Edward Marston - The Owls of Gloucester

It was Canon Hubert who initiated the questioning.

‘Now that the formalities are finally out of the way,’ he said with almost imperceptible sarcasm, ‘perhaps we can address the problem which brought us here? I take it that you are familiar with Strang the Dane, my lord?’

‘All too familiar!’ said Hamelin, suppressing a sigh.

‘He was here before you.’

‘I hope that does not betoken an order of merit, Canon Hubert.’

‘Far from it. Every claimant has equal status.’

‘How can that be when our claims do not have equal validity?’

‘Relative validity has yet to be decided, my lord.’

‘Not by me,’ said Hamelin politely. ‘I willingly concede that Strang the Dane did, at one time, have a legitimate right to that land in the Westbury. It is unfortunate for him that his right melted in the heat of conquest. As for Querengar the Breton,’ he continued, with a fond glance at his wife, ‘you must not ask me to take his claim at all seriously. And I can muster even less respect for Abraham the Priest.’

‘You know that he is also represented here?’ asked Ralph.

‘Naturally.’

‘How?’

‘I am well informed, my lord.’

‘More so than we ourselves. We did not learn of the Welshman’s intervention until we arrived and Strang the Dane was astonished to hear of it. Why did you catch what eluded his ears?’

‘I have many friends in Gwent.’

‘Enemies, too, if Strang is to be believed.’

Hamelin laughed. ‘Several enemies. He is one of them.’

‘You do not seem perturbed by that thought.’

‘Why should I be, my lord? You and I are two of a kind, Norman lords in a land we first had to subdue. Our very presence here makes us despised intruders. Where would we be if we could not cope with a little enmity?’ he asked, bestowing another fond look on his wife. ‘Especially when we can offset all that hatred with so much love.’

‘Have you and Strang ever come to blows, my lord?’ said Gervase.

‘Unfortunately, we have not.’

‘He says otherwise.’

‘Then he is lying, Master Bret.’

‘Strang the Dane is an appalling man,’ said Emma demurely. ‘I know that it is not my place to speak here but I feel it my duty to tell you that his word is not to be trusted.’

‘He spoke under oath, my lady,’ said Hubert.

‘So does my husband.’

‘And I say, under oath,’ continued Hamelin pointedly, ‘that I have never crossed swords with Strang. More’s the pity! Had I done so, that verminous Dane would not now be alive to poison your ears with his wicked lies.’

‘He showed us a wound, my lord,’ said Gervase.

‘It was not inflicted by me.’

‘By one of your men, perhaps?’

‘That is not impossible. Strang has trespassed on my estates.’

‘Did he have to be expelled by force of arms?’

‘How else, Master Bret?’

‘Recourse to law.’

‘That is why I am here,’ said Hamelin blandly. ‘To attest the legal basis of every hide in my possession. Most of the country is howling in protest at this Great Survey, fearful that it will cost more in taxes and knight-service. My voice is not raised in complaint, as my wife will tell you. I appreciate the true value of this Domesday Book.’

‘It is good to meet someone who does!’ said Ralph.

‘You draw clear lines, my lord. You clarify who holds what where.

Once you have pronounced, nobody can lay false claims to my land any more. That is why I welcome this inquiry.’

‘Even if we find against you?’ probed Hubert.

‘That is out of the question.’

‘Why?’

‘I will show you, Canon Hubert.’

‘Why did you not show the first commissioners?’

‘Unhappily, I was not in a position to do so when they first visited the shire,’ said Hamelin easily. ‘I was visiting Normandy to deal with a problem concerning my estates there. My reeve spoke on my behalf before your predecessors but he lacked conviction, I am told. That is why I replaced him on my return and why I come before you in person this time. To eliminate even the slightest possibility of error.’

‘Do you fear we will make an error?’ probed Ralph.

‘The first commissioners did.’

‘How?’

‘By having insufficient evidence set before them.’

‘What new evidence do you have to add?’

‘First, peruse this,’ advised Hamelin, rising to give Ralph the charter which he held in his hand. ‘You will recognise the hand and seal of King William and note that I am granted fifteen hides in the Westbury Hundred. Much of the land which abuts mine is held directly by the King himself so I have one neighbour with whom I am on very friendly terms.’

Ralph skimmed through the charter then handed it to Gervase, who, having read it more carefully, passed it on to Canon Hubert.

When Gervase looked back at them, Hamelin, seated once more, was smiling complacently and Emma was looking earnestly at the commissioners.

‘Is any more proof than that required?’ she asked softly.

‘I fear that it is, my lady,’ said Gervase.

‘Why, Master Bret?’

‘Because the document is not as specific as it might be. Fifteen hides are indeed granted to your husband but it is not clear that they include the eight hides formerly given to Strang the Dane.’

‘It is clear to us.’

‘But not to Strang himself.’

‘What irks him most,’ said Ralph, taking over, ‘is that some of this land lies close to the Severn, down which his boats sail with cargoes of iron ore. Among other things, Strang has the right to mine ore in the Forest of Dean.’ His eyes flicked to Hamelin.

‘The loss of those hides in Westbury have caused him great inconvenience. He has to transport the ore a longer distance over land, adding to his costs.’

‘That is not my concern, my lord,’ said Hamelin.

‘But it is the consequence of your annexation of the land.’

‘It was not annexation. I merely took what is mine.’

‘Which, according to Strang, amounted to rather more than the twenty hides to which this document refers.’

‘That is palpably untrue,’ said Emma with feeling. ‘Go to Westbury yourselves and you will surely find as much.’

‘We would rather determine this matter here, my lady,’ said Hubert as he finished studying the charter. ‘We do not have unlimited time at our disposal and cannot ride around the county to measure hides and count the heads of those who work on them.’

‘Then tell us this,’ requested Hamelin. ‘Apart from Strang, has anyone else in Westbury raised objections against me?’

‘Querengar and Abraham the Priest.’

‘I discount them. Neither actually holds property in the hundred. Both merely claim to do so. Of those that do — the King excepted, of course — which have spoken against me? Go further afield, Canon Hubert. Name me anyone in the Berkeley or Bledisloe Hundreds who accuses me of seizing their land.’

Hubert gave a shrug. ‘I cannot, my lord.’

‘Does that not say something in my favour?’

‘It might indicate that people are too afraid to challenge you.’

‘Why should they be afraid of my husband?’ asked Emma with apparent surprise. ‘He is the most amenable of men. Talk to any of his sub-tenants and they will tell you the same.’

‘I’m sure that they will,’ commented Gervase quietly.

‘Let us go back to the charter,’ decreed Ralph, reclaiming it from Hubert. ‘Perhaps you can tell us the circumstances in which the King saw fit to grant you such valuable holdings, my lord.’

‘Certainly,’ said Hamelin of Lisieux.

And he delivered his speech with ringing confidence.

It took Elaf a little while to find his friend. When he finally did so, he was alarmed to see the expression of utter dejection on Kenelm’s face. The mettlesome boy who had led him on so many exploits was now hiding in the abbey garden, wrestling with his guilt and contemplating a bleak future in the Benedictine Order.