The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett [245]
“Philip is indebted to me right now.” Tom waved an arm to indicate the scene all around. “He knows he couldn’t have done this without me. If I ask him to forgive you for what you did, and to regard your year of exile as penance enough, he’ll agree. He couldn’t deny me that, today of all days.”
“What about the boys?” she said. “Am I supposed to watch Alfred spill Jack’s blood every time he feels irritable?”
“I think I’ve got the answer to that, really,” Tom said. “Alfred is a mason now. I’ll take Jack as my apprentice. That way, Alfred won’t be resentful of Jack’s idleness. And you can teach Alfred to read and write, so that the two boys will be equal—both workingmen, both literate.”
“You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you?” she said. “Yes.”
He waited for her reaction. He was no good at being persuasive. All he could do was set out the situation. If only he could have drawn her a sketch! He felt he had dealt with every possible objection. She must agree now! But still she hesitated. “I’m not sure,” she said.
His self-control broke. “Oh, Ellen, don’t say that.” He was afraid of crying in front of all these people, and he was so choked up that he could hardly speak. “I love you so much, please don’t go away again,” he begged. “The only thing that’s kept me going is the hope that you’d come back. I just can’t bear to live without you. Don’t close the gates of paradise. Can’t you see that I love you with all my heart?”
Her manner changed instantly. “Why didn’t you say so, then?” she whispered, and she came to him. He wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, too, you silly fool,” she said.
He felt weak with joy. She does love me, she does, he thought. He hugged her hard, then he looked at her face. “Will you marry me, Ellen?”
There were tears in her eyes, but she was smiling too. “Yes, Tom, I’ll marry you,” she said. She lifted her face.
He pulled her to him and kissed her mouth. He had dreamed of this for a year. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the delightful touch of her full lips on his. Her mouth was slightly open and her lips were moist. The kiss was so delicious that for a moment he forgot himself. Then someone nearby said: “Don’t swallow her, man!”
He pulled away from her and said: “We’re in a church!”
“I don’t care,” she said merrily, and she kissed him again.
Prior Philip had outwitted them again, William thought bitterly as he sat in the prior’s house, drinking Philip’s watery wine and eating sweetmeats from the priory kitchen. It had taken William a while to appreciate the brilliance and completeness of Philip’s victory. There had been nothing wrong with Bishop Waleran’s original assessment of the situation: it was true that Philip was short of money and would have great difficulty building a cathedral at Kingsbridge. But despite that, the wily monk had made dogged progress, hired a master builder, started the building and then, out of nothing, conjured a vast work force to bamboozle Bishop Henry. And Henry had been duly impressed, all the more so because Waleran had painted such a bleak picture in advance.
That damned monk knew he had won, too. He could not keep the triumphant smile off his face. Now he was deep in conversation with Bishop Henry, talking animatedly about breeds of sheep and the price of wool, and Henry was listening carefully, almost respectfully, meanwhile rudely ignoring William’s mother and father, who were far more important than a mere prior.
Philip was going to regret this day. Nobody was allowed to best the Hamleighs and get away with it. They had not reached the position they enjoyed today by allowing monks to get the better of them. Bartholomew of Shiring had insulted them and had died in a traitor’s jail. Philip would fare no better.
Tom Builder was another man who was going to regret crossing the Hamleighs. William had not forgotten how Tom had defied him at Durstead, holding his horse’s head and forcing him to pay the workmen. Today Tom had disrespect-fully called him “young Lord William.” He was obviously hand in glove with Philip now, building