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CHAPTER 1

It had been a good summer, with protracted spells of fine weather interspersing the colder, cloudier days of wind and rain. I had peddled my wares along the south coast of England as far as the town of Chichester before finally turning my feet towards home, making my way first to Winchester and then across the great wilderness north of Old Sarum, where I'd found a warm welcome in the isolated hamlets and villages that fringe that great and barren waste. By the time I was within two days' travelling distance of Bristol I was able to look back with ever deepening pleasure on the sights and sounds of those recent months.

I recalled warm nights, sleeping in the open under the stars, or sheltering with fellow wayfarers in the muffled darkness of some barn, exchanging views on the varied subjects of creation while small, nocturnal animals rustled beside us in the sweet-smelling straw, busy and unafraid. I remembered the chirruping of birds at dawn and the white mist rising knee-high across the meadows, the first bright rays of sunlight piercing it with broken shards of gold. I thought of evening shadows splashed across cottage walls and the pearled-grey shimmer of waterfalls and streams.

I had seen and wondered at the massive, rampant giant of Cerne Abbas, carved into a Dorset hillside thousands of years ago by our Celtic forebears, and marvelled at the primaeval stone circle raised on Salisbury plain. More recently I had helped, for the sheer fun of it, with harvesting in the fields, sharing the workers' midday meal of bread and cheese, onions and barley beer, while the Harvest Lord kept strict watch on us to make certain that we took no more than our allotted time to eat and doze in the noonday sun. I had crossed the downs above Edington where Alfred, the greatest of our Saxon kings, had routed Guthrum's army six hundred years before, making Wessex safe for ever from occupation by the Danes, and had descended what is still called the bloody mound, passing the night at the Augustinian priory nestling in its lee.

And now, at the close of yet another day spent dawdling from village to village, in that soft, glimmering hush that lies somewhere between twilight and full dusk, as I neared the castle of Farleigh Hungerford I saw it awash with light from torches flaring high on its grey stone walls.

I was surprised, for I had passed this way several times – the castle being only a few miles from Bath, on the southerly heights that hem in that ancient township – and on each previous occasion it had been occupied only by such servants as were necessary to maintain and run it during the absence of its lord. But today that lord was in residence, a fact attested to by the press of people around the eastern gate and thronging the outer courtyard, as well as the pennants and surcoats of the men-at-arms, all sporting the Black Bull passant of the Duke of Clarence.

I knew a little of the castle's history for I had grown up in Wells, less than twenty miles' distance as the crow flies (and where gossip from within a far greater radius reaches our ears with astonishing speed). It had originally belonged to the Hungerford family, but their support of the late King Henry and the Lancastrian cause had deprived them of their lands. Fourteen years earlier, Farleigh had been granted by King Edward to his youngest brother, the Duke of Gloucester, when Prince Richard – and I too, for that matter, for we share the same birthday – was nine years old. But the Duke, since attaining manhood and marrying his cousin, the Lady Anne Neville, had chosen to live in the north, at Middleham and Sheriff Hutton. He had therefore rented out Farleigh to his older brother, the Duke of Clarence, who had large holdings in Somerset. Clarence's daughter, Margaret, had been born there only a year or so previously – but as I say, I had never until this time found His Grace himself within.

As I approached I could see that the gates had not yet been shut against the encroaching dark, and was wondering who might be expected at such a late hour, when the porter emerged from his room to inspect me and judge if I might be admitted or no.

'All right,' he grunted. 'You can pass. Hoping for a bed in the kitchens, I suppose.'

'Anywhere, friend. A stable will do me just as well.'

The man snorted. 'You'll be lucky! In case you hadn't noticed, the Duke's in residence. So what with his horses and those of His Grace of Bath and Wells, who's expected here at any moment, an empty stall'll be rarer than gold in a poor man's pocket.'

'A late call for the Bishop, surely?' I queried. 'It must be almost nine o'clock.'

The porter hunched his shoulders and rubbed a pockmarked nose. 'The Duke only arrived himself four hours since, and he's off again tomorrow just after midday. The way our lords and masters tear around the countryside fair takes your breath away! Never still! Here, there and everywhere, like a swarm of bees.' He cocked an ear. 'You'd best get on inside. I can hear the sound of horses' hooves.'

I could hear it myself, and just at that moment the lookout on the castle walls shouted warning of the Bishop's imminent arrival. Immediately, activity in the outer ward increased as grooms appeared, ready to attend upon His Grace and his retinue. The gates to the inner courtyard were flung open and the steward, together with other senior officers of the ducal household, emerged from a passage between the twin towers and crossed the bridge spanning the barbican ditch. I edged my way around the outer walls, past the west gate, to what I thought was an inconspicuous corner, not realizing quite how well illuminated it was by a burning torch just above my head.

The courtyard seemed suddenly, overpoweringly full of horses and riders, the former plunging to a standstill and breathing gustily through distended nostrils, heaving flanks sweating as though the animals had been pushed to their limit. Everywhere the light ran and caught on rich harness and jewels, on the gold, silver and azure thread that made up the saltire of Saint Andrew, blazoned on the saddle-cloths and sleeves of the Bishop's retainers.

Robert Stillington himself was splendidly attired in crimson velvet, his chaplain in dark blue silk. (The Church might constantly plead poverty, I reflected cynically, but however depleted its revenues, its princes made certain that they never went without.) The Bishop of Bath and Wells, by my reckoning, must at that time have been in his late fifties or early sixties, and had until the previous year held high office as Chancellor. Maybe the deeply-grooved, dissatisfied lines around his mouth had something to do with his removal from that post in favour of Thomas Rotheram, a close friend and confidant of the Woodvilles. If that were indeed so, he and my lord of Clarence would be able to sympathize and condole with one another, and vent their mutual spleen against the Queen's family.

A further commotion – a trumpet voluntary and the shuffling of feet as the men-at-arms snapped to attention – made me glance to my left just in time to see the Duke step into the outer ward to greet his guest in person; surely, I thought, an unlooked-for mark of distinction, even for a bishop. It seemed as though George of Clarence could not contain his impatience to welcome and make much of his guest. He flung a familiar arm around Stillington's neck, having first kissed him on both lined cheeks.

The Duke looked much as I remembered him, with the same great height and florid, handsome features as his elder brother. At first sight they could almost have been mistaken for each other, but a closer inspection revealed a sulky, disillusioned pout to Clarence's full lips, and a sag to the heavy jaw which suggested a man more at odds with life than King Edward had ever been. As always, the Duke was dressed magnificently, this evening in amber-coloured silks and velvets with a huge emerald ring flashing on one finger to match the buttons of his tunic. Just above his left elbow he wore a plain black ribbon, its ties fluttering in the gentle evening breeze, a token of his continued mourning for his sister, Anne, Duchess of Exeter, who had died at the beginning of the year.

Swinging on his heel, the Duke urged the Bishop forward towards the greater privacy of the inner courtyard, where, no doubt, Duchess Isabel and her ladies would also be waiting to extend their greetings. As they neared the bridge across the barbican ditch, my pack, which I had eased from my shoulders and was holding by its straps, slipped from my hand and fell to the ground. As luck – or divine providence – would have it, there was not a single person to screen me from the Duke, and the sudden movement caught the corner of his eye, making him turn his head. For a moment his stare was one of haughty displeasure, but then it changed to a puzzled frown. In the glare from the overhead torch he recognized, but could not place, my face; and as he assessed my clothes and calling the frown grew more pronounced. How could he possibly be acquainted with such a common pedlar? Still patently bewildered, and with a last, fleeting, backward glance, he vanished from my sight.

*
The castle kitchens were situated on the other side of the inner ward, close to the bakehouse and the well, in the vicinity of the north-west tower. I had been allowed to pass unhindered once the ducal party had entered the great hall, and was in fact less in the way than I had expected to be in the circumstances, the cooling ovens and quiet spits indicating that although the Bishop might be treated to a substantial all-night beside his bed, he and his retinue were not being fed on any lavish scale. Trays of wine and sweetmeats were being prepared, pastry coffins stuffed with dates and honey, apple turnovers and marchpane doucettes, but nothing that a man could get his teeth into. My heart sank. I had been looking forward to a share of the episcopal feast, but it was not to be. I should have to be content with such cold pickings as I was offered.

'His Grace sent word that he and his party would eat before leaving Wells,' one of the kitchen-maids informed me as she settled down to rummage through the contents of my pack. 'You haven't much left,' she accused me.

'I've been on the road all summer,' I protested. 'I'm on my way home to Bristol now. Stocks are low – like the food in this kitchen.'

She giggled. 'I'll get you something,' she volunteered, and was as good as her word, returning after some ten minutes with a trencher of bread and a leg of cold fowl. In her other hand she carried a tankard of ale, all of which she placed carefully on the floor beside me.

'Is that all right?' she asked.

I nodded gratefully. 'You're very kind.' Realizing suddenly how hungry I was, not having eaten for several hours, I took a large bite out of the meat before enquiring thickly, 'What brings the Bishop here on such a flying visit?'

A pair of big, rounded, pale grey eyes were turned towards me. 'How should I know? The Duke doesn't confide in me!' And she burst out laughing.

'You might have been privy to a rumour or two. In my experience, most gossip reaches the kitchens before anywhere else in a house – or a castle.'

My companion shrugged. 'Not here. My lord keeps his private business very close.'

This didn't tally with anything I had ever heard reported of George of Clarence, but I refrained from arguing the point. In any case, the girl had lost interest in the subject, picking up a small bone needle-case and hopefully asking its price. I guessed she was unable to buy it however cheap it might be, for I had never yet met a kitchen-maid with money in her pocket. I hesitated for a second or two, but I had had an excellent summer and could afford to be generous, so I closed her fingers round it.

'It's yours,' I said, 'if really you want it. But not a word to your companions, as I can't do the like for them. I have a mother-in-law and baby daughter waiting for me at home.'

She breathed her thanks with shining eyes and reached up shyly to kiss my cheek.

'You're married, then?' she whispered.

'A widower. By the way, what's your name?' But I was destined never to know it, because just at that moment one of the cooks bawled at her to stop idling her time away and go to the bakehouse with the order for the morning's bread. The girl scrambled to her feet, blew me another kiss and went running, the precious needle-case safely stowed in the bosom of her dress.

I settled myself in a corner of the great room, unrolling my cloak from my pack and draping it over my legs, for even the warmest of summer days are likely to grow chill as the shadows lengthen. All around me scullions continued to work, banking down the fire for the night (but leaving just sufficient embers to be blown easily into life the following morning), preparing the all-nights of bread and cheese and ale for the most important members of the household, making sure the water barrels and log baskets were filled ready for the next day, and cleaning the spits on which the Duke's dinner had been roasted. The cooks checked their supplies of fish and meat for breakfast, knowing how displeased their lord would be if his table failed to impress the Bishop. Once, a chamber-maid, her arms full of bed linen, looked in for a chat with a friend, but soon scurried off again when an irate housekeeper came searching for her. Later, near midnight, three or four of the Bishop's lesser servants, those for whom there was no room in the guest hall or stables, arrived to find themselves a corner in which to sleep, either in the kitchen itself or the adjacent scullery.

I had by that time dozed and woken again, my rest being only fitful, in sharp contrast to the untroubled nights of the past three months. Guiltily, I recognized the reason. It was because I was nearing home and the curtailment of my freedom. Autumn and then winter would soon be closing in, and I had sworn to my mother-in-law, Margaret Walker, not to leave her and my child again during the bitter weather. Indeed, I had similarly sworn to myself as well, after the experiences of last January; and I knew that there was enough money to be earned in and around Bristol for all our modest wants, and more than enough with Margaret's wages as a spinner. But I knew also that those long, seemingly endless weeks cooped up within four walls, even though I could escape by day, would try my patience and good temper to the utmost.

As a young man I had hated confinement, the reason why I had been unable to become a monk at Glastonbury, thus flouting the dearest wish of my mother's heart. I had not completed my novitiate but, with Abbot Selwood's blessing, had quit the religious life for that of a chapman, and for the best part of three years I had been footloose and carefree. And then, as readers of my previous chronicles will already be aware, in the February of 1474 I had married Lillis Walker, who had died giving birth to our daughter eight months later.

My mother-in-law was pressing me to marry again. She wanted someone to share the responsibility with her for little Elizabeth, then three months short of her second birthday and growing daily more active. I had promised Margaret to think seriously on the subject, with the result that every eligible single woman and widow in Redcliffe's weaving community had been paraded for my inspection and, whether willing or not, inveigled into my company, the two of us then being left alone together. With the arrival of spring, I had thankfully made my escape and taken to the road.

I both understood and felt the necessity for a wife, but this time I wanted to make sure that there was more than mere liking and a sense of obligation on my part. On the second of October I should be twenty-four years old, at that period in my life between the callowness of youth and the harder-headed realism of middle age, and I was looking for love. Because the monks of Glastonbury had taught me to read and write I was familiar with several of the great romantic epics concerning such characters as Robin Hood and Maid Marion, Lancelot and Guinevere, and also with the Roman de la Rose.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Brothers of Glastonbury"
by .
Copyright © 1997 Kate Sedley.
Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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