Constant Lovers by Chris Nickson Read Free Book Online Page B

brings a dowry. But after meeting Gibton I can almost believe it, especially since the baron took such pains to tell me he’d inherited the money.’
    â€˜So what do you mean? They sold her to the highest bidder?’
    â€˜I don’t know.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m sure the rich and titled have their own term for it. Godlove must have been what, thirty years older than her?’
    â€˜Something like that, aye.’
    â€˜She was a pretty girl. Why would she look twice at him, let alone marry him? There was nothing Sarah could bring to a marriage, the Gibtons didn’t have money.’
    â€˜Except a title,’ Sedgwick offered.
    â€˜Exactly. For some people having a wife with ‘The Honourable’ in front of her name could be worth paying for. And who knows what their children would be?’ He paused to consider that, then pursed his lips. ‘Something that bothers me is what’s happened to the maid? Gibton insisted she was devoted to Sarah.’
    â€˜That’s what the servants said at Godlove’s, too. No one had a bad word to say about her, but no one seemed to really know her. She hadn’t gone out of her way to make friends.’
    â€˜She’s from Roundhay, and the alewife didn’t say anyone had seen her, so she must still be missing. We’ve had no more reports of bodies.’
    â€˜Do you think she’s involved?’
    The Constable shook his head. ‘I doubt it.’
    â€˜So what do we do now?’
    â€˜For a start, we need to find the maid,’ Nottingham said. ‘Do we even know her surname?’
    â€˜Taylor.’
    â€˜We have to try and find her. She’s the one who was closest to Sarah Godlove. She might well be the key to all this.’ He marked the item on one finger. ‘We also need to know where Sarah went every week. That’s a mystery and it might well be important.’ He pushed a second finger back, then a third. ‘And we should try and find out the truth about this marriage.’
    â€˜How?’ Sedgwick asked.
    â€˜We ask questions. It’s the only thing we can do. You go out to Roundhay and talk to the maid’s family. Who knows, they might have had word from her—’
    â€˜If she’s still alive.’
    The Constable acknowledged the words. He knew full well she could easily be as dead as her mistress, the body hidden away somewhere.
    â€˜â€”or she might have told them things.’ He sighed. ‘Any information is better than we have right now. Anything you can find at all. Ask round the village. Sarah grew up there, people will have known her. You know what to do. Take the knife with you, too. See if anyone recognizes it.’
    â€˜Yes, boss.’ He stood up and stretched, grabbing the weapon from the drawer.
    â€˜Do you want to ride up there?’
    Sedgwick made a face. ‘After being in that cart yesterday, I’ll walk.’
    The problem, Nottingham decided, was that he was dealing with so many unknowns. The people were just names, he didn’t understand their lives. Neither Godlove nor the Gibtons had any association with Leeds, and Leeds was what was familiar to him, what he understood in his heart and his soul. Outside the city he was just another stranger. What he needed was someone who might know something about these folk, someone to guide him a little.
    He retied his stock and set off down Briggate. Carters filled the road, cursing their horses and each other, while a farmer tried to drive a few cattle between the wagons, heading to sell them to the butchers in the Shambles.
    A short way up from the bridge he stopped by a house, its shutters spread wide and the sashes raised. Glancing through the window he could see the printing press, its brass gleaming, and beyond it a man at a desk. His head was lowered, the quill in his hand scratching rapidly at a piece of paper. The Constable opened the door and walked in.
    â€˜Mr