not go hungry now that their menfolk had gone. John looked at her with a mixture of pride, compassion and longing. Only the sensation of Nesta looking over his shoulder prevented him from rekindling his passion for the willowy blonde.
When the burial service had ended and after the plain coffins were lowered into the sandy soil, Gwyn and Hugh's servant sought the nearest alehouse, while Hilda led John and Hugh de Relaga back to Thorgils' house, which was now hers. Hugh had not seen it before, and his eyebrows rose as he saw the elegant stone pillars holding up three arches which formed the front of the lower storey. Compared to the usual wooden dwellings and the cottages of plastered cob that surrounded it, it was almost a palace, and he was keener than ever to get this lady into partnership.
In the large room upstairs, the maid served ale and wine, and platters of fine wheaten bread, cheese and savoury pastries were handed around. Though sad, Hilda seemed to be bearing her new widowhood with equanimity and was quite willing to talk business with the two men from Exeter. The portreeve did most of the talking, and they soon agreed on a mutually advantageous scheme, which could later be put in writing and sealed by one of the few lawyers in the city.
'Will I need to take any active part in this?' she asked. 'I have no knowledge of business and cannot even write my own name!'
Hugh's cherubic face creased in a smile. 'All you need do, dear lady, is buy a larger treasure chest, as I have no doubt that John will be coming down quite often to add more silver to it!'
Even this jocular reference to frequent future visits to Dawlish caused a worm of unease to wriggle in the back of de Wolfe's brain. The other night, when he had gone up to Nesta's bed, their lazy conversation after making love had drifted to his proposition to include Hilda in the partnership. He immediately sensed a stiffening in her voice, and she enquired several times how often this would require him to travel to Dawlish. The mild tenseness passed off quickly, but left him with a wariness and a resolve to tread very softly with Nesta where any mention of Hilda was concerned.
Here in the blonde woman's solar, he sighed at the thought that now two women were looking on Hilda as a threat - his wife and his mistress.
* * *
That week, there were fewer cases to deal with than usual and at home Matilda was no better and no worse, spending most of her time either praying or staying with her cousin in Fore Street. She ignored him at mealtimes and at night he contrived to stay out of her bed until she was asleep.
With Nesta, he was careful to avoid any mention of Hilda and the concern he harboured over her nascent jealousy thankfully subsided. When she asked him whether there had been any news of who might have killed the ship's crew, he kept the discussion strictly to the Ringmore end of the story - not that anything had been reported from there to give him the slightest clue as to what might have happened.
'I must go down there again soon and see if any local news has surfaced,' he said. 'To be honest, I have no idea where to start looking, unless someone in that locality comes up with some information.'
Towards the end of the week, another matter began to absorb their attention, though it was mainly Thomas de Peyne who was involved.
At last the time had come for him to go to Winchester to be received back into the bosom of his beloved Church, following his absolution from the alleged crime that had led to his ignominious ejection from the priesthood. When he was teaching in the cathedral school there, a malicious accusation of indecency had been made by one of the girl pupils and Thomas was lucky to escape with his neck intact. As an unfrocked priest, he almost starved for a year - until he walked to Exeter to throw himself on the mercy of his archdeacon uncle, who found him a clerk's job with the new coroner.
Now he was to attend the cathedral there on
When the burial service had ended and after the plain coffins were lowered into the sandy soil, Gwyn and Hugh's servant sought the nearest alehouse, while Hilda led John and Hugh de Relaga back to Thorgils' house, which was now hers. Hugh had not seen it before, and his eyebrows rose as he saw the elegant stone pillars holding up three arches which formed the front of the lower storey. Compared to the usual wooden dwellings and the cottages of plastered cob that surrounded it, it was almost a palace, and he was keener than ever to get this lady into partnership.
In the large room upstairs, the maid served ale and wine, and platters of fine wheaten bread, cheese and savoury pastries were handed around. Though sad, Hilda seemed to be bearing her new widowhood with equanimity and was quite willing to talk business with the two men from Exeter. The portreeve did most of the talking, and they soon agreed on a mutually advantageous scheme, which could later be put in writing and sealed by one of the few lawyers in the city.
'Will I need to take any active part in this?' she asked. 'I have no knowledge of business and cannot even write my own name!'
Hugh's cherubic face creased in a smile. 'All you need do, dear lady, is buy a larger treasure chest, as I have no doubt that John will be coming down quite often to add more silver to it!'
Even this jocular reference to frequent future visits to Dawlish caused a worm of unease to wriggle in the back of de Wolfe's brain. The other night, when he had gone up to Nesta's bed, their lazy conversation after making love had drifted to his proposition to include Hilda in the partnership. He immediately sensed a stiffening in her voice, and she enquired several times how often this would require him to travel to Dawlish. The mild tenseness passed off quickly, but left him with a wariness and a resolve to tread very softly with Nesta where any mention of Hilda was concerned.
Here in the blonde woman's solar, he sighed at the thought that now two women were looking on Hilda as a threat - his wife and his mistress.
* * *
That week, there were fewer cases to deal with than usual and at home Matilda was no better and no worse, spending most of her time either praying or staying with her cousin in Fore Street. She ignored him at mealtimes and at night he contrived to stay out of her bed until she was asleep.
With Nesta, he was careful to avoid any mention of Hilda and the concern he harboured over her nascent jealousy thankfully subsided. When she asked him whether there had been any news of who might have killed the ship's crew, he kept the discussion strictly to the Ringmore end of the story - not that anything had been reported from there to give him the slightest clue as to what might have happened.
'I must go down there again soon and see if any local news has surfaced,' he said. 'To be honest, I have no idea where to start looking, unless someone in that locality comes up with some information.'
Towards the end of the week, another matter began to absorb their attention, though it was mainly Thomas de Peyne who was involved.
At last the time had come for him to go to Winchester to be received back into the bosom of his beloved Church, following his absolution from the alleged crime that had led to his ignominious ejection from the priesthood. When he was teaching in the cathedral school there, a malicious accusation of indecency had been made by one of the girl pupils and Thomas was lucky to escape with his neck intact. As an unfrocked priest, he almost starved for a year - until he walked to Exeter to throw himself on the mercy of his archdeacon uncle, who found him a clerk's job with the new coroner.
Now he was to attend the cathedral there on
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