World Without End Page 0,25

and he shrivelled. "I think you handled this badly," she said. "You should have discussed it with me beforehand."

He had feared she would take this line. "How can you say I mishandled it?" he protested.

"You should have let me speak to Anthony first. I would have softened him."

"He still might have said no."

"And before you approached Cecilia, you should have found out whether anyone else had asked her. Then you could have undermined Saul before speaking to her."

"How?"

"He must have a weakness. You could have found out what it is, and made sure it was brought to her attention. Then, when she was feeling disillusioned, you could have approached her yourself."

He saw the sense of what she was saying. "I never thought of that," he said. He bowed his head.

With controlled anger she said: "You have to plan these things, the way earls plan battles."

"I see that now," he said, not meeting her eye. "I'll never make the same mistake again."

"I hope not."

He looked at her, "What am I going to do?"

"I'm not giving up." A familiar expression of determination came over her face. "I shall provide the money," she said.

Godwyn felt a surge of hope, but he could not imagine how his mother would fulfil such a promise. "Where will you get it?" he asked.

"I'll give up my house, and move in with my brother Edmund."

"Will he have you?" Edmund was a generous man, but he sometimes clashed with his sister.

"I think he will. He's going to be a widower soon, and he'll need a housekeeper. Not that Rose was ever very effective in that role."

Godwyn shook his head. "You'll still need money."

"For what? Edmund will give me bed and board, and pay for the few small necessities I may require. In return, I'll manage his servants and raise his daughters. And you shall have the money I inherited from your father."

She spoke firmly, but Godwyn could see the bitterness of regret expressed in the twist of her mouth. He knew what a sacrifice this would be for her. She was proud of her independence. She was one of the town's prominent women, the daughter of a wealthy man and the sister of the leading wool merchant, and she prized that status. She loved to invite the powerful men and women of Kingsbridge to dine with her and drink the best wine. Now she was proposing to move into her brother's house and live as a poor relation, working as a kind of servant and dependent on him for everything. It would be a terrible comedown. "It's too much to sacrifice," Godwyn said. "You can't do it."

Her face hardened, and she gave a little shake of the shoulders, as if preparing to take the weight of a heavy burden. "Oh, yes, I can," she said.

Chapter 5

Gwenda told her father everything.

She had sworn on the blood of Jesus that she would keep the secret, so now she was going to hell, but she was more frightened of her father than of hell.

He began by asking her where she got Skip, the new puppy, and she was forced to explain how Hop had died; and in the end the whole story came out.

To her surprise, she was not whipped. In fact Pa seemed pleased. He made her take him to the clearing in the forest where the killings had happened. It was not easy to find the place again, but she got there, and they found the bodies of the two men-at-arms dressed in green-and-yellow livery.

First Pa opened their purses. Both contained twenty or thirty pennies. He was even more pleased with their swords, which were worth more than a few pennies. He began to strip the dead men, which was difficult for him with one hand, so he made Gwenda help him. The lifeless bodies were awkwardly heavy, so strange to touch. Pa made her take off everything they wore, even their muddy hose and their soiled underdrawers.

He wrapped their weapons in the clothing, making what looked like a bundle of rags. Then he and Gwenda dragged the naked corpses back into the evergreen bush.

He was in high spirits as they walked back into Kingsbridge. He took her to Slaughterhouse Ditch, a street near the river, and they went into a large but dirty tavern called the White Horse. He bought Gwenda a cup of ale to drink while he disappeared into the back of the house with the innkeeper, whom he addressed as "Davey boy". It was the