Prince of Darkness

Compline.'
    'And what happened then?'
    'We tapped on the window and called out. Lady Eleanor turned and waved up at us.' 'You could hear her voice?'
    'Oh, yes. Dame Martha had opened the window and asked where she was going. Lady Eleanor replied she was going for a walk behind the church.' The old nun's eyes narrowed. 'She was always going there.'
    'You are sure it was she?'
    'Of course!'
    'What was she wearing?'
    'One of her blue gowns. Blue was her favourite colour.' 'But you saw her face?'
    'Oh, yes, she had her hood up but she turned and shouted back at us.'
    'Did you see her return?' 'No, but of course she must have. ' Corbett felt a twinge of disappointment. 'Master Corbett!'
    The clerk spun round. Lady Amelia, accompanied by her ever present acolytes, Dames Frances and Catherine, stood in the doorway, quivering with righteous anger.
    'You may be the King's Clerk, Master Corbett, but this is a convent building. You have no right to be here. Even though you are talking to an old nun!' She threw a look of contempt at Dame Elizabeth.
    'Dame Elizabeth is my friend,' Corbett snapped. I am a man of honour as well as a royal emissary.' Corbett felt his own anger boil at the Prioress' air of righteous indignation. I will leave this chamber when I have finished and, Lady Prioress, I should be grateful if you would wait for me in your own chamber. I have further questions to ask you.'
    The Lady Prioress looked as if she was going to refuse but Corbett stood his ground and glared back. Lady Amelia, with one more disdainful glance at Dame Elizabeth, stepped back and closed the door behind her. The old nun rose and scuttled across to him. Clasping her hands to her chest, she gazed up in round-eyed admiration.
    'You are brave, Master Clerk,' she murmured. 'No one else dares to speak to the Lady Prioress like that.'
    Corbett gently patted her hand.
    'Rest easy, Sister,' he said. 'She had no right to say what she did, and I never could stand a bully.'
    He scooped the old lady's vein-scored hand to his lips. 'But enough. I bid you adieu.' He walked towards the door.
    'Master Corbett!' Dame Elizabeth scurried towards him. 'I shall tell you a secret,' she whispered. 'One I have told no one else.'
    'What is that, Sister?'
    'On the afternoon Lady Eleanor died, I saw horsemen in the trees.' She pointed to the window. 'There in the forest, beyond the walls.'
    Corbett walked back to the window. The convent building was high and Dame Elizabeth's chamber on the second storey. He could see, just over the wall, the line of trees which marked the beginning of the forest.
    'Where exactly were they?'
    Dame Elizabeth came alongside him.
    'There,' she murmured. 'I was staring out, just after mid-day. I was watching a hawk above the trees when suddenly I saw something move. My eyes are not very good,' she apologised, so I stood and watched closely. I saw the horses, and three or four men just sitting there. If one of them had not been riding a white horse I would never have noticed them. Shadowy figures,' she whispered, 'who hardly moved. I went back to bathe my eyes and when I returned I could not see them.' She chuckled. 'I have told no one. I am not like Dame Martha. I don't chatter and allow, myself to be dismissed as an old fool!'
    'Did anyone else see them?' 'No, not that I have heard.'
    Corbett gazed at the distant line of trees. Anyone with good eyesight would certainly have seen the riders, but to someone like Dame Elizabeth their presence might only be betrayed by a flash of colour.
    'Did you see them again?'
    'Oh, no.'
    'Did they wear any livery?'
    She shook her head. Corbett rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
    'Tell me, could these riders have entered the convent?' 'Oh, no. The gates would have been locked, and the porter may be a drunkard but he has his orders.' 'They could have climbed the walls?' Dame Elizabeth laughed.
    I doubt it. One of the labourers or lay sisters would have seen them. Anyway,' she said, 'you know what men are. They would have clattered upstairs along the gallery and woken both me and Dame Martha.'
    Corbett thanked the old nun and slipped quietly out of the chamber in search of the Prioress. Lady Amelia had regained some of her composure. He found her sitting behind her great oak desk, chatting to the two Sub-prioresses, a roll of accounts before them. She gestured to Corbett to sit
    'Master Clerk,' she began, 'I apologise for my outburst but despite what has happened, this is a convent.' She took a deep breath.