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Chapter Eleven
Brand knew about the missing cup and that she had it. Edith struggled to breathe in the unfamiliar heat of the bath house. Had he guessed why she’d gone to see Mary as well?
After one gulp of air, she calmed. He couldn’t know about Athelstan or she’d not be in the bath house. She’d be standing, shivering in the yard, having been beaten within an inch of her life.
Brand would have summoned everyone to watch her punishment and he would have hauled Athelstan from his hiding place. He would not be gently probing about the cup.
Athelstan remained safe and she had to do everything in her power not to betray him. She refused to be the one to send the loyal servant to his death.
Right now, she needed time and opportunity to confront Athelstan again. Somehow with her new-found knowledge about what had truly happened when Egbert died, she would convince him to go before more damage was done. But always she needed to keep in mind what a good tafl player Brand was and how he thought several moves ahead.
‘Do you have an answer for me, Edith? Why is the cup hanging from your waist, rather than where it had been kept, safe in my bedroom?’
Her eyes flew to his face. He was watching her much as a cat might watch a mouse. Her heart thudded. ‘You know I have the cup.’
‘I know. You took it out last night after we quarrelled.’
‘How do you know? How could you possibly know that?’ Despite the heat of the bath house, a chill entered her soul. She had been very careful.
‘I found the hiding place on my second night here.’ He gave a superior smile. ‘It made sense that there would be a storage place. I had a look and then left a marker in case you decided to open it.’
‘A marker? I didn’t see anything.’’
‘That, my dear Edith, was the whole point of my scheme. You were not supposed to notice. The small piece of cloth was on the ground and you had not replaced the stone the same way. The graining of the stone was tilted the other way. Little things can save lives, Edith. It pays to plan ahead.’
Edith winced. So simple and straightforward, marking the position with a piece of cloth as well as the grain of stone. She should have considered that he’d create a trap for her. Once she discovered that the jewels and silver were missing, she should have backed away from the idea of taking the cup. Or at least considered that he might have a scheme like this. But he still did not know her reasons.
‘The cup belonged to my grandfather. It belongs to me. Everything in that cavity belonged to me.’ She stuck her chin in the air. ‘You had no right.’
‘You had no right to conceal it.’
‘You would have me a beggar?’
‘I shan’t steal it away. You may take it with you when you depart.’ Brand inclined his head. ‘Openly, rather than as a thief in the night. You deserve something and the estate can spare a single silver cup.’
Edith rolled her eyes. ‘Your charity overwhelms me.’
‘Sarcasm does you few favours.’ He put a hand on her shoulder. The simple touch made her insides turn over. ‘I know how much your family meant to you. If you feel you can’t live without the cup, then so be it. Some things are precious for what they represent, rather than their metal.’
The words made her heart knock. Brand understood. She knew she had to ask. She wanted to know what had happened to her mother’s jewels. ‘And the rest?’
‘The rest?’ His brows drew together and he took a step backwards. ‘All that hiding place contained was the single cup, pushed far to the back. I thought it empty to begin with, but I reached back to make sure nothing was concealed behind a hidden door and the cup rolled out.’
Edith’s heart thudded. Empty? Impossible. ‘My mother’s jewels were there and other pieces of silver. It was where I’d placed them after Egbert left. I struggled to get the stone back in because it was so full. It seemed the safest place in case...in case we were overrun by Norseman.’
He shook his head. ‘No great quantity of jewels or silver. Only a single cup was there when I first looked. I’m sorry. I didn’t see any point in taking anything. I didn’t want to alert you that I had discovered one of your hiding places. It would have spoilt my plan.’
The sincerity of his voice convinced her. If he’d wanted to know, he’d have confronted her with it, much as he’d done with the salt cod.
She closed her eyes, thinking back to when Egbert had left. The first thing she had done was to move the jewels and silver in there. She had not slept there until Brand appeared. It was possible that Egbert had returned and emptied it. It had taken three more days before she had thought to block the tunnel. How Egbert must have laughed that the jewels and silver she had denied him were used to fund his rebellion. She had wondered where he received the funding. Now she knew. She’d been naive.
