The House of Shadows

narrow, stone-flagged chamber carefully swept and washed. She unlocked a door and took him into a small chamber with a casement window which looked out on to a herber plot. The room was neatly furnished, coloured cloths hung against the white walls, the chairs and stools were of dark polished oak. She invited him to sit on one side of the mantle hearth while she took off her robe and perched herself on a high-legged stool, feet almost dangling. She reminded Cranston of a small, pretty bird, head to one side, eyes bright and watchful.
    ‘What made you think we’d found your brother?’
    ‘Just a moment, Sir John.’
    Helena rose and, rubbing her hands, took a padded linen cloth and lifted across the small brazier to stand between them.
    ‘Oh, he must still be alive.’
    She got up again and went to a coffer, and with a jingle of keys opened the lock and threw back the lid. She brought across a white woollen pouch tied at the neck and stamped with the red lion rampant of the Mortimer family.
    ‘Every quarter,’ she announced proudly, ‘at Easter, midsummer, Michaelmas and Christmas, I receive a pouch, like this,’ she leaned forward, eyes gleaming, ‘containing five pounds sterling.’
    ‘A generous amount.’
    She was intrigued by Cranston’s disbelief.
    ‘Honestly, Sir John. Every quarter Master James Lundy, Goldsmith of Cheapside, sends one of his apprentices with such a pouch. It’s what Edward promised. You see,’ she chatted on, ‘we Mortimers are from Wales . We are related, very distantly, to the Mortimer family; our kinsman is the Earl of March. Well,’ she warmed to her story, ‘Edward and I were the youngest children of a third son...’
    As she gabbled on about the family history, Cranston , totally bemused, continued to stare at her.
    ‘I see, I see,’ he interrupted kindly. ‘So you, and your brother, left Wales ? He was a master swordsman and archer?’
    ‘He soon received preferment in the retinues of the great lords. He served Edward the Black Prince, Sir Walter Manny and John of Gaunt before moving to Kent , where I met Richard Culpepper. I truly loved Richard — no, not in the carnal sense, Sir John; he became like another brother. Edward and Richard were inseparable, two eyes in the same head I called them. Richard always looked after Edward. I wasn’t too fond of Culpepper’s brother Thomas, the Benedictine monk, too severe and pious for my liking.’
    ‘And what about the others?’ Cranston asked.
    ‘Well, they were kind enough. One of them, Chandler , that’s right, he had lecherous eyes and sweaty hands. Edward challenged him to a duel so he left me alone.’
    ‘Have you been married, mistress?’
    ‘Oh no, Sir John, spinster of the parish, though I have my admirers. There’s Master Sturmy, he’s a blacksmith, and John Roper, he’s a— ’
    ‘Yes, yes,’ Cranston intervened. ‘Mistress, you heard about the great robbery of the Lombard treasure?’
    The change in the woman was remarkable. Her face drained, her lips pursed. She looked at Sir John as if she should dismiss him from her house. ‘My brother was guilty of no crime. Something must have happened.’
    ‘Of course, mistress.’ Cranston took off his gloves and warmed his fingers over the brazier. ‘But it’s a great mystery, isn’t it? I know a great deal about your brother,’ he continued. ‘I realise he wasn’t a thief.’
    Helena’s smile returned to her face, and she offered Sir John a cup of malmsey, which he gratefully accepted.
    ‘Just tell me your story, mistress.’
    ‘Twenty years ago,’ she replied in that sing-song voice, ‘around midsummer, we came into London . Edward and Richard were all excited about the great expedition to Outremer. Edward found me lodgings in Candlewick Street . I was left to my own devices, although he and Richard would often visit me on their way down to the Tower.’
    ‘They often went there?’ Cranston became aware of how quiet the house had fallen; he started at a sound from the passageway.
    ‘Just mice,’ Helena smiled, ‘and yes, they often went to the Tower.’ She leaned forward. ‘Secret business, Sir John.’
    ‘Which was?’
    ‘I don’t know, it was secret.’
    ‘And Edward never told you?’
    ‘Oh no, he told me how Richard had fallen in love. I was a little bit jealous and said how lonely I had become, so sometimes they took me to the Tower with them. I was all amazed, Sir John, not even the castles in Wales are like