The boy said: “Cook’s not up yet. You’ll have to wait for your money.”
“Can I get a bite of bread for my breakfast?”
“In the great hall.”
“Thank you.” She left her basket and went out again.
She crossed the second drawbridge to the upper compound. She smiled at the guard in the second gateway. He had uncombed hair and bloodshot eyes. He looked her up and down and said: “And where are you going?” His voice was playfully challenging.
“To get some breakfast,” she said without stopping.
He leered. “I’ve got something for you to eat,” he called after her.
“I might bite it off, though,” she said over her shoulder.
They did not suspect her for a moment. It did not occur to them that a woman could be dangerous. How foolish they were. Women could do most of the things men did. Who was left in charge when the men were fighting wars, or going on crusades? There were women carpenters, dyers, tanners, bakers and brewers. Aliena herself was one of the most important merchants in the county. The duties of an abbess, running a nunnery, were exactly the same as those of an abbot. Why, it had been a woman, the Empress Maud, who caused the civil war that had gone on for fifteen years! Yet these wooden-headed men-at-arms did not expect a woman to be an enemy agent because it was not the normal thing.
She ran up the steps of the keep and entered the hall. There was no steward at the door. That was presumably because the master was away. In future I will make sure there is always a steward at the door, Aliena thought, whether the master is at home or not.
Fifteen or twenty people were eating breakfast around a small table. One or two of them glanced up at her, but nobody took any notice. The hall was quite clean, she observed, and there were one or two feminine touches: freshly whitewashed walls, and sweet-smelling herbs mixed with the rushes on the floor. Elizabeth had made her mark in a small way. That was a hopeful sign.
Without speaking to the people around the table, Aliena walked across the hall to the staircase in the corner, trying to look as if she had every right to be there, but expecting at any moment to be stopped. She got to the foot of the stairs without attracting attention. Then, as she ran up toward the private apartments on the top floor, she heard someone say: “You can’t go up there—hey, you!” She ignored the voice. She heard someone come after her.
She reached the top, panting. Would Elizabeth sleep in the main bedroom, the one Aliena’s father had occupied? Or would she have a bed of her own in the room that had been Aliena’s? She hesitated for an instant, her heart pounding. She guessed that by now William had tired of having Elizabeth sleep with him every night, and probably allowed her a room of her own. Aliena knocked at the smaller room and opened the door.
She had been right. Elizabeth was sitting by the fire, wearing a nightshirt, brushing her hair. She looked up, frowned, and then recognized Aliena. “It’s you!” she said. “What a surprise!” She seemed pleased.
Aliena heard heavy footsteps on the stairs behind her. “May I come in?” she said.
“Of course—and welcome!”
Aliena stepped inside and closed the door quickly. She crossed the room to where Elizabeth sat. A man burst in, saying, “Hey, you, who do you think you are?” and came after Aliena as if to seize her.
“Stay where you are!” she said in her most commanding voice. He hesitated. She said: “I come to see the countess, with a message from Earl William, and you would have learned that earlier if you had been guarding the door instead of stuffing your face with horsebread.”
He looked guilty.
Elizabeth said: “It’s all right, Edgar, I know this lady.”
“Very well, countess,” he said. He went out and closed the door.
I made it, Aliena thought. I got in.
She looked around while her heartbeat returned to normal. The room was not very different from when it had been hers. There were dried petals in a bowl, a pretty tapestry on the wall, some books, and a trunk for clothes. The bed was in the same place—in fact it was the same bed—and on the pillow was a rag doll just like the one Aliena had had. It made her feel old.
“This used to be my room,” she said.
“I know,” said Elizabeth.
Aliena was surprised. She had not told Elizabeth about her past.
“I’ve found out all about you since that terrible storm,” Elizabeth explained. She added: “I admire you so much.” She had the gleam of hero-worship in her eyes.
That was a good sign.
“And William?” Aliena said. “Are you any happier, living with him?”
Elizabeth looked away. “Well,” she said, “I have my own room now, and he’s been away a lot. In fact everything’s much better.” Then she began to cry.
