Music of the Distant Stars Read Online Free PDF Page B

did Ida suffer?’
    I met her eyes. ‘I cannot say, my lady.’ That was true; there had been no time to find out how the girl had died. By now Edild probably had a good idea, for she would not have wasted this long period of waiting by the body.
    ‘Could it possibly have been a dreadful accident?’ Lady Emma asked. ‘She might have tripped and fallen into the grave, perhaps banging her head as she fell . . . Oh, no.’ Her face fell, and there was no need for either of us to say it: if Ida had met her death by accident, who had wrapped her in the shroud and replaced the stone slab over the grave?
    I watched Lady Emma closely. I could see the distress rising in her. She was muttering under her breath, one hand clutching at her throat, the other on her belly. My impression was that her health was reasonably robust, but it doesn’t do to take any chances, especially when a woman is in the early stages of pregnancy. I reached down to the small leather bag that hung from my belt, mentally reminding myself of the small store of herbs that I usually carry in it. Yes; I had what I needed.
    ‘My lady,’ I said softly, ‘will you permit me to make a comforting drink for you? I have a remedy with me that is calming and promotes rest.’
    She shot a look at me, and I had the impression that her first instinct was to refuse. Perhaps she wished to remain fully alert because she wanted to hear more news of Ida as soon as there was any. But then she slumped back into her pillows and nodded. She picked up a bell that was on the floor by her couch and rang it, sending the servant who quickly answered its summons to fetch hot water and a mug. I made up a mild sedative, and soon Lady Emma slipped into a doze.
    I settled myself on the floor beside her, leaned back against the couch and let my head sink down on to the soft woolly blanket. Time passed, and in the still silence of the cool hall, I almost fell asleep myself.
    There was a sudden commotion outside in the courtyard. The sound of a horse’s hooves, then loud male voices. I detected anger. Then someone hushed the speakers and I heard heavy footsteps coming up the steps. Getting hurriedly to my feet, I stepped forward to meet Lord Gilbert as he came puffing into the hall, Bermund at his side. Behind them was a man I had never seen before.
    I studied him. He was a big bear of a man, tall and broad. He was younger than Lord Gilbert; around the mid-twenties, I guessed. His light-brown hair was worn long but, unlike many young men who followed the new fashion set by the king and his intimate circle, Alain de Villequier had neither flowing beard nor elaborate moustache. He wore a blue robe cinched with a handsome leather belt with a gold clasp and carried a short hunting knife in a scabbard at his side. He had been riding hard – hunting, perhaps, for the knife was stained – and his light cloak was thrown back. His face was rugged rather than handsome, the mouth wide, the light eyes crinkled at the corners. There was a vitality about him that was very attractive, and I guessed that he was a man whom people liked and who made friends readily.
    His first words supported this; he swept down in a graceful bow before Lady Emma, who had woken up as the men entered the hall, and very charmingly apologized for having taken so long in reaching Lakehall. ‘As I have explained to Lord Gilbert,’ he added, ‘I took advantage of the beautiful morning light and went hunting.’ He gave her a rueful look, like a small boy caught stealing a pie, and she smiled at him and said he was forgiven.
    I realized something else about Sir Alain: he was a flirt.
    Then he turned to me. ‘This must be Lassair,’ he said.
    He knew my name! That was a surprise, for I am never sure that Lord Gilbert does, even though he’s heard it several times. Sir Alain, on the other hand, had only been told of my existence a short time ago.
    I bowed to him. ‘Yes, sir.’
    ‘You discovered the body?’ His tone told