something that made his heart thump in alarm, and he thought that perhaps he did understand after all.
‘Yes, yes,’ she said slowly. Then, suppressed fury sharpening her voice, ‘Rumours, Josse, always rumours! So much has been said about my son King Richard, so much that is bad. Evil. So much that is untrue.’
‘They are saying that he knew of this group of knights?’ Josse asked tentatively.
‘They are saying that he was one of them,’ she replied brutally. ‘They say he joined them in their foul, unnatural rites, that he had carnal knowledge of young boys, that he came here, to this very island, not long before he died to lead one of their most frightful ceremonies — ’ she drew a shaky breath — ‘that he was there to hear the terrible screams.’
‘My lady, I…’ But Josse was lost for words. He wanted to state firmly that he was quite sure there was no truth in the rumours, that the late king was innocent of the dreadful accusations, but he was not at all sure that he could speak the words and sound as if he were telling the truth.
‘I have a mission for you, Josse,’ the queen said quietly. ‘When you have completed it, report back to me. I continue my progress for some weeks, but by mid-July I shall be in Rouen. I wish you to investigate these rumours and find out if there is any truth in them. If there is not, you are to arrest all those responsible for blackening the name of the king and bring them to me for trial and punishment.’
There was a long, aching silence.
Finally Josse said, ‘And if there is?’
The queen’s dark, unfathomable eyes stared straight into his. It was rather like being pinned to a wall. ‘If there is,’ she repeated, ‘bury it. Bury it so deeply that it can never emerge.’
Two
The Hawkenlye party were treated with every courteous consideration during their brief stay at the Chateau d’Oleron. To Helewise’s surprise, that evening Sister Caliste and the lay brothers were, like herself and Josse, invited to dine at the queen’s table. Observing Helewise’s amazement, Eleanor took her to one side and said, ‘My dear, this, as I believe you perceive, is my retreat. I do not have to follow the rules of the outside world here and it is my wish to have a merry gathering. Let your good Sister Caliste and the brethren enjoy some luxury while they may.’
The queen had her wish. The simple diet of the Hawkenlye community did not include delicious and deceptively strong French wines and very quickly Brother Augustus and Sister Caliste emerged from their overawed shells and were laughing and joking as if they had known Eleanor all their young lives. Brother Saul, older and more conditioned to his lowly status, took longer to relax and it was only when the queen requested a song that he finally joined in the merriment. Helewise had never heard him sing solo before and the rich baritone that emerged from his thin, wiry frame was as much a revelation to her as it clearly was to Queen Eleanor.
When he finished — he had performed a faintly ribald song about a maid and a boy falling in love and the absurd course of the lad’s courtship — the queen clapped her hands with delight, said she had heard nothing so good since she had been a girl in the sunny, romantic south and did Brother Saul know any more?
In the middle of the following morning, Helewise was ready to depart. The letters from the queen were safe in a small satchel that Helewise wore at her waist, and the parchments bearing the plans for the new chapel had been carefully rolled and stored inside protective lead cylinders. Brother Saul had been assigned the responsibility of getting them safely back to Hawkenlye.
Having taken her farewell of the queen, Helewise made her way down to the stables, where the others were waiting for her. Sister Caliste and the lay brothers were already mounted; Josse stood beside Horace.
‘Ready, Sir Josse?’ She smiled at him. ‘We should make haste, for our business here is done and we must be on our way.’
‘My lady, I am not coming with you.’
‘Not…? But, Sir Josse, why ever not?’
He hesitated and she thought he looked awkward. ‘I have… The queen has asked me to fulfil a mission for her. It is a private matter.’ He hurried on as she made to comment, ‘Something that she confided in me yesterday.’
‘When she called you back into the hall,’ Helewise breathed. ‘Of course.’ Then a sudden flash of inspiration hit her and she realized that the queen had planned all this. Knowing Helewise, knowing the special place held by Sir Josse d’Acquin in the hearts of everyone at Hawkenlye, Eleanor had been fully aware who Helewise would ask to accompany her on this journey into the unknown. She reached out and caught hold of Josse’s sleeve. ‘Sir Josse, a word,’ she muttered.
They walked a few paces away from the others. ‘My lady?’ Josse asked in a whisper.
‘I realize that this matter must be sensitive and confidential, and that you are sworn to secrecy,’ she whispered back, ‘and I would not dream of trying to make you divulge any details. However, sensitive secrets habitually bring danger with them. Whatever you have to do, dear Josse, and wherever you have to go, take Gussie with you.’
‘Gussie!’ Josse exclaimed — too loudly, for the young man heard and his head shot up in alarm.
‘It’s all right, Brother Augustus,’ Helewise called. Then, lowering her voice, she said to Josse, ‘I insist. I appreciate that you may not be able to tell him what you’re doing but, please, at least accept him as a travelling companion.’ Sensing that Josse was weakening, she added craftily, ‘You would advise the same thing yourself, would you not?’
He laughed briefly. ‘Aye, my lady, so I would.’ He paused, frowning. ‘Very well. I’ll take the lad with me and I’ll do what I’ve been commanded to do. I’ll join you at Chartres if I can — I do not know how long my mission will take, but you, I imagine, will be in the city for a few days while you go about the task of engaging your workmen. If I miss you there, then I will meet you back at Hawkenlye.’
She looked at him. It all seemed very uncertain. It was undoubtedly a long way even to Chartres, never mind back to England, and suddenly the thought of all those miles, all those days, without his cheery, reassuring company seemed hard to bear. However, he had his orders and so did she.
She squared her shoulders and said, ‘Very well, Sir Josse. God’s speed, and may He keep you safe in His care until we meet again.’
She could tell he was touched by the same emotion — she read it in his eyes — but then he bowed low, saying gravely as he straightened up, ‘And you too, my lady. Good luck.’
Then there was nothing else to do but give Brother Augustus his new instructions, remove two portions of the supplies and the spare clothing from the packhorse and, with Sister Caliste on one side and Brother Saul on the other, ride out of the courtyard, over the stone bridge and away.
Queen Eleanor planned to leave later that day. Well, that was understandable, Josse reflected, standing in a corner of the great courtyard and watching as the queen’s luggage train was prepared. She had had her private talk with him and her business here was therefore done. Now she could go on to attend to some of the myriad other matters clamouring for her attention in these uncertain times as her youngest son, King John, took his brother’s place. According to stable-yard gossip, Eleanor was heading first for Rochefort, then on to Saint-Jean-d’Angely and Saintes. ‘She’s got enemies all around her,’ one of the grooms muttered to Josse, ‘and she needs to make sure her own people will help her if she needs them.’
It seemed as good a summing-up of the position as any, Josse thought. Eleanor’s situation — indeed, King John’s situation — was the one thing every fighting man tried to avoid: facing two enemies at once. Now it was Arthur of Brittany over in the north-west and Philip of France in his heartland around Paris who threatened. Josse did not blame the queen in the least for hastening to ensure the support of her own loyal vassals.
Finally Eleanor’s party was ready to leave and the queen descended into the courtyard. She was helped on to her horse and, as she turned to ride out across the stone bridge, she cast her eyes around as if for one last look. It seemed, though, that she had a more immediate purpose: spotting Josse, her tense expression relaxed and she beckoned him over.
He approached and made a low bow. Straightening, he said, ‘Madam?’
Eleanor leaned down and said, ‘Do you see the squat, swarthy guard at the far end of the bridge? Don’t let him see that you are looking!’ she added in an urgent hiss.
