Free [Roger the Chapman 06] - The Wicked Winter by Kate Sedley

been brief, but they seem to me to be a pack of gibbering fools, concerned only with the material things of this world; with which one of them is of greater earthly importance than her sisters.' He rounded with such ferocity on the women that they drew back from him, huddling together in a frightened little group. 'You stupid creatures! As Our Lord reminds us in the Holy Scriptures, your soul may be required of any one of you this very night! What will it matter then, when the pit of hell yawns at your feet, who is in charge in this kitchen? What will it profit you?'
    Sir Hugh interrupted without compunction. 'Are you sure Lady Cederwell sent for you, Brother? I have no knowledge of her doing so. Does she know you? Have you met?' The friar's lips thinned until they were almost invisible and he sucked in a rasping breath.
    'No, she knows me only by reputation, but that is sufficient. Do you dare to suggest that I am lying? I, Simeon?' His thin chest swelled. 'However, I have a witness. The pedlar here can vouch for the veracity of my words. Tell him, Chapman!'
    So I told Sir Hugh of my meeting with the two men at the mill, and confirmed that they had indeed been searching for the friar on the orders of Lady Cederwell. The knight looked grim.
    'Can you describe them to me'?'
    I did my best, which proved to be good enough, for both he and Mistress Talke said in unison, 'Jude and Nicholas.' Sir Hugh added bitterly, 'Of course! Her own men, brought with her from Campden.'
    Adela Empryngham nodded in confirmation. 'My father-in-law's people were always noted for their loyalty to him.
    Once he was dead, they transferred that loyalty to Jeanette and Gerard.'
    Sir Hugh snorted derisively. 'I should take care how you link Jeanette's and Gerard's names, my dear Adela. I doubt that either Jude or Nicholas feel much loyalty towards a bastard.'
    The silence which followed this last remark was broken by a snigger from the cook, Martha Grindcobb. Mistress Empryngham coloured painfully, her bosom heaving with anger and indignation.
    'I always knew it was a mistake for us to come here with Jeanette,' she shrilled breathlessly, as soon as she could trust herself to speak. 'I've always known how you regard us; as poor dependants, with every penny grudged that's spent on our food and clothing. Many and many a time I have told Gerard that he should leave here and stand on his own two feet, so that we should not have to be beholden to you.' Sir Hugh lifted his lip.
    'And what did Master Gerard say in reply?' Again the colour suffused Adela Empryngham's face.
    'He won't go,' she mumbled. Then she added with greater spirit, 'He feels it necessary to remain with his sister...'  
    'His half-sister!' Sir Hugh cut in, but she ignored him.
    '... knowing how unhappy she is.'
    Sir Hugh laughed, but there was no mirth in the sound.
    'Jeanette has always been unhappy and always will be. She is as God made her, and He made her, seemingly, to be one of the most miserable of His creatures.' He shrugged. 'How can it be otherwise when she spends three-quarters of her waking life upon her knees and the other quarter sniffing out the wrongdoings, real or imagined, of her fellows? However, I am delighted to know, Adela, that you at least have enough sense to see that Gerard would be best away from here, instead of battening on my goodwill. There's plenty of honest work to be had if he looks for it. Persuade him to return to the Cotswolds. Sheep country, where wealth abounds. There are any number of rich sheepmen who would offer him employment.'
    Friar Simeon intervened. '
    'Am I to be kept waiting here all day? I wish to be conducted to Lady Cederwell immediately.'
    Sir Hugh answered indifferently, repeating what we had already been told, 'You will find her in the old Saxon tower, which you can see well enough if you cross the courtyard and go out by the little gate. It stands some way distant from the manor, on the mudflats of the estuary, and is her own domain. She