‘That is easy. One can be trained to do that.’
‘What is it that you are unable to do, my lady?’
‘Make the right decisions.’
There was a dull finality in her voice which signalled the end of that phase of the conversation. Though Ermintrude retained her usual poise, there was a hint of real suffering behind the impassive mask. Golde waited until her hostess was ready to speak again. They were in the latter’s apartment, high up in the keep but well within earshot of the constant activity down in the bailey.
Ermintrude cast a rueful glance at the window. ‘Do you mind being married to a soldier?’ she asked.
‘Ralph’s fighting days are behind him, my lady.’
‘Then why does he keep himself in such fine condition?’
‘Out of a sense of pride.’
‘No, Golde. It springs from an eternal readiness. We are both married to Norman soldiers and they are a breed apart. Such men never retire from the field. Warfare is in their blood. They cannot escape it.’
‘Ralph has managed to do so,’ said Golde.
‘Has he?’
‘More or less.’
‘I heard that he fought a duel in Herefordshire.’
‘That was different, my lady.’
‘He bore arms again. Wherein lies the difference?’
‘It was the only way to resolve a crisis.’
‘That is the common excuse for all battles,’ said Ermintrude with a weary smile. ‘They resolve one crisis then create a dozen others. And so it goes on. I have watched my own husband being drawn into one unnecessary engagement after another. Hugh is an inveterate soldier. He cannot help it. The blast of war is like a love song to him.’ She looked Golde directly in the eyes. ‘I suspect that Ralph Delchard is a man of similar stock.’
‘No, my lady!’ protested Golde loudly, shocked at the comparison of her husband with a man she considered to be grotesque and uncouth. ‘I am sorry,’ she said, realising that her reaction might well cause offence to a loyal wife. ‘I know that Ralph came to England as a soldier, but he has now chosen a more peaceful way of life.’
‘Not if he travels around the country.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Danger lurks everywhere. Ride any distance and, sooner or later, you are likely to have to defend yourself from attack. Even with their escort, Ralph and Gervase must surely have been the intended prey of outlaws.’
‘Yes,’ admitted Golde. ‘On our way to York.’
‘Did your husband have to draw a weapon in the city?’
‘Only to ward off some lions.’
‘Lions?’
‘Two of them, my lady. Ralph was trapped in a cage with them.
He fought to save his own life.’
‘He may well have to do that again.’
‘Again?’
‘Can you not hear that din down below?’ said the older woman.
‘They are preparing for battle. Chester is very close to the Welsh border and there are thousands of roaring lions on the other side of it. What will happen if they launch an assault on this castle?’
‘There is no chance of that, surely?’
‘Hugh seems to think so.’
‘Ralph believes it highly unlikely.’
‘But he, with respect, has only been in Cheshire a short while.
My husband has been here for several years. He knows the Welsh of old.’ She scrutinised Golde’s face again. ‘In the event of a battle, what will Ralph do? Stay in his apartment with you? Or take up arms and join in the fray?’
Golde blushed as she accepted what the answer must be.
‘I did not mean to upset you,’ said Ermintrude with a soft hand on her wrist, ‘but it is as well to face the truth about one’s husband. It makes for a certain amount of discomfort but it spares you the shock of unpleasant discoveries.’
It was as close as Ermintrude was prepared to go towards the subject of her husband’s rampant infidelities and she immediately backed away again.
‘Ralph Delchard is a fine man,’ she said enviously. ‘You chose well, Golde.’
‘He likes to think that he did the choosing.’
‘And did he?’
‘It was a mutual decision.’
‘The only kind with any true validity.’ Her manner brightened.
‘I wish that I had been a brewer.’
Golde was amazed. ‘You, my lady?’
‘Yes. I would love these delicate hands of mine to have learned something other than merely how to sew a fine seam. I do admire your enterprise.’
‘I was forced into the trade.’
‘Nevertheless, you succeeded. Against all the odds. You did something useful, Golde. At the end of the working day, you must have had great satisfaction.’
‘I did,’ agreed the other, ‘but I also had the abiding smell of beer in my nostrils, my apparel and my hair. Brewing follows you home at night, my lady. I would much rather have been able to pass the time sewing a fine seam.’
The noise outside took on a fresh urgency. Golde tensed.
‘Have no fear,’ said Ermintrude soothingly. ‘My husband has the situation in hand. He is at his best in these situations.’
Golde nodded. ‘So is Ralph,’ she admitted to herself.
Rules which applied to the citizens of Chester were waived for two royal commissioners and the six knights who escorted them.
The gate was duly opened and the party rode out at a brisk trot towards the Forest of Delamere. Aware of the risk they were taking in being abroad in such troubled times, they remained watchful. Ralph Delchard still had doubts that a Welsh attack was imminent and evinced no fear, but Gervase Bret was much more cautious. They had been in the saddle for half an hour before he stopped inspecting every bush and tree in case it was a potential hiding place.
‘Do not fret, Gervase,’ said Ralph as they cantered along a forest path. ‘We are safe enough, I warrant you.’
‘And how safe is that?’
‘You have seven strong swords to protect you.’
‘Earl Hugh had fifty but it did not stop someone from firing an arrow at him. Or at Raoul Lambert.’
‘Is that what you are afraid of?’ teased Ralph. ‘A female with a bow? Well, I do not blame you. It has happened before and the wound was fatal.’
‘What wound?’
‘Yours, man. When Alys strung her bow and shot a dart of love at you, Gervase Bret was felled on the spot. You were a shrewd and conscientious young lawyer until you were struck down by her missile. No wonder you fear the sound of a bowstring!’
Gervase grinned. ‘You make a jest of everything.’
‘It soothes the nerves.’
‘Yours or mine?’
‘Both.’ Ralph nudged him. ‘Do you miss Alys?’
‘Very much.’
‘Does this Gytha remind you of her?’
‘Yes,’ said Gervase, involuntarily, then tried to cover his confusion by gabbling. ‘Not that there are any real points of comparison. Gytha comes from humble stock and has led a life of drudgery while Alys has been more fortunate. There is a slight physical resemblance between them but it is negligible. No, Ralph, she does not really remind me of Alys. No other woman could do that. Alys is unique.’
‘So are you.’ Ralph gave him an affectionate punch. ‘That is why the pair of you are so well matched.’
‘I could say the same of you and Golde.’
‘Hardly! That is a case of the attraction of opposites.’
‘Not from where I stand.’
‘Then you have been misled, Gervase. We came together in spite of ourselves. My brains and Golde’s beer made an irresistible combination.’
His laughter disturbed some nearby rooks which took to the air with a fanfare of protest, leaving the bough on which they had been perched vibrating for a full minute. Gervase abandoned the badinage with his friend in order to concentrate on his pathfinding.
Having only been to Gytha’s cottage once, he was not entirely certain that he could find it again, but his memory was sound and he soon began to identify tiny landmarks.
After a long ride without incident, they eventually came out into the clearing where the hovel stood. There was no sign of Beollan but Gytha immediately poked her head out of the dwelling.