‘While you are away in Pembroke I will think on it,’ I agreed grudgingly, moving out of his embrace and picking up my hairbrush. ‘When will you take Harri back to Lady Margaret?’

‘Tomorrow afternoon. Would you like to come with us?’

I pulled hard at a tangle in my hair and cast him a sharp glance. ‘Has she mentioned repaying the thirty crown loan?’

He shook his head. ‘No, and when I asked her she said it was not a loan but a gift. She knows it is your care of Harri that has made him the delightful, well-mannered boy that he is. Evan can stay here with the children and we will be back before dark.’

I nodded, still distracted over Elin. ‘Then I will come,’ I said, putting down the brush and hauling back the bedcovers.

* * *

The sight of Lady Margaret kissing Jasper in the deserted churchyard at Bettys Newydd had left a scar on my memory. However, three years later I had become confident of Jasper’s love for me, and the silk gown and beautiful jewellery he had given me since our coming to London meant I was less intimidated by confronting her refinement and the sumptuousness of her home. Moreover as we all talked together, Harri made it clear to her how important I was to him and the conversation flowed freely. To my surprise, when we parted she expressed a desire to visit me at Stepney Green when we were both next in London. Even the parting with Harri was less poignant than I had expected because it had been agreed that he should join us for Christmas.

On the ride back to Stepney I asked Jasper what could have persuaded Lady Margaret to permit this. He smiled proudly and said, ‘Harri did. He has power to charm the birds from the trees that boy. At present his mother can refuse him nothing. After they have spent some time at Woking we can pick him up from there on our way to Pembroke. It should all fit in very well.’

Jasper left the following day to escort the king to Windsor. Now that he had been securely re-crowned, Henry had insisted that he leave his hated Westminster and spend some time in the relative peace and security of the realm’s mightiest fortress. Meanwhile I spent several days pondering whether or not to consult with Philippa Gardiner on the matter of Elin and Will. In the end I happened to meet her in the market on the green and decided to reciprocate her earlier hospitality by inviting the Gardiner family to sup with us the following night. While accepting for herself and Will, she revealed that her husband was away and so the opportunity for the private woman to woman talk, which Jasper had suggested, seemed impossible to ignore.