‘We will be taking the children up to the nursery after they eat,’ said Lucie. ‘Kate will be grateful for some space.’
Kate made a face as she held the door open for the procession. ‘They are no trouble.’
Lucie kissed Kate’s cheek as she passed and called back to Alisoun and Marian to take their ease in the warm kitchen.
‘Dame Lucie treats the kitchen maid as if she were family,’ Marian noted with puzzlement once out in the garden.
‘It is their way. Kate’s elder sister worked here for a long while and is now wed to the steward at Dame Lucie’s manor – I should say young Hugh’s manor, when he comes of age,’ said Alisoun as they stepped out into the mild but damp winter morning.
‘Manor?’
‘Come along. My teeth will start chattering if we are not quick,’ Alisoun urged, picking up the pace to the end of the garden. She hugged herself and moved about as she waited for Marian. Just as she turned away to start back she caught a movement behind the wall. Holding up her hand to silence Marian, she listened. Nothing now. But it reminded her to be vigilant.
In the kitchen, Magda placed a jug of honeyed water and a bowl of bread and cheese on the edge of the bench Alisoun shared with Marian. ‘Thy fast is over,’ she said, gazing into the young woman’s eyes. Marian promised to eat.
‘Will you go to Muriel Swann today?’ Alisoun asked her teacher.
‘When Magda shepherds the little ones up to their chamber, she hands them into thy care.’ She bade them eat hearty and withdrew to the hall.
‘Dame Magda has a strong presence, a power,’ said Marian.
Long ago Alisoun tried hard to resist that power. She smiled to think of it. Stubborn child.
‘You disagree?’
‘No. I am glad for you. That you have felt it.’ Breaking off a chunk of bread, Alisoun was just reaching for a piece of cheese when the door from the hall opened.
‘The precentor from the minster is here,’ said Lucie. She kept her voice low, but the tone was urgent. ‘He must not see Marian.’ She reached for a basket on the boot bench. Kate helped her place the food in the basket. ‘Go to Jasper’s rooms above the shop.’
Remembering her fleeting impression, Alisoun handed Marian one of Lucie’s cloaks. ‘Cover your hair,’ she told her.
Within moments they were outside, almost colliding with the captain and Jasper.
‘Where are you going?’ Owen demanded.
‘The precentor is in the hall,’ said Alisoun. ‘Dame Lucie thinks it safer that we come to the shop. Up above. To break our fast.’
‘Escort them,’ the captain told Jasper. ‘I will see to Master Adam.’
Alisoun touched the captain’s arm. ‘I sensed a watcher when we were at the midden. Hiding behind the wall.’
He glanced toward the end of the garden. Nodded. ‘Jasper saw one standing in the cemetery. Keep Dame Marian away from the windows.’
In the workshop, Marian stopped at one of the work tables, bending to smell the roots being cleaned, picking up a jar and sniffing the contents. ‘It is like Dame Justina’s corner in the infirmary.’
Jasper, who seemed unable to stop staring at Marian once she had pushed back her hood, stepped up to explain each item, going into detail about the ingredients, and which were from the garden. Embarrassed for him, Alisoun pushed past them and carried the basket of food and the jug of Magda’s honey water up to the guest room toward the front of the house, setting it all up on a small table. She had just stepped back into the workshop when a man’s voice called out from the shop, ‘Are you open?’
‘I must have forgotten to latch it,’ Jasper said softly. ‘Leave your boots down here and be as quiet as you can as you go up the steps.’
Alisoun drew Marian out of sight as Jasper stepped through the beaded curtain. ‘How might I help you?’
‘I need a salve for my horse. A new bit is chafing him.’
‘I have just the thing.’
The sound of Jasper moving the stool to climb to one of the higher shelves. Alisoun realized she was holding her breath. She reached for Marian as the woman began to wander and put a finger to her lips. Marian stood still.
‘Heard Captain Archer took in the minstrel’s lad,’ said a second voice. ‘Tossed a man off the minster roof, they say, then sang like an angel. A queer tale. True?’
‘I am an apprentice here in the apothecary. I know nothing of such things.’
‘Oh, but you’re Jasper de Melton, I think. The minstrel’s lover saved your life when you were just a slip of a boy, so they say.’
‘Be careful what you believe,’ said Jasper. ‘Here we are.’ A thud as he set the heavy jar down on the counter with more force than was his wont. He was angry. ‘A penny’s worth should be plenty.’
‘You’re a tight-lipped lad,’ said the first.
‘You will find that so for most of us in the city when strangers stick their noses where they don’t belong. You do have a penny?’
A muttered curse, the sound of a coin bouncing off the jar. And the door slammed shut.
Alisoun peered through the curtain. Jasper locked the door and hurried toward them. She stepped away just in time.
‘I heard.’ She touched his arm. ‘Who were they?’
‘Don’t know. I’ve not seen them before.’ He frowned. ‘You smile?’
‘You amazed me, Jasper de Melton.’ She kissed his cheek.
He grinned, pulled her close for a moment, kissing her back.
‘They are away,’ Marian called down.
‘Keep her from the window,’ said Jasper. ‘I need to tell the captain, describe their dress. Break your fasts up above – but do it in my bedchamber. It’s over this room not the shop. I must open the shop when I return.’ He kissed Alisoun’s hand. ‘Be safe,’ he whispered.
‘You, too.’ This odd life suited Jasper. And her.
After moving the table across the landing to the larger room, placing it near but not too near the window overlooking the garden, Alisoun and Marian eased down onto a bench, side by side, and stared out at the dreary winter drizzle for a moment.
‘You must be bursting with questions,’ said Alisoun.
It won her an unexpected smile as Marian turned toward her, straddling the bench.
‘That must have been easier in men’s clothing,’ Alisoun said.
A laugh. ‘I confess there were times I enjoyed it.’ Her smile transformed her face, her eyes dipping up at the corners, pale eyes twinkling, not unlike Magda’s. ‘But yes, I do have questions.’
‘While we break bread, I will tell you what I can.’
Marian nodded and bowed her head, whispering a prayer of thanks for the food. She glanced up at Alisoun’s Amen. ‘You are not a pagan, like your teacher.’
‘No.’ Alisoun helped herself to bread and cheese.
Marian poured some of Magda’s preparation into two bowls. Knowing what Magda had added, Alisoun set hers aside, wanting no unexpected bleeding while the captain and Dame Lucie needed her.
After a few bites of bread and cheese and more than a few sips of the honeyed water, Marian said, ‘I can tell that Jasper is worried I have brought trouble to your doorstep.’
‘Not you alone. Ambrose as well. But he knows that Captain Archer and Dame Lucie accepted the charge to hold you here.’
‘Jasper knows Master Ambrose.’
‘He knew his friend, who saved his life. I am not sure he knew Ambrose well.’
‘How did the monk know to bring me here? Master Ambrose meant to introduce me to the captain and Dame Lucie. Had he told the monk? Did he know I was in the chapter house?’