Simon Beaufort - A Dead Man's secret

‘No,’ said Geoffrey, who never felt the need at all.

‘And Delwyn does himself no favours with his incendiary remarks,’ added Edward. ‘He knows exactly how to aggravate Sear, Alberic and Roger. One of them will skewer him before long, and you and I may not be on hand to intervene.’

‘Perhaps we should not try.’ Geoffrey could hear Delwyn informing Roger that his facial hair was too long. Delwyn was playing with fire: Roger was proud of his beard.

‘It is tempting,’ said Edward wryly. ‘He is as irritating as a marsh-fly, but that does not give knights the right to run him through.’

Personally, Geoffrey felt he and his fellow knights had shown admirable restraint, proven by the fact that Delwyn was not only still alive but as recklessly garrulous as ever.

Edward was silent for a moment, then began to chatter again. ‘Talk of Delwyn reminds me of that last day at La Batailge. I heard the commotion when he came howling from the fishponds to tell us about Eudo. Who killed him, do you think?’

‘I have no idea,’ replied Geoffrey, startled by the question. ‘And with hundreds of courtiers, clerks, servants, monks and lay-brothers, Bishop Maurice will not find it an easy case to solve.’

‘Where were you when it happened?’ asked Edward.

Geoffrey regarded him in surprise, and the thought flashed through his mind that Henry might have asked Edward to assess whether the culprit was in the Kermerdyn party, given that Maurice would be unable to do so. Henry would not have approached Sear or Alberic, because they were insufficiently clever, and Geoffrey doubted the King would put much faith in Delwyn.

‘I was with Pepin and then Maurice,’ he replied. ‘And Roger was with Bale in a tavern all morning. Where were you?’

Edward smiled that the interrogation should be turned around. ‘I was in the stables from dawn to noon, because my horse had a bout of colic. I may not be much of a soldier, but I love my faithful warhorse, and he likes me with him when he is unwell.’

Geoffrey liked horses, too, although he would not have described Edward’s nag as a ‘warhorse’ and suspected the beast was more pet than fighting animal.

‘Can anyone confirm it?’ he asked. ‘Not that there is any reason to doubt you, of course.’

Edward laughed openly. ‘About twenty of the King’s stable-boys, who were listening to me pontificate on matters equestrian. Feel free to verify my tale the next time you visit him.’

When they reached the ford, they found it swollen with rain. Geoffrey led the way across with no problem, but Edward’s horse, alarmed by the surging water, bucked suddenly, causing its rider to slide off. It was not difficult to fish him out, but there was a delay on the other side when he insisted on divesting himself of his sopping clothes and donning a gown instead.

‘You will ride into Goodrich dressed as a woman?’ demanded Sear incredulously.

Edward tossed his wet cloak to Bale for wringing. ‘Better than arriving dripping wet. I may stain the rugs, and that would be discourteous.’

‘You are expecting rugs?’ asked Geoffrey uneasily.

‘This will not take a moment,’ said Edward, shrugging out of his mail tunic, then selecting a long red kirtle with a fur trim. He began to primp fussily, which had Sear, Alberic and Roger fidgeting impatiently, all eager to be underway.

‘I heard you asking Geoffrey about Eudo’s murder earlier, Sir Edward,’ said Delwyn. ‘Are you trying to learn who murdered him?’

‘I doubt anyone here is a killer,’ said Edward. Geoffrey almost laughed. All knights were killers: it was what they were trained to do. ‘But since you mention it, why not tell each other our whereabouts? Sear, perhaps you would oblige first?’

‘What I was doing is none of your damned business,’ retorted Sear haughtily. ‘I decline to answer, and you can try to make me at your peril.’

‘I do not mind answering on his behalf,’ said Alberic. ‘He was with me.’

‘Actually, he was not,’ countered Delwyn. ‘ You were with a milkmaid all morning.’

Alberic gaped at him. ‘How do you know? Were you spying on me, you little snake?’

‘No,’ replied Delwyn, although his face said he was lying. ‘I was merely concerned for her well-being. Afterwards, I went for a walk by the fishponds to-’

Sear released one of his jeering, braying laughs. ‘You cannot win a woman yourself, so you were reduced to watching others! What a miserable specimen you are!’

‘I could win them if I wanted,’ declared Delwyn angrily. ‘Women like me greatly.’

‘You are supposed to be celibate,’ said Alberic in distaste.

‘I do what I like,’ flashed Delwyn. ‘Especially when I am away from my abbey.’

‘I think that should suffice,’ said Edward loudly, straightening his finery and indicating he was ready to be helped back on to his horse. ‘It will not be long now before we are all basking in front of a roaring fire with goblets of hot wine.’

The prospect of such luxury had Roger turning in the direction of Goodrich, and Sear and Alberic were quick to follow. Edward was next, leaving Geoffrey with Delwyn at the rear.

‘ Sear killed Eudo,’ muttered Delwyn resentfully. ‘He declines to tell us his whereabouts at the time of the murder, and he is jealous because the King chose you to take the Archbishop’s message to Kermerdyn.’

‘You are the only one who seems to be jealous of that,’ Geoffrey pointed out. ‘And why should it lead Sear to dispatch Eudo?’

‘Probably because Eudo recommended you for the task in the first place,’ replied Delwyn.

Geoffrey stared at him. ‘I doubt that! I did not know him before Henry allocated me the task.’

‘Well, you can think what you like, but it is true,’ said Delwyn. ‘Because I heard him tell Pepin so with my own ears.’

Geoffrey was thoughtful. Was it significant that Sear was unwilling to divulge his alibi? Did it mean he had killed Eudo? Or was the culprit Delwyn, eager to see someone else blamed, and who claimed he had stumbled across Eudo’s body while out for a walk? Delwyn was puny, but it took no great strength to shove a blade in a man’s back and hold his head underwater. These were sobering thoughts, and he decided he would not stay long in Goodrich – he did not want killers mingling with Hilde and Joan, no matter how warrior-like Roger claimed them to be.

When Goodrich Castle finally appeared through the trees, Geoffrey found his pleasure at seeing it went far deeper than the desire for dry clothes and a warm fire. There was something welcomingly familiar about its wooden walls, great ramparts and sturdy towers. He reined in to look at it, aware of an immediate rush of memories.

He had not been happy there as a child. His father had mocked his scholarly tendencies and his older siblings had bullied him until he had grown enough to hold his own. He had not enjoyed returning two decades later, either, when his father lay dying. But it was home, and it contained Joan and now Hilde. Goodrich had come to represent something far more pleasant than it had ever done in the past.

‘Is that it?’ asked Sear disparagingly. ‘I was expecting something better. Pembroc is by far superior – and much better sited, too.’

‘Geoffrey’s home is extremely well sited,’ argued Edward, fluffing up his hair. ‘It is placed to guard the river, and three of its sides are protected by natural slopes. When its palisades are turned into stone walls, it will be virtually impregnable. Like Kadweli.’

‘Kadweli is like Goodrich?’ asked Geoffrey, pointedly acknowledging Edward’s remark and ignoring Sear’s.

‘In many ways,’ nodded Edward. ‘My castle is also sited on a rocky bluff, although it is substantially larger, with facilities for a sizeable garrison.’