Alys Clare: The Paths of the Air

He greeted the Great One with a deep, respectful bow. As he straightened up and met her strange, other-worldly eyes, he hoped he was not the only person there who knew just what an honour this was. Joanna murmured that she would escort the Domina over to where the Abbess sat beside her son and his bride, on a bench in the sunny cloister. ‘Of course,’ Josse said.

The two women moved away, Meggie between them turning to give her father a beaming smile. Just for a moment Joanna turned, too. She looked straight into Josse’s eyes and mouthed the one word, Later.

With a secret smile, he continued on his round. Joanna had just made the day perfect.

Late in the afternoon, Josse found himself sitting beside Dominic in the refectory. Not entirely sure how he came to be there, Josse turned with what he hoped was a sensible and sober face and said, ‘Well, Dominic, what a wonderful day!’

Dominic gave him a happy smile. ‘Yes,’ he said quietly. He glanced at Paradisa, sitting on his other side. The neckline of her deep green velvet gown had slipped a little and the tops of her breasts were exposed, the skin pale cream, the flesh firm and rounded. ‘Yes,’ he repeated.

There was a sudden fierce erotic charge in the air.

‘Have some more wine,’ said Dominic, reaching out for the jug and topping up Josse’s mug.

‘Thank you.’

There was a pause while both men sipped the excellent wine. Then Josse said, ‘Why did you not bring Paradisa to New Winnowlands when you came in the guise of John Damianos? It must have been dreadful to be separated when you knew she was in such peril.’

‘It was,’ Dominic said quietly. ‘But I felt that her peril was even greater if she was with me. I hoped to keep the hiding place in the undercroft a secret from the entire world. I believed one or more of my pursuers would pick up my trail in the end and I wanted to make sure it led somewhere else.’

‘You succeeded,’ Josse said. ‘And it was to see her and check on her safety that you slipped away each night?’

Dominic met his eyes. ‘Yes, Josse. Although that was not all I did.’

Aye, Josse thought with a smile. The Abbess was quite right to insist that this marriage take place without delay…

There was something he wanted to say. It concerned a very important matter and he had not been able to find a suitable moment. Now, quite drunk, the suitability no longer seemed important. ‘What do you think of New Winnowlands?’ he demanded.

Dominic looked surprised. ‘Your estate? It’s fine. A good place, with rich pasture. Your people seem all right, too.’ He leaned closer. ‘You might do better moving your sheep to the higher ground during the winter. That way you’ll rest the summer grazing on the marshland. It’s fertile soil but sheep can damage it in the wet months. Also I reckon some of your land might be suitable for wheat. It might be an idea to keep some of the pasture back for making hay for winter fodder.’

Josse sat back in amazement. ‘You know all that, just from the short time you were there?’

Dominic smiled. ‘I just kept my eyes open. Most of it’s pretty obvious, Josse.’

‘It might be obvious to you but it certainly isn’t to me,’ Josse said ruefully. ‘I’m a soldier. I know nothing about farming the land.’

‘You don’t really need to all the time you have Will,’ Dominic remarked.

Josse fell silent. What he had just heard made the matter he wanted to put before Dominic all the more imperative. Without further thought he said, ‘New Winnowlands is too big for me and I don’t give it the devotion it deserves. If you and Paradisa need a home, I would like you to come and live there. There’s plenty of room but if you’d prefer to have the main house to yourselves, I’ll build a smaller place on the other side of the courtyard.’ He grinned. ‘I might even move into your outbuilding.’

Dominic’s expression turned swiftly from shocked surprise to laughter. ‘Oh, I see. You were joking.’

Josse grabbed his arm, spilling quite a lot of Dominic’s wine. ‘No, I’m not. Will you come?’

Dominic fixed Josse with a very direct stare. ‘Do you mean it?’

‘Aye.’

Dominic frowned. ‘It’s true that we are in sore need of a home. My brother Leofgar and his wife have offered to put us up until we find a place to settle but to be honest, Josse, it’s not the start to married life that I’d envisaged, what with us being so used to it being just the two of us. Don’t think I’m ungrateful — it’s very generous of him and Rohaise to have made the offer. But…’ He trailed to a stop.

Josse understood his misgivings. ‘Come to New Winnowlands, then. Make it your home.’

Dominic lowered his head and Josse guessed he was thinking hard. Letting his eyes roam around the room, Josse spotted the Abbess, sitting beside the Domina — good Lord, was she still there? — talking animatedly. The Abbess. Helewise. It was as if his heart had suddenly altered, becoming softer, kinder. She’s the sort of woman, he thought, who He did not finish the thought. Dominic was leaning over towards him and he spoke directly into Josse’s ear. ‘I was just about to ask you,’ he whispered, ‘why you were making this incredibly generous offer. But I don’t think there’s any need, do you?’

Guiltily Josse wrenched his gaze away from the Abbess. Too late; he was quite sure Dominic knew exactly where he had been looking. Then he thought, why should I feel guilty? Why should I try to hide my feelings, even if I could, from this perceptive, intelligent son of hers?

He turned to Dominic. ‘I love your mother and have done so for years,’ he said quietly. ‘It is true that I would do anything within my power to help her or to make her happy. But I would not have offered you New Winnowlands if I couldn’t abide the thought of having you living so close. Fortunately I can.’

Dominic watched him intently for a moment. Then a smile spread across his face. Lowering his voice and leaning closer to Josse, he said, ‘May I tell Paradisa? You’re not going to change your mind when you’re sober?’

Josse grinned. It was true he was drunk, but not that drunk. ‘I won’t change my mind. Tell her as soon as you like, and with my blessing.’

Helewise had gone outside into the last of the late afternoon light to take some fresh air. She went along the cloister and sank down onto a bench. Presently she saw with pleasure that Josse was weaving his not entirely steady way towards her. She smiled up at him, patting the bench beside her. He returned her smile and sank down.

For some time they did not speak. Then she said, ‘I wish he had come here openly when first he visited Hawkenlye. I — we could have helped him.’

‘He could not risk making himself known to you,’ Josse said immediately.

‘Why?’ she demanded.

She thought she heard Josse sigh. Then he said, ‘Because he would have put you in the position of defending him from his many enemies, whether or not you wanted to.’

‘Of course I would want to!’

Now the sigh was very audible. ‘Helewise, how could he know that? You’re the Abbess of Hawkenlye, a respected authority figure with considerable power. One of the men pursuing Dominic was a Knight Hospitaller. Even your own son might just recognize a possible conflict of loyalties.’

‘I would never have given him up, no matter who demanded that I should!’ she cried hotly.

‘No, of course you wouldn’t,’ Josse agreed. ‘But as well as that, there was the danger. Those others — the Franks and the Saracens — were utterly ruthless. Had Dominic come openly to the Abbey, innocent people might have got between the hunters and their quarry.’ He paused and then said softly, ‘People such as you.’