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decision.
    Helewise knew how much her successor, Abbess Caliste, must be suffering as she tried to maintain Hawkenlye Abbey’s great reputation as a refuge, a place of help, healing and comfort, under the harsh conditions of the interdict. Although Helewise had long made up her mind that she would not risk stirring up memories of her own regime at Hawkenlye by returning to the abbey, nevertheless, as the weeks and months had passed, she had felt increasingly uncomfortable doing nothing to help. Yes, sometimes the hungry, the sick and the desperate made their way into the depths of the forest and sought her out in her small room in the House in the Woods, but so few knew that either she or the house were there, and the total number she had managed to comfort in some way remained pitifully few. And so many were in need!
    The idea had come to her late one night as she finished her prayers and got wearily into bed. The abbey itself might be unavailable to her, but what about the little cell beside St Edmund’s Chapel? She had lived there for many years between standing down as abbess and coming to live in Josse’s household. Putting aside false modesty, she admitted to herself that she knew she had done good there. And now, when the abbey church’s huge doors were firmly closed against the populace, the little chapel, overlooked as it was, could surely be a place of true solace. Helewise could return to her little cell – winter would surely soon be easing its grip at last – and maybe other like-minded women could join her there. Helewise could pray with people, provide a kindly ear as they poured out their troubles and, hopefully, offer sound advice. While she was competent enough to deal with minor wounds and the more common ailments, she was, however, no healer and knew little about herbs. Perhaps Tiphaine, formerly the herbalist of Hawkenlye Abbey, might be persuaded to join her and add her unique skills to Helewise’s enterprise? Perhaps even Meggie would consider helping? Both women were healers, in their way; both were exceptionally good at their craft. Until recently, the idea had been just a dream; now, Helewise had made up her mind that the dream was going to come true.
    Josse overslept and had to be roused by Will. He came reluctantly out of deep sleep, yelled at Will and had to apologize; he upset the bowl of water Will had provided for him to wash and shave his face and was forced to complete the task with icy water straight from the butt outside; he fell over as he tried to ram a cold foot into his boot and banged his head on the end of his bed.
    All in all, it was not a great start to the day.
    The rest of the household had finished breakfast by the time he sat down to eat his. He chewed mechanically on dry bread and a rather stale piece of cheese, thinking about the mission he was about to set off on and reflecting that going to Hawkenlye Abbey was not quite the same now that Abbess Caliste was in charge. Not that Josse had anything against Abbess Caliste, except that she wasn’t Helewise. Josse had always so enjoyed attempting to puzzle out even the most gruesome mysteries of violent death when he was doing it with Helewise.
    As if she had sensed he was thinking about her, Helewise glided into the hall and came to stand at his shoulder. He smiled a greeting, patting the bench beside him in invitation. She sat down and he said, ‘Would you like to share my herbal infusion? Meggie made it to fortify me for my journey, and there’s plenty here.’
    She hesitated, and it seemed to him that she was looking at him strangely.
    â€˜What is it?’ he asked. Anxiety grasped his heart. ‘Oh, Helewise, you are not unwell?’
    â€˜No! Oh, no, Josse, I am perfectly all right.’ Briefly, she touched his hand with her fingertips. ‘Only, there is something I must say.’
    He realized he was holding his breath. ‘What is it?’ A dozen terrible answers ran