And, as he heard when he was within earshot, she was also singing.
‘… and the sweet birds do sing,’ came her voice, light, happy, holding the notes purely.
She became aware of someone behind her. Surprising Josse again, she said, without turning, ‘You should be gone! And don’t you go trying to make me jump, now, you-’
At that instant she looked over her shoulder, saw Josse, and instantly ceased what she was saying. ‘Good morning, sir.’ She lowered her eyes, and, in a flash, her tone had altered. From being lush, warmly affectionate, now it was merely courteous.
‘Good morning,’ Josse replied. And just who, he wondered, did she think I was? ‘You’re bound for the Abbey?’
She gave him a mischievous smile ‘Now, where else would I be going? Why, we’re almost at the gate!’
He smiled back. It was hard not to. ‘You must be Esyllt,’ he guessed.
‘Indeed. And you, I imagine, are Sir Josse d’Acquin.’
‘Aye.’ He was just working out how he could phrase a question that might elicit from her where she had been when she preempted him.
‘Staying with the monks in the vale, are you, sir? I hear tell they offer a tasty breakfast.’
‘Well, I-’ No. She was teasing! ‘Indeed,’ he said instead. ‘Juicy beef fresh-carved and dripping gravy, the softest of bread, the finest of French wine.’
She threw back her head and laughed. ‘Now why didn’t I think to join you?’ she said. ‘Me, I made do with the weak porridge we give the old folks. No teeth, you see.’ She bared her own, which were strong, white and even.
‘It appears to be doing you good,’ he observed.
She laughed again. ‘Ah, it’s full of nourishment, really.’ She looked serious suddenly, as if she could only joke for so long about her charges. ‘We do look after them, you know, sir. It’s not just a matter of putting them in a corner and waiting till they die.’
‘I didn’t for one moment think it was,’ he said gently. ‘And I am reliably informed, Esyllt, that you are highly regarded in your work.’
‘Are you?’ She looked delighted. ‘Thank you, sir. I’m right glad to hear it.’
They were through the gate now, and she turned off to the right, towards the aged monks’ and nuns’ home. He went with her.
‘Are you coming to see my old dearies?’ she asked.
‘I — no, Esyllt, not at the moment. I have to see the Abbess.’
She actually looked disappointed, as if it had mattered to her that he go with her, that she had procured a visitor to brighten up her old dears’ morning. ‘Oh.’
‘I will come,’ he said. ‘I promise.’
She smiled again. ‘I’ll hold you to that,’ she murmured.
And, heading off for the door of her old people’s home, left him standing on the path.
Wondering why, when her words had been so innocent, he was feeling as if a very lovely and seductive woman had just made him a not very well-veiled proposition.
* * *
Abbess Helewise had been expecting Josse for some time when he finally knocked on her door. Impatient to know what, if anything, he had discovered, she had managed to resist the temptation to send for him. For one thing, it was hardly the thing, to send for a man of Josse d’Acquin’s standing. For another, if he had been up for much of the night, then he had earned his rest.
‘Come in,’ she said in reply to his tapping.
She watched him move into the room. He looked much as usual, which was a relief. ‘Good morning, Sir Josse,’ she said.
‘Good morning, Abbess.’ He smiled, pulled up the stool and sat down. Without preamble, he said, ‘There is something in the forest. A pit, where a great oak has fallen, and signs that someone — maybe more than one person — has been excavating there.’
‘Ah! And you think that Hamm Robinson discovered it, whatever was hidden there?’
He shrugged. ‘I can’t say, not for certain. Although poachers had been active nearby, and we know Hamm and his friends were poachers. But, Abbess, it seems something of a coincidence otherwise, wouldn’t you say?’
‘Indeed I would.’ She frowned as a sudden thought occurred to her. ‘Sir Josse, did you see — I mean, was there any sign of the Forest People? What I’m trying to say is-’
‘Was I scared?’ he finished for her, with a grin. ‘Abbess dear, I was terrified. At one point, I had quite convinced myself I was being watched, and I ran out of that strange grove as if all the demons in hell were at my heels.’ His smile widened. ‘Of course, it was all in my imagination.’
‘Of course,’ she echoed faintly.
He was reaching inside his tunic. ‘I forgot — thank you for my talisman.’ He pulled at a length of leather cord fastened around his neck, threading it through his fingers until he found what he was looking for. ‘It was a thoughtful gift, Abbess. As you see, I took it from my pack and put it round my neck — it helped, to have it close by.’
She gazed at the small object he was holding out to her. ‘But I didn’t give you that!’
‘What? But it’s a cross, and I thought that…’ He was holding it about a foot in front of his face, focusing on it. ‘It’s not a cross,’ he said tonelessly. ‘It looks more like a sword.’
She leaned forward to have a better look. ‘May I?’
He lifted the thong over his head and handed it to her. As well as the sword, there was a small gold crucifix on it. She held the sword in her right hand, staring at it. It was about the length of her palm, made of metal, exquisitely worked with a decoration of vivaciously swirling patterns all over the blade. Where the blade met the narrow hilt, there was a tiny head, bearing an expression of distinct ferocity.
‘What is it?’ For some reason, he spoke in a whisper.
‘It is, I think, an amulet. It’s not a real knife — too small. And the blade is dull. I imagine it is a protection against evil, to be worn when one is going into danger.’
‘I’ve never seen anything like it before,’ he said.
‘It resembles the workmanship of old,’ Helewise murmured. ‘My father possessed an ancient brooch which he found in a stream-bed, and it was decorated with the same swirls and circles as this.’ She was absently tracing the biggest swirl as she spoke; it was odd, but, as she reached its heart, she seemed to feel a slight tremor go through her. There and gone in an instant, but it had felt … Stop it, she ordered herself. This is no time for fancies!
‘If you didn’t give it to me,’ Josse said slowly, ‘then who did?’
She had been wondering that, too. ‘Someone who knew you were going into the forest. Someone, moreover, who wanted you to be protected.’
She met his eyes. It was at the same time a thrilling concept and a faintly alarming one.
‘Abbess, I shall have to go back,’ he said. ‘What I discovered last night is only the beginning. I have to see if there is anything still buried, and, although I fear to say so, I must seek out the Forest People.’
‘No!’ The denial was instinctive. ‘Sir Josse, they have already killed to keep their secret! If they find you digging under some fallen tree, they might-’ But what they might do was unthinkable.
‘I don’t believe they would harm me,’ he said gently. ‘For one thing, it will be me seeking them, not the other way round. And, for another-’
‘You intend to go back into the forest, stand in that clearing and shout, here I am, forest folk! Come and find me!’ she said incredulously. ‘Come and kill me!’ Absurdly, she felt a sob rise in her throat. Swiftly she controlled it.
He was looking at her in faint surprise. ‘Abbess!’ he said softly. But whatever he had been about to say, he must have changed his mind. Shaking his head, he muttered something.
‘What was that?’ she asked, with some asperity.
‘Nothing.’ His eyes met hers. ‘Abbess Helewise, please believe me, if I felt there was peril in this venture, I would not be contemplating it.