‘So far? I will be alone.’ Her voice became agitated.
‘I have a case in the Court of Wards. Representatives often have to travel to where the ward lives.’
‘I have heard Wards is an evil place.’
I hesitated, then said quietly, ‘It is where orders of lunacy are kept as well.’ I drew a deep breath. ‘I had to go there on Thursday. About this case. I also – I also asked the clerk if your records were filed there.’
For the first time since I met her Ellen looked at me with anger. Her face seemed to change, somehow flatten and harden. ‘How could you?’ she asked. ‘You had no right to look at papers about me. No right to see those things.’ She shrank back, curling her hands into fists in her lap.
‘Ellen, I only wished to ensure there was a proper record for you.’ A lie.
Her voice rose, cracking and breaking with rage. ‘Did you laugh? Did you laugh at what you read?’
‘Ellen!’ I raised my own voice. ‘There was nothing to read! There is no record of you there.’
‘What?’ she asked, her voice suddenly dropping.
‘You are not registered as a lunatic.’
‘But I must be.’
I shook my head. ‘You are not. You should never have been sent here at all.’
‘Will you tell Shawms?’ Now her voice was small, frightened. In an instant all her long trust in me seemed to have gone. I raised a hand soothingly.
‘Of course not. But, Ellen, they must know already. I would like to protect you, Ellen, help you. But to do that I have to find out how you came here, what happened. Please tell me.’
She did not reply, just looked at me with terrible fear and distrust. Then I said something which showed how little, even then, I understood her. ‘Ellen, the way to Portsmouth passes near the Sussex border, near the town of Rolfswood, where I know you come from. Is there anyone I could visit there who might help you?’
At the mention of Rolfswood Ellen’s bosom heaved as though she were fighting for breath. Then she began not to shout but to scream hoarsely. ‘No! No!’ Her face reddened. ‘They were so strong!’ she shouted. ‘I could not move! The sky above – it was so wide – so wide it could swallow me!’ The last words were a shriek of pure terror.
‘Ellen.’ I took a step towards her, but she shrank away, pressing herself into the wall.
‘He burned! The poor man, he was all on fire—’
‘What?’
Her eyes were glassy now, I realized she was not seeing me, nor the room, but something terrible in the past.
‘I saw his skin melt, turn black and crack!’ she howled. ‘He tried to get up but he fell!’
There was a crash and the door flew open. Shawms entered, furious looking. Behind him were Palin and Hob Gebons. Palin held a coil of rope in one hand.
‘God’s nails!’ Shawms shouted. ‘What the hell’s going on here?’ Ellen stared at them and instantly became quiet, quaking against the wall like a poor mouse trapped in a corner by a cat. Shawms grasped my arm in a meaty hand and pulled me away.
‘It’s all right,’ I said. ‘She’s only frightened – ’ And then, when it was far too late, I stretched out a hand to her, but she did not even see me as she shrank away from Hob and Palin. Hob looked at me over his shoulder, fiercely, and shook his head. Shawms jerked my arm again, pulling me to the door. I resisted, and he bent close, speaking quietly and savagely. ‘Listen to me, master hunchback. I’m in charge here. You come out of this room, or I’ll have Hob and young Palin put you out, none too gently. Want Fettiplace to see that, do you?’
There was nothing I could do. I let him lead me outside, leaving Hob and Palin to stand guard over Ellen as though she were a dangerous animal rather than a desperate, helpless woman. Then Shawms slammed the door on them, pulled the little square viewing window shut, and turned to face me. He was breathing hard.
‘What happened in there, lawyer? We heard her screaming from the other end of the building. Her that’s normally more quiet and biddable than any of them. What did you say to her, or maybe do to her?’ His glare turned into a vicious leer.
‘Nothing. I only told her I may be going away for a while.’ I had to say as little as possible, for her sake.
‘Well, that’s the best news I’ve heard since they put Cromwell’s head on a pike.’ Shawms’s eyes narrowed. ‘That’s all? I heard her screaming about burning men, the sky swallowing her.’
‘She started shouting when I told her I was going, I didn’t understand any of it.’
‘They’ll say any sort of crazy rubbish when they’re riled.’ Shawms leered again. ‘Doesn’t like the idea of you going away, does she?’
I heard muttering on the other side of the door, male voices, something being moved. ‘What are they doing to her?’ I asked.
‘Tying her up. It’s what happens to those who make scenes. Be grateful it’s not the chains.’