“A courier got through from the south this morning,”he said, raising his eyes to his friend’s attentive face.“She’s gone! Out of the trap, and fled away to join herbrother at Wallingford. The king’s lost his prize. Even whenhe has her between his hands he lets her slip through his fingers.I wonder, I wonder,” said Hugh, opening his eyes wide at anew thought, “whether he did not turn a blind eye and let hergo, when it came to the point! It would be like him. God knows hewanted her badly enough, but he may have taken fright when it cameto puzzling what he could do with her when he had her. It’sone question I’d love to ask him—but nevershall!” he concluded with an oblique grin.

“Are you telling me,” asked Cadfael cautiously,eyeing him across the brazier, “that the empress is escapedout of Oxford, after all? With the king’s army all round her,and stores down to starvation level in the castle, from what welast heard? And how did even she contrive it? Tell me nextshe’s grown wings and flown over the king’s lines toWallingford! She could hardly walk through his siege vallations onfoot, even if she managed to get out of the castleunseen.”

“Ah, but she did, Cadfael! She did both! She got out ofthe castle unseen, and passed through some part at least ofStephen’s lines. To the best they can guess, she must havebeen let down by a rope from the rear of the tower towards theriver, she and two or three of her men with her. There could nothave been more. They muffled themselves all in white to beinvisible against the snow. Indeed by all accounts it was snowingthen, to hide them the better. They crossed the river on the ice,and walked the six miles or so to Abingdon, for it was there theygot horses to take them on to Wallingford. Give her her due,Cadfael, this is a rare woman. From all accounts there’s noliving with her when she’s in high feather, but by God I cansee how a man could follow her when she’s down.”