Simon Beaufort - A Head for Poisoning

Geoffrey rubbed the bridge of his nose, and wondered whether the King were lying to secure his cooperation. He had heard that the King was not averse to emotional blackmail when other methods were impracticable or unlikely to work.

“I am not asking you to spy on your kinsmen,” the King continued in a paternal voice, despite the fact that Geoffrey knew they were the same age. “But you will surely want to know if one of your siblings is trying to dispatch your father, and if he, or she, also attempted to kill your sister.”

Geoffrey stared at him uncertainly. Then Caerdig’s claim-that the arrows in the forest might have been fired by one of his siblings in order to prevent Geoffrey from returning home-sprang to his mind. The King seemed convinced that there was some truth in the letter Godric had supposedly written to him, stating that he and Enide had been poisoned. Could a jealous brother also have tried to shoot Geoffrey in the forest and had killed Aumary by mistake?

The King smiled, although there was no humour in his eyes. “You are wondering what I stand to gain by your unmasking of this would-be killer?”

That question was uppermost in Geoffrey’s mind, but he said nothing. The King, seeing that Geoffrey was not going to reply, continued again.

“The most powerful baron in this region is Robert de Belleme, the Earl of Shrewsbury.”

He paused and studied Geoffrey to assess his reaction. Geoffrey had certainly heard of Robert de Belleme, generally considered to be one of the cruellest and most violent men in Christendom. The Earl was also vastly wealthy, and owned massive estates in Normandy, as well as sizeable tracts of land in England. Geoffrey supposed that, as lord of the little manor of Rwirdin he had inherited from his mother, the Earl was technically his overlord. He decided he would not visit Rwirdin after all, for he certainly had no wish to encounter a man like the Earl of Shrewsbury.

The King noted with satisfaction the instinctive grimace that his mention of the brutal Earl had provoked.

“Your father’s manor would make a handsome addition to the Earl’s estates along the Welsh border, but I am loath to see his fortunes rise too high. The Earl rebelled against my father, and he rebelled against my brother Rufus. He might do the same to me if he becomes too strong. I do not want him getting Goodrich.”

“Surely that is unlikely, with so many contenders for heir,” Geoffrey pointed out. “If my father were childless, it might be a different matter. But you yourself have noted that my three brothers and Joan intend to have Goodrich for themselves.”

“But one, or perhaps more, of your siblings is attempting to kill your father, and you have already admitted to me that you would not stay if Goodrich were yours. I do not want a vacant landlord any more than I want a murderer as lord of Goodrich. And I certainly do not want one of the Earl of Shrewsbury’s creatures in charge. And there is another thing.”

He paused again, and regarded Geoffrey intently. Geoffrey sensed yet again that something was going to be said that he would rather not hear. If Henry were anyone other than the King of England, Geoffrey would have made his excuses and left. As it was, he was trapped, and obliged to listen to whatever sordid secrets the King chose to reveal.

“Do you know what happened to my brother, Rufus, in the New Forest last summer?”

Geoffrey was startled by the change of subject. “I was in the Holy Land at the time, but the story was that he was shot in a hunting accident.”

Henry nodded. “He was shot, certainly. But whether by accident or design is less certain.” He turned, very deliberately, and gazed at the remains of the arrow burning in the fire.

Geoffrey prudently maintained his silence. There had been a good many rumours when the news had reached Jerusalem that Rufus of England had been slain, one of which was that Henry, who stood to gain a good deal from his brother’s death, was not wholly innocent in the affair. He wondered why the King was choosing to discuss this particular matter with him now.

“You seem vague regarding the details of the events of last August,” said Henry. “Let me enlighten you. On the second day of that month, we were due to go hunting together, just after dawn. My brother Rufus, however, was ill. He had slept badly, plagued with nightmares, and felt unwell.” He looked hard at Geoffrey. “Rather as your father has been of late.”

“You believe Rufus was poisoned?” asked Geoffrey, startled. “Before he went hunting?”

Henry shrugged. “Why not? I am sure that had my brother been in his usual good health, he would not have fallen to the arrow that killed him. He would have sensed something was amiss, and moved away or called out. But I am getting ahead of myself. Because Rufus was indisposed, we did not leave to go hunting until much later-well into the afternoon. The party split, as is the custom, and my brother was left in the company of Walter Tirel, the Count of Poix.”

He paused yet again. Geoffrey glanced out through the door to where Caerdig stood, wondering, no doubt, what the King and Geoffrey were finding to discuss alone together for such a long time.

“Then, events are unclear. It seems a stag was driven to the clearing where my brother and Tirel waited. My brother fired, but only wounded the animal. Tirel fired, but he killed Rufus rather than the stag. Tirel immediately fled the country, but has been roaming France ever since claiming that it was not his arrow that killed Rufus. It is assumed by many that his instant flight is a clear statement of his guilt, but I am uncertain.”

If Geoffrey had been in a position whereby the King of England had been shot, and he was the only known person in the vicinity with a bow and arrows, he might well have fled himself, regardless of innocence or guilt. Regicide was a serious matter, and revenge tended to be taken before questions were asked. Geoffrey supposed that it was entirely possible Tirel had not killed Rufus, and that his flight had been nothing more than a case of instinctive self-preservation.

“I have my suspicions that the Earl of Shrewsbury might have had a hand in Rufus’s death,” the King finished.

Geoffrey was quite unprepared for this conclusion. Common sense told him to say nothing, but the King’s claim seemed so wild that he could not help but question it.

“But what would the Earl have to gain?” he asked. “It is said that he had a greater influence over Rufus than he could ever hope to have over you.”

He wondered if he had spoken out of turn, but the King only smiled. “That is reassuring to hear. I would not like my people to imagine that I consort with men such as Shrewsbury. But he has grown powerful under my brother-he owns too much land along the Welsh borders, and holds altogether too much power in my kingdom. And there is more. There are those who say that my other brother, the Duke of Normandy, is the rightful King of England, and not me at all.”

Geoffrey decided that silence was definitely required over this one. The supporters of the Duke of Normandy-who included Geoffrey-had a point. There had been a treaty signed by Rufus and the Duke of Normandy, stating that the Duke should have England if Rufus died childless. Rufus had indeed died childless, and, if the treaty had been honoured, Henry should not have taken the crown.

“I am certain the Duke of Normandy plans to invade England, and snatch my throne away from me-which is why Shrewsbury is consolidating his lands along the borders here. But the Duke is barely able to rule his own duchy, let alone a kingdom as well. He will need a regent for England. And who better than his loyal servant, Shrewsbury?”

It was well known that King Henry was twice the statesman his brother the Duke would ever be, and the Duke might well reward loyalty from a man like the Earl of Shrewsbury with the Regency of England-and that would be a tragedy for every man, woman, and child in the country, given the Earl’s reputation for violence. England would fare better under the harsh, but just, rule of King Henry than that of the tyrannical and unpredictable Earl of Shrewsbury.