Carack

CH3 P6

‘Not even juice?’ Gerent asked amazed and N’zar shook his head, Camomile looked a little embarrassed but followed N’zar’s example and shook his head as well. Gerent sipped at the juice and turned his attention to the conversations going on around him. He heard snippets such as:

‘Been a lot better since Madron been here,’ and:

‘We aught to thank our lucky stars fer theday ‘ee came.’ Sentences such as:

‘’aven’t ‘ad it so gud fer years and tha’s a fact.’ Gerent thought sounded a little false, infact, he thought, it all felt set up, staged for his benfit, had the men been warned he would be there to ‘spy’ on them, he wondered, and if so the only people who knew about this evening were sat with him now. Gerent rose:

‘I’ve had enough here,’ he said, ‘let’s move on.’ N’zar cast a worried glance at Camomile and rose as well, protesting:

‘But my lord thou hast not finished thy drink and we were to eat here. It would be unseemly to leave so early, or dost thou wish to return to the castle?’ It sounded like there was an element of hope in his voice at this thought.

‘No’ said a determined Gerent, pushing past N’zar and leaving the inn. He turned to walk further down the street with his two companions hurrying after him. ‘We are going somewhere else, another pub.’  He said and marched off leaving the two men standing gazing at each other in disbelief and then having to run to catch up with him.

‘But my Lord,’ began N’zar. ‘No buts,‘ said Gerent angrily, ‘and you can quit with the my Lord thing, call me Hugh, just Hugh. Everyone in that inn knew who I was and what I was there for and you told them. What use is that to me? I thought you would be companions for the evening but instead you’re a- a – as much company as a cardboard cut out!’ Gerent thought of Hugh, how they would have enjoyed an evening out together on the town and realised it was the first time in ages he had thought of him. He slowed his pace:

‘Look’ he said, ‘I just want to find out what the people are like, I’m not here to spy. I’m fed up with the castle and those two smarming all over me.’

Gerent went quiet, he could not believe what he was saying and yet he realised he did feel that way. He felt as though his mind had been enclosed and trapped in treacle, which was beginning to fall away allowing him clear thought and vision, he also thought if he smelt honeysuckle again he would be ill. Madron and Morvah seemd sickeningly sweet to him all at once, he felt that all the compliments they paid him were false and ones he could not possibly live up to. Gerent noticed he had reached another inn, the washed out sign indicated a red lion, toothily smiling down at him.

‘This will do.’ He said and pushed open the door.

‘N’zar!’ yelled a beery voice as they entered, ‘Cam! Where ya been? Come and av a drink! Yer mate too!’ N’zar looked slightly embarrassed but Gerent pushed forward through the crowd towards the voice. ‘What’ll ya ‘ave mate?’ demanded the man loudly and clapped Gerent on the back heartily, calling to the barmaid at the same time. ‘Agatha! Agatha! Look ‘oo’s here eh? N’zar! Get him a pint of the usual and oh, I know, Cam will ‘ave a mead, right Cam?’ Camomile gave a weak smile in response, both men seemed to realise they had just lost control of the whole situation and resigned themselves to the inevitable. Gerent found a goblet of red wine thrust into his hand by the jovial man who introduced himself as Jem and pointed to each of his friends with him at the bar laughingly naming them as:

‘Alan, watch out fer ‘im, Ozzie, don’ say much but ‘ee can knock back a drop! Uthur, talk the ‘ind leg of a mule, but can’t get a word in edgeways with ‘is missus!’ Uthur, with a rueful expression, raised his glass to Gerent, ‘and Ian. Cam ‘av you sold that there mare of yorn yet?’  N’zar tapped Gerent on the shoulder:

‘There is a table over there, it would be less crowded.’ Gerent followed him to the corner table and they both sat down, he sipped his wine and found it tasted awful, so he left it.

‘You seem well known in here,’ Gerent said, ‘The barmaid seems to be keen on you.’ He could see her sending frequent glances across at the two of them as she served the men at the bar.

‘Keen?’ asked N’zar, ‘I dost not understand thee, Lord.’

‘She likes you!’

‘Oh, ah, well I- I hadst not noticed.’ N’zar seemed embarrassed but looked across in her direction so that Gerent thought that N’zar had indeed noticed the girl and that there was more to their relationship than he was letting on. Camomile joined them and said that he had ordered the meals, Gerent felt that the conversations going on around him were much more natural and unrestrained than previously; among the laughter and jollity, he could hear people complaining of hardships and the amount of tax levied on them. He heard one woman talk with sadness of her husband who had disappeared after ‘seeing’ Lord Madron. N’zar heard this and looked as though he wished he could warn the woman to be quiet, but he could only sit there under Gerent’s gaze. Gerent began wonder why he should report what was being been said by people to Madron, he hadn’t been a sneak at home and yet he had agreed to be one here, for Madron, he was puzzled by this, why had he agreed? As the evening progressed Gerent began to like N’zar, he felt he was trustworthy and very loyal, he was obviously anxious to protect his fellow citizens from harm and ensure that no one should get into trouble with Madron. Gerent thought it must have taken some organising to have the first inn full of people who knew what to say, it became clear to Gerent that the locals had a high regard for N’zar and Cam as several rounds of drinks were bought by members of the crowd and sent across to their table.