Pillars of the Earth (1989) by Ken Follett,
chapter 5. Excerpt from an eBook.
Characters:
William,
son of the Earl of Shiring
Walter,
William’s servant
Aliena, daughter
of the imprisoned previous Earl of Shiring
Richard,
Aliena’s little brother
Matthew,
the previous Earl’s steward
There was no sign of life. William suddenly
thought that Aliena might have gone. What a disappointment that would be! He
and Walter would have to spend a dreary, hungry night in a cold and dirty
castle. They went up the outside steps to the hall door. “Quietly,” William
said to Walter. “If they’re here, I want to give them a shock.”
He pushed open the door. The great hall was
empty and dark, and smelled as if it had not been used for months: as he had
expected, they had been living on the top floor. William trod softly as he
walked across the hall to the stairs. Dry reeds rustled under his feet. Walter
followed dose behind.
They climbed the stairs. They could hear
nothing: the thick stone walls of the keep muffled all sound. Halfway up,
William stopped, turned to Walter, put his finger to his lips, and pointed.
There was a light shining under the door at the top of the stairs. Someone was
here.
They went on up the stairs and paused
outside the door. From inside came the sound of a girlish laugh. William smiled
happily. He found the handle, turned it gently, then kicked the door open. The
laugh turned into a scream of fright.
The scene in the room made a pretty picture.
Aliena and her younger brother, Richard, were sitting at a small table, close
to the fire, playing a board game of some kind, and Matthew the steward was
standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. Aliena’s face was rose-colored
in the glow of the fire, and her dark curls glinted with auburn lights. She
wore a pale linen tunic. She was looking up at William with her red lips in a
big O of surprise. William watched her, enjoying her fright, saying nothing. After
a moment she recovered, stood up, and said: “What do you want?”
William had rehearsed this scene many times
in his imagination. He walked slowly into the room and stood by the fire,
warming his hands; then he said: “I live here. What do you want?”
Aliena looked from him to Walter. She was
scared and confused, but nevertheless her tone was challenging. “This castle
belongs to the earl of Shiring. State your business and then clear out.”
William smiled triumphantly. “The earl of
Shiring is my father,” he said. The steward grunted, as if he had been afraid
of this. Aliena looked bewildered. William went on: “The king made my father
earl yesterday, at Winchester. The castle now belongs to us. I’m the master
here until my father arrives.” He snapped his fingers at the steward. “And I’m
hungry, so bring me bread and meat and wine.”
The steward hesitated. He threw a worried
look at Aliena. He was afraid to leave her. But he had no choice. He went to
the door.
Aliena took a step toward the door, as if to
follow him.
“Stay here,” William ordered her.
Walter stood between her and the door,
barring her way.
“You have no right to command me!” Aliena
said, with a touch of her old imperiousness.
Matthew spoke in a scared tone. “Stay, my
lady. Don’t anger them. I’ll be quick.
Aliena frowned at him, but she stayed where
she was. Matthew went out.
William sat in Aliena’s chair. She moved to
her brother’s side. William studied them. There was a similarity between them,
but all the strength was in the girl’s face. Richard was a tall, awkward
adolescent, with no beard yet. William liked the sensation of having them in
his power. He said: “How old are you, Richard?”
“Fourteen years,” the boy said sullenly.
“Ever killed a man?”
“No,” he answered, then with a little
attempt at bravado he added: “Not yet.”
You’ll suffer too, you pompous little prick,
William thought. He turned his attention to Aliena. “How old are you?”
At first she looked as if she would not
speak to him, but then she appeared to change her mind, perhaps remembering
that Matthew had said Don’t anger them. “Seventeen,” she said.
“My, my, the whole family can count,”
William said. “Are you a virgin, Aliena?”
“Of course!” she blazed.
Suddenly William reached forward and grabbed
her breast. It filled his big hand. He squeezed: it felt firm but yielding. She
jerked back, and it slipped from his grasp.
Richard stepped forward, too late, and
knocked William’s arm aside. Nothing could have pleased William more. He came
out of his chair fast and hit Richard in the face with a swinging punch. As he
had suspected, Richard was soft: he cried out and his hands flew to his face.
“Leave him alone!” Aliena cried.
William looked at her with surprise. She
seemed more concerned about her brother than about herself. That might be worth
remembering.
Matthew came back in carrying a wooden
platter with a loaf of bread, a side of ham and a jug of wine on it. He paled
when he saw Richard holding his hands to his face. He put the platter down on
the table and went to the boy. Taking Richard’s hands away gently, he looked at
the boy’s face. It was already red and puffy around the eye. “I told you not to
anger them,” he muttered, but he seemed relieved that it was no worse. William
was disappointed: he had hoped Matthew would fly into a rage. The steward
threatened to be a killjoy.
The sight of the food made William’s mouth
water. He pulled his chair up to the table, took out his eating knife, and cut
a thick slice, of ham. Walter sat opposite him. Through a mouthful of bread and
ham, William said to Aliena: “Bring some cups and pour the wine.” Matthew moved
to do it. William said: “Not you—her.” Aliena hesitated. Matthew looked at her
anxiously and nodded. She came across to the table and picked up the jug.
As she leaned over, William reached down,
slipped his hand under the hem of her tunic, and rapidly ran his fingers up her
leg. His fingertips felt slender calves with soft hair, then the muscles behind
her knee, and then the soft skin of the inside of her thigh; then she jerked
away, spun around, and swung the heavy wine jug at his head.
William warded off the blow with his left
hand and slapped her face with his right. He put all his force into the slap.
His hand stung in a very satisfying way. Aliena screamed. Out of the corner of
his eye William saw Richard move. He had been hoping for that. He pushed Aliena
aside forcefully, and she fell to the floor with a thud. Richard came at
William like a deer charging the hunter. William dodged Richard’s first wild
blow, then punched him in the stomach. As the boy doubled over, William hit him
several times in rapid succession about the eyes and nose. It was not as
exciting as hitting Aliena, but it was gratifying enough, and within moments
Richard’s face was covered with blood.
Suddenly Walter gave a warning cry and
sprang to his feet, looking past William’s shoulder. William spun round to see
Matthew coming at him with a knife held high ready to stab. William was taken
by surprise—he had not expected bravery from the effeminate steward. Walter
could not reach him in time to prevent the stroke. All William could do was to
hold up both arms to protect himself, and for a terrible moment he thought he
was going to be killed in his moment of triumph. A stronger attacker would have
knocked William’s arms aside, but Matthew was a slight figure softened by
indoor living, and the knife did not quite reach William’s neck. He felt a
sudden surge of relief, but he was not yet safe. Matthew lifted his arm for
another blow. William took a step back and reached for his sword. Then Walter
came around the table with a long pointed dagger in his hand and stabbed
Matthew in the back.
An expression of terror came over Matthew’s
face. William saw the point of Walter’s dagger emerge from Matthew’s chest,
tearing a slit in his tunic. Matthew’s own knife fell from his hand and bounced
on the floorboards. He tried to draw breath in a gasp, but a gurgling noise
came from his throat and he seemed unable to breathe. He sagged; blood came
from his mouth; his eyes closed; and he fell. Walter withdrew the long dagger
as the body sank to the floor. For a moment blood spurted from the wound, but
almost immediately the flow slowed to a trickle.
They all looked at the corpse on the floor:
Walter, William, Aliena and Richard. William was light-headed after his close
brush with death. He felt as if he could do anything. He reached out and
grabbed the neck of Aliena’s tunic. The linen was soft and fine, very
expensive. He gave a sharp jerk. The tunic ripped. He kept on pulling, so that
it tore all the way down the front. A strip a foot wide came away in his hand.
Aliena screamed, then tried to pull the remnants of the garment together over
her front. The torn edges would not meet. William’s throat went dry. Her sudden
vulnerability was thrilling. It was much more exciting than when he had watched
her washing, for now she knew he was looking, and she felt ashamed, and her
shame inflamed him all the more. She covered her breasts with one arm and her
triangle with the other hand. William dropped the strip of linen and grabbed
her by the hair. He jerked her toward him, spun her around, and ripped the rest
of the tunic from her back.
She had delicate white shoulders, a small
waist, and surprisingly full hips. He pulled her to him, pressing himself
against her back, grinding his hips against her buttocks. He bent his head and
bit her soft neck hard, until he tasted blood and she screamed again. He saw Richard
move.
“Hold the boy,” he said to Walter.
Walter grabbed Richard and put him in an
armlock.
Holding Aliena hard against him with one
arm, William explored her body with the other hand. He felt her breasts,
weighing and then squeezing them, and he pinched her small nipples; then he ran
his hand over her stomach and into the triangle of hair between her legs, bushy
and curly like the hair on her head: He prodded her roughly with his fingers.
She began to cry. His prick was so stiff he felt it would burst.
He stepped away from her and jerked her
backward over his outstretched leg. She fell on her back with a crash. The fall
winded her and she gasped for breath.
William had not planned this, and he was not
quite sure how it had happened, but nothing in the world could stop him now.
He lifted his tunic and showed her his
prick. She looked horrified: she had probably never seen a stiff one. She was a
real virgin. All the better.
“Bring the boy here,” William said to
Walter.”! want him to see it all.” For some reason, the thought of doing it in
front of Richard’s eyes was intensely piquant.
Walter pushed Richard forward and forced him
to his knees.
William knelt on the floor and prised
Aliena’s legs apart. She began to struggle. He fell on top of her, trying to
crush her into submission, but still she resisted, and he could not get inside
her. He was irritated: this was spoiling everything. He raised himself on one
elbow and hit her across the face with his fist. She cried out and her cheek
turned an angry red, but as soon as he tried to enter her, she began to resist
him again.
Walter could have held her still, but he had
the boy.
Suddenly William was inspired. “Cut the
boy’s ear off, Walter,” he said.
Aliena went still. “No!” she said hoarsely.
“Leave him alone—don’t hurt him anymore.”
“Open your legs, then,” William said.
She stared at him, wide-eyed with horror at
the dreadful choice forced upon her. William enjoyed her anguish. Walter,
playing the game perfectly, drew his knife and put it to Richard’s right ear.
He hesitated, then with a movement that was almost tender, he sliced off the
boy’s earlobe.
Richard screamed. Blood spurted from the
small wound. The piece of flesh fell on Aliena’s heaving chest.
“Stop!” she screamed. “All right. I’ll do
it.” She opened her legs.
William spat on his hand, then rubbed the
moisture between her legs. He pushed his fingers inside her. She cried out with
pain. That excited him more. He lowered himself on top of her. She lay still,
tense. Her eyes were closed. Her body was slick with sweat from the struggle,
but she shivered. William adjusted his position, then hesitated, enjoying the
anticipation and her dread. He looked at the others. Richard was looking on
with horror. Walter was watching greedily.
William said: “Your turn next, Walter.”
Aliena groaned in despair.
Suddenly he shoved inside her roughly,
pushing as hard and far as he could. He felt the resistance of her maidenhead—a
real virgin!—and he shoved again, brutally. It hurt him but it hurt her more.
She screamed. He shoved once more, harder still, and he felt it break. Aliena’s
face turned white, her head slumped to one side, and she fell into a faint;
then at last William spurted his seed inside her, laughing and laughing with
triumph and pleasure until he was drained dry.
