Chapter Six

Dover, England the winter of 1095-1096

“You can’t seem to stay out of trouble. From the pan and into the fire, so to speak.” Grant wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin before wadding it into a ball and tossing it on an empty plate.

“You might be right, General.” Colin noticed the small group of diners looking his way.

“It appears as if you have gathered a crowd here. Shall we adjourn to the lobby? It might be a bit more comfortable for everyone.” Grant snuffed out his third cigar and called the waiter over. “Place the bill on the War Department’s tab please and add a good tip for your services.”

Colin folded his napkin, put it on the table, drank his last bit of wine, and followed Grant into the lobby. Ten other diners rushed to pay their bills before they sauntered into the lobby, uninvited and sat in the chairs nearest General Grant and his guest.

Why am I telling General Grant or anybody my life’s secrets? A warm glow from within him told him the answer to his question.  It is pastime to share my story.

 Grant gave the crowd a synopsis of Colin’s story. “Show them the beetle or the letter.”

“Scarab, General,” Colin said as he brought his talisman from beneath his shirt. He did not try to produce the letter mentioned.

Grant eyed Colin and then the crowd. “Trust me. He has a letter signed by the Duke of Normandy himself. I saw it myself and can vouch for its authenticity.” Grant stared at Colin, shrugging his shoulders as if asking if he would follow his request to show the letter to the onlookers.

A young girl with big brown eyes and long auburn hair which reminded Colin of one of his daughters from ages ago said, “You were about to be attacked by those mean men.” She smiled and twirled a tuft of hair as she swished her skirt.

“Yes, I’m sorry if I offended you with my story about the poor, condemned soul and how the townspeople treated him. People were different back then.”

“I like the story, but my mother does not,” insisted the young girl.

Colin pondered the question for a moment. “Maybe your mother is right. It’s not the sort of story that a young girl should hear from a stranger. I wasn’t aware others were listening.” He sought those in the foyer for her possible mother.

“I’m seven, and I’m old enough,” the young girl said with a huff. “My daddy was killed in the war by bad men. I know all about bad men.” Her pouty face made Colin smile.

The young girl’s mother emerged from the crowd scooping up her daughter as she said, “Please excuse Sally. I turned my back for one instant. I hope she wasn’t any trouble.” She raised her finger as if to scold young Sally but smiled and hugged her instead.

“She was no trouble at all. Mrs. Crawford, I am sorry for your loss,” Grant said, “Forgive me. We met at an officer’s ball three years ago. Your husband fought gallantly in Petersburg.”

“Thank you, General. That means a lot coming from you, sir. Come along, Sally.” She fidgeted with her daughter’s collar and straightened her hair, combing her fingers through the tresses.

“Please Mrs. Crawford, have a seat and stay for a while. Young Colin is in the midst of a remarkable tale. You and your daughter might find it interesting.” The general offered the young widow his seat. “Anne Crawford, may I introduce you to Colin Harcourt.”

Colin blushed as Anne offered her dainty hand. He could see where Sally inherited her brown eyes. She was a beautiful woman, and Colin’s heart skipped a beat. The same way it beat when he saw his beautiful wife the day they met a lifetime ago. The resemblance was enough to cause him to turn away and wipe a tear.

Anne sat down in the offered seat. “Continue, Mr. Harcourt.” The crowd settled in their chairs, and the Sally curled up into her mother’s lap.

“Some of my…umm… experiences might not be suitable for young ears or those of the fairer sex.” Colin loosened his collar with the crook of his finger. The room suddenly became scorching.

“I see. Well, Mr. Harcourt, as you can see Sally has fallen asleep, and I am not a typical member of the fairer sex. I don’t think many of the women of this generation are anymore. We have witnessed a great deal in the last few years,” she said before she smoothed her black dress with her lacy white gloves.

“Okay then. The crowd in Dover was not in a hospitable mood. I feared the same fate as the merchant if they should think I was telling a lie.  Of course, I mentioned that I was a relation of Harcourt’s to Harcourt himself so they could easily find me guilty of lying. My future was dismal. But I was saved by the most beautiful angel I have ever seen.”

A young girl stood at an open window and yelled into the unruly crowd. “Daddy, as a Christian you owe the young man the right to explain himself before you set upon him.” The girl appeared to be in her late teens. Three other faces peeked out from the window. They varied in age but not in beauty.

The man known as Harcourt turned to Colin’s beautiful savior. “Very well, Amelia, I will permit an explanation from the gentleman. You better shut that window. My young daughters do not hang out of windows. Alison, Ava, and Adela join your sister.” Harcourt turned to Colin. The enthusiastic crowd placed a noose around Colin’s neck. “You heard my daughter. You have one chance to change your fate. What say you, stranger? Are you in league with that man?” He said, pointing to the crumpled heap lying motionless in the street. What if I fail to sway this Harcourt, would I end up in the street or something far worse? He felt for the envelope. I suppose I’ll never know unless I convince him that I’m not the enemy.

“NO, No. Please, may I have a moment of your time? In private?” Colin said in a panic. “I promise all of your questions will be answered.”

Harcourt eyed the stranger suspiciously. “A moment of my time? You wish to meet privately at that. You speak bravely for a man in your position.” He grabbed the noose around Colin’s neck. Then he glanced up at the window where his daughter stood. “Ah, very well, a moment is granted.”

“I talk better without a noose around my neck,” Colin said as he tugged at his new attire.

“Now you’re pushing it. The noose stays,” Harcourt said and forced Colin into the alley. The alley was full of rubbish, and the foul smell of urine filled his nostrils. Lumps of shit lined the alley. The air stank so much making it difficult to breathe let alone talk.

“Might we choose a more hospitable place to speak?” Colin gagged on his words.

 “This alley will afford us some privacy. The noose will keep you within eye range should you try something foolish.”

Colin spent the better part of a quarter hour explaining his situation. How the archbishop sent him on a journey to Normandy. “A thief robbed me and took all of my valuables. I ate bad berries, and there was a run-in with the king. I was to sail to Calais in the morning, but the thieves left me penniless. I have nothing left to pay for the passage. I only arrived in town this very morning and had nothing to do with the poor unfortunate in the street.”

“That’s quite a mouthful.”

“I have never sold medicinal oils. I promise,” Colin said.

Harcourt held the sealed letter as if it were an egg. “It’s true. The archbishop is my father’s brother. The seal on this letter appears to be real. It’s also known that the archbishop has no love for our good King William and neither do I.” He handed the letter back to Colin and removed the noose. “I’d keep that hidden. I have a sinking feeling it could be treasonous.” He led Colin back to the crowd waiting anxiously at the end of the alley waiting for a chance at another judicious moment. “A misunderstanding,” Harcourt said to the crowd, “This man is my cousin from Canterbury. I have not seen him in many years and did not recognize him at first. It’s time to return to our homes. We have done enough dirty work for the day. Move on now.” The crowd dissipated. A few grumbled as they slinked away.

Alexander Harcourt watched the crowd disperse. “I cannot provide you with the coin to leave on the morrow. I can give you a warm place to stay, modest as it might be and I can use a hand around the inn so you can earn your keep and save enough for passage by the end of October. Ships sail regularly across to Calais, weather permitting.”

“Thank you, kind sir, I will work hard.” Colin wiped his brow. “I’m just happy not to be hung or torn apart by horses.”

“Oh, yes you’ll work hard. You may call me Alexander.” Harcourt slapped Colin on the back as a cold, bitter wind blew through the alley, chilling both men to the bone. “We should remove ourselves from this alley. My good wife will have a warm bowl of mush and perhaps some eggs ready before our evening clients arrive.” Alexander shivered. “I feel that the cold weather might be early this year.”

“I fear you may be right. The beehives have waxed early, and I found a white wooly worm, both bad omens.” Colin shivered.

“I haven’t seen one of those in many years. That year was cold, and it came early that year. I think we should pray that you can earn passage to Calais before winter settles in, Colin.”

Colin and Alexander stood beneath a sign with a barrel carved on it. Alexander had hesitated before he opened the door. “I must warn you. I have four daughters, aging from twelve to nineteen. I need not tell you that my daughters are not to be touched.”

The inn was warm, inviting, and smelled like stew and baked bread. “Anabel,” Alexander said. “Come meet our new guest. He shall do some chores around here for a spell. At least until he has earned the funds for his journey to Calais and beyond.”

A short, stout woman turned from the hearth and curtsied. One look told Colin where Alexander’s daughters got their good looks.

A blonde haired beauty stuck her head out of an upstairs door. A few seconds afterward a second head peeked out just below the first, and then a third, and then a fourth. Four gorgeous blonde heads all lined up in a row. Colin determined that a virtuous stay in this house would be tough. He prayed that the inclement weather would hold off long enough to secure passage across the Channel. 

Alexander laughed, “All right my dear ones. Come and greet our new friend. However, remember you are ladies and must act appropriately.”

Three young girls bounded down the stairs and rushed to Colin, surrounding him to ask him one question after another. His eyes focused on the last girl, descending the stairs with grace and, head upright. Once down the stairs, she stood a few paces from him and her sisters. She was the most striking woman he ever laid eyes on, and he fell in love at first sight.

“Give him space dear ones,” Alexander ordered. “It’s not as if he is the first man you have ever seen.”

The youngest daughter placed her arms around Colin, smiled, and flashed her green eyes at him, “Yes, Papa,” she said never taking her eyes from Colin.

“Now little sister, don’t be embarrassing. Let him breathe. You act as if you are desperate. Unseemly for a young lady,” the oldest said. Her bright sky-blue eyes filled with disdain.

“Excuse my daughters,” Alexander said, “They have been cursed with a strong will and the looks of their mother. I fear that my daughters will bless me with their presence for a long time. They’re all too strong-willed to catch the attention of any possible suitor. The eldest over there is Amelia. The standoffish one turned nineteen in May. She isn’t interested in her dozens of admirers. One look at that face and they follow her like a puppy. Those ideas in her head turn them away every time. She believes a woman should be equal to a man in certain areas.

Unbelievable. Two have asked for her hand in marriage, and she turned them down. Nineteen years old and she turned them down. It seems they weren’t good enough for her. I fear she will end up an old maid.” Amelia glared at her father but managed a polite smile for Colin. “That one is Ava. She's sixteen and already has suitors vying for her attention. She’s not interested. The other is Adela. She is fourteen.” Ava and Adela giggled and curtsied. “Alas, the one in your face is my baby, Alison, she is twelve and much too young to be thinking of boys.”

Alison placed her hand on her hips. “I turned thirteen, Papa and am practically a woman. I am not much younger than Mama when you wed her,” she said and then glanced up at Colin with those beautiful, loving green eyes.

Colin averted his gaze, out of propriety, but those eyes continued to haunt him. He imagined the warm look came from Amelia.

“See what I mean? Shoo Alison, go pester the cat,” Alexander said with a smile before pulling his youngest to his side with a hug. “I love you, but you can be trying at times,” he said in a whisper.

“Amelia, show Colin to the room at the top of the stairs and don’t dally.”

She frowned but did what her father asked. Ava and Adela giggled as Colin walked away. Alison sprang up to volunteer, giving the cat a chance to jump away, but she sat down again when her father glared at her.

“Women,” Alexander shouted, “What must a man do to get fed around here? Colin, freshen up quickly. Dinner will be at half past the hour.”

“My room was no more than a cot and a honey rag,” Colin said to the growing crowd.

“What is a honey rag?” asked Sally, who was now awake.

“A honey rag was how people kept flies and pests from bothering them. You would dip a rag in honey, if you could afford honey, and tack it to the walls. The honey would attract the pests, and they would get stuck.”

“How long did you stay with Harcourt and what happened with Allison?”

“Well, I didn’t get a passage to Calais that October. A hard winter socked Dover in the first part of October and held us at her mercy way into March. As for Amelia, I fell deeply in love with her even though she wouldn’t give me the time of day. Alexander encouraged me. He wanted to get her married off before she became an old maid. Amelia was never cruel she wasn’t interested. I asked her to marry me. I went down on my knee and told her that I needed to deliver this letter and then I would be back and would marry her. I professed my undying love for her.

She gazed down at me so nonchalantly with a raised eyebrow and told me, “Why would I marry you? You are a nothing, a common laborer. You are so amusing, Colin dear.”

  I was crushed, broken-hearted. Ava and Adela became good friends. Alexander was a good employer and an even better friend. Alison followed me around like a lost puppy. I will admit she was the most beautiful of the sisters. Colin stopped and smiled at Sally, “Sally, could you do me a favor, dear?”

“Yes,” she cooed

“Could you go over to the nice man over there ad ask if he could bring us some tea?”

“What a splendid idea, Colin. Yes, Sally, would you do that for us?” asked the General.

After Sally left Colin whispered, “I didn’t want to say this in front of the child, but it was not uncommon in those days for an older man to wed children even as young as Alison.  I probably could have any of the younger three at any time. I wanted, especially the way Alison acted toward me. But I refused to betray Alexander’s trust,”

“They were different times indeed,” Grant, mused. “Thank you for your candor. It gives us a clearer perspective on your lifestyle back then. Tell me, man, when did you leave the inn?”

Sally returned with the waiter from the restaurant and tea.

“The weather broke around the end of March,” continued Colin, “Alexander and I bought passage on the very ship that declined my request in September.”

“The end of March?” Grant interrupted, “If I recollect you were to have the archbishop’s letter in the hands of the Earl of Kent before the first of April.”

“That’s correct, general. On the second of April, I stood on the wharf with Alexander, Ava, Adela, and Alison while crew members made last-minute preparations to the Good Ship Hope. Tears fell free from the girls, especially Alison. The announcement from the deck told me it was time to board, and I gave everyone a big hug. Last, of all, I embraced Alison. She looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes and whispered in my ear. Then she ran to her father and sobbed into his shoulders. I plodded up the gangplank and turned to wave my final farewells. I found that my eyes settled on sweet Alison, her last words weighing heavily on my mind.”

“What did she say?” asked Sally’s mother.

“She said; I will wait for your return,” Colin said in a soft whisper.