The Wildcats of Exeter

Chapter Twelve

Tetbald worked hard to restore himself to her favour. Having got so close to the lady Catherine, he found it galling to be thrust away so abruptly. He was submissive and obedient, quick to anticipate her needs and ready to satisfy them at once, never critical, never complaining and never again making the mistake of issuing a veiled threat. The steward’s behaviour slowly won back her approval and Catherine allowed him minor concessions and even an occasional indication of affection. Tetbald was encouraged. His obsequious manner gradually evanesced into a renewed confidence. It put a spring into his step and he moved about with something of his earlier sense of possession.

The barking of the dogs alerted him to the arrival of a visitor and he was astonished to see that it was Gervase Bret. Escorted by four of the knights from Hervey de Marigny’s retinue, the young commissioner had ridden out to the manor house to continue his own investigations, firmly believing that the clue to both murders lay in the dispute in which both victims had been involved. Tetbald answered the door himself and invited the visitor in. The escort dismounted but remained outside.

‘Why have you come, Master Bret?’ asked Tetbald.

‘I needed to ask some questions of you,’ said Gervase.

‘But the proceedings at the shire hall have been postponed.

That was the message that came from the town reeve. Or has that decision been revoked?’ He rubbed his hands unctuously.

‘It would be pleasing to hear that you had already arrived at a judgement in our favour. That is the kindest news I could bear to the lady Catherine.’

‘You will have to wait a while before you can do so, Tetbald. My enquiries concern the murder of the lord de Marigny.’

‘Yes,’ said the steward, composing his features into a token sympathy. ‘We heard about that from Saewin’s messenger. It was a great shock to us. Who would dare to kill a royal commissioner?’

‘The same person who dared to kill the lord Nicholas.’

‘Do you think so, Master Bret?’

‘I am certain of it.’

‘There was no mention of this when the message came.’

‘It has still to be proved,’ admitted Gervase. ‘But I did not only come here to visit you this morning. I was hoping for a word with the lady Catherine herself.’

‘That is out of the question. The lady Catherine is in mourning and will see no visitors.’

‘She might if she knew the gravity of the situation.’

‘She has her own grief,’ said Tetbald firmly. ‘I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to disturb her. Any questions you may wish to put to the lady Catherine, you may put to me. I speak for her.’

‘Not when I am here to speak for myself,’ she said crisply.

They turned to see her slowly descending the stairs. Gervase studied her carefully. She was wearing sober attire and an expression of distant pain but he did not feel that she was consumed with grief. As at the funeral, he sensed that her sorrow was not as deep as might be expected from the widow of a murdered husband. Catherine led him into the parlour and beckoned for Tetbald to follow. Annoyed that he had been overruled by her, the steward was mollified by the fact that he was to be included in the discussion with Gervase. It was a sign that she knew how much she could rely on him.

When the others sat down, however, he remained standing.

Catherine was very keen that he should be seen solely as her steward. Gervase noted the glance which passed between them and remembered the familiarity with which Tetbald had spoken of her at the shire hall.

‘I was sorry to hear of the death of your colleague,’ she began, hands folded in her lap. ‘It is an appalling misfortune.’

‘Yes, my lady,’ said Gervase.

‘Where was he killed?’

‘We do not know. The body was found in the river, some half a mile away from the city, but we feel that it was not the scene of the crime.’

‘I overheard you say to my steward that there might well be a link with my husband’s murder.’

‘That is what has brought me out here, my lady.’

‘I would rather not know the details,’ she said, averting her gaze.

‘You will not need to, my lady. Suffice it to say that there are striking similarities between the two crimes except that the one seems to have been planned and the other random.’

‘I hope that the sheriff will soon solve both murders.’

‘He has many officers involved in the inquiries,’ explained Gervase, ‘and is leading them with the utmost urgency. But it is another crime which interests me. I believe that you reported a robbery to the sheriff?’

‘I instructed my steward to do so.’

‘That is correct,’ said Tetbald, glad of the opportunity to speak.

‘I made the sheriff aware of the robbery when I came into the city yesterday to appear before you at the shire hall.’

‘A box was stolen, I understand.’

‘Yes,’ said Catherine. ‘It belonged to my husband.’

‘It was stolen and later found empty,’ added Tetbald.

‘I will answer on my own account,’ she said with a hint of reproach. ‘The theft was of my property and from my home.’

‘Yes, my lady,’ said Tetbald, smarting under the rebuff.

‘What was in the box?’ asked Gervase.

‘I do not know,’ she said. ‘My husband kept personal items in there and I could not find a key to open it. And it could not easily be broken into. I imagine that it may have contained important documents or even gold, for he used it like a strongbox.’

‘Yet it did not hold his will or any of the charters relating to his property.’

‘No, Master Bret. Those were kept together in a cupboard.’

Gervase began to fish. ‘It seems strange that a wife does not know what a husband keeps locked away in a box,’ he said casually. ‘Is there anyone who would know what it contained?’

‘No,’ she asserted.

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘Because my husband was very secretive. He confided in nobody.’

‘Not even you?’

‘I respected his right to lock his possessions away,’ she said easily. ‘I have a strongbox of my own in which I keep things of special value.’

‘Jewellery, perhaps?’

‘Amongst other things.’

‘Yet that was not taken?’

‘No, Master Bret.’

‘Why was the other box taken in preference to yours?’

‘I have no notion.’

‘Could it be that the thief knew what he would find?’

‘No, Master Bret. I think he stole it by chance.’

Gervase glanced around. ‘When there are so many other things of value in the house to steal, several in this room, for instance?

Where was the box kept?’

A moment’s hesitation. ‘Upstairs,’ she said.

‘In your bedchamber?’

‘Close by it.’

‘So the thief might well have disturbed you.’

‘Happily, he did not,’ said Tetbald.

‘But the possibility was there,’ said Gervase. ‘Why take the risk of going upstairs at all when he could have taken many valuable items from the ground floor? It is puzzling, my lady. Has the house been broken into before?’

‘No, Master Bret.’

‘We have dogs to guard it,’ said Tetbald.

‘Why did they not alert you to the presence of an intruder?

They barked loud enough when we rode up. Were they not on guard on the night of the burglary?’

‘They were,’ she admitted, ‘but they did not raise the alarm.’

‘Is that not strange?’

‘Very strange and very worrying.’

‘Have you any idea who the intruder could be?’

‘None.’

‘What about you, Tetbald?’

‘I am baffled.’

‘Yet this is a very singular thief,’ said Gervase. ‘There are guard dogs here and somehow he evades them. He finds his way around the house in the dark. And he takes only one item, even though it is in a room close to that of the lady Catherine. There can be very few men who fit that description.’ He looked from one to the other. ‘Has Engelric ever visited this house?’

‘Not since we took possession of it from him,’ said Catherine.

‘Did he protest when you did so?’

‘Strongly.’

‘The lord Nicholas had to threaten him in order to keep him off the property,’ added Tetbald. ‘Engelric was somewhat younger then. He has mellowed a great deal since that time.’

‘Yet he still resents the loss of this manor house?’

Catherine was cold. ‘That is his problem.’

‘Does Engelric have sons?’ asked Gervase.

‘Two of them.’

‘Did they have cause to come here at any time?’

‘Not to my knowledge.’

‘But the family were your husband’s sub-tenants. There were surely times when they came to pay rent or to transact business with the lord Nicholas? On such occasions, is it possible that your husband had that box with him and opened it in their presence?’

‘It is possible,’ she conceded.

‘But highly unlikely,’ said Tetbald quickly. ‘Rents were usually paid by Engelric and his sons to the estate reeve. He brought the money here and the lord Nicholas locked it away.’

‘In the box that was stolen?’

‘Perhaps.’

‘But you are not certain?’

‘We never saw that box open,’ said Catherine evenly. ‘As I told you, my husband was an intensely private man. He did not involve me in the running of his estate in any way.’

Gervase heard a slight rancour in her voice. He also noticed that the steward had moved a step or two closer to her. There was a more overtly protective air about him now even though Catherine, calm and assured, did not seem in need of his defence.

‘On the day that he was killed,’ said Gervase softly, ‘your husband was returning from Exeter. Do you know why he went there?’

‘On business,’ said Catherine.

‘What was the nature of that business?’

‘He did not tell me.’

‘But I believe that he intended to call on Saewin,’ volunteered Tetbald. ‘He wanted to know when you and the other commissioners were due to arrive in the city.’

‘Could he not have sent a servant on such an errand?’

‘He could have, Master Bret. But he did not.’

‘He must have had other business to transact in the city?’

probed Gervase. ‘The lord Nicholas would hardly ride all that way to spend a few minutes with the town reeve. Whom else would he normally visit when he went to Exeter?’

‘I do not know,’ said Catherine.

‘Did you never ask him?’

‘It was not my place to do so.’

‘But you were his wife.’

‘A wife is not her husband’s keeper.’

‘He went to Exeter alone that day. Without an escort. Was that usual?’

Tetbald leapt in. ‘These questions are distressing the lady Catherine,’ he said warningly. ‘They show a grave lack of consideration on your part, Master Bret.’

‘I am sorry. I did not mean to cause offence.’

‘The lord Nicholas did sometimes ride into the city alone. He was careless of danger. The wood through which he had to ride has harboured robbers in the past but he ignored the threat. If that is all you wish to know,’ he said, trying to ease their guest on his way, ‘I am sure that the lady Catherine would appreciate being left alone now. It is still only a matter of days since the lord Nicholas was killed. You must surely see that you are trespassing on her grief.’

‘Let me be the judge of that,’ she said with a reproving glance.

‘The doctor advised rest, my lady.’

‘I know what the doctor advised, Tetbald. But I am the only person who knows how I feel. Master Bret will not leave until he has asked the main question which brought him here. And so I will answer it honestly,’ she said, turning back to Gervase. ‘Well?’

‘Does the name Asa mean anything to you?’

‘It does.’

‘Were you aware of her friendship with your husband?’

‘Of course.’

‘Did you ever see any letters which she may have written to him?’

‘No,’ she said with a sneer, ‘but I would be surprised if the woman was able to write. I understand that her talents lie elsewhere.’

‘When he rode into Exeter for the last time,’ said Gervase, choosing his words with care, ‘is it at all possible that the lord Nicholas might have wished to visit her?’

‘Yes,’ she snapped. ‘It is. But now that you have forced me to confess that, you are welcome to leave my house. Or is it your intention to inflict further humiliation upon me, Master Bret?’

When Ralph Delchard and his men finally reached the castle, they were hungry and fatigued. The journey from Tavistock was taxing. Ralph was not pleased to find Canon Hubert waiting for him inside the gate.

‘What news, my lord?’ he said eagerly.

‘We are weary from travel, Hubert. That is the news.’

‘Was no arrest made?’

‘None was necessary.’ Ralph dismounted and let one of his men lead the horse away to the stables. ‘Walter Baderon was not involved in the murder of the lord Hervey.’

‘But you told me that you believed he was.’

‘I was wrong.’

‘So the journey was a waste of time?’

‘Not at all, Hubert. I was sure that Baderon had valuable information to give us. And so he did — when I persuaded him to part with it. After such a long ride, I was in no mood to be baulked.’

‘What did he tell you?’

‘That will become clear in time.’

‘But I wish to know now,’ said Hubert. ‘I want to be able to take some comfort back to the cathedral. Bishop Osbern is disturbed, Dean Jerome is frankly alarmed and Brother Simon is in fear of his life. The whole community is in need of reassurance. May I give it to them?’

‘Not yet, Hubert.’

‘There must be something that you can tell me.’

‘There is.’

‘What is it?’

‘Whoever else is in danger, it is not Brother Simon.’

‘What …’

‘Just convey the good tidings to him,’ said Ralph with a yawn.

‘You will have to excuse me now. I must go to my wife. Golde will have been worried by my long absence.’

‘But you have told me nothing to console me.’

‘That was not the purpose of my visit to Tavistock.’

Ralph left him mouthing protestations and lurched wearily across the courtyard. When he reached the keep, he needed to put a steadying hand against the wall as he ascended the stairs.

He opened the door of his apartment and gave his wife a tired smile.

‘Ralph!’ she said, struggling to get up from the bed.

‘Rest, my love. Think of your ankle.’

‘It is fine now. I can walk on it again.’

She threw herself into his arms and kissed him warmly. After a long embrace, she led him across the chamber so that he could sit down. Ralph slumped heavily into the oak chair.

‘You look exhausted,’ she said solicitously.

‘Then my looks do not belie my condition.’

‘Was the journey worthwhile?’

‘I believe so.’

‘What happened?’

‘I will explain at another time,’ he said. ‘When I have strength enough to do so. First, tell me what has been going on here. Has the sheriff made any headway in his investigations?’

‘Not as far as I know.’

‘What of Gervase?’

‘He told me that he was going to the lord Nicholas’s manor house.’

‘Why?’

‘He did not say, Ralph.’

‘Gervase rarely does anything without a good reason.’ He removed his helm and she took it from him. ‘Now, my love. Let me hear about your accident again.’

‘But that is old news, Ralph.’

‘Not since I spoke with Walter Baderon. Where was it that the horse threw you? Near the East Gate?’

‘Yes. Berold will confirm the exact spot.’

‘I will make him take me there, Golde.’

‘For what purpose?’

‘To satisfy my curiosity.’

‘About what?’

‘I will tell you when I have been there. Remind me, my love.

Your horse took fright and suddenly reared, you say?’

‘Yes, Ralph.’

‘Did it hear a noise or see something which frightened it?’

‘I do not know. It happened so quickly.’

‘And Berold came to your rescue?’

‘Immediately.’

‘Yet I seem to remember your telling me that he was not pleased to take you to view the siege tunnel. Why was that?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘Then I will ask him directly,’ he said. ‘Before I do that, I need to shave this beard from my face and put some food into my belly.’

‘What you most need is some sleep.’

‘That will have to wait.’

‘But you are sagging with fatigue.’

‘I cannot sleep while there is a murderer at liberty,’ he said, making an effort to sit upright. ‘Hervey de Marigny was a good friend. I owe it to him to keep on the tail of his killer and I cannot do that if I am slumbering in that bed. I merely wanted to let you know that I had returned before I go to find Baldwin.’

‘That was very considerate,’ she said.

‘I wished to see my wife.’

‘Well, she is delighted to see you safely returned.’ She hugged him again and he revived enough to rise to his feet. Holding her by the shoulders, he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

‘What has been happening in my absence?’ he wondered.

‘Very little.’

‘No more visits from Bishop Osbern?’

‘He is far too busy at the cathedral.’

‘So what have you been doing, Golde?’

‘I have spent most of my time in here.’

‘What about the lady Albreda? Has she been to see you again?’

‘No, Ralph. I was able to visit her apartment.’

‘Why did you do that?’

A look of guilt came into her eyes. Ralph saw it at once.

When he returned to the city, he sent his escort back to the castle and headed straight for Saewin’s house. Gervase Bret was in time to catch the reeve as he was coming out of his front door.

He remained in the saddle as he spoke to him. ‘One moment, Saewin. I need your help.’

‘I will be happy to give it to you, Master Bret.’

‘Does Engelric reside in the city?’

‘Only until this dispute is settled. He is too old to ride back and forth to Exeter so he chose to stay here with a friend.’

‘Do you know the place?’

‘Very well.’

‘Advise me how to reach it.’

‘I will do more than that,’ said Saewin obligingly. ‘I will conduct you there myself. It is difficult to find and you may well get lost.’

‘Then I accept your offer,’ said Gervase, dismounting to fall in beside him as they set off in the direction of the High Street.

‘Have all the claimants been advised of the delay?’

‘Yes, Master Bret.’

‘Did you speak with them personally?’

‘Only with three of them.’

‘Who were they?’

‘The abbot of Tavistock, the lady Loretta and Engelric’

‘You did not call on Asa, then?’

‘No,’ he said smoothly. ‘I sent a man to deliver the news to Asa and a second one to explain to Tetbald why the proceedings were postponed.’

‘I know. I have just visited him and the lady Catherine.’

‘You saw her?’ said the other in surprise.

‘We conversed at some length.’

‘Why did you ride all that way, Master Bret?’

‘To ask a few questions of her and her steward.’

‘In connection with the dispute?’

‘Indirectly.’

Saewin was worried. ‘Does that mean that you and the other commissioners have already come to a decision?’ he said. ‘Were you visiting the lady Catherine in order to give her some sort of unofficial confirmation?’

‘That was not the purpose of my errand.’

‘But her claim must surely be the strongest. I dare say Tetbald presented it to good effect at the shire hall yesterday? I am told that he is an able speaker.’

‘By whom?’

‘Tetbald himself for one,’ said Saewin with a smile. ‘He is not the most modest of individuals. Did he impress you with his advocacy?’

‘Why do you wish to know?’

‘No reason, Master Bret.’

‘Then I have no reason to answer your enquiry,’ said Gervase with a meaningful glance at him. ‘Let us put Tetbald aside for a while and turn to Asa. You did not see her yesterday, then?’

‘No. I told you. I sent a messenger.’

‘Did you call on her for any other reason?’

‘Of course not.’

‘How well do you know Asa?’

‘I had never met her until this dispute began.’

‘So it was not she who asked you to find out how the lady Catherine’s claim had been received by us?’

Saewin flinched slightly. ‘No, Master Bret.’

‘Who did?’

‘Nobody.’

‘Are you quite certain?’

‘Yes. I am the town reeve. I must be impartial in such matters.’

‘I am glad that you remember that, Saewin.’

Gervase wondered why the man was lying to him. Honest and reliable before, the reeve was showing hints of darker qualities.

They walked in silence for a while until a stray thought brought Gervase to a halt. Saewin stopped to look enquiringly at him.

‘Did you ever visit the lord Nicholas, Saewin?’

‘Yes, Master Bret.’

‘How often?’

‘Two or three times at most. The lord Nicholas liked to know what was going on in the city and I was able to inform him. It is part of my job to make myself available to important barons in the area.’

‘What did you think of the manor house?’

‘It is a beautiful dwelling.’

‘Had you been there before when Engelric owned it?’

‘Several times.’

‘And spent a night there, perhaps?’

‘Only once. Why do you ask?’

‘Curiosity.’

‘It has not made me prejudiced in favour of Engelric,’ said the reeve defensively. ‘I was never a close friend of his but he was one of the leading thegns in Devon and one cannot refuse hospitality. Until this dispute began, I had not spoken with Engelric for some time.’

‘I believe you,’ said Gervase. ‘When you visited the lord Nicholas, I wonder if you saw him with a large wooden box?’

Saewin’s face was motionless. ‘A box?’

‘One in which he kept business documents.’

‘I do not recall seeing such a thing.’

‘But you would recall it had you done so.’

‘Naturally.’

They set off again. Gervase waited until they turned a corner before he sprang the next question on him, watching closely for a reaction.

‘Do you live alone, Saewin?’

‘Yes, Master Bret. My wife died some years ago.’

‘I am sorry to hear that. No children, then?’

‘None, alas.’

‘Do you have nobody to keep you company?’

‘A servant.’

‘Nobody else?’

‘Only my dog.’

Gervase’s interest sharpened. ‘Your dog?’

‘Yes,’ said the reeve. ‘I have always loved dogs.’

Berold was almost surly when Ralph Delchard sought him out.

The jester was eating a meal in the kitchen and was not at all pleased to be hauled away from his food. When they reached the stables, Ralph made sure that he took the horse which his wife had been riding when she was thrown. Berold led him along the route which he and Golde had taken on that occasion. The jester was uncommunicative.

‘Where is the sheriff?’ asked Ralph.

‘Who knows?’

‘I was hoping that you did, Berold.’

‘No.’

‘Is he still at the castle?’

‘He may be.’

‘You are usually at his side wherever he is.’

‘Am I?’

‘Have any arrests been made in connection with the murders?’

‘Ask him.’

‘I have no idea where the sheriff is,’ said Ralph in exasperation,

‘but I suspect that you do, Berold. Am I right?’

‘Right to suspect me, wrong to harry me.’

‘What has been going on here in Exeter?’

‘Turmoil.’

‘Why are you so infuriating today?’

‘I try to be infuriating on most days, my lord.’

‘Be warned,’ said Ralph. ‘I am in no mood for prevarication.’

‘Good. That means you will not prevaricate.’

Ralph stifled a protest as the East Gate came in view. He recalled what Golde had told him about her own visit to the siege tunnel.

‘My wife tells me that you were not eager to show her the tunnel.’

‘No, my lord.’

‘Why not?’

‘I can think of much more interesting things to show a beautiful woman than an ugly hole in the ground.’

‘You did not go near the tunnel, she told me.’

‘Why should I?’

‘Were you afraid of something?’

‘I am always afraid.’

‘Of what?’

‘Life. Death. Benedictine monks. The sheriff’s rage. Forked lightning. Being forced to listen to a sermon from Bishop Osbern.

Marriage. The smell of lavender. Poisoned food. Bad ale. Jesting before an assembly which does not laugh. I am afraid of everything.’

‘Then you would do well to fear my temper,’ said Ralph, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, ‘for it has been shortened by a ride to Tavistock and back. I am looking into the murder of my friend, Berold. Turn that into a jest and I will crack your head open.’

‘You will find it empty, my lord.’

‘Why were you so reluctant to visit the siege tunnel?’

‘Because I am superstitious.’

Ralph released him. ‘Go on.’

‘The place is believed to be haunted.’

‘By whom?’

‘Men who fought and fell during the siege.’

‘Norman soldiers?’

‘Saxons. There were incidents.’

‘What kind of incidents?’

‘The kind that mean nothing in themselves, my lord, but which build to a pattern when taken together. Some boys were frightened away when they tried to play in the tunnel.’

‘By what?’

‘A weird noise, they claimed. One man was found lying unconscious there. A second was thrown from his horse, as your good lady was. A third swears he saw a ghostly figure at night. A fourth claims that he saw a flame coming from the entrance. And so it goes on.’

‘Why did you not warn my wife?’ said Ralph angrily.

‘Nothing would have stopped her wanting to see the tunnel.’

‘But it might have saved her from an accident.’

‘She saw my reluctance.’

They came out through East Gate and approached the siege tunnel. Berold hung back once again, but Ralph nudged his horse forward until it was close to the mouth of the tunnel. The animal did not shy or back away. Ralph dismounted and peered into the cave. It was almost three feet in height and wide enough for a man to scurry along underground in a crouched position.

‘How far does it go?’ he asked.

‘It went all the way to the city wall at one time,’ said Berold,

‘but they filled much of it in.’

‘Did nobody search the place after the incidents of which you speak?’

‘Yes, my lord. Nothing was found.’

Ralph took out his sword and ducked low to enter the tunnel.

It was dark and dank. His shoulders brushed the walls and dislodged dust from the rock. He struggled on, using his sword to tap the ground in front of him. When it met an obstruction, he came to a halt and reached out a hand to feel a large boulder which had been rolled into the tunnel. It stopped him going any further but he had no wish to do so. The stench which hit his nostrils was foul. It made him hold his breath and back hurriedly away. Coming quickly out of the tunnel, he grimaced violently and inhaled fresh air as if his life depended on it.

Berold was highly amused by his expression of utter disgust.

‘With a face like that,’ he said, ‘you could have been a jester.’

Troubled and embarrassed, Golde went in search of the lady Albreda. She found her walking around the perimeter of the courtyard for exercise with a gentlewoman in attendance. When she saw the urgency with which Golde was hobbling towards her, she came to a halt and dismissed her companion immediately.

‘What ails you, Golde?’

‘We must talk again about that letter, my lady.’

‘I have been doing my best to put it out of my mind.’

‘You must show it to your husband,’ said Golde, ‘as soon as possible. It is the only way to stave off the threat of blackmail and it will also spare my blushes.’

‘I do not understand.’

‘In taking me into your confidence, you oblige me to lie to my own husband. When Ralph asked me if I had seen you while he was away, I was forced to hold back the truth from him. He sensed it at once and taxed me with dishonesty. That has never happened before.’

‘I am sorry I put you in such a position, Golde.’

‘Your problem is mine writ large, my lady. Conceal something of importance from your husband and he will surely catch wind of it in time. His fury will be all the greater. Tell him now.’

‘I dare not, Golde.’

‘Then let me tell him on your behalf.’

‘That would make the situation even worse,’ said Albreda, wringing her hands. ‘Baldwin would be enraged if he thought I had discussed with someone else an intimate matter between husband and wife.’

‘Would you rather submit to blackmail?’

‘I must.’

‘Is it worth the cost?’

‘I would give everything I have to get those letters back again.’

‘But how do you know that you would get them?’ said Golde. ‘A person who can enjoy making you suffer in this way can hardly be trusted to honour his side of the bargain. You may end up paying a large amount of money and being betrayed in return.’

‘That is a risk I will have to take.’

‘It is not necessary.’

A roar of anger interrupted them. Their gaze drifted to the other side of the courtyard where the sheriff was berating one of his men. His voice echoed round the whole castle. When the man tried to argue back, Baldwin struck him to the ground, kicked him hard, then marched away. Mounting his horse, he led a posse swiftly out through the gates. Golde was appalled by the sudden violence she had witnessed. When she turned back to Albreda, she was met by a wan smile.

‘Would you tell the truth to such a man?’ said Albreda.

‘You will need to wait, my lady. To choose the right moment.’

‘There will never be a right moment with Baldwin.’

‘Then we must get those letters back ourselves,’ said Golde.

‘You must have some idea who is behind this blackmail.’

‘None. I have been racking my brains to think who it might be.

My husband is the sheriff and that means we have many enemies simply by dint of his office. Any one of them could want to drive a wedge between us.’ She gave a forlorn sigh. ‘You told me to find the blackmailer but I do not even know where to begin.’

‘With the letters themselves. Where were they kept?’

‘I do not know. The lord Nicholas promised to destroy them.’

‘But cherished them too much to do so. They would have been hidden somewhere at his manor house so that his own wife would not see them. Someone must have found them after his death.’

‘Or stolen them,’ said Albreda as a possibility dawned. ‘Baldwin mentioned that there had been a robbery at the house. It did not strike me at first but now I begin to wonder. Suppose the thief broke in to steal my letters to the lord Nicholas?’

‘How would he know that they were there?’

‘Because he delivered them.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I could never trust anyone from the castle to bear such letters to the lord Nicholas. We had to use someone else. Someone whose discretion could be relied upon entirely,’ she said as she delved into her memory. ‘An honest man who would never dare to open any letter which passed between us, however curious he might be, and would divulge to nobody that he had been employed by us on like errands.’

‘Did you know such a man?’

‘The lord Nicholas did.’

‘Who was he?’

‘Saewin the Reeve.’

Loretta was in the garden, walking slowly between the well-tended beds of flowers and noting with pleasure the complete absence of weeds. Birds were perched in her fruit trees, hopping from branch to branch beneath the foliage. Insects were buzzing in the sunshine. When Saewin was shown out to her, she drew his attention to her pond. ‘Do you like fish?’ she asked.

‘Only when they are on a plate, my lady.’

‘They are beautiful creatures when you get to know them. So much more dependable than human beings. They never lie to you.’ She gave him a look of disapproval. ‘Why have you come?’

‘You asked me to make enquiries of the commissioners.’

‘And?’

‘I spoke with Master Bret a while ago,’ said Saewin, wilting slightly under her censorious gaze. ‘No decision has been reached and there is no tilting in favour of the lady Catherine. On the other hand, Master Bret did ride out to the manor house today. I gather that he spoke with the lady Catherine herself.’

‘This is sour news.’

‘I felt that you should hear it all the same, my lady.’

‘What did they talk about?’

‘He would not tell me.’

‘Did you press him?’

‘Too hard, my lady, and it earned me a reprimand. That is one of the things I came to tell you. I can no longer ferret out information about this dispute for you. My integrity is being compromised.’

‘What integrity?’ she said with scorn.

‘That is unkind!’

Loretta subjected him to such an intense scrutiny that he began to feel uncomfortable. Beads of sweat broke out on his brow. Her voice was low and accusatory. ‘You have betrayed me, Saewin.’

‘No, my lady!’

‘I hoped that I could count on your loyalty.’

‘And so you can.’

‘My husband helped to put you in the position which you now hold,’ she said with withering contempt. ‘I am glad that he is not alive to see how unworthy and corrupt you have become.’

‘I am neither of those things!’ he protested.

‘Then why have you turned against me? You know how important it is for me to regain the holdings that were tricked out of my son. You know how long I have waited for this opportunity. It means everything to me.’

‘I appreciate that, my lady.’

‘Then why do you favour my rivals?’

‘I do not.’

‘Why did you visit Engelric yesterday and spend so long in his company? What plot were the two of you hatching against me?’

‘I merely went to tell him that the commissioners had suspended their sessions. He was entitled to know that, my lady.’

‘But was he entitled to have so much of your company?’

Saewin hesitated. ‘We had … other matters to discuss.’

‘So I have gathered.’

‘But they are nothing to do with this dispute.’

‘I have only your word for that, Saewin.’

‘You have always found it reliable in the past, my lady.’

‘That was before I heard about the other visit you paid.’

‘Other visit?’

‘Last evening,’ she said quietly. ‘You called on Asa, did you not?’

‘No, my lady.’

‘Called on her and stayed there well into the night. Why, Saewin? What kind of blandishments did she offer you? Why would you visit that harlot if not to claim your reward for helping her with her suit?’ She raised a hand to silence his reply. ‘Engelric and Asa. The two fellow Saxons involved in this dispute. Your two soulmates. Yet you have the gall to talk about integrity!’

‘I confess that I visited Engelric,’ he said quickly, ‘but mostly on business unrelated to this dispute. I went nowhere near Asa’s house. I spent last evening alone in my own home. Ask her. Asa will confirm that we never even met yesterday.’

‘I have a more reliable witness than Asa.’

‘Do you?’

‘Yes, Saewin. He saw you enter and leave her house. So you are guilty of lies as well as treachery.’ She looked over his shoulder. ‘While you were there, he also saw a candle being lighted in her bedchamber. Why was that, I wonder?’ She gave a nod.

‘There is my witness. He stands behind you, Saewin. You were caught by one of your own.’

When the reeve swung round, Eldred gave him a vacant grin.