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beach near Roselynde, and fell across the houses opposite. |
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For a single shocked moment, paralysis held them all. Then'chaos broke out. The horses reared and tried to bolt; men and women screamed; Lady Maud flung herself upon Geoffrey, enveloping his head in her flowing sleeves so that for a moment he could not see or breathe. Mercifully, the gust of wind died and the wave of flame fell. There was no apparent result beyond a slight increase in the dull roar they had been hearing for some time. Fortunately, only Geoffrey and the experienced men-at-arms knew what that was. They had heard it often enough in Wales. Geoffrey bellowed at the men to leave the traveling cart, to saddle every horse there was, with blankets and cord if nothing else were available. The maids were to be mounted behind any man who could ride. |
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In the midst of these arrangements an altercation broke out at the foot of the garden. Tostig and some men ran down while Geoffrey struggled to free himself from Lady Maud's clinging arms. Finally in desperation, he lifted her like a sack over his shoulder. Relief blossomed as does a flower when he found that the fight had been between some panicked servants who wanted to steal the boat tied at the stairs and flee and others who were more fearful of what would happen to them if Engelard ever discovered what they had done than of the fire. Geoffrey had not known that Engelard's boat was left with Lady Maud, and everyone had been too excited and busy to remind him. Breathing prayers of thanksgiving, Geoffrey dumped his burden unceremoniously into the boat, detailed two steady men-at-arms to keep her there, by force if need be. Back at the house he found four men who assured him they could handle the craft and seemed to be calm and knowledgeable enough about it to be telling the truth. He sent them with two older, more stable maids carrying the money and jewels to take Lady Maud across the river. If possible, they were to put her into Joanna's care, he ordered. |
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The furniture was being dismantled and the clothes packed with sufficient speed so Geoffrey went down again |
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