Interrupted journey

[DonaCatalina]

  The carriage was hot and stuffy. If we had been able to open the windows on both sides, we might have gotten more of a breeze. But the sun shining directly in would have made us hotter. The stupid monkey that my mother insisted that I bring with me would not settle down and be still. I suppose he was as hot and uncomfortable as the rest of us. But when he screeched and scrambled around the carriage, he added considerably to my irritation. I longed to be able to remove my partlet, but I needed to be properly dressed when we stopped for the night. Poor Maria looked like she would have swatted the monkey through the window if the opportunity had presented itself. I was almost ready to throw him out the window myself in spite of the scolding my mother would give me. I gave the monkey another cup of water to keep him quiet when the carriage jolted suddenly. We were bounced and jostled as the driver pulled the horses to a halt.

[DonaCatalina]

  Maria and I exchanged a look of confusion. We had already stopped for a mid day meal and were not supposed to stop again until nightfall. The monkey climbed up on the frame of the open carriage window and peered about. The sound of men's voices came through the window. Someone shouted to our driver and footmen to get down from the carriage. The carriage door on the side with the closed windows jerked open and masked man in rough clothes gestured us forward. Maria climbed from the carriage first and was roughly shoved aside. Her shriek was more of shock than hurt, but it angered me nonetheless. Another masked man on the other side tried to grab the monkey and got his hand bitten for his trouble. The man in front of me was becoming insistent, "Hurry up now". I glowered at him and stepped down to the ground. To my right, I could see a third man was pushing Maria towards where the driver and footmen were standing. Some tree trunks had been laid across the road to block our passage. As the first man climbed into the empty carriage, another of the ruffians grabbed my arm and shoved me towards the back of the carriage. I saw him take a second look at my neck and realized that he had seen the gold chain and holy relic that I wore beneath my partlet. He began pawing at the buttons of at my neckline with his dirty hands. I slipped my hand into the pocket of my skirt and grasped my tiny dagger. When he began to tear the fabric of my partlet in his frustration, I twisted and sank the dagger into his arm pit.

[DonaCatalina]

The bandit jerked and stumbled away from me freeing the knife from his side. A rush of blood followed the blade's exit. He started back towards me before he sunk to his knees and looked up at me. He coughed and looked in bewilderment at the trickle of blood dripping from his mouth onto his shirt. He coughed once more and then fell on his face in the dirt. His companions stood for a moment in shock as the blood from the knife dripped down my side. Two of them rushed towards the fallen man while a third tried to grab me. The blade caught his sleeve but missed his arm and I lost my balance momentarily. The bandit took advantage of this to get inside my arm's reach and take hold of my wrist. He slapped my face just before the knife slipped from my nerveless fingers. I tried to hit back at him with my free hand, but the man who had been in the carriage grabbed that arm. This man, who appeared to be their leader, jerked me back roughly and out of the other's grip.

[DonaCatalina]

  "We need her unharmed" the bandit chief hissed. My forearm burned with pain at the intensity of his grip. The smaller man shook his fist and raged "But she killed Hector!" The leader turned and looked at me. My face burned as his eyes traveled from my neck down the torn and smudged front of my dress. "I would say Hector made his own death." He commented finally "He thought he had caught a kitten instead of a lioness." The small man looked at me with hate filled eyes. Still gripping my left arm, the bandit leader dragged me towards Maria. "You" he commanded roughly speaking to her "Get some of your Mistress's luggage." He turned and stalked over to the driver of our carriage. To the driver he handed a sealed envelope. I was too far away to see if the wax was imprinted with a seal. "Take this to your Master" he told them "Get in the carriage and finish your journey. No harm will come to your mistress as long as you do as I say." The driver took the envelope and the three of them scrambled onto the carriage as fast as they could. With a crack of the whip, they rattled off down the road from which the barricade had been removed.

[DonaCatalina]

A small cart came up to the road from the trees. The bandit leader pointed to two of his men and told them "Jose, you and Luis load Doña Elvira's luggage on the cart. The rest of us will catch up with you later." I was relieved to see that the small man who had attacked me was not one of those named. He tossed a money bag to the one he had named Jose. My heart sank when I realized it was my small purse that I thought was carefully hidden inside my seat cushion. My luggage was hurriedly thrown up on the cart. Maria and I were instructed very forcefully to sit behind Jose and the driver. While the man identified as Luis was ordered to ride in the back of the cart to keep an eye on us. From the way he glared at us, I surmised that he would have rather rode on the front seat with Jose.  His discomfort was not a bother to me at all. With a snap of the reins, the wagon started back the way that it had come. We had not gone very far when I burst out in laughter. Maria's reaction was shock and the men's reactions were of irritation. In spite of the uncomfortable seat and the hot sun beating down on me I could not help but laugh. I finally managed to tell Maria "We left the monkey in the carriage." She sighed and rolled her eyes at me, but a tiny smile teased the corner of her mouth.

[DonaCatalina]

  My mirth was short lived. There was no escape from the hot sun dust. To make matters worse, there was no water in the cart. Soon enough the blood on my hand and dress began to smell. Since the dress was already ruined, I wiped my hands on the skirt as best as I could. My hand itched from the bits of dried blood still left and my stomach was queasy from the smell. Maria was flagging in the heat with no water. Fervently I prayed that we would stop soon for a rest and some water. Luis looked as miserable as Maria in the back of the cart.

  Just before sundown we reached a walled farm. Inside the gates was a carriage with a harnessed team. As the wagon pulled up to the water trough, three men came out of the house and walked towards us. Taking advantage of the stop, I climbed down from the wagon and started to wash my hand and skirts in the water trough. The horses ignored me as they noisily drank from the trough. Four of the men transferred my luggage to the carriage. Only when this was finished did they turn their attention to Maria and me. One man who was missing the small finger from his right hand spoke to me "There is food inside the house. Do not try to speak to anyone while you eat. We will leave after you have eaten, or in one hour, whichever comes first." At a gesture Maria followed me into the house. A rough made table took up the center of an otherwise unfurnished room. A young girl who was obviously terrified placed some wooden plates and cups in front of us. An older woman brought out some paella and served us while the girl poured red wine into the cups. The wine was harsh and the food barely seasoned but we both ate with relish. It had been many long, hot hours since our last meal.

[DonaCatalina]

  When our plates were empty I stood up to go back outside. "Come along Maria" I said "there is no sense in delaying the inevitable." The three men rose from a bench as we came out of the door. Of the carter, Jose and Luis there was no sign. It seemed that these three men had been waiting to take Maria and me on the next step of our interrupted journey. "Senorita, if you will get in the carriage we will be on our way" said a man who appeared to be younger than the others. I started up the up the carriage steps and to my surprise, he was the one who climbed onto the driver's bench. After we were seated inside, the two other men closed the doors and clambered onto the roof. The carriage jolted into movement at the crack of the whip.

  "At least this is a more comfortable ride" Maria ventured "We have cushioned seats out of the sun." I gave her a half-smile and replied "Let us be grateful for small favors." I noticed then that my foot hit something under the seat when I shifted. I reached down and pulled a wooden box from under the seat. After I saw what was in the box I laughed and showed it to Maria. "A more comfortable ride indeed" she smiled in return. The box contained two bottles of very good red wine and a cork screw. Maria felt under her seat and came up with a box that held a set of four silver goblets. She held two of these out as I wrestled a bottle open and poured the wine. By the time we finished the second bottle; neither of us had trouble falling asleep in the moving carriage.

[DonaCatalina]

We were awakened with the carriage slowed suddenly and made a hard turn to the right. As we rolled to a stop I looked out of the window. One of the guards on the roof slammed the window closed before I got more than a glimpse of a post house with a waiting team of horses. From the voices that I could hear, it seemed that we had changed horses but not guards. The carriage rocked as the men unhitched one team and brought another up. Thumps and bumps rocked the carriage with Maria and I inside. While our guards were pre-occupied with the harness, I contemplated an escape. The door was open no more than an inch when it was slammed shut again. I called out "We need to be let out of the carriage soon or you will have a nasty job of cleaning". The window opened a crack and I got my response, "All right. But be quick about it." The door opened and we scrambled past the man who was missing a finger. We found the traveler's latrine easily enough.
Our guard awaited us as we emerged. If there were anyone else at the post house, I had not seen them. We were hurried into the carriage and once again hurtled towards an unknown destination.

[DonaCatalina]

Before too much longer I saw the sky was just beginning to lighten in the east. As I watched the dawn arrive, the carriage lurched and turned onto a much rougher road. Through the windows I saw that the road led up towards the mountains through olive orchards. The trees were heavy with fruit that would be ripe in a few more months. The carriage rattled on and climbed through terraced vineyards. Every so often, Maria and I were nearly jarred from our seats by the rough ride. I looked through the window for any signs of life. The area through which we traveled was empty of people that early in the morning. As we wound up the mountainside, I began to catch glimpses of a large stone house on the slope above. As we drew closer I began to realize just how large the building was. The horses slowed on the steep incline as we reached the end of the road.  The carriage stopped at an imposing wooden gate that blocked our way. Some minutes later in response to the driver's shouts, the ponderous gate swung open. We were jolted in our seats as the carriage moved forward through the opening.

[DonaCatalina]

  After we passed inside the wall, I could see the main house flanked by several good sized outbuildings. From what I could see, the house appeared to be four stories tall. Everything, including stone courtyard looked like it had been well maintained. Several men came out of the main door as we clattered to a stop. The door to the carriage was opened. Responding to the unspoken command, I stepped down with Maria following. The gate had been shut and barred behind us. For better or for worse, we were now locked inside. A few of the men came towards us while the others unloaded the carriage. One man who was slightly better dressed than the other spoke to me "If you will come with me, we will get you settled inside." His appearance did not inspire confidence. The neatness of the courtyard was at odds with his unkempt condition. He was of middling height with mousy brown hair that hung raggedly around his face. When he spoke, his voice was slurred with drink. But having no other option, I nodded my assent. Maria and I followed him inside.

[DonaCatalina]

The dim entranceway left me blinking after the far brighter light of the courtyard. Our guide turned to the right and I hurried to keep up. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that we had passed several doors to on the left side. We came to a stairwell but turned left and went past it. After we had passed several more doors, he finally stopped and opened one. Inside was a large room with two couches. "I am steward of this house and my name is Alfonso" he announced "I will have a maid assigned to this room named Elena. My master commands that I ask you to speak to no one else among the servants." I turned my most scathing look on him and responded "And just who is this master of your who kidnaps innocent women and holds them prisoner?" His face did not change expression from a slight smirk as he answered "My lady, I am not at liberty to tell you that. I will have breakfast brought up to you soon. The baths are through the door on the right." He was interrupted at that point when three men came stomping into the room with my luggage. After they had brought everything in and left, he backed out of the door and closed it behind him.

[DonaCatalina]

  I stood in the center of the room frozen in despair. Maria started exploring our new quarters and opened the various doors. To the left, the room was a small chamber suitable for a servant with room for some storage. When she opened the door opposite the hallway, I followed her. This turned out to be a sumptuous bedchamber with a carved screen blocking the view of the windows. When the screen was moved, not only were there large windows looking out onto a private patio, but a door as well. I stepped outside and saw only two other doors leading to this patio. It seemed we were somewhere deep in the interior of the house. "Mistress" Maria called "I have found the bath. In just a few more minutes I will have some water ready for you." I turned back to her and forced a smile "Thank you Maria. I do not know how I would survive this without you." I sank down on a stone bench that was beside the door.

[DonaCatalina]

A loud rapping on the door awoke me from my reverie. Maria opened the door to admit two young boys carrying trays of food. The smell of hot fresh bread brought a welcoming rumble from my stomach. The small meal we had eaten last night in the farmhouse was a distant memory. Both boys were clean but very ragged. That any Lord able to afford to own and maintain this large of an estate would leave in servants in such a state was puzzlement to me. But I was happy enough for the meal at this stage. After we had finished eating I told Maria "Please lay out some clean clothes. It will do both of us good to bathe and change. I know that I am tired of wearing this dirty dress." Maria looked at the dried bloodstain and replied "I'll get rid of this dress later. I think it's too late to save it." As she unlaced me from my dress I commented "Even if it could be cleaned, I think I would be happy to never to see it again." The face of the man I had killed surfaced briefly in my mind. I fought the vision down as bile soured my throat.

[DonaCatalina]

  After the meal and bath, my fatigue turned to restless energy. First I tried the patio. The other doors leading back inside were all locked and screened. So I decided to walk down the hallway. I made it as far as the stairwell I had passed on my way in before my way was blocked by a guard. Mutely he stood up from his chair and glowered at me. His silent stare was an order that I should go back the direction from whence I had come. I returned to my suite and faced Maria's anxious eyes. "There is a guard at one end of the corridor." I told her "So our access to the front door is blocked." She went back to work on a chemise that she had been repairing. I sat down on the sofa opposite her and leaned back. A loud knock on the door made me jump. Only then did I realize that I must have fallen asleep for the same two boys brought a tray with what was clearly meant to be lunch. As they set out the food and collected the dishes from this morning I spoke to them "Tell Alfonso, your master, to send goblets and some decent wine this evening. The vinegar he sent this morning was barely drinkable." Their eyes grew round as saucers as they nodded and fled the room with the dirty dishes. Rather than drink from the wine carafe on the tray, I walked over to the pitcher of water that had been left behind. Maria discerned my intent and grabbed the pitcher ahead of me. As she insisted on pouring water into my cup, I sighed in exasperation. "You are going to wear yourself out if you insist on serving me while we are here. You cannot do the work of four servants at your age." She looked at me for a moment before she nodded. A little more gently I said "Both of us will need all of our strength to come through this ordeal before it ends." Some tension left her face when she heard that.

[DonaCatalina]

After we had eaten, I took out my book of hours to say my afternoon prayers. This occupied the better part of the afternoon. I had not always been diligent in saying my prayers, but I was not pressed for time just then. I grew restless again after that. There was nothing to occupy my time. The scant luggage that had come this far with me contained no books or embroidery. I only had my prayer book because it stayed in a pocket of my skirt. Thinking of what I had in my pockets reminded me of the sight of my dagger red with a man's blood. For a moment I felt nauseous. But the feeling passed quickly. To dispel my dark thoughts I decided to try my luck with the corridor again. This time I went in the opposite direction. At the end was a closed door like several I had passed, but tried the knob and found it unlocked. Beyond the door was a large alcove with two hallways leading out of it. But at that moment, my discovery in this room took all my attention.