Owen Archer has been tasked with escorting a group carrying letters from the Archbishop of York to abbeys encouraging them to vote for William of Wykeham to be the new Bishop of Winchester. Thoresby, the Archbishop is in Windsor with the king. In order to get the letters to York, Ned Townley, a spy for Lancaster and a good friend of Owen’s, will be part of the delegation headed to York with the letters.
Ned has trouble of his own. He had threatened a young page for being to often with his girlfriend, Mary. Mary is maid to Alice Perrers, mistress to the king. She has gone missing, apparently to follow Ned to the north.
Owen sends Ned with a delegation to Rievaulx Abbey and leads another delegation to Fountains Abbey. Ned leaves earlier than Owen because the route is more difficult. When Owen sets out, he learns that Ned has a secretive friar in his group. He is not impressed.
On the way to Fountains Abbey, Ned learns of Mary’s death after the friar attacks him and then runs away. The abbot he is travelling with puts him under arrest based on the fact that the friar is missing. In the dark of the night, Ned fled. But what was he fleeing from or to?
Owen decides that he must investigate the friar and the cause of his grievances with Ned. What will he find? Treachery? More death? And what of Lucie’s dream about the threat to both Owen and Ned?
Author Candace Robb’s thriller is complex and, although it starts out slowly, it quickly becomes fast paced. Another excellent read in this series.
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