Chapter Seven #2
She paused for a moment. This must have been what Sister Rebecca had overheard.
A man telling—no, threatening Agatha with what he’d seen.
Like her, he too had noticed she was faking illness during her pretense at poisoning in front of the empress, and he’d called her on it, but to use her for his own nefarious ends.
What if the man whom Sister Rebecca had overheard had actually been Tristan, and the sheep’s head had been put there by Agatha?
She would have smelled it but did not comment, as she would have been the one to put it there in the middle of the night.
It would have been easy for her, especially if she was sleeping in the empress’s chamber that night.
But Bronwyn wasn’t certain who the man who had blackmailed her into doing it was.
Had it been Tristan, or someone else? The brewer, Peter Fforde, also came to mind.
Something about him just made her add him to her list of suspects, but what it was, per se, she couldn’t be sure.
At that moment, Bronwyn wished she had Rupert or Theobold around to talk to.
She could relay her thoughts about the situation to one of them, and they would talk it over with her.
No doubt they would annoy her and point out the flaws in her thinking, but they also might point out things she had missed.
She also admitted to herself, she missed their handsome faces.
She longed to look upon Theobold’s kind but serious eyes and feel comforted by Rupert’s easy smile.
Bronwyn thought to herself, What would Theobold do?
What would Rupert say? Then she gave herself a little shake.
They hadn’t been tasked with solving these little crimes and finding out who had carried out these threatening acts; she had been.
The empress had tasked her with them, and to work with Tristan.
As much as she didn’t care for him but couldn’t put her finger on why, he might be able to help.
Once she had finished preparing her dough and was letting it prove, Bronwyn wiped her hands clean and went off in search of Tristan.
She made her way out of the kitchen and realized she didn’t know where to go. She asked around for where he was, but no one seemed to know. It was odd.
Her search having turned up nothing, Bronwyn returned to the kitchens and went about her work. Tonight’s dinner was bread with steaming-hot potage along and preserved baked fish. After the meal, she went in search of Lady Susanna, whom she found in the small castle chapel sitting with the nuns.
Lady Susanna looked delighted to see her. “Bronwyn, hello. Were you looking to learn some French?”
“Yes and no. Happy to learn another French word, but I wanted to see how you all were.”
The nuns looked at Lady Susanna. “We are well,” Sister Rebecca said. “Now that we are out of that brewery, life is much better.”
Sister Joan grinned. “She didn’t like smelling of beer.”
Bronwyn smiled. “I normally don’t mind it, but I think I’d get tired of it too.”
Sister Rebecca hmmmed and crossed her arms. “Sister, we should return to our prayers. You will excuse us.” She went up to the floor before the small stone altar to pray.
After a moment, Sister Joan joined her, leaving Lady Susanna and Bronwyn alone.
“Did you want something? I can teach you more French,” Lady Susanna said, “Bonjour. That means hello.”
“Bon-jore,” Bronwyn said.
“Keep practicing.” Lady Susanna smiled.
“How are you feeling? You fainted last night.”
“I’m all right now,” Lady Susanna said. “The sight of that hideous sheep’s head scared me. And it was so brave of the empress. She didn’t faint at all. And to think, someone had put it there when she was asleep. I’d have screamed the castle down.”
“Where were you when it happened?”
“In the next room. Lady Alice and I were asleep when I heard a scream, and I hurried to the empress’s room.
The guards let me in, although they looked half-asleep, and that was when we found the empress, pointing at the bed.
The men-at-arms stabbed it when they realized what it was.
Agatha screamed, I screamed, and Lady Alice ran out. Then you came, and you know the rest.”
Bronwyn scratched her head. “Who do you think is doing this?”
“I don’t know. But if I had to guess, I think Lady Alice.”
Bronwyn’s eyes widened. Her friend? “Why is that?”
“Well… she always thinks of herself as better than the rest of us. I mean, I understand why. She’s from a good family, they are wealthy, and she’s noble, whereas my family owns fewer lands and isn’t as rich.
And Lady Alice is so strong. Such an independent mind.
It’s not good to have in a woman. It’s bound to get her in trouble.
And she’s so smart. But I think the empress might…
” She paused. “You won’t tell anyone what I’m saying? ”
“No, I won’t.”
“Good.” Lady Susanna nodded. “I think the empress doesn’t value Lady Alice the way she should. I know you two are close, but I wonder if Lady Alice meant for this incident to hurt her and remind her of what’s important.”
“Her attitude aside, what makes you suspect Lady Alice?”
“She’s always around, isn’t she? I don’t know. I just think she’s unhappy. And not just because her young man is away.”
Bronwyn cocked her head. She meant Rupert.
“Lord, she’s always talking about him. But now she’s stopped.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, Lady Alice was talking the other day at dinner about how dashing and daring her Rupert is, and Mistress Agatha I think got a bit jealous. She said, ‘If he’s so dashing and brave, why hasn’t he tried to find you?
’ And that made Lady Alice stop as if her mouth were full.
She didn’t say a word about him after that, at least not that I heard.
I think she’s pining for him. But it must bother her so, for her young man to do nothing. ”
Bronwyn snorted softly. “We are under siege. The streets aren’t safe.”
“I know, but—”
Bronwyn shook her head. “It’s not fair to expect him to try to reach her when there’s a war going on.”
“I know, but—”
“And besides, why would he contact her, anyway? It’s not like they have an understanding.”
“Yes, they do. Lady Alice said so.” Lady Susanna paused, her eyes widening. She clapped a hand to her mouth and giggled. “You’re jealous.”
“What? No, I’m not.” Bronwyn’s face warmed.
“Yes, you are. You’re jealous of Lady Alice and her squire.” Lady Susanna laughed. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We all get jealous sometimes.” She grinned and shot Bronwyn a knowing look.
Bronwyn shook her head. “I’m not. Really.”
“’Course you’re not. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
Bronwyn was ready to roll her eyes and thought better of it. “There’s no secret. Rupert and I are simply friends.”
“Sure, you are.”
This was getting her nowhere, and she had a mystery to solve. Bronwyn decided to push back. “The rumors I heard last were that you had a secret lover, Lady Susanna.”
The noblewoman froze for a second, then buffed her nails on her dress, examining them. “Don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do. How about you start telling me the truth?”
“What are you talking about?”
Bronwyn had the noblewoman’s full attention now. The teasing smile had disappeared from her face.
“Back in June, the night before the empress’s coronation in London, you locked up Theobold and Rupert in the room with the jewels—”
“No, I didn’t.”
“It wasn’t a question.” Bronwyn’s voice was hard. “What I want to know is why.”
Lady Susanna’s mouth dropped open. “I… First of all, even if I did do that, which I didn’t, there’s no way to prove such a thing. And it’s in the past, anyway, so why would you care?” She put a hand on her hip.
“They were missed on the day. They could have helped. Lady Morwenna and Sir Bors attacked—”
She tittered. “It was just a little joke. They kept nosing around the empress’s jewels, so I didn’t trust them. Thought maybe a night with them might teach them not to go snooping around. But I don’t see how that matters now.” She raised her nose in the air.
“What about your lover? You’ve been quiet about it since you got here. Is it Tristan, the squire?”
“Ha. Why are you so concerned about my love life…? Oh, I see. You were worried about him. Theobold. Still fancying him, are you?” Lady Susanna snorted.
“I thought you would have learned your lesson by now. You shouldn’t be mixing with your betters.
Fancy him all you want, but he’ll be a knight someday, and you…
” She looked her up and down. “Maybe you should set your sights lower, to someone more suited to your station in life. I’m sure there’s a lonely cowherd or shepherd out there, looking for love. ” She laughed and walked away.
Bronwyn sighed and sat on one of the few stone benches toward the back of the chapel. She closed her eyes for a moment and clasped her hands in her lap, when a familiar voice asked, “Are you praying or are you asleep?”
Bronwyn’s eyes opened. “I’m not asleep.”
Sister Rebecca stood there.
“But I wasn’t praying, either,” Bronwyn admitted sheepishly.
The nun took a seat beside her. “What troubles you?”
“Nothing.”
“Nonsense. I may not be a priest, but I can tell when something’s not right. What is it? Are you fretting over the sheep’s head in the empress’s bedchamber?”
Bronwyn stared at her. “How do you—”
“Lady Susanna told us. She has a kind heart but is not good at holding her tongue.”
“I think you are right.” She inwardly winced at the stories Lady Susanna could be spreading at that moment about her, Lady Alice, and Rupert. What if Theobold heard?
“What troubles you so?”
“It’s not the sheep’s head. I mean, part of it is. But it’s more than that. Sorry, I don’t want to impose.”
“Please. I’m happy to listen. It’s much more interesting than my own prayers.” Sister Rebecca smiled thinly.