‘And thank you for what you have done thus far,’ Thomas said, and gave Beverley a purse which the attorney accepted with a bow. ‘But if anything can be done to hasten the matter, I would appreciate whatever you can do.’
Thomas and his mother retired to their lodging to dine and make preparations to return to Calais. Sitting across the trestle from him, Maude put her hand over his. ‘I hope this girl is worth all this for you, Thomas,’ she said. ‘I am watching you move mountains for her. There are so many heiresses you could have without any complication.’
He placed his own hand over hers. ‘I would move more than mountains. You speak out of your concern for me, I know, but this is the road I have chosen and she is worth a thousand times what I pay, besides which we are married before God, and I would be committing bigamy if I took another woman to wife.’
‘Yes, but you have been apart for many years longer than you have been together, and you were both much younger then – especially your wife. Will you still feel the same if your case is proven and you are united?’
He gave her a pained look. ‘You sound like Otto. He has often remarked the same to me and I answer you as I answer him. My feelings for Jeanette have changed over time, but only to deepen. And the same for her. She worries that I will abandon her andtake another wife. We lived – and loved – enough in the time we had before to know it is worth moving the mountains. Even if it takes a lifetime, I shall have her.’
‘Such a bond is given to very few people, and others must perforce make their flawed way with what they have,’ she said quietly, and then smiled at him. ‘I do not say such words in bitterness, only that it is the way of the world, and you should cherish what you have. But why this woman and not another?’
Thomas left the table and went to his coffer, returning with a small book he had bought the previous day, bound in exquisite tooled leather with a jewelled clasp, a book of psalms with commentary and explanation. ‘I bought this for Jeanette,’ he said. ‘I know she will appreciate it. She is well read and she has an understanding of everything she reads. When we were in Flanders, she read Emperor Frederick’s hawking treatise almost overnight, and was able to debate with my falconer in detail on the subject. She has read Vegetius and Tacitus. Some men mistrust a woman who puts her nose in a book and has a thirst for learning. Some men would rather that their wives could sew a fine seam and be a silent, practical decoration. I would prefer that Jeanette instructs the seamstresses and keeps me company instead, and I do not care if she talks to the servants. A wife of wit and learning can only benefit my household and my career, and better than one who sits over her sewing all day.’
Maude was both surprised and thoughtful. It did indeed behove a woman to be educated, but her own awareness was of household management and accounts, and as an essential need rather than because she especially enjoyed reading. Indeed, she had a preference these days for others to read to her, since her eyesight had weakened as she grew older, even though she owned a pair of spectacles. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘And what else?’
‘She is beautiful,’ Thomas said, flushing. ‘My heart sings when I’m with her. She fills a room with light and laughter –and she challenges me. It will be no milk and water union, but I relish that thought. I want a whole woman who will stand her ground and look me in the eye. I want to see her true self, not a mask put on for others.’ He smiled at her. ‘You have set a fine example of the mould, Mama, and I will not settle for less.’
‘Then I hope matters resolve as you wish,’ she said, although her own smile was strained. ‘And I shall hope to love her as I love you.’
26
Manor of Bisham, Berkshire, January 1348
Bitter January rain hurled against the shutters, and Jeanette took the poker and thrust at the logs in the hearth until small flames licked out along their length. She thought about setting fire to the room, and imagined those flames crawling across the floor and up the hangings. How long before the entire room was ablaze? Nosewyse whined at her. Distracted, she glanced at him, and the thought receded even if it did not go away.
The chamber was comfortable enough, appointed with cushions and hangings, but it was still a prison where she was held under strict supervision. Elizabeth had departed in November on family business. Jeanette had managed to discover from snippets of servants’ gossip that it involved a visit to Avignon to give evidence to the papal court. No one had told her anything. William found excuses to be elsewhere when he could, and Katerine was generally absent on business within the earldom, and when at Bisham she avoided Jeanette’s company. Since the antipathy was mutual, they rarely engaged with each other.
At Christmas the court had returned from Calais, and Katerine had attended, leaving Jeanette here under virtualhouse arrest with only guards and servants for company, the monks of the priory, and William’s entombed father. To all intents she was cut off from life outside the manor. She was not even allowed to go riding or hunt with Frederick. The most she was permitted to do was to walk Nosewyse around the manor precincts under close supervision. Katerine had dismissed Hawise who had gone to Thorpe to serve the Holland family while her husband John was occupied in Thomas’s retinue. Katerine’s own maids served Jeanette now, and there was no love lost.
Hearing a shout, Jeanette went to the window and opened the shutters. Through light sleet, she saw riders clattering into the muddy yard, escorting a cart, and her heart sank as her gaze fell on William, and then, stepping heavily to the ground with assistance from two knights, the lady Elizabeth, swathed in her heavy winter cloak, followed by Katerine, also bundled up against the cold. A man accompanied them, wearing a clerical bonnet, his servant leading a pack horse laden with satchels and bundles.
Jeanette pulled back from the window feeling sick. Well, the witches had returned in force, one from court and one from Avignon, but since William was here too, she might be able to discover what was happening. She had no intention of going down to greet them. William would come to see her soon enough. She sat down before the fire to wait, Nosewyse at her feet, and pretended to read a book of Arthurian tales lent to her by the Queen.
The day darkened and she heard the noise and bustle of the cart being unhitched and the baggage unpacked. And eventually, footsteps on the outer stairs from the courtyard. The door opened and William entered, accompanied by a servant bearing a loaf of bread and an earthenware pot on a tray.
The man set down the food, and Jeanette thanked him with a warm smile. She had spent time cultivating the servants. Being considerate to them was good manners and given time would reap benefits in other ways.
Nosewyse ran to William and greeted him with a furiously wagging tail, demanding attention. William obliged with a swift tussle and ear-rub. Jeanette observed his actions. She would never be reconciled to their false union, but the fact that he enjoyed interacting with the little dog and that Nosewyse reciprocated had gradually softened her a little towards him. Dogs always knew. If Elizabeth entered her chamber, Nosewyse would bare his teeth and growl.
‘I saw you return,’ she said. ‘And your mother and grandmother.’
He nodded. ‘They are eating in the hall. The journey has been tiring, but they will speak with you tomorrow.’
‘I will not be troubled if they do not; I have not missed either of them, and I doubt they have missed me,’ Jeanette replied. ‘But I am hungry.’ Going to the pot, she raised the lid, and an appetising smell of beef and barley wafted up, making her mouth water.
William gave her a dubious look and dismissed her maid. He had broadened out in the last year, and grown again. She understood why people considered her ungrateful and mad not to be attracted to him. He was well liked among his peers at court and had excellent future prospects. But he was nothing to her, and his weakness when facing his mother and grandmother had only consolidated that. Though nowadays she often felt more compassion for him than contempt, she could not muster more than that.
They sat to dine, both so hungry that they said little while they ate, passing morsels of sopped bread to Nosewyse. But once their appetites had dulled, Jeanette leaned a little towards him.‘What news then of the world beyond? I swear I might as well be living on an island in the middle of a lake surrounded by mist for all I know and hear – or am allowed to hear. The servants tell me their tales, but they are all of their families and their cows, and marketplace gossip – but what of the court?’
William wiped his lips on a napkin. ‘You hear nothing because there is nothing you need to know.’
She stared at him until he looked away. ‘Is there not? And what of what Iwantto know? Will you answer me that? And who is that cleric in your entourage?’
He folded his arms as if caging the knowledge inside himself.
‘I will find out,’ she said. ‘The servants will speak to other servants. Why all the secrecy? What do you think I can do to influence anything – or do I have a great and fearful reputation?’
‘You certainly have one for trouble,’ he said wryly. ‘Even when you are not present, you cause it.’
