The Trip to Jerusalem

He went out once more into a hostile world.

The enormous pleasure of seeing Anne Hendrik again was tempered by the fact that he had no leisure time to spend alone with her. Nicholas Bracewell was forced to chat with her while helping to construct a makeshift tree for use in the forthcoming performance of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. In a coiner of the inn yard, the book holder was an emergency carpenter with the dubious assistance of George Dart. Conversation with Anne Hendrik was therefore punctuated by the rasp of the saw and the banging of the hammer. It ruled out any romantic element. 'I cannot believe my luck in meeting you,' she said.

'I told you it would happen, Anne.'

'If only the circumstances were happier.'

'Indeed.'

'Is there no news at all of Dick Honeydew?'

'None, I fear.'

'Who could have taken him?'

'All sorts of people,' said Nicholas with a sigh. 'He is a comely youth and takes the eye wherever we stop. Dick would not be the first apprentice who was snatched away because someone conceived a fancy for the lad.'

'Is he in danger?'

'We must hope that he is not.'

'Where do you think he could be, Nick?'

'I have cudgelled my brain to give me an answer to that question, but it refuses. All I have is guesswork and suspicion.'

And what do they tell you?'

'Banbury's Men.'

'Would they commit such a crime?'

'They have stolen both our plays and our audiences,' he argued. 'Why should they stop there? In stealing young Dick as well, they deal us a far harder blow.'

'You think the boy is with them?'

'Master Randolph is too clever for that. If he has ordered the abduction--and every instinct about me says that he did--then lie would have assigned the task to some underling and told the man to keep Dick well away from the company for fear of detection.'

Anne's maternalism was thoroughly roused by now. She knew all the apprentices well, none more so than Richard Honeydew, and she felt a mother's distress at his untimely disappearance. Imagination only increased her fright.

'Will they harm the boy?'

'They have no need to do so,' he said, trying to reassure himself as well as her. 'Their sole aim is to harm Westfield's Men and they do that by taking from us one of our leading players.'

'What will happen to the lad, then?'

'I believe he will be released in time.'

'And when will that be?'

'When they have thoroughly discomfited us.'

Nicholas hammered in a few more nails then stood the small tree up on the square base he had just provided. It rocked slightly on the cobbles. Anne was sympathetic.

'This is no work for a book holder.'

'It is a case of all hands to the pumps.'

'Can you not assign these chores to others?'

Her reply was a yell of pain. George Dart had missed the nail he was hitting and found his thumb instead. He danced around in anguish, wringing his hand as if it were a bell then plunging it into a bucket of cold water that a groom was carrying out of the stables. Nicholas looked on with rueful amusement.

'That is why I must supervise it all, Anne,' he said. 'Our fellows are willing but unskilled. Were I not here to help and control, there'd scarce be three fingers left between the whole lot of them.'

Nicholas took over the job that Dart had abandoned. As church bells rang out nearby, Anne Hendrik turned her mind to another topic. The faintest hint of jealousy sounded in her voice. 'Tell me more of Mistress Eleanor Budden.'

"There is nothing more to tell.'

'She accosted you in the river, you say?'

'Only because she took me for my betters.'

'You are no Lord Jesus to me.'

I am pleased to hear it.' They laughed fondly. Do not pay any heed to Mistress Budden. She was but a minor encumbrance in a long and busy day. I shook her free.'

'Can you be sure of that, Nick?'

'She will not travel with us.'

'Master Oliver Quilley does."

'Only by special arrangement.'

'Will she not find the same dispensation?'

'It is outside the bounds of possibility,' he said with confidence. 'Master Firethorn will have no time for yearning missionaries. He will turn her away straight. We are a company of players who carry our tumult with us. Warm language can be spoken by headstrong spirits. Here is no place for maiden modesty, still less for any true pilgrim. Mistress Eleanor Budden wastes her breath. There is no way that she will journey with us to York.'

'It is agreed, then,' said Firethorn. 'You come with us."

'Oh, sir!' she said effusively. 'Your kindness will win you friends in Heaven. I kiss your hand.'

'Nay, Madam, I will kiss yours.'

He took the outstretched hand of Eleanor Budden with elaborate courtesy and placed a gentlemanly kiss upon it. She curtseyed low before him and he responded with a bow. For a man who normally guarded Westfield's Men with a possessive care, he was being extraordinarily liberal. In the space of twenty-four hours, he had agreed to let an artist and now a self-proclaimed visionary accompany them on their travels. Lawrence Firethorn persuaded himself that both decisions were the right ones.

'You will not forget the money, good Mistress.'

'I will bring it with me.'

'And there will be no dispute with your husband?' , 'He will not stop me, sir.'

'Then I am content.'

'And I am truly bounden to you, Master Firethorn.'

She curtseyed again and allowed him another view of the delights which had finally changed his mind. Eleanor Budden was indeed a gorgeous woman and her religious fervour only served to bring out her qualities. He loved the smoothness of her skin and the roundness of her face and the appealing curves of her body. After dismissing her plea out of hand at first, he had listened to her gentle tenacity and feasted his eyes on her long hair. The combination of the two had made him think again.

Firethorn sought to clarify their relationship.

'There will be certain conditions, Mistress.'

'I submit to anything that you devise, sir.'

'Would that you did!' he murmured.

'What must I do?'

'Refrain from interference with our calling. We will be your shield on the road but we must have freedom to practise our art along the way. You must not hinder us in rehearsal or performance in any way.'

'Nor will I, sir. I'll spend my time in prayer.'

'We might find other things for you.'

'I need none.'

The simplicity of her purpose was quite moving. At the same time, he could not accept that it would sustain her all the way to York and certainly not to Jerusalem itself. Eleanor Budden had never been more than ten miles from Nottingham in the whole of her life and that had been in the company of her husband. She would find the long ride to York both irksome and perilous, causing her to turn increasingly to Firethorn for support. The idea titillated him. He had never corrupted a saint before.

'And shall I see Master Bracewell?' she asked.

'Every day. You'll ride beside him on the waggon.'

'My cup of joy runs over!'

'Haply, mine will do so as well.'

He bestowed another kiss on her hand then escorted her to the door of the inn. She waved in gratitude then flitted off over the cobbles. Firethorn chuckled to himself then went into the taproom to acquaint Barnaby Gill and Edmund Hoode with the latest development. They were antagonistic.

'This is lunacy!' yelled Gill. 'I forbid it!'

'It is less than wise, Lawrence,' said Hoode.

'The venture brings us money and companionship.'

"Who wants her companionship?' retorted Gill. 'Let her keep her money and distribute it as alms. We are actors here, not bodyguards for hire by anyone. Our only privilege is our freedom and you throw that away by inviting some Virgin Mary to sit in judgement on us.'