‘All the year?’ Margaret queried, regarding me straitly. ‘You took a mighty long time coming home from Scotland, my lad. The Scottish war was over by the end of August — at least, that was my information — and we didn’t see hide nor hair of you until nearly Christmas. For all Adela knew, you might have visited Gloucester on your way back and spent the autumn with Mistress Gerrish.’
I stopped my pacing and stared at her, appalled.
‘Adela couldn’t have thought that, surely?’
‘Why not?’ Margaret looked down her nose. ‘On your own admission, two years ago you did have a liaison with this woman.’
‘It wasn’t a liaison,’ I shouted. ‘One night, that was all! And it was a mistake.’
‘Men always say that when they’re found out,’ Margaret sneered, then looked quickly at Elizabeth, who was regarding us both with a round-eyed interest tinged with uneasiness as she tried to follow a conversation that was, for the present, beyond her understanding. ‘Well, that’s as maybe,’ she went on, ‘but it might help matters if you could tell Adela where you were during autumn of last year.’
‘I told you both where I was. Making my way home from Scotland. Once the army had been officially disbanded, it was every man for himself. And my usefulness had finished once Albany had been left behind at his brother’s court. Scotland, I might remind you, Mother, is a very long way away.’
Margaret raised her eyebrows and chewed thoughtfully on a piece of meat which she had just prised loose from one of her teeth. ‘Of course, if you won’t say where you were. . Adela and I did wonder where you got those smart new clothes that you brought back with you. Not off any market stall, that’s plain. Good material, and a hat with a jewelled pin.’
‘The “jewels” are glass,’ I protested, but she ignored me.
‘So when this Mistress Gerrish turned up, neither she nor the child exactly dressed in rags, Adela did wonder. .’ Margaret broke off, shrugging.
‘If she gave them to me?’ I demanded, horrified.
‘Why not? Women have been known to reward their lo-’ She again glanced towards my daughter. ‘Men who please them,’ she finished lamely.
‘Dear, sweet virgin!’ I exclaimed, flopping down on my stool and burying my face in my hands. ‘A nice little tale you’ve concocted between the pair of you! I swear I’ve been nowhere near Gloucester for the past two years, nor so much as set eyes on Juliette Gerrish. If you must know, and I don’t suppose it will matter if I tell you now, I was in France on a mission for Duke Richard. But mind you, Margaret,’ I continued, lowering my hands and looking directly at her, ‘I don’t want that information passed on to Maria Watkins or Bess Simnel or any other of your little band of gossips.’ Margaret started to protest, but I cut her short. ‘And don’t think I’m going to tell you what that mission was about, because I’m not. I’ve only told you as much as I have so that you can see I was out of harm’s way.’
Out of harm’s way! The words mocked me even as I uttered them. I might be able to prove my innocence as far as Mistress Gerrish was concerned, but what about Eloise Grey? I shuddered inwardly. Was she, too, going to turn up on my doorstep some time in the future, threatening me with my past misdemeanours?
My erstwhile mother-in-law heaved a sigh of relief.
‘Well, it’s no good telling me all this,’ she said briskly, rising from her chair and beginning to clear the table. ‘Not that I’m not relieved to hear it, but Adela’s the one you want to tell. And if I were you,’ she added, much to my surprise, ‘just tell her what she needs to know and no more. You met Mistress Gerrish two years back while enquiring into the disappearance of Isabella Linkinhorne and that’s all. The woman plainly has a vicious streak in her, trying to break up your marriage and saddle you with a baby that isn’t yours, but she hasn’t been back since Adela sent her away with a flea in her ear. Oh yes! She didn’t for one moment let the woman know she believed a single word of her story, and I think that at the time she probably didn’t. It was only afterwards, brooding on things, lonely and unhappy, that she began to think the tale might have some substance to it. In the end, she convinced herself of its truth and felt she must go away. I did try to persuade her to wait until you returned and hear what you had to say, but by that time there was no reasoning with her. She got Jack Nym to take her and the boys to London when he took up a load of withy slats and baskets, and went to the Godsloves while she thought things out. That was about three weeks ago, at the end of March. So!’ She addressed me, arms akimbo. ‘What do you intend doing about it?’
I accepted Margaret’s account of events at their face value, but it did cross my mind to wonder how hard she had tried to dissuade Adela from leaving. She was fond of me, but had never quite trusted me. She could never bring herself to believe that it was Lillis who had seduced me and not the other way around.
‘Do?’ I said in answer to her question. ‘I’m going to London, of course, to persuade her to come home. And I’ll take your advice,’ I added, ‘about not telling everything. I’ll go right away and speak to Jack. With luck, he might be carting another consignment of goods that way fairly soon. If not, I’ll start walking and hope to come across other carters who’ll give me a ride.’
‘You’re not going away again, Father?’ Elizabeth clutched at my sleeve with an imploring hand.
I stooped and kissed her. ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m taking you with me. And Hercules.’
‘You’ll not be dragging that child all the way to London!’ Margaret protested. ‘That dog can go with you and welcome, but not a child of her tender years.’
My daughter bounced off her stool and flung her arms around my neck. ‘Oh yes! Oh please do take me, Father! I’ve never seen London, and it isn’t fair that the boys should see it and me not. I don’t mind walking if we have to, and I shall have Hercules.’
Hearing his name, the sagacious hound, stretched out beside the fire, gave a perfunctory thump of his tail, but was too replete with rabbit stew to do more.
‘I’m taking Elizabeth,’ I stated firmly and received another hug for my pains.
Margaret looked as though she would protest again, then hesitated, thinking things over, before nodding briskly.
‘You may be right,’ she conceded. ‘Nicholas will be delighted to see her.’ She did not add that the doubtless ecstatic reunion of stepbrother and — sister would be bound to disarm Adela and perhaps smooth my path to a reconciliation, but I guessed it was what she was thinking. I was thinking it myself.
‘I’ll pay Jack Nym a visit straight away,’ I said. ‘If I can find him.’
My luck was in. Jack was outside his cottage, loading his cart with bales of Bristol red cloth, a speciality of the city and sold all over the country. Without even bothering to greet him, I asked where this lot was going.
‘London,’ was the blessed answer, and I had to restrain myself from seizing his dirty face between my hands and kissing him. He tilted his head to look up at me. ‘Why? You wanting a ride to London, then, Roger?’ He gave a knowing chuckle. ‘I took your wife and sons up there a few weeks back. You been a bad lad? I did hear a rumour. A woman, is it?’ He regarded me enviously.
‘It’s all a mistake,’ I said. ‘A misunderstanding.’
He grinned disbelievingly. ‘It wouldn’t be a mistake if I got the chance, I can tell you. All right! All right! I’ll take your word for it. So you’re going after her, eh? Well, I don’t know as I blame you. A handsome piece, that lady of yours. If it were my Goody, now, it’d be a different matter. Anyway, I’m off first light tomorrow morning. Be round here promptly at daybreak. I received an urgent message by old Hugo Doyle, who got back from London yesterday afternoon, that the mayor and aldermen want this stuff as soon as possible for the new king’s coronation. Word is, apparently, that the queen — Queen Dowager I suppose I should call her now — and her family have fixed the date for May Day.’