Edward Marston: The Stallions of Woodstock

‘That is a relief,’ said Gervase. ‘We all gain by this.’

‘Including Ordgar.’

‘In what way?’

‘With Hyperion in his stable, Milo will not need to take the chestnut colt away from Ordgar’s son. A pleasing solution for everyone. It all stems from that beating Gamberell took.’

‘We still don’t know who administered that.’

‘We never will, Gervase.’

‘Why not?’

‘What man will admit that he was caught in a bedchamber by an angry husband? Bertrand Gamberell has his pride. He will be more careful in his choice of mistresses from now on. And there is some compensation for him.’

‘Yes,’ said Gervase. ‘He gains that disputed property without having to fight over it in the shire hall. That means we can move on to deal with the smaller disputes which brought us here.’

‘Leave those to Canon Hubert.’

‘When will he arrive?’ asked a worried Columbanus.

‘He will be here some time today on that long-suffering donkey of his,’ said Ralph. ‘For once in my life, I will be glad to see him. Hubert will ride in through the castle gates as if he is entering Jerusalem.

And I, for one, will be there to scatter palms in his way and to sing hosannas.’ He gave a chuckle. ‘His donkey will win no races but I’ll wager that it causes us far less trouble than the stallions of Woodstock.’