Justice for the Damned Read Online Free PDF Page B

tightly under her breasts, a gesture that might have
suggested grace and dignity if the knuckles on her fingers had not been quite
so white. "You must obey me, child."
    Alys
shook her head as she rose to her feet.
    The
mother now turned a beseeching gaze on the young man. "And you, Master
Bernard? Surely you understand my obligation in this matter. Will you not show
charity and support this poor widow by withdrawing your plea? I have no quarrel
with you other than this unwise suit."
    His
eyes shifted away from hers.
    "If
you hesitate to do this," she continued softly, "I beg that you ask
yourself if you would not make the same decision as I must for a much beloved
daughter."
    "We
would not demand such a terrible sacrifice from any child of ours!" Alys
cried out before Bernard could reply.
    Jhone
stamped her foot in outrage. "You shall marry Master Herbert!"
    "Before
you drag me to his bed, I will enter Amesbury Priory as a novice!" Alys
pounded her fist on a nearby chair.
    As
the two women glared at each other with equal obstinacy, the now forgotten
Bernard, maker of soft gloves, leaned against the hard wall and silently prayed
for peace.
    Chapter
Five
    Wulfstan
was an angry man. Had he been less so, he might have felt pain as he stomped
along the path to the river, jolting his aging joints as his feet pounded the
earth with the force of his just resentment.
    "I
did see the ghost," he muttered. When he reported this earlier in the day,
Sister Beatrice should have listened with both courtesy and respect. Had he not
proven to her over the years that he was a reliable man? Instead, her frowning
silence had proclaimed her utter disbelief.
    Wulfstan
snorted. How dare the nun so casually dismiss what he had seen? He was no
woman, prone to irrational fantasies and likely to faint if a shadow took on
some writhing shape. He had, most certainly he had, seen the ghost.
    He
shivered. The evening was chill. Now he began to feel the pain in his knees and
shins as well. "Fa! This is the priory's fault," he growled, and spat
on the damp earth.
    Maybe
that difficult wife of his would at least have a hot stew ready when he got
home. Last night, after the fright the ghost had given him, as it would any
mortal man, he had sought ease from her body; but his wife had pushed him off,
whining that her courses had come and she would have none of his urges for at
least six days.
    Or
so she claimed. Wulfstan shook his head, his mouth imitating a peevish look.
"I will not be humiliated by bearing a red-haired child so the village can
mock us for sinful intercourse," he muttered in high-pitched imitation of
his reluctant spouse.
    Grumbling
to himself, he remembered when she could not have enough of his urges, but
after the birth of their sixth, she had found far too many excuses to deny him
his rights as husband. Tonight he should demand his marriage debt. If he
recalled correctly, and he was sure he did, her courses had come quite
recently. She must have been lying last night. Women did that, or so his father
had told him.
    He
shivered again but trudged on. From the sound of the Avon, he had reached the
part of the path that passed close to the river bank. As he looked up, he could
see a few specks of light from Amesbury Priory. Aye, he was getting closer to
home. There had better be a warm hearth waiting for him, Wulfstan thought
sullenly, or else he would administer a beating to someone for cert. He rubbed
a hand under his dripping nose.
    With
sudden apprehension, he saw how near he was to the place he had seen the ghost.
Quietly, he cursed the stubborn pride that had sent him back along this path where
the spirit had appeared to him. Last night the phantom may have turned away
from him, disappearing into the mist and rushes without causing him harm, but
the memory of her black form made him uneasy. Perchance the first sighting had
been but a warning. The second time, might she not carry him off to Hell?
    Wulfstan
quickened his step.
    Without
a doubt,