‘William, that’s not true.’

‘Isn’t it? We were happy till he left. Oh, I know Father always thought more of Alan because of his fascination with anything military. And because I was more interested in wielding a pen than a sword, I was overlooked.’ William’s stomach growled. He was on a strict fast since he was due to take his final vows the next day, and it was making him irritable.

‘You’re letting jealousy warp your memories, William,’ Ned said. ‘Ivon is proud to have a son who can read and write. I heard him tell my mother as much.’

William’s nostrils flared. ‘He had a strange way of showing it. It was always Alan he spent time with.’ William looked down at his sandals and wriggled his toes. He shook his head at himself. ‘My apologies, Ned. I don’t often let demons run away with my tongue.’

‘You blame him for your mother’s death. My aunt, William’s mother,’ Ned explained to Gwenn, ‘was a delicate woman. But her death and Alan’s departure from Richmond might have been no more than an unhappy coincidence.’

William straightened his round shoulders. ‘I’m happy Alan achieved his ambitions. Happy to hear that the devil might still be alive. I have often wondered. I did pray for him, despite my anger.’

‘I’m sure you did.’ Ned patted his cousin’s arm, and wondered what hour it was. He felt exhausted. ‘I thought, when you came to the cell window, that you were familiar, but when you informed me your name was Marzin, it put me on the wrong track. Why Marzin?’

William le Bret’s round face lightened, and he indicated his fellow novice. ‘Brother Dominig and I take our vows on the morrow. It’s a custom of this house that new members of the order adopt a new name as a token of our turning our back on our old way of life.’ He threw an enquiring look at Ned. ‘If you think it safe to stay till morning, I’d be glad if you and your lady would consent to witness my profession. We are allowed representatives from the outside world. I had no one coming, but now you are here, I’d be honoured if you’d stay.’

Ned glanced at Gwenn. He could not say whether it was safe to stay or not.

‘I’m very tired, Ned,’ she admitted. ‘Perhaps we could sleep here.’

‘We’ll stay,’ Ned decided, ‘but I will keep watch.’

‘No, Ned! You’ll be worn out and not fit to travel.’

William concurred, ‘Your lady is right. You’re not built of iron. I’m fasting, and I have a vigil to keep in here with Dominig; but I can ask one of our brothers to keep watch.’

‘We’ve imposed enough.’

‘Nonsense! You are guests. And we are used to vigils, it is no trial to us monks to watch out for you.’

‘My thanks.’ Ned capitulated with a grin of relief. ‘But I’ll not be able to name you Marzin. You’ll always be William to me. You look well. The monastic life suits you. They can’t fast you too much.’

Ruefully, William put a hand to his extended belly. ‘On the whole, they feed me well. When I explained to the prior that I couldn’t paint on an empty stomach, he was very understanding.’ His stomach growled again and he gave Ned a rueful glance. ‘But because I’m being professed tomorrow, I must fast today. All day.’ Sighing, he looked his cousin over. ‘You look reasonably fit too, Ned, but what happened to your face? Someone should tend to that cut on your arm.’

‘I’ll do it,’ Gwenn said, ‘when I’ve seen to the children.’

William shook his unshorn thatch of hair. ‘You’ve enough taking care of the little ones, mistress. Brother Dominig will show you to the guesthouse. I’ll see to Ned.’

Gwenn thanked him and followed Brother Dominig to the reed-thatched hut which served as guesthouse for the order.

When the cousins were alone, Ned succumbed to the feeling of exhaustion which had been threatening to steal over him for some minutes, and sagged onto a chunk of masonry. ‘What’s the hour, William?’

‘Mid-afternoon.’

‘God’s teeth, is that all? Why is my body telling me its midnight?’

‘You look like death,’ William said frankly. ‘What happened, Ned?’

‘We’ve been through the mill today, old friend.’

‘Mmm?’ Making encouraging noises, William set about peeling aside the rags of what had once been a serviceable tunic from Ned’s left arm. He grimaced. ‘A messy gash,’ he muttered, ‘but not deep. We’d best go to the water butt. I’ve ointments ready.’

Ned dragged himself to his feet. While William bathed and treated his injuries, Ned squatted on an upturned bucket by the water barrel and told his tale. William was pale when he had done.

‘What about the law?’ William asked. ‘Will this enemy of St Clair’s get away with this outrage, this murder?’

‘Count François is the law around Vannes,’ Ned answered dryly. ‘The Duke is only interested in milking his Breton estates of their revenues.’

William let out a low whistle. ‘You’re up against Count François de Roncier? You pick a fine man to cross swords with, Ned.’

‘I know. And I do know the Count, William. Alan and I took our first commission with him, not knowing the man’s true colours. And by the time we had found out, it was too late, for we were sworn to him.’

‘Why didn’t you leave?’ William asked, working at Ned’s shoulder.

‘Leave? You ask me that? We were sworn to the man, William. A sacred oath.’

‘Sacred? Honour amongst thieves, eh? A routier’s oath is sacred, is it?’

Ned frowned. William would never understand. ‘No one would take you on if they heard you broke your word. God may not smile on mercenaries, William, but even mercenaries have some honour.’

‘I wrong you, Ned, I’m sorry. But to kill for pay...’

‘Your bishops have been known to fight in Holy War,’ Ned pointed out.

‘A crusade. That’s different,’ William said stiffly.

‘Is it? Oh hell, William. I’ve never been one for nit-picking. Let’s not argue. All I want is rest. When you’ve finished hacking at my arm, I’d like to go and find Gwenn.’

‘Hacking, you call it?’ William pretended to bridle. ‘I’ll have you know I’m counted the best healer in the monastery.’

‘Then heaven preserve me from the worst!’ Ned said lightly. He winced as William tied a linen bandage in place. ‘My thanks.’ He stood up, and yawned. ‘I’ll be glad when this day is done.’

The twinkle had leapt back into William’s brown eyes. ‘Naturally, for you’ll be a married man by then, won’t you, Ned?’

A crimson tide washed up Ned’s cheekbones to the roots of his hair. ‘I...I wasn’t thinking of that.’

‘Comely maid, I should think, when she’s tidied up a bit?’ William said, an unholy gleam in his eyes.

‘Aye.’

‘She’s your choice?’ The bright colour flooded down Ned’s throat. William chuckled. ‘Your choice. I wish you luck, old friend.’

‘My thanks, we shall need it,’ Ned said, grappling for sanity while he tried to turn a deaf ear on the refrain which had begun piping in his head. One phrase was being repeated over and over again. Tonight, Gwenn Herevi will be your wife. Your wife. Your wife. Your wife.

***

Night was closing in. Prior Hubert had married them after Vespers. The children were asleep in the guesthouse, and Gwenn was preparing for bed.

In constructing their one-roomed guesthouse, the brethren had made use of the forest’s most plentiful resource, wood; and though the cottage was a modest one, it was soundly built. Not only did it have a wooden frame, but it had planked walls in place of the more usual wattle and daub. The monks slept communally, and their dormitory was built on the same lines. There were differences between the two buildings, however. For one thing, the monks’ dormitory was double the size of the cottage; also the interior of the guesthouse was roughly plastered for insulation, as though the monks deemed that their feeble-minded lay visitors needed coddling, while they, bolstered by their faith, did not.

The plaster aside, there were no other refinements. The cottage had been built according to a design that was ages old when the Romans invaded Brittany. The fireplace was nothing more than a ring of stones in the centre of a pounded earth floor. There was no opening in the roof to let out the smoke, so it must rise up and billow in the crossbeams until it wound its way out through the thick reed thatch. Four plain, wooden bed-boxes were ranged round the fire – they occupied almost all the space. The brothers’ guesthouse was simply somewhere travellers could put their heads down and rest.