He was halfway up the steps to the keep when Golde emerged from the door to the tower and descended towards him. Her smile flowered immediately. He gave an answering nod of greeting to her.
‘I am so glad to meet you like this,’ she said.
‘Are you, my lady?’
‘Yes. You can solve the mystery that is puzzling me.’
‘Mystery?’
‘That beautiful voice I heard in the hall earlier on,’ she explained.
‘I was walking past when the divine sound came wafting out. My curiosity was roused at once but I did not dare to interrupt.’
‘I am grateful that you did not. We were practising.’
‘With your little songbird from the choir?’
‘Yes, my lady. Bristeva.’
‘Her voice is as clear as a bell.’
‘I have taught her how to project it.’
‘Then you have taught her well, Father Arnulf,’ said Golde with enthusiasm. ‘Girls are not usually allowed to develop their talents.
We are expected to sit quietly and speak only when spoken to. That is how my father brought me up. Had I been a boy, my world would have been much larger.’
‘Unhappily, that is so.’
‘I can imagine the resistance you met when you first introduced girls into your choir.’
‘More derision than resistance,’ he recalled. ‘We still have much censure to withstand from those who cling blindly to tradition.’
‘It was a courageous thing to do. I hope that you feel vindicated now.’
‘I do, my lady.’
‘If Bristeva is an example of your choristers, you should be very proud. She was a joy to listen to in the hall. How many other Saxon girls would have such a wonderful chance as this? The girl must worship you.’
‘She trusts me. That is far more important.’
‘Is there any chance of my meeting her?’
‘You will see her at the banquet tomorrow.’
‘I wanted to talk to her properly,’ said Golde, ‘to find out more about her, perhaps even to help her. A castle as big as this must be an intimidating place for a young girl. It unsettles me and I have been here for days. Bristeva must be quite overawed by it.’
‘She is, my lady.’
‘The sight of all these soldiers will only increase her discomfort.
She might welcome some female company. Where is the girl now?’
Arnulf did not hesitate. He had a deep admiration for Golde. She was a gentle, considerate, kind-hearted woman who would be a far more suitable companion for Bristeva than a Benedictine monk. Golde would offer a maternal warmth which would help to reassure the girl.
‘Bristeva is in her chamber, my lady,’ he said.
‘May I go to her?’
‘There is something you must understand before you do that. Bristeva knows nothing of Helene’s tragedy. It would shatter her if she did. I have to guard her from the truth until after the banquet. You do appreciate that?’
‘She will hear nothing from me,’ promised Golde.
It was settled.
*
The church of St George’s-in-the-Castle was not simply a place of worship. It was an integral part of the fortifications. Its square tower served both as a belfry and as a key part of the castle’s defences, providing as it did a high point from which the town could be kept under surveillance and an almost impregnable base from which arrows, rocks and other missiles could be discharged by unseen soldiers at any attackers below. As he strolled towards the church, Gervase Bret glanced up at the massive stone structure and noted with sadness how religion was forced to go hand in hand with military might.
When he had said his prayers at the altar rail, he moved to a bench and sat for an hour or more in the dank interior, lost in thought.
Meditation was impossible in any other part of the castle, where the sound of many voices and much activity blended with the movement of men and horses to produce a mild chaos which lasted throughout each day. Alone in the church, Gervase felt refreshingly isolated from the worst of the din outside. It was only when the bell tolled that he abandoned his contemplation.
Edith was walking towards the church as Gervase emerged into the sunlight. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the glare.
‘You are a devout parishioner,’ she said with approval.
‘Only because I have time on my hands, my lady. When we came to Oxford, we expected to spend every daylight hour in the shire hall. It is highly unusual for our work to be suspended in this way.’
‘When will it resume?’
‘When Canon Hubert arrives,’ he said. ‘The messenger brought word back from Winchester this afternoon. In spite of his ailments, Canon Hubert has consented to answer our call but he is not able to set out until today.’
‘Will he reach us in time for the banquet?’ she asked. ‘He would be most welcome to take his place at the table.’
‘Nothing would please him more, my lady. However, I have grave doubts. Canon Hubert travels slowly. My guess is that we will see him some time on Sunday morning.’
‘I regret that his journey is necessary.’
‘So do we.’
‘My lord Maurice seemed like an upright man.’
‘He took great pains to appear so.’
‘Robert liked him and my husband is a sound judge of character. He was shocked by the revelations.’
‘Yes, my lady,’ said Gervase guardedly.
‘I see that you do not believe me.’
‘What makes you think that?’
‘I am not blind,’ she said. ‘You and my lord Ralph show my husband the respect that is due but you both harbour doubts about him. Why deny it? I’ve seen it in your eyes. I do not censure you for it. In your position, I would probably think the same. But you are wrong.’
‘Are we?’
‘Robert is a good man and a loving husband. It has not been easy to keep the peace in a county as unruly as this.’
‘My lord sheriff seems to have succeeded very well.’
‘Only because of his dedication. Take that into account before you pass judgement on him.’
‘We pass no judgement, my lady.’
‘You have not seen him at his best,’ she said defensively. She studied him with interest for a moment. ‘Golde tells me that you are betrothed.’
‘That is true.’
‘Her name is Alys, I understand.’
‘Yes, my lady.’
‘She is fortunate in her choice.’
‘Alys does not always think so,’ he admitted with a smile. ‘We long to be together, but as soon as I return to Winchester we are dispatched on some new investigation. She vexes during my absence.’
‘A sure sign of love.’
‘It is mutual.’
‘Her good fortune does not only lie in having such a handsome and able young man as her future husband,’ said Edith wistfully. ‘It resides in her freedom to choose you in the first place.’ There was a long pause. ‘I did not have that freedom of choice.’
‘You do not have to explain that, my lady.’
‘I think I do,’ she continued. ‘I know what all of you must think when you see me with my husband. We must look ill matched in some ways. Robert can be brutal but only when that brutality is essential. I have learned to live with that.’
Gervase was embarrassed. ‘This is a matter between you and your husband. You do not have to justify yourself to me, my lady. What I see is a gracious and loyal wife.’
‘But I had to learn that grace and loyalty. My situation was so different from yours. You and Alys have a love match. In my case,’ she confessed,
‘respect and duty came first. Love grew slowly out of them. It took some years. My husband has true nobility and I am honoured to share my life with him.’
Gervase was touched. Anxious to defend her husband, Edith was confiding details of her courtship. She was not merely a marital decoration on the arm of the sheriff of Oxfordshire. She was a concerned and faithful partner who had seen all of Robert d’Oilly’s finer qualities and — while aware of his defects — had come to love him as a result.