Then came a long, long sleep, and in the sleep dreams of her father standing with his face to the foe and sweeping them down with his long sword as a sickle sweeps corn--of her father felled by the pilgrim knave, dying upon the floor of his own house, and saying "God will guard you.His will be done." Dreams of Godwin and Wulf also fighting to save her, plighting their troths and swearing their oaths, and between the dreams blackness.
Rosamund awoke to feel the sun streaming warmly through the shutter of her cabin, and to see a woman who held a cup in her hand, watching her--a stout woman of middle age with a not unkindly face.She looked about her and remembered all.So she was still in the ship.
"Whence come you?" she asked the woman.
"From France, lady.This ship put in at Marseilles, and there Iwas hired to nurse one who lay sick, which suited me very well, as I wished to go to Jerusalem to seek my husband, and good money was offered me.Still, had I known that they were all Saracens on this ship, I am not sure that I should have come--that is, except the captain, Sir Hugh, and the palmer Nicholas; though what they, or you either, are doing in such company I cannot guess.""What is your name?" asked Rosamund idly.
"Marie--Marie Bouchet.My husband is a fishmonger, or was, until one of those crusading priests got hold of him and took him off to kill Paynims and save his soul, much against my will.Well, Ipromised him that if he did not return in five years I would come to look for him.So here I am, but where he may be is another matter.""It is brave of you to go," said Rosamund, then added by an afterthought, "How long is it since we left Marseilles?"Marie counted on her fat fingers, and answered:
"Five--nearly six weeks.You have been wandering in your mind all that time, talking of many strange things, and we have called at three ports.I forget their names, but the last one was an island with a beautiful harbour.Now, in about twenty days, if all goes well, we should reach another island called Cyprus.But you must not talk so much, you must sleep.The Saracen called Hassan, who is a clever doctor, told me so."So Rosamund slept, and from that time forward, floating on the calm Mediterranean sea, her strength began to come back again rapidly, who was young and strong in body and constitution.
Three days later she was helped to the deck, where the first man she saw was Hassan, who came forward to greet her with many Eastern salutations and joy written on his dark, wrinkled face.
"I give thanks to Allah for your sake and my own," he said."For yours that you still live whom I thought would die, and for myself that had you died your life would have been required at my hands by Salah-ed-din, my master.""If so, he should have blamed Azrael, not you," answered Rosamund, smiling; then suddenly turned cold, for before her was Sir Hugh Lozelle, who also thanked Heaven that she had recovered.
She listened to him coldly, and presently he went away, but soon was at her side again.Indeed, she could never be free of him, for whenever she appeared on deck he was there, nor could he be repelled, since neither silence nor rebuff would stir him.Always he sat near, talking in his false, hateful voice, and devouring her with the greedy eyes which she could feel fixed upon her face.With him often was his jackal, the false palmer Nicholas, who crawled about her like a snake and strove to flatter her, but to this man she would never speak a word.
At last she could bear it no longer, and when her health had returned to her, summoned Hassan to her cabin.
"Tell me, prince," she said, "who rules upon this vessel?""Three people," he answered, bowing."The knight, Sir Hugh Lozelle, who, as a skilled navigator, is the captain and rules the sailors; I, who rule the fighting men; and you, Princess, who rule us all.""Then I command that the rogue named Nicholas shall not be allowed to approach me.Is it to be borne that I must associate with my father's murderer? ""I fear that in that business we all had a hand, nevertheless your order shall be obeyed.To tell you the truth, lady, I hate the fellow, who is but a common spy.""I desire also," went on Rosamund, "to speak no more with Sir Hugh Lozelle.""That is more difficult," said Hassan, "since he is the captain whom my master ordered me to obey in all things that have to do with the ship.""I have nothing to do with the ship," answered Rosamund; "and surely the princess of Baalbec, if so I am, may choose her own companions.I wish to see more of you and less of Sir Hugh Lozelle.""I am honoured," replied Hassan, "and will do my best."For some days after this, although he was always watching her, Lozelle approached Rosamund but seldom, and whenever he did so he found Hassan at her side, or rather standing behind her like a guard.
At length, as it chanced, the prince was taken with a sickness from drinking bad water which held him to his bed for some days, and then Lozelle found his opportunity.Rosamund strove to keep her cabin to avoid him, but the heat of the summer sun in the Mediterranean drove her out of it to a place beneath an awning on the poop, where she sat with the woman Marie.Here Lozelle approached her, pretending to bring her food or to inquire after her comfort, but she would answer him nothing.At length, since Marie could understand what he said in French, he addressed her in Arabic, which he spoke well, but she feigned not to understand him.Then he used the English tongue as it was talked among the common people in Essex, and said:
"Lady, how sorely you misjudge me.What is my crime against you?
I am an Essex man of good lineage, who met you in Essex and learnt to love you there.Is that a crime, in one who is not poor, who, moreover, was knighted for his deeds by no mean hand?
