30 - King's Gold (28 page)

‘Thought you had been riding for a while. There’s a lot of mud on your tunic. You must have ridden out after the attempt to free Sir Edward—.’

Sir Jevan smiled. ‘You are observant, my friend.’

The older knight’s eyes wrinkled in delight. ‘Even an old fool like me can see when I bother to open my eyes, my friend. I am Sir Richard de Welles. Coroner to the King.’

In a few moments the men had introduced themselves. Sir Jevan rode alongside Sir Richard as if equals alone should ride at the front of the party. He gave Simon a hard stare when he joined them. It was enough to make Simon begin to fall back, until Sir Richard said, ‘Hoi, where are you going, Bailiff? You think you’re too good to join me and Sir Jevan, eh?’

‘I thought you would want to have some privacy,’ Simon said coolly.

‘Well, ye thought wrong. Now, Sir Jevan, we’ve heard that some idiots tried to grab the Ki . . . Edward of Caernarfon, that is, from Kenilworth. Are they the men you were seeking?’

‘Yes. They killed the porter, Squire Bernard, and four of the garrison before they made off, but luckily we caught and slew several of them before they could escape.’

‘Must have been mad, the lot of them,’ Sir Richard said comfortably. ‘Moon-struck. The idea that a handful of men could burst into Kenilworth and do as they please was sheer foolishness!’

‘So we are all to join together to guard him on his way to another castle,’ Sir Jevan said.

‘Aye,’ Sir Richard agreed. ‘To Berkeley. Shouldn’t take long. Now, how many were there in the gang? Do ye know who any of them were?’

‘There were some who were recognised: two brothers, a man called Stephen Dunheved, and his brother, a Franciscan, Frere Thomas.’

‘You know these two, Bailiff?’ Sir Richard asked Simon. ‘You know half the felons and outlaws in the kingdom.’

‘No, I don’t think I’ve heard of Stephen,’ Simon admitted. ‘But the friar’s name is familiar.’

‘This Stephen is a renowned felon. He killed a man some years ago, and was forced to flee the realm. He abjured and travelled to France, I believe. No doubt he returned recently.’

‘If he is trying to release Edward, I greatly doubt he would have come over with the Queen’s men,’ Simon said. ‘She would not have given her protection to a man who was known as a loyal servant to her husband.’

‘I would doubt he told her so,’ Sir Richard chuckled. ‘No, a fellow like this Dunhead would have been careful to keep that matter secret, I daresay.’

‘Dunheved,’ Simon corrected him.

‘All the same to me,’ Sir Richard said blandly. ‘When his head’s off, it won’t matter much.’

‘Good,’ Sir Jevan said tersely. ‘He should die for the murder of my companions at Kenilworth. It was a foul attack.’

‘What of this Franciscan?’ Sir Richard said, throwing a look at Simon. ‘You say you know of him?’

Simon racked his brain. ‘I seem to remember hearing about him when I was at court with Baldwin. Wasn’t it Frere Thomas who was sent to Avignon to meet with the Pope? Our King used him as a messenger.’

‘It was said that he was sent by Despenser,’ Sir Jevan said, ‘and told to arrange a divorce between Edward and Queen Isabella. Our Pope refused to consider such a plea, so the fellow was forced to return empty-handed.’

Simon nodded. ‘Any others you know of who were involved in the plot?’

‘No, not by name, but there are some I would recognise by sight,’ Sir Jevan said with cold certainty. ‘And when I see them, I will kill them. One I hunted for miles to the south, and almost caught him, but he escaped because my men and I were thwarted by a peasant with a cart. I should have executed the churl there and then for his stupidity! Blocking the roadway, he allowed the man to escape. I hope to find him again soon, though. I am sure his face was familiar to me,’ he added thoughtfully.

‘He’ll be far away by now,’ Simon said. He shot a look at Sir Richard and caught a shrewd flickering in his eyes. It was enough to reassure Simon that Sir Richard did not like this stranger knight either. There was something about him that Simon instinctively mistrusted.

‘No. He was heading up here,’ Sir Jevan said. ‘I think that there is another plot being schemed to release Sir Edward. We needs must be vigilant. Very vigilant.’

Kenilworth

Baldwin and the rest of his party arrived at the castle in the middle of the afternoon, and it was a great relief to meet with Sir Ralph of Evesham once more.

‘My friend,’ Baldwin said, offering his hand, but then the two embraced and Sir Ralph beat Sir Baldwin’s back for a moment.

They had endured privations in the last year while both served the King in his last days of freedom. Those had been difficult times, with many of their companions being killed, while they were hunted all the way from Bristol to Caerphilly and beyond. Baldwin had a feeling that they were closer as a result than many men would understand. The bonds between these two warriors after their period of mutual danger were deep; their joint suffering had forged shackles neither could remove.

Sir Ralph had enjoyed the last months, from the look of him. ‘You are heavier than when I last saw you,’ Baldwin said.

‘I don’t think your waist is as fine as once it was, either,’ Sir Ralph rejoined.

He was a man of a little more than middling height, with strong shoulders and arms, and a square, pugnacious jaw. Yet his grey eyes were calm, and because he blinked more rarely than other men, he gave the appearance of great concentration.

‘How is the King?’ Baldwin asked.

‘Sir Edward is well enough, for a man who suffers so gravely the loss of all,’ Sir Ralph said, his face growing sombre, adding, ‘Please, be careful how you address him in this castle of enemies. Come, he will be pleased to see you.’

As they walked to the King’s chamber, Baldwin and he spoke of the other men they had known. Sir Ralph’s squire was recovered from a sword-blow that had scarred his arm, and two others with whom they had marched and fought, were joined with Sir Ralph, replacing two men whom he had lost.

Baldwin listened with half an ear, but as they reached the door to the chamber, and he saw the two guards outside, he gritted his teeth. These men should have been inside the chamber, guarding Sir Edward from attack, and instead they were here to guard him as gaolers.

‘Your swords,’ one of them said.

‘What is your name?’ Baldwin asked.

‘I am Sergeant Gilbert.’

‘Then, Sergeant, you will know better than most that a knight will not relinquish his sword for no reason. What reason do you give?’

‘I would not have Sir Edward of Caernarfon in danger, sir,’ Gilbert said stoutly.

‘Nor would I, which is why I will carry this sword with me in his defence,’ Baldwin said.

‘I have orders.’

‘And I have a fixed determination. Sir Edward has asked to see me. Open the door.’

Gilbert looked at him as though about to argue, but then he shot a glance at the other man at the door. That fellow shrugged, and Gilbert reluctantly stood aside.

Baldwin knocked. ‘My lord?’

Kenilworth

Edward of Caernarfon stood when the knock came. He had already heard voices outside, and although they had not been raised in anger, he was aware of tension.

‘You may enter,’ he said now. He felt that tingling in his breast again, as though he was readying himself for a sudden attack once more. The flesh of his scalp was moving, and he could feel his heart pounding in his breast.

And then his fear left him and he almost fell to the floor, so great was his relief. At first he could not speak, his throat closed with the emotion that seemed almost to suffocate him. And then, as the two men knelt, their eyes on him, he held out his hands. ‘My friends.’

‘My liege,’ Baldwin replied. ‘I am here as you ordered.’

‘And I am heartily glad of it,’ the King said. ‘I had feared that I would die before you arrived, but now, to see you both with me once more, I begin to feel sure that I will survive.’

‘We have heard of the attack on the castle.’

‘I am glad of it, Sir Baldwin. But you do not, perhaps, comprehend the full enormity of the attack.’

‘You believe that they may have been intending to kill you,’ Baldwin said. ‘It was my fear also. That is why I am here.’

‘I am sincerely glad of it, too,’ the King said. Then he glanced at the door, and beckoned the other two over to the window at the farther wall. He looked from Baldwin to Sir Ralph, and then placed a finger at his lips in token of silence. ‘There is more,’ he whispered. ‘A man came to see me before the attack on the castle, and he managed to pass me a note. He said that the Bardi were prepared to advance me money to help rescue me, and that they would give me all the aid I require.’

Baldwin exchanged a startled look with Sir Ralph. ‘Are you sure of this?’

‘You doubt me?’

‘I would be suspicious of any such message. At Berkeley on my way here, my liege, I saw the head of the House of Bardi, but he is entangled with the new regime. He provides the money that the Queen needs to pay her mercenaries.’

Edward of Caernarfon smiled. ‘And would they not do so, in order to inveigle their way into the affections of those in power, so that when the moment came, they would be ready? I think you will find that the Bardi are ready to reinstate me.’

Wednesday before Palm Sunday
³³

Kenilworth

It was the sight of the massive castle that made Simon realise the enormity of the Dunheveds’ task.

‘Christ’s ballocks, they tried to storm
that
?’ he breathed at the sight.

Sir Richard de Welles looked up with a measuring gaze. ‘Hey? Oh, yes, that’s the castle. A good fortress – solid footings on rock, I expect, with a lake for a moat. Not much chance of the fools getting inside without a stratagem of some kind. No doubt they were so confident they thought they could walk to the doors and open them.’

Sir Jevan shook his head. ‘They thought themselves too clever to be captured, my friends. They sent a man in the day before, and learned from him where the King was held, and then the next day they infiltrated many of their companions into the castle, pretending that they were bringing food and drink. Some of them had been delivering goods to the castle for many weeks. It shows how good their planning had been, eh?’

‘They had some foresight,’ Sir Richard nodded. ‘But without the ability to run to a set plan, all that was a waste of time and effort. They were fools. Better by far to jump upon us when we leave.’ He placed his hand on the crupper and cantle, and turned in his saddle, peering around at the men behind, then gazing off at the road along which they had ridden. ‘Yes. On that road. But not here, so near the castle. No, if I were them, I’d have the ambush planned for somewhere nearer the destination. Perhaps along the last five miles. Just at the stage when the plodding escort with the King will be both bored and tired, and ready for a break. That would be my plan.’

‘You have no need to worry about your plan,’ Sir Jevan said with calm confidence. ‘The rebels will not dare to try again so soon. They will need to gather their strength.’

‘Really?’ Sir Richard said with a smile. ‘Hah, that’s a relief. I’d thought that a mob like them, with fifteen men to spare in a frontal assault, may have one or two others about the place. This Stephen Dunhead – was he a local man?’

‘I think his lands were not far,’ Sir Jevan said tightly.

‘Oh. And the others with him – were there any knights?’

‘Some who looked like knights,’ Sir Jevan agreed. He glanced curiously at Sir Richard. ‘What of it?’

‘And all these fifteen men who were inside the castle, they weren’t known to the garrison as locals? Or else they’d have been taken, wouldn’t they?’

‘Of course.’

‘So, we have a man who’s a local boy, who has lots of friends, we can guess. Yet he also has enough friends who’re not known hereabouts, to be able to raise a little force that can come and attack without fear of recognition.’

‘Why do you assume he has lots of friends about here?’ Sir Jevan scoffed.

Sir Richard smiled broadly. ‘Because I have fought many times in me life, my friend. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it’s better by far to assume that your enemy is much cleverer and more populous than you and your own men. Ye know why? Because that way there are no unpleasant surprises.’

‘There will be none on our ride,’ Sir Jevan said with cold certainty. ‘Not with the force assembling here. And if they were to wish to surprise us, they would find it difficult. We leave tomorrow, as early as we may.’

Willersey

Agatha knew now that no one could help her.

She had gone to see Master William, the reeve, and he had quickly put her straight. No, the cart had not been there. It couldn’t have been, because if the horse and cart had been stolen when Ham was killed, the coroner would come back and fine the vill deodand for the stolen goods. But no one had seen a horse or cart, therefore no one could state that they had been stolen. Perhaps they were lost miles away, and Ham had walked home. It was possible. Mention of the cart now would only lead to embarrassment and expense, he told Agatha. And, he hinted, the vill which was expected to support a widow and child would not be so willing to do so, were that widow to expose the whole vill to more costs.

The law was terrifying. It was there for men, not women. Women did not exist in law except as chattels of husbands or fathers, and even though it was obvious to the meanest intellect that Agatha had been deprived of her family’s goods, she had no right to bring a case against anyone. She was only a woman.

But she was not going to surrender immediately on the word of the reeve. The cart and horse were hers. Jen and she needed food, and the horse and cart together were worth a lot of money.

A clerk in Holy Orders could help a widow. He had a duty to each member of his flock. A priest was educated, he would understand the courts and help her to win the justice she needed. From all she had heard, Father Luke had an interest in finding the cart, too.