Crispin: The Cross of Lead

Later, Widow Daventry brings food to Crispin. As he eats, she tells Crispin she has been married twice and had seven children, but both of her husbands and all of her children are dead. Crispin squeezes her hand, then asks her to read the writing on Asta’s lead cross. Widow Daventry says that Bear already told her what it says: “Crispin—son of Furnival” (215). She explains that lords often have children outside of wedlock. She adds that Bear guessed that Asta was someone who used to be connected with Lord Furnival’s court.

Based on the timeline of Crispin’s birth, Widow Daventry guesses that Asta was the daughter of a certain Lord Douglas. Lord Furnival abandoned Asta in Stromford when she became pregnant with Crispin and publicly announced that Lord Douglas’s daughter was dead. Now that Lord Furnival is dead, Lady Furnival fears that someone may use Crispin or Lord Furnival’s other illegitimate children to claim power, which explains why she ordered Aycliffe to kill him. Widow Daventry encourages Crispin to get as far from Great Wexly as he can.