‘I had no idea who they were,’ he excused. He ordered his servants to bank up the fire and fresh food and wine was brought.‘We won’t stay,’ Hubert told him. ‘But my thanks for your courtesy.’ He gave the man a gold coin. ‘See that the body is conveyed to Avignon. His companion will have to set to.’‘Very well, my lord.’ The frightened fellow, bowing and muttering apologies, backed from out of the chamber.‘You’ll be relieved to be riding back through the night rather than fighting me off.’ Hubert’s tone was savage.‘It wasn’t your fault. You had to defend yourself. I can’t believe they’d do such a thing. It’s monstrous. Do you have to be mixed up in all this?’‘I’m the Abbot of Meaux,’ he replied in a derisive tone. His face was set in stone. He slumped down on a bench near the fire and stared at his hands for a long while without speaking. Eventually he raised his head. ‘Pour me some wine, white hart.’After doing so she went to sit beside him and while he drank from his goblet he said, ‘Remember my confession to you in Beverley Minster?
