There is silence at the table for a moment. The thought of joining Somerset is startling. Sir John is the most astonished.

‘And fight for him against Warwick and the Duke of York? And old Fauconberg?’

‘Yes,’ Richard says. ‘So long as we support Warwick in power, we support Riven’s occupation of Cornford.’

Now Sir John is pink with anger.

‘But I am indentured to serve my lord Fauconberg,’ he tells them. ‘And through him, the Earl of Warwick, or the Duke of York, or whomsoever Fauconberg pleases. God damn it, Richard! You can hardly have me change my allegiance!’

‘Plenty of others have,’ Richard replies, raising his voice. ‘Ruthyn, for one, and Riven himself. He stood for Buckingham in the morning, by midday he was Warwick’s man.’

Sir John bangs a fist on the table. A month ago the cups might have jumped but now it is no more than a dusty pat. His fury is real, however.

‘Do not compare me to Riven,’ he barks. ‘Do not say I am like that.’

Richard sits back.

‘I am only suggesting options, Father,’ he says. ‘I was not accusing you of being a turncoat.’

‘Good,’ Sir John says. ‘That avenue is closed to us, d’you hear? Let there be more options, options that do not involve the sullying of the Fakenham name.’

There is a long silence. A log collapses, sending up sparks.

‘What of the daughter?’ Katherine asks.

They turn to her. She has proven her worth so often in the past that her counsel is taken as equal.

‘Which daughter?’ Richard asks.

‘Lord Cornford’s.’

‘She is betrothed to that bastard son of Riven’s, the one with the gammy eye.’

‘How I pity her,’ Richard says. ‘Fournier says the wound will not stop weeping pus and the smell of putrefaction is strong enough to curdle sheep’s milk.’

Thomas cannot help but smile. Katherine avoids catching his eye. No one says anything for a moment.

‘But they are not yet married?’ Katherine asks.

‘No,’ Sir John says, looking around for confirmation, his eyes narrowing. ‘We would have heard, surely?’

‘But, then,’ Richard says, ‘why hasn’t he?’

Sir John frowns.

‘I confess I have tried not to think about it since the summer,’ he says. ‘But it is a good question.’

‘Can it be that he does not have her?’ Richard asks.

‘He must do, surely? He is her guardian.’

‘But he only came to that post after we came from Northampton. Only five months ago. She might have slipped away in the meantime.’

Sir John nods.

‘And d’you remember that story John Willingham was telling us?’ Thomas ventures. ‘About his mother seeing the boy on his way north? He was looking for someone. I think it might even have been a girl.’

None can recall that detail of the story.