The Turn of Midnight Read online

  Thaddeus asked how bad Isabella’s injuries were. ‘I hate to think of her in pain, Gyles.’

  ‘As do we all. She’s pale and weak but able to walk. She took fifteen pricks from a bodkin but none was deep. Milady and Martha are caring for her and say she’ll be recovered within a week.’

  ‘I’m happy to hear that. Her brothers will be, too. Did Lady Eleanor give a reason for her behaviour?’

  ‘Only mad rantings about Lady Anne usurping power that should have been hers. She seems unable to understand that, by keeping the secret of her birth all these years, it was Lady Anne who gave her legitimacy. Your stepfather pointed it out to her. You wouldn’t have recognised him, Thaddeus. He spoke in praise of you, saying he’d rather bend his knee to you than the ungrateful mongrel Lady Anne has raised.’

  There was another quiet laugh. ‘I recognise very little of what you’re telling me, Gyles. How long has Eleanor known that Milady is not her mother?’

  ‘The mistress told her this afternoon in the hopes of curing her madness. Martha says she’s been acting strangely since her father died but never with such lunacy as today. She promises to have Milady condemned as a heretic if she’s ever given the chance.’

  ‘Has she been confined?’

  ‘In a serf’s hut next to John Trueblood. The enclosure has rung all afternoon with her curses and complaints.’

  ‘What form do her complaints take?’

  It was Gyles’s turn to be amused. ‘Whatever comes to mind. Her worst slurs are against the men of the demesne—yourself included. When we’re not cowards and thieves, we’re base-born slaves with the appetites of dogs.’

  ‘Is there sympathy for her?’

  ‘Only from my daughter and young Robert. They see virtue in her that others don’t, never mind Isabella was within her rights to demand a stronger punishment than Robert’s suggestion of a day’s imprisonment for each prick she made. No one wants her released before her madness passes. She’s vicious enough to kill next time, and she’ll receive no mercy from me if she harms Isabella again.’

  ‘Then detain her until your twins return. They’ve grown in courage and resolve through the death and misery they’ve seen and won’t tolerate anger against their sister from such as Lady Eleanor. Make sure she understands that.’

  ‘You ask for the moon. She refuses to listen to anything serfs have to say.’

  ‘Will she listen to Master de Courtesmain?’

  ‘He’s afraid of his own shadow. He can barely stand for trembling at the thought of the vengeance the High Sheriff will wreak on us for daring to put Sir Richard’s daughter on trial for wounding one so far beneath her as Isabella. You did Milady no service by handing him your position, Thaddeus. John Trueblood would have made a better steward than the two-faced Frenchman.’

  ‘I thought it wiser to keep him at Lady Anne’s side. He has a jealous nature and would have caused trouble for anyone else in the position.’

  Gyles nodded agreement before changing the subject. ‘How long before we see you again?’

  ‘I’ll send your sons and the sons of your friends with the sheep from Afpedle in three days’ time. They’ll need pens on this side of the moat to take the flock, and a shelter for themselves from the rain. Can the men of Develish build so much in so short a time? And will Milady allow them to cross the moat?’

  ‘No reason why not. She gave permission for you to cross when I returned with Sir Richard. Will you be with the boys?’

  ‘No. I’ll bring the wagon later when I’ve worked out how to get it here. You should make them wait two weeks on this side of the moat. I’m as certain as I can be that they don’t have the pestilence, but you should still be cautious. They can use the time to slaughter the sheep and send the carcasses across on the raft.’

  ‘Sheep won’t be easy to drive through rain. A man should be in charge of such an undertaking. Let me return with you and take the lead.’

  There was a brief pause before Thaddeus answered. ‘I don’t say I’m not tempted, but your sons have worked hard to prove themselves. Don’t think of them as boys, Gyles. Greet them as men and you won’t be disappointed.’ He urged Gyles to make haste to bring him rope, collars and harness, also oats for the horse if there were any to spare. ‘People will expect answers if they find me here, and I’m not a great talker. Any one of my companions will tell our story better than I can.’

  Gyles made one last attempt to persuade Lady Anne to reveal herself. She’d seemed so keen to speak with Thaddeus when he’d first approached the moat. ‘At least let me wake Lady Anne and bring her out alone. She has felt the loss of your counsel very deeply, Thaddeus.’

  ‘And I hers . . . but I want no sweeter reminders of what I’m missing when even your gravelly old chords are tempting me to linger. Assure her of my loyalty when you tell her of this visit, but do not disturb her sleep on my behalf.’

  ‘Is there anything else you’d like me to say?’

  ‘Nothing you can deliver without blushing, old man. I find I’m more attached to Develish than I thought. It’s not easy to break the bonds that hold us to the people and places we know.’

  Lady Anne walked in Gyles’s shadow to the house, slipping through the door first before instructing him to fetch the rope and tackle while she looked for oats. In the kitchen she made a package of bread, moistened with cold potage—all that was left from the night before—and added a precious hard-boiled egg, pickled in brine. Before she tied the corners of the small sacking bag, she hurried to the steward’s office, lit a candle and penned a note which she folded and placed across the egg where Thaddeus would find it.

  It was hard to know what Gyles made of this quiet visit by night, but Lady Anne thought she understood it. Almost every question Thaddeus asked had been designed to find out if Eleanor had made accusations of rape or murder against his companions, and Lady Anne knew he would not allow them to return if she had. She wished she could share everything with him, for he deserved an explanation of Eleanor’s behaviour, but the girl’s secret wasn’t hers to tell. Instead, she prayed the words she had written would persuade him she had uncovered the truth about Jacob, and that Eleanor would cause him and his companions no more trouble.

  Would he appreciate, or even understand, her need of his support? she wondered. She hoped most earnestly that he did, for a heaviness in her heart told her he was undecided whether to cross the moat himself once the sheep and the grain were safely delivered. He’d been so firm in his resistance to seeing her that, despite his words to Gyles, she feared his true intention was indeed to cut his ties with Develish.

  My Dear Friend,

  I write this letter in haste while Gyles gathers what you need for your journey. I pray you find it and will be comforted by my words when the sun comes up. I believe you removed yourself and the boys in secret to keep the harmony of Develish from being fractured, and I thank you for your kindness in doing so. I regret most deeply the manner of Jacob’s passing—the details of which are known to me—but be assured he rests in peace and the problems you foresaw have not arisen. No one questions that his death was an accident or that your enterprise is noble—to seek supplies for Develish.

  I envy you your freedom, Dear Friend, and will not take it from you at any price, but remember the hearts that beat for you in Develish. My guess is that you plan to leave again when you have fulfilled your promise to bring us food, but I beg you not to do so in a hurry. It will sadden me terribly if you arrive and depart a second time by night with only a wagon of grain to show you ever returned. Can you even begin to understand how much you’ve been missed?

  You and I have achieved so much together and I believe you find my counsel wise. Please do not vanish again without allowing me to give you the benefit of my thoughts. You and I have long shared dreams of freedom for our people, but they will have little meaning if you are not amongst us when the time comes for us to break the bonds that keep us here. We depend on your strength more than you realise.

&nb
sp; Perhaps you believe your life less necessary to the demesne than husbands and fathers like Gyles Startout and John Trueblood? If so, you are wrong. I have much need of you.

  Yours in sincerity,

  Anne

  It was an hour before Gyles came looking for Lady Anne in the steward’s office to say Thaddeus had departed again. She was sitting by candlelight, drawing up plans to build pens outside the moat, and she smiled when he spoke of his joy on hearing that his sons were well. ‘I’m glad for you, Gyles.’

  ‘But now I have more reason to worry for their safety, milady. I informed Thaddeus of My Lord of Bourne’s attack on us, and he shocked me by saying that My Lord and his fighting men were in Holcombe two days ago, a bare forty-eight hours after leaving here. He assured me that he and our sons weren’t seen, but Develish will suffer badly if he’s wrong. Bourne has only to bring the six of them here in chains and you’ll be forced to bargain their lives against the two hundred inside the moat.’

  Lady Anne’s smile died. She had all but forgotten the evil old man in the tumultuous ups and downs of the day, yet she didn’t doubt he would avenge himself on Develish if he could. To have his Norman army repelled by English serfs would have dented his pride, and his greed for the gold he believed to be in Develish’s treasury would not have diminished. ‘We watched him travel north. How could he have reached Holcombe so quickly? We killed four of his horses and injured more.’

  ‘But not his tow-horses, milady. My guess is he did what I advised Thaddeus against and took a drovers’ route. They’re the shortest links between highways and, without livestock to hinder him and with enough men to keep his wheels turning, his carriage could manage them easily. Being a thief, he’d prefer them. He’s less likely to be seen or challenged if he stays off the public roads.’

  ‘But why Holcombe?’

  ‘Thaddeus says it’s all but abandoned, milady. He watched it several days ago and believes only serfs remain in the manor house. He saw horses in the fields so I’m guessing My Lord has taken them to replace the ones he lost. Weapons too, since no peasant would have the courage to gainsay him if he demanded them from their master’s armoury. I fear our triumph against him was short-lived and it won’t be long before we see him again—with or without Thaddeus and our sons.’

  ‘Did you explain that to Thaddeus?’

  ‘I did, and repeated my offer to accompany him, even suggesting we take James Buckler and Adam Catchpole. With more guards, we’ll have a better chance of bringing the supplies home safely.’

  ‘How did he answer?’

  ‘He said you wouldn’t permit it, milady. The defence of Develish is more important than sheep herding. He’s right, of course, but it doesn’t stop me worrying.’

  ‘Nor I, Gyles. I hoped this day would end in the happy knowledge that all six are alive, but it seems our anxiety for them must continue a while longer.’

  ‘Thaddeus looks to the weather to protect him, milady. He offered me a wager that Develish serfs and Afpedle sheep will take driving rain more easily than My Lord of Bourne and his men.’

  Lady Anne smiled. ‘Then I’ll pray for a storm.’

  Gyles studied her silently for several moments. ‘You were quick to step behind me when Thaddeus approached, milady. What made you think he wouldn’t speak freely if he knew you were there?’

  There was barely a pause before she answered. ‘He asked if you were alone. I understood why when he told you about burning Athelhelm. It’s not something he’d want anyone else to hear.’

  ‘Was that your impression, milady? I thought he seemed more worried about the welcome our sons would receive.’

  Lady Anne placed her elbows on the desk and rested her cheek against her hands. If she confided in anyone, it would be Gyles. He had been her friend and adviser for ten years, and her affection for him and his family ran very deep. But how could she be honest without revealing why Thaddeus had removed his sons from the demesne? Gyles’s pride would be much diminished if he learnt of Ian and Olyver’s readiness to be whipped by Eleanor in return for a touch of her breasts.

  She recalled the words Thaddeus had written in a letter Isabella had insisted on showing her when she came to tell her of Eleanor’s pregnancy—I do what I do to free your brothers and their friends, not to ensnare them in more intrigue—and the sentiment was surely as true tonight as it had been two weeks ago.

  ‘You must blame me for Thaddeus’s caution,’ she said. ‘I refused him permission to leave during Jacob’s funeral because I felt it spoke of a lack of respect for his brother. I imagine he came to discover if I’d made good on my threat to post him and your sons as absconders if they disobeyed me.’

  Disbelief showed in Gyles’s eyes. ‘You’re accomplished in many things, milady, but not in telling falsehoods. Perhaps it would be better to inform our people he came for horse collars and to request that sheep pens be built.’

  ‘I’m sure that’s wise.’

  He made to turn away but changed his mind. ‘Have I done something wrong, milady, failed you in some way, that you think I can’t be trusted with the truth? If I frightened you with talk of bandits, I most humbly apologise. Young Robert was right to say my sight is not what it was.’

  Lady Anne shook her head in immediate denial. ‘You’re my closest friend and I would trust you with my life.’ She searched his face for a moment. ‘Let me pose a different conundrum for you. Would you have me tell you the mysteries of your wife’s heart if I knew them?’

  Gyles pulled a twisted smile. ‘I’d not hear anything good about myself if you did.’

  ‘Then it wouldn’t be truth—just words said in a moment of irritation—and my betrayal would be the worse for stirring up trouble where none existed.’

  He was too clever to accept such an anodyne excuse. ‘But what if the trouble were real, milady? Wouldn’t it be a greater betrayal to stay quiet when you know that harm may come to others from your silence?’

  Lady Anne spread her hands in a small gesture of apology, praying he didn’t think she’d known of Eleanor’s plan to attack Isabella. ‘I’m less accomplished at reading minds than I am at lying, Gyles. If I knew where harm was lurking, be sure I would tell you.’

  He gave a small nod then moved to the door, pausing with his hand on the latch. ‘Thaddeus asked me to thank you for the package of food. He recognised the way the bundle was tied and knew you must have prepared it. He thanks you, too, for the candles you light in your window each night.’

  She smiled again. ‘I heard him say they were a foolish idea.’

  ‘He was jesting. I believe he knew them for what they were the moment he saw them—as I should have done the first day you lit them.’

  ‘And what’s that, Gyles?’

  He eased open the door. ‘A sign that it’s safe for our sons to come home, milady . . . though I’m puzzled why they or Thaddeus would need such assurance.’

  Two miles down the highway, Thaddeus wished he’d had the sense to bring a pack horse to carry the heavy horse collars that he wore around his shoulders and the tightly coiled ropes and harness that were balanced across his saddle and thighs. However delicately Killer picked his way around the ruts in the road, the collars drew blisters on his neck and the rope jabbed relentlessly against his groin.

  The rain, which had begun as a fine drizzle when he left Develish valley, grew in strength the farther south he and Killer travelled, and both were as wet as if they’d taken a swim in the moat by the time they reached the open ground where he and the boys had left the highway a fortnight earlier. He considered looking for shelter under the trees that lined Devil’s Brook but doubted he’d ever get himself or the charger moving again. Instead, he gritted his teeth and closed his mind to discomfort, thinking instead about the letter he’d found in Milady’s package.

  Even while Gyles had been narrating the story of how the serfs of Develish had repelled My Lord of Bourne’s attack, Thaddeus had been devouring the bread and the pickled egg. Both tasted the
sweeter for being absent from his diet for two weeks, and now the only parts of him that didn’t hurt were his half-full belly and the patch of skin on his chest that was covered by the small square of parchment he’d tucked inside his tunic. Without light, he hadn’t been able to read what Milady had written but he was sure her words were full of kindness, since she’d had no need to send him a message at all.

  Gyles had been careful to hold the lantern at his side as he walked to the front door of the manor house, but Thaddeus’s eyes were too well adjusted to the dark to miss the swish of a cloak behind his legs and the deference with which he shepherded a small, slender shadow inside.

  He’d felt a brief hurt that Lady Anne had hidden herself from him until he remembered he’d asked Gyles if he was alone. He worried then that it was he who had hurt her by refusing Gyles’s offers to fetch her, until the raft brought her package atop the rope.

  ‘I saw you step aside to let her enter the house,’ he’d confessed to Gyles as he ate the egg. ‘Had I known she was behind you I would have tempered my language about what we’ve encountered. It wasn’t my intention to frighten her.’

  ‘She guessed as much, which is why she hid herself,’ Gyles answered. ‘But you’re wrong to think she frightens easily, Thaddeus. My Lord of Bourne’s captain gave a clear indication that the women of Develish, being free of the pestilence, would be as highly prized by his men as gold, so Milady gathered our wives and daughters in the church and armed herself with a dagger in order to kill the first soldier who entered. She knew she would suffer for it, but she intended to fight as fiercely as the men.’