‘Have they caught the villain yet?’ he asked.
‘What villain?’
‘The one who ambushed the lord Nicholas,’ he said casually. ‘I have only been in the city a few days but people talk of nothing else. They are certain that the victim was murdered by Saxons out of revenge.’
‘That may be so, my lord.’
‘Have any arrests been made?’
‘Word has it that two men were taken. One was killed but the other is being held in the castle dungeon.’
‘That is good to hear. Who was this Nicholas Picard?’
‘A baron of some substance.’
‘Buried here at the cathedral, I believe.’
‘That is so, my lord.’ His lip curled. ‘I dare swear that there was much weeping among the ladies at the graveside.’
‘Why so?’
‘The lord Nicholas was a very popular man.’
‘Indeed?’
‘Ladies came running and he did not turn them away.’
‘A man after my own heart!’
‘And mine, too!’
‘Yet struck down before his time.’
‘Alas, yes.’
‘When was this?’
‘A few days ago, my lord,’ said the other, ready to reveal his own part in the story. ‘He rode out past us that evening without noticing that we were here. I hailed him but got no reply. I remember thinking how wrapped up in his own thoughts he was.’
He gave a shrug. ‘Twenty minutes later, he was dead.’
‘Twenty minutes?’
‘It could not have taken him much longer to reach that wood.’
‘Unless he stopped on the way.’
‘He did not do that, my lord,’ said the other. ‘He was riding home.’
‘How can you be sure of that?’
‘By the route that he took. I walked through the gate and watched him ride off until he was out of sight. From the moment he left the city, the lord Nicholas was doomed.’
‘Did anyone trail him?’
‘Nobody whom I saw.’
‘Then someone must have been lying in wait.’
‘So it seems.’
‘Resentful Saxons?’
‘Most like.’
‘Who else could have a reason to murder him?’
Baderon checked his reply at the moment it was about to leave his mouth, resorting instead to a shake of the head, but de Marigny did not let the matter go. He lifted an artless eyebrow.
‘So you recognised him when he left the city that night?’
‘Yes, my lord.’
‘How?’
‘Everyone knows — or knew — the lord Nicholas.’
‘Including the abbot of Tavistock? Did he know him?’
‘Only too well!’ came the rueful reply.
‘Oh?’
‘That is all I can tell you,’ said the other brusquely. ‘Except that the name of Nicholas Picard was not spoken with any affection in Tavistock.’
‘Abbots are famed for their generosity of spirit, are they not?
Why is your master an exception to the rule?’ When there was no answer, de Marigny shifted his ground slightly. ‘What of the lord Nicholas’s wife?’ he asked. ‘How did she view her husband?’
‘Lovingly.’
‘Yet you suggest that he was unfaithful to her.’
‘The lady Catherine accepted her lot without complaint.’
‘Might she not have resented her husband beneath the surface?’
‘Perhaps.’
‘You do not sound convinced.’
‘The lady Catherine was a tolerant wife.’
‘You seem to know her well.’
‘Only by repute.’
‘Have you never met the lady?’
A long pause. ‘Once or twice.’
‘What was your opinion of her?’
‘It is not my place to have an opinion, my lord.’
‘Every man is entitled to an opinion where a woman is concerned. Was she beautiful or ill favoured? Tall or short? Happy or long-suffering? You must have some memory of her.’
‘The lady Catherine made an unfortunate marriage.’
The words slipped out quietly but they were all that Walter Baderon was prepared to say on the subject. There was no point in pressing him. He was on the defensive now. Affecting indifference, de Marigny turned to a discussion of the town’s fortifications.
‘Exeter was well-defended when we laid siege to it.’
‘Its defences are even stronger now, my lord.’
‘So I have observed. King William does not trust the men of Devon. When we took possession of the city, he not only ordered that the castle be rebuilt and extended, he made sure that the whole county was ringed with fortresses.’ He gave a sympathetic smile. ‘And that all of them were served by knights such as yourself.’
‘It is necessary work.’
‘And it has its moments of interest.’
‘Interest, my lord?’
‘You are a prime witness in a murder inquiry.’
‘Yes,’ said the other uncertainly.
‘Let us face it, my friend. You were probably the last person to speak to him. I doubt that his killer had much time for conversation. By being at your post on the night in question, you were in a unique position.’ He glanced at the gate. ‘You say that you watched the lord Nicholas until he disappeared from sight?’
‘I did.’
Hervey de Marigny smiled disarmingly. ‘Why?’ he asked.
When the town reeve arrived at the house, he was admitted by Eldred who gave him a nod of welcome before conducting him to the parlour. The servant remained long enough for the exchange of pleasantries between Saewin and Loretta, then withdrew silently. Loretta was seated at the little table. She waved her visitor to a stool opposite her. He perched uneasily on the edge of it, wondering why she had sent for him but feeling too abashed to ask. There was something about her which always induced a sense of exaggerated respect in him.
‘I saw you at the funeral,’ she began.
‘Yes, my lady. It was a harrowing occasion.’
‘For most of us, that is,’ she observed wryly, ‘The lord Nicholas’s widow did not seem harrowed. When my husband died, I was on the verge of collapse. The funeral was an ordeal from start to finish. That did not appear to be the case today. The lady Catherine was a robust mourner.’
‘Each of us grieves in his or her own way,’ he said.
‘I could not agree more, Saewin.’
‘She is a noble lady and bore her affliction with dignity.’
‘And what a terrible affliction it was!’ she said with a sharp intake of breath. ‘A dear husband, brutally murdered. It must have been a comfort to her to know that the sheriff had the culprit in his dungeon.’
‘Yes, my lady,’ he said evasively.
‘Are you hiding something from me?’
‘Not at all.’
‘Then why do I get the impression that you are? At the funeral, they were all talking about the arrest of the two men responsible.
I overheard the details a dozen times. Are you telling me that they are not true?’
‘I know no more than you, my lady.’
‘Will the man be convicted and hanged?’
‘Probably.’
‘Good. Only then will the lady Catherine be able to mourn properly.’
‘There may be something in that.’
‘Oh, there is, Saewin. There is.’
He could never understand why she made him so uncomfortable.
It was not simply her extraordinary poise and natural authority.
When he dared to look at her with any degree of scrutiny, he could admire her mature beauty and her immaculate attire. There was nothing accidental about the lady Loretta. She took great pains with her appearance.
‘When will I be called to the shire hall?’ she asked.
‘Tomorrow, I believe.’
‘Has the decision not yet been made?’
‘It is a question of time, my lady,’ he explained. ‘The commissioners never know how much to allot to each person. It took them a whole day to examine the abbot of Tavistock and they are still not done with him. Tomorrow, the first claimant to be called is Engelric. Who can say how long he will keep them engaged?’