Dead Man's Secret (22 page)

He expected Sear to argue, but the older knight merely inclined his head in acknowledgement and trotted away, taking Alberic with him. Bale looked disappointed that there was to be no bloodshed, but obediently trotted back to see whether Pulchria needed any comfort.

‘I saw what you did,' said Geoffrey gratefully to Edward. ‘Thank you for protecting Hilde.'

Edward smiled, but his unsteady seat in the saddle suggested he was already suffering from the weakness that often followed such incidents for those unused to them. Geoffrey handed him a flask that contained medicinal wine, and watched the colour seep back into the man's cheeks. Then he rode back and reorganized the column, with him and Roger at the front, and Sear and Alberic bringing up the rear.

‘Sear and Alberic gave a good account of themselves,' said Roger begrudgingly, as they led the way out of the wood, alert for more trouble. ‘I would not have expected it. Richard and Gwgan did not, though.'

‘They are both unwell. It is unfair to judge them today,' said Geoffrey. ‘Cornald reacted well, too. He began shooting at the robbers almost instantly.'

‘I saw,' said Roger with a grin. ‘Cunning old Cornald, hiding his talents! Do you think we should turn back? We escaped harm, by and large, but it will be dark soon.'

‘There are lights ahead,' said Geoffrey. ‘Let us hope the villagers are friendly.'

The villagers were not friendly, but Cornald's heavy purse encouraged them to let the travellers use a large barn, in which there was plenty of clean straw. Gwgan, Richard and Leah lay down immediately, and Roger lit a fire and began to prepare a basic meal. Geoffrey, Edward, Cornald, Sear and Alberic sat with him, recounting the relatively easy way they had defeated the ambush.

‘Wisely, they concentrated their attack on us,' said Roger. ‘They shot at the knights at the front and rear of the column, intending to dispatch the warriors first. Then, with us dead or incapacitated, they would have moved in on the cart and the women.'

‘White surcoats,' said Alberic. ‘We all wear white surcoats, which makes us easy targets.'

‘Mine has a red Crusader's cross,' said Roger proudly. ‘And so does Geoff's. We are different.'

‘Not that different,' said Cornald. ‘They are both rather grubby, and the crosses do not stand out as well as they did when we left Goodrich.'

‘Perhaps we should don something else, then,' suggested Edward nervously. ‘I have enough gowns for everyone. Perhaps if we wore no surcoats, the next attack would not be so fierce. I have a lovely red one that will suit you, Sear.'

‘There will not be another ambush,' predicted Roger confidently, as Geoffrey struggled not to laugh at the image of Sear in a womanly kirtle. ‘We saw the last one off with ease, and the villains will not risk a second one.'

‘I do not want to think about it,' said Edward, accepting a bowl of soup from Roger with hands that still shook. ‘I will not sleep a wink tonight.'

Geoffrey was just returning from a foray outside, on which he had circled the barn three times to ensure all was in order, when he saw Bale and Pulchria exchange a smouldering look, then aim for the shadows at the back of the building.

‘Bale,' he said sharply, unwilling to stand by while his squire insulted the butterer quite so flagrantly. ‘Sit with Roger.'

‘But there is something I want him to do,' said Pulchria.

‘I am sure there is,' said Geoffrey coolly. ‘But he is not available.'

He nodded curtly to Bale, who looked from master to lover in dismay, but did as he was told, bald head well down so he would not have to see the disappointment in Pulchria's eyes.

‘You have no right to interfere,' Pulchria hissed to Geoffrey, coming close so she would not be overheard. ‘You declined my services in favour of your hag of a wife, but—'

‘You would be advised to say no more, madam,' snapped Geoffrey with barely controlled anger. ‘Or we both might regret it.'

The expression on his face told Pulchria she would be wise to back away, although she continued to glower. He glanced to where Hilde was talking to the servants, calming their uneasiness with her easy confidence. He felt a surge of affection for her, feeling he was much more fortunate in his spouse than Cornald was.

Restlessly, he went to stand in the doorway, scanning the darkness outside. He wished he still had his dog, knowing it would have growled to warn him of danger. He was not alone for long, though, because Delwyn came to join him.

‘The next time you save me, perhaps you would do it a little more gently,' he said. ‘I have a bruise where you grabbed me.'

‘My apologies,' said Geoffrey caustically. ‘If there is a next time, perhaps I shall not bother.'

‘There is no need for that sort of talk.' Delwyn stepped closer. ‘You are vexed, because I made a remark to you in anger earlier today, but I did not mean it. I would never harm you.'

‘I am glad to hear it.'

‘And to prove it, I have been considering William's murder for you. Would you like to hear my conclusions?'

‘Only if they do not come accompanied with another demand for the Archbishop's letter.'

Delwyn grimaced. ‘I think you should not confine your suspicions to the people in this barn – or the ones who are still alive. Do not dismiss Abbot Mabon from your musings, or Bishop Wilfred and Prince Hywel.'

‘Right,' said Geoffrey tiredly.

Delwyn leaned closer still. ‘And also bear in mind that Hywel is something of a saint, too. He is not as goodly as William was, but everyone likes him.'

‘Was he “something of a saint” before William died?'

‘I suppose he was, but you should not dismiss the possibility that he killed William for his secret and is now reaping the benefits.'

‘Or perhaps he is just a decent man. They do occur from time to time.'

‘Not in my experience,' said Delwyn. ‘Of course, if Hywel
is
naturally godly, then it means William hid his secret well. I have searched Rhydygors thoroughly and found no sign of it.'

It was distasteful listening to the gossip of such a man, and Geoffrey cursed the King for obliging him to do so.

‘Tell me who visited William when he was dying,' he instructed.

‘Virtually the entire town. Most doubtless came to pay their respects to a fine man, and there was certainly a lot of weeping. They included Robert the steward, Osmund the stationer . . .'

The list continued for some time, and Geoffrey began to despair of ever finding the culprit, when his list of suspects was expanding into the dozens.

‘The only people not there were Alberic and Edward, who were out on patrol – and they really did leave Kermerdyn, because twenty soldiers were able to confirm their alibi. I checked.'

‘You suspected them?'

‘I suspect everyone. The other person who cannot be a suspect is Leah. She had a fever and could not leave her bed. Her physician confirms the tale, and so does her health – she has never fully recovered and remains frail.'

‘Tell me about the day William was taken ill. You were talking to the Bishop in the kitchens where the rancid butter was. Why? I thought your abbey was at war with Wilfred.'

‘
Mabon
was at war with the Bishop,' replied Delwyn. ‘If you must know, I was offering Wilfred information about the abbey in an attempt to bring Mabon down. It is not healthy for the Church to indulge in internal squabbles. I acted as my conscience dictated.'

‘You betrayed the man you said you loved as a father?' asked Geoffrey.

Delwyn's face creased into a sneer. ‘I
did
love him like a father – it just so happens that I hated my sire, damn his evil soul.'

‘Go away, Delwyn,' said Geoffrey in distaste. ‘You cannot speak without lying and scheming, and I am sick of it. Stand back!'

‘I stand where I like,' declared Delwyn. ‘It is not for you to—'

The rest of his sentence was lost as Geoffrey shoved him in the chest, bowling him from his feet and dropping into a fighting stance as he did so, sword in one hand and dagger in the other. Seeing him, Roger kicked out his fire and flew to his side. Sear and Alberic were not far behind, and Edward leapt to his feet with an uneasy whimper. Cornald grabbed his bow.

‘What is it?' whispered Roger, silencing Delwyn's outraged spluttering with a glare.

‘Someone is out there,' replied Geoffrey softly.

Sear relaxed. ‘It will be one of the villagers checking on their animals – or checking we are not stealing their wretched pigs. You saw how unwilling they were to house us—'

He stopped speaking when an arrow thudded into the door above his head.

With a wild cry, Sear launched himself into the night, Roger and Alberic at his heels. Geoffrey was more concerned with defence than attack: the arrow was alight, and the intention was clearly to set the barn ablaze and incinerate everyone within. He raced for the bucket of water the villagers had provided, and dashed it over the flames, but they had no more sizzled out before another fire-arrow took its place.

‘There!' said Hilde, stabbing a finger in the direction from which the missile had sailed. ‘Go and stop him, Geoff. I will deal with the fire.'

Geoffrey did not waste time arguing. He sped across the darkened yard, jerking back when another flaming arrow passed so close to him that he felt its heat sear his face. Then he was among a pile of broken barrels, and two shadows, both carrying bows, were running away. He hared after them, but they were fleet-footed and terrified, and mail-clad Norman knights were not built for speed. He managed to jab one with his outstretched sword, but his companion whipped around with his bow. Geoffrey staggered as it caught him in the face, and lost momentum, which was just enough time for the pair to escape into the surrounding woods.

‘They were too fast for us,' said Roger, coming to join him a moment later. ‘But they were soldiers of a sort – they wore leather jerkins, or at least two of them would be dead.'

‘Three,' said Geoffrey. Armour explained why his jab had done so little damage.

‘Sear and Alberic are scouting the woods,' said Roger. ‘We should help them.'

Geoffrey obliged, and by the time they converged to report that the attackers had gone, Hilde had doused the flames and was kneeling next to Edward, whose face was contorted with pain.

‘It is not serious,' she was saying. ‘The arrow has just scored a furrow in your arm. Clean water and a little salve will see it right in a day or two.'

‘Well, it hurts,' said Edward weakly. ‘I was not built for this kind of thing.'

‘And I was not built to be knocked around by bullying knights,' said Delwyn to Geoffrey. ‘You did not have to shove me quite so hard. I shall have
another
bruise tomorrow.'

‘He should not have shoved you at all,' said Cornald, his face uncharacteristically cool. ‘And then you might be lying here instead of Edward.'

‘This would not have happened if my troops had been here,' said Edward. ‘We would have posted guards, and robbers would have come nowhere near us.'

‘Your rabble?' asked Richard unpleasantly. ‘I doubt they would have made any difference. They are not as good as
my
men.'

‘You were very brave, Edward,' said Pulchria kindly. ‘Your quick thinking in shutting the door saved us all; those archers would have had arrows in us otherwise.'

‘It is true, sir,' said Bale to Geoffrey. ‘Several bowmen appeared near the door when you dashed after the others, and I ran towards them, but Sir Edward shoved the door closed, so they could not fire in on us. They would have killed me, Richard, Gwgan
and
the ladies, and he took an arrow protecting us.'

‘Were they the same ones who ambushed us earlier?' asked Cornald.

‘I could not tell,' said Gwgan. His face was white, and he looked as though he might be sick. ‘They were just shadows. I am sorry I was useless, Geoffrey. These pains in my innards make it difficult to stand, let alone fight.'

‘What did they want?' asked Edward shakily. ‘Burning down the barn was not sensible; anything of value would have been consumed in the flames, along with us.'

‘Not if we dashed outside to escape, carrying our fortunes with us,' Roger pointed out. ‘I imagine the aim was to have us all silhouetted by the flames, so we could be picked off.'

‘Strange,' mused Gwgan. ‘Surely, they would have questioned the villagers first and learned that we carry a dead abbot in the coffin, not treasure. Unless they are interested in the butter-making equipment Cornald bought in Brechene.'

‘They might be,' said Cornald. ‘It was expensive. And do not deceive yourself that robbers are only interested in gold and jewellery. Our country is poor, and even a decent cloak is a worthy prize to many men.'

‘
Were
they the same men?' asked Roger in an undertone to Geoffrey.

Geoffrey nodded. ‘Yes, I think so.'

‘I was bored travelling between La Batailge and Brechene,' said Roger with a rather diabolical grin. ‘But things are definitely picking up. I love a decent skirmish.'

‘Well, I hope it is not going to happen every few hours,' said Geoffrey tiredly. ‘Because it will be a very long journey, if so.'

‘Aye lad,' said Roger. ‘But what fun!'

Nine

It was the end of another glorious day. The setting sun was a glowing amber ball in a haze of blue sky and salmon-tinged clouds, which presaged well for the morning. A blackbird sang somewhere in the forest, its voice a clear, clean trill above the lower murmur of the river, and the air was rich with the scent of damp earth and fallen leaves. Geoffrey breathed in deeply, feeling the satisfaction of having travelled a decent distance that day.