Gemini - Dorothy Dunnett [116]
The captain said, ‘Why? I am not here about horses. I have orders to—’
‘But you have come at the right time. We are investigating the theft of some horses. A little wine?’ Gelis said. She held the cup under his nose, whose ripeness she had already registered.
‘Well …’ said the captain, sitting down. ‘Mind you, I can’t help you about horses.’
From the door, Gelis gave certain orders and returned. There was a glint of a tray, seen among the squad outside the window. Gelis said, ‘There’s been a theft of horses from Master Henry’s home at Kilmirren. As a member of the King’s Guard, he would naturally feel beholden to helpers. Perhaps you could pass round the word, if he describes them?’
Henry described the horses. Nicholas and the captain both drank. Gelis kept her eyes demurely on her lap. After a while, Nicholas said, ‘By the way, I’m sorry, you came to tell me something?’
The captain, with some trouble, adjusted his expression but did not rise, as his fourth cup was still full. He said, ‘As to that, I’m sorry, m’lord. But the arkshekels went mishing, they say, just after your lo’ship called on the Pipple-Pebble Collector. And I have sworn statements that all of them have been seen in this housh.’
‘What kind of articles?’ Nicholas said.
The inventory meant nothing to Gelis, seeming to consist of various flagons, flasks and pots, chiefly of silver.
Henry suddenly said, ‘Could I see the list?’ The captain handed it over. Nicholas’s eyes wandered over the room, without meeting hers. The boy said, ‘But these weren’t stolen. They arrived in this house as gifts.’
‘How d’you know?’ said the captain. He said it in a mannerly way. This St Pol might be no more than a lad, but he wore the royal cipher.
Henry said, ‘I was living here when they arrived. I saw them all.’
‘A gift, who from?’ said the captain.
Nicholas brought his eyes down, and Henry met them. Henry said, ‘No one knew. They came directed to Ser Nicol, along with small unsigned notes.’
‘Oh? ’Sha pity no one kept ’em, then,’ said the man.
His expression odd, Nicholas was gazing at Henry. He said, removing his eyes, ‘As a matter of fact I did keep them. I have all the notes. I hoped, of course, to thank the sender, but never found out who he was. So I passed the silver to the Abbot of Holyrood.’
‘Eh, what?’ said the man.
‘To the Abbot of Holyrood. They were really too expensive to keep, and I could think of no one better. Good Lord,’ Nicholas said with surprise. ‘If I’d chosen Blackfriars instead, then all this nuisance could have been avoided.’
The man left, his cup empty, and the soldiers outside helped him into the saddle and left. Nicholas had not been arrested. A visit would be paid to the Abbot of Holyrood, and the two monasteries would reach an accommodation in private. The captain was heard to remark, with queasy laughter, that knowing those two wily bashtards, he wouldn’ guarantee it wouldn’ all end in blushet-blushid’n’ murder.
Coming back from the door, Gelis said, ‘I think you were both a disgrace. The Church will never recover. Henry, seriously, what do you want done about the horses? It wasn’t Nicholas, but then you’d expect us to say that in any case.’
‘I was mistaken,’ Henry said. ‘That is, the person who told me was mistaken. I’ll look for them myself.’
‘I’ll help you,’ Nicholas said. ‘So will that poor man-at-arms you beguiled. And Eck has brood mares coming from Flanders. If you send to one of the Browns, they’ll keep back some for you at Berwick. Have you been down to Berwick yet?’
‘I thought of going,’ said Henry.
‘Well, the Karel’s busy,’ said Nicholas. ‘But you’d get a ride on the Marie or the James, if you keep out of the way of John le Grant.’
It was risky. Henry’s eyes narrowed. ‘I’m not afraid of John le Grant.’
‘No. But he’s bloody afraid of you,’ Nicholas said. ‘In fact, he’s forgotten what happened. You’re in Scotland, your own country now. You can’t put a foot wrong. You can’t put a foot right, either, after all the drink that you’ve had. Neither