Chapter LXXV
Just before Easter Babrak came with news that the city of Mosul, which is on the borders of Kurdistan, had submitted to the Sultan, may God prosper him. When we took the news to es-Sid he looked grave for, as he explained to us, not only did this mean that the Sultan need no longer fear attack from that direction, but the men of Mosul, many of whom were Kurds, would flock to join the Sultan's army, for he was himself a Kurd.
Easter came and went and still the pilgrims came and we were busy every day. Es-Sid was also busy every day and I often saw him with a long face and on those few occasions when he and I and Trudy sat together he spoke of the king's health, for this Baldwin was a sickly child who fell ill when the weather was cold and fell ill again when it was hot, who refused to eat anything except sweetmeats and complained of headaches at all times.
"By God, he leads poor Joscelin a pretty dance," es-Sid said one day. "That man has the patience of a saint, for I would have given the young brat a good thrashing a dozen times over - and then lose my head for lese majeste."
What can I say about what followed? As summer approached Joscelin de Courtenay took the king to Acre, saying that the seaside would be better for his health than the dry heat of al-Quds - and in any case the boy enjoyed boats and shipping. Raymond, the regent, stayed in Jerusalem with the council and es-Sid went often to the council meetings, even though he was not of the council, for we continued to bring messages to him from every part of the kingdom.
In the heat of summer a messenger came from Acre to say that the king was seriously ill and summoned Raymond to come and consider the matter. A few of the council went with him and among them es-Sid.
"Can you come with me, Fuad?" Guy asked me when the message came to summon him. "I'll need a squire in any case and someone who can pass among both Christians and Muslims might be useful."
We rode in haste, so that it took us but two days to reach Acre, but even so when we got there all the inns were full and the houses taken so that es-Sid and I slept together above the palace stables, sharing the room with the stable boys and grateful for the shelter. The news was grave but I don't think any of us expected the worst, so it was a shock when, after only three days, Guy came back to the room with a very long face and told me that the king had died.
"Who will be king now?" I asked, seeing by his face that this was no joke but sober truth.
"Joscelin has advised Raymond to go to Tiberias and summon the lords and council there to consider the matter," Guy said. "He himself will take the king's body to Jerusalem for burial in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre."
"Why Tiberias?" I asked, surprised.
Guy shrugged. "Well, it is Raymond's lordship."
"So is Tripoli," I said.
"Yes, but Tiberias is more central, so the lords can get there from all parts of Outremer in the shortest possible time."
"And what will we do?" I asked.
"That is a difficult question," Guy said, rubbing his chin. "I wish there were two of me because I don't entirely trust this Joscelin. It seems to me that he is altogether too friendly with Guy and Sibylla and once or twice I have seen him looking at Raymond in a way that makes me wonder if those two are entirely in harmony."
He came close to me and lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. "The obvious person to succeed is Raymond himself, for he is a notable warrior and a wise counsellor - and I think Raymond may be aware of this. A man like Joscelin, with no hope of succeeding himself, may well seek to obtain power by advancing the claims of others and Sibylla is the king's closest relative."
While I thought on these matters Guy walked back and forth in the room several times, clearly thinking deeply. Suddenly he straightened up and clapped his hands together.
"Right. I'll go with Raymond and the council, but I want you to stay here with a lame horse."
"But our horses are not lame," I protested.
"I think yours is," Guy said, winking at me. "I distinctly noticed something odd in its gait this morning. You stay here for a day or two to rest it and then you can come and join me in Tiberias."
I understood and smiled broadly. "It will be as you say, Guy," I agreed.
Raymond and a couple of council members rode that same afternoon with es-Sid in their midst. I stood on the wall to wave goodbye to them and loudly promise that I would follow as soon as my horse was fit to travel. It was a pleasant day and the breeze from the sea was cool and refreshing so I lingered up there after Raymond and his company were out of sight. I was surprised when a captain wearing the badge of Joscelin de Courtenay climbed up to the wall and after looking around carefully spoke to me.
"Who are you?" he demanded, and his tone was neither friendly nor unfriendly.
"Fuad," I said. "I am in the service of Sir Guy d'Orleans."
"What are you doing up here?" the man asked.
"My lord has just ridden with Count Raymond," I said, gesturing out in the direction the company had taken. "I came up here to bid him farewell."
The man's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't he take you with him?"
I shrugged. "My horse is lame. I'm to follow in a day or two when it is better."
The man laughed. "It may be longer than you think," he said. "Anyway, the walls are no place for you. Off you go."
I thought of defying him, for many people used the walls for a pleasure walk, but there was that about his attitude that warned me not to take the risk. After all, if I was to spy on Joscelin I could not do that by drawing attention to myself. I climbed down from the walls and started to walk away but a scraping noise behind me caused me to stop and turn. To my astonishment a group of armed men were heaving the gate closed.
For over a week no one came in or went out of the city without obtaining permission from Joscelin's commander, but among those who received such permission were Guy de Lusignan and his wife Sibylla, the king's sister, who rode with a large escort on the road to Jerusalem. The same day two bodies of armed men commanded by knights in the employ of Joscelin de Courtenay left in the opposite direction, heading north. I sat in the sun near the palace most of each day and also walked in the bazaar and talked to the people there. No one knew for sure where the armed men had gone, though there were many rumours and none of them comforting to anyone who wished Count Raymond well.
Meanwhile I saw many messengers leaving the palace and riding out through the gates in this direction or that. I could not obtain definite information about where they were going, but the bazaar rumour was that they were summoning all those friendly to Joscelin to a council of his own in Acre.
I was very perplexed by all this, for clearly I needed to stay in order to obtain definite information to take to es-Sid; on the other hand I needed to get away to take warning to Count Raymond, the regent.
After three days however news came back to the city and quickly passed into the bazaar that the armed men had succeeded in their objective, which was to capture Beirut and Tyre. They accomplished this by treachery, coming as friends and taking control of the citadel in each place. The governors appointed by Count Raymond were thrown into prison and their men either followed them there or joined with Joscelin's men.
After hearing this I was most anxious to leave, but though I checked several times a day the gates remained closed and guarded. I thought of going to Joscelin's commander and asking for permission to leave, but when I went into the chamber where others were making the same request I discovered that they were asked most carefully about where they were going and to whom they gave alliegience and though I was ready to say only those things that would please them, I feared that I was too well known as es-Sid's squire to pass. I even considered leaping from the walls and escaping on foot, but there were guards at every stairway up to the walls and there were no more walks in the cool of the evening.
At the end of the week a great company of people came to Acre, many of them noblemen and all armed. For a day there was a council held in de Courtenay's residence and the next morning the company departed, de Courtenay in their midst. According to the rumour, they were heading for Jerusalem.
