15
Here is the possible short cut I promised you!
If you are tired, you can turn left here and follow the walls back round to the Porte d’Aude where you first entered the Cité. From there, you will be able to see the cobbled ramp leading down to Place Saint-Gimer and back to the Pont Vieux – the old bridge where you started.
If you are still feeling fit, turn to the right – keeping out of the way of the horse-drawn carriages – and follow the Lices round to the Porte Narbonnaise, the most important ceremonial entrance into the Cité. As you make your way along the dusty ground, glance up at the towers of the inner wall – some of the oldest stonework in Carcassonne is here, dating back to Gallo-Roman times. Of course, there was no outer ring in Alaïs’ day. Perhaps that is why she felt so insecure and tried to persuade her father Bertrand to let her take the Books to safety . . .
‘With respect, Paire, there is even more reason to let us go. If we don’t, the books will be trapped within the Ciutat. That cannot be what you want.’ She paused. He made no answer. ‘After everything you and Simeon and Esclarmonde have sacrificed, all the years of hiding, keeping the books safe, only to fail at the last.’