Squire Throwleigh’s Heir

Chapter Eight

Lady Jeanne de Liddinstone smiled at the bailiff and gave him a low curtsey. She was dressed in the gown of bright red velvet that Baldwin had bought for her at Tavistock Fair, but now it was trimmed with grey fur, and she wore a narrow girdle of red with a harness of silver. A linen wimple covered her red-gold hair, and the white of the head-gear made her cornflower-blue eyes stand out still more brightly in comparison.

Simon opened the gate for her, and she and his wife entered, Jeanne walking at his side, his wife Margaret following a couple of steps behind, leaving the place of honour to the bride.

‘How is he?’ Jeanne whispered.

‘As twitchy as a deer at bay!’ Simon whispered back, and was rewarded by her throaty chuckle. He continued, ‘I doubt he’ll be able to remember the words. He won’t be happy until he’s out of here and back at his manor.’

As he spoke, the enthusiastic chatter all around them died away, to be replaced by a contemplative quietness. Baldwin’s workers eyed the bride-to-be speculatively, wondering how far they might dare to try the patience of their new lady without causing her to lose her temper. The wealthier women in the crowd compared her cloth with their own, assessing the value of her tunic, rings and necklace, while their menfolk watched her movements lasciviously, gauging the line of her figure and nudging each other as they exchanged lecherous comments on her ability to tire her new husband during the coming night.

‘My Lady?’ Simon asked, holding out his arm. Lady Jeanne had asked him to act as her nuptial father, giving her away at the wedding, for she was orphaned, and her only living relatives dwelt in the English possessions in Bordeaux. She slipped her hand through his elbow, and together they walked slowly to the waiting knight.

Peter Clifford smiled broadly, straightening his back as the two came near. Baldwin, he saw, had gone quite pale, but the priest wasn’t worried: he knew most grooms looked close to fainting. And that was only right, because they were about to take part in one of the most important ceremonies of their lives.

When Jeanne reached Baldwin’s side, her hand still through Simon’s arm, the priest made the sign of the cross, scowled at one merchant who chose that moment to give a loud guffaw, and called out in a carrying voice: ‘We are here to witness the marriage of Sir Baldwin de Furnshill to Lady Jeanne de Liddinstone. Is there anybody here who knows any reason why these two might not be legitimately wedded in the eyes of God?’ He paused, his gaze sternly flitting over the people gathered all about before resting on Baldwin. ‘Sir Baldwin, please make your oath.’

Baldwin swallowed. On a sudden his mouth felt dry, and there was a flickering in his belly which, matched with his lightheadedness, made him feel disorientated, nearly sick. Licking his lips, he faced Jeanne. Touching the cross of the hilt of his sheathed sword with his left hand, and taking Jeanne’s hand in his right, he repeated the words he had heard so often before. ‘My Lady, let all those present witness that I here take you as my wife, for better or worse, in health and sickness, to have and to hold from now until the end of my life, and there I give you my oath.’

She smiled as he spoke, and he saw the sunlight dance in her eyes as she made her own vow to him.

There was a stillness as Jeanne confirmed her dower, her whole estate of Liddinstone. The silence continued while Baldwin handed Peter Clifford a purse of coins for the poor. Peter took the ring from Simon and blessed it, before passing it to Baldwin. The knight lifted Jeanne’s right hand and slipped the ring over her index, middle and third fingers, while Peter solemnly intoned, ‘In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,’ before he finally set it on the third finger of her left hand.

And then suddenly all was bustle. While the ceremony at the church’s door would always remain crystal clear in Baldwin’s mind, the rest of the day went by in a whirl. While he stood, smiling proudly at his wife, a garland of fresh flowers was thrust between them, and Baldwin was prompted by the priest to kiss his wife through it, seeing her through the mixed yellow and red flowers as if for the first time. A moment before his lips met hers, he saw her eyes close.

He marvelled at his good fortune; it took an effort of will not to laugh with sheer joy.

Thomas could hear the sobbing in the hall even as he left the stables, and he screwed up his face in disgust. Rather than enter the scene of such melancholy, he took a seat near the gate on a lump of moorstone and surveyed the view with satisfaction. At last his financial embarrassments were coming to an end.

It was the famine which had started his decline, but knowing that was no comfort. So many had left the city then, back in 1315 and during the following two years, and Thomas had speculated happily, sure that his fortunes would build nicely once the food began to flow again, but all at once he discovered that he had accumulated too much property, and couldn’t cover his debts with ready cash.

There hadn’t been any great concern at first, because Thomas had loads of friends in the city, and knew he could rely on them to help him. He’d met some at a tavern one night, and had confessed to a slight difficulty, nothing more. Thomas knew he wasn’t stupid, and could remember most of that night quite distinctly – even though one of his mates had insisted on mixing him several drinks, which must have been strong, for Thomas’s head the next day was God-awful – but still, Thomas knew he was far too shrewd and cautious to have made any stupid comments in a place like an inn near the docks.

And yet the curious thing was, that was the last time he had been able to discuss his troubles with those friends. Someone else must have been listening while he spoke, Thomas thought. That was why his credit with suppliers had been frozen.

But now all was well; and all because his brother had fallen dead from his horse and his nephew had died.

When you looked at it, life was quite a joke really, he thought, and now, while he was facing away from the hall and was quite alone, he allowed himself to smile broadly at last.

There was no need to conceal his very real joy.

Peter bellowed for quiet as the guests cheered, rowdier elements calling out crude suggestions to help Baldwin and his wife during the coming night. The priest offered up prayers for them, giving them blessings in God’s name. He led them into the church and, while they knelt in the nave, he gave more prayers in their favour, and then handed them each a small, lighted candle before celebrating Mass with them.

Unseen as the knight and his lady had entered the church, two men at the back of the crowd had glanced at each other meaningfully. While the press outside thinned, all joining the bride and groom in the church, these two strolled unhurriedly to the wagons.

Edgar, man-at-arms to Sir Baldwin, and more recently the knight’s bottler and steward, a tall, straight man, serious by nature and assured of his own importance, went straight to the largest wagon, on which two great casks were set. He rummaged under its seat until he found a small sack which he opened. Inside were two drinking pots, which he passed to his accomplice, Simon’s servant Hugh.

Hugh, a taciturn, narrow-featured man with the slim build of a moorman, took them and filled both, holding one to Baldwin’s man. ‘To your master.’

‘To Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his lady, Jeanne,’ Edgar nodded, and they drained their pots.

‘What now, then?’ Hugh asked after their second drink.

Edgar shrugged while Hugh bent to fill them again. There had been a time when he hadn’t wished to talk to Hugh, when he had thought the bailiff’s servant was too common for a man like him, who had, while a sergeant in the Order of the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon – the Knights Templar – dined with princes and lords. More recently, having been thrown together with Hugh over the last four years whenever their masters had met, he had grown to enjoy the moorman’s company.

‘Everyone is to go to Furnshill for the banquet. You know the way of these things. It’s lucky the kitchen was designed on generous proportions,’ Edgar said, eyeing the waiting horses and carts. ‘There’ll be no work finished today on Sir Baldwin’s estate.’

It was a subject he felt strongly about. He was the knight’s steward, and was responsible for the profits from the lands around Cadbury. To be steward was an honour, but it was a heavy responsibility as well. All looked to him when anything went wrong: if there wasn’t sufficient grain stored through the winter to sow in the fields, if there wasn’t enough food for guests at a feast, if the harvest failed and provisions must be acquired, it was the steward who was to blame.

As steward, he was always on the lookout for the next potential problem, and today he found it while Hugh was passing up his fourth large cup of ale. Edgar took it, but his eyes narrowed. ‘What’s that noise?’

Hugh listened, an expression of vague perplexity on his face. Sure enough, there was a quiet buzzing sound. He cocked his head, staring all around at the churchyard, but could see nothing. Then Edgar gave a muttered, ‘Oh, Hell’s teeth!’ and sprang down from the wagon. He peered beneath the cart parked alongside and groaned: ‘God’s blood, but you can’t keep him off it’

Underneath was young Wat, the Furnshill cattleman’s son, all of thirteen years old, and as drunk as a blacksmith on St Clem’s Day. He didn’t waken when they grabbed his booted feet and hauled him out onto the grass, nor when they called to him, or pinched him; he only grunted and rolled over. Hugh experimentally tipped half a cup of ale over his head, but the lad merely smiled happily and licked his lips in his sleep.

‘Come on, Hugh,’ Edgar said resignedly. ‘We can’t leave him here.’

The two servants each took an arm and hoisted the youngster to his feet. His legs wouldn’t support him, unfortunately, and it was hard work to keep him upright. In the end, Edgar clambered onto the wagon, and was just taking hold of Wat’s arms to lift him into it when he realised that the guests had begun to leave the church. He swiftly dropped to the ground again as Baldwin appeared in the church’s doorway.

‘Quick, prop him,’ Hugh hissed, and the two supported the slumping figure between them as the knight and his lady walked out.

Baldwin felt curiously lightheaded as he paused in the porch. His whole life had undergone a transformation, he knew, and yet he himself hadn’t changed. The sky looked wonderful, with a few tiny, fluffy clouds hanging motionless in the azure blue, and from here he could see the verdant countryside stretching away for miles. The scent of flowers came to him, and their strong, sweet odour made him feel quite drunk.

It was a day he had anticipated with keen delight for five months, ever since he and Jeanne had become handfast, shaking hands on their engagement in the presence of Simon and his wife. Now he had almost completed the Church’s rituals. There was only the blessing of the bridal chamber to come. Then he and his wife could dispense with any further nonsense and get on with their lives together.

As he thought this, he caught sight of Jeanne’s face. She was just leaving the shade of the building, and as the spring sun caught her features she was suffused in a golden glow. He felt his heart lurch. He had been a soldier, a Templar, then a wandering outcast, almost an outlaw, before returning home to his lonely bachelor existence, and to know that this wonderful, attractive and intelligent woman had accepted him as her husband gave him an intense pang, almost of pain.

With that thought he stepped into the sun, and felt a thrill of pure pleasure as he saw her gasp with delight. This was a touch of his own. That morning he had made sure that Edgar sent the children to his garden. Now there was a soft rain of rose petals thrown by four of his workers’ cleaner children. Seeing his wife’s expression, Baldwin knew his efforts had been well-spent. He fumbled for coins and tossed them as the shower began to falter.

‘My Lady?’

Jeanne accepted his hand and they made their stately way down the church’s yard. At the cart, Baldwin saw his servant. He gave Edgar a smile, and nodded towards the gate. To his surprise, Edgar appeared to ignore him. Baldwin assumed the man had missed his instruction. ‘Edgar, open the gate for Lady Jeanne.’

‘Sir.’

Edgar sprang quickly from the cart, marching before Baldwin and his wife. The knight followed, he and Jeanne walking more sedately, but when they were almost at the gate there was a sudden uproar as people began to guffaw, and Baldwin spun round glaring, thinking they were laughing at him or his wife.

Instead he found himself confronted with the sight of Hugh trying to support Wat. The servant gave a weak smile, hitching Wat’s arm over the wagon’s wheel and leaning back nonchalantly, but even as he looked away casually, as if unaware that anything was amiss, his arm had to shoot out to catch the sliding Wat, hauling him back upright by the scruff of his neck.

Baldwin pursed his lips. The boy’s drunkenness was an insult to his wife. He opened his mouth to bellow, but before he could, he felt Jeanne’s hand on his arm.

‘Edgar,’ she said sweetly, ‘perhaps you could help the cattleman’s boy? He seems to have some form of food poisoning.’

‘Yes, madam.’

‘And ensure that he is given a good wash at the church trough while everyone is still here, would you? I’d not like to think he might be dirty when he joined our celebration. See to his washing yourself, would you?’

Edgar clenched his jaw. Her meaning was all too clear: he was the steward, so he was responsible for the cattleman’s lad and he must join in the indignity of publicly washing the brat. He rejoined Hugh and the two half-dragged, half-carried Wat to the trough, while guests and villeins bellowed their delight.

Baldwin took his wife’s arm and they walked through the gate. Here his present stood waiting. For a second Jeanne didn’t notice, but then she gasped.

The pure white Arab mare stood quietly under the tree, the new saddle and harness gleaming. Her coat shone like snow under bright sunlight, and the gold chasing on the leatherwork was almost painful to look at, it was so bright. As she moved, bells fixed to stirrups and bridle tinkled musically.

‘Baldwin, your mare…’

‘Not mine any longer, my love. It is customary to give one’s leman a gift on the day of marriage. I give you this horse. I hope you will find her as much of a pleasure to ride as I have myself.’

Jeanne smiled, her hand already on the bridle. For a moment her eyes filled with tears, she was so happy, and she had to blink them away. Then she touched her husband’s cheek and kissed him again while the guests roared and cheered behind them. She accepted his aid to mount the mare, and sat proudly in the saddle, her tunic awry, her skirts rucked up, while Baldwin took the reins and walked his bride back to his manor.

It was quite alarming how Petronilla had altered since the squire’s death, Daniel thought.

He was standing in the screens, leaving his poor mistress in the hands of Anney, much though it grieved him to quit her side in her present state. When the poor woman was so desolate, Daniel felt he should be with her.

Petronilla kept on weeping when she was alone. The silly chit appeared to have been dreadfully affected by the way that the squire had so suddenly been taken from them, and quite often when Daniel saw her in the dairy or buttery, he noted her raw, red eyes. Of course it was only right and proper that a serf should miss her master and that she should mourn his loss, but Daniel found himself wondering; Petronilla had looked so bonny just before the squire’s death, with her glowing cheeks and fresh complexion.

He sighed and walked to the door, standing on the threshold. Outside in the yard he saw Petronilla herself, talking to the priest. Even as Daniel appeared in the doorway, she bent and kissed Stephen’s ringed finger while he made the sign of the cross over her head.

That was another thing. The girl had taken to speaking to Stephen regularly since the master had gone. She always appeared to be near him, confessing sins or some such – surely she didn’t have that many guilty secrets?

But Daniel had other matters to concern him. It had occurred to him that the bailiff couldn’t have known about Edmund’s imminent eviction or his return to servile status.

Daniel realised perfectly well how the bailiff would have viewed the whole affair: a man falling from his horse and his son dying shortly afterwards. The first was all too common with men of the squire’s age; the second was surely only a sad accident. But Daniel knew something that the bailiff didn’t: he knew about Edmund.