‘They have looked after me very well, Ralph.’
‘That is my office.’
‘Berold raised the alarm,’ she recalled, ‘and they carried me back to the castle. Joscelin the Steward took charge. He sent for the doctor and had me brought up here. His wife sat with me until you got back. And look,’ she said, indicating the tray of food. ‘Joscelin had this prepared in the kitchen and sent up to me. I am treated like a queen.’
‘You are a queen.’
‘All that I need is a few days of rest.’
‘Then you will have it, my love.’
‘Not if you are so tense and anxious,’ she said. ‘It is all over, Ralph. I am not badly hurt. Try to relax. How can I rest when my husband is in such a restless state?’
‘I feel guilty that I was not there to save you.’
‘That is what the lady Albreda said, but what could either of you have done? When a horse rears up like that, it does not give you forewarning.’ She reached out to take his hand. ‘Forget about me. I am fine now. Tell me about your day. Has it been as boring as you feared?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘It was quite intriguing in its own way. We started with a wizened old Saxon and ended with a dignified Norman widow. In between them came a young woman who threw Gervase into complete disarray.’
‘Why?’
‘You will have to ask him.’
‘Who was this woman?’
‘Asa. Unusually beautiful for a Saxon woman.’ He dodged the punch which she aimed at him. ‘I said that to test you, Golde. If you can still strike out at me, then you are not as bad as I thought.’
He slipped an arm round her. ‘I hate to see you like this. I’ll be an attentive nurse.’
‘I would prefer a husband who settles down.’
He beamed at her. ‘Then you have one.’
‘Tell me more about your session at the shire hall,’ she urged.
‘How is the lord Hervey settling in? You, Gervase and Canon Hubert are veterans but he has never sat in judgement before.
Is he enjoying it?’
‘Very much, Golde.’
‘He is shrewd and sensible.’
‘And as tenacious as any of us,’ said Ralph. ‘When Hervey starts to question a witness, he does not let them off the hook for a second. Yes, we are blessed in our new commissioner. Hervey de Marigny is a great asset to us.’
‘How much longer must you do this disagreeable chore, my friend?’
‘A few weeks more.’
‘You will be glad to shake the dust of Exeter from your feet.’
‘Yes.’
‘And then what? Back to your manor?’
‘Yes, my lord.’
‘Have you seen much of the abbot while you have been here?’
‘No.’
‘He is staying as a guest of Bishop Osbern, I hear.’
‘That is so.’
‘What brought him here in the first place?’
A studied pause. ‘You know that better than I, my lord.’
Walter Baderon was far less forthcoming this time. Hervey de Marigny tried to strike up a conversation with him at the North Gate but to no avail. Baderon was suspicious and reserved. He had clearly found out who the other man was. The commissoner gave up. Since there was little to be gained from further questioning, de Marigny elected to take a walk in the evening air.
After a valedictory exchange with the captain of the guard, he sauntered out through the North Gate then turned east in the shadow of the wall. The very fact that he had met with such resistance from the knight gave him food for thought. He was certain that his earlier conversation must have been reported to the abbot of Tavistock. There would no doubt be repercussions from the volatile prelate.
Hervey de Marigny paused to look up at a wall which had once kept him and a large Norman army at bay for so long. Memories flooded back. He recalled the sight of the audacious Saxon who stood on the ramparts and bared himself to break wind at them as an act of defiance. It brought a ripe chuckle out of him. Lost in his reminiscences, he strolled slowly on towards the East Gate.
He was relaxed and off guard. It never occurred to him that he was being watched.
Chapter Nine
His opportunity to meet her came much sooner than he expected and in the most unlikely place. Gervase Bret stole away from the noise and bustle of the castle that evening to spend some time in prayer at the cathedral. Since the time when he and Ralph had been caught in the mortuary like naughty children, he did not feel comfortable in the castle chapel and sought instead the anonymity of the minster church of St Peter. Its chill atmosphere was like a warm embrace to him, its cavernous interior a haven of privacy. He stayed on his knees for a long time but felt no pain or discomfort when he rose to go, only a sense of relief that was tinged with quiet pleasure. Alys had featured largely in his prayers.
Others were using the cathedral for silent meditation before Compline. He did not disturb them as he went quietly out, but his departure was noted. He had gone no more than twenty paces from the building when he heard footsteps hurrying after him.
Gervase turned to see Asa coming towards him, her face bright with a mixture of hope and apprehension. She stood before him with a deferential smile.
‘I saw you leaving and wished to speak to you,’ she said.
Gevase was embarrassed. ‘This may not be the ideal time,’ he said.
‘I will not detain you long.’
‘They will expect me back at the castle.’
‘Please stay,’ she said, putting a hand on his arm. ‘There is something I must tell you that I was unable to say in the shire hall. It is important for you to understand. Will you hear me?’
‘Very well,’ he consented, gently detaching his arm. ‘What is it?’
‘I know what you must think of me,’ she began, ‘and I do not blame you. In your position, I would think the same. You see me as nothing more than the mistress of a Norman baron, a welcome diversion for him from an uncaring wife. For that is what she is, I do assure you. I did not lure Nicholas away from her. He came of his own accord.’
‘I can well believe it, Asa.’
‘Can you also believe that I loved him?’
‘Yes.’
‘That is what my claim is all about: the love I was privileged to share with the lord Nicholas, who was my lord in every sense but one. Let me be frank. In a city like Exeter, I am not short of suitors.
Several men have found their way to my door, but none,’ she said with a nostalgic smile, ‘was quite like him. He was unique.’
‘So we have gathered.’
‘No,’ she said hotly. ‘What you have gathered is a false portrait of him.’
‘Indeed?’
‘He always aroused gossip. Handsome men usually do.’
‘That is true.’
‘But most of the rumours were cruel and inaccurate,’ she said with vehemence. ‘You were no doubt told that he was a slave to lust, that he kept a dozen or more women to satisfy his appetite.’
Gervase gave a little cough. ‘His fondness for women was remarked upon,’ he said uneasily.
‘Does that make him some kind of monster?’
‘No, no.’
‘Are you not also fond of women?’
‘Well, yes,’ he said awkwardly. ‘I suppose that I am.’
‘So are your colleagues, the lord Ralph and the lord Hervey. I saw it in their eyes. They are real men — like Nicholas Picard.’
She searched his face for a sign of approval before continuing. ‘I was the only one, Master Bret. He chose me above all others.
You saw that letter from him. What other man would be so generous towards a lover?’
‘Very few, I suspect.’
‘All of them make promises. The lord Nicholas stood by his.’
‘I must take your word for it.’
She pouted with disappointment. ‘You think I am lying.’
‘No, Asa.’
‘You think I am trying to influence you in some way.’
‘Not at all,’ he said. ‘I am glad that you have spoken out like this. It has clarified things. The more we understand, the better are we able to reach a considered judgement.’