Vesper struggled not to smile. “I have been wiser than you since I was born.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. Only you did not notice.”
“I am noticing now.”
“Swear it?”
“I do.”
That seemed like a step in the right direction as far as Vesper was concerned. The mood was lighter and she felt better about the situation in general. As she led her father into the hall for a much needed meal, she failed to see a group of riders bearing the blue and white of Canterbury enter the gates of Eynsford.
Eynsford was on the road between Canterbury and London, depending on which road one took, but the castle was situated to the west of Rochester and just south of the Dartford crossing, a major ferry crossing across the River Thames that led directly into London on the other side. Because of that, Eynsford had its share of traffic, of travelers passing through, and it was a verybusy place in that regard. A group of allied soldiers was nothing new in the sights of Eynsford Castle.
Which is why Vesper paid no attention. Even if she had seen them, she wouldn’t have given them a second thought. She sat with her father in the great hall of Eynsford, another wooden building with a steeply pitched thatched roof, and watched him wolf down bread, cheese, and a type of stew calledengoule, which was made with barley, milk, and beef broth. McCloud had three bowls of it before he even started to slow down, taking the time to emit a very large burp before continuing with his meal at a more leisurely pace.
All the while, Vesper sat across the table from him, letting him eat and not interrupting him with dialogue. In truth, she needed time to think on their conversation and decide if she truly wanted to give the man another chance in her life. She was coming to think that it would be better if she did because she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life regretting her coldness towards her father.
He was making a great effort so perhaps she should, too.
As Vesper continued to watch him eat, the door to the hall opened and the four soldiers bearing blue and white tunics spilled forth. Desmond was right behind them.
“Sit,” Desmond instructed the soldiers, pointing to seating far down the table from Vesper and her father. “I will have food and drink brought to you.”
The soldiers moved to claim their seats but one of them, spying the lovely Lady Vesper, decided not to sit so far down the table. When Desmond left the hall, he managed to scoot in her direction, eyeing McCloud as he did. Not knowing if the man was her husband, father, or no one at all, he proceeded carefully.
“Greetings” he said to both of them, although his focus was on Vesper. “It is a very fine day today, even with the snow. It looks as if you have had a great deal here.”
Vesper didn’t want to strike up a conversation with a strange soldier, bold as he was. As she deliberately looked away, McCloud spoke with his mouth full.
“Be on your way,” he grumbled. “Our conversation is private.”
The soldier seemed contrite, but only slightly. He stopped his advance and backed off. “Of course it is,” he said as if to beg pardon. “I did not mean to interrupt anything. I was simply being friendly. My comrades and I have traveled a long way today, bearing important messages for all of London.”
Vesper still wasn’t looking at him but McCloud turned to him. “If that is true, then you had better do your duty and keep your mouth shut until you are with the man you are supposed to deliver the message to,” he said. “What fool would spout off about the important messages he is carrying to people he does not even know?”
The soldier, who had been very friendly and bordering on jovial, lost his humor. “Because this is a message that the entire country will want to hear,” he said, a hint of threat in his tone. “The Archbishop of Canterbury was murdered by men sent by Henry. We bear this news to take to the sheriffs to the north.”
McCloud was already looking at the man but Vesper turned to him, shocked by what she had heard. “Murdered?” she gasped before she could stop herself. “When?”
The soldier turned to her, the lovely woman with the high cheekbones and the pale eyes. “A week ago, my lady,” he said, pleased that she was being friendly. He wanted to show her how important he was and how much he knew about this terrible deed so he began running off at the mouth. “The archbishop was ambushed by at least six knights and several soldiers, men loyal to the king.”
It was an astonishing bit of news. “Sweet Jesù,” she said, stunned. “They killed him?”
“Assassinatedhim, my lady.”
“And it was Henry’s men for certain?”
The soldier lifted an eyebrow. “The men bore the colors of de Nerra, who is Henry’s justice in Hampshire,” he said, leaning towards Vesper and McCloud as if he was divulging deep and dark information. “Do you know who I mean? Surely you have heard of the man here at Eynsford. It is very close to Hampshire. Lord Eynsford must have had dealings with him.”
Vesper suddenly couldn’t breathe.De Nerra!The room started to sway and she grabbed hold of the table as if it would prevent her from slipping away. Everything was spinning around her as she struggled to right herself.
“De Nerra?” she repeated, her voice sounding oddly strangled. “How… how is that possible?”
The soldier didn’t seem to notice that she’d gone pale. “No one is sure. But my lord, the garrison commander at Canterbury Castle, thinks that de Nerra came to take Canterbury back to Winchester Castle to face Henry because Winchester is in the Hampshire jurisdiction. When Canterbury refused, de Nerra killed him.”
Vesper was still holding on to the table, overwhelmed with what she was hearing. “It cannot be,” she breathed to herself before lifting her voice in response. “I… I can hardly believe it.”
