The musty stench of mold was strong in the windowless hut.
“I am innocent of murder, Brother.” Hilda sobbed as she cowered in the corner.
“I would prove that and speed your release,” he said, “but you must answer my questions fully, truthfully, and without hesitation.”
Although she might not see his own tears in the dim light, Thomas rubbed all traces from his cheeks. How could a woman be transformed into this thin shadow of despair within so few hours? Yet, as he recalled his own first day of imprisonment, he knew he should understand well enough just how quickly loss of hope sucked life from a man.
“I swear I left the kitchen but once or twice the night Tobye was cruelly slaughtered. You saw me asleep when you awoke for prayer. It was so cold that my trips to the privy were brief.”
Did she omit mention of Huet’s testimony, knowing he had lied? Thomas was about to ask, then decided she might not want to bring attention to the falsehood, fearing it would weaken her case. Or perhaps she thought the statement of a monk would have greater merit than that of a one who had abandoned the priesthood, and thus it mattered not what the latter might say? Did she wonder why the man had lied? He opted to abandon all those uncertainties and probe for answers to more immediate questions.
“Did you ever meet with Tobye in the stable and couple in sin?”
“I have never known any man, Brother, although I confess I dreamed of it.”
“Did you know the women who actually shared his bed?”
She turned her face from him, and in the feeble light he saw the profile of her hand pressed against her mouth as if to stop words from tumbling out.
“You must tell me what you know or have heard. Let me decide what information might best save your life and what can be forgotten here.”
“I am a servant to this family and owe them loyalty. To speak ill of any amongst them would be a betrayal.”
A most revealing response to his question, Thomas thought, considering what he had already learned about Mistress Luce. If the wife’s adultery was so well known, there was little reason to doubt that Master Stevyn was also aware of the cuckoldry and, like any husband, would be disinclined to ignore it. Who might she be trying to protect: master or lady? “If you distinguish what you know from what you have heard as rumor, there are few who would find fault with you. Most certainly not I.”
“What is my life worth if Master Stevyn casts me out because he learns what I have said? Even if I am found innocent of his groom’s murder, I shall suffer the shame of being condemned as a faithless servant while I starve.”
“Let God be the judge of your words. If your heart holds no malice and your testimony brings to light some relevant family sin, your act will have been a righteous one. He will surely protect you.” Yet how reasonable was that? Thomas asked himself, knowing full well she had cause enough for fear in a world ruled by mortals. He tried unsuccessfully to silence that blasphemous whisper from his soul.
Hilda closed her eyes and silently moved her lips as if praying that the burden of this moment be lifted from her shoulders. Tears glistened on her cheeks in the pale light, but she ignored them. “I lied in the courtyard, Brother. I was jealous. Tobye had other women, for cert, and I envied them even though I could never have bedded him even if he had truly wished it. I feared Hell too much. Why is it that we long for something that we fear with equal strength? Will God forgive me for that?”
“Did you ever harm his bedfellows in any way?”
“Only in my heart, Brother, but that alone must make the Devil leap high with joy.”
Sin enough perhaps, but he knew far graver ones than this woman could even imagine. “If Satan did, his prancing was short-lived. God is gentler with faults that never hurt another mortal.” He waited for her to continue.
“Isn’t confessing my lie about the jealousy enough?” Her voice wavered.
Thomas hoped she could see understanding and forgiveness in his smile despite the gloom. “He had other women. Who were they?”
Rubbing her hands together in tortured agony, Hilda groaned, then bent closer to him and whispered, “Mistress Luce. I know that. Once I saw her coupling with him against the wall like some common woman, but methinks there was another who came from the manor house that horrible night.”
Thomas tried to hide the surprise as he asked: “Who was she?” Doubt took residence in his heart. She had heard Ranulf’s claim that he had seen her in the stable. Was she now claiming that she had seen a woman too? To corroborate the testimony of the steward’s eldest son, and suggest that he had been wrong only in the identification of the woman, was a clever ploy. Nay, he thought, she was not possessed of such crafty wit.
“Who was this person?” he asked again, wondering how vague her answer would be.
“I was coming out of the privy and saw a woman’s shadow near the stable. Then she slipped inside. I saw only her shape, never her face.” She flinched and turned away. “Aye, Brother, once or twice I did spy on him, but my intent was never to betray his lovers even though my heart ached with envy. Maybe that pain was my penance for the wicked longing of my flesh?”
“Quite possibly,” he said gently, “but your sin is light enough. Tell me what else you saw or heard. You might find a readier forgiveness if the eavesdropping reveals a killer.”
“In truth, my sight was limited by the hour and weather. I knew it was a woman by the length of her heavy cloak, but I could not determine if she were young or old. When I slipped up to a window and pressed my ear as close as I dared, I was unable to recognize words. She spoke too low, but I thought she whined with piteous begging. Tobye must have grown angry, for I did hear him exclaim that his member withered at the very sight of her. Then I ran away out of shame for what I was doing.”
“Did her voice remind you of anyone?”
“Aye, Brother, but I would never swear it in God’s name.”
“But you can confide it to me in confidence, Hilda, and let me consider what is best to do next. I promise I will do nothing that will bring harm to you for a mere supposition.”
She bent to his ear.
The door creaked open, and a man stepped into the room.
“How does Hilda, Brother?” the steward asked.