Brother Cadfael 12: The Raven in the Foregate

said Cadfael simply, leading the way across the great court towards the gardens, "that's enough."
    She followed demurely, lowering her eyes modestly in this male seclusion, and in the safe solitude of the workshop she allowed herself to be installed comfortably with her small feet towards the brazier before she drew breath again and went on talking, now more freely, having left all other ears outside the door.
    "I came to see Mistress Hammet because I was afraid that, now that he is so threatened, she might do something foolish. She is devoted to Ninian, in desperation she might do anything - anything! - to ensure that he goes free. She might even come forward with some mad story about being to blame herself. She would, I am sure, for him! If she thought it would clear him of all guilt, she would confess to murder."
    "So you came," said Cadfael, moving about his private world quietly to leave her the illusion that she was not closely observed, "to urge her to hold her peace and wait calmly, for he's still at liberty and in no immediate danger. Is that it?"
    "Yes. And if you go to see her again, or she comes to you, please urge the same upon her. Don't let her do anything to harm herself."
    "Did he send you, to see her and tell her this?" asked Cadfael directly.
    She was not yet quite ready to be drawn into the open, though fleetingly she smiled. "It's simply that I know, I understand, how anxious he must be now about her. He would be glad if he knew I had talked to her."
    As he will know, before many hours are out, thought Cadfael. Now I wonder where she has hidden him? There could well be old retainers of her own father here in Shrewsbury, or close by, men who would do a great deal for Berni�s's daughter.
    "I know," said Sanan with slow solemnity, following Cadfael's movements with intent eyes, "that you discovered Ninian before even my step-father betrayed him. I know he told you freely who he is and what he's about, and you said you had nothing against any honest man of either party, and would do nothing to harm him. And you've kept his secret until now, when it's no longer a secret. He trusts you, and I am resolved to trust you."
    "No," said Cadfael hastily, "tell me nothing! If I don't know where the boy is now, no one can get it out of me, and I can declare my ignorance with a good conscience. I like a gallant lad, even if he is too rash for his own good. He tells me his whole aim now is to reach the Empress, at whatever cost, and offer her his services. He has a right to dispose of his own efforts as he pleases, and I wish him a safe arrival and long life. Such a madcap deserves to have luck on his side."
    "I know," she said, flushing and smiling, "he is not very discreet ..."
    "Discreet? I doubt if he knows the meaning of the word! To write and send such a letter, open as the day, signed with his own name and telling where and under what pretence he's to be found! No, never tell me where he is now, but wherever you've hidden him, keep a weather eye on him, for there's no knowing what breathless foolishness he'll be up to next." He had been busy filling a small flask, to provide her with a respectable reason for emerging from his herbarium. He sealed it with a wooden stopper and tied it down at the neck under a wisp of thin parchment before wrapping it in a piece of linen and putting it into her hands. "There, madam, is your permit to be here. And my advice is, get him away as soon as you can."
    "But he won't go," she said, sighing, but with pride rather than exasperation, "not while this matter is unresolved. He won't budge until he knows Diota is safe. And there are preparations to make - means to provide ..." She shook herself bracingly, tossed her brown head, and made briskly for the door.
    "His first need," said Cadfael thoughtfully after her, "will be a good horse."
    She turned about abruptly in the doorway, and gave him a blazing smile, throwing aside all reservations.
    "Two horses!" she said in a soft, triumphant whisper. "I am of the Empress's party, too. I am going with him!"
    Chapter Nine
    Cadfael was uneasy in his mind all that day, plagued on the one hand by misgivings about Sanan's revelation, and on the other by the elusive gnat that sang in the back of his consciousness, telling him persistently that he had failed to notice the loss of one item that should have been sought with Ailnoth, and might very well have missed another. There was certainly something he should have thought of, something