Hugh, for love of his father, listened as well as he could to the talk; but he had good play-times as well, for there were many boys and girls on the road, and, indeed, the mercer with whom they travelled had his lad of thirteen with him. Agrippa, held by Dame Edith’s silken cord, was an immense object of interest; the mercer’s wife made him a new little coat of scarlet cloth, and, besides the black rye bread which he shared with his masters, the children were never tired of bringing him nuts, costard apples, and spice-nuts, so that he fared well. He showed great affection for Hugh, and was never so happy as when on his shoulder; tolerating Stephen and detesting Matthew.
The hostels were crowded, and the accommodation of the roughest; but it was always a matter of rejoicing to have got through the day’s journey without encounter of outlaws. Highway robbery was one of the evils with which the king had vigorously to contend, and at their last halting-place the host’s wife had such a number of terrible stories at her fingers’ ends as made the more timorous shake in their shoes. She discoursed volubly as she brought in an excellent supper, which they ate with knives, forks being as yet a great luxury.
“Alack-a-day, my masters!” she said. “I wot that shameful things have happened on this very road not so long ago. My lord Abbot from the neighbouring house, having but one brother with him, was seized and robbed, and left bound in the ditch. The thief made off with his palfrey, and that led to his being taken and hung; but the abbot, holy man! has scarce recovered from the shock.”
One story brings another, and Matthew was seldom behindhand when anything had to be said.
“Things be better, however, than they were ten years ago. Then was a time of riot. I mind me I had a cousin, living in Boston, when there came to the gates one night a party of monks wanting room in the monastery. Fine monks were these, for, when all honest citizens were in bed, out they slipped, stripped off their gowns, appeared in doublet and hose of green, and never trust me, my masters, if these merry men did not take the town so completely by surprise that they sacked and set fire to it before they left.”
“There, see now!” cried the hostess, lifting up her hands; “and they might do the same by us now, and we sleeping in our beds like babes!”
“I warrant that was what caused the king to ordain that town gates should be closed between sunset and sunrise, and makes him so strict in the matter,” said a monk who was seated at table, with a good helping of a fish called cropling on his trencher. “Nay, good mistress, look not mistrustfully on me. I wear no cassock of green, only that which belongs to the habit of St. Austin, of which I am an unworthy brother.”
“There be land pirates and sea pirates,” said the little red-faced mercer, pompously; “both be enemies to an honest man’s trade.”
“Alack, I know not how any can venture on the seas!” added his wife, putting her head as much on one side as her stiff gorget would allow.
“There’s terrible venturesome folk nowadays,” put in the hostess, pouring out a tankard of ale.