‘Then I’ll continue to search for him,’ he said hurriedly, desperate to appease her. ‘If Blackstone has left him for safekeeping in a convent or with others then I will find him. You have Blackstone behind the walls of Burgos. Search among his men, my lady. If there is a boy there, then he might be the one you’re looking for.’

‘If I must search myself, then I have no need of you.’

De Hayle swallowed hard. ‘What I meant was that the lad might be in plain sight.’

‘Then it’s a pity you did not see that for yourself.’

De Hayle struggled to control his nervousness. ‘I will do everything to find him. If this is not the boy, then he will be close.’

‘If you believe he is with the Englishman, then you know the way into the castle.’

‘My lady, that can entrap me. If there is a boy with him might you not recognize him?’

‘And if I did not? Would you have me kill him?’

De Hayle looked uncertain.

‘No, of course not,’ she said. ‘I must keep my distance to avert suspicion. Once the boy is found he must be seized and questioned, then you kill him. Unless you would rather I end our contract?’

‘I beg you to give me another chance. I have lost most of my men. I have only these here and twenty more nearby.’

She considered the mercenary’s plea. He still had his uses. She saw two rings dangling from a leather thong around his neck. She held out her hand. De Hayle saw what she wanted and tugged the cord free.

‘I took them from a man whose hands were as small as a woman’s. They belonged to his wife.’ He hesitated, hoping to buy himself favour. ‘A Jew’s wife. They’re valuable.’

She turned them over in her palm. Jewellery a rich merchant or lord’s wife might wear. For once de Hayle spoke the truth. ‘A small recompense for your failure,’ she said and put them into the purse on her belt. ‘Keep searching for the boy. We leave the day after tomorrow for Seville.’

‘And if we cannot find the boy here, what would you have us do?’

‘Shadow our journey to Seville and beyond. The King’s fate is determined. He will desert his prized city. You should find your courage. Fear of death can kill a man before the blade enters his heart. The time is coming when you will fight the Englishman and he will die.’

De Hayle blinked. ‘How?’

‘It will happen. I have seen it.’

‘But I have not,’ he insisted. His uncertainty mingled with hope of gaining victory over Blackstone. ‘My lady, only God can determine our fate.’