Jeanette swallowed. ‘What challenges?’
‘Counter claims concerning the veracity of the evidence of the witnesses. The lady Elizabeth Montagu swears on oath that the marriage was consummated and that there was evidence of your virginity on the sheets the morning after the wedding night.’
‘She is lying.’ Jeanette’s lip curled in disgust. ‘The blood on the sheets was planted. Surely you do not believe her above those who were witness to my marriage?’
‘Of course I do not,’ he said, ‘but I am telling you what you need to know. Your mother has confirmed by letter the same story as Lady Montagu, and the Countess of Salisbury.’
‘They would all agree with each other,’ she said with scorn. ‘It is no less than I expect.’
‘Indeed,’ he said gravely. ‘And their word as three ladies of high birth and substance will carry weight in the court. But at the same time, I have a letter in my possession from your mother to the Countess of Salisbury that mentions an awareness of your first marriage and assuring the Countess there will be no impediment. My evidence will show how these ladies have colluded in laying a false trail.’
Jeanette shook her head in contempt. ‘What does my supposed husband William Montagu have to say on the matter?’
Beverley rubbed his chin. ‘He says he will abide by whatever the court decides and without rancour, but as far as he knew, you were a virgin on your wedding night with him, and he took the women’s word for the evidence on the following day, for although he was a man in that way and able to procreate, he was not familiar with the deed as such.’
Jeanette snorted down her nose. ‘Nothing happened on our wedding night, and he knows it. If I may speak frankly, I had been familiar with that deed on many occasions with my lawful husband.’ She gave him a firm look. ‘I am no wanton who speaks out of turn, but I am telling you truthfully how it was – as I told Master Heath, and that first clerk of his who was accepting bribes from the Countess of Salisbury and her mother-in-law.’
‘And I thank you for your candour, my lady,’ Beverley said, although he looked taken aback, and his neck reddened.
‘Master Heath said it might be Christmas-tide before he reported back, or even after.’
‘He is probably correct,’ Beverley said. ‘The meeting will take place at the end of September and the witnesses will be questioned and other matters ascertained. Master John will try to persuade the papal authorities to hear the case in England, and ask why it came before Avignon in the first place. Thedecision will then go before the Pope. With the sickness that is rife in Avignon and elsewhere, court proceedings have slowed down, and they were never swift at the outset. I am sorry, but that is the way of things. I am afraid that the three ladies opposing you have dug in their heels and will not yield – they have come too far to turn back.’
Jeanette sat up straight. ‘So have I, Master Beverley.’
He bowed to her. ‘And I shall see it through for you and Master Holland, you have my pledge.’ He smiled wryly. ‘I know the word of a lawyer may not count for much in some circles, but I have always prided myself on mine.’
Jeanette rose to see him out and felt just a little relieved because she believed in him. ‘Thank you,’ she said, ‘I do trust your word.’
‘He seems like a good man,’ Joan Bredon said when he had gone. ‘Do not worry, you will win.’
‘But I do worry,’ Jeanette said. ‘What if the Pope does pass the case over to the English courts and they do not decide in my favour?’
Joan shook her head. ‘The Pope will not hand over that authority, especially at this stage. The Montagu lawyer is grasping at straws.’
The door opened again, and this time Thomas slipped into the room. Jeanette gasped his name, ran to him, flung her arms around him and raised her face to his. They kissed hard and long, and when they drew apart, her lips were tingling.
‘I cannot stay, but I had to see you,’ he said. ‘I am leaving for Avignon again any day. We must be stronger than ever now.’
Jeanette nodded, but thought that she had put so much strength into this already, she did not know how much she had left. Or that a moment would arrive when she would become a burnished column of endurance, without any other purpose except to withstand the storm. Perhaps it was the same forThomas. What kind of relationship waited for them at the end of all this striving? She had been falsely married to William Montagu for four times longer now than she had known her true husband.
They kissed again, holding each other, rocking. ‘I should leave,’ he said against her lips, but still he held her, and Jeanette clung to him to feel his body and his touch, trying to make the moment stretch for eternity. ‘Stay with the court if you are able. I have spoken to your brother and to Prince Edward. They will do what they can to make sure you are not forced back into confinement.’
The door opened again and they sprang apart, but it was Robert Beverley, who rumbled his throat and gave them a warning look. ‘I am not accustomed to standing as a lookout at lover’s trysts,’ he said. ‘Messire Holland, your borrowed time is now looking like a dangerous moment.’
Thomas acknowledged him with a nod. ‘Thank you.’ He squeezed Jeanette’s hands a final time and followed the attorney out, giving her a single glance over his shoulder. Returning it, she felt bereft to the point of pain. Seeing him leave was unbearable. She started forward, but he closed the door, and Joan grasped her arm and pulled her back. Jeanette struggled for a moment and then turned into her friend’s arms and wept.
‘It is hard,’ Joan said, ‘I cannot begin to know, but you have friends and good people who will love and support you.’
‘Yes,’ Jeanette said desolately, ‘but they are not Thomas, and I need a respite from staying strong.’
30
Papal Palace at Avignon, September 1348
Thomas stepped forward and faced Cardinal Robert Adhemar and his clerks and officials who had finally gathered to hear the evidence concerning the disputed marriage. The chamber was hazy with smoke from the braziers burning incense and herbs to ward off the miasmas of the great pestilence that held the city and surrounding towns and villages in its grip.
He repeated to the Cardinal the information he had given almost a year and a half ago when here with his mother. ‘I married the lady Jeanette, daughter of Prince Edmund of England, Earl of Kent, in good faith and before these people in the April of 1340 before I left to attend the King in England.’ He gestured to the bench behind him where the witnesses waited their turn. ‘The lady was of an age to consent and did so freely, as Master Heath will attest from the deposition he took from her at the English court. The marriage was consummated – on numerous occasions.’ He explained about going on crusade and returning to find that Jeanette had been joined to William Montagu in his absence.
