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near Catheryn’s own age, draped in rich silks and wearing a necklace of stones that glinted in the sunlight. This was obviously the lady of the house.
    The man dismounted from his horse, and bowed low to the lady.
    “My lady,” he said deferentially.
    The woman inclined her head, but said nothing.
    “I bring greetings from our Queen, Matilda, and good tidings to you and yours,” the man continued formally. “She bids you welcome this lady, a lady of the Anglo-Saxons, into your home. She asks that you care for her as a distinguished… guest.”
    The pause emphasised that her position was not that of a guest, but that of a prisoner. The fact that it stuck in their throats did nothing to help her.
    Without waiting for assistance, Catheryn gracefully dismounted from her horse.
    “I bid you thanks,” she said slowly, her tongue stumbling slightly over the formal Norman greeting that she had memorised. “I honour the family that offers me shelter.”
    Her curtsey was in no way as low as the servant’s obeisance, but it was a curtsey – something that Catheryn had debated on doing on the road, and eventually decided that there was no way of avoiding it.
    The woman looked at her, coldly. There was no welcome in her face, and no hand to clasp. Turning away from Catheryn, she said to the man briskly, “I cannot follow her heathen tongue. Tell her to come inside.”
    She swept away into the castle.
    Catheryn laughed in shock. The rudeness that the woman had shown her was beyond belief! She would never have admitted a guest into her home in that sort of manner, even if they had been unwelcome.
    The man looked at her uncomfortably, shuffling his feet slightly and examining them hard rather than look at her. “My lady bids you –”
    “I know exactly what your lady said,” Catheryn cut across him.
    He flushed. “My lady is nervous. I serve the Queen, but I trust my lady Adeliza just as much. Her husband is away, and she is not accustomed to greeting strangers.”
    Catheryn did roll her eyes this time. “Then she should learn. If I can learn to be a prisoner hundreds of miles from my home, she can learn to keep me in hers.”
    Ignoring his hissed reply, Catheryn walked past him and into the castle.
    The woman who had been so insistently rude to her was standing by the fire, which was slowly smouldering in the centre of the room. It was a hall, and many different rooms led from it. Catheryn could hear the entire household working away, despite the thick stone walls that were covered with gorgeous tapestries. The fire sparkled in the gold threads, and on the necklace hanging around the neck of the woman who was to be her jailor.
    “My name,” the woman spoke stiffly, “is Adeliza. Adeliza de Tosny FitzOsbern. My husband William FitzOsbern is across the water, caring for England for our King.”
    “I think England was doing rather well without your help.”
    Catheryn gasped and put her hands to her mouth. “My lady, I must apologise – I am weary, and road-sore, and –”
    “Enough.”
    The cold tone immediately stopped Catheryn from continuing. The woman had barely moved, but there was a power in her which caused Catheryn to look at her with fear.
    “You are not a guest here, my lady,” Adeliza looked at her with cold eyes. “You are not welcome, and you are not wanted. You are a prisoner of our lady Queen Matilda, and it is only due to her request that you are here.”
    Her eyes scanned the newcomer. Ragged clothes and dirty hair barely covered by a strange veil. She was thin, and could hardly stand. Adeliza shook her head.
    “You will keep to your chambers, and you will know your place. Meals will be our only meeting, and I do not expect you to talk to me.”
    Catheryn tried to speak, but Adeliza spoke over her.
    “You are a prisoner, and you will be treated as such. Do not think of attempting escape: our lands stretch far and wide from our home, and every man, woman, and child is loyal to us. They will see