The Heart of the Lion - Plaidy Jean (читать книги бесплатно полностью без регистрации сокращений txt) 📗

‘I doubt not, my lord, that you will soon have brought the siege to an end.’

‘That shall be my endeavour.’

In the next few days Richard had fully recovered his health.

He immediately gave a banquet to celebrate his possession of Cyprus. The people came out of their houses to cheer him as he rode by. They liked the look of him; he was stern but just; and they were heartily tired of Isaac.

Richard had seen little of Berengaria. He sent a message to her and to Joanna to tell them that he was very much engaged with preparations for departure, but would come to them when it was possible.

When he did arrive he embraced them both rather absent-mindedly and told them to make their preparations to leave.

Berengaria looking up at him adoringly said that she always looked for his own ship, Trenc-the-mere, when she was near the sea and she was delighted because now that she was his wife she would sail with him in it.

‘You cannot guess, Richard, the anxieties we suffered,’ she told him. ‘Not knowing where you were . . . whether you were dead or alive.’

Richard was thoughtful. ‘I have been thinking,’ he said, ‘that after all it would be most unwise for you to travel on Trenc-the-mere.’

‘Oh but that is where I want to be. I want to be with you, Richard.’

‘That is a good wife,’ he said indulgently. ‘But as a good husband I am concerned for your safety.’

‘My great concern is yours.’

‘Nay,’ he said firmly, ‘you cannot sail with me. What if already you are carrying our child, the future King of England!’

‘We have been so little together,’ she said mournfully.

‘Oh, it is enough. I have hopes.’

‘Could we not . . . ?’

His lips smiled but his eyes were cold. ‘I am a king, Berengaria. I have my duties. I am not even in my own country. Responsibilities are heavy on my shoulders. I have just conquered Cyprus, which is going to make a great difference to crusaders. Think of them hungry, racked by storm, all those days at sea and then coming to the haven of Cyprus where there will be fresh meat and fruits for them. They will bless King Richard.’

‘There are already many who have reason to do that,’ she said.

‘It may be. But my orders must be obeyed. I cannot have you or Joanna exposed to the dangers which could befall my ship. As we progress our journey becomes more hazardous. There is one whom these people will seek first to destroy. I am that one.’

‘Oh, Richard, let us come with you. The dangers will be nothing compared with our anxieties.’

‘Nay, the dangers will be great. You will obey my orders, Berengaria. I say that you shall sail in another ship. Do not look so disconsolate. Joanna will be with you . . . Joanna and the little Princess from Cyprus.’

He doesn’t want me, she thought sadly. Why? What is wrong with me?

THE KING AND THE SULTAN

The June sun blazed down on the fleet of ships – one hundred and fifty of them. They were on their way to Acre and leading them was Trenc-the-mere. Shouting orders through his trumpet, commanding that none was to attempt to pass him, sailing close to the arid land, Richard’s spirits soared. He would soon be in Acre. Before he had left Cyprus he had heard that Philip had broken the siege and filled with dismay he had hastened his preparations to depart. It had been a great relief to learn that the news was false.

And now on to Acre, to Philip, to make their plans together, to bring about the realisation of a dream.

As they had sailed from Cyprus, Richard heard that one of his galley men wished to speak to him. This man told him that he had been in Beyrout and there seen a wonderful ship – the largest he had ever seen.

‘It was a Saracen, Sire,’ he said. ‘Her sides were hung with green and yellow tarpaulins. I asked what this was for and was told that the Byzantine navy frequently use the deadly Greek Fire in their fighting and these tarpaulins are protection for the hull. Sire, this ship was being loaded with men and food. It was said that there were eight hundred Turks and seven Emirs to command them and they were on their way to Acre.’

‘If this be true,’ said Richard, ‘it is small wonder that the siege goes on. They must be constantly supplied with food and troops.’

‘And, Sire, that was not all. It was said that two hundred deadly snakes were being put on board the vessel and these were to be let loose in the Christian camp.’

‘By God’s eyes,’ cried Richard, ‘is this so then? I would to God I had the chance to meet such a ship.’

It seemed that his prayers were answered for between Beyrout and Sidon a ship was sighted on the horizon. Three-masted and flying the French flag, she was one of the biggest ships Richard had ever seen.

‘I never knew Philip owned such a ship,’ said Richard. ‘If he had, surely I would have seen it. He would certainly have boasted of her.’

Richard suspected that she was not French and as they came nearer he saw the green and yellow tarpaulins on her sides and sent for the galley man who had told him of the ship he had seen in Beyrout.

He did not wait to be asked. ‘That is the ship, Sire, the one I saw being loaded in Beyrout.’

Richard ordered one of the galleys to go forward and make contact with the ship.

The ship’s answer was a shower of arrows, javelins and stones.

‘’Tis true,’ cried Richard. ‘She’s an enemy. She must not be allowed to reach Acre.’

He gave the order to close in on her but the extreme height of the ship gave her the advantage and she was able to send down such a shower of arrows on to the galleys that the wise action seemed to be to retire.

Richard was furious. She was not going to escape. He could see that his men were losing heart for what they considered an unequal battle doomed to failure. But Richard never accepted failure. He was either going to capture or sink that vessel. She was not going to reach Acre with her reinforcements of men and food and her deadly serpents to wreak havoc in the Christian camp.

‘Are you such cowards,’ he cried to his men, ‘that you shrink from action with the enemy? She is one and we are many. Shall you, soldiers of the Cross allow her to carry succour to the Saracen? If you allow these enemies of God to escape you deserve to be hanged, every one of you.’

As ever his magnetism mingled with his personal valour had its effect. Those men who, a few moments before, had grumbled to each other that to attack was folly, were now straining for the fight.

Some of them even attempted to board the ship, and as they did so their hands or heads were cut off and the air was filled with their piercing cries as they fell back into the sea. When several men leaped into the water and tied a rope to the Saracen’s helm so that her progress might be impeded, this was more successful.

Then to the Saracens’ relief Richard gave the order to retire. It was but a respite. His mind was made up. He deeply regretted that he could not take the vessel, and the thought of all that treasure on board dismayed him. What he could do, what he must do was sink her; and that was what he was going to do.

The prows of the galleys were iron which made of these ships excellent battering rams. They could drive themselves into the sides of the Saracen with such force that they broke her up. This they did until the sea was darkened by the bodies of drowning men and the ship’s cargo. Richard tried to salvage some of the latter but without much success.

But the victory was Richard’s. The Saracen would not sail into Acre. The besieged who would be eagerly awaiting succour would be disappointed.