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Read Online [Roger the Chapman 04] - The Holy Innocents by Kate Sedley - Free Book Online
Authors: Kate Sedley
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the subject. 'Where are you sleeping tonight? At the Priory?' I cleared my mouth. 'Better than that. I've been given a house to myself.' And I explained the circumstances.
I glanced up from scraping the last morsel of food from my plate to find her regarding me oddly.
'So! Master Eudo Colet won't be coming back, eh? Not even to protect his property.' Once again, she spat contemptuously, this time finding her target on one of the smouldering logs on the hearth. The spittle hissed and sizzled. 'Not to be wondered at, I suppose. Murder's an evil thing to be touched by at the best of times. But the death of children is particularly heinous. And when there's also the suspicion of witchcraft….' She broke off; lifting her ample shoulders.
I stared at her, horrified.
'No one told me... I have heard of two children being murdered by the outlaws, but these, I presume, are not the ones you speak of?'
'Aye, the same pair. Brother and sister. Rosamund Crouchback's children by her first husband. Never saw him. Came from northern parts, and after she married him, they lived in London. But when he died, she came back home to her father, bringing her little ones with her. A wild, wilful girl she was, always; and when Sir Jasper himself died, leaving her everything, she said she'd married to oblige him the first time, and now she was going to marry to please herself. And so she did! Going off to London again - Bartholomewtide, it would have been, three years since - and staying away for a month or more, and leaving those pretty ones in the care of the servants. And when she came home, she was wed again, to Master Eudo Colet! An adventurer with an eye for an easy fortune if ever I saw one. And I wasn't the only one who thought so. Everyone disliked him and thought him up a no good. But the one who hated and mistrusted him most of all was Rosamund's cousin, the children's nurse, Grizelda Harbourne!'
Chapter Five
'Grizelda Harbourne?' I jerked my head up sharply at the name. 'Who has a holding near the river?'
'The very same. The holding was her father's, and when he died, not long after Sir Jasper, it passed to Grizelda.' The landlady puckered her brows. 'How do you come to know her? I thought you were a stranger hereabouts.'
'She and her friends were up early this morning, hocking, and I fell into their clutches.' I added, reddening slightly, 'Mistress Harbourne took pity on me and made them settle for less than they demanded. A kiss apiece. Then she took me home with her and gave me breakfast.'
This story seemed to afford my hostess great amusement.
'Been hocked, have you, my lad? Well, well! It's a wonder you were allowed to get away so lightly. Had I been there, you wouldn't have been as lucky.' She gave me a lascivious glance and licked her lips. My blush deepened, and she chortled loudly. 'Count yourself fortunate that Grizelda took pity on you. But she's a good woman with a soft heart. She's always protected those weaker than herself. Children and small, furry animals.' She shot me a second glance, this time tinged with malice. 'And big, dumb, ox-like creatures.' The coarse features sobered. 'Which is why she can't forgive herself for abandoning those two young innocents that terrible morning.'
'What terrible morning?' I asked. 'And why should Grizelda shoulder the blame? Where was the children's mother?'
'Dead, in childbirth, last November, around Martinmas. ~.
The child died, too. His child. Eudo Colet's. So he was left with the little ones and Grizelda and the two servants: the cook, Agatha Tenter, and Bridget Praule, the maid. Grizelda stayed with him as long as she could, for the children's sake, but she had always disliked him, and after her cousin's death, it turned to something deeper. They quarrelled and fought incessantly, so Bridget Prattle told me. And finally, that winter morning, three months since, when Mary and Andrew... disappeared' - the landlady's voice sank to a whisper and she crossed
I glanced up from scraping the last morsel of food from my plate to find her regarding me oddly.
'So! Master Eudo Colet won't be coming back, eh? Not even to protect his property.' Once again, she spat contemptuously, this time finding her target on one of the smouldering logs on the hearth. The spittle hissed and sizzled. 'Not to be wondered at, I suppose. Murder's an evil thing to be touched by at the best of times. But the death of children is particularly heinous. And when there's also the suspicion of witchcraft….' She broke off; lifting her ample shoulders.
I stared at her, horrified.
'No one told me... I have heard of two children being murdered by the outlaws, but these, I presume, are not the ones you speak of?'
'Aye, the same pair. Brother and sister. Rosamund Crouchback's children by her first husband. Never saw him. Came from northern parts, and after she married him, they lived in London. But when he died, she came back home to her father, bringing her little ones with her. A wild, wilful girl she was, always; and when Sir Jasper himself died, leaving her everything, she said she'd married to oblige him the first time, and now she was going to marry to please herself. And so she did! Going off to London again - Bartholomewtide, it would have been, three years since - and staying away for a month or more, and leaving those pretty ones in the care of the servants. And when she came home, she was wed again, to Master Eudo Colet! An adventurer with an eye for an easy fortune if ever I saw one. And I wasn't the only one who thought so. Everyone disliked him and thought him up a no good. But the one who hated and mistrusted him most of all was Rosamund's cousin, the children's nurse, Grizelda Harbourne!'
Chapter Five
'Grizelda Harbourne?' I jerked my head up sharply at the name. 'Who has a holding near the river?'
'The very same. The holding was her father's, and when he died, not long after Sir Jasper, it passed to Grizelda.' The landlady puckered her brows. 'How do you come to know her? I thought you were a stranger hereabouts.'
'She and her friends were up early this morning, hocking, and I fell into their clutches.' I added, reddening slightly, 'Mistress Harbourne took pity on me and made them settle for less than they demanded. A kiss apiece. Then she took me home with her and gave me breakfast.'
This story seemed to afford my hostess great amusement.
'Been hocked, have you, my lad? Well, well! It's a wonder you were allowed to get away so lightly. Had I been there, you wouldn't have been as lucky.' She gave me a lascivious glance and licked her lips. My blush deepened, and she chortled loudly. 'Count yourself fortunate that Grizelda took pity on you. But she's a good woman with a soft heart. She's always protected those weaker than herself. Children and small, furry animals.' She shot me a second glance, this time tinged with malice. 'And big, dumb, ox-like creatures.' The coarse features sobered. 'Which is why she can't forgive herself for abandoning those two young innocents that terrible morning.'
'What terrible morning?' I asked. 'And why should Grizelda shoulder the blame? Where was the children's mother?'
'Dead, in childbirth, last November, around Martinmas. ~.
The child died, too. His child. Eudo Colet's. So he was left with the little ones and Grizelda and the two servants: the cook, Agatha Tenter, and Bridget Praule, the maid. Grizelda stayed with him as long as she could, for the children's sake, but she had always disliked him, and after her cousin's death, it turned to something deeper. They quarrelled and fought incessantly, so Bridget Prattle told me. And finally, that winter morning, three months since, when Mary and Andrew... disappeared' - the landlady's voice sank to a whisper and she crossed
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