“Is he yer husband, lady?”
Arissa shook her head, pointing to Richmond instead. “He is.”
The boy, and the children behind him, looked at the enormous man. “Does he beat ye, then?” the boy asked, incredulous.
Arissa laughed. “Of course not,” she said. “Why would he?”
“Because he’s a big ’un.”
Arissa was still smiling, shaking her head. “He’s very sweet and very kind,” she told him. “Now, tell me; where are your parents?”
The boy shrugged. “We dunna have ’un,” he said, kicking at the dirt and glancing to the group behind him. “We…. well, we take care o’ each other.”
Arissa understood somewhat. “Which is why you defended the little girl.”
“Aye.”
At this point, the little girl’s weeping could no longer be heard and the gaggle of children began to disband. It would seem that the crisis was over and they were losing interest in what was going on. As they started to wander away, Arissa called out to them.
“Wait,” she said. “Please…. wait.”
The boy, and most of the group, came to a halt. Then she turned to Richmond. “Give them a few coins,” she whispered.
He was surprised by her request. “What?” he asked, as if he hadn’t heard her correctly. “A few coins….?”
Arissa held out her hand to him. “Please,” she hissed. “Look at them, Richmond; they are filthy and starving. Show them thesame generosity you show me and give them a few coins so they can at least buy something to eat.”
He eyed her, displeased, but did as she asked. Reaching in to his tunic, he pulled forth his purse and plopped five coins into her palm. Arissa went to the boy with the matted blond hair and extended her hand.
“For you,” she said. “Please buy something to eat for your friends.”
The child took the coins from her, awed. He stared at the pences in his palm as if he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Then, he grinned brightly, displaying green and crooked teeth.
“Thanks, lady!”
He dashed off, calling to the children, and they all swarmed around him. As he excitedly showed off the coins he had been given and pointed back to Arissa and Richmond, Arissa stood there and grinned. Richmond came up behind her.
“Very generous, my lady,” he said, winking at her when she turned to look at him. “Now, if you do not mind, it is time to make your purchases so we can get out of this town before I go broke.”
With a giggle, Arissa turned back to the merchant stall and the amazing pre-made surcoats. Emma was standing just inside the stall, still holding on to the bluePersecoat, having just watched the happenstance with the children. Arissa and Emma were just beginning to engage in conversation when Richmond heard a shout.
He turned to see Gavan heading towards him with something in his hand. “Our messenger has caught up to us,” Gavan told him as he approached. “We have a reply from Henry.”
Richmond’s attention was diverted from Arissa spending all of his money as he went to Gavan and accepted a worn leather pouch that was sealed with an iron pin.
“That was fast work,” Richmond replied as he opened the pouch. “From Lambourn to London, and then to Whitby in less than two weeks.”
“Indeed.”
Richmond dug into the pouch and pulled out the first of two missives stuck inside. “I wonder what Henry has to say to all of this,” he muttered, eyeing the first missive that had his name on it. Then he pulled out the second and noted that it was for his eyes only. He put that one back in the pouch as he focused on the first. “I can only hope he does not order us to turn around and head back for London.”
“Why?”
“Because it would not be very safe for Arissa there, not with all of the turmoil surrounding the king right now, and I am not entirely sure how I could deny the king’s orders without revealing our little secret,” he replied as he popped the wax seal and unrolled the fine vellum. His gaze digested the words for a few moments before he started to read.
“Sir Richmond le Bec
Dated this tenth day of December, Year of Our Lord Fourteen Hundred and Two
