The Wildcats of Exeter (Domesday Series Book 8)

by Edward Marston

  ‘This case must not be allowed to drag on,’ said Gervase.

  ‘Have no fears. We will get you to the altar in time.’

  ‘Not if we proceed at this pace with every dispute.’

  ‘Justice cannot be rushed, Gervase. A lawyer should know that.’

  ‘I do know it.’

  ‘Then stop hurrying us.’ He ran a finger across his chin. ‘Hubert was right about the lady Loretta. She was too well informed about us and our methods of questioning. I will have a word with Saewin about her. I feel there is still much to discover about the lady Loretta.’

  ‘And about Asa,’ said Gervase.

  ‘She will be your quarry.’

  ‘Wait! I am not the right person to chase her.’

  ‘You are exactly the right person, Gervase, because you are young enough to attract her but innocent enough to be immune from her charms. Hervey and I have neither of those virtues.’

  Gervase was alarmed. ‘What must I do?’

  ‘Pry and probe. Find out all you can about Asa.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘I leave that to you, Gervase. We have every faith in you.’

  ‘We do,’ said de Marigny jocularly. ‘And while you pursue the ladies, I will address myself to the men. I will learn more about this Engelric and take a second look at Walter Baderon. I still think that he is holding something back about the abbot of Tavistock.’

  ‘That only leaves the grieving widow,’ said Ralph. ‘And her steward, of course. Tetbald. I will be interested to see what sort of figure he cuts before us. And I will be fascinated to see the last will and testament of Nicholas Picard.’ He lifted an eyebrow. ‘If such a thing exists.’

  Catherine used a palm to smooth out the parchment before reading through the document again. She knew it almost by heart now, but she still enjoyed the thrill and reassurance it imparted. She did not hear Tetbald come into the parlour behind her.

  ‘I will need to take that with me, my lady,’ he said.

  ‘When?’

  ‘Tomorrow. Word has just come from the commissioners. I am to present myself at the shire hall before Tierce. They will want to see all the appropriate documents.’

  ‘Including the will?’

  ‘Especially that, my lady.’

  She let her gaze fall on the document again then she picked it up.

  ‘This is what he was after, Tetbald,’ she said.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘The thief. If the will were destroyed, my claim would be more difficult to substantiate. That was why he came in search of it.’

  ‘I am not so sure, my lady.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘You are the widow of the deceased. If he dies intestate, then the laws of inheritance still favour you. Even without that will, your position would be far too strong to be challenged. No, my lady, I believe that the intruder came only for the box which he took away.’

  ‘He must have been a powerful man. That box was heavy.’

  ‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘And it was found some distance from the house. If he carried it all that way, he was a brawny fellow.’

  Catherine trembled slightly. ‘Thank heaven I did not wake!’

  ‘You might have frightened him away.’

  ‘If he was bold enough to break into my house, he would be willing enough to silence me. I had a fortunate escape, Tetbald. Has the crime been reported to the sheriff?’

  ‘I sent a messenger to him this morning, my lady.’

  ‘Good. He may have an idea of the likely identity of the thief.’

  ‘We know some things about him ourselves.’

  ‘Do we?’

  ‘Yes, my lady,’ he said, checking off the points on his fingers. ‘We know that he is a strong man. Wily enough to evade our dogs. Familiar with the interior of the house. Practised at his craft. Aware of what was inside that box. One more thing. He had a key to the box.’

  ‘How on earth did he get that?’

  ‘I can only guess. When they found the box, it was open and empty. The lock had not been forced. It must have been opened with a key.’

  ‘No wonder we could not find it in the house.’

  ‘Your husband must have kept it on him, my lady.’

  As a thought seized her, Catherine rose angrily to her feet. ‘Yes, Tetbald,’ she hissed. ‘And who would have known that?’

  Ralph Delchard shifted at random between anxiety and reproach. ‘Why did you not send for me, Golde?’

  ‘You were busy at the shire hall.’

  ‘An injury to my wife takes precedence over that.’

  ‘It is not a serious injury, Ralph.’

  ‘It might have been,’ he argued. ‘You were thrown from your horse and stunned in the fall. You might have broken an arm or a leg.’

  ‘My ankle has been badly sprained, that is all.’

  ‘You poor darling,’ he said, kissing her cheek. ‘Does it hurt?’

  ‘Not really. There is a dull ache.’

  ‘I will leave more than a dull ache when I find the ostler who gave you that mettlesome horse. I'll beat the villain black and blue!’

  ‘It was not his fault, Ralph.’

  ‘The animal unsaddled you.’

  ‘Only because it was frightened.’

  ‘By what?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ said Golde. ‘To be honest, I am trying to forget the whole incident. I felt so silly when I found myself lying on the ground like that. It was humiliating.’

  Ralph stood up. ‘Berold was to blame,’ he decided. ‘It was his fooling which made your horse rear up like that. Wait until I see him. I'll play a jest or two on him for a change.’

  ‘This was nothing to do with Berold,’ she insisted. ‘He was nowhere near me. And when I fell, he came to my aid at once. Berold was kindness itself. You should be thanking him for taking such good care of me.’

  ‘I will take care of you now, my love.’

  ‘Then do so more calmly, Ralph.’

  He gave an apologetic smile and knelt down beside her again. They were in their apartment and Golde was lying on the bed, her shoes removed and one ankle swathed in bandaging. Her sleeve was torn and muddied by its sudden contact with the ground and her apparel bore other signs of the accident, but she was in good spirits.

  ‘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 commissioner 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.’

  ‘I want what is rightfully mine.’

  ‘We appreciate that.’

  ‘But you do not,’ she challenged. ‘You think that I somehow tricked that letter out of him. You see it as some sort of payment for my favours. I know the way that men's minds work.’ She put her head to one side and studied him quizzically. ‘I do not get the feeling that you are married, Master Bret. Are you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Betrothed?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘For how long?’

  ‘Too long.’

  ‘Do you miss her?’

  ‘Very much.’

  ‘Did you pray for her in the cathedral?’ He nodded. ‘Then you, too, have felt the strange power of love. You know what it is like to worship another human being so completely that you will do anything for them and cannot bear to be apart from them. Is that how it is with you?’

  ‘It is,’ he murmured.

  ‘What is her name?’

  ‘Alys.’

  ‘She is very fortunate.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘And so were we,’ she emphasised. ‘Neither of us were innocents when we met. Both of us had a past to regret. But those mistakes helped us to recognise true love when it finally came. I would have died for that man!’

  Someone walked past and looked hard at her. Asa became aware of how public a place it was for her confession. It made her self- conscious. Lowering her voice, she gabbled the rest of what she wanted to tell him.

  ‘I never sought any gift from him,’ she insisted. ‘He was a gift in himself. The lord Nicholas offered those holdings to me as a proo
f of his devotion. He wrote that letter in my house and swore that I would be named in his will. I believed him.’ Her head drooped. ‘Of course, I never thought for a moment that the time would come so soon when that letter would take on real meaning. I would far sooner have him alive than claim my inheritance. He was everything to me and I to him. If anything had happened to his wife, I swear that he would have asked me to marry him.’ Her eyes were moist. ‘Since he died, I have been distraught.’

  ‘I saw you at the funeral,’ he said.

  ‘They did not want me there.’

  ‘They?’

  ‘Respectable people. His widow, his family, his friends.’

  ‘Why did you come?’

  ‘I had to, Master Bret,’ she said simply. ‘I loved him.’

  She touched his arm again and this time he did not remove it.

  * * *

  Disquiet did not set in until the next morning. When they parted, Ralph Delchard had confirmed their usual arrangement to meet for breakfast so that they could discuss with Gervase what lay ahead for them at the shire hall. When his colleague failed to appear, Ralph was not at first disturbed. Hervey de Marigny was usually the last to haul himself out of his bed. In any case, Ralph's mind was still on the injury sustained by his wife, and, when Gervase joined him at the table there was a new subject to preoccupy him. Ralph listened with rapt attention to the account of his friend's meeting with Asa at the cathedral, but took a more sceptical view of it.

  ‘It was no chance encounter, Gervase.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘She probably followed you there,’ said Ralph. ‘Asa must have spotted you heading for the cathedral and seized her opportunity.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘Working on your sympathy.’

  ‘That is not what she did, Ralph.’

  ‘Then she is more cunning than I thought. Asa had you so entranced that you did not even notice how subtly she was influencing you.’

  ‘She merely wished me to understand her situation.’

  ‘So that you would recruit the rest of us to her cause.’

  ‘No!’

  ‘Asa took advantage of your soft heart, Gervase.’