this depiction of the outcome of military action was more unnatural. Father Anselm had babbled some explanation for Audris’s abilities, but no watching of birds or beasts or the amount of snow that fell in the hills nor judging little twitches of face, limbs, and body could give signs as to when an army would march or retreat.
Oddly, the same thoughts had occurred to Audris and were worrying her. She had never feared her tapestries—after the first one, which had given her a terrible shock—because she had accepted Father Anselm’s explanation that what she saw in the hills and fields worked slowly in her mind until a picture of it grew from her fingers. And it had seemed reasonable enough to her that the new tapestries she created should reflect all the talk she had heard about the Scots and Summerville’s threats and whether the new English king would come to support them. Still, the fact that she had predicted not only the siege but the coming of the king began to trouble her. She kept recalling how the picture of Stephen riding up the steep path to the keep while his knights waited in the lower bailey had formed in her mind. If Stephen did come, would that be true foretelling or only a chance coincidence?
Being pent inside the keep increased Audris’s uneasiness by denying her her normal outlets of wandering in the hills. She restrung her loom and produced a handsome border of blue and silver, but found she did not want to weave and could not imagine a picture that would suit so rich and elaborate a surrounding. A further irritation was Fritha, who spent every free minute undoing a corner of the hide that sealed the southeast tower window and peeping out. The behavior was so unusual that Audris came to the uncomfortable realization that Fritha was watching for the king’s arrival.
She scolded the girl for wasting time, but not even the slow passage of several weeks and the news that King Stephen had come north but was staying in Durham could discourage her. Audris’s tapestry had shown the king in Jernaeve; Fritha believed, and it was Fritha who saw the royal cortege first, running to draw Audris to the window just as the lookout on the tower top called down that a large party was coming along the south side of the river.
Chapter 5
With a quiver of mingled anxiety and excitement, Audris began to undo the entire hide that covered the window. It seemed undignified for her to peep through a corner like a maidservant, but the process was tedious. By the time she had unfastened the top, bottom, and one side and was able to swing the hide out of the way, the leading riders had reached the ford. She heard a bass roar, muted by distance, and then her uncle’s voice from the wall to the left of her tower shouting a welcome. The sounds came in the open window. Even on the third floor, the stone walls of the tower were eight feet thick, and only the sound of a battering ram or a mangonel-cast stone could penetrate them.
Audris assumed that her uncle had offered to show the party the best path through the ford, because instead of crossing, they waited on the bank. Ten men, closest to the bank, formed a divided group, two to the fore and eight unevenly spaced behind. From the depth of his voice, his size, and the huge destrier he rode, Audris was certain one of the leaders was Walter Espec. The other must be the king, but Audris did not look at him. Her eyes had been attracted to a shock of brilliant red hair on the man just behind and to the left of Espec. The distance was too great to make out his features, but at that moment Espec said something to him, and he turned his horse to ride back to the bulk of the party, which was forming a second group a short distance behind.
As the red-haired rider turned, Audris caught sight of the shield hung on his shoulder. She drew in her breath in surprise and delight, having suddenly perceived a subject that would suit the sumptuous border she had woven. For once her tapestry
Oddly, the same thoughts had occurred to Audris and were worrying her. She had never feared her tapestries—after the first one, which had given her a terrible shock—because she had accepted Father Anselm’s explanation that what she saw in the hills and fields worked slowly in her mind until a picture of it grew from her fingers. And it had seemed reasonable enough to her that the new tapestries she created should reflect all the talk she had heard about the Scots and Summerville’s threats and whether the new English king would come to support them. Still, the fact that she had predicted not only the siege but the coming of the king began to trouble her. She kept recalling how the picture of Stephen riding up the steep path to the keep while his knights waited in the lower bailey had formed in her mind. If Stephen did come, would that be true foretelling or only a chance coincidence?
Being pent inside the keep increased Audris’s uneasiness by denying her her normal outlets of wandering in the hills. She restrung her loom and produced a handsome border of blue and silver, but found she did not want to weave and could not imagine a picture that would suit so rich and elaborate a surrounding. A further irritation was Fritha, who spent every free minute undoing a corner of the hide that sealed the southeast tower window and peeping out. The behavior was so unusual that Audris came to the uncomfortable realization that Fritha was watching for the king’s arrival.
She scolded the girl for wasting time, but not even the slow passage of several weeks and the news that King Stephen had come north but was staying in Durham could discourage her. Audris’s tapestry had shown the king in Jernaeve; Fritha believed, and it was Fritha who saw the royal cortege first, running to draw Audris to the window just as the lookout on the tower top called down that a large party was coming along the south side of the river.
Chapter 5
With a quiver of mingled anxiety and excitement, Audris began to undo the entire hide that covered the window. It seemed undignified for her to peep through a corner like a maidservant, but the process was tedious. By the time she had unfastened the top, bottom, and one side and was able to swing the hide out of the way, the leading riders had reached the ford. She heard a bass roar, muted by distance, and then her uncle’s voice from the wall to the left of her tower shouting a welcome. The sounds came in the open window. Even on the third floor, the stone walls of the tower were eight feet thick, and only the sound of a battering ram or a mangonel-cast stone could penetrate them.
Audris assumed that her uncle had offered to show the party the best path through the ford, because instead of crossing, they waited on the bank. Ten men, closest to the bank, formed a divided group, two to the fore and eight unevenly spaced behind. From the depth of his voice, his size, and the huge destrier he rode, Audris was certain one of the leaders was Walter Espec. The other must be the king, but Audris did not look at him. Her eyes had been attracted to a shock of brilliant red hair on the man just behind and to the left of Espec. The distance was too great to make out his features, but at that moment Espec said something to him, and he turned his horse to ride back to the bulk of the party, which was forming a second group a short distance behind.
As the red-haired rider turned, Audris caught sight of the shield hung on his shoulder. She drew in her breath in surprise and delight, having suddenly perceived a subject that would suit the sumptuous border she had woven. For once her tapestry
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