used to condemn her. She bit back a protest. It was better to let the prosecution run its course, then refute the accusations one by one.
"When does she do this?" Philemon asked Elfric.
"When she thinks she is alone."
"And what does she say?"
"The words are difficult to make out. She might be speaking a foreign tongue."
The crowded reacted to that, too: witches and their familiars were said to have their own language that no one else could understand.
"What does she seem to be saying?"
"To judge by her tone of voice, she is asking for help, pleading for good luck, cursing those who cause her misfortune, that sort of thing."
Merthin shouted: "This is not evidence!" Everyone looked at him, and he added: "He has admitted he did not understand the words - he's just making this up!"
There was a rumble of support from the more level-headed citizens, but it was not as loud nor as indignant as Caris would have liked.
Bishop Richard spoke for the first time. "Be quiet," he said. "Men who disrupt the proceedings will be put outside by the constable. Carry on, please, Brother Philemon, but do not invite witnesses to fabricate evidence when they have admitted they do not know the truth."
That was at least even-handed, Caris thought. Richard and his family had no love for Godwyn after the quarrel over Margery's wedding. On the other hand, as a cleric Richard might not want the town to pass out of the priory's control. Perhaps he would at least be neutral in this. Her hopes rose a little.
Philemon said to Elfric: "Do you think the familiars she speaks to help her in any way?"
"Most certainly," Elfric replied. "Caris's friends, those she favours, are lucky. Merthin has become a successful builder although he never even completed his apprenticeship as a carpenter. Mark Webber was a poor man, but now he is rich. Caris's friend Gwenda is married to Wulfric, even though Wulfric was betrothed to someone else. How are these things achieved, if not with unnatural help?"
"Thank you."
Elfric sat down.
As Philemon summarized his evidence, Caris fought down a rising feeling of terror. She tried to put out of her mind the vision of Crazy Nell being flogged behind a cart. She struggled to concentrate on what she should say to defend herself. She could ridicule every statement made about her, but that might not be enough. She needed to explain why people had lied about her, and show what their motives were.
When Philemon was finished, Godwyn asked her if she had anything to say. In a loud voice that sounded more confident than she felt, she replied: "Of course I do." She made her way to the front of the crowd: she would not let her accusers monopolize the position of authority. She took her time, making them all wait for her. She walked up to the throne and looked Richard in the eye. "My lord bishop, I say this on my oath as I hope to be saved -" she turned to the crowd and added - "which I notice Philemon did not say."
Godwyn interrupted: "As a monk, he does not need to swear."
Caris raised her voice. "And a good thing for him, otherwise he would burn in hell for the lies he has told today!"
Score a point to me, she thought, and her hopes rose another notch.
She spoke to the crowd. Although the decision would be made by the bishop, he would be heavily influenced by the reaction of the townspeople. He was not a man of high principle.
"Mattie Wise healed many people in this town," she began. "On this day two years ago, when the old bridge collapsed, she was one of the foremost in tending to the injured, working alongside Mother Cecilia and the nuns. Looking around the church today I see many people who benefited from her care at that terrible time. Did anyone hear her invoke the devil on that day? If so, let him speak now."
She paused to let the silence impress itself on her audience.
She pointed at Madge Webber. "Mattie gave you a potion that brought down your child's fever. What did she say to you?"
Madge looked scared. No one was comfortable being called as a witness in the defence of a witch. But Madge owed a lot to Caris. She straightened her shoulders, looked defiant, and said: "Mattie said to me: 'Pray to God, for only He can heal.' "
Caris pointed at the constable. "John, she eased