The Well at the World's End: A Tale

  CHAPTER 12

  Winter Amidst of the Mountains

  In all this they had enough to be busy with, so that time hung notheavy on their hands, and the shadow of the Quest was nowise burdensometo them, since they wotted that they had to abide the wearing of thedays till spring was come with fresh tidings. Their labour was nowiseirksome to them, since Ralph was deft in all manner of sports andcrafts, such as up-country folk follow, and though he were a king'sson, he had made a doughty yeoman: and as for Ursula, she also wascountry-bred, of a lineage of field-folk, and knew all the manners ofthe fields.

  Withal in whatsoever way it were, they loved each other dearly, and allkind of speech flowed freely betwixt them. Sooth to say, Ralph, takingheed of Ursula, deemed that she were fain to love him bodily, and hewotted well by now, that, whatever had befallen, he loved her, body andsoul. Yet still was that fear of her naysay lurking in his heart, ifhe should kiss her, or caress her, as a man with a maid. Therefore heforbore, though desire of her tormented him grievously at whiles.

  They wore their armour but little now, save when they were about somejourney wherein was peril of wild beasts. Ursula had dight her somedue woman's raiment betwixt her knight's surcoat and doe-skins whichthey had gotten, so that it was not unseemly of fashion. As for theirhorses, they but seldom backed them, but used them to draw stuff totheir rock-house on sledges, which they made of tree-boughs; so thatthe beasts grew fat, feeding on the grass of the valley and thewild-oats withal, which grew at the upper end of the bight of thevalley, toward the northern mountains, where the ground was sandy. Noman they saw, nor any signs of man, nor had they seen any save theSage, since those riders of Utterbol had vanished before them into thenight.

  So wore autumn into winter, and the frost came, and the snow, withprodigious winds from out of the mountains: yet was not the weather sohard but that they might go forth most days, and come to no hurt ifthey were wary of the drifts; and forsooth needs must they go abroad totake venison for their livelihood.

  So the winter wore also amidst sweet speech and friendliness betwixtthe two, and they lived still as dear friends, and not as lovers.

  Seldom they spoke of the Quest, for it seemed to them now a matter overgreat for speech. But now they were grown so familiar each to eachthat Ursula took heart to tell Ralph more of the tidings of Utterbol,for now the shame and grief of her bondage there was but as a storytold of another, so far away seemed that time from this. But sogrievous was her tale that Ralph grew grim thereover, and he said: "BySt. Nicholas! it were a good deed, once we are past the mountainsagain, to ride to Utterbol and drag that swine and wittol from his halland slay him, and give his folk a good day. But then there is thou, myfriend, and how shall I draw thee into deadly strife?"

  "Nay," she said, "whereso thou ridest thither will I, and one fateshall lie on us both. We will think thereof and ask the Sage of itwhen we return. Who knows what shall have befallen then? Remember thelighting of the candle of Utterbol that we saw from the Rock-sea, andthe boding thereof." So Ralph was appeased for that time.

  Oft also they spake of the little lands whence they came, and on a timeamidst of such talk Ursula said: "But alas, friend, why do I speak ofall this, when now save for my brother, who loveth me but after afashion, to wit that I must in all wise do his bidding, lad as he is, Ihave no longer kith nor kin there, save again as all the folk of onestead are somewhat akin. I think, my dear, that I have no country, norany house to welcome me."

  Said Ralph: "All lands, any land that thou mayst come to, shallwelcome thee, and I shall look to it that so it shall be." And in hisheart he thought of the welcome of Upmeads, and of Ursula sitting onthe dais of the hall of the High-House.

  So wore the days till Candlemass, when the frost broke and the snowsbegan to melt, and the waters came down from the mountains, so that theriver rose over its banks and its waters covered the plain parts of thevalley, and those two could go dryshod but a little way out of theircavern; no further than the green mound or toft which lay at the mouththereof: but the waters were thronged with fowl, as mallard and tealand coots, and of these they took what they would. Whiles also theywaded the shallows of the flood, and whiles poled a raft about it, andso had pleasure of the waters as before they had had of the snow. Butwhen at last the very spring was come, and the grass began to growafter the showers had washed the plain of the waterborne mud, and thesnowdrop had thrust up and blossomed, and the celandine had come, andthen when the blackthorn bloomed and the Lent-lilies hid the grassbetwixt the great chestnut-boles, when the sun shone betwixt theshowers and the west wind blew, and the throstles and blackbirds ceasednot their song betwixt dawn and dusk, then began Ralph to say tohimself, that even if the Well at the World's End were not, and allthat the Sage had told them was but a tale of Swevenham, yet were allbetter than well if Ursula were but to him a woman beloved rather thana friend. And whiles he was pensive and silent, even when she was byhim, and she noted it and forbore somewhat the sweetness of herglances, and the caressing of her soft speech: though oft when helooked on her fondly, the blood would rise to her cheeks, and her bosomwould heave with the thought of his desire, which quickened hers sosorely, that it became a pain and grief to her.