‘I thought you were telling me that Riven was moving north,’ Richard says. ‘But can it have been they were looking for Margaret? No. No. It is too far-fetched.’

‘But all the same . . .’ Sir John says.

‘How old is she?’ Katherine asks.

There is another silence. Richard looks at his father. Sir John is hunched forward, his elbows on the table. He cups his beard in the palm of his hand.

‘I recall she was born on the Epiphany,’ he says. ‘I remember sending old Cornford a barrel of wine in commiseration she wasn’t a boy, and then I heard the mother never recovered from the birth, and it didn’t seem so funny.’

‘When was that?’ Richard asks.

Sir John waves a hand.

‘It was the same year your mother died,’ he says. ‘Year of Our Lord ’46.’

A long silence follows. The darkness has deepened. The yellow light of the candle makes Sir John look biblical. One of the dogs starts in its sleep.

‘But that means she’ll be fifteen at her next birthday,’ Richard says. ‘In less than a month. She’s Riven’s ward until then, but he’s cutting it fine, don’t you think? If he’s going to marry them against her will?’

‘It might not be against her will,’ Sir John points out. ‘She might have fallen for the boy.’

‘But how can she if Riven doesn’t even know where she is?’

‘We can’t be sure he doesn’t.’

‘It is the only explanation.’

There is another of the long pauses. They can hear Liz Popham laughing through the window in the yard where John Willingham is juggling apples for her entertainment. She’s been sewing patches on Geoffrey’s coat, red with green thread.

‘But then if Riven doesn’t know where she is,’ Katherine begins. ‘Who does?’

Sir John and Richard look at one another, as if realising something.

‘I don’t know,’ Sir John says at last. ‘She was at Cornford’s place in Wales before he was killed, but after that?’ He shrugs.

‘But I was betrothed to her!’ Richard goes on. ‘Surely you should know where she was?’

‘You were betrothed to her, Richard,’ Sir John says, patches of colour appearing on his cheeks. ‘And while you were betrothed to her, I knew where she was. Once I had been attainted and made a traitor, once I had been driven from my own house, my own estates, my own goddamned country, I had other matters on my mind, such as your welfare, the welfare of my men, the welfare of my people. Do you understand me?’

Richard lifts a hand. It is not clear if it is an apology, but it calms Sir John.

‘Would Riven know of Cornford’s place in Wales?’ Katherine asks.