you intend to do with her now that we have arrived?”
Melville stared at him. “I have no idea what you are talking about, my lord.”
Catheryn smiled, despite herself. Her eyes had not moved from Melville’s since she had forced the two fighting men apart. “Annis; she is well?”
Melville’s face broke out into a beaming smile. “She is more than well; she is with child.”
Orvin’s scream hit Catheryn’s ears before his fist forced her to the side. Orvin advanced with a menacing howl at Melville, who quickly stepped aside.
“I have no wish to fight you,” Melville said hurriedly, “especially as you are friends with my dear wife.”
“Orvin, stop!” Catheryn cried, but her words went unheeded.
“I said that I have no wish to fight you,” said Melville, “but it seems you leave me little choice.”
With one careful strike, Melville floored Orvin. It was over before Catheryn even realised what he had done.
“Now,” Melville said, breathing heavily, “let me take you to meet your daughter. It has been too long.”