Edward Marston - The Owls of Gloucester

‘No matter. We’ll follow it.’

‘Where next?’

‘To the odious Nigel the Reeve,’ said Ralph. ‘Our work at the shire hall is suspended indefinitely. He’ll need to inform everyone of that. And while we’re at it, we can ask him how he knew that King William was due in the city last night.’

‘There is someone else to whom I’d like to put that question.’

‘Who’s that?’

‘The Archdeacon of Gwent.’

‘No, Madog. Put it from your mind at once. I will not listen to such talk.’

‘The others have listened,’ said Madog, indicating his men.

‘And they agree with me. It’s too good a chance to miss.’

‘This is madness.’

‘It’s revenge.’

‘You would have no hope of success.’

‘Let us worry about that.’

‘I forbid you even to discuss it.’

‘You are too late. It’s settled.’

‘Does my opinion count for nothing?’

Madog looked shifty and declined to answer.

Abraham the Priest had found them in the same copse. They were bored with the encampment, weary with the long wait and desperate for action to relieve the tedium. The news he brought from Gloucester would not be welcome.

‘There has been a further delay,’ he told them.

‘Again!’ said Madog over the general murmurs of complaint.

‘I fear so.’

‘But why? We all hoped that we would have ridden back to Wales by now with a piece of our territory restored to us. What is wrong with these commissioners? Can they not make a simple decision between the four of you?’

‘This dispute is far from simple, Madog.’

‘Is that why it is being dragged out?’

‘I have no idea,’ admitted Abraham. ‘All I can tell is what Nigel the Reeve told me. Judgement is suspended. I must wait to be called.’

‘How long?’

‘As long as it takes.’

‘This is villainy on their part, Archdeacon. They mean to keep you until you tire of waiting and ride away, thus forfeiting your right to be heard. Demand a speedier resolution.’

‘It is the same for the others as for me, Madog. They, too, must sit on their hands while the commissioners are otherwise engaged.’

‘I care not for them. Yours is the only claim that matters.’

‘God willing!’

‘Make them see that.’

‘I have put our case as eloquently as I could,’ said Abraham with quiet dignity. ‘They recognised its strength. I could see it in their eyes. But they will not make a judgement until they are ready. I will stay in Gloucester with Tomos until we are called again but there is no need for you to tarry,’ he said, raising his voice for all to hear. ‘I was grateful for your company on the ride here but we can make our own way back. Go home, friends. Your wives and children miss you. Why spend another night under the stars when you could be back in Wales?’

‘We’ll stay,’ said Madog firmly.

‘But we have no need of an escort.’

‘We rode with you to make sure that you were not ambushed on the way and because we have a vested interest in the land you are trying to restore to us. That in itself is reason enough to linger.’

‘It might take days.’

‘What I have in mind would take only a second. And that’s the real reason we won’t go from here. We have business in Gloucester.’

‘No, Madog. Keep away from there.’

‘It was you who told us where King William was.’

‘I begin to wish that I hadn’t.’

‘Then why did you confirm it by watching him arrive?’ said Madog with a knowing smile. ‘I see your position, Archdeacon. As a priest, you can never condone violence; as a Welshman, you long for his death as fervently as the rest of us.’

‘That’s untrue!’ denied Abraham over the shouts of approval. ‘I would not condone this under any circumstances, Madog. It is sinful. It is criminal. And what is more, it is doomed to failure.’

‘Not if it is carefully planned.’

‘You would never be allowed near the King. He is protected by an entire garrison. What can a handful of men do against them?

You are up against impossible odds, Madog.’

‘That’s why you must help us.’

‘Never!’

‘It’s your duty. Think what this monster has done to our country. That land in the Westbury Hundred is only a fraction of the territory which has been stolen from us and occupied by foreigners. Why fight in the shire hall for a few hides of land when you can help to reclaim the whole of Wales?’ A cheer went up from the men. ‘It’s no coincidence that we are here at the same time as the King. It is destiny.’

‘Then it is one I reject,’ said Abraham firmly.

Madog tapped his chest. ‘One man is all that it will take.’

‘Go home. Forget this nonsense.’

‘One man, Archdeacon. Inside the castle at night. All I need to know is where the King will be sleeping.’ He saw the question which formed in the other’s eyes. ‘How can you find out? It is easy. The commissioners lodge at the castle. They will know which apartment the King occupies. Talk to them. Then find a means to look inside the castle in order to make a plan of it. Send the information to me.’

‘It would be pointless.’

‘Let me worry about that.’

‘The King is guarded day and night.’

‘Find out where he sleeps.’

‘No, Madog,’ said Abraham staunchly. ‘I will not do this.’

The others converged on him to form a menacing circle.

‘Do you have any choice?’ said Madog.

Strang the Dane was in as fiery a mood as ever at the shire hall.

With Balki at his side, he directed his anger at Nigel the Reeve.

‘A delay?’ said Strang. ‘A further delay?’

‘How many times must I tell you?’ asked Nigel.

‘I want a resolution today.’

‘We all do, Strang. I want the commissioners out of my city so that I can get on with running it properly. They have caused far too much commotion here and I want them on their way.’

‘Then order them to do their appointed duty.’

‘I wish that I could.’

‘Make them, Nigel. Force them to come back here.’

‘They do not recognise my authority,’ said the reeve frostily.

‘Then petition the sheriff. Let him call them to account.’

‘Royal commissioners answer solely to the King, I fear. They will only sit in session when they are good and ready, Strang. It is annoying, I know, but there’s no remedy. You must wait.’

‘But I can’t. I have a shipment of iron ore leaving soon.’

‘That is irrelevant.’

‘Not to me,’ said Strang hotly, ‘so don’t be high and mighty with me. This is my livelihood. I must be aboard that boat.’

‘Then leave Balki to deal with the commissioners.’

‘I want to see justice done with my own eyes. Besides, I will need Balki to sail with me. We cannot cool our heels here because the royal commissioners are too lazy to do their job.’

Nigel tried to silence him but the reeve’s supercilious tone only enraged the Dane further. He was yelling at the top of his voice when one of his rivals rode up on his horse. Hamelin of Lisieux was mildly amused.

‘Oh!’ he said. ‘It is Strang the Dane. I mistook you for a fishwife, haggling over her prices. Good day, Nigel.’

‘Good day, my lord,’ returned the other politely.

‘Have you heard the news?’ growled Strang.

‘Heard it and accepted it,’ said Hamelin. ‘The law is a snail, my friend. It crawls very slowly. I would have preferred this business to have been resolved by now but the snail has a little distance to go it seems.’

‘I’d like to crush its shell under my foot.’

‘Be patient.’

‘How can I be? I must leave Gloucester very soon.’

‘Take my advice and depart right now,’ said Hamelin easily, ‘for you will avoid humiliation that way. My claim obliterates all others.