Books: The Little Duke

C >> Charlotte M. Yonge >> The Little Duke

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Thus several days had passed, the King had returned, and Richard was
so much recovered, that he had become very anxious to be allowed to
go down stairs again, instead of remaining shut up there; but still
Osmond would not consent, though Richard had done nothing all day but
walk round the room, to show how strong he was.

"Now, my Lord, guard the door--take care," said Osmond; "you have no
loss to-day, for the King has brought home Herluin of Montreuil, whom
you would be almost as loth to meet as the Fleming. And tell your
beads while I am gone, that the Saints may bring us out of our
peril."

Osmond was absent nearly half an hour, and, when he returned, brought
on his shoulders a huge bundle of straw. "What is this for?"
exclaimed Richard. "I wanted my supper, and you have brought straw!"

"Here is your supper," said Osmond, throwing down the straw, and
producing a bag with some bread and meat. "What should you say, my
Lord, if we should sup in Normandy to-morrow night?"

"In Normandy!" cried Richard, springing up and clapping his hands.
"In Normandy! Oh, Osmond, did you say in Normandy? Shall we, shall
we really? Oh, joy! joy! Is Count Bernard come? Will the King let
us go?"

"Hush! hush, sir! It must be our own doing; it will all fail if you
are not silent and prudent, and we shall be undone."

"I will do anything to get home again!"

"Eat first," said Osmond.

"But what are you going to do? I will not be as foolish as I was
when you tried to get me safe out of Rollo's tower. But I should
like to wish Carloman farewell."

"That must not be," said Osmond; "we should not have time to escape,
if they did not still believe you very ill in bed."

"I am sorry not to wish Carloman good-bye," repeated Richard; "but we
shall see Fru Astrida again, and Sir Eric; and Alberic must come
back! Oh, do let us go! O Normandy, dear Normandy!"

Richard could hardly eat for excitement, while Osmond hastily made
his arrangements, girding on his sword, and giving Richard his dagger
to put into his belt. He placed the remainder of the provisions in
his wallet, threw a thick purple cloth mantle over the Duke, and then
desired him to lie down on the straw which he had brought in. "I
shall hide you in it," he said, "and carry you through the hall, as
if I was going to feed my horse."

"Oh, they will never guess!" cried Richard, laughing. "I will be
quite still--I will make no noise--I will hold my breath."

"Yes, mind you do not move hand or foot, or rustle the straw. It is
no play--it is life or death," said Osmond, as he disposed the straw
round the little boy. "There, can you breathe?"

"Yes," said Richard's voice from the midst. "Am I quite hidden?"

"Entirely. Now, remember, whatever happens, do not move. May Heaven
protect us! Now, the Saints be with us!"

Richard, from the interior of the bundle heard Osmond set open the
door; then he felt himself raised from the ground; Osmond was
carrying him along down the stairs, the ends of the straw crushing
and sweeping against the wall. The only way to the outer door was
through the hall, and here was the danger. Richard heard voices,
steps, loud singing and laughter, as if feasting was going on; then
some one said, "Tending your horse, Sieur de Centeville?"

"Yes," Osmond made answer. "You know, since we lost our grooms, the
poor black would come off badly, did I not attend to him."

Presently came Carloman's voice: "O Osmond de Centeville! is Richard
better?"

"He is better, my Lord, I thank you, but hardly yet out of danger."

"Oh, I wish he was well! And when will you let me come to him,
Osmond? Indeed, I would sit quiet, and not disturb him."

"It may not be yet, my Lord, though the Duke loves you well--he told
me so but now."

"Did he? Oh, tell him I love him very much--better than any one
here--and it is very dull without him. Tell him so, Osmond."

Richard could hardly help calling out to his dear little Carloman;
but he remembered the peril of Osmond's eyes and the Queen's threat,
and held his peace, with some vague notion that some day he would
make Carloman King of France. In the meantime, half stifled with the
straw, he felt himself carried on, down the steps, across the court;
and then he knew, from the darkness and the changed sound of Osmond's
tread, that they were in the stable. Osmond laid him carefully down,
and whispered--"All right so far. You can breathe?"

"Not well. Can't you let me out?"

"Not yet--not for worlds. Now tell me if I put you face downwards,
for I cannot see."

He laid the living heap of straw across the saddle, bound it on, then
led out the horse, gazing round cautiously as he did so; but the
whole of the people of the Castle were feasting, and there was no one
to watch the gates. Richard heard the hollow sound of the hoofs, as
the drawbridge was crossed, and knew that he was free; but still
Osmond held his arm over him, and would not let him move, for some
distance. Then, just as Richard felt as if he could endure the
stifling of the straw, and his uncomfortable position, not a moment
longer, Osmond stopped the horse, took him down, laid him on the
grass, and released him. He gazed around; they were in a little
wood; evening twilight was just coming on, and the birds sang
sweetly.

"Free! free!--this is freedom!" cried Richard, leaping up in the
delicious cool evening breeze; "the Queen and Lothaire, and that grim
room, all far behind."

"Not so far yet," said Osmond; "you must not call yourself safe till
the Epte is between us and them. Into the saddle, my Lord; we must
ride for our lives."

Osmond helped the Duke to mount, and sprang to the saddle behind him,
set spurs to the horse, and rode on at a quick rate, though not at
full speed, as he wished to spare the horse. The twilight faded, the
stars came out, and still he rode, his arm round the child, who, as
night advanced, grew weary, and often sunk into a sort of half doze,
conscious all the time of the trot of the horse. But each step was
taking him further from Queen Gerberge, and nearer to Normandy; and
what recked he of weariness? On--on; the stars grew pale again, and
the first pink light of dawn showed in the eastern sky; the sun rose,
mounted higher and higher, and the day grew hotter; the horse went
more slowly, stumbled, and though Osmond halted and loosed the girth,
he only mended his pace for a little while.

Osmond looked grievously perplexed; but they had not gone much
further before a party of merchants came in sight, winding their way
with a long train of loaded mules, and stout men to guard them,
across the plains, like an eastern caravan in the desert. They gazed
in surprise at the tall young Norman holding the child upon the worn-
out war-horse.

"Sir merchant," said Osmond to the first, "see you this steed?
Better horse never was ridden; but he is sorely spent, and we must
make speed. Let me barter him with you for yonder stout palfrey. He
is worth twice as much, but I cannot stop to chaffer--ay or no at
once."

The merchant, seeing the value of Osmond's gallant black, accepted
the offer; and Osmond removing his saddle, and placing Richard on his
new steed, again mounted, and on they went through the country which
Osmond's eye had marked with the sagacity men acquire by living in
wild, unsettled places. The great marshes were now far less
dangerous than in the winter, and they safely crossed them. There
had, as yet, been no pursuit, and Osmond's only fear was for his
little charge, who, not having recovered his full strength since his
illness, began to suffer greatly from fatigue in the heat of that
broiling summer day, and leant against Osmond patiently, but very
wearily, without moving or looking up. He scarcely revived when the
sun went down, and a cool breeze sprang up, which much refreshed
Osmond himself; and still more did it refresh the Squire to see, at
length, winding through the green pastures, a blue river, on the
opposite bank of which rose a high rocky mound, bearing a castle with
many a turret and battlement.

"The Epte! the Epte! There is Normandy, sir! Look up, and see your
own dukedom." "Normandy!" cried Richard, sitting upright. "Oh, my
own home!" Still the Epte was wide and deep, and the peril was not
yet ended. Osmond looked anxiously, and rejoiced to see marks of
cattle, as if it had been forded. "We must try it," he said, and
dismounting, he waded in, leading the horse, and firmly holding
Richard in the saddle. Deep they went; the water rose to Richard's
feet, then to the horse's neck; then the horse was swimming, and
Osmond too, still keeping his firm hold; then there was ground again,
the force of the current was less, and they were gaining the bank.
At that instant, however, they perceived two men aiming at them with
cross-bows from the castle, and another standing on the bank above
them, who called out, "Hold! None pass the ford of Montemar without
permission of the noble Dame Yolande." "Ha! Bertrand, the Seneschal,
is that you?" returned Osmond. "Who calls me by my name?" replied
the Seneschal. "It is I, Osmond de Centeville. Open your gates
quickly, Sir Seneschal; for here is the Duke, sorely in need of rest
and refreshment."

"The Duke!" exclaimed Bertrand, hurrying down to the landing-place,
and throwing off his cap. "The Duke! the Duke!" rang out the shout
from the men-at-arms on the battlements above and in an instant more
Osmond had led the horse up from the water, and was exclaiming, "Look
up, my Lord, look up! You are in your own dukedom again, and this is
Alberic's castle."

"Welcome, indeed, most noble Lord Duke! Blessings on the day!" cried
the Seneschal. "What joy for my Lady and my young Lord!"

"He is sorely weary," said Osmond, looking anxiously at Richard, who,
even at the welcome cries that showed so plainly that he was in his
own Normandy, scarcely raised himself or spoke. "He had been very
sick ere I brought him away. I doubt me they sought to poison him,
and I vowed not to tarry at Laon another hour after he was fit to
move. But cheer up, my Lord; you are safe and free now, and here is
the good Dame de Montemar to tend you, far better than a rude Squire
like me."

"Alas, no!" said the Seneschal; "our Dame is gone with young Alberic
on a pilgrimage to Jumieges to pray for the Duke's safety. What joy
for them to know that their prayers have been granted!"

Osmond, however, could scarcely rejoice, so alarmed was he at the
extreme weariness and exhaustion of his charge, who, when they
brought him into the Castle hall, hardly spoke or looked, and could
not eat. They carried him up to Alberic's bed, where he tossed about
restlessly, too tired to sleep.

"Alas! alas!" said Osmond, "I have been too hasty. I have but saved
him from the Franks to be his death by my own imprudence."

"Hush! Sieur de Centeville," said the Seneschal's wife, coming into
the room. "To talk in that manner is the way to be his death,
indeed. Leave the child to me--he is only over-weary."

Osmond was sure his Duke was among friends, and would have been glad
to trust him to a woman; but Richard had but one instinct left in all
his weakness and exhaustion--to cling close to Osmond, as if he felt
him his only friend and protector; for he was, as yet, too much worn
out to understand that he was in Normandy and safe. For two or three
hours, therefore, Osmond and the Seneschal's wife watched on each
side of his bed, soothing his restlessness, until at length he became
quiet, and at last dropped sound asleep.

The sun was high in the heavens when Richard awoke. He turned on his
straw-filled crib, and looked up. It was not the tapestried walls of
his chamber at Laon that met his opening eyes, but the rugged stone
and tall loop-hole window of a turret chamber. Osmond de Centeville
lay on the floor by his side, in the sound sleep of one overcome by
long watching and weariness. And what more did Richard see?

It was the bright face and sparkling eyes of Alberic de Montemar, who
was leaning against the foot of his bed, gazing earnestly, as he
watched for his waking. There was a cry--"Alberic! Alberic!" "My
Lord! my Lord!" Richard sat up and held out both arms, and Alberic
flung himself into them. They hugged each other, and uttered broken
exclamations and screams of joy, enough to have awakened any sleeper
but one so wearied out as Osmond.

"And is it true? Oh, am I really in Normandy again?" cried Richard.

"Yes, yes!--oh, yes, my Lord! You are at Montemar. Everything here
is yours. The bar-tailed hawk is quite well, and my mother will be
here this evening; she let me ride on the instant we heard the news."

"We rode long and late, and I was very weary," said Richard! "but I
don't care, now we are at home. But I can hardly believe it! Oh,
Alberic, it has been very dreary!"

"See here, my Lord!" said Alberic, standing by the window. "Look
here, and you will know you are at home again!"

Richard bounded to the window, and what a sight met his eyes! The
Castle court was thronged with men-at-arms and horses, the morning
sun sparkling on many a burnished hauberk and tall conical helmet,
and above them waved many a banner and pennon that Richard knew full
well. "There! there!" he shouted aloud with glee. "Oh, there is the
horse-shoe of Ferrieres! and there the chequers of Warenne! Oh, and
best of all, there is--there is our own red pennon of Centeville! O
Alberic! Alberic! is Sir Eric here? I must go down to him!"

"Bertrand sent out notice to them all, as soon as you came, to come
and guard our Castle," said Alberic, "lest the Franks should pursue
you; but you are safe now--safe as Norman spears can make you--thanks
be to God!"

"Yes, thanks to God!" said Richard, crossing himself and kneeling
reverently for some minutes, while he repeated his Latin prayer;
then, rising and looking at Alberic, he said, "I must thank Him,
indeed, for he has saved Osmond and me from the cruel King and Queen,
and I must try to be a less hasty and overbearing boy than I was when
I went away; for I vowed that so I would be, if ever I came back.
Poor Osmond, how soundly he sleeps! Come, Alberic, show me the way to
Sir Eric!"

And, holding Alberic's hand, Richard left the room, and descended the
stairs to the Castle hall. Many of the Norman knights and barons, in
full armour, were gathered there; but Richard looked only for one.
He knew Sir Eric's grizzled hair, and blue inlaid armour, though his
back was towards him, and in a moment, before his entrance had been
perceived, he sprang towards him, and, with outstretched arms,
exclaimed: "Sir Eric--dear Sir Eric, here I am! Osmond is safe! And
is Fru Astrida well?"

The old Baron turned. "My child!" he exclaimed, and clasped him in
his mailed arms, while the tears flowed down his rugged cheeks.
"Blessed be God that you are safe, and that my son has done his
duty!"

"And is Fru Astrida well?"

"Yes, right well, since she heard of your safety. But look round, my
Lord; it befits not a Duke to be clinging thus round an old man's
neck. See how many of your true vassals be here, to guard you from
the villain Franks."

Richard stood up, and held out his hand, bowing courteously and
acknowledging the greetings of each bold baron, with a grace and
readiness he certainly had not when he left Normandy. He was taller
too; and though still pale, and not dressed with much care (since he
had hurried on his clothes with no help but Alberic's)--though his
hair was rough and disordered, and the scar of the burn had not yet
faded from his check--yet still, with his bright blue eyes, glad
face, and upright form, he was a princely, promising boy, and the
Norman knights looked at him with pride and joy, more especially
when, unprompted, he said: "I thank you, gallant knights, for coming
to guard me. I do not fear the whole French host now I am among my
own true Normans."

Sir Eric led him to the door of the hall to the top of the steps,
that the men-at-arms might see him; and then such a shout rang out of
"Long live Duke Richard!"--"Blessings on the little Duke!"--that it
echoed and came back again from the hills around--it pealed from the
old tower--it roused Osmond from his sleep--and, if anything more had
been wanting to do so, it made Richard feel that he was indeed in a
land where every heart glowed with loyal love for him.

Before the shout had died away, a bugle-horn was heard winding before
the gate; and Sir Eric, saying, "It is the Count of Harcourt's note,"
sent Bertrand to open the gates in haste, while Alberic followed, as
Lord of the Castle, to receive the Count.

The old Count rode into the court, and to the foot of the steps,
where he dismounted, Alberic holding his stirrup. He had not taken
many steps upwards before Richard came voluntarily to meet him (which
he had never done before), held out his hand, and said, "Welcome,
Count Bernard, welcome. Thank you for coming to guard me. I am very
glad to see you once more."

"Ah, my young Lord," said Bernard, "I am right glad to see you out of
the clutches of the Franks! You know friend from foe now, methinks!"

"Yes, indeed I do, Count Bernard. I know you meant kindly by me, and
that I ought to have thanked you, and not been angry, when you
reproved me. Wait one moment, Sir Count; there is one thing that I
promised myself to say if ever I came safe to my own dear home.
Walter--Maurice--Jeannot--all you of my household, and of Sir Eric's-
-I know, before I went away, I was often no good Lord to you; I was
passionate, and proud, and overbearing; but God has punished me for
it, when I was far away among my enemies, and sick and lonely. I am
very sorry for it, and I hope you will pardon me; for I will strive,
and I hope God will help me, never to be proud and passionate again."

"There, Sir Eric," said Bernard, "you hear what the boy says. If he
speaks it out so bold and free, without bidding, and if he holds to
what he says, I doubt it not that he shall not grieve for his journey
to France, and that we shall see him, in all things, such a Prince as
his father of blessed memory."

"You must thank Osmond for me," said Richard, as Osmond came down,
awakened at length. "It is Osmond who has helped me to bear my
troubles; and as to saving me, why he flew away with me even like an
old eagle with its eaglet. I say, Osmond, you must ever after this
wear a pair of wings on shield and pennon, to show how well we
managed our flight." {15}

"As you will, my Lord," said Osmond, half asleep; "but 'twas a good
long flight at a stretch, and I trust never to have to fly before
your foes or mine again."

What a glad summer's day was that! Even the three hours spent in
council did but renew the relish with which Richard visited Alberic's
treasures, told his adventures, and showed the accomplishments he had
learnt at Laon. The evening was more joyous still; for the Castle
gates were opened, first to receive Dame Yolande Montemar, and not
above a quarter of an hour afterwards, the drawbridge was lowered to
admit the followers of Centeville; and in front of them appeared Fru
Astrida's own high cap. Richard made but one bound into her arms,
and was clasped to her breast; then held off at arm's-length, that
she might see how much he was grown, and pity his scar; then hugged
closer than ever: but, taking another look, she declared that Osmond
left his hair like King Harald Horrid-locks; {16} and, drawing an
ivory comb from her pouch, began to pull out the thick tangles,
hurting him to a degree that would once have made him rebel, but now
he only fondled her the more.

As to Osmond, when he knelt before her, she blessed him, and sobbed
over him, and blamed him for over-tiring her darling, all in one; and
assuredly, when night closed in and Richard had, as of old, told his
beads beside her knee, the happiest boy in Normandy was its little
Duke.

CHAPTER IX

Montemar was too near the frontier to be a safe abode for the little
Duke, and his uncle, Count Hubert of Senlis, agreed with Bernard the
Dane that he would be more secure beyond the limits of his own duchy,
which was likely soon to be the scene of war; and, sorely against his
will, he was sent in secret, under a strong escort, first to the
Castle of Coucy, and afterwards to Senlis.

His consolation was, that he was not again separated from his
friends; Alberic, Sir Eric, and even Fru Astrida, accompanied him, as
well as his constant follower, Osmond. Indeed, the Baron would
hardly bear that he should be out of his sight; and he was still so
carefully watched, that it was almost like a captivity. Never, even
in the summer days, was he allowed to go beyond the Castle walls; and
his guardians would fain have had it supposed that the Castle did not
contain any such guest.

Osmond did not give him so much of his company as usual, but was
always at work in the armourer's forge--a low, vaulted chamber,
opening into the Castle court. Richard and Alberic were very curious
to know what he did there; but he fastened the door with an iron bar,
and they were forced to content themselves with listening to the
strokes of the hammer, keeping time to the voice that sang out, loud
and cheerily, the song of "Sigurd's sword, and the maiden sleeping
within the ring of flame." Fru Astrida said Osmond was quite right--
no good weapon-smith ever toiled with open doors; and when the boys
asked him questions as to his work, he only smiled, and said that
they would see what it was when the call to arms should come.

They thought it near at hand, for tidings came that Louis had
assembled his army, and marched into Normandy to recover the person
of the young Duke, and to seize the country. No summons, however,
arrived, but a message came instead, that Rouen had been surrendered
into the bands of the King. Richard shed indignant tears. "My
father's Castle! My own city in the hands of the foe! Bernard is a
traitor then! None shall hinder me from so calling him. Why did we
trust him?"

"Never fear, Lord Duke," said Osmond. "When you come to the years of
Knighthood, your own sword shall right you, in spite of all the false
Danes, and falser Franks, in the land."

"What! you too, son Osmond? I deemed you carried a cooler brain than
to miscall one who was true to Rollo's race before you or yon varlet
were born!" said the old Baron.

"He has yielded my dukedom! It is mis-calling to say he is aught but
a traitor!" cried Richard. "Vile, treacherous, favour-seeking--"

"Peace, peace, my Lord," said the Baron. "Bernard has more in that
wary head of his than your young wits, or my old ones, can unwind.
What he is doing I may not guess, but I gage my life his heart is
right."

Richard was silent, remembering he had been once unjust, but he
grieved heartily when he thought of the French in Rollo's tower, and
it was further reported that the King was about to share Normandy
among his French vassals. A fresh outcry broke out in the little
garrison of Senlis, but Sir Eric still persisted in his trust in his
friend Bernard, even when he heard that Centeville was marked out as
the prey of the fat French Count who had served for a hostage at
Rouen.

"What say you now, my Lord?" said he, after a conference with a
messenger at the gate. "The Black Raven has spread its wings. Fifty
keels are in the Seine, and Harald Blue-tooth's Long Serpent at the
head of them."

"The King of Denmark! Come to my aid!"

"Ay, that he is! Come at Bernard's secret call, to right you, and
put you on your father's seat. Now call honest Harcourt a traitor,
because he gave not up your fair dukedom to the flame and sword!"

"No traitor to me," said Richard, pausing. "No, verily, but what
more would you say?"

"I think, when I come to my dukedom, I will not be so politic," said
Richard. "I will be an open friend or an open foe."

"The boy grows too sharp for us," said Sir Eric, smiling, "but it was
spoken like his father."

"He grows more like his blessed father each day," said Fru Astrida.

"But the Danes, father, the Danes!" said Osmond. "Blows will be
passing now. I may join the host and win my spurs?"

"With all my heart," returned the Baron, "so my Lord here gives you
leave: would that I could leave him and go with you. It would do my
very spirit good but to set foot in a Northern keel once more."

"I would fain see what these men of the North are," said Osmond.

"Oh! they are only Danes, not Norsemen, and there are no Vikings,
such as once were when Ragnar laid waste--"

"Son, son, what talk is this for the child's ears?" broke in Fru
Astrida, "are these words for a Christian Baron?"

"Your pardon, mother," said the grey warrior, in all humility, "but
my blood thrills to hear of a Northern fleet at hand, and to think of
Osmond drawing sword under a Sea-King."

The next morning, Osmond's steed was led to the door, and such men-
at-arms as could be spared from the garrison of Senlis were drawn up
in readiness to accompany him. The boys stood on the steps, wishing
they were old enough to be warriors, and wondering what had become of
him, until at length the sound of an opening door startled them, and
there, in the low archway of the smithy, the red furnace glowing
behind him, stood Osmond, clad in bright steel, the links of his
hauberk reflecting the light, and on his helmet a pair of golden
wings, while the same device adorned his long pointed kite-shaped
shield.

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