The Unconventional Maiden (20 page)

‘You are kind, but I must stay here,’ said Beth, her voice softening. ‘Besides, I am not alone. I have Jane and the hound and, if needs must, I can send one of the men when they return from the dinner to fetch Benjamin.’

Nick nodded and stepped away from her. ‘I bear you a great affection, Beth, but I can see that the death of Gawain’s wife has changed everything. But my offer still holds. If you are in need and others cannot help you, come to Greenwich and I and my brothers will certainly do what we can to support you.’

She blinked back tears and thanked him warmly and saw him out before going back inside, thinking that it was going to be a very long worrying day if she did not have news of Gawain soon.

Gawain had left his boat moored at the quayside and had strode up with Sam from the Thames when he noticed Father Hugh hurrying along in front of them. His lips tightened and he laid a hand on Sam’s sleeve and indicated the priest with a nod of his head. Sam nodded and a few moments later they watched him enter Beth’s premises by the front door. The next moment it sounded as if all hell had broken loose and, even from where he stood, Gawain could hear the priest’s shouts of complaint. He grinned, thinking that at least Beth’s other protector was performing his duties satisfactorily. He told Sam to stay where he was and follow the priest when he emerged from the house whilst he went round the back. To his exasperation, he discovered the gates to the yard locked, but at least it told him that Beth was being careful to watch her back. He guessed that he was going to have to climb over the wall.

Beth noticed Cerberus’s head tilt to one side and she tensed. Until then he had been growling and tearing with his sharp teeth at the fabric from Father Hugh’s sleeve. Now he whined and went over to the door that led to the yard. Obviously a friend, she thought, relieved. Perhaps one of the men was returning early from his dinner. She went over to unlock the door and relief flooded her as she recognised the tall strong figure standing there.

‘Beth, love, are you all right? Or is that damned priest hiding somewhere?’

She threw herself into Gawain’s arms and he hugged
her close and kissed her. That kiss seemed to go on for ever and then his mouth lifted from hers and he smiled down at her. ‘That is the kind of welcome I have dreamed of.’

‘I am so glad to see you. I have been hearing such rumours that I have been frightened for you,’ she said huskily.

His expression altered and his mouth was set grim. ‘What did Father Hugh have to say?’

‘Not just him, but Nick Hurst who arrived before him. He told me that he had heard rumours that Mary was dead and your aunt was unconscious and that you and the children were missing.’

‘It’s true that Mary is dead,’ said Gawain with a sigh. ‘And, God forgive me, when I heard the news, all I could think of was that now I’d be able to marry you without further difficulty.’

She gave him a luminous smile, her arms looping about his neck. ‘So what do we do next?’

‘We can marry this day secretly. I want you to bear my name just in case aught should happen to me,’ said Gawain.

She clutched him tightly. ‘Do not say that! As soon as Nick Hurst informed me of your wife’s death and told of the rumours that she had left you for another man and that we had become fond of each other in her absence, I have feared for your safety.’

Gawain swore.

‘There is more,’ said Beth. ‘Father Hugh told me that the king has issued a warrant for your arrest.’

Gawain’s eyes glinted. ‘He said it to frighten you.’
A shadow crossed his handsome face. ‘I was nowhere near the house when Mary died. I was on my way back from the Weald and found Tom in the stables. He was making ready the horses to escort my aunt to London. We were met at the front door by the girls, who were almost speechless with shock. They had seen their mother die.’

‘So Mary’s death was an accident?’

‘No!’ His expression was suddenly fierce. ‘Lydia managed to tell me that she saw a woman hit Mary on the head and send her crashing to the floor. Apparently she was hit again whilst she was down. The children were upstairs with my aunt and they saw what happened. Catherine immediately went to Mary’s aid, only to end up wrestling with the woman. Lydia swore that she was wearing a wig and it slipped. My aunt came off the worst of it and I found her unconscious near Mary’s body. I sent one of the servants to fetch the physician and Tom and I carried my aunt to her bed. I would not have left her without making sure she was well taken care of.’ He made no mention of Mary’s body, which had been placed in the family vault.

‘Where are the children now? Were they able to describe the woman?’

‘Aye, and interestingly her description fits the one seen going into your father’s tent in France and on the night of the fire,’ he said grimly. ‘Lydia said she was as strong as a man and naturally that set me thinking.’

Beth nodded. ‘You mean it was a man in disguise and that was the reason for the wig, not that a woman might not have lost her hair due to some foul disease.’

‘Aye! If only I had arrived back earlier, I would have caught him in the act and known for certain his identity. As it is, I cannot prove it was Father Hugh.’

Beth said slowly, ‘Yet it seems extremely likely. At least you have witnesses to prove that you could not have killed Mary,’ she added.

Gawain’s expression hardened. ‘I want him to pay for these murders and for making you suffer and terrifying the girls.’

‘But how can we prove he is guilty?’ she asked. ‘You must admit he is crafty.’

‘Not crafty enough. How is it he managed to get here before I did with the news that Mary was dead and the king had issued a warrant for my arrest? The king has moved his court to Westminster. He will return to Greenwich for the twelve days of Christmas. I deem Father Hugh was unaware of the king’s movements, so I doubt even Wolsey knows aught of this, never mind Henry. The only way Father Hugh could have known of Mary’s death was if he was in the vicinity at the time. Possibly Mary wrote to him. We can only guess. I have thought that he might have murdered Mary not only to silence her, but to implicate me. The same with Cedric and the dagger, only his plans didn’t work out the way he wanted. I deem he panicked when he heard mine and the men’s voices outside the hall before he could do anything about the girls.’

‘He must have scurried out by another door and instantly begun to spread rumours,’ said Beth, ‘so providing people with a motive for why you should want
Mary dead. Yet he must have known you had an alibi and the children witnessed Mary’s murder?’

‘Aye,’ he rasped. ‘We have to start a counter-rumour, but must be prepared for him reacting by spreading another to counter ours—maybe that Tom and my children and the servants would cover up the crime because they are in my power.’

Fear trickled down her spine. ‘People can be so easily convinced that a falsehood is truth if it is repeated often enough. We must catch him before he can react,’ she said swiftly.

Gawain said, ‘You must not worry for yours and the child’s sake.’ He kissed her tenderly. ‘I have set Sam to watch him. I will know where he goes this day.’

‘Good. I have one more question. Where are the children?’

‘I wanted them in a safe place, so I took them to the convent of the order of St Clare at Aldgate. The chaplain to the Sisters is a kinsman of mine. He used to be a priest, but is now a Franciscan friar—he is licensed to perform the sacraments. He will marry us this day.’

‘Without banns?’

‘Aye.’ He chucked her under the chin.

‘He can be trusted?’

‘You doubt my judgement?’ said Gawain, raising an eyebrow. ‘Not all priests are corrupt and live in sin and luxury.’

‘Of course not! I have always admired the Franciscans for their way of life,’ she said.

He released her at the sound of footsteps outside. ‘There are matters I must see to now, but I will return
at dusk. Wear your prettiest gown and don’t forget a warm cloak and to pack extra clothing.’

Gawain exchanged greetings with a couple of the men as they entered and slipped past them, hurrying down the yard. Beth prayed he would be careful and watch his back. After a few words with her employees, she hurried upstairs to speak to Jane. Her heart was aflutter at the thought that tonight would be her wedding night and that her child would bear Gawain’s name.

Beth had been pacing the floor for the last half-hour. She felt as tense as a coiled spring despite her trust in Gawain to keep his word that they would wed that day. She had told the men to go early and soon it would be dusk. Jane was sitting in front of the fire, stirring a pan of pottage, her eye half on the hound. Both women knew that he would alert them to any visitors, welcome or not.

‘You will be all right here?’ asked Beth.

‘I’ll be fine, Mistress Beth. I just wish I could come with you and see you wed,’ said Jane, sniffing back a tear.

‘We shall see what Sir Gawain has to say when he arrives,’ said Beth.

Not for one moment had she considered keeping the truth from Jane, knowing that she would support her in whatever way was needful. The maid had helped Beth into a gown of saffron linsey-woolsey with a low square neckline, trimmed with lace. The removable sleeves were full and attached at the elbow with ribbons.

There were also ribbons in her chestnut hair that she had left loose. She was wearing stout boots because she did not want her fine leather shoes spoilt if she went and stepped in something nasty in the dark, so she had placed the latter in a drawstring cloth bag. She also had a blade in a leather sheath attached to her belt from which also hung her purse. Her hooded thick winter cloak was ready at hand for her to snatch up the moment Gawain came for her.

Suddenly Cerberus’s head shot up and he stood up and whined. Instantly Jane removed the pot from the fire and looked at her mistress. Beth picked up her cloak with a hand that quivered and wrapped it around her. She told Jane to wait at the top of the stairs. Then she hurried downstairs with the dog at her heels. ‘Who is there?’ she called.

‘It is I, Gawain.’

Hastily Beth opened the door to his shadowy cloaked figure and instantly Cerberus pushed past her and went out into the yard. Gawain smiled at her. ‘I am glad to see that you are ready.’

‘Aye, but Jane wishes to come. Is that acceptable to you?’

‘Of course she can come,’ said Gawain. ‘Benjamin is also accompanying us.’

Beth called up to Jane, who instantly seized her cloak and came running down the stairs. The three of them stepped outside and Jane made a grab for Cerberus’s collar, but the hound dodged her. ‘Bad dog,’ scolded Jane. ‘You must go back inside.’

‘Leave him be, Jane,’ murmured Beth. ‘Is he not my guard dog?’

‘Indeed, he is,’ said Gawain. ‘Let him come with us.’

Beth drew her cloak tightly about her against the cold wind. Gawain took her hand and drew it through his arm. ‘Benjamin, you have your orders.’

Benjamin slipped away and the hound followed him. Jane clutched her mistress’s cloak. ‘Don’t want to lose you in the darkness,’ she whispered.

‘Just let us not draw attention to ourselves,’ murmured Gawain. ‘Don’t talk unless it is needful.’

So they did not speak as they made their way through the dark narrow streets. Beth was aware of the sound their footsteps and their breathing, as well of the hound growling in his throat every now and then when close by there came a slithering or a scurrying of feet. Several times she was tempted to glance over her shoulder, knowing there was always the chance of attack by footpads if one was out after dusk. She was glad of Gawain’s muscular arm beneath her fingers and remembered that time in France when she had been tense with nerves and shock and depended on the strength of this man to protect her. She thought of her father and hoped he could see her from heaven and be pleased that she was marrying the man to whom he had entrusted her future.

If the evening had not already taken on an air of unreality, it would have done so when they came to a door set in a wall. Gawain lifted the large handle and
banged it. He was obviously expected because the door was opened almost immediately by a religious. Smiling, she ushered them inside and they were led across a courtyard to a building that loomed up dark against the starlit sky. At the door they were greeted by a man dressed in the brown habit of a Franciscan friar.

‘Beth, this is my kinsman, Brother Thomas,’ said Gawain easily.

The friar took Beth’s hand and held it a moment. ‘I am pleased to welcome you here, Mistress Llewellyn. Please, follow me.’

Gawain took Beth’s hand and she gripped it tightly as they hurried after the friar. They, in their turn, were trailed by Jane. The interior felt damp and was lit by just a few candles. The musky smell of incense hung in the air and a vase of autumn leaves and berries stood at the foot of a statue of St Clare.

The service did not take long and Beth and Gawain’s eyes never left the other’s face as they plighted their troth, taking each other for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death parted them. Unfortunately, Gawain had forgotten to buy a ring, so with a teasing smile, Beth tugged the one that had belonged to her mother from a finger and gave it to him. With a wry smile he pushed it on the third finger of her left hand before raising it to his lips and kissing it.

Beth heard a sob escape Jane as Brother Thomas pronounced them man and wife. She remembered how she had made a list of those traits in a husband that she considered most desirable. Now she knew that which was
most needful in a marriage: a companion whom you could love without reservation and who would love you for yourself. Although Gawain had yet to say he loved her—but how could she doubt him when he had done so much in order for them to marry? Even so, she experienced a little ache inside her, wanting to hear him say those words. They left the chapel as they had entered it, hand in hand. As they walked through the darkness to the guest house attached to the abbey, Gawain told Beth that in the morning he would return with her and the children to Raventon Hall.

‘I deem it likely that going back there could give them bad dreams, but sooner or later they will have to return home, so best they do so in our company. Lydia is also worried about my aunt.’