skills of the Saracens,â volunteered Everard, âand their famous singing teachers. Who has not heard of Ziryab?â
No one had heard of Ziryab, not even Lady Gwyneth.
âAnd Lady Gwyneth has charged me with a duty,â Everard said in a solemn voice. âTo teach Gatty how to sing.â
âIndeed I have!â Lady Gwyneth said.
âFaâ¦Solâ¦Laâ¦,â sang Everard, and he waved to Gatty to join in.
âLa-a-a-a-a,â sang Gatty.
âGo on,â said Everard, âand on and on and on and onâ¦â
âAâ¦aâ¦aâ¦aâ¦aâ¦aâ¦â
âOn!â
Gatty coughed. âCanât,â she gasped. Her eyes were bright with excitement. âI havenât got no more breath.â
âYou must learn to breathe properly,â Everard told her.
âNow then, Nest,â Lady Gwyneth said. âWhat about you? Why are you making this pilgrimage?â
Nest put her forefingers to her temples and slowly shook her head. âI have such a terrible headache, my lady.â
âYou must tell us later then,â Lady Gwyneth said kindly. âWho is left? Austin?â
âBy enduring this pilgrimage, with all its slings and arrows, we commend ourselves to God,â said the priest gravely. âI, too, long to see the places and touch the walls and walk the ways Iâve heard about and read about and preached about.â
âAmen,â said Lady Gwyneth. âWell now, Gatty, what about you?â
Gatty heard Lady Gwynethâs question in her gut.
âWell?â asked Lady Gwyneth.
Gatty took a deep breath and combed her golden curls with her fingers. âI want to see where Jesus was born,â she sang out, âandâ¦and Iâm going to strike sparks for you.â
Lady Gwyneth smiled. âIâm sure you are, Gatty,â she said.
âI didnât use to think Jerusalem was further than Chester.â
Nakin shook his head at how anyone could know so little. His dewlaps wobbled.
âI didnât know it was across the sea,â Gatty said.
After finishing their bread and drinking water from their leather flasks, the pilgrims continued their journey, and their first exhilaration wasshadowed by uncertainty, then by tiredness. Only Gatty, on her way north to Ewloe, and Emrys and Nakin had traveled such a distance in one day before.
âThe way to think of the journey,â Nakin told them, âis in parts. This first from Ewloe to London is on foot, and thatâll take nine days.â
âNine days!â exclaimed Nest.
âWith a following wind!â said Nakin.
âAnd after that weâll have our horses,â Lady Gwyneth said. âNakin, how long with horses from London to Sandwich?â
âThree days,â replied Nakin.
âYou see, Nest?â said Lady Gwyneth. âA journey in parts. And remember, each mile brings us a little nearer to Jerusalem, and to Paradise too.â
âHow many calvesâ tails do you need to climb from earth to heaven?â Gatty asked.
âCalvesâ tails,â Lady Gwyneth repeated. âI donât know!â
âOne,â said Gatty. âOne if itâs long enough. Thatâs a Christmas riddle at Caldicot.â
By the end of the afternoon, everyone was quite giddy with exhaustion. Half the time they laughed at riddles as simple as Gattyâs, and horsed about, and half they didnât really want to talk at all.
Not long before dark, the pilgrims reached the hostelry at Whitchurch, as Nakin had predicted. Its earth-walls were grey; the thatch was grey. Its shoulders were lopsided and it kept its head well down.
âPlease go in and check there are no fleas,â Lady Gwyneth told Nakin.
âThereâs nowhere else to stay,â Nakin replied. Still, he ducked his head and went in, and before long reported, âNo fleas. Only rats and mice!â
To begin with, each day was