She did not bother with a light. She knew every inch of the place and, besides, the goddess’s power drew her unerringly. She fell to her knees before the niche where she knew the Black Madonna sat, opening her heart and pouring out her gratitude.
A long time later, she rose to her feet, went back up the steps and left the chapel. She looked down at Hawkenlye, most of its lights darkened now. She sent King John a silent good night.
Then she hurried off through the woods towards the hut and her bed.
SIXTEEN
At Hawkenlye Abbey, the nun who had replaced Sister Martha in the stables was surprised one morning when a shabby-looking peasant brought in an extremely handsome horse. It was not in very good condition, for its coat was dull and matted, its ribs showed, and its expensive leather harness was dirty. The reins had broken, and the two ends had been clumsily knotted together. When Sister Judith asked the man what he was doing with such a horse, he shuffled his feet and said lamely, ‘I found him.’
She guessed there was more to it than that. She suspected that the man had thought about keeping the animal, only to discover pretty soon that a fine riding horse is not very much use to a peasant. She knew she ought to report the man — the dear Lord alone knew how long the horse had been in his keeping — but something about his sad, defeated face and the dejected slump of his shoulders stopped her. If it were to be discovered that some time had elapsed between his finding the horse and bringing it to the abbey, they’d probably accuse him of trying to steal it, and horse thieves were invariably hanged.
Times were hard enough anyway without hanging a man. He might have dependants. Most men did. Sister Judith made up her mind. ‘You did right to bring the horse here,’ she said. Fixing the man with a hard stare, she added, ‘I am not going to ask you to tell me how and when you found him. If there are sins on your conscience, I suggest you pray for forgiveness. Now, be off with you, before I change my mind.’
He grabbed her hand, squeezed it, muttered something and ran.
Sister Judith saw to the horse’s immediate needs, removing the dirty saddle and bridle, giving him water and what she could spare of her meagre supplies of feed. Then she went to report to Abbess Caliste.
Abbess Caliste had had so many matters to occupy her mind since the drama of having a king in the infirmary that it was some time before she thought to connect the arrival of an unknown horse with recent events. It was a couple of days since the king had left, and she felt that the dust was still settling.
Abbess Caliste thoughtfully put down her stylus. She had been hard at work for hours, and a brief walk in the fresh air would do her good. She got up, put on her cloak and went outside, crossing the cloister and slipping out through the front gates. She hoped that one of the people she sought would be at the chapel; if not, she would have to send a messenger to the House in the Woods.
Helewise was on the point of leaving the chapel to go home. She would have left sooner, only a woman with a small child had appeared outside the tiny cell where Helewise had once lived, begging for food. The child, a little boy, had looked at Helewise with huge eyes in his dirty face. He was too weak to walk, and his mother had been carrying him.
Not for the first time, Helewise had raged silently against the men of power who cared not a scrap for the people. She hurried off to Meggie’s hut, where she heated water and prepared a thin soup, putting it in a pot and wrapping it in her cloak so that it would keep hot while she returned to the clearing. She also cut up the last of her small supply of bread so that the woman could dip it in the warm gruel and let the boy suck in the nourishment. She told them they could stay in the cell that night.
It was so little, but the woman fell on her knees in gratitude.
Helewise had gone to pray, trying to find it within her to ask pardon for her inner fury against her king. The battle with herself was long and, ultimately, futile.
As she closed the door of the chapel, Abbess Caliste came up the rise and approached her. She made a reverence, but, as she always did, Caliste caught her up and gave her a hug. Then she told her about the horse.
Helewise thought hard all the way home, and her concentration was so intense that she was back sooner that she had thought possible. She could hear Josse’s voice in the stable yard, and she hurried to find him.
‘Josse, I think-’ she began.
He took her hands and instantly exclaimed, ‘You’re freezing. Come inside. You can tell me whatever it is when you’re sitting by the fire.’
She did as she was told, containing her impatience while he fussed around her, shouting to Tilly for hot food and tucking a blanket round her. She resisted the urge to scream at him to stop. It was, she had to admit, lovely to be looked after.
When finally he was seated beside her, she said, ‘Josse, I want you to listen. I’m going to tell you a version of how Hugh de Brionne was killed, and I don’t want you to interrupt. When I’ve finished,’ she added as a concession, ‘you can comment.’
He grinned. ‘Very well, I’ll do as you ask.’ Putting a hand in front of his mouth to indicate that he would keep silent, he nodded for her to begin.
‘We know that Olivier de Brionne took Rosamund from the track leading to this house,’ she said, ‘and carried her on his horse off towards the hunting lodge on the Ashdown Forest, spending the night on a rise above the river. As they were preparing to leave the next morning, they spotted a horseman approaching and Olivier ordered Rosamund to hide in the trees. He knew the horseman — it was his brother, Hugh, who had contrived the plot to seek favour with the king by taking Rosamund to him.’
She could tell from Josse’s expression that he had something to say but, true to his word, he did not speak.
‘I don’t know what Hugh wanted with Olivier, but the matter was urgent, for Rosamund said that he was in a hurry and yelling out to Olivier even as he rode towards him. Perhaps Olivier should already have been at the hunting lodge, and Hugh was anxious in case something was wrong. Whatever it was, the brothers had angry words, and then, according to Rosamund, Hugh rode off again, with Olivier still shouting after him.’
She paused. This was where fact ended and conjecture began. There was nothing to be gained by waiting, so she plunged on. ‘Josse, Olivier talks to people who aren’t there. Rosamund told me; it frightened her. What if it happened like this? Hugh and Olivier fought, and it was Olivier who left the marks of his fists on Hugh’s face. In the course of the fight, Hugh stumbled and fell over backwards, striking his head and receiving the blow that killed him. Olivier, horrified, realized what he had done, but couldn’t accept it. Perhaps acting on instinct, for I don’t suppose he was capable just then of thinking rationally, he slapped Hugh’s horse hard on the rump, cried out really loudly and frightened it into bolting. To Rosamund, hiding under the trees and unable to see what was happening, it would have sounded as if Hugh had ridden away. I don’t think it ever occurred to her that he never left the place, or that Olivier killed him only a matter of a few paces away from where she crouched. Then, once Olivier had hidden the body and made sure the horse was no longer in sight, he went to fetch her and together they rode off on his horse.’
She stopped. She tried to judge from Josse’s expression whether or not he agreed with her version of events.
‘If you’re right,’ he said slowly, ‘then what became of Hugh’s horse?’
‘According to Abbess Caliste, a rather fine horse has just turned up at the abbey.’
After a moment he said, ‘There’s one way to find out if you’re right.’
Her heart leapt. ‘What is it?’
He stood up. ‘I’ll ride over and have a look at Olivier’s hands.’
Josse made the return journey to Hawkenlye more swiftly than Helewise had walked it, choosing to take his horse and keep to the main tracks. The distance was longer, but the going faster. Leaving Alfred at the gates, he sent word to the abbess to tell her what he was doing and hurried to the infirmary.