Michael Jecks - The Outlaws of Ennor

That was not Walerand’s way. He would try to scare people for the sake of it, just because it made him feel good. He would resort to actual physical violence at any opportunity. But at least Walerand was devious enough to make a good spy on the Bailiff.

What would the Bailiff make of all this, though? He would guess, probably. That was how most officers worked — they guessed at what might have happened. Someone had taken enough of a dislike to Robert to grab a knife and shove it into him. Simon would wonder what on earth Robert had been doing up there at that time of night. He should have been back in the castle by dusk, but he’d told others he’d be staying out for the night. That hinted at a woman — this woman he was supposed to have been porking in St Nicholas. If he’d been going to see her, why hadn’t she come forward to announce his disappearance? Probably because she was married.

Some men were hard enough on their women. Perhaps Simon would think Robert had chosen to take some female, and she reacted with an all-too-hasty dagger? He’d expected her to submit in return for a lower tax bill, and she’d repaid him in the only way she knew. That was quite possible.

Yes: possible, and alarming. If the locals thought that they could get away with murdering one of Ranulph’s leading men-at-arms, then they might decide to resist future demands for money and customs. It was a short step from one man being killed to the entire castle being endangered. Thomas was as sure as he could be of that.

Ranulph had sanction to hold twelve men here to maintain and protect his castle. There were some others here, mainly servants who were either weak of muscle or weak in the head, but if a man counted only the fighting strength of the place, it was actually alarmingly under-manned, compared with the number of people the castle was supposed to oversee. There were a couple of hundred men on all the islands, and most of them were strong, hardy types, used to the sea and weapons of all sorts. If it were to come to a fight between them and the men at the castle, Thomas knew that though the walls of the castle might survive, the people inside could easily be beaten. There was no hope of rescue or support. Even if a messenger could be sent to the mainland, any help must arrive too late.

The idea made him frown. Since a man in the castle had been murdered, it was up to the men of the castle to put things straight again. They needed a scapegoat: a group must be found which would carry the responsibility for the murder. Some rascals who could be believed to be thieves and murderers; some peasants who could be held up as an example of what would happen to others if they were to dare to flout the laws. An extreme example, a source of horror and fear for many years to come.

That was what the folks here needed. A definite signal that their behaviour must improve, he thought. But there were not enough men in the castle to chastise a whole vill.

Thomas sighed. Matters were already going beyond the means of simple resolution. If only he had more men at his disposal.

Feeling that he must suffocate if he remained within, Thomas stood, locked away the ledgers, and made his way to the castle’s walls. There he clambered up the steep staircase and peered out towards the sea. Still no sign of the Faucon Dieu. It was hard to believe that any of the pirates on St Nicholas would have dared to attack her. Could David …?

Thomas felt the certainty hit him like a hammer. David had led a party of the men from his vill to attack the Faucon Dieu : that was why she hadn’t appeared. They had taken what they could and sunk the ship to hide their crimes. That was it! Thomas felt himself bristling with righteous fury. That was why David wasn’t in the vill on the night of the storm, that was why Thomas’s ship wasn’t here, safe in port. Those murderous peasants in the vill on the next island had taken her.

By Christ, he would find out. Yes, Thomas would find out, and if he learned that they were guilty, he’d set such a flame under them that they’d all wish they were already in Hell!

‘William? It’s me, Isok.’

The priest threw open his door with a rattle. ‘Good God alive, Isok, what is this?’

He was justifiably annoyed to be woken. All those who lived in the vill knew that it was after his hour for sleep. By this time he had completed the round of services, and it was his routine to finish the day with a large cup of wine, followed by a good long sleep, ready to wake for Matins. He had been asleep for about an hour, and now this idiot wanted to talk? He noticed that Isok was carrying something. ‘Are you mad, man? Whatever you’re carrying, get rid of it! Do you want Ranulph’s guards to come here and find you with contraband?’

Isok stared at him bleakly. ‘I have some fish in my boat, but no contraband today. This is more your line of work, Priest.’

He entered, shouldering William aside, and allowed his burden to fall to the ground.

‘Jesus’s cods! What have you done, you moron?’ William demanded, falling to his knees and feeling Luke’s face, hands, wrists. ‘He’s dead!’

‘Of course he’s dead,’ Isok said coldly. ‘Whether he drowned or not, I don’t know. But look at him more closely, and you’ll doubt it, I expect. I found him out on Arthur’s Porth. There were bits and pieces of boat all about him.’

‘Why?’ William wondered.

‘Someone killed him and threw him into a boat,’ Isok shrugged.

‘You mean his murderer thought that when the body was found, people would think he’d been killed in an accident?’ William said scathingly. ‘Any fool can see he’s been stabbed!’

‘Perhaps the killer thought Luke’d just sail into the distance and never be found,’ Isok grunted. He had discovered William’s mazer, and was filling it from the priest’s large cask.

‘Hey!’ William snarled, and snatched it back. He spilled a little, but the rest he eagerly poured down his throat. ‘This is a complete mess. What can we do?’

‘You have to deal with it,’ Isok said flatly. ‘If it gets suspected that it was someone on my island, it could be troublesome. The men at La Val would welcome an opportunity to come and destroy our vill.’

‘You think it could come to that?’ William breathed, but then he nodded. ‘Yes. It makes sense. Ranulph has sought to impose his will on the island for the entire time I have lived here. You’ve seen it too.’

‘Yes — and the murder of a priest is enough justification for him.’

‘Leave it to me. I shall do what I can.’

Isok thanked him, and was about to leave when William stopped him. ‘Where are you going? You can’t sail back home at this time of night.’

‘No,’ Isok said, his eyes downcast. ‘But I wanted to speak to Hamadus. I haven’t had a chance to see him for a while.’

William was tempted to ask whether he wanted to see the old man about his marital problems, but something stopped him. The younger man looked like a fellow who had been tightened and tightened like a new rope; he was now so tautly stretched that any movement might make the hemp break — and when that happened, William was not sure he would want to be in the near vicinity. A divorce was one thing: in this case it was the accusation his wife had levelled against him which was going to cause him the most grief. It made William sad to see this couple whom he had joined in God’s name so close to separation.

‘Friend, go carefully,’ he implored, but said no more. He could give no solace to a man who was suffering so much.

‘I go as carefully as I may,’ Isok said, but his eyes avoided William’s. ‘You know Robert was after my wife? David told me earlier today. He was trying to get under her skirts. And now he’s gone, there’s another at my house.’