Edward Marston - The Owls of Gloucester

‘He would have been a murderous bedfellow. Take him away!’

Hamelin was dragged out quickly by the guards, Ralph still trying to overcome his amazement. King William gave a weary smile.

‘Once again, I am in your debt, Ralph. You warned us that there would be an attempt on my life. I took the best precaution I could and moved from the bed he would expect me to be in.’

‘I never suspected Hamelin of Lisieux,’ admitted Ralph.

‘That is because you do not know his wife as well as I do.’

‘The lady Emma?’

‘A beautiful but ambitious lady.’

‘Is she involved in this plot?’

‘My guess is that she probably instigated it,’ said William. ‘That is why I did not allow her husband at the council table. Do you know what we discussed here in Gloucester?’

‘No, my liege.’

‘The invasion of the Vexin.’

‘I begin to see the connection.’

‘Guess from which part of France the lady Emma hails?’

‘The Vexin.’

‘Correct.’ He saw the blood on Ralph’s arm. ‘But you are injured.

The wound must be bathed and dressed.’

‘It is nothing, my liege,’ he said, stemming the flow with the palm of his other hand. ‘Tell me more about the lord Hamelin.’

‘There is little more to tell beyond the fact that I have doubted his loyalty for some time. It was given out that he spent much time in Normandy but my intelligencers say that he crossed into the Vexin with his wife.’ He glanced at the bed. ‘Now we know why. And to come in the guise of a monk shows his cunning.

The guard outside the door would not have had suspicion of him until it was too late. Hamelin of Lisieux was a treacherous monk.’

‘Cuchullus non facit monachum.’ said Ralph with a smile.

‘I did not take you for a Latin scholar.’

‘I have many talents. But what will happen to his wife?’

‘She will be executed alongside him. Would you like to have the pleasure of seeing the lady arrested in her chamber?’

‘It is a temptation I will resist,’ said Ralph. ‘A more beautiful woman awaits me in my own apartment. More beautiful and more loyal to her King. Besides,’ he added, holding up his arm, ‘with a wound like this to display, I can be assured of unlimited sympathy.’

Other guards now waited for orders at the door. Before Ralph could ease past them, the King stopped him with a final question.

‘Who did you think the assassin would be?’ he asked.

‘Someone else.’

Canon Hubert and Brother Simon were the first to arrive at the shire hall the following morning. Unaware of nocturnal events at the castle, Hubert had reached the conclusion that Hamelin of Lisieux had a legal right to the holdings which he had seized from Strang the Dane. He was aghast, therefore, when Ralph Delchard walked in with his arm in a sling and told him of the bungled assassination. Simon was almost as horrified at the injuries to his colleague as he was at the notion of an attempt on the King’s life. Ralph was touched by his concern.

‘It does simplify matters,’ Gervase pointed out.

‘Does it?’ said Hubert.

‘Yes. Strang the Dane has been removed from the race and the lord Hamelin has also fallen. The choice now rests between a Breton and a Welshman. Which would you choose?’

‘Neither, if I am honest.’

‘No decision is required of you, Hubert,’ said Ralph. ‘It has already been made by a higher authority.’

‘God?’

‘Not that high.’

‘King William,’ explained Gervase. ‘He was so grateful to Ralph for his brave intervention that he deigned to settle this dispute for us. He confirmed the charter to Querengar. The holdings go to the Breton.’

‘Summary justice,’ observed Hubert. ‘Will the King resolve all our disputes like that? He will save us a great deal of time if he does.’

‘He rode out of Gloucester at dawn,’ said Ralph. ‘Let us put the two surviving claimants out of their misery, shall we? Then we may move swiftly on to the other disputes before shaking the dust of this fair city from our shoes. When I looked into the jaundiced eye of the sheriff this morning, I had a feeling that we’d already outstayed our welcome.’

Querengar the Breton and Abraham the Priest were brought in to hear the verdict. Both sat in dignified silence, showing no emotion when Ralph awarded the holdings to Querengar. The Welshman congratulated him without rancour. When the two men left, Ralph followed them out so that he could have a parting word with Abraham.

‘I am sorry to disappoint you, Archdeacon,’ he began.

‘It was a fair judgement.’

‘You will not revile us because of it?’

‘I have too much respect for you and Master Bret to do that.

You helped to capture men who have been terrorising the Welsh commotes with their abductions. That reward alone was well worth the ride from Gwent. The news will be received joyfully when I announce it.’

‘Good. But what happened to your assassin?’

‘Ah,’ said the other. ‘You may well ask.’

‘Did he not even make it over the castle wall?’

‘He did not even arrive, my lord,’ confided Abraham. ‘I mounted guard myself until I saw someone sneak up in the dark. Thinking it might be the man I feared, I jumped on him.’

‘You are an aggressive man when you are roused, Archdeacon.’

‘Too aggressive for Tomos.’

‘Tomos?’

‘My companion. He fainted with fright. Since I had been out of Gloucester for most of the day, he had come in search of me. I only wish I had spoken to him before because he could have saved me from my sentry duty.’

‘How?’

‘While I was away, he received word from our friends that the plot had been abandoned. Wiser counsels had prevailed.’

‘Your disapproval forced them to reconsider.’

‘Partly that, my lord, but the consequences weighed most heavily with them, I suspect. In the excitement of the moment, they felt that they would be striking a blow for Wales by assassinating King William. They would be national heroes, lifting the foreign yoke from their native land.’

‘A complete illusion.’

‘I think they came to realise that. Had the plan been successful, it would not have liberated Wales at all, only subjected it to worse barbarities. One king would be dead but a more vengeful one would take his place.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘I am glad that my friends recognised that.’

‘So am I, Archdeacon.’

‘It means that they went of their own volition and not because I betrayed them to you. I can ride home with a clear conscience.’

He looked deep into Ralph’s eye. ‘Thank you for all you have done, my lord.’

‘My thanks are due to you,’ said Ralph earnestly. ‘And not only because you rescued me from that boat. You acquitted yourself nobly in the shire hall.’ His face split into a broad grin. ‘This is a wondrous event. I am, for once, actually sorry to see a Welshman going home.’

‘I will give your regards to Archdeacon Idwal!’ teased the other.

Ralph’s grin vanished. His anger flared.

‘Goodbye!’ he yelled. ‘Ride hard!’

‘Tomorrow, Golde!’ There was deep disappointment in her sister’s voice. ‘You are leaving tomorrow?’

‘At first light, Aelgar.’

‘But why?’

‘The commissioners will have concluded their deliberations.’

‘They have been in Gloucester barely a week.’

‘Nine days in all,’ said Golde. ‘Don’t forget that we arrived here well before you and Forne. Time has certainly not dragged. Those nine days have flown past.’

‘I wish that you could stay another nine,’ said Forne with clear affection. ‘Just when I am getting to know you properly, you leave us.’