‘To the place where Akhbir was killed?’
‘Aye. I need to-’
‘You must not do any such thing, Sir Josse! Yesterday someone shot at you there, and although you maintain they were merely warning shots, still it is perilous. They do not want you there and they may shoot to kill this time.’
‘I do not believe that I am in any real danger.’ His voice was calm.
‘How can you possibly say that?’ she demanded.
He smiled. ‘For one thing, whoever is hiding there knows their presence is no longer a secret. Akhbir knew where to find them, or him, and now he has led me there too. They do not want to be found, so they will have already fled. And for another thing-’ He stopped. He had been about to say that if one of the men camping out in the undercroft was indeed Fadil — John Damianos — then he didn’t think the man would harm him. I liked John Damianos, he reminded himself, and I am sure he liked me too. But it was slim reasoning with which to convince a beloved friend who was gravely worried for his safety.
‘For another thing?’ she prompted stonily.
‘Gervase will want to turn the place over,’ he said. Even if it was not what he had been going to say, it remained perfectly true. ‘Akhbir may have deserved death for his part in the murder of the Turk, but Gervase will say that it is for the courts to award punishment. He will wish to find and arrest whoever fired that crossbow bolt, and he’ll probably ask me to show him the way to the house in the woods as soon as he’s rounded up some of his men. I want to get there before him, my lady,’ he added.
It was apparent that she was not convinced. There was nothing left but the truth. ‘I sheltered John Damianos at New Winnowlands and I feel compelled to protect him. If he and the runaway Hospitaller are still at the house, I would like the chance to speak to them before they are arrested.’
Now she understood. ‘You do not believe that these fugitives have done anything wrong, do you?’ she asked softly. ‘We have been told that the runaway monk abandoned his dead and dying comrades out in the desert; that he abducted the prisoner and made off with the treasure that was to buy the young man back. At least one pursuing group wanted him dead, and Thibault wishes to take him to the Knights Hospitaller at Clerkenwell to be punished. Yet you, Sir Josse, wish to protect him?’
He tried to think of a soundly reasoned, rational reply. He couldn’t. So he just said, ‘Aye.’
Her face remained serious but he could see a smile beginning in her eyes. ‘It’s strange,’ she mused, ‘but ever since I heard tell of this John Damianos of yours, I have warmed to him. Probably it is because you have turned yourself into his champion. Very well, Sir Josse,’ she added decisively, ‘go. Take care — oh, do take care! — and if you have not returned by this afternoon I shall send out a search party.’
‘You do not know where I’m going,’ he pointed out.
She sat up regally. ‘Then you had better tell me.’
He and Horace set out a short time later. He preferred, for reasons that he did not explore, to take the long road that skirted the forest rather than cut through it and he kicked the big horse into a canter. Gervase might set out for the house without him — it was possible that one of his men knew the place. Well, if he was there when Josse arrived, there was nothing he could do about it. He put it from his mind.
He reached the place where the path to the house led off the track and rode in beneath the trees. They were quite thin here and, by keeping to the wider paths, he was able to go to within perhaps two or three hundred paces of the house. He and Joanna had ridden right up to it before, but that had been a long time ago. Now, like some strange, vigorous growth encouraged by a magical spell, the undergrowth sprawled in places right over the faint line of the path. Dismounting, he tethered Horace to a birch tree and walked on.
The house on its rise came into sight. He was approaching at a different angle from yesterday and his view of the courtyard was obscured. This, no doubt, was why he could not see the body. But then he emerged out into the open.
The body had gone.
He stood absolutely still. A shiver of dread crept up his spine; what unearthly presence could make a body disappear…? Then reason returned. Either the crossbow man disposed of the body straight after he drove Josse away, or else he, or others, returned later. Perhaps it had been the forest people. They might have different views on burials and funerals but he was sure it was not their custom to leave a dead body out in the open.
He made to walk on. It felt for a moment as if he was up against some powerful but invisible force trying to hold him back: This place is not for you.
‘I have to look,’ he said aloud. To his faint surprise his voice sounded quite level. He pushed against the invisible force. It yielded and he stumbled forward.
Before his courage could desert him, he went straight to the spot where Akhbir had fallen. There was a little blood, and he could make out crushed areas of grass, as if footprints had passed to and fro. He tried to detect a trail. It was faint but it was there. Akhbir’s body had been dragged across the courtyard and into the woods. Breaking into a trot, Josse went in under the trees and presently came to a spot where the earth had been disturbed. The area of bare soil was roughly man-shaped. He had found Akhbir’s burial place. Slowly and thoughtfully he walked back to the house.
The low door of the undercroft was closed and bolted. He pushed back the bolts. The door did not open; it must be locked. It made sense, he thought, that the undercroft could be bolted to keep livestock in and also locked to keep intruders out. But where was the key?
Whoever had been camping there had not broken down the door, for it showed no sign of damage. It was highly unlikely that they had been given the key — did Joanna even possess one? — so it must be concealed somewhere. Where, Josse mused, would I hide a key?
He looked around. He picked at one or two loose corners on the paving slabs close to the door but found nothing other than a handful of woodlice. He saw a crack in the wall, but his probing fingers found nothing inside. He frowned, turning in a slow circle, searching.
The rose that grew across the hall door at the top of the steps had its roots in the soft soil between their base and the side of the house. In the thick tangle of the rose’s intertwining stems there was a blackbird’s nest. The strong, dense cup of grass, roots, moss and twigs was lined with dried mud, and as Josse reached into it his fingers closed on the cold, hard shape of a key. He put it in the lock of the undercroft door. It turned easily, as if it had been recently used, and the door opened.
He pushed the door fully open to admit the light and then stepped cautiously inside. There was a short flight of half a dozen shallow steps. Slowly he descended. Despite the open door it was dim down there, for the undercroft had no windows. He waited while his eyes adjusted, then looked up at the vaulted ceiling. The room was well built and, despite the house having stood empty for so long, felt sound and dry.
He lowered his gaze and inspected the stone floor. There was a ring of hearthstones, encircling an area blackened with ash, soot and smoke. The makeshift fireplace had been swept clean; nearby was a neat stack of logs and kindling. Other than that, the room was bare.
Kneeling, he put his hand on the hearthstones. He detected warmth. There had been a fire there not long ago. But they had gone, that fugitive pair who had come so far; Akhbir’s arrival, with Josse on his heels, had sent them running.
Slowly he straightened up, mounted the steps out of the undercroft, closed, bolted and locked the door and returned the key to its place in the blackbird’s nest.
Sent them running… Were they on foot or did they have horses? Making his way to the stables, he pushed the door open and went in. He looked inside the short row of stalls and at first saw no sign of recent occupation. But then he discovered that, unlike the others, the two stalls furthest from the door had been recently mucked out. The floors were swept clean. He hurried out of the second, his searching eyes fixed to the ground.