‘Come now, I won’t hurt you. You can’t stay up here, though.’
The events of the previous day came back with an awful clarity. Her lover had spurned her, and even when he heard her as hewas leaving the city, he had ridden off as though he was scared of her or something. It was awful. That hog-faced bitch helived with must have soured his feelings towards her. There was no telling what she might have said to him last night. Noone could know what a man and woman spoke of in their chamber, and it was plain enough that the woman would have done allshe could to poison Matthew and Jen’s relationship.
‘Maid?’ Suddenly the twinkle in the eyes had gone, to be replaced by a serious contemplation. ‘Maid, have you been hurt? Is that blood?’
She stared at him without speaking for a moment, then shot a look at her arm. From the hand up as far as her elbow was blackenedwith blood, and she frowned with mild confusion. There was a reason for it, she knew, but just now she couldn’t remember whereit had come from.
‘Have you been harmed, child? Eh?’ His tone was even more solicitous now. ‘Was it a man from round hereabouts did that? Eh? Have you been raped?’
Suddenly she could have smiled and laughed aloud. ‘Raped … yes, I’ve been raped.’
‘You come down here, lass. You’ll be safe with me. I’m a watchman, I am. They call me Will, Will Skinner. Any man tries thatwith you, I’ll have his ballocks in my purse! Come, now. Do you know who it was? Was it last night? Well, we’ll have to getyou straight to the sheriff, and that’s final. It’s a job for him to sort out this sort of thing. We’ll catch the bastard,maid, don’t you worry. You give me your hand, now. That’s right. Christ alive, but you’re frozen, child. Let’s get you insidefirst and warm you up as we may, eh? This way, child. This way.’
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Exeter Castle
Sheriff Matthew was up at his usual hour and, as was his wont, made a circuit of the castle’s walls before returning to hishall for his breakfast. There he found his wife already waiting, and while the first messes of men at arms entered and tooktheir places he sat, hands on the table, watching them.
There was a strangely muted atmosphere about the hall. Usually this meal was one of the loudest, with men bellowing at eachother and demanding more bread or ale. It was the beginning of their working day, and the servants tended to eat and drinktheir fill, putting off the moment when they must get on with their duties — but not today. Today there was a quiet, reflectivefeeling about the place.
It was her. The mad one. Or perhaps the friend she’d killed: Sarra. They were all feeling it. Such a shame to lose a pairof girls like them — but it couldn’t be helped. Jen was plainly lunatic and Sarra had been killed by her in a frenzied attack. Not his fault, that much was certain.
‘Bread, my dear?’ he asked, offering Lady Alice a slice before taking his own from the panter.
She looked at him, startled, and he thought to himself that she reminded him of a hart in the forest when it first heard the huntsman’s horn. Wide eyes, elfin features … God, she was lovely.
He smiled at her, but the reciprocating easing of her face was slow and only a pale reflection of his own. ‘Are you well,my dear?’
‘Husband, I have to ask you — did you ever take that girl to your bed?’
He gasped at the injustice that was done to him, his knife falling from his hand to clatter on the pewter dish. ‘You ask methat?’
‘She was so twisted with her rage, there must be some cause for it. And she claims that you promised her … that you woulddivorce me.’
‘If I had done that, the girl would scarcely need to kill you as she tried yesterday, would she?’ he asked reasonably. ‘Andin any case, if she were to murder you, I doubt there would be a vicar in the whole of the country who would consider joiningus in marriage! Can’t you see that everything she suggests is mad? She is clearly out of her senses. There is no logic toanything she says. Alice, my love, you must ignore everything she has said.’
‘I cannot but remember her face. It returned to me in my dreams! Oh, Matthew, I feel so scared. While she is free, she couldappear in front of me at any time in the street.’
‘You will be safe, my love. Do not fear her. We will catch her. And until we do, you will have the best guards from all mymen here.’
‘I am scared.’
‘Well, you will have to remain here in the castle. That is all.’ He sipped from his mazer — a good red wine — and then casuallyasked the question that had been uppermost in his own mind. ‘By the way — what were you and your maid doing down that street yesterday?’
Alice licked her lips. ‘I wished to speak to the man in the house there.’
‘The necromancer?’
‘Yes.’
‘I thought I told you to avoid him, Alice.’
‘I wanted to ask about our future. I was worried, Matthew.’
‘He is dangerous,’ the sheriff stated in a low voice, leaning towards her. ‘In ways you cannot appreciate. Please, as youlove me, do not visit him again. Or any other magicians.’
‘He is harmless, though.’
‘He may be so personally, but his craft makes him dangerous. Believe me, he and his type will only get us into trouble.’
And that, he reflected with some sadness as he toyed with his drink, was the understatement of the century. Suddenly his appetitewas gone and he pushed his plate away, petulantly refusing any more and glaring at his silent household. He wanted to shoutat them to be calm and enjoy their meal more, but he daren’t.
Exeter City
Ivo had no idea what he was about. The man stood a long while, considering the place, especially, apparently, the door itself. It was a firm enough barrier, made of good elm boards that had been nailed to two cross-pieces, the nail heads all on display. Suddenly he spun and faced him.
‘Master watchman, there is a man inside that house who is plotting the murder of the king and his advisers. You have a dutyto arrest him.’
‘What? Me? No, you have to tell the sheriff if there’s someone dangerous in there. He’s the man would have to look at writs and stuff. It’s not my place to knock the doors down,’ Ivo said. He wished he was back at home in his bed in the eaves. His job was watchingover his mother while she haggled over the cost of some trinket from a thief, not risking his life in an attack on a sorcerer.
‘Do you say so? Perhaps that would be adequate in normal times, but today we must hurry. There is no time to wait.’
‘Let’s get some help from the sheriff first. What’s the hurry?’
‘There is no time. The king’s life is in danger.’
He would have argued more, but at that moment he felt the little knife under his left shoulder blade. ‘Hey — you’ll have acut in my jack.’
‘I’ll cut more than your jack if you don’t hurry and knock on the fuckin’ door.’
Ivo hesitated, but then, as the knife dug deeper and he could feel his flesh opening, he walked forward and banged on thedoor.
There was the sound of feet hurrying, and then a shutter slid down in its runners. ‘Who are you, and what do you want?’
‘Open this door in the name of the king!’
Ivo heard the roar behind him, and turned to glance at the man. He seemed to have grown, and now his face displayed his angerfor all to see. Suddenly he shoved Ivo from him, snatching at his heavy staff as he did so and gripped the latch. The doorremained barred. He lifted the staff and used it to smash at the door, over by the hinges. He swung the staff again and again,the staff crashing hard into the timbers and sending clouds of dust rising. There was a creak and a crack, and the door began to move. Then, after yet another thunderousassault, the topmost board gave way. It remained in the door, pushed back a good two inches, but a final blow broke it away,and the next plank was taken. Once that too had fallen, the man reached in and pulled the bolts open, then hurtled inside.