The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett [424]
“All right.”
They gave the new orders as people were finishing dinner. Not only would this be the worst-built wall in England, Jack thought; it would probably be the shortest-lived. If all of it was still standing in a week’s time, it would be a miracle.
During the afternoon, people began to get tired, especially those who had been up in the night. The holiday atmosphere evaporated and the workers became grimly determined. The stone walls rose, the ditch got deeper, and the gaps in the fence began to close. They stopped work for supper, as the sun dipped toward the western skyline, then began again.
At nightfall the wall was not complete.
Philip set a watch, ordered everyone except the guards to get a few hours of sleep, and said he would ring the bell at midnight. The exhausted townspeople went to their beds.
Jack went to Aliena’s house. She and Richard were still awake.
Jack said to Aliena: “I want you to take Tommy and go and hide in the woods.”
The thought had been in the back of his mind all day. At first he had rejected the idea; but as time went on he kept returning to the dreadful memory of the day William burned the fleece fair; and in the end he decided to send her away.
“I’d rather stay,” she said firmly.
Jack said: “Aliena, I don’t know if this is going to work, and I don’t want you to be here if William Hamleigh gets past this wall.”
“But I can’t leave while you’re organizing everyone else to stay and fight,” she said reasonably.
He was long past worrying about what was reasonable. “If you go now they won’t know.”
“They’ll realize eventually.”
“By then it will be over.”
“But think about the disgrace.”
“To hell with the disgrace!” he shouted. He was mad with frustration at not being able to find the words to persuade her. “I want you to be safe!”
His angry voice woke Tommy, who started to cry. Aliena picked him up and rocked him. She said: “I’m not even sure I’d be safer in the forest.”
“William won’t be searching the forest. It’s the town he’s interested in.”
“He might be interested in me.”
“You could hide in your glade. Nobody ever goes there.”
“William might find it by accident.”
“Listen to me. You’ll be safer there than here. I know it.”
“All the same I want to stay here.”
“I don’t want you here,” he said harshly.
“Well, I’m staying anyway,” she replied with a smile, ignoring his deliberate rudeness.
Jack suppressed a curse. There was no arguing with her once she had made up her mind: she was as stubborn as a mule. He pleaded with her instead. “Aliena, I’m scared of what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
“I’m scared, too,” she said. “And I think we should be scared together.”
He knew he should give in gracefully, but he was too worried. “Damn you, then,” he said angrily, and he stormed out.
He stood outside, breathing the night air. After a few moments he cooled down. He was still terribly worried, but it was foolish to be angry with her: they might both die in the morning.
He went back inside. She was standing where he had left her, looking sad. “I love you,” he said. They embraced, and stood like that for a long while.
When he went out again the moon was up. He calmed himself with the thought that Aliena might even be right: she could be safer here than in the woods. At least this way he would know if she was in trouble, and could do his best to protect her.
He knew he would not sleep, even if he went to bed. He had a foolish fear that everyone might sleep past midnight, and nobody would wake until dawn when William’s men rode in slashing and burning. He walked restlessly around the edge of the town. It was odd: Kingsbridge had never had a perimeter until today. The stone walls were waist-high, which was not enough. The fences were high but there were still enough gaps for a hundred men to ride through in a few moments. The earth ramparts were not too high for a good horse to surmount. There was a lot to do.
He stopped at the place where