corpse will tame you. You won't look much like a noblewoman when you get out of there, that I promise you.'
Anne blanched visibly, swaying backwards. You wouldn't dare,' she blazed, but the quaver in her voice betrayed her fear.
Osborn's mouth curved in a humourless smile. You think not?' He turned to the servants. 'Take her to the pit.'
But no one moved. They all stood frozen, staring at him, shock on every face.
'No.' Raffe stepped hastily between Anne and Osborn. 'She did not release the girl. I —'
'He's right, m'lord,' a timid voice broke in.
Hilda was hovering by her mistress's side, her arm thrust out in front of Anne as if she thought she could simply flap away any man who approached.
'My mistress was sound asleep in bed all night.'
'No, Hilda!' Anne protested, but for once her faithful maid ignored her.
'Lady Anne was so upset about the girl, I knew she'd never rest, so I added a few drops of poppy juice to her posset. She wouldn't have been able to stir from her bed, never mind help that wicked girl. I knew that girl was trouble, taking advantage of poor Lady Anne's trusting nature. Evil, that's what she was.'
Anne gave a shuddering sigh. 'Hilda is confused, I didn't...' she began, but all the words seemed to have drained out of her. She swayed alarmingly and had to clutch Hilda's arm to stop herself falling.
Osborn spun around to face Raffe, his eyes flashing with rage.
'So!' he bellowed. 'It seems we come full circle. Who released the girl? As steward you are responsible for the conduct and discipline of my villeins, therefore you will decide. The girl's lover or her mother, which one will hang in her place? You may choose.'
Cecily, Athan and Joan all let out a shriek of anguish. Their horrified faces turned towards Raffe. For a moment he was too stunned to speak.
'No! No, you can't ask me to choose. You have no proof that either of them did it.'
'In that case I have no alternative but to hold Lady Anne responsible. After all, she did confess and her maid is doubtless lying out of a misguided sense of loyalty. Perhaps I should reward that loyalty by allowing her to join her mistress in the pit.'
Hilda whimpered in protest, but Osborn ignored her.
'Come now, Master Raffaele, do you really think a woman of Lady Anne's delicate breeding would survive a month in the dark, chained up in the cold and damp, with only bread and water to sustain her? I've seen men driven mad in half that time left alone in the dark. And next to her poor son's corpse too. What a torment that would be for a doting mother.'
Raffe's gaze flicked to Anne's face. She held her head defiantly high, but he saw the tremble of her mouth and the lines around her tired eyes. She would go into that pit with dignity if she had to, but they both knew she would not come out alive.
'So I repeat, Master Raffaele, it is your choice. Lover or mother, which shall I hang?'
In the courtyard none of the servants moved. The wind stirred their clothes, as if they were rags on stone statues. Athan's face was almost green, as if he was about to vomit. His eyes were closed and his lips moved frantically as he mumbled what sounded like a prayer. Cecily was crouching on the ground, her arms cradling her head, rocking backwards and forwards. Joan was twisting the cloth of her skirts, and gabbling frantic pleas for mercy. But she was sobbing so hard, it was impossible to tell if she was begging Raffe, Osborn or the Almighty to spare her precious son.
All the servants' eyes were fastened upon Raffe, but he couldn't look at anyone. He stared up. A flock of starlings, like a pillar of smoke, spun across the pale blue sky towards the marshes. Raffe knew what Gerard would have done, he'd have confessed in an instant. He'd never let someone else die for him, but then Gerard was of noble blood and would never have had to face the gallows. Raffe could not bear to lose his life to Osborn, to die ridiculed and disgraced. He had lived his whole life in humiliation until Gerard had found him, and he would not die in shame now, not after all he had been through. And who would protect Lady Anne and Elena? He couldn't leave them undefended to Osborn's mercy. He had