on the evening of tuesday, the 13th of may, the barons lay amid the woods about fletching, knowing that they were to march on the morrow to offer the king battle outside lewes town. all hope of peace had gone, and both parties had thrown away the scabbard. henry believed that he had earl simon at his mercy, for the royal host far outnumbered the earl’s, and where de montfort could count in part only on burgher levies, the king and his favourites had the flower of the foreign mercenaries in their pay. henry had refused to listen to the bishops of london and worcester, who had come from the earl. god was delivering simon and his turbulent following into the royal hands, and the king was not to be cheated of his opportunity by the tongues of meddlesome priests.
as the evening sun sank towards the west, the barons’ host gathered and stood to their arms with the fresh green of the may woods spreading a virgin canopy above their spears. it was no gorgeous pageant so far as pomp and circumstance were concerned. there were many banners and pennons brilliant in the evening sunshine, but the bulk of de montfort’s army was made up of the lesser gentry, and their retainers, and the burghers of the towns, plain men, but men who were in grim and sober earnest. many of them had never fought in their lives before, and gaillard, and such gallants in the king’s service, laughed when they spoke of the herd of hogs they were to chase through the sussex woodlands. but the stocky, brown-faced men of the english towns, and the english manors were not to be trampled on so easily. men who could fell timber, and handle the scythe, the bill and the hammer, were tough in the arms, and sound and strong at heart.
the barons’ host went on its knees that evening, its lines of steel seaming the green woods. lords, knights, gentlemen, yeomen, burghers, knelt with their shields before them, their swords naked in the grass, their heads uncovered. between the ranks of these silent, steel-clad figures came the bishop of worcester, and many priests with him, chanting as they came. the whole host was confessed, absolved, and blessed under the oak trees of the fletching woods. it was as though the heart of england was shrived that day, before the national ordeal of battle.
“holy cross, holy cross.”
men came running and shouting through the ranks, carrying bales of white cloth which they spread on the grass, and tore into hundreds of strips. every fighting man was to carry the white cross on his breast. and in the midst of it all earl simon and a great company of lords and gentlemen came riding through, wearing the white cross on their surcoats. swords and spears were tossed aloft, and the heart of the host went up in sound like the long roar of a stormy sea.
under a great oak tree de montfort knighted many of the younger lords and gentlemen, among them robert de vere, john de burgh the son of the great justiciary, and young gilbert, earl of gloucester. then he and his sons and his captains went everywhere, heartening their men, bidding them rest and eat, and keep strong and lusty against the morrow.
as de montfort was riding back with young gloucester, and a few knights and gentlemen of his own household to the manor house where he had his quarters, he came upon several women standing under the shade of an old yew. it happened that earl simon had put abroad an order that no women should be suffered to follow the army on the march. if the king and his host had seven hundred courtesans in their camp, that was the king’s affair; de montfort would have none of it.
earl simon ordered his gentlemen to halt, and turned aside alone towards the yew tree. two of the women had come forward, and were waiting as though to speak with the earl. de montfort had a frown on his face. great soldier that he was, he had his rough and passionate moods; his strong sincerity sometimes ran away with his tongue.
the two women went on their knees before earl simon’s horse.
“sire,” said the elder of the two, “put your anger away. we are here for love of the white cross.”
straight speaking, and a straight look of the eyes were things that de montfort loved. the armed men who watched and waited, wondered why earl simon tarried there talking, and did not send the women away.
de montfort’s face had begun to shine like the face of a saint. he looked very thoughtfully at the two women as they laid their lives in the hollow of his hand. the plan was marpasse’s, but denise would not suffer her comrade to carry it out alone. their plan was to go as spies to lewes that night, and bring back any news that they could gather as to what the king purposed to do on the morrow.
earl simon would have none of it at first. perhaps he doubted their honesty; yet the two women contrived to convince him, marpasse sly and valiant, denise with the quiet eyes of one who has chosen a certain part.
de montfort appeared puzzled by denise. marpasse saw the look, and broke in in her blunt, bold way:—
“she is not of my clay, sire, but we were baked in the same oven. she has seized this trick of mine, and will not let it out of her hands.”
“is that so, child?”
denise’s eyes met his.
“i am not afraid, sire,” she answered.
the earl still shirked accepting a possible sacrifice. marpasse put in a final word.
“though it be to my shame, lord,” she said, “i have learnt how to tread among thorns. there is only one thing that i would ask, and that is the right to choose the man who shall take us within two miles of lewes town.”
she flashed a look at denise as though to silence her, and went close to de montfort’s horse. a smile came over his face as he listened to marpasse, and there was sadness in the smile, and the quiet compassion of a man who had held children in his arms.
“god guard you both,” he said, “it shall be as you desire.”
aymery had command of the guard that evening at the manor house where simon, the earl of gloucester, and the great lords had their quarters. word was brought him by an esquire of de montfort’s son guy, that the earl was calling for him, and that simon was to be found in the great barn where the bishop of worcester was to preach to the lords and gentlemen before sundown. aymery found the earl sitting on a barrow that stood on the threshing floor, a knot of knights standing behind him, and the evening sunlight that poured in striking silver burs from their battle harness.
simon looked straight into aymery’s eyes as he gave him his orders.
“go down to the yew tree near the pond where we water our horses, messire. you will find two women waiting there. they have sworn to spy out the land for us. take a guide and ten spears, and see the women as near to lewes as you can without breaking cover.”
earl simon always eyed his men as though he were looking into the brain behind the eyes. aymery saluted, and turned to obey. his face betrayed no surprise, though it was a new thing for de montfort to rely on the wits of two women.
simon called him back.
“wait, and keep watch in the woods,” he said, “the women will try to bring back news. we shall be on the move before dawn.”
he rose from the barrow, and crossing the threshing floor, laid a hand on aymery’s shoulder.
“it is in my heart to catch the king napping to-morrow,” he said. “i trust england with you, in this, and some of us may have to suffer.”
he stood considering something a moment, frowning a little, his hand still on aymery’s shoulder.
“the two women yonder, brave hearts, have talked me into suffering this. i would not put such work upon a woman, but then, my son, we all carry the cross. hasten, and god speed you.”
and aymery went out from before him, thinking of the two women as women, and nothing more.
marpasse, who had spun her net very cleverly, and whose hope had been to catch and entangle a man and a woman therein, was bitterly disgusted at the way things happened. she had made up her mind that she herself would go to lewes, but she had no intention of taking denise into the hell of the royal camp. she certainly caught these two people in her net, but they broke the threads, and would not do as she desired. yet marpasse might have seen how it would be had she not been too eager to sweep away denise’s pride.
denise was standing by her, with the sunlight on her hair and face, waiting in all innocence for the escort that earl simon was to send for them. a prophetic fore-gleam of self-sacrifice played in the deeps of her brown eyes. she had seized on marpasse’s plan and clasped it as something precious and something actively alive. the solemn shriving of that great host under the oaks of the fletching woods had sent the blood to denise’s brain. she felt herself in the midst of strong men who held their swords aloft and prayed. she was as one who saw a sacred fire burning, and was driven to throw herself therein with the ardour of a soul that seeks martyrdom in some great cause.
marpasse, who had a corner of each eye very wide awake for the coming of the man on the black horse, began to wonder how denise would meet the truth. and marpasse’s expectations came back limply to roost like birds that had been drenched in a thunder shower. she had struck a spark into denise’s soul, and the spark blazed up into a beacon that marpasse could not smother.
aymery came riding down past the great pool where troopers were watering their horses, the beasts trampling and splashing in the oozy shallows, and sucking lustily despite the mud. marpasse soon marked him down, and watched his face as they came within his ken. marpasse saw aymery go red as a boy, and being comforted by the man’s colour, she stole a glance at denise. denise’s face had been shining like the face of one inspired. marpasse saw it cloud suddenly as though a shadow had fallen across it.
so they met, with the women under the yew tree fifty paces away watching them, and the splashing of the horses and the voices of the men merging into the great murmur that seemed to fill the woods. for the moment aymery had nothing to say. marpasse could have pricked him with the point of her knife to make him leap out of that slough of silence. denise stood in the long grass, a whorl of golden flowers brushing her grey gown, her face white and troubled in the sunlight. marpasse might have had a pair of dumb and irresponsive puppets on her hands. there was nothing left for her but to pull the strings.
“i am the brown woman who mended a wound, lording,” she began.
aymery remembered her well enough. his face resembled a grey sky through which the sun was trying to shine and could not. he had his heart in his mouth but denise did not help him. she stood there, as though her thoughts soared into some cold and brilliant corner of heaven. yet only the surface had the sheen of ice. the deeps beneath were full of flux and tumult.
marpasse, being a plain and impetuous woman, could have nudged both of them, and prompted both, at one and the same moment. matters were not moving as she had forecasted, and these two people looked afraid of one another.
“a kiss on the mouth, lording, and your arms round her,” that was what she would have said.
her words were:—
“earl simon may have told you the news.”
by the sharp look that aymery gave denise, marpasse guessed that he knew the truth.
“to lewes?” he asked her, with the uneasy air of a man urging himself to do something that seemed strangely difficult.
“oh, we women, lording, can be of use.”
he repeated the words, looking at denise.
“to lewes?”
marpasse grimaced.
“god knows, we shall be walking on hot bricks,” she said; “but then, this blue gown, and this face of mine, are better than passwords.”
aymery’s eyes were still upon denise, as though waiting for one word or look from her. he could not see that she was as passionately mute as he was, and that a spasm of self-consciousness held her in thrall.
marpasse broke in, feeling the silence like thorns in her flesh.
“i can do without her, lording. listen to me, golden-head. they shall put me within a mile of lewes town, and wait in the woods for any news that i can gather. you need not play the moth to the candle.”
marpasse saw aymery’s eyes flash something at her that made her less uneasy. the judgment lay with denise. they looked at her and waited.
denise looked at neither. she hid everything, nor was there a ripple of emotion about her mouth.
“i shall go with you, marpasse,” she said.
the big woman shrugged her shoulders.
“bah, i can as well take one of the others with me. they would play the part better, and look less dangerous.”
denise kept her eyes from aymery, as though her pride had set itself a pilgrimage, and would not see anything that might hinder it.
“say what you please, i shall go with you, as i promised.”
marpasse nodded her head, and seemed to consider the situation. biting her lips, she looked from aymery to denise. neither of them helped her, and marpasse could have stamped her foot at the man, and told him what to do. “fool, take her away from me, and hold her fast!” she shrugged her broad shoulders, and laughed a little mockingly.
“we are all talking so much,” she said, “that we shall get nowhere to-night unless we tie up our tongues. you, lording, can find us a couple of mules or asses.”
marpasse’s sarcasm sank into sand, for denise turned and walked back towards the rest of the women who were making a meal under the yew tree. some of them were using their needles, and sewing the white crosses on to the surcoats of the men.
“i will say good-bye to them.”
perhaps there was a set purpose in this act of hers, for denise would have aymery see the comrades with whom she had travelled.
aymery was turning his horse when marpasse caught his bridle.
“lording,” she said, “keep the fog out of your eyes. we, and the rest yonder, followed the host to do what we could when men were knocked out of the saddle. i have changed my cloth, if not the colour of it. she has done that for me.”
she looked up almost fiercely into aymery’s eyes.
“speak to her on the way, lording. women are not won by looking, charge home, and let the trumpets blow, unless,” and she let go the bridle, “unless my lord has changed.”
the man’s eyes answered her that.
“marpasse, have you forgotten that night?”
“no, not i, nor you, lording.”
“it seemed death then, but now——”
marpasse’s eyes flashed up at him.
“man, man, what makes the hills blaze, a wet fog, or the sunset?”
dusk was beginning to fall when they set off into the woods, denise upon a grey palfrey that a priest had lent them, marpasse perched on a mule, aymery and his men in full battle harness, their spears trailing under the trees. they had a guide with them, a swineherd who knew every path and ride even by night, and though the sun was touching the horizon, they had before them the long twilight of a clear evening in may.
aymery sent the guide on ahead with the men-at-arms, and marpasse, knowing what she knew, manœuvred her mule so as to leave aymery with denise. but the priest’s palfrey seemed to have conceived a great affection for marpasse’s mule. denise had hardly a word to say. she kept close beside marpasse and appeared blind to the glimmerings of that good woman’s impatience.
marpasse could bear it out no longer. she struck her mule several resounding smacks with her open hand, and the beast went away at a lazy canter, leaving denise and the man on the black horse together.
“may god untie their tongues,” marpasse said to herself; “it is a curse to have too quick a conscience. i shall be hoisted on my own fire unless the man can bring her to reason.”
so marpasse rode on behind the men-at-arms, leaving the two to work out their own salvation.
the woods were steeped in a green twilight, and a great stillness reigned everywhere, save for the song of the birds. here and there a great tree stood tongued as with fire. the foliage grew black against the golden glow in the west, while long slants of light still stole in secretly along the solemn aisles. the birds were at their vespers, and a cold dew was falling, drawing out the fresh perfume of the woods at night.
aymery and denise were riding side by side, the woman pale, sad-eyed, yet resolute, the man sunk in that deep silence that follows some ineffectual and passionate outburst of the heart. they seemed afraid of one another, nor could they meet each other’s eyes. denise’s white face might have stood for the moon. and though the birds sang, their voices gave the dusk a sadder and a stranger mystery.
aymery spoke at last, passing a hand over his horse’s mane.
“our lady keep you,” he said, “i will not quarrel with your desire.”
denise’s lips were dry, and she felt as though the old wound had broken over her heart.
“if i have suffered,” she said simply, “i have learnt what life is.”
“self-martyrdom?”
his voice woke echoes that she strove to smother.
“it is god’s whim in me, perhaps, that i should prove myself. marpasse and i will go together.”
night had come and the glare of many fires lit the southern sky when they reached the edge of the woodland and saw the great downs black, and vague and ominous. the men were waiting under the woodshaw, and marpasse stood rubbing the nose of her mule. she could hear voices, slow, suppressed, stricken into short, pregnant sentences like the disjointed fragments of a song struck from untuned lutes.
denise had left her palfrey under a tree. she came out from the shadows, and taking marpasse in her arms, kissed her.
“we go together, you and i,” she said. “no, no, say nothing to me, it is my heart’s desire.”
marpasse held her, and was mute. she looked towards a shadowy figure on a shadowy horse, and denise understood the look.
“i have told him, he will not hinder me in this.”
“heart of mine, stay here in the woods. i can go alone, my carcase is of no account.”
denise would not be put away.
“marpasse,” she said, “this is our lord’s true passion working in me. nor shall the cup from which he drank be snatched from me to-night.”
marpasse was silent, feeling a greatness near her that awed her rebellious impulses. she kissed denise, and was very humble, thinking that she herself had brought this thing to pass.
“come then,” she said, “it may be that god goes with us to-night.”
aymery, standing with one arm over his horse’s neck, watched them disappear into the darkness, the swineherd going with them to show them the road to the town. the whole northern sky still burnt with a faint glow of gold, and in the south a hundred fires flickered amid the black folds of the downs. and aymery watched these distant fires, thinking with grim impatience of the king’s host that lay yonder like a great dragon ready to tear and slay.
