Chapter XXXIV
"I am bidden to dine and sleep at the castle," Charles said, getting up. "God knows I would rather be here with you, but my duty is to gather news and the castle is more likely to supply that than the house of Melisande. We should make an early start tomorrow."
"At sunrise?" Harun suggested.
"Half an hour after sunrise," Charles answered. "They won't open the gates until they can see the whole of the sun above the horizon."
"Then, in God's name, let it be so."
We spoke some more together and then Charles departed for the castle and Harun turned to me.
"Now, by God, if only all the Franks were such as he and all the True Believers such as the Sultan, we might have peace in our land." He suddenly stopped. "He didn't look in the bags, did he?"
"I am sure of it," I said. "Our lord, Sid Guy, is a man of honour and works for peace and all those who serve him must also be men of honour and eager for peace. Your bags are safe, I pledge it."
Harun seemed satisfied, but later on, after Madame Melisande had called to tell us that the chicken was ready, he made some excuse to return to the room after I had left and came downstairs a minute or so later looking happy.
"It is as you say," he nudged me with his elbow. "The bags are untouched." He lifted the cup of water which stood beside his plate. "By Allah, I am truly favoured on this journey. Sometimes I have had to face great perils in carrying my messages, but this time, by the favour of Charles and yourself, things will be smooth."
For the rest of the evening he spoke of the adventures he had known passing between al-Kahira and as-Shams and even when Madame Melisande came and sat with us at the table - truly, these Frankish women have no shame - he spoke openly of his journeys save only that he made no further mention of carrying messages.
We rose before daybreak and prayed and made ready our bags and our horses. Madame Melisande served us breakfast and gave us also small bags containing food for the journey for, said she, it is a hard day's ride to Montreal and she did not wish to think of us dying of hunger by the wayside. Then she took me by the head and kissed me on both cheeks as a man might do, but when she turned to Harun he surprised me by going down on his knees and suffering her to make the sign of the Christian religion on his forehead.
"Ah my son," she said, kissing him on both cheeks, "May God bless you and keep you. I shall pray for you each day until you return."
"May Allah show you mercy," Harun responded and then he rose and led his horse out of the yard and I followed him. Behind us Madame Melisande closed and locked the door.
As we rode our horses through the streets an old man in ragged clothes came towards us and as he approached he held out his hand and begged for alms. I had no small coins suitable for a beggar and little willingness to give to a Nasrani, so as I passed him I merely jerked my chin and said, "May Allah provide," meaning that I did not intend to give him anything. Behind me I heard the man speak to Harun and then Harun's voice calling to me.
"Fuad! Wait a moment."
I tugged on the reins and looked over my shoulder. To my astonishment Harun was climbing down from his horse and salaaming most profoundly to the beggar. Not only that, but after greeting the man, Harun undid his saddlebag and took out his purse and I distinctly saw the gleam of gold in his hand.
"May God reward you, sidi," he said as the beggar took his gift and shuffled away. "May God prosper your family. May God recompense you."
"Who was that?" I demanded as Harun remounted his horse, thinking perhaps that he had spies and informants in Kerak even as es-Sid did in Philistine.
"That," Harun said, jerking his reins, "was the head of the Azizat family."
I shrugged. "So why did you greet him with such respect?"
"Do you not know?" Harun asked, surprise in his voice. "By God, Fuad, they are most deserving of honour from every True Believer. Ten years ago the Nasranis of this place entered into a conspiracy to fall upon the Muslims in Kerak and kill them all. It was the Azizat family who warned the Muslims so that they were able to escape. Since then the other Nasranis will have nothing to do with those of the Azizat clan, so that they are reduced to great poverty. There are not many True Believers here, but every Muslim of Kerak will stand in the presence of a member of the Azizat family and we give such alms as we are able."
At this I was greatly ashamed and made haste to find my purse and take from it a suitable present. I had to run after the man, but when I found him I begged his pardon for not giving to him before, excusing myself by saying that I had only just heard of the matter. He smiled a little and made the sign of the cross towards me, so that I had been blessed twice in one day by a Nasrani.
Charles was waiting by the gate, which was still shut, and there were other men also waiting; some carried tools and were clearly going to work in the fields around the town while others were mounted travellers such as ourselves. I looked to see if the merchants for whom al-Hamza was waiting were among them, but there were none such that I could see.
When the gate opened we all surged through and Charles, Harun and I turned to the left and followed the road down the valley towards the south. We were lightly loaded and quickly outdistanced the two other travellers who were also going south but still none of us said anything until we were well beyond their hearing.
"Well," Charles said at last, "How did you fare, Fuad?"
"The food was good," I said, "but the bed - ya Allah! the bed. By the All Merciful, it was so narrow that every time I turned over I feared to fall out onto the floor and break all my bones. In future I shall refuse all beds and sleep on the floor as God intended."
Charles and Harun laughed and Harun said, "Truly the ways of the Franks are strange. Still, I have slept in beds that were wide enough and also soft - as soft as sleeping on one's mother's breast." He turned to Charles. "And how did you fare at the castle?"
Charles shrugged. "The beds there were no more comfortable than those in Madame Melisande's."
"And the news?" Harun asked.
"No more than what I have already told you. I spoke to the master at arms, who has seen many battles and much warfare and served in the castle even before Reynauld came, and he told me that they have no settled intention to capture Mecca, only to rob anyone they meet. Reynauld, apparently, believes that most traffic between Egypt and Mecca goes by sea now that we control Aqaba and hopes to find great riches. If there is no opposition he will march and sail as far as he can, but he has not so many men with him that he can seriously threaten your holy cities."
Harun sighed with relief. "Al-hamdulillah!" he exclaimed. "I think he will not find much wealth in this way and Mecca and Medina are well defended - by God if by no one else."
They spoke some more of the doings of Reynauld de Chatillon and then at last I had opportunity to ask Harun concerning his behaviour with Madame Melisende.
"Why did you allow that Nasrani woman to make the Christian sign on your face?" I asked him.
Harun laughed. "Because it pleases her. She believes that if she does that to me I will be safe and as movements of the fingers cannot harm a True Believer, I let her have her will."
"She didn't care about my safety," I pointed out.
"Of course not," Harun said, still smiling. "You are a stranger to her, but I have known her for many years." He was silent for a moment and then continued. "Her husband was captured in some fighting ten or twelve years ago and taken back to as-Shams where the Sultan held him for ransom or exchange. He told us of his wife and because I was young and might pass without arousing suspicion, I was sent to her to arrange matters. That was my first journey in Christian lands. She paid me what her husband had directed and I carried it back to Damascus only to find that he had died of a fever."
"May God have mercy on his soul," Charles muttered.
"Well, you know what the Sultan is like. For his honour's sake he would not keep the ransom if he could not deliver the man alive, so I was sent back again to restore the money to the woman. She was greatly astonished that we should behave with such honour, for she had been brought up to believe that all Muslims are evil and without shame. Since that time she has regarded me as her son." Harun blushed slightly. "In fact, I have in my purse a small cross which she gave me for my protection. She said that it is a powerful charm, blessed in the Holy Sepulchre of al-Quds and who am I to question such matters. Even if it only invokes some djinn, yet we should not despise their power. What do you think, Charles?"
"I know nothing of such matters," Charles protested. "I am a soldier, not a priest. Still, I remember a holy man of our religion - I think you know him, Fuad; Brother Hildebrandt - who told me once that a cross is nothing but two sticks fastened together. It has no virtue of its own, but if you believe in God, then such a thing can be a symbol of your belief and by this means the power of God is made available to you. What is your opinion, Fuad?"
"I take refuge in Allah," I exclaimed. "I also know nothing of such matters. All I know is that my mother is a great believer in amulets and charms and everyone in my family has a charm or two that she has purchased from some holy man or other. Some of them were orthodox Sunni, some of them were Shia, and some, perhaps, of no religion at all, but as you say, Harun, it is not good to despise such matters."
For the next few hours we discussed religion and though I had to take refuge in Allah many times from the arguments that they used, yet we spoke in friendship and disagreed in amity. At noon we shared the food Madame Melisande had given us, eating as we rode for there was no shade or shelter in all that land.
"Another three hours, by my judgement," Harun told us. "Montreal is still a place that True Believers should avoid, but I think that we will nonetheless stay there this night."
"Mashallah," I murmured.
"We can at least hope that the guards will not be so troublesome as at Kerak," Harun said, "but Charles . . ."
"If you are willing," Charles responded, "let us swap saddle bags before we come in sight of the castle. It might be wise to exchange contents as well, seeing as we cannot blame robbers this time."
"Your kindness," Harun replied, laying his hand on his heart. "Then, if you are willing, let us do so here where there is no one to see and question."
We halted and Charles and Harun unpacked and swapped saddle bags. When we remounted there was a new sense of comradeship among us. We three were companions, brothers against all the world.
