“Shameful,” muttered Megan, dipping a sponge into the bucket and dabbing it over my hands and arms. The water turned brown with blood and grime. “Disgraceful.”

It was not my crimes she was talking about.

“I should have—I would have—” whispered Margery, trying to pull the comb through my hair, as Megan washed my legs and feet. “But I miss John so much…I thought only of myself, and Johnny. If I had not been so selfish, maybe I could have—” she stopped short, and her hand came out gently to touch the ring that hung on its cord around my neck. A smile curved her mouth as she saw the circlet of oak leaves and acorns and the little owl. Lady Anne was watching.

“He will come for you,” whispered Margery. “How could he not?”

Megan slipped the clean gown over my head. I could have wept, for it was the blue one, which my friend had made for me with such love. Someone had done a passable job of cleaning it, but the skirt still showed a tide mark, where the sea had written its name. I did not want to burn in this dress.

“Quickly,” said Lady Anne. “Tidy away those things, and no gossiping, mind.” It came to me suddenly that this might be the last time I saw my friend. Margery had the same thought in her eyes, and her arms came out to embrace me, but Lady Anne stepped between us.

“Don’t make this more difficult,” she said, and her own voice was a little shaky. “The girl is a prisoner; her fate is in the balance. She is no longer of this household. You have done what is required. Now go.”

So they left, but Margery looked back and touched the tips of her fingers to her lips, and then waved her hand toward me, and Megan had tears on her cheeks.

The hearing resumed. Neither of my interrogators made comment on my changed appearance, though Lord Richard raised his brows and Father Dominic gave a sort of grunt, deep in the throat. Outside, the day was growing darker. Had we been here so long?

“Now,” said the cleric, leaning forward and fixing me with his little eyes, “we have heard all the evidence against you, and it seems quite damning, if not altogether conclusive. The purpose of this hearing is to determine if your guilt is proven, and to set an appropriate penalty. All of your offenses come under secular jurisdiction, and as Lord Richard bears authority here on such matters, the final decision rests with him. However, I was invited here to assist him in making his decision, in view of the serious nature of the charges, and the close family links between accuser and accused. There is no need to fear justice, girl. You now have the opportunity to defend yourself. Take your time. I understand you cannot use your voice. But there may be some way you can let us know what you wish to say. Let us know if there is anything you do not follow.”