of the moors, she added in an undertone to Hugh: ‘The truth is, I had to get away for a while,’ and told him about Nicholas’s advances.
‘So what did he actually say to you?’ Hugh asked, his brow wrinkled with concentration.
‘He offered me a coin to sleep with him. And put his hand here,’ she said, touching her right breast.
‘If he tries it again, you tell me or my master. We’ll protect you. That foreign bastard can’t go around assuming Devon girls are the same as his over there,’ said Hugh stoutly.
‘Thank you, Hugh,’ she said gratefully, and tears sprang into her eyes again. It was so consoling to be able to share her problem with someone who would actually exert himself on her behalf to help and protect her.
Unlike her lover.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sir Baldwin was determined to question the Fleming as soon as possible. The hospitality at Throwleigh was adequate, certainly, but unremarkable – which was quite understandable, given the recent tragic events – and yet van Relenghes seemed determined to remain even though the atmosphere should have been painful to anyone with a sense of courtesy. Baldwin was sure that the man had some ulterior motive, but he couldn’t see what that motive might be. Unconsciously, he began walking faster as the mourners headed back to Throwleigh Manor, and soon drew level with Sir James. Simon, seeing the direction his feet were taking him in, smiled grimly to himself and increased his own speed to match the knight’s.
‘Sir,’ Baldwin said, smiling in a friendly manner. ‘Could I speak to you for a few minutes while we return to the manor?’
Godfrey glanced at his master. Van Relenghes scarcely acknowledged the knight, but nodded as Baldwin and his friend came level. Godfrey fell back a short distance, not from politeness to give them privacy, but to give himself room to unsheath his sword. He had no reason to distrust the knight, but he knew his place: he was paid to protect his master.
It was the knight who began. ‘It is a pleasant part of Devonshire, this.’
Van Relenghes gave a dry chuckle. ‘There are worse parts?’
‘You should see the middle of the moors,’ said Simon with feeling.
‘If it is more desolate there than here, I have no wish to.’
‘But you enjoy taking in the views, don’t you?’ Baldwin said. ‘Like on the day poor Master Herbert died.’
Van Relenghes stiffened. ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Nothing, sir. But I heard you were out on the moors that day. Was I wrongly informed?’
‘No, I was there.’ To Godfrey’s ear his master’s voice carried a faint trace of anxiety; only a hint, not enough for anyone to have noticed who didn’t know the Fleming. ‘But I do not like my movements to be tracked in this way. Why do you question people about me?’
‘It is hardly surprising, is it, when a child of rank is murdered?’
‘Do you suppose I had something to do with his death?’
Godfrey allowed himself to relax, taking his hand from his belt and flexing the fingers. His master sounded amused, nothing more.
‘I would hardly think that without very convincing evidence. But I would be very glad to hear what you saw out there that day. I know that Thomas was in the area. Did you see him?’
‘Oh, yes. The fellow rode past us once with that servant of his. He gave us a good day, and stopped to speak to us. After a while he carried on. We didn’t see him again after that.’
‘What did he want to talk about?’
Van Relenghes smiled beguilingly. ‘I am not sure that I should tell you, Sir Baldwin. But lest you think the man is honourable, let me say that he was prepared to take my money in exchange for his promise to persuade his sister-in-law to sell me a portion of the estate. He made this offer to me in front of my servant here.’
Baldwin and Simon exchanged a glance. The bailiff could see that his friend was unsure how to proceed, and said, ‘Did you and he agree on a deal?’
‘Agree?’ Van Relenghes frowned sternly at Simon. ‘God’s blood, no, Bailiff! Would you expect a soldier to try to deprive his comrade’s widow of her livelihood? Of course not. I was disgusted by Thomas’s bad faith and turned him down flat. He rode off in a passion – absolutely furious, he was.’
‘Why should he have thought you would be interested in such a deal, I wonder?’ Baldwin murmured.
‘How can I tell?’ van Relenghes shot back. ‘All I know is that he is hard up for money. He speculated and lost, and now he needs cash badly.’
‘You learned this before coming here?’ Baldwin asked, surprised.
Van Relenghes spoke frankly. ‘I heard of this man while in Exeter, and yes, I checked into his background. I wanted to know whether he was the brother of my old comrade. But I fear that when you ask for information, sometimes you are given more than you wish to hear.’
‘Was there anyone else on the road that day?’
‘We saw that drunken farmer, of course.’
Godfrey smiled. The man had been so obviously the worse for drink that he and his master had laughed uproariously once Edmund had passed them, sitting uncomfortably on his board, his eyes wide and fearful at seeing two such men out in the middle of nowhere. His fear was all too plain, and although he tried to be surreptitious about it, they could see him peering Wearily over his shoulder at them as his cart creaked round the curve in the road. A thought suddenly struck Godfrey.
‘Master, there was the other cart, the one with the fishman coming back from the manor,’ he put in. ‘He passed us a short while before the farmer, going the other way.’
‘That must be the fish-seller Daniel mentioned,’ Simon said.
‘Yes, I’d forgotten him,’ the Fleming said languidly.
‘How did he look?’ Simon pressed.
‘Look?’ asked van Relenghes. ‘What sort of a question is that?’
‘Was he scared? Alarmed? Upset?’
‘I hardly know what some villein might look like while alarmed,’ van Relenghes said dismissively.
‘He was fine, sir,’ Godfrey said. ‘He came past us at a slow walk, whistling happily enough, gave us a good day, and carried on.’
‘You see my reasoning, Baldwin?’ said Simon, facing his friend. ‘If he’d just ridden past – or over! – Herbert’s body, he’d have shown it, wouldn’t he? But he came by and greeted these gentlemen as if nothing had happened. I’d bet Herbert’s body was put in the road after the fishmonger had passed by.’
Baldwin nodded, then: ‘Did you hear anything as he approached, or perhaps after he’d gone past?’
‘Such as?’
Baldwin’s face hardened. ‘A boy screaming, for example.’
Van Relenghes shook his head. ‘I had other matters to consider at the time. The last thing on my mind was whether some fool of a farmer might take it into his head to kill my comrade’s son.’
‘Did you visit him often?’
The Fleming shook his head sadly. ‘I fear not. I would have, but I have only recently come to this country. Until a few weeks ago I was serving in the castle in Bordeaux. Otherwise I would have been here before. Especially if I had known my old friend had so charming a wife!’
His eyes were narrowed with amusement. It was intolerable that a man should make such a comment about a woman who had been bereaved for so short a time. Even a friend and comrade shouldn’t joke of such a thing. It smacked of impropriety.
Baldwin continued as if he hadn’t noticed. ‘You chose to come here to pay your respects after Squire Roger died.’
‘When I heard what had happened, I thought it was only right that I should come and offer what comfort I could to his widow.’
‘Where were you when you heard of his death?’ Simon pressed.
‘In Exeter,’ van Relenghes admitted coolly.
