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Page 267
which was led by a harassed alderman who was seeking Geoffrey. He had been told, he said, that Lord Geoffrey had been seen in Southwark with the men who were trying unsuccessfully to keep the fire from the bridge.
''Unsuccessfully?" Joanna asked tensely. "Has it come across the river then?"
"I fear so, my lady, but there is no present danger to you here. Since the wind has died we have the fire well under control."
Joanna had a flash of memory of that odor of burning, but there was something far more important to her. "You expected to find Lord Geoffrey here? You are sure he came across before the bridge took fire?"
"Not sure, no, my lady, but I hoped to find him here. Our trouble now that the fire is less is that many merchants fled their shops when they saw the bridge aflame. Now that danger is past, the looters are out. Most of the lord mayor's men are on the eastern edge of the fire, watching lest it begin anew. I hoped Lord Geoffrey would keep the peace in the Chepeside."
"You have no idea where else Lord Geoffrey might be? Are you sure he was in Southwark before the bridge took fire?"
"Of the latter, yes. One of the aldermen from Southwark begged the help of his men to make a firebreak, but they were too late and near overtaken by the flames."
"Since the alderman came safe away, I assume Lord Geoffrey did also?"
"II believe so. That is why I sought him here"
"He did not come away with the Southwark alderman?" The day was not cool, but Joanna suddenly shivered. Her hands felt like ice.
"No, my lady. It was still thought the houses on the bridge and the watchtowers might be saved. Lord Geoffrey and his men remained."
Madman! Joanna thought, and briefly closed her eyes.
"Do you know whether any other noblemen are in residence, my lady?" the alderman asked anxiously, too taken

 
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