Free A Holy Vengeance by Maureen Ash Page A

secret?”
    “There were two reasons, lady. One, I admit, was that if you knew I had quarrelled with Emma it might prompt you to view me as a suspect. The other is that she told me about her repugnance of her husband’s lovemaking in confidence. If I had repeated to you the nature of our discord, I feared that a report of it might be relayed to him. Wiger has enough grief to bear for the loss of his wife; I did not want to distress him further with the knowledge that she found his embraces distasteful.”
    At that moment, Gianni returned bearing a flagon of cider. The castellan motioned for him to retake his place upon the stool and continue with his task of taking notes.
    Nicolaa leaned back in her chair as she considered the perfumer’s statement. Finally, she asked, “Was there any witness to the conversation between you and your friend when you refused to aid her?”
    “No, lady. I live alone except for a young maidservant. She was not present when we discussed the matter.”
    “Then unfortunately, as is the case with the evidence you gave about the murder, you have no one who can substantiate your claim.”
    The castellan paused for a moment and then said, “I am inclined to give some credence to your statement, but as there is no verification, I must investigate it further before dismissing you as a suspect. You will be confined here in the castle gaol until such a time as that has been done.”
    Constance made no protest. She had been expecting such a decision and was prepared for it. The castellan motioned for Roget to come forward and instructed him to take Mistress Turner to a holding cell. Before he could lead her away, however, Nicolaa asked her one final question.
    “On what premise did your father form his innovative theory about female conception?”
    “He based his conclusion on his many observations of the enforced mating of kine and horses,” Constance replied. “His father—my grandsire—had an extensive holding outside Boston on which there were a large number of dairy cows and workhorses. During his childhood, my father had often witnessed that cows unwilling to mate had to be held in place while copulation with a bull took place. The same with horses; a reluctant mare needed to be tethered while the stallion mounted her. Although this could be considered akin to rape if their species were human, the union would still, more often than not, be productive of offspring. He reasoned that if it is that way with cattle and horses, it could be so with people.”
    Nicolaa stared thoughtfully after the perfumer as she was taken from the room. Her father sounded as though he had been an intelligent and observant man, even if his theories were radical. If his daughter had inherited these traits, might she not have exceptional skills as well, including the ability to dissemble? Was her tale a complete fabrication, or was it the truth?

Chapter 9
    A short time later, Nicolaa was still sitting in the solar alone. She had given Gianni a brief précis of that portion of Mistress Turner’s evidence he had missed—wording it so that the lad did not suffer any embarrassment—and then he had gone to write up his notes. The castellan walked over to the window and, because the solar was situated at the top of the keep, she could see a far distance. To the south, beyond the bail and the castle walls, lay the town, the diverse collection of buildings almost seeming to slide down the side of the knoll on which the castle and Minster were set, terminating at the banks of the Witham River. Once again a murderer was disturbing the peace of those who lived in the bailiwick for which she and her husband were responsible, and she was determined to see justice done in order to bring a modicum of solace to the family of the slain woman.
    As she was pondering the problem, a servant came to tell her that Roger de Rolleston, dean of Lincoln cathedral, was in the hall and requesting a private audience with her. She nodded in