Table of Contents
Cover
Also by Candace Robb
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter One: Minstrels & Players in a Hall of Power
Chapter Two: A Fell Night, an Angel’s Voice
Chapter Three: Sanctuary
Chapter Four: Deaths on a Snowy Morn
Chapter Five: The Riddle of the Cloak
Chapter Six: Haunted Souls
Chapter Seven: A Deepening Mystery
Chapter Eight: Sandrine
Chapter Nine: A Night Watch
Chapter Ten: Visitors and Intruders
Chapter Eleven: A Maid’s Tale
Chapter Twelve: Complications
Chapter Thirteen: Two Days
Chapter Fourteen: An Unlikely Ally
Chapter Fifteen: Ouse Bridge, the Cross Keys
Chapter Sixteen: Ruined
Chapter Seventeen: The Archbishop’s Choice
Chapter Eighteen: A Prayer for Harmony
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Also by Candace RobbThe Owen Archer mysteries
THE APOTHECARY ROSE
THE LADY CHAPEL
THE NUN’S TALE
THE KING’S BISHOP
THE RIDDLE OF ST LEONARD’S
A GIFT OF SANCTUARY
A SPY FOR THE REDEEMER
THE CROSS-LEGGED KNIGHT
THE GUILT OF INNOCENTS
A VIGIL OF SPIES
A CONSPIRACY OF WOLVES *The Margaret Kerr series
A TRUST BETRAYED
THE FIRE IN THE FLINT
A CRUEL COURTSHIPThe Kate Clifford series
THE SERVICE OF THE DEAD
A TWISTED VENGEANCE
A MURDERED PEACE
* available from Severn House
A CHOIR OF CROWSCandace Robb
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First world edition published 2020
by Crème de la Crime an imprint of
SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD of
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Trade paperback edition first published
in Great Britain and the USA 2021 by
SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD.
eBook edition first published in 2020 by Severn House Digital
an imprint of Severn House Publishers Limited
Copyright © 2020 by Candace Robb.
The right of Candace Robb to be identified
as the author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs &
Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN-13: 978-1-78029-126-0 (cased)
ISBN-13: 978-1-78029-724-8 (trade paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4483-0445-5 (e-book)
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents
are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Except where actual historical events and characters are being described
for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are
fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
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For the Medieval Women’s Choir of Seattle – to sing with you is a joy surpassing reason, and especially for Marian ‘Molly’ Seibert, my inspiration.
The marvels of God are not brought forth from one’s self. Rather, it is more like a chord, a sound that is played. The tone does not come out of the chord itself, but rather, through the touch of the Musician. I am, of course, the lyre and harp of God’s kindness. Hildegard of Bingen
ONE
Minstrels & Players in a Hall of Power
Cawood Palace, early December 1374
Holding their pikes upright so they no longer threatened the new arrivals, the guards stepped aside to allow the players entrance to the great hall of Cawood Palace. A collective sigh rippled through the company as they exchanged encouraging nods, and, with a flourish of drums and recorders, stepped lightly through the carved doorway making a merry sound. Ambrose strode forward, arms outspread to show off the elegance of his fur-lined cloak and robe as he intoned a song celebrating the harvest.
Late for that, but with little time to prepare he had chosen a tune in both his and the players’ repertoires, and one that lent itself to such a procession – a good tempo and a range in which he could project his voice above the clatter of their instruments. The grandness of the gesture was key, not the theme: a jubilant noise to delight the lords gathered here. Tomorrow, as the nobles feasted in the hall, that would be the time to turn their heads with new lyrics in praise of the rising power of the Nevilles in the North.
For the new lord of Cawood Palace was a Neville, and the occasion was a gathering of Alexander’s kinsmen before his imminent enthronement as Archbishop of York in the great minster. Already consecrated archbishop in Westminster Abbey earlier in the year, he would now take his official seat. When Ambrose had learned of this gathering, the most powerful among the Nevilles here to instruct their ecclesiastical cousin on the temporal significance of his position, he had set about finding a way to witness it, in hopes of overhearing something of use to His Grace Prince Edward. For he had no doubt much would be said – the Nevilles had used their influence, including a not inconsiderable amount of wealth, to win this honor for Alexander, and now they would expect him to make it worthwhile, to prove himself worthy of the high position – second most powerful churchman in the realm. The impression he made on the city of York and the many religious houses therein, especially the chapter of its glorious minster, must be one of strength, but tempered with grace – he must assure the dean and chapter and all the clergy in his care that he meant to be a magnanimous master.
It remained to be seen whether Alexander Neville could play the part. His career so far would argue otherwise. Even across the south sea in the French court Ambrose had heard tales of Neville’s tantrum over a bishopric in Cornwall, an ugly dispute
