The Goldsmith's Daughter by Kate Sedley

Author:Kate Sedley [Sedley, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2001-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Twelve

‘Do you know of such an enemy?’ I asked after a few moments, when Isolda’s last words had had time to sink in.

She shook her head. ‘No, although it’s not for want of thinking about it. But no particular person springs to mind. Of course, it would be foolish to presume that Gideon and I were loved, or even liked, by all our acquaintances, or even by all those who professed themselves to be our friends. Yet I’m unable to think of a single soul who would wish either of us so ill that he or she would be prepared to tell a lie that could result in so much distress and misery.’

‘Nevertheless, somebody did just that.’

She sat forward in her chair, stretching her back as though it were aching. ‘I know,’ she answered quietly. ‘That’s what I find so frightening.’

‘And your husband never mentioned this accusation to you? Did you indeed know nothing of it until after Master Bonifant’s death?’

‘Gideon never said a word to me. Had he done so, I should have been able to refute the accusation. And I hope that I should have been able to set his mind at rest.’ She shivered and held out her hands to the blaze. ‘That’s what disturbs me most, Master Chapman, that he seems to have had such belief in this tale, accepted it so readily, that he never even asked me to prove my innocence.’

I nodded sympathetically. If she were telling the truth, this omission of Gideon’s did appear odd, to say the least of it. But was she telling the truth? I had only her word for what had passed between herself and her husband. I should never now hear his side of the story.

‘What did you do that evening,’ I asked, ‘when you had changed your gown?’

‘I came downstairs, naturally, to this room, to join in the celebration.’

‘And who was here when you entered?’

‘Everyone – except Meg, of course. She was still down in the kitchen.’ Isolda ticked off the assembled company on her fingers, screwing up her eyes a little as she once more conjured up the scene in her mind. ‘My father, Mistress Perle, Gregory and Ginèvre Napier, both my cousins and, of course, Gideon. Oh yes, and our apprentice, Tobias Maybury,’ she added on a faint note of surprise. ‘I recall wondering at the time why he was present.’

‘Shouldn’t he have been?’

‘If it had been a normal mealtime, with just the family, yes. He always eats with us. But not when we entertain. Then he has his food downstairs in the kitchen, with Meg. And I remember now. . .’

‘Go on,’ I urged as her voice tailed away into silence. ‘What do you remember?’

‘Oh, it probably means nothing,’ she protested, ‘but it occurred to me that he looked . . . well, flushed, as if he were feeling guilty about something or other. It was probably my imagination, for he didn’t remain long in the room after my arrival, and he seemed perfectly himself when I saw him some fifteen minutes later, down in the kitchen.

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