Arthur looked at the man with revulsion. He was not only a fool, but stupid as well. If Arthur were not cautious, all his carefully laid plans would be destroyed by a golden-eyed goddess. “You say she hates her husband?”
“Yes. I know she does.”
“Do you have proof other than servants’ gossip?”
“She never speaks of him.”
“Perhaps the love she bears him hurts her too much to speak of him,” Arthur said snidely. “Perhaps we should put her hatred to a test.”
Walter hesitated.
“You’re not so sure of her now?”
“I am! What do you plan?”
“We will bring her husband up from the pit, bring him before her and see her reaction. Will she cry in horror to see him as he must be now? Or will she be glad to see him so tortured?”
“She will be glad,” Walter said firmly.
“Let us hope you are right. But I believe you are not.”
The new quarters Judith had gotten for Lady Helen were large, airy and cleaner. A stout wooden partition had been nailed into the walls of the fourth-floor solar, creating the room. It was secluded from the rest of the castle, protected by a door of four-inch-thick seasoned oak.
There was
little furniture. A large bed draped with heavy linen occupied one corner. A straw pallet was on the other side of the chamber. Two people sat across from the glowing brazier, their heads nearly touching over a chessboard set on a low table.
“You have won again!” John Bassett said in astonishment.
Helen smiled at him. “You seem pleased.”
“Yes, I am. At least these days haven’t been dull.” During the time they had been together he’d seen many changes in her. She had gained weight; her cheeks were losing their hollows. And she had begun to relax in his presence. Her eyes no longer darted from side to side. In truth, they rarely left John.
“Do you think my daughter is well?” Helen asked as she set the chess pieces back in their original positions.
“I can only guess. If she had been harmed, I think we would know. I don’t think Demari will lose much time in seeing that we suffer the same fate.”
Helen nodded. She found John’s harsh truthfulness refreshing after having lived with lies for so long. She hadn’t seen Judith since that first night, and had it not been for John’s steadiness, she would have worried herself into illness. “Another game?”
“No. I must have a rest from your attacks.”
“It is late. Perhaps…” she began, not wanting to go to bed and leave his company.
“Will you sit by me a moment?” he asked as he rose and stirred the coals in the brazier.
“Yes,” she smiled. This was the part of the day she loved the best—being carried from one place to another in John’s strong arms. She was quite sure her ankle was well, but he didn’t ask after it, and she did not mention it.
He looked down at her head cradled against his shoulder. “You look more like your daughter each day,” he said as he carried her to a chair closer to the fire. “It’s easy to see where she gets her beauty.”
Helen didn’t speak, but smiled against his shoulder, delighting in the strength of him. He had no more than deposited her in the chair when the door burst open.
“Mother!” Judith said as she rushed to Helen’s open arms.
“I have been worried about you,” Helen said anxiously. “Where have they kept you? They haven’t harmed you?”
“What news?” John’s deep voice interrupted.
Judith pulled away from her mother. “No, I am unharmed. I couldn’t come because I’ve had no time. Walter Demari keeps me at something every moment. If I mention a visit to you, he finds someplace I must go.” She sat down on a stool John placed behind her. “As for the news, I have seen Gavin.”