The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett [206]
Aliena shuddered. There had always been a whore or two at the castle—it was necessary in a place where there were so many men without their wives—and they had been regarded as the lowest of the low, the humblest of the women-folk, below even the sweepers. But it was not the low status that made Aliena tremble with disgust. It was the idea of men such as William Hamleigh walking in and fucking her for a penny. The thought brought back the memory of his big body poised over her, as she lay on the floor with her legs apart, shaking with terror and loathing, waiting for him to penetrate her. The scene came back to her with renewed horror and took away all her poise and confidence. She felt that if she stayed in this house a moment longer it would all happen to her again. She was overcome by a panicky urge to get outside. She backed toward the door. She was frightened of offending Kate, frightened that anyone should be angry with her. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “Please forgive me, but I couldn’t do that, really....”
“Think about it!” Kate said cheerfully. “Come back if you change your mind. I’ll still be here.”
“Thank you,” Aliena said unsteadily. She found the door at last. She opened it and scuttled out. Still upset, she ran down the stairs into the street and went to the front door of the house. She pushed it open but she was frightened to go in. “Richard!” she called. “Richard, come out!” There was no reply. The interior was dimly lit, and she could see nothing but a few vague female figures inside. “Richard, where are you?” she screamed hysterically.
She realized that passersby were staring at her, and that made her more anxious. Suddenly Richard appeared, with a cup of ale in one hand and a chicken leg in the other. “What’s the matter?” he said through a mouthful of meat. His tone indicated that he was annoyed at having been disturbed.
She grabbed his arm and pulled. “Come out of there,” she said. “It’s a whorehouse!”
Several bystanders laughed loudly at this, and one or two called out jeering remarks.
“They might give you some meat,” Richard said.
“They want me to be a whore!” she blazed.
“All right, all right,” Richard said. He downed his beer, put the cup on the floor inside the door, and stuffed the remains of the chicken leg inside his shirt.
“Come on,” Aliena said impatiently, though once again the need to deal with her younger brother had the effect of calming her. He did not seem angered by the idea that someone wanted his sister to become a whore, but he did look regretful at having to leave a place where there was chicken and beer to be had for the asking.
Most of the bystanders walked on, seeing that the fun was over, but one remained. It was the well-dressed woman they had seen in the jailhouse. She had given the jailer a penny, and he had called her Meg. She was looking at Aliena with an expression of curiosity mingled with compassion. Aliena had developed an aversion to being stared at, and she looked away angrily; then the woman spoke to her. “You’re in trouble, aren’t you?” she said.
A note of kindness in Meg’s voice made Aliena turn back. “Yes,” she said after a pause. “We’re in trouble.”
“I saw you at the jailhouse. My husband is in prison—I visit him every day. Why were you there?”
“Our father is there.”
“But you didn’t go inside.”
“We haven’t any money to pay the jailer.”
Meg looked over Aliena’s shoulder at the whorehouse door. “Is that what you’re doing here—trying to get money?”
“Yes, but I didn’t know what it was until ...”
“You poor thing,” Meg said. “My Annie would have been your age, if she’d lived.... Why don’t you come to the jailhouse with me tomorrow morning, and between us we’ll see if we can persuade Odo to act like a Christian and take pity on two destitute children.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Aliena said. She was touched. There was no guarantee of success, but the fact that someone was willing to help brought tears to her eyes.
Meg was still looking hard at her. “Have you had any dinner?”