Free 12 - Nine Men Dancing by Kate Sedley Page A

course.’ I tried another smile and was rewarded by a slight tilt at the corners of her mouth. And when Lambert would have interrupted the conversation, laying a possessive hand on her arm, the Fair Rosamund decided it was time to teach him a lesson. Her smile deepened until it was positively glowing.
    ‘You were very naughty to run away like that last night, without even saying goodbye,’ she pouted.
    I took hold of one of her little hands and kissed it. ‘It was very wrong of me,’ I whispered, ‘but Mistress Lilywhite wanted to leave at once and I was afraid to keep her waiting. She terrifies me.’
    Rosamund giggled. ‘Don’t be silly,’ she said, nipping my fingers and ignoring the expression of outrage on her would-be swain’s face. ‘Theresa’s harmless enough. Besides, a great fellow like you isn’t afraid of anyone, let alone a woman.’
    ‘I wouldn’t be too sure of that,’ I grinned, releasing her hand. ‘I’m a married man. Master Miller!’ I went on, as if I had only just noticed him. ‘As a member of Mistress Rosamund’s side, I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you again this evening. You are her challenger, I believe, in this game of Nine Men’s Morris?’
    He glowered at me. ‘I am. But if you have other things to do, pedlar, I’m sure I can find her another player.’
    ‘Nonsense, Lambert! Master Chapman has agreed to be my man and I’m holding him to his promise.’ Rosamund swept me a curtsey as William and Winifred Bush signalled that they were now ready to depart. ‘I shall see you tonight then – Roger!’ She peeped at me coyly from beneath her lashes before turning to follow her parents. But she remembered to kiss her fingertips to Lambert. She had no intention of antagonizing him too much.
    I returned to the Lilywhites, who were waiting patiently for me, and offered the older lady my arm. Theresa accepted it gratefully, finding the climb back up to their homestead more arduous than the descent to the village. The weather had improved still further while we had been in church and a thin, watery sunlight now warmed the whole of the pasture. Only the surrounding woodland stood as though carved from thunderclouds, black and menacing.
    The dogs and geese set up their inevitable cacophony as we entered the enclosure, the former yet again being silenced by a word from Theresa. Not so Hercules, who came bounding towards me as soon as the door into the house was opened, barking like a fiend out of Hell and ignoring all my efforts to hush him. He had evidently become worried at being left so long on his own and was showing his disapproval in no uncertain manner. Eventually, however, I managed to convince him that I had not totally abandoned him, and was able to turn my attention to a matter that was troubling my conscience. This was prompted by the savoury smell of the rabbit and herb broth that was bubbling in a pot over the fire.
    ‘Mistress Lilywhite,’ I said, addressing Maud, ‘if I am to stay here for any length of time, I must pay you for my food and lodging. I can well afford to.’
    Both Maud and her mother-in-law were at first reluctant to agree. Quite apart from the hospitality that people living in remote places are expected to extend to strangers, I had also promised to do them a favour by trying to discover what had become of Eris. But after a little persuasion, we agreed on a sum for my and Hercules’s continued bed and board.
    ‘The dog and I have healthy appetites,’ I warned them.
    Theresa said she was happy to hear it: she liked a hearty eater, be it man or beast. But Maud’s smile was perfunctory, and she continued to convey the impression that she would prefer me not to meddle.
    ‘So!’ said Theresa as we sat round the table to eat our broth. ‘You have been invited to Dragonswick Farm after dinner, chapman. It will give you the chance to make some enquiries. You’ll probably find Jacquetta Rawbone eager enough to talk. She didn’t care for my