Miriam Bibby - Mistress Meg 02 - Mistress Meg and the Silver Bell (33 page)

“Ahhhh,”
said Amiot. His heart was still pounding and he felt sudden stab of pain in his
throat and chest. The room seemed to have turned black and yet the air was full
of white whirling sparks. He floated upwards on the white sparks, upwards and
upwards. As the constable continued to stare at him, Amiot saw him receding as
though he was looking at him down a long, dark tunnel. The constable’s face was
the last thing he saw before he fell to the floor.

* * * * *

“Never
mind the dog, he won’t harm ye,” said Zacharias, as he saw Ruby’s hand go
to her mouth at the sight of the mastiff. “Keep harm from ye, more like.
What’s your name?”

“Ruby.”

“Mine’s
Zacharias. Zacharias Kane.”

“Pleased
to know ye.” From the way she said it, he thought Ruby did not know of him
or his trade. They drove on for a while in silence. Then Ruby spoke.

“This
your nag?”

“No,”
said Zacharias, “but the cart is mine.”

“Oh,”
said Ruby. It was not much, but he found her little attempts at conversation
encouraging enough to ask the question that was in his mind.

“It
was you I saw the other day, when I was gathering wood?”

Ruby
nodded.

“You
seemed - to be in sore trial about something.”

Ruby half
smiled at the use of the word trial.

“I
was.”

“One
of your friends - in trouble?”

Ruby wanted
to say, “What a lot of questions y’do ask,” but she didn’t. She
didn’t say anything.

“A
man?” questioned Zacharias.

Ruby
nodded.

“Well,
he must be a fool if he’d make a pretty lass like you unhappy,” said
Zacharias with such obvious gallantry that Ruby laughed despite herself.

“That’s
better,” said Zacharias, grinning too.

“I
thank ‘ee for the ‘lass’,” said Ruby.

“You
are
pretty,” said Zacharias. “D’ye want to tell me about your -
friend?”

Ruby’s face
clouded again and she shook her head. It was an unwritten law amongst those she
knew that what was past, was past. She’d known a few who’d ended up with the
hangman’s noose around their necks. Once they were gone, they were gone. Life
continued. Her companions would go on - with or without her. That was life.
That was - death.

Suddenly
she found something that she could say that was appropriate, that was right,
that was
true
. “When I had, he never lacked; and when he had, I
never lacked,” she said. That was how it had been for Clink and Ruby, the
Egyptian Mort.

Zacharias
nodded slowly. “Share - and share alike.”

“Yes,”
agreed Ruby.

“Be
you hungry?” said Zacharias. “I was thinking of breaking my fast
soon.” Ruby realised she was, very hungry. It was surprising how you
didn’t think about hunger when you were thinking about death; and then, when
life claimed you again, so did hunger. She nodded.

They found
a pretty little dell, with a stream that chuckled as it ran along and birds
chirping in the trees, not far from the lane. Zacharias took the horse out of
the cart and let him go after hobbling him, with Ruby helping. “Give him
plenty of rope to move,” said Zacharias. The horse went to the water and
drank, deeply; and turned to regard them with water trickling from his muzzle
and a curious look on his face. Then he put his head down to the grass and
started to munch.

“‘E’s
content,” said Ruby, smiling again. Zacharias spread bread, cheese, meat
and a bottle of ale on a clean cloth on the grass.

“Got a
wife that washes for ye?” asked Ruby, because the cloth was
very
clean.
She felt that it was right that she could be a bit brazen, because he hadn’t
held back from asking
her
a thing or two.

“No
wife,” said Zacharias.

“Mother?”

“No
mother. No father, neither.”

“Oh,
forgi’ me.”

“No
need for sorrow. Here.”

While they
ate, they talked of apparently unimportant things. Ruby, stealing little
glances at Zacharias, felt more at home. When he offered her an apple, she was
confident enough to make a jest of it.

“I’d
heard it said t’was Eve tempted Adam wi’ an apple, not the other way
round.”

Zacharias
was ready with a reply. “I didn’t take you for a Bible-reader.” Ruby
laughed.

“Can’t
read! But Jack, the Frater can - and write too.”

“Who
is Jack? Is that … “

Ruby,
realising what she had said, shook her head. “No. And Jack is just -
someone - someone I - knew …”

By the time
they finished the food, the sun was westering.

“Best
be on our road,” said Zacharias.

“Will
ye - we - be at York by darkmans - nightfall, I mean?” asked Ruby.

“Depends,”
said Zacharias. “Nights are light, now, and we can travel by starlight.
But there’s the horse to think of too. I’m in no hurry.”

They
harnessed up and Zacharias helped Ruby back onto the cart.

“Can
ye drive?” he asked.

“Never
tried,” said Ruby. She had only ever ridden the donkey before, and pillion
on horseback a few times, which had scared her.

“Care
to?”

“Aye,
if y’like!” Ruby sounded quite enthusiastic about the idea. Zacharias got
up on his side of the cart and handed her the reins. Ruby, frowning and biting
her lip with concentration, said, “What do I do now?”

“Just
tell him to get on, kindly, mind.”

Ruby made a
kissing sound with her lips and slapped the reins lightly, as she had seen
others do. The little horse took up the strain and the cart moved off. Ruby
turned to Zacharias with a radiant smile.

“Careful,
now,” he warned, as they headed towards a hole in the lane. “Takes a
bit of practice.” Ruby soon got the hang of it.

“Look,
he’s got ‘is ear turned back. It’s like he’s listening to me, the horse!”

“Aye,”
said Zacharias. “That’s the way of it, if you treat them kindly.”

A few miles
further along, with Ruby still concentrating on the road ahead, Zacharias
suddenly reached down and drew something out, apparently from under the board
they were seated on, but in fact from his boot.

“Here,”
he said, “you keep this.” It was a little leather bag. Ruby glanced
at it, but was reluctant to take her eyes from the road for too long.

“What
is it?”

“Give
me the reins. Now you can look.”

Ruby opened
the bag. It appeared to contain shiny fragments of metal. She looked across at
Zacharias. His face gave nothing away.

“What
is it?”

“Gold.
Gold clippings.”

“Clippings?
But …” Ruby knew well enough where clippings of gold usually came from.
“You a clipper?” There was astonishment in her voice and Zacharias
knew it would be matched by the expression on her face.

“No -
at least - no, I’m not. I’m a goldsmith. You keep the bag for me. I’ll explain
- in a while.”

A few hours
later, they stopped again. Ruby felt she could have travelled on and on, under
the starlight, listening to the owls hoot, right into the dawn; but Zacharias
said the horse had done enough for the day. So they made camp, in another
little dell. This time Zacharias found some wood and struck a fire.

When he
took her in his arms and kissed her, Ruby kissed him back, with a little
hesitation at first and then with more warmth and then with passion, running
her fingers through his fine dark hair, something she felt she’d been wanting
to do all day. She could feel his body shaking a little. Of course, Zacharias
had known other women, but this was different, for some reason. Perhaps it was
the May night, or the firelight, or the peace and quiet that closed safely
around them like an friendly arm; but this was different.

“Ruby,”
he said, eventually, “about the gold …”

She looked
at him and shook her head, half laughing. “It’s not ‘cause o’ the gold!”

“No,
but …”

“Don’t
tell me now!” He kissed her again, and she drew him down beside the fire.

Later, when
she lay sleepily in his strong arms and they were both watching the sparks and
crackles of the last piece of wood, he did tell her about the gold. It was
almost a confession, she thought.

“I’ve
worked with gold nearly all my life,” said Zacharias, stroking her arm,
“and I’ve never done wrong - well, perhaps I’ve taken a bit more for my
workmanship from those who could afford it - “

Ruby
smiled. In her world, there were no innocents. Everyone had his or her cozening
tricks, only some of ‘em carried it out in a shop or a marketplace and called
it “trade”.

” -
I’ve never done aught like this and I still don’t know what made me do it - it
was just - when I found out what Goldspink had done, something in me wanted to
see how easy it was. It was - easy. Too easy, so I didn’t clip more’n a few
…” Ruby was sleepy and the sound of guilt in his voice was a bit
confusing. If he knew some of the things that she had done! But - that was why
he’d given her the clippings, she realised. That was why he had told her. He
had to tell
someone
.

Zacharias
continued, “But now - I don’t know what to do.”

“What’s
to do?” said Ruby. “What’s done is done.” She kissed his cheek.

“Aye,”
said Zacharias. “What’s done - is done.”

* * * * *

The yard of
the Hart and Hawthorn was filled with impatient horses ready for the off. The
lead mare, identifiable by her bell, munched on a few strands of hay whilst the
other horses stamped and scraped around her. The fastenings of the packs had
been checked and checked again. Soon they would all be jogging northwards, with
a return load of malt, dried fish and other goods for the miners and farmers of
the remote upland dales of Durham and Westmorland. Plus, an additional load of
humans; and one small black dog.

Meg was
just waiting for Matthew to finish setting their own packs onto one of the more
lightly loaded horses and mount his own. She felt surprisingly comfortable at
the moment, seated sideways on her horse. The master of the pack train had
fastened a board along one side so that she could rest her feet on it and there
was a firmly rolled bundle over the horse’s rump that she could lean against.
The master had assured her that this was one of his most trusted and smoothest
gaited nags. However, Meg knew that discomfort would set in after a few miles.
She had made sure that she was well prepared for this with plenty of padding
and several bottles of liniment.

“Meg!”

It was
George, pushing his way through the milling horses and rangy dogs on the inn
yard. He waved his hat at her.

“George!”

“Devil
of a time I’ve had finding you, Meg. I did not know whether you had left or
not.”

“You
might have missed us, George, for we were supposed to have been on our way by
now; but, as is often the case, there has been delay after delay. I think we
are nearly ready now.”