De Wolfe scowled at his old friend. 'Why should you think it was anything to do with Hilda?' he demanded. 'I have to see either Roger Watts or Angerus de Wile. We are going to Normandy very soon and I need to arrange a passage for us on one of their cogs.'
Gwyn's face lit up even more than with the prospect of a fracas in Axmouth. 'Normandy! That'll be like old times — but why?'
John explained that he needed to see the Chief Justiciar and possibly the king himself over the murder of the Keeper and the probability of piracy in the Channel.
'Are we taking the little runt?' asked Gwyn, referring to their erudite clerk Thomas.
John pondered for a moment as they reached the drawbridge and acknowledged the salute of the soldier on guard under the archway. 'I think we had better drag him along, though the poor devil will probably fare worse on a ship than on the back of a horse. But there may be documents to read or to be written — and he might be useful at the court, which is a nest of priests and clerks in holy orders.'
They made their way up the narrow staircase built into the thickness of the wall and found the said Thomas already busy at his parchments, where John gave him the news that he would soon be suffering a sea voyage. The clerk's apprehension at having to cross the Channel was tempered by the prospect of seeing the royal court and meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury — and even perhaps the king himself.
Twittering with excitement, he forced himself back to his pen and ink, while Gwyn and the coroner went in search of Ralph Morin, the castle constable, to confer with him about the form of their punitive expedition to Axmouth.
Before the planned foray upon the warehouses along the estuary of the Axe, John de Wolfe had one more journey to make in the opposite direction. This time he left Gwyn behind, partly to avoid the knowing grins that the ginger giant would undoubtedly give him when John sidled off into Dawlish's back street.
The morning after their visit to St John's Hospital, he rode alone down to the West Gate and across the ford, taking Odin down the sea road towards Kenton. It was a fine morning and he was in no hurry; so he let the big stallion set his own pace, a stately trot that he could keep up for hours. In this mostly open country, the flat moors that bordered the estuary gave little cover for trail-bastons, so the risk from attack was small, even though he was alone.
He had time to ruminate again on his personal problems, which seemed to be getting more complicated with each passing day. There had been no word from Polsloe, though as it was only yesterday that he was there, he hardly expected any news yet about Matilda. From past experience, he knew she was likely to let him stew for some time before letting him know whether or not she intended to stay in the priory or whether she was just making another gesture to upset him.
As to Nesta, he felt a niggle of anxiety both about her feelings and his own. She had been his mistress for two years now, and though at first he had continued his sporadic affairs with other women, gradually he had become more faithful as his feelings for her deepened. There had been Hilda, of course, his first true love, but even after her husband had been killed and he had no need to cuckold him, his attachment to Nesta had prevented him from bedding her, strong though the temptation had been. There had been yet another lady, a young widow from Sidmouth, but she had found a new husband and was now placed beyond his reach. As he trotted along on the destrier's back, he recalled the strains that had been put on his relationship with Nesta, not only when she became pregnant and lost the babe but also when she had succumbed to an affair with a bold young man who had come to work for her at the Bush. Now there was another bold young man in the offing, one moreover who had a strong emotional appeal for Nesta, both linguistically and geographically. Though John loved her in his own odd way and thought that she loved him, he knew they could never marry, even if he were free of Matilda. He was willing to take Nesta away and live with her as his leman, but he knew that she would never agree to it, feeling that the social gulf between them would still remain unbridgeable.
As he passed through Kenton and saw Dawlish on the horizon, he felt a guilty pleasure at seeing Hilda again, as well as unease at the knowledge that he was being mentally, if not physically, unfaithful to Nesta. It confused him, for he was not a subtle man and had a strong need for passion and lust. Years ago, he would not have given a second thought to running several women at the same time, especially as most men of his acquaintance had one or more mistresses.
'Ah, to hell with it!' he suddenly shouted at a surprised coney scurrying into the undergrowth at the side of the track. 'I'm a knight and a king's officer. Why should I be fretting myself over a handful of women?'
He gave Odin a touch of his heels and the big beast lumbered along a little more quickly, hastening the moment when his master's life would become even more complicated. When they reached the village, slumbering under a warm spring sun, John looked keenly at the vessels in the mouth of the small river, as he had done in years past to see if Thorgils the Boatman was at home. This time he wanted to see if any of the three ships belonging to their partnership was beached there. He spotted the St Peter, whose shipmaster was usually Angerus de Wile. A crewman working on the rigging shouted to him that de Wile was in the nearest alehouse, the one usually frequented by Gwyn when he waited for de Wolfe to pay his call on Hilda. John found the lanky mariner leaning against a windowsill with a hunk of bread and cheese and a pint of ale. Ordering the same for himself from the slattern, as well as a refill for Angerus, he explained what he wanted.
'A passage across to any port within riding distance of Rouen for my clerk, my officer and myself. Are any of our ships going that way soon?'
The captain, whose undershot jaw always gave him an aggressive appearance, explained that the sailing schedules were arranged by Hugh de Relaga and his clerks, back in their office in Exeter, but he understood that one cog was due to sail for Calais very soon.
'It's the Mary and Child Jesus, going on her first voyage since she was repaired. Roger Watts is taking her, so no doubt he will be willing to drop you at Honfleur.'
'Do you know when she is sailing and from where?' asked John.
'They are taking wool as usual from Exeter. Probably early next week, but you will have to ask the portreeve exactly when they leave. It will depend partly on the weather and the tides.'
The Mary and Child Jesus was the vessel that had been wrecked on the west Devon coast last autumn, after all the crew, including Hilda's husband, had been slain. The cog had been salvaged and refitted and this was to be her first trip of the new season.
They finished their victuals and talked about the new venture. According to Angerus, the endeavour was doing well, as other merchants were paying them to take their own materials across and to import finished cloth and other goods on the homeward journeys. John enquired about any reports of further acts of piracy out at sea, but the shipmaster had heard of no recent events.
'There is talk of Moorish galleys back in the Irish Sea, but no ships have been lost along this coast recently.' After they had talked a little longer, John arranged with the ostler behind the inn to feed and water Odin and left him there while he walked the few hundred paces to Hilda's fine dwelling. Feeling the same tickle of excitement that he used to experience when he used to come when her husband was away on a voyage, he banged on the door and went through the usual routine with her young maid. Alice, with a covert smirk at the appearance of this impressive man, whom she knew was so attracted to her mistress, took him up to the solar, where Hilda expressed her delight at the unexpected visit. Pastries and wine were ordered, and as soon as the maid had delivered them she was dismissed, with no pretence at keeping her as a chaperone.