I took both her hands in mine and attempted to soothe her agitation.
‘Adela, my love,’ I said, ‘try to look at things calmly. For a start, why do your cousins believe that some unknown person is out to murder them one by one? Do they have any enemies? Have they offended somebody? Quarrelled with somebody? Injured someone?’
Adela shook her head. ‘No, they say not. But Oswald is a lawyer and a good one so I’m told. He seems to be held in high esteem in the inns of court. Since I’ve been here, I’ve met several of his fellow advocates and they all speak highly of him. Clemency and Sybilla and Celia — that’s the half-sister — think it more than likely that he has made an enemy of some felon who was sent to prison, or otherwise severely punished, thanks to his successful prosecution. Or maybe someone was executed and his family are set on revenge.’
I grimaced. ‘That’s possible, I suppose. Can Oswald recall any case in recent years where the accused made threats against him, or where Oswald himself felt the verdict to have been unsafe?’
‘My dear fellow, don’t let your wife embroil you in our affairs, I beg of you.’ I turned my head to see the lawyer descending the staircase. Reaching the bottom, he came to join us at the fire. ‘It’s all nonsense, I’m sure, dreamed up by my sisters. It’s a series of unfortunate coincidences, nothing more.’
He tried to speak nonchalantly, but I noticed that his voice jumped a little and that the corner of one eye had developed a tic.
I spread my hands. ‘If you’re satisfied. .’
‘No, he’s not satisfied. Don’t believe him,’ said yet another voice behind me, making me start. I rose hastily to my feet to find a rather pretty woman standing with one hand on the back of the settle, smiling at me, and guessed that this must be the half-sister, Celia Godslove. There was a look of her half-siblings about her, a similarity of bearing in the upright carriage, but she was taller and younger — her middle thirties I judged — and the high cheekbones, determined jaw and aquiline nose were somehow softer and rounder, making her seem more approachable and friendly than the others.
‘Hold your tongue, Cecy,’ Oswald told her, but in spite of the reproof he went forward and not only kissed her affectionately but also hugged her, holding her close against him in what seemed to me to be a most unbrotherly fashion. I felt Adela’s eyes upon me and we exchanged a fleeting glance.
The newcomer, freeing herself from her half-brother’s embrace, again turned to me, holding out one hand. ‘I don’t know who you are,’ she said, ‘but take no notice of Oswald’s protestations. He’s just as worried as the rest of us, even if he likes to pretend he isn’t.’
I took the proffered hand and bowed while Adela introduced me to this latest arrival. ‘I want him to stay and help solve this mystery,’ my wife explained.
Celia smiled and I saw that her eyes were greyish-blue, like smoke, rather than the deeper colour of her siblings’. At the moment, they were twinkling with secret amusement.
‘The. . er. . the erring husband?’ she queried, suppressing a chuckle.
‘That’s all been explained,’ Adela interposed hurriedly. ‘It was a misunderstanding on my part. Roger has come to take me and the boys home, but as I said, I think he should stay for a while if you’ll let him, and try to discover what is going on.’
‘I think that’s an excellent idea,’ Celia nodded before Oswald could register an objection. ‘An extra mind brought to bear on the subject is just what we need. And it will be the viewpoint of an outsider who is unaffected by all these accidents and deaths.’ She had quite lost her sunny smile and she pressed a trembling hand to her lips. ‘Martin was my brother, you know,’ she added.
‘Yes, I do realize that,’ I said quietly. ‘I’m sorry.’
At that moment, Clemency came back into the hall, closely followed by the housekeeper.
‘Oh, you’re home,’ she said, addressing her half-sister. ‘Was the city very crowded?’
Celia kissed Clemency’s cheek before replying. ‘Not so crowded as you’d expect on St George’s Day, and no plays or mummings, naturally. But a lot of armed bands patrolling the streets and one or two near clashes amongst a few of them. Someone told me that it’s mainly between Lord Hasting’s men and those of the Woodvilles, but I couldn’t say for certain.’
‘Most likely.’ Oswald nodded in agreement. ‘There has never been any love lost between the Lord Chamberlain and the queen’s family. Matters can only get worse now that the king is no longer present to arbitrate and keep them all in order.’ He sighed. ‘I shall be relieved, I confess, when my Lord of Gloucester gets here.’
‘No word of his imminent arrival?’ I asked. ‘I noticed that they were making ready at Crosby’s Place when I passed this morning.’
At this point, Arbella Rokeswood intervened to remark acidly that dinner was on the parlour table and that unless we all came at once the food would be cold.
The parlour was at the back of the house, a large room overlooking a wild tangle of garden; a stretch of unkempt grass dotted with shrubs and trees and shadowed here and there by odd slopes and hollows. It was a children’s paradise, and I could hear my stepson’s excited whispers as he pointed out to Elizabeth the various hiding places it contained and the opportunity it presented for any number of games. Adam eyed them both thoughtfully but said nothing except to insist on sitting next to me at table, from time to time stroking any part of my anatomy that was available to him and smiling at me whenever I happened to glance his way.
‘He’s missed you,’ Adela remarked quietly, as she took her place on his other side.
I realized she must be right, the more so because he was an independent child, not given to overt displays of affection. I felt a sudden surge of guilt. I left my family alone far too much. But I had to earn our daily bread at my chosen calling and furthermore, although in the past I had resolutely refused all offer of financial help from the Duke of Gloucester, of late I had accepted his assistance to a considerable degree, a fact which made all our lives a good deal more tolerable. Affluent, even. But the extra money was not a simple gift. There were always strings attached. And of late that had meant being away from home long periods at a time. More money in my pocket or more time spent with my wife and children, that seemed to be the choice. It was not an easy one.
The dinner was excellent, and it was with relief that I realized that whatever other economies the Godsloves practised, they did not stint on food and drink. A thick cabbage broth was followed by a pair of plump fowls served with a dressing of sage and wild garlic and stuffed with onions and hard boiled eggs, everything washed down with home-brewed ale. A dish of stewed apples and figs completed a meal with which even I could find no fault.