She went up to Josse and, as he heard her footsteps, he turned to see who it was. The misery in his face briefly lifted. Then he said, ‘He’s gone,’ and she thought he might break down.
‘It was the only thing to do,’ she said fervently. ‘We have no guarantee that he would receive any trial at all, never mind a fair one, for the king is capricious and surrounded by ruthless men elbowing each other out of the way as they strive for the king’s favour. Even if King John wished to act in accordance with the law, who can say that one of his close circle might not take matters into his own hands?’
‘Like the king’s father and Archbishop Becket,’ Josse murmured.
‘Exactly! This way, we are robbed of Ninian for a time, but not for ever.’
He looked down at his hands, twisting a strand of Alfred’s tail this way and that. ‘How can you be sure it’s not for ever?’ he asked.
She hesitated, mentally arranging her words. She had to convince him. Then she said, ‘Josse, you said earlier that Ninian couldn’t come back till the king either forgot or died. There is another alternative: find out the truth about how Hugh de Brionne died, and try to prove that, up by the chapel, Ninian acted in self-defence, having no idea that one of the men he was fighting was the king.’
Apart from the grinding of Alfred’s big teeth, there was silence in the stable. She thought she had failed. She fully expected him to give a scathing reply, such as: and just how am I to work this miracle?
He didn’t. He reached for her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing it. Then, his voice gruff with emotion, he said, ‘We have worked our way through such insurmountable obstacles before, you and I, have we not? Shall we do so once more?’
She smiled, blinking back her tears. ‘I was hoping you would say that.’ They stood for a moment, not speaking, and she imagined he was taking strength from her just as she was from him.
Finally, she stepped away. ‘If you’ve quite finished with that horse’s tail,’ she said, making her tone brisk, ‘then let us go into the hall and work out exactly what we are going to do.’
They sat opposite each other at the big table in the hall. At some time Tilly must have brought food and drink, but Helewise only noticed when she found herself absently reaching out for bread and cheese. She was concentrating deeply, and she knew Josse was too.
‘So, let us go through how we see the sequence of events,’ Josse finally said.
Helewise had stylus, ink and scraps of parchment; she had been making notes, but they were in random order, and now she prepared to make a fair copy. ‘Rosamund was taken by Olivier de Brionne,’ she said, writing as she spoke, ‘acting according to a plan devised by his brother, Hugh, that was designed to please the king by presenting him with a young woman.’ Josse made an explosive noise. ‘Don’t say it,’ she said. ‘I know. Olivier takes Rosamund with him on his horse, and they set out westwards, making for the hunting lodge on the Ashdown Forest, where Ninian and Meggie tracked them. According to Olivier, Hugh was meant to be there too, but for some reason he did not turn up. We now know that he died during the time that Olivier and Rosamund were travelling between this house and the hunting lodge.’
Josse was gazing into the distance. ‘Mm.’
When he did not continue, she prompted him. ‘Well?’
‘I was thinking. I believed Ninian could have been involved in Hugh’s death because we all knew how desperately he wanted to find Rosamund and bring her back, and he was not with any of us at the time Hugh disappeared. He had not even joined up with Meggie then.’ He fell silent.
‘And now? What do you believe now?’
He buried his face in his hands. ‘In truth, I do not know. Ninian gave me his word that he is no murderer, and I have no doubt that he spoke the truth. However, what I fear is that he was careful in his choice of words. We know that Hugh de Brionne was in a fight, for he had bruises on his face and knuckles, indicating that he fought back. Supposing Ninian caught him, found out somehow that he was involved in the abduction of Rosamund, and demanded that Hugh tell him where she was? It seems quite logical that a fight would break out, and possible that Hugh’s death was in fact an accident, caused by his falling over backwards.’
Slowly, she nodded. ‘If that’s how it happened, then Ninian would indeed have spoken true when he said he was no murderer,’ she muttered. ‘But Josse, would he not have told you if that was how it was?’
Josse removed his hands, and she saw his haggard face. ‘That’s the question I can’t answer,’ he admitted.
‘Did he have marks similar to Hugh’s on his knuckles?’ she asked. ‘I know he had no bruising to his face, or at least none that I saw.’
‘I saw none either,’ he agreed. ‘But Ninian is very useful in a scrap. Those years he spent as a squire in Sir Walter Asham’s household served him well, and I don’t reckon many men could easily land a punch on his face. I did not, however, think to look at his hands.’
It was too late now. She did not say so. Josse’s mood had lifted marginally since they had set to work on the challenge of finding out the truth, and she did not want to remind him of Ninian’s absence.
He was watching her. ‘What now?’
She was ready for the question. She completed the note she was making and then folded her hands and said, ‘I have two suggestions. We know that Hugh died while Rosamund was being taken by Olivier to the hunting lodge. I appreciate that it’s unlikely, but I think we should ask her if she noticed anyone else on the road or lurking around. If Ninian is not responsible for Hugh’s death, then someone else is.’
‘Aye, that’s sound,’ he said. ‘Your other suggestion?’
‘I am concerned that we only have Olivier de Brionne’s word for it that this scheme was his dead brother’s idea,’ she said. ‘It is easy, if not very honourable, to lay the blame for a plan that goes awry on someone who can no longer speak up in his own defence. Perhaps Olivier was the instigator and Hugh the second in command?’
‘Would that make a difference?’ Josse asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘I just feel strongly that for Olivier to say, as you tell me he did, that Hugh was the instigator is too easy. I am suspicious,’ she concluded.
‘Your suspicions have in the past often led to the posing of the right questions,’ he said. ‘How should we proceed in this?’
‘Would you return to the abbey and speak to Olivier again?’ she asked.
He considered it. ‘Aye,’ he said. ‘In addition, it would do no harm to let the king know, if and when anyone comes right out with it and says Ninian killed Hugh de Brionne, that we do not accept it.’
‘You would dare do that, when for all we know he may already have made up his mind?’ She was instantly very worried for him. ‘Oh, Josse, you would be walking on very delicate ground!’
He grinned. ‘I have done so before,’ he replied. ‘The king is far from being a mindless fool who cannot think for himself. He will know by now of my connection with Ninian, and I believe he will not be surprised that I am trying to clear the lad’s name.’
‘Be careful,’ she warned.
‘I will. And you; what have you planned for yourself?’
‘We all must do our best to take Little Helewise’s mind off her heartbreak, and as soon as she and Meggie return from the hut, I plan to take her over to New Winnowlands to see her cousin. While we’re there, I will find the opportunity to ask Rosamund to tell me all that she remembers of her time with Olivier.’
‘Good!’ Abruptly, he stood up, and she sensed the impatient need for action that flowed through him. ‘I’m off to the abbey. Make sure you are back here by tonight, won’t you? I don’t know why, but I have the feeling that we have no time to waste.’