Bernard Knight - Figure of Hate

'And this has arrived from Portsmouth, on the latest cog from Harfleur.'

After he had bowed himself out, a habit that always irritated the blunt-natured Hubert, the justiciar opened the pouch and took out a parchment roll from which dangled the heavy royal seal. Cutting the tapes and cords with a dagger that he had personally taken from the body of a slain Saracen, he settled back and read the latest missive from the court at Rouen. Some of it was in the King's own hand, for, unlike some of his royal forebears, Richard could wield a quill almost as well as a sword.

Hubert sat for some time reading the bulky dispatches, his brow furrowing from time to time as some particularly difficult problem was propounded.

He was a lean, wiry man, and dressed in a plain grey tunic he looked quite unlike the usual over-fed, overdressed prelate, the only concession to his religious stares being a small silver cross hanging around his neck. Eventually, he got to the end of the roll and dropped it back on to the table, reaching instead for a jug of wine and a pewter cup.

Sipping the rich red blood of the Loire valley, he stared again through the embrasure, though his thoughts were far from the streak of sky visible through the slit. As he mulled over the contents of the missive from the King, his mind's eye travelled westwards to Wales, and then once again settled on the dark stubble and forbidding features of the ever faithful John de Wolfe.

The group of newcomers stood blocking the path to the churchyard gate, glowering at the coroner's trio, who had turned to face them.

'There's nothing in this for you, John. You were sent for in error, there was some misunderstanding on the part of the bailiff.'

De Revelle's voice was haughty and condescending, as if he were still the sheriff, dismissing some servant.

'And what misunderstanding can occur over the murder of a manor-lord, Richard? Can you mean that Hugo Peverel is still alive?'

John's tone was deceptively mild as he tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, but privately he was livid that this bloody man had turned up to haunt him, after he had thought he had got rid of him for ever.

They were still standing outside the church porch, the girl now having ceased wriggling in the grip of her captors, her eyes round with bemusement as she found herself the centre of attention of all these high-born men. Richard had pushed himself to the fore and stood between Ralph and Odo, as if he were the new lord Of Sampford rather than one of the Peverels. Joel stepped up on to an old grave mound to stand on Odo's left while behind them the bailiff and steward waited anxiously to see the outcome of this confrontation.

Outside the gate, a cluster of villagers were gathering, mouths agape as the events of this dramatic day continued to unfold.

Odo's measured words attempted to reduce the tension that was becoming as tight as a drawn bowstring.

'We did not intend to bother you with this matter, Sir John. It's a long ride from Exeter and this is a matter that our manor can deal with. You will appreciate that the circumstances of my brother's death are not those which we would want broadcast around the county.'

Ralph hurriedly forced his own opinion into the dialogue.

'I want no outside interference, Crowner, this is purely a family issue!'

His words were less gracious than those of his more mature elder brother and he substituted 'I' for 'we' in his relentless pursuit of the inheritance.

De Wolfe scowled at them both, resenting Ralph's rudeness.

'What you may want is of no consequence! It is the King's peace that rules us all, whether you like it or not. Unless any of you are minded to defy the laws of King Richard and his council?'

He turned his glare full on to de Revelle, and no one was in any doubt as to his insinuation about the former sheriff's political leanings.

'What are you doing here, may I ask?' he snapped.

'You no longer have any official authority.' Richard's thick skin allowed him to continue as if he were still in charge and the coroner was the interloper.

'Though it's none of your business, John, I am here as a friend and neighbour at the express invitation of the Peverel family. They naturally thought that my experience of such crises might be of help to them.' John had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from observing that his brother-in-law had not the slightest experience of dealing with sudden deaths, having been content when sheriff to4et others do all the dirty work, while he remained in his chamber thinking up more ways of embezzling from the county taxes. Drowning his irritation with a deep breath, he turned to Odo,

who, though he had never met him before, he already recognised as the most reasonable of the brothers.

'Sir, will you tell me what exactly has been happening here? I have had only the bare bones of the matter from your reeve.'

Forestalling Ralph, the elder Peverel explained how Hugo had gone missing the previous evening and had eventually been found hidden under the hay in the ox byre, with savage Wounds in his back. With neither of the ladies present, — he felt less inhibited in explaining the circumstances.

'My brother, like so many other active men, was fond of slaking his surplus virility on common drabs like this girl here.'

'A common and understandable habit, even to be found among senior law officers!' sneered de Revelle, unable to resist a jibe at John's affair with his Welsh tavern-keeper.

De Wolfe again resisted the temptation to observe that if they were talking about the lusts of senior law officers, he had twice caught de Revelle with Exeter whores. Instead he once more applied himself to Odo.

'Though I understand from your reeve that the proper procedure of the first finder raising the hue and cry throughout the village was carried out — and that your bailiff quite rightly lost no time in reporting the death to the coroner — you have already committed two breaches of the law!'

The three brothers stared at the coroner, puzzled that anyone should even consider challenging their absolute authority on their own manor.

'And what may they be?' demanded Ralph.

'First, it looks uncommonly as if you have violated the right of every person to seek sanctuary. In addition, the body should have been left where it was found until my arrival, which I am told has not been done here.'

There was a simultaneous gabble of protest from the Peverels in which de Revelle joined in enthusiastically.

'Do you seriously expect us to leave the lord of the manor face down in his own ox byre?' raged Ralph.

'Really, Sir John, you are a Norman knight yourself.' snapped Odo. 'Would you allow your closest relative to stay more than five minutes in such a degrading situation, for villein and serfs to come gaping at?'

De Wolfe glowered at them. 'I did not make the law, sirs, but I have been appointed to see that they are enforced and that I shall do!' he said stubbornly.

'Then you are an even greater damned fool than I thought!' bleated Richard offensively. 'Laws are made for the underlings of this world, not those of us who control it. Why do we need waste time on this tragic matter, when it is so patently obvious that this slut is the culprit?'

John ignored him and turned to the girl and the two men still hanging on to her arms.

'Let her go, I doubt that she'll attack you,' he said sarcastically to the armourer and the hound-master.

Then he addressed Agnes, his tone milder as he looked down at the maid, whose mood swung between fear-and indignation. 'I see no point in you going back into the church, girl. There's no need for you to seek sanctuary at this point. I will see that matters are conducted properly.'

'They'll hang me for sure, sir,' she said sullenly. 'I'm only safe in there.'