Resting on her walking cane, Katherine peered through the broken masonry back up the hill at the jutting curtain wall of the Roseblood. She heard a sound, but ignored it.
Is this your bower
Oh lady of the Tower?
The couplet came soft and mocking. Katherine whirled round, raising her walking cane. A man now blocked the ruined entrance, cloak falling to his knees. Katherine glimpsed his shadowy face and white teeth, the gleam of silver on his chest and fingers. He seemed to fill the ruined tower with his presence.
‘Who are you, sir, to creep up on a maiden like that?’
The stranger stepped closer, rearranging his cloak and war belt. He was clean-shaven, the black hair on his head shorn close, his sallow face redeemed by sharp green eyes and a mocking mouth. He was dressed in a black leather sleeveless jerkin; the linen shirt underneath was clean and embroidered at cuff and neck, and a small silver medallion engraved with the fetterlock of York hung round his neck, a chancery ring on the little finger of his left hand. A man of power, Katherine swiftly concluded; she was fascinated by that clever, saturnine face.
‘What do you want?’ The words came blurting out even as the stranger stretched across and gently eased the walking cane from her fingers.
‘Mistress Katherine, is it not?’ The voice was soft and melodious. ‘Daughter of Master Simon Roseblood, now summoned to appear before the sheriff’s court before the market bell tomorrow?’ He bowed. ‘I am Amadeus Sevigny, principal clerk in the secret chancery of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.’ His eyes crinkled as she stared. ‘Perhaps you have heard your worthy father mention my name?’ He took her by the hand and courteously kissed the tips of her fingers. ‘My apologies, mistress, I did not mean to startle you. Like you, I was simply wondering how remarkable it is what you discover and see. I am sure I glimpsed one of the priests from All Hallows, all hooded and cloaked, in the company of a common whore. Would one of your priests be steeped in such sin?’
Katherine frowned. ‘You are Mordred!’ she exclaimed without thinking. ‘You have come to Avalon. You mean us no good!’
The clerk stared blankly at her, then threw his head back and roared with laughter, so loud it echoed around that ruined tower. Katherine blushed as Amadeus turned away, one hand to his side. When he turned back, tears were glistening in his eyes. He touched her on the arm. She just glared at him, which sent him into further peals of laughter. He sat down on a plinth, wiping his eyes, trying to compose himself.
‘Oh for the love of God!’ she snapped. ‘It was no jest or witty sally!’
‘No, no, it wasn’t,’ he agreed, mopping his cheeks with the back of a gloved hand. ‘Yet you look so serious. Believe me, mistress, I have been called many things in my life, but never Mordred, Arthur’s great enemy and the destroyer of Camelot.’ The humour drained from his face and he rose to his feet. ‘Mistress Katherine, my apologies. I came to study Avalon, not to destroy it. I have walked the entire length of the Roseblood.’ He waved down towards the quayside. ‘I have been down to study the tavern barge,
The Excalibur
. It is very impressive: stout, deep-bellied, six-oared, with a canopied stern. I understand that the Fraternity of the Doom use it to collect the dead. Others whisper how it smuggles in wine.’
‘Many people are liars,’ Katherine retorted, but she could not stop the flush returning. This stranger so deeply unsettled her, she was relieved when Dorcas, standing on top of the hill, shouted her name.
‘Mistress Katherine, I had best let you leave.’ He swooped down, lifted her hand and gently kissed her fingers again. ‘It was an honour and a privilege.’ He escorted her to the entrance and returned her walking cane. ‘I bid you God speed.’
Katherine fled the ruined tower, banging the stick on the ground. When she joined Dorcas, she
Is this your bower
Oh lady of the Tower?
The couplet came soft and mocking. Katherine whirled round, raising her walking cane. A man now blocked the ruined entrance, cloak falling to his knees. Katherine glimpsed his shadowy face and white teeth, the gleam of silver on his chest and fingers. He seemed to fill the ruined tower with his presence.
‘Who are you, sir, to creep up on a maiden like that?’
The stranger stepped closer, rearranging his cloak and war belt. He was clean-shaven, the black hair on his head shorn close, his sallow face redeemed by sharp green eyes and a mocking mouth. He was dressed in a black leather sleeveless jerkin; the linen shirt underneath was clean and embroidered at cuff and neck, and a small silver medallion engraved with the fetterlock of York hung round his neck, a chancery ring on the little finger of his left hand. A man of power, Katherine swiftly concluded; she was fascinated by that clever, saturnine face.
‘What do you want?’ The words came blurting out even as the stranger stretched across and gently eased the walking cane from her fingers.
‘Mistress Katherine, is it not?’ The voice was soft and melodious. ‘Daughter of Master Simon Roseblood, now summoned to appear before the sheriff’s court before the market bell tomorrow?’ He bowed. ‘I am Amadeus Sevigny, principal clerk in the secret chancery of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.’ His eyes crinkled as she stared. ‘Perhaps you have heard your worthy father mention my name?’ He took her by the hand and courteously kissed the tips of her fingers. ‘My apologies, mistress, I did not mean to startle you. Like you, I was simply wondering how remarkable it is what you discover and see. I am sure I glimpsed one of the priests from All Hallows, all hooded and cloaked, in the company of a common whore. Would one of your priests be steeped in such sin?’
Katherine frowned. ‘You are Mordred!’ she exclaimed without thinking. ‘You have come to Avalon. You mean us no good!’
The clerk stared blankly at her, then threw his head back and roared with laughter, so loud it echoed around that ruined tower. Katherine blushed as Amadeus turned away, one hand to his side. When he turned back, tears were glistening in his eyes. He touched her on the arm. She just glared at him, which sent him into further peals of laughter. He sat down on a plinth, wiping his eyes, trying to compose himself.
‘Oh for the love of God!’ she snapped. ‘It was no jest or witty sally!’
‘No, no, it wasn’t,’ he agreed, mopping his cheeks with the back of a gloved hand. ‘Yet you look so serious. Believe me, mistress, I have been called many things in my life, but never Mordred, Arthur’s great enemy and the destroyer of Camelot.’ The humour drained from his face and he rose to his feet. ‘Mistress Katherine, my apologies. I came to study Avalon, not to destroy it. I have walked the entire length of the Roseblood.’ He waved down towards the quayside. ‘I have been down to study the tavern barge,
The Excalibur
. It is very impressive: stout, deep-bellied, six-oared, with a canopied stern. I understand that the Fraternity of the Doom use it to collect the dead. Others whisper how it smuggles in wine.’
‘Many people are liars,’ Katherine retorted, but she could not stop the flush returning. This stranger so deeply unsettled her, she was relieved when Dorcas, standing on top of the hill, shouted her name.
‘Mistress Katherine, I had best let you leave.’ He swooped down, lifted her hand and gently kissed her fingers again. ‘It was an honour and a privilege.’ He escorted her to the entrance and returned her walking cane. ‘I bid you God speed.’
Katherine fled the ruined tower, banging the stick on the ground. When she joined Dorcas, she
Similar Books
