Страница 86 из 96
After the trumpeters and scouts arrived, then came a larger group, including the lord and his lady, mounted on lavishly draped horses. Then came troops of servants and wagons bearing the tents, and everything the noble household would require: tablecloths, plates, jewels, pots, pans, beds, and even tapestries.
It had all become a common sight to Je
"We ain't never seen the likes o' this-none of us," Agnes said.
"Are the villagers doing as I bade them?"
"Aye, milady, and grateful forever we'll always be to you for it. Why in one se
Je
Je
"When this is all over," Je
Agnes looked at her with misty eyes. "Ye've been a blessing sent here by the Lord himself, milady. We all think it, and we're that sorry for the welcome you got from us when you come here. Everyone knows I have yer ear, me being your personal maidservant, and they ask me erry day to make sure ye know how grateful we feel."
"Thank you," Je
"Yer English now, if ye'll pardon me speakin' out 'o turn. Yer married to our lord an' that makes you one 'o us."
"I am a Scot," Je
"Yes, but tomorrow, at the tournament," Agnes said with nervous determination, "we're hopin, all 'o us at Claymore and from the village-that ye'll be sittin' on our side."
Je
She was spared the need to reply to Agnes's unspoken question about where she intended to sit at the tournament by the arrival of mounted riders who were ready to escort her from the bailey. She had told Royce she meant to visit the Merrick pavilion on the western edge of the valley, and he had agreed-because he had no choice, Je
At close range, the valley of brightly colored tents and striped pavilions was even more vivid and festive than it had seemed to Je
Through the open flaps of the larger tents, she glimpsed gorgeous tapestries and snowy linen spread across tables where knights, and even entire families, were having di
Time and again, greetings were called out to one or the other of Royce's knights from friends, but, although her escort never stopped, it still took the better part of an hour to wend their way across the valley floor and up to the western slope. Just as in life, the Scots did not mingle with the hated English, for while the valley was the domain of the English, the northern hill belonged to the Scots. Moreover, the western rise was the province of the French. Because her kinsmen were one of the last to reach Claymore, their tents were pitched to the rear of the northern slope, well above the others. Or perhaps, Je
She looked about her at the "enemy camps," existing for the time being in peace. Centuries of built-up animosity were temporarily set aside as all parties observed the ancient tradition that guaranteed any knight safe passage and peaceful dwelling while attending a tourney. As if he read her thoughts, Stefan said beside her, " 'Tis probably the first time in decades that so many people from our three countries have occupied the same territory without fighting over it."
"I was thinking much the same thing," Je
The reason for Stefan's warmer attitude today was no mystery to Je
Je