She met his gaze full on.
Already he had become used to people looking away from his scars, but she did not. The challenge in her eyes brought a smile to his ruined lips.
'I should be most curious to hear a single good reason why you should not be wed, assuming you have a tongue?'
'Aye, my lord,' she said. 'I have a tongue,'
'Excellent. Then let us hear from you on this matter. This court is nothing if not fair, so speak. One good reason is all I ask, and let's have no talk of love. As has been argued already it has no place here.'
'Very well, my lord,' she said, rising to her feet. 'But if I am to level accusations against the character of Craven, I would do so in private, not with the gawpers looking on.' She gestured towards the ranks of onlookers crowded into the chamber. 'I would not needlessly destroy a man's good name by turning his life into gossip for his neighbours.'
'I think you've already done that, madam,' Alymere said.
'Then I would not cause undue damage beyond what has been done. I beg your indulgence, my lord. Just a few moments' privacy, then I will heed whatever decision you see fit to make.'
Alymere rose from his chair and stepped down from the dais.
'Come then, miss.'
He led her behind a sun-faded tapestry that hid an alcove and afforded some little privacy.
'Speak your piece.'
They were close, uncomfortably so. He could feel her breath against his neck. There was nowhere to hide from the intensity of her eyes. The dark around them made it seem as though they had no whites. He had been wrong on two counts. She was beautiful, he realised, and her fear had not faded into resignation. She was resigned, yes, but that did not blunt the fear one iota. It was only then that he recognised the spectre lurking behind them for what it was: death.
'My lord, it is simply this: I have heard tell that Craven's first wife, six years in the ground, was helped there by her husband's hand.'
Her words had the ring of sincerity to them, but that did not mean for a minute that they were true, only that she believed them. 'A serious accusation indeed,' Alymere said, thoughtfully. 'I can see why you would not want to say this before all and sundry. You told your father this, and obviously it was enough for him to break off the betrothal. I understand now. What father would knowingly send his daughter into the bed of a killer? But that in itself would make this a perfect lie for someone looking to escape her fate without destroying an old man's honour, wouldn't it? After all, who is going to punish a father for protecting his child? So, you are either a very cunning creature or a very desperate one. Tell me, which is it?'
'I am not a liar, my lord. I believe Craven murdered his first wife, Elspeth, because she was barren.'
'Then do you have any evidence to substantiate such wild accusations?'
'None, save that when I look into his eyes I see the truth of it.'
He found it difficult to think with her so close. He could smell her hair and found his eyes drifting down to the nape of her neck, where the smallest trace of sweat had begun to gather. He felt his body stir and loathed himself for such human frailty. He wanted to touch her.
'So you would have me spare you the same fate based upon some flight of fancy? An imagined evil behind the eyes? With evidence I would have no hesitation. Hellfire, I would rain righteous vengeance down upon his head, believe me. The fat man's screams would be heard all the way to France. But without it, my hands are tied. I do not know what else I can say.'
She reached up and placed her palm over his heart. 'Then do not say anything. Look into his eyes, my lord. The soul cannot be hidden. You will know the truth. That is all I ask. Look into his eyes and ask him about Elspeth.'
He drew back the curtain and returned to his seat to offer judgement, although what that judgement might be he still did not know.
Every eye was on him. Expectancy hung in the air. The two men watched him, each desperate for the verdict to go their way. Craven was sweating. It clung to the front of his shirt, leaving a dark stain beneath his pits and across his belt.
'I have one question for you, Craven, answer it and I shall offer my decision.'
'Ask anything, my lord. I have no secrets.'
'Good. Then my question is this: is this to be your first union?'
'No, my lord. I was married once before, to my beloved Elspeth. She was taken by the sickness some six years gone and there isn't a day I do not think of her. There is not a night that I do not lie awake and mourn her loss, and wish that I had some small part of her to live on, a son to labour side by side with me on the farm, a daughter to welcome us home after a hard day's graft. I loved her with all of my body, which is why I will not marry for love again. I could not bear the loss.'
The words were smooth, but they were not glib. He had not rehearsed them, so perhaps they came from the heart? Whatever the truth, Alymere could not see the lie in Craven's eyes. So for all the woman's protestations there was no glimpse of the man's blackened soul to make the decision for him. And, as he looked down at her on her knees before him, the surge of lust he felt all but made his mind up for him. A true man must be pure of heart and free of earthly desires, and that meant unpicking the knot of these temptations and teasing out the lies, the suspicions, the falsehoods and misdirections and getting to the core of it.
He lowered his head, trying to imagine what his father would have done in his stead. Roth would no doubt tell him he could not damn a man for what he
When he raised his head again, he saw a line of crows had gathered upon the window ledges high above the benches, adding their beady eyes to the gawping crowd. He counted two dozen of them, but only one of them held his gaze for more than a second. It had a streak of white in its feathers, and neither preened nor primped but merely watched. He thought of the red hart he had chased into the forest and how he had taken it as a sign. Could this too be a sign?
'I have weighed the evidence presented by both parties and find no compelling reason to dismiss the man Craven's claim, as much as I might want to, and so with heavy heart I must find in his favour. I take no joy from this decision, save that it is a fair one.' He turned his attention to the fat man, whose delight was evident on his ruddy features. 'I would urge you not to wed merely to sire sons but risk your heart once more, for that is the great triumph of man, our ability to love again and again. The old wounds hurt, but new loves can heal them better than any unguent. But if your mind is set on this course, then so be it. It is not for me to change it. If you cannot love, then at least you can fulfil your husbandly duties and provide for this woman so that she does not want, and in that be the best husband you can be to her. This is my verdict. Do you agree to abide by it?'
'Aye, my lord,' Craven said. 'Thank you.'
'Do not thank me. A life without love is no life worth living, as far as I can tell.' He turned to Isaiah. 'And what of you? Do you swear to abide by the judgement of this court?'
'Yes, my lord,' the tall man said. Where he had seemed like a spindle as he first shuffled towards the chair, now he seemed like reed broken in the wind. His back bowed, the strength gone from his spine. There could be no doubting the fact that he truly believed his daughter's claims and took Alymere's judgement to mean she had just been condemned to death. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but the when of it was not important. It took what little strength remained to him to walk away from the seat without having to lean upon the bailiffs for support. He maintained that much dignity, at least, though he could no longer look at his daughter.
The woman spared no such thoughts for dignity. She cried out: 'No!' struggling against the hands that reached for her. And he realised he did not even know her name. Like the two men she stood between he had treated her as nothing more than a chattel to be traded. The realisation made him sick. To her he said, 'You do not deserve this, and I feel that I have failed you. For that I am truly sorry. I can only hope that you find happiness.' And to the men, 'I do not want to see either of you before me again. The pair of you sicken me to my stomach. Think on what has happened here. Do right by each other, I implore you.' To the galleries, he called, 'The court is ended. I need to scrub the taint of this decision from my skin.'
As one, the four and twenty birds took flight, the flurry of their wings against the glass turning every head. Only the white-streaked crow remained. It did not fly away until Alymere left his seat and the Assizes came to a
