throat. No one trusts any man, these days. See you get him to the inn tonight otherwise the ship'll sail without him. And with John's men keeping watch on every port, it could be weeks or months afore we find another captain willing to risk his neck.'
'He'll be there,' Raffe said. He turned to go, but Talbot grabbed his sleeve.
'Hold hard, there's something else. You know a man name of Raoul?'
'He's one of Osborn's men.' Raffe frowned. 'But now I think of it, I don't recall seeing him in the manor these past few days. I'm sure he didn't ride off with Osborn to court though. Why do you ask? What do you know of him?'
'I know he's dead, that's what, murdered. His body was found in the yard of the Adam and Eve Inn.'
'In Norwich? But what was he doing there?'
'Asking questions about that lass of yours. He seemed to think she was in the city.'
Raffe felt the blood drain from his face. He grasped Talbot's shoulder urgently. 'Did he find out where she was?'
'Now, that's hard to tell, but one thing's for certain, she found out where he was. It was your lass who murdered him.'
'No!' The word burst out of Raffe so loudly that the boatman's head jerked up and he stared at them, before he remembered he wasn't supposed to be listening.
Your lass as good as admitted it. And there's proof of it too.'
'This is madness.' Raffe felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. 'She couldn't. How . . . why would she?'
'This Raoul came to Ma's the night he died. And your lass entertained him. She must have followed him after he left, for he stayed a while drinking in the guest hall after he'd finished with her and no one saw him leave.'
Raffe couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What possessed you to let him see her, never mind entertain him, when you knew he was looking for her?' He seized the front of Talbot's shirt, blazing with fury. You swore to me you'd keep her safe, you miserable little maggot.'
Talbot was unmoved. Even though Raffe was much taller,
Talbot had no doubts about who would come off best in any fight.
'I wasn't there. I was trying to find a ship for your friend,' he said pointedly. 'Luce was on the gate and she let Raoul in. But she'd no idea who he was for he didn't use his real name, who does? Even if he had, it would have meant nowt to her. Thing is, your lass was missing from the house that night and she knew exactly how this Raoul died afore she was told.'
'She could have heard someone talking about it or guessed . . .' Raffe protested feebly. 'But she couldn't murder anyone; she's just a young girl. She's so gentle she couldn't even kill a bird.'
'Murdered her own bairn, didn't she?' Talbot said gruffly. 'You and I, we've both seen plenty of women fighting to the death under the Cross in the Holy Land. There was that lass who took down a two-score of men with her long bow, afore the Saracens killed her, remember? Even Saladin admired her, though she was a Christian. When a woman's blood is up she's more ruthless than any man.'
'Not Elena.' Raffe felt as if the earth beneath his feet had suddenly turned to liquid. From the day she'd been accused, he'd tried to convince himself she hadn't murdered her child, yet hadn't there always been a tiny seed of doubt? Mothers did harm their children . . . But not Elena. He pictured those wide, innocent eyes staring up at him. Those were not the eyes of a murderer.
Then a thought struck him. 'What about you, Talbot? Where were you when Raoul died? You're always in the Adam and Eve, and if you discovered he was one of Osborn's men, you wouldn't think twice about killing him if you saw the opportunity.'
'I could ask the same of you. A man who's smitten with a woman would do just about anything to protect her, and if you found out this Raoul had tracked her down . . .' Talbot gave him a shrewd glance.
Raffe didn't answer. An even more alarming thought had occurred to him. 'Do the sheriffs men think it was Elena? Are they looking for her?'
Talbot eyed him for a moment or two. 'They say this Raoul was in debt, owed the dog fighters a deal of money.'
'And did he?'
Talbot