Michael Jecks - The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover

Ricard was quiet awhile. He had an appalling sense of responsibility for the boy. Somehow he felt guilty that the lad had lost his parents. It wasn’t his fault that some mangy arsehole son of a feral tom cat had killed the glover and his wifeto get at Ricard … and yet somehow the blue eyes staring at him made him feel guilty. He held his tongue rather than tryto explain.

There was no sign of Peter.

‘He won’t come if he’s a brain,’ was Janin’s view. ‘He has two daughters to think of.’

‘Aye. Not like you, eh, old man?’ Adam teased Ricard.

They all smiled at that. It was one of the jokes they were wont to hurl back and forth in their casual banter on normal days.Ricard was known to be the most prolific of them all, and had fathered seven children all told, five of them still living.But today was not a normal day, and the smiles soon dried.

‘Yes, well, some of us have the strength to achieve greatness. There’s nothing showy about me.’

‘That’s true,’ Adam said, speaking into his ale.

Ricard scowled. ‘Just size ain’t all, is what I meant. You have to know what to do with it too, and I have plenty of skill,you see.’

‘Yeah. You showed that with the wench on Sunday night,’ Philip said quietly.

‘Shite, you always have to bring things down to your level.’

‘Yes. Well,’ Janin said quickly, but not fast enough.

Philip looked up steadily. ‘My level may be low, but so was killing her and her old man.’

There was a sudden silence. Then Ricard flushed angrily. ‘You mean you think I did that to them?’

‘Who else could have? I’ve been thinking about it, and that fine fellow wasn’t there in the tavern, was he? But the two hadbeen dead a while. That smell … they were so cold. They hadn’t just died that moment.’

Janin was staring at him with a frown on his face. ‘You mean to say you reckon Ric murdered them both? On Sunday night when we were that pissed we could hardly walk? Don’t talk wet!’

‘It couldn’t have been Ricard,’ Adam agreed dully. ‘Look at him! When he’s drunk, he sits down and giggles to himself. Henever attacks people or hurts them.’

‘And I didn’t on Sunday night,’ Ricard said.

‘Not even if you were so drunk you can’t remember what you did?’ Philip said nastily.

‘Look, if I was that drunk, I’d not have thought to wash myself afterwards. Whoever did that to them must have ended up lookinglike a butcher,’ Ricard said sensibly. ‘There’s no blood on my clothes, Philip. It must have been him, whoever he was.’

‘So what’ll we do?’ Janin said.

‘I’ve been reckoning. I think that there’re places where people would pay to hear good music and singing. We could try somewherea little further from here. I don’t know — York, or Lincoln …’

‘ York! ’ Adam burst out with horror. ‘You ever spoken to a man from there? They all talk funny! Can’t speak real English, and youtry to make them understand what you’re saying, and they all go dumb, like you’re speaking Flemish or something. York!’

‘Well, we can’t just walk up to the Queen and say, “Look, your Maj, we’re a bit hard up for money just now, and by the way,you look like you could do with a decent bit of music to cheer you up, so how about it?” can we? Talk sense!’

‘I think you’re mad if you reckon that wandering that far away is going to do us any good. No, I vote we stay here in London.It’s a huge city — we could easily lose ourselves in it, and no one need find us again.’

‘You think I’m mad? Who do you think that bastard was serving in that room when he slaughtered the man and his wife? He saidhe was no servant of Despenser, but if he wasn’t, who is his master? And if Despenser gets to think we’re involved in the death of two of his friends, do you seriouslythink that there’s anywhere in this city which is safe for us? If you reckon there’s anywhere secure from him and his bloodyservants, you’re more of a cretin than I thought. If you want to ignore what he wants and stay here, nice and close to hisdagger, then you do that. Me, I’m going to see if I can keep my blood in my veins just a little longer.’

‘If we just keep our heads down a while …’

‘Despenser can wield a sword low enough to catch your neck no matter how much you duck or crawl! Don’t be stupid! That fellowyesterday found us easily enough, didn’t he? How well do you think we could hide in the city? You prepared to throw away yourinstruments? I know I’m not losing my gittern for anyone! But if you keep hold of your things, you’ll be spotted as a musicianimmediately. How long’ll you survive then?’

Janin asked, ‘What did he tell you to do?’

‘He told me to keep in touch with him. We’re to listen out for any snippets that could put the Queen in a bad light, and totell him.’

‘How, though? Where was he going to be?’

‘He said there’d be someone who’d come to see us. He’d have a sign to show he was genuine — a picture of a peacock. He’d showus when he needed our help.’

Philip blinked slowly. ‘He’d have a picture of a peacock? What, a tapestry? Something on parchment?’

‘He didn’t say,’ Ricard said coldly. ‘I didn’t suggest it to him, he suggested it to me, all right?’

‘Well, I still think we should stay put. What’s he going to do to us here? There are too many people around for him to threatenus in the city,’ Adam declared.

‘Keep thinking like that and soon you won’t be thinking at all,’ Philip grunted.

‘Philip’s right. Despenser’s enemies, and those he reckons aren’t helpful enough, tend to end up dead,’ Ricard said. ‘So that’s whatwe have to do. Spy on the Queen, or run for it. And we can’t spy on her because we aren’t really her players. A little ballocks,and suddenly we’re deep in the shit. So, if one of you has got a better plan, I’m listening. Otherwise we run for it.’

‘I’d think that just asking might be enough.’

They all spun about on hearing Peter’s voice, Janin playing a short tune to celebrate his arrival.

‘What are you doing here, you silly bastard?’ Ricard demanded when Peter had sat down.

‘I can’t just leave you all in the lurch, can I? What would you lot get up to without me helping you?’

‘Bloody sight less dangerous shite,’ Adam muttered into his ale once more. ‘Sorry, sorry, but I can’t help thinking that.’

They ignored him. It was Adam’s most irritating trait, this verbal apology that was never seriously meant.

‘I asked. I got.’

Ricard was shaking his head in confusion. ‘What do you mean? You asked what?’

‘I took your advice. I asked whether we could get a billet with the Queen. She’s got no household now. Did you know that?She’s lost all her servants, all her ladies, everything. So when I offered our services, they said yes. Apparently they allremember us from our last evening there.’

Ricard scowled, Janin looked away pensively, and Adam gazed into his ale. Peter was left looking from one to the other ofthem with a speculative suspicion. ‘All right, so who did it? Ric, did you put your hand up a fine lady’s skirt? Adam? Didyou puke in the hallway? Janin, were you caught making poetry with a wench in there? Come on, what happened?’

‘Don’t you remember?’ Ricard asked.

‘No.’

‘You don’t remember drumming away happily and leering at the little strawberry blonde in the front? The one with the ever-so-tight bodiceand the arse you said would be like an archer’s target? The one with lips you said could suck a nail from the church door?The one with the …’

‘Christ in chains!’ Peter had the grace to colour. ‘Are you sure? Me? When was that? I don’t remember it at … But therewas no trouble about it.’