10 - The Goldsmith's Daughter by Kate Sedley

Babcary asked in a voice so low that I almost failed to hear him.
    ‘No, not even then,’ I admitted, ‘for that’s the nature of the tie between my child and me.’ He nodded to show that he understood, and I continued, ‘So who else did your son-in-law confide in?’
    ‘In Gregory Napier, the last person in the world I should ever have wished to be privy to my family’s affairs.’ Miles spoke bitterly, and I could see that his hands had begun to tremble. ‘There were also one or two others who came forward to say that Gideon had made them free of his suspicions. One was his former master, Ford, the apothecary, whose shop is in Bucklersbury.’
    ‘And what was Mistress Bonifant’s response to these accusations?’
    ‘She just laughed at them. She said they were absurd and that we must be making them up. At first, she didn’t seem to grasp how serious they were, especially after Gideon had been poisoned.’
    ‘And when she did?’
    ‘She was completely bewildered, poor girl. She couldn’t begin to imagine why Gideon would have wanted to spread such lies about her, and demanded to know the identity of the man with whom she was supposed to have been unfaithful.’
    ‘And when it emerged that it was her cousin, what did your nephew have to say?’
    Master Babcary rubbed the side of his nose with his finger. ‘Kit denied it furiously. He also denied that he had ever told his sister that he was in love with an older woman, and that the woman might be in love with him. Nell, of course, upheld his story.’
    ‘Of course! But did you believe her?’
    Master Babcary pursed his lips. ‘Ye-es,’ he said, but with a lack of conviction that made me raise my eyebrows. Reluctantly he confessed, ‘Nell has led a very sheltered life, first with her father, then with me. She is inclined to get flustered when she is hostilely questioned, or feels herself under threat in any way.’ He stared long and hard into the burning heart of the fire. ‘Sometimes, she sounds as though she’s lying when she isn’t. There are people like that, you know,’ he added eagerly. ‘She’s very shy.’
    I agreed that there were indeed people in whom the mildest interrogation aroused the strongest sensation of guilt, even when they were entirely innocent of any wrongdoing. Eleanor Babcary could well be one of them, but it was also possible that, on this particular occasion, she might
not
have been telling the truth in order to protect her brother. I suspected from his general demeanour that her uncle had thought her denial less than ingenuous. But when I suggested this possibility to him, Miles sprang hotly to her defence.
    ‘I’ll swear that she wasn’t lying. You don’t know that girl as I do, Master Chapman. She is as open and as honest as the day. She abhors untruths, I tell you. She simply gets confused, as I have already explained, when faced with a barrage of questions.’
    ‘And who questioned her?’
    ‘One of the Sheriff’s officers, naturally, for of course we were obliged to send for the Law as soon as we realised that my son-in-law had been poisoned. The officer wasn’t as gentle with Nell as he might have been, and consequently her attitude persuaded him that she was lying.’
    ‘But she stuck to her story?’
    ‘Oh, yes! That, more than anything, convinced me that she must be telling the truth.’
    I refrained from pointing out that if Eleanor Babcary abhorred untruths, as her uncle had just maintained, he would have needed no convincing: he would have known for a fact that his niece was not lying. Moreover, I believe that the person has not been born who is totally incapable of telling a falsehood. Surely, if for no other reason, we all instinctively make the effort to protect those whom we love.
    The door opened and Mistress Bonifant’s voice sounded calmly through the gloom, unperturbed by the fact that she knew we must have been talking about her.
    ‘It’s nearly four o’clock, Father. Will Master Chapman