Forest Days: A Romance of Old Times
"And pray, why not?" demanded Lucy de Ashby, with some surprise; "they
are the two colours that divide the universe, girl--azure the colour
for heaven, gold the only colour for this earth; so between the two I
should have all mankind on my side. Why would you not wear them?"
"Because they are the colours of the Monthermers," replied the girl;
"and they are old enemies of your house."
"But they are friends now," rejoined Lucy, into whose cheek, to say
truth, the blood had come up somewhat warmly. She ventured to say
nothing more for a minute or two, and when she did speak again, changed
the subject.
The conversation soon resumed its liveliness, however; and thus they
rode on, talking of many things, and laughing gaily as they talked,
while the yeomen who were behind amused themselves in the same manner.
After about half a mile's ride, they approached nearer to the banks of
the little stream, which being every here and there decorated with
bushes and tall trees that hung over the water, was sometimes seen
glancing through a meadow, and then again lost amongst the thick
foliage.
Just as they were entering a closer part of the woodland, and leaving
the stream on their right, one of the yeomen exclaimed, "By----!" using
an oath of too blasphemous a kind to be even written down in the
present age, but which in those days would have been uttered in the
court of the king, "By----there is somebody netting the stream. Quick,
Jacob, quick! come after them. You, Bill, go round the wood, and catch
them on the other side. See, they're running that way--they're running
that way!" and setting spurs to their horses, the whole of Lucy's male
attendants, with the exception of the page, galloped off as fast as
ever they could, shouting and whooping as if they had been in pursuit
of some beast of the chase.
Lucy de Ashby paused for a moment, and called to the page, who was the
last to leave her, not to go; but the spur had been already given to
his horse, and the boy became seized with a sudden deafness which
prevented him from hearing a word that the lady uttered. Lucy gazed
after them with a thoughtful look for an instant, then laughed, and
said--"'Tis a droll fancy that men have to run after everything that
flies them."
"Ay, and dogs as well as men," added one of the girls.
"And women as well as both," answered Lucy. "I have more than three
quarters of a mind to go myself; but I will not, girls; and so, to be
out of the way of temptation, we will ride slowly on."
Thus saying, she shook her rein, and keeping her horse to a walk,
followed the road before her into the thicker part of the wood, leaving
her truant attendants to come after as they might.
In about a quarter of an hour the first of the men appeared at the spot
where they had left her, but he was by no means in the same plight as
when he last stood there. His clothes were dripping as well as his
hair; there were the marks of severe blows on his face; his smart
apparel was soiled and torn, and he was both disarmed and on foot. In
short, he looked very much like a man who had been heartily beaten and
dragged through a horse-pond. A loud hallo, which reached his ear from
the direction of the stream, seemed to visit him with no very pleasant
sensations, for he darted in at once amongst the bushes, and hid
himself as well as he could for a few minutes. At length, however, two
of his comrades appeared; but they seemed to have fared not much better
than himself, for though they had preserved their horses, both were in
terrible disarray, and had returned from the fray evidently with broken
heads.
"Where is Bill?" said one to the other as they came up; "I saw him
running this way."
"Poor devil, he got it!" replied his comrade.
"And you got it, too, I think," cried the one who had first appeared,
now coming out from amongst the bushes. "Why, I never saw or heard
anything like that blow of the staff across your shoulders, Jacob. You
echoed like an empty cask under a cooper's hammer."
"Ay, Bill," said the man to whom he spoke, "and when the man bestowed
upon you the buffet in the eye, and knocked you down, what a squelch
was there! Why, it was for all the world as when the scullion, bringing
in the kitchen dinner, let the apple pudding fall, and it burst itself
upon the pavement."
"I will be even with him," said the man called Bill; "but where's the
page and Walter?"
"They galloped off to the castle as they could," answered the third,
"and your horse along with them, so you must go back too, and we must
ride after the lady as fast as we can go."
"Pretty figures you are to follow her into Nottingham," rejoined Bill;
"and what will my lord say when he finds that we four and the page were
beaten by five men on foot?"
"There were more than five," replied the other, "I am sure."
"I thought I saw some in the bushes," added the third.
"Come, come," exclaimed Bill, "there were only five, I was disabled by
being knocked into the river, otherwise I would have shewn them a
different affair."
"I dare say you'd have done wonders," answered the other, with a sneer;
"but we must get on, so you go back to the castle as fast as you can."
"Pr'ythee see me beyond those trees," said the yeoman on foot; "if
those fellows are hiding there, they may murder me!"
"We have no time--we have no time!" replied one of the horsemen--"Go
along with you! If you hadn't been in the stream, you would have
thrashed them all; so thrash them now, good Bill;" and thus saying, the
two rode on, for certainly there is no human infirmity, though it is a
very contagious one, which meets with such little sympathy as fear.
Onward, then, they went at a quick pace, hoping to catch up their young
mistress before she reached Nottingham, but feeling a little ashamed
for having left her at all, and not a little ashamed at the result of
their expedition.
When they had gone about a couple of miles, however, without seeing
anything of Lucy de Ashby, the one looked round to his comrade, and
said, "It is odd we haven't come up with her--she must have ridden
fast."
"Oh, it is just like her," replied the other, "she has galloped on just
to tease us, and punish us a little for having left her in the wood. I
would wager a besant that she does not draw a rein till she gets to
Nottingham."
"Ay, but the best of it is," rejoined his companion, "that we shall
hear no more of it than just, 'Jacob, you should not have quitted me;
you should have let the stream take care of itself,' instead of twenty
great blustering oaths, such as Lord Alured would have given us. Then
it will be all fair weather again in a minute."
"Ay, she is very kind!" said the other yeoman, "and when anything does
go wrong, she knows that one did not do it on purpose."
With such conversation, and with praises of their sweet lady, which one
may be sure were well deserved, as no ear was there to hear, no tongue
to report them, the yeomen rode on; but the one called Jacob did so, it
must be confessed, uneasily. His eyes, as he went, were bent down upon
the ground, which in that part was soft, searching for the traces of
horses' feet, but though he gazed eagerly, he could perceive none,
till, at length, they reached the gates of Nottingham, and entering the
city, proceeded at once to what was called the lodging of the Lord
Ashby. It was, in fact, a large, though low-built house, shut from the
street by a court-yard and a high embattled wall. The gates were open,
and all the bustle and activity were apparent about the doors, which
attended in those days the arrival of a large retinue. There were
servants hurrying hither and thither, horse-boys and grooms slackening
girths, and taking off saddles, servers and pantlers unpacking baskets
and bags, and boys and beggars looking on.
"What, is my lord arrived?" cried one of the men who had followed Lucy,
springing from his horse; "we did not expect him till to-night, or
to-morrow morning."
"He will be here in half an hour," replied the horse-boy, to whom he
addressed himself; "we rode on before."
"What tidings of my young lady?" said a server, walking up; "we thought
we should find her here to meet the Earl."
"Is she not arrived?" cried the yeoman who had remained on horseback,
in a tone of dismay; "she came on before us--we fancied she was here!"
The one who had dismounted sprang into the saddle again,
exclaiming--"This is some infernal plot!"
The story was soon told, and the whole household of the Lord of Ashby,
or at least such a part of it as was then in Nottingham, was thrown
into a state of confusion indescribable. In the midst of this, some ten
or twelve men mounted their horses, though every beast was tired with a
long day's journey, and set out to seek for the fair lady who was
missing, beating the forest paths in every direction. But not the
slightest trace of her could they find; and, after a two hours' search,
were coming home again, when, having made a round on the Southwell
side, they met the party of the Earl himself, riding slowly on towards
Nottingham.
He was accompanied by only four or five attendants, but had with him
his son Alured and Hugh de Monthermer, the other Earl having remained
behind at Pontefract to settle some business of importance there. It
may be easily conceived what indignation and surprise the tidings,
brought by the servants, spread amongst the party they thus met. Lord
Alured chafed like an angry tiger, and the old lord vowed every kind of
vengeance. Hugh de Monthermer's lip quivered, but all he said was,
"This is horrible indeed, my lord, that your lordship's daughter cannot
ride from Lindwell to Nottingham in safety! What can we do?"
"We!" cried Alured de Ashby. "Hugh of Monthermer, you have little
enough to do with it, methinks! What I shall do, will be to cut off the
ears of the scoundrels that left their lady on any account, when they
were following her to Nottingham."
"My lord of Ashby," said Hugh de Monthermer, addressing the Earl, "I
merely used the word _we_, because, as a gentleman, and your friend, I
take as deep an interest in the affair as any one. I and my men are at
your command to seek for this lady instantly; and we will strive to do
you as good service in the search as the best of your own people, if
you will permit us."
"Certainly--certainly, my good lord!" replied the Earl--"Alured, you
are rash and intemperate.--Three hours ago, they say, this happened.
Should they have taken to the forest, they cannot have gone very far,
if they have followed the horse-paths; and were one of us to go back to
the second road to the left, where there stands a meer[1], he must, by
beating up those lanes, either come upon the party themselves or find
the horses, if they have turned them loose, and taken to the footways."
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[Footnote 1: One of the posts, or marks, by which the limits of the
forest were distinguished.]
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"They have not gone into the forest," cried Alured de Ashby; "depend
upon it, these are some of the king's people, or the bishop's. Better
far let us scour the more open country along the banks of Trent. You
will soon hear at the bridges whether such persons have passed that
way."
"Stand out, Jacob," said the Earl; "you were one of the fools that were
misled. What like were these men who lured you from your lady?"
"I think they were men at arms disguised," answered the servant, in a
sorrowful and timid tone; "for so well practised were they at their
weapons, that they beat us all in the twinkling of an eye; besides,
when I struck one of them, I heard something clatter underneath, like
armour. The net, too, did not look like a real net."
"It is very clear, the whole was a trick," said the Earl. "I doubt not