‘Why have we stopped?’
‘Because this is where we part, Madog.’
‘There is still some way to go.’
‘We will ride on alone.’
‘But we are your escort.’
‘And I’m most grateful to you,’ said the other, raising his voice so that all could hear. ‘It is easier to ride faster in a pack.’
‘Why dispense with us then?’
‘You are no longer needed, Madog.’
‘Danger may lurk on the road ahead.’
‘We will be careful.’
‘You are both unarmed.’
‘We have God to protect us.’
‘You’ll need more than Him at your side when you meet those Normans,’ said Madog bitterly. ‘They’re treacherous. Look what they’ve done to Wales.’
‘I am never likely to forget that. Now, turn back.’
‘Let us at least get you within reach of Gloucester.’
‘We are within reach,’ soothed the other, ‘and if the two of us arrive alone, they might even let us into the city at this hour.
Ride there with your men at our back and we would certainly be spurned.’
‘We will not be far away.’
‘That is reassuring.’
‘You know where to find us.’
‘I do, Madog.’ They exchanged a wave. ‘Goodbye, my friend.’
‘ Yn iach! ’
The other riders gathered around to offer their own respectful farewells then the tall man was joined by the monk who had been at the rear of the column. Watched by their escort, the two of them set off at a more gentle pace and were soon swallowed up by the night. Unlike his companion, the monk was apprehensive.
‘Will we be safe on our own?’ he asked querulously.
‘Of course,’ said Abraham the Priest. ‘This should, by rights, be Welsh territory. We are travelling on home ground.’
Chapter Seven
Ralph Delchard and his wife talked long into the night. It was the only opportunity they had to be alone together and to exchange details of how they had spent their respective days. Over the delicious meal served in the hall that evening, they had been too busy talking to their hosts to pay much attention to each other and they were determined to make up for it. When they were finally alone, conversation was preceded by an act of spontaneous passion, always their most pleasurable and effective means of communication.
As they made love with uninhibited vigour in the privacy of their bed, the warm night brought them out in beads of perspiration and left them in a state of joyful exhaustion. When Ralph eventually rolled over on to his back, his face and chest were glistening.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered, cradling her in his arms.
‘And thank you, Ralph.’
‘Have I pleased you?’
‘Delightfully.’
‘Does that mean you will keep me on for a while?’
‘A week or two more,’ she joked, nestling into him. ‘If you think that you can last that long.’
‘Watch me!’ They shared a laugh. ‘I strive to be a satisfactory husband. Do I succeed?’
‘Every time.’
‘Good.’
‘Not that I am keeping score, mark you.’
‘I hope not! That would be calculation in every sense.’ He kissed her on the temple and drew her closer. ‘Well, my love, I think that we can be sure of one thing.’
‘What is that?’
‘The sheriff and his wife are not lying in each other’s arms.’
‘How do you know?’
‘They have long gone past that stage.’
‘I am not so sure.’
‘I am,’ said Ralph. ‘My guess is that the lady Maud keeps a cold bed. Durand may not even share it with her any more.’
‘That is idle comment,’ she replied. ‘And why blame her for any coldness between them? It is far more likely to arise from the sheriff’s neglect of his wife.’
‘Is that what she told you?’
‘It’s what I have gathered, Ralph. He is very attentive to her in public but that may be consolation for his disregard of her in private. What I do know is this. His work totally eclipses his wife. When his duties call him, she might just as well not exist.’
‘You could make the same complaint about me.’
‘I do,’ she returned, ‘but you never hear it.’
‘I listen to everything you say, Golde.’
‘Eventually.’
‘Look at me now. I’m a captive audience.’
‘Only because you are too weary for anything else.’
‘Is that a challenge?’ he said, easing his leg over hers.
‘No, Ralph, merely an observation. Now take your rest and tell me what you have been doing all day.’
‘Being thoroughly bored in the shire hall.’
‘Gervase didn’t seem bored and he spent as much time there as you. He told me that it had been a stimulating session.’
‘Well, yes,’ conceded Ralph as he remembered the encounter with the lady Emma, ‘there were stimulating moments, it’s true, but it was largely dross. Only Gervase Bret can get inspired by the fine detail of a charter or by the tedium of debate.’
‘What about Canon Hubert?’
‘Golde!’ he protested. ‘I refuse to talk about Hubert at a time like this. He has no place whatsoever in the marital couch. If he did, there would not be room for either of us, I can assure you.
Leave him to his chaste mattress at the abbey. Tell me about your day. I am dying to hear about Aelgar and this new suitor of hers. Forne, is he called?’
‘Yes. And he does not possess an ounce of Welsh blood.’
‘Thank heaven for that!’
‘He and my sister seem very well matched.’
‘Like us, you mean?’
‘Nobody is like us, Ralph.’
‘No, we are quite unique.’
‘Unusual, that is all.’
‘We are a model for all young lovers.’
‘Hardly!’ she argued. ‘Who would emulate us? Let’s be honest here. We’re much more likely to excite curiosity than imitation.’
‘In what way?’
‘Not every woman in my position would consider marrying you.’
‘None of them would get the chance!’
‘I’m serious, Ralph. You belong in here, in the castle and all that it stands for, while I come from out there with the other citizens. A lot of people would say that I betrayed my nation when I became your wife. There was a time when my own sister might have believed that, and I know that Forne has grave doubts on the subject.’
He bridled. ‘What business is it of his!’
‘Forne is to be my brother-in-law.’
‘Then he will have to learn to respect you.’
‘He does, I am sure.’
‘So what are these grave doubts of his?’
‘He let slip a remark that put into words what I could already see in his face. He has severe qualms about us. It’s only natural.’
‘I can see that I will have to talk to this Forne.’
‘No, Ralph. Not in any spirit of anger.’
‘I’ll not have him criticising my wife!’
‘He was not doing that,’ she said, putting her face closer to his. ‘Why not let me tell you exactly what happened before you rush to judgement? That is what you do in the shire hall, isn’t it?
Hear all the evidence before deciding on your verdict. Do the same here. Pretend that you’re in the shire hall now, Ralph.’
‘I daren’t. I will fall asleep.’
‘Not with me beside you,’ she said, giving him a sharp dig in the ribs. His grunt of pain made her smile. ‘That’s better. Now, listen.’
Golde described her reunion with Aelgar and the subsequent visit to the house in the city. She tried to sing Forne’s praises but she was conscious of having to invent much of her enthusiasm. Ideal as a husband for her sister, she feared that he might not turn out to be a perfect brother-in-law. Golde knew that everything would depend on what he and Ralph felt about each other. At the end of her account, her husband was slightly more well-disposed towards Forne, but he was far from expressing outright approval. Ralph wanted to reserve his opinion until he actually met the young man.
‘Do you think they will be happy together?’ he asked.