The Wildcats of Exeter

Chapter Nine

His opportunity to meet her came much sooner than he expected and in the most unlikely place. Gervase Bret stole away from the noise and bustle of the castle that evening to spend some time in prayer at the cathedral. Since the time when he and Ralph had been caught in the mortuary like naughty children, he did not feel comfortable in the castle chapel and sought instead the anonymity of the minster church of St Peter. Its chill atmosphere was like a warm embrace to him, its cavernous interior a haven of privacy. He stayed on his knees for a long time but felt no pain or discomfort when he rose to go, only a sense of relief that was tinged with quiet pleasure. Alys had featured largely in his prayers.

Others were using the cathedral for silent meditation before Compline. He did not disturb them as he went quietly out, but his departure was noted. He had gone no more than twenty paces from the building when he heard footsteps hurrying after him.

Gervase turned to see Asa coming towards him, her face bright with a mixture of hope and apprehension. She stood before him with a deferential smile.

‘I saw you leaving and wished to speak to you,’ she said.

Gevase was embarrassed. ‘This may not be the ideal time,’ he said.

‘I will not detain you long.’

‘They will expect me back at the castle.’

‘Please stay,’ she said, putting a hand on his arm. ‘There is something I must tell you that I was unable to say in the shire hall. It is important for you to understand. Will you hear me?’

‘Very well,’ he consented, gently detaching his arm. ‘What is it?’

‘I know what you must think of me,’ she began, ‘and I do not blame you. In your position, I would think the same. You see me as nothing more than the mistress of a Norman baron, a welcome diversion for him from an uncaring wife. For that is what she is, I do assure you. I did not lure Nicholas away from her. He came of his own accord.’

‘I can well believe it, Asa.’

‘Can you also believe that I loved him?’

‘Yes.’

‘That is what my claim is all about: the love I was privileged to share with the lord Nicholas, who was my lord in every sense but one. Let me be frank. In a city like Exeter, I am not short of suitors.

Several men have found their way to my door, but none,’ she said with a nostalgic smile, ‘was quite like him. He was unique.’

‘So we have gathered.’

‘No,’ she said hotly. ‘What you have gathered is a false portrait of him.’

‘Indeed?’

‘He always aroused gossip. Handsome men usually do.’

‘That is true.’

‘But most of the rumours were cruel and inaccurate,’ she said with vehemence. ‘You were no doubt told that he was a slave to lust, that he kept a dozen or more women to satisfy his appetite.’

Gervase gave a little cough. ‘His fondness for women was remarked upon,’ he said uneasily.

‘Does that make him some kind of monster?’

‘No, no.’

‘Are you not also fond of women?’

‘Well, yes,’ he said awkwardly. ‘I suppose that I am.’

‘So are your colleagues, the lord Ralph and the lord Hervey. I saw it in their eyes. They are real men — like Nicholas Picard.’

She searched his face for a sign of approval before continuing. ‘I was the only one, Master Bret. He chose me above all others.

You saw that letter from him. What other man would be so generous towards a lover?’

‘Very few, I suspect.’

‘All of them make promises. The lord Nicholas stood by his.’

‘I must take your word for it.’

She pouted with disappointment. ‘You think I am lying.’

‘No, Asa.’

‘You think I am trying to influence you in some way.’

‘Not at all,’ he said. ‘I am glad that you have spoken out like this. It has clarified things. The more we understand, the better are we able to reach a considered judgement.’

‘I want what is rightfully mine.’

‘We appreciate that.’

‘But you do not,’ she challenged. ‘You think that I somehow tricked that letter out of him. You see it as some sort of payment for my favours. I know the way that men’s minds work.’ She put her head to one side and studied him quizzically. ‘I do not get the feeling that you are married, Master Bret. Are you?’

‘No.’

‘Betrothed?’

‘Yes.’

‘For how long?’

‘Too long.’

‘Do you miss her?’

‘Very much.’

‘Did you pray for her in the cathedral?’ He nodded. ‘Then you, too, have felt the strange power of love. You know what it is like to worship another human being so completely that you will do anything for them and cannot bear to be apart from them. Is that how it is with you?’

‘It is,’ he murmured.

‘What is her name?’

‘Alys.’

‘She is very fortunate.’

‘Thank you.’

‘And so were we,’ she emphasised. ‘Neither of us were innocents when we met. Both of us had a past to regret. But those mistakes helped us to recognise true love when it finally came. I would have died for that man!’

Someone walked past and looked hard at her. Asa became aware of how public a place it was for her confession. It made her self-conscious. Lowering her voice, she gabbled the rest of what she wanted to tell him.

‘I never sought any gift from him,’ she insisted. ‘He was a gift in himself. The lord Nicholas offered those holdings to me as a proof of his devotion. He wrote that letter in my house and swore that I would be named in his will. I believed him.’ Her head drooped. ‘Of course, I never thought for a moment that the time would come so soon when that letter would take on real meaning. I would far sooner have him alive than claim my inheritance. He was everything to me and I to him. If anything had happened to his wife, I swear that he would have asked me to marry him.’ Her eyes were moist. ‘Since he died, I have been distraught.’

‘I saw you at the funeral,’ he said.

‘They did not want me there.’

‘They?’

‘Respectable people. His widow, his family, his friends.’

‘Why did you come?’

‘I had to, Master Bret,’ she said simply. ‘I loved him.’

She touched his arm again and this time he did not remove it.

Disquiet did not set in until the next morning. When they parted, Ralph Delchard had confirmed their usual arrangement to meet for breakfast so that they could discuss with Gervase what lay ahead for them at the shire hall. When his colleague failed to appear, Ralph was not at first disturbed. Hervey de Marigny was usually the last to haul himself out of his bed. In any case, Ralph’s mind was still on the injury sustained by his wife, and, when Gervase joined him at the table there was a new subject to preoccupy him. Ralph listened with rapt attention to the account of his friend’s meeting with Asa at the cathedral, but took a more sceptical view of it.

‘It was no chance encounter, Gervase.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘She probably followed you there,’ said Ralph. ‘Asa must have spotted you heading for the cathedral and seized her opportunity.’

‘For what?’

‘Working on your sympathy.’

‘That is not what she did, Ralph.’

‘Then she is more cunning than I thought. Asa had you so entranced that you did not even notice how subtly she was influencing you.’

‘She merely wished me to understand her situation.’

‘So that you would recruit the rest of us to her cause.’

‘No!’

‘Asa took advantage of your soft heart, Gervase.’

‘It is not that soft,’ said the other firmly. ‘Nor am I so easily led astray by a pretty face. I am not blind, Ralph. I can see when someone is trying to use me. Asa did not ask me to help her in any way. She simply wanted to correct the impression I had of her.’

‘And did she?’

‘To some extent.’

‘Did she sound no false notes at all?’

‘Oh, yes,’ he said. ‘There were a few things which did not ring true. Asa spoke of being distraught at the lord Nicholas’s death but she seemed robust enough at the shire hall yesterday. She also claimed that he would have married her if his wife had died.

I was not at all sure about that. It is unlikely.’

‘Impossible!’ said Ralph scornfully. ‘Men do not marry women like Asa. She was deceiving herself — or trying to deceive you.

What else aroused your suspicion?’

‘Asa was eager to make me believe that the two of them had drifted together by accident.’

‘That woman does nothing by accident.’

‘Quite so. I think she deliberately chose the lord Nicholas and then surprised herself by falling in love with him.’ He saw the look of disbelief on his companion’s face and became defensive.

‘It can happen, Ralph. There was genuine affection between them.

She was never his harlot, I am certain of that. They were lovers.

He cared for her.’

‘Do you?’

Gervase reddened and Ralph burst out laughing. They finished their breakfast in silence before they became acutely aware of de Marigny’s absence. A servant was summoned at once and sent off to rouse the commissioner from his bed, but the man soon returned with the news that the bedchamber was empty. Ralph began to feel alarmed.

‘Where can he be?’ he said.

‘I have not seen him since yesterday evening.’

‘Nor I, Gervase. I never stirred from Golde’s side.’

‘Perhaps he went for a walk in the city.’

‘This early in the day? He values his sleep too much.’

‘Then he may be with the sheriff. Or somewhere else in the castle.’

‘We shall see,’ said Ralph, getting up. ‘It is not like Hervey to miss a meeting. And it is most unlike him to forgo a meal.’

He sent for Joscelin and the steward appeared within minutes.

When he was told the problem, he took charge at once, dispatching a number of servants on a search of the castle while assuring the visitors that there was no need for concern. Joscelin felt sure that Hervey de Marigny would soon be found and brought to the hall. Ralph was unconvinced and Gervase shared his anxiety. The pattern which the three commissioners had set each morning at the castle had been broken.

The servants returned one by one but none had located the missing man. He had last been seen leaving the castle the previous evening. None of the guards remembered his coming back. Joscelin did his best to calm the apprehension that was now spreading.

‘Let me organise a more methodical search,’ he volunteered.

‘We will be part of it,’ said Ralph.

‘I will find more men. The castle is large with many places to hide.’

‘Hervey de Marigny is not given to playing games.’

‘What was the last thing he said to you, Ralph?’ asked Gervase.

‘I cannot recall.’

‘Did he not talk about seeking out Walter Baderon?’

‘He did, Gervase,’ said the other. ‘But he can hardly have been talking to the captain of the guard at the North Gate all night! I sense trouble.’

‘There is one other possibility,’ said Joscelin tactfully.

‘Is there?’ said Ralph.

‘Some of your men have been visiting houses of resort in the city.’

‘They are soldiers, Joscelin. Entitled to their pleasures.’

‘I accept that, my lord,’ said the steward. ‘And it is, in any case, none of my business. Could not the lord Hervey have gone in search of like entertainment and stayed there all night?’

Ralph pondered. ‘He could have,’ he said at length, ‘but I am certain that he did not. Hervey de Marigny is conscientious. He knew how important it was to meet over breakfast this morning for a discussion. Something is seriously amiss here.’ He headed for the door. ‘Bring everyone you can, Joscelin. I will round up our own men. We will find him if we have to turn this castle inside out.’

Tetbald was annoyed. Having ridden all the way to Exeter in a steady drizzle, he was peeved to be kept waiting in an anteroom at the shire hall long after the echoes of the Tierce bell had died away. He took out his anger on the town reeve.

‘What is going on, Saewin?’ he demanded.

‘There has been a delay.’

‘I can see that, man. What is the cause of the delay?’

‘I do not know.’

‘You do not know or you will not tell me?’

Saewin’s face was impassive. ‘There is a delay,’ he said calmly.

‘That is all I have been instructed to say.’

‘I have been cooling my heels here for an eternity!’

‘So have I, Tetbald.’

‘Are none of the commissioners here?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Then where are they?’

‘I believe that they are still at the castle.’

‘Do they always summon people long before they are needed?’

‘No, Tetbald. They have been very punctual until today.’

‘Then why am I the one to suffer?’

‘Be patient.’

‘How can I be patient when I am wet and hungry? Do you know what time I left in order to be here before Tierce?’ He stamped a foot in irritation. ‘Send word to the commissioners that I am here.’

‘They already know of your arrival.’

‘Then urge them to begin their proceedings.’

‘I could not do that if the lady Catherine herself were here to appear before them,’ said Saewin, asserting his authority with quiet force. ‘So I will certainly not do so for her steward. If the commissioners choose to keep you waiting here all day, it is within their rights to do so. Nothing will be gained by trying to browbeat me, Tetbald. You merely blame a messenger who brings you bad tidings, and that is unjust.’

Tetbald was checked. Controlling his temper, he saw the folly of upsetting the one man who might be able to explain what was happening. Saewin clearly knew more than he was prepared to say. He would also be aware of the developments which had so far taken place in the dispute. Tetbald decided that it was time to adopt a more persuasive approach towards the reeve.

‘I am sorry,’ he said with a shrug. ‘You are right to rebuke me, Saewin. You are simply doing your office — as, indeed, am I. This is a time of trial for us and it has put us under severe strain. The lord Nicholas’s death was a blow which has left us dazed.’

‘I appreciate that.’

‘The foul murder has been followed by another crime.’

‘Oh?’

‘A robbery at the manor house.’

‘What was stolen?’

‘That is beside the point,’ he said evasively. ‘It is the fact of the crime which has wounded the lady Catherine. An intruder somehow entered the house at night. That is very disturbing, Saewin.’

‘I can see that.’

‘The lady Catherine was appalled. She is grieving over her husband and in no fit state to suffer another cruel shock. It has made her very nervous.’ He pulled himself up to his full height. ‘I see it as my duty to protect her from any further unpleasantness.

Not only has her husband been killed and her house broken into, the lady Catherine has to suffer the indignity of seeing her property fought over by vultures who have swooped on the dead body of the lord Nicholas. I hoped that I could quickly resolve this dispute in her favour and be able to take some good news to her for a change.’

‘That may yet happen, Tetbald.’

‘If and when the commissioners get here.’

‘Yes.’

‘So what is holding them up?’

‘I am not at liberty to tell you.’

‘Why not? Is it so secret?’ He produced an oleaginous smile.

‘Come, sir. Let us not quarrel. All I seek is an explanation. Is this delay related to one of the claimants? The abbot of Tavistock, perhaps? Or the lady Loretta? Or has some new vulture come to peck at the corpse?’

‘There has been an unfortunate delay. Accept that fact.’

‘I will if you tell me what lies behind it.’

‘The commissioners do not have to justify their decisions.’

‘What exactly did they tell you?’

He put a hand on the reeve’s shoulder and smiled at him again, but Saewin said nothing. Tetbald eventually gave up. Removing his hand, he scowled darkly and was about to issue another stream of protests when they were interrupted. A figure appeared at the door and gestured to Saewin. The reeve seemed slightly embarrassed. He turned to Tetbald.

‘I must go,’ he said.

Then he followed Engelric out.

The debate which raged at the castle was far more heated than anything which had taken place at the shire hall. Ralph Delchard was on his feet, gesticulating wildly, Canon Hubert, jowls shaking, was at his most determined, Gervase Bret was unusually agitated and even Brother Simon, normally a mute witness on such occasions, felt obliged to add his comments. Their clamour reverberated around the hall.

‘The proceedings must be suspended forthwith!’ insisted Ralph.

‘That would be madness!’ yelled Hubert.

‘Hervey de Marigny is missing. The commission cannot possibly sit without him.’

‘Why not, my lord? We have done so before on many occasions.’

‘I can vouch for that,’ said Simon gently. ‘The three of you have coped with many disputes on your own and could do so again.’

‘Devon presents us with more work than most counties,’

observed Gervase from his seat at the table. ‘That is why the lord Hervey joined us and he has been as able a judge as any of us.’

‘Able and upright!’ endorsed Ralph.

‘On the other hand,’ resumed Gervase, ‘I am not convinced that we have to bring our deliberations to a halt until he has been found.’

‘We must, Gervase!’ said Ralph.

‘We must not!’ countered Hubert.

Ralph waved his arms. ‘He is our colleague and friend. We must lead the search for him.’

‘That is the sheriff’s duty,’ said Hubert.

‘Do you not care what has happened to the lord Hervey?’

‘Deeply,’ said the canon, ‘but I also care for the important work with which we have been entrusted. It must not be set aside, my lord. While the sheriff does his duty, let us continue to do ours.’

‘We have a duty to Hervey de Marigny!’ urged Ralph.

Hubert was adamant. ‘Our first commitment is to the King’s will.’

‘Would you really sit idly by in the shire hall while a friend is lost and possibly in danger?’ Ralph swung round to Gervase.

‘Help me out here. Let me hear at least one sane voice.’

‘I am wondering what the lord Hervey himself would wish,’ said Gervase thoughtfully. ‘What has befallen him I do not know, and I hope for news of his whereabouts very soon. But I suspect that he would not want us to abandon our work on his account.’

‘Exactly!’ said Hubert.

Ralph was perplexed. ‘You are against me, Gervase?’

‘Of course not. I share your fears.’

‘Then do something about them and join the search.’

‘That is what I am suggesting,’ argued Gervase. ‘But that search must not only be undertaken in the nooks and crannies of Exeter.

Besides, we are strangers to the city and would not know where to start looking. No, Ralph,’ he said earnestly, ‘the place for us to conduct our search is in the shire hall. We always felt that the lord Nicholas’s death was directly related to this dispute and so is the lord Hervey’s disappearance. I am certain of it. Solve the dispute,’ he advocated, ‘and we solve both mysteries.’

‘Sage counsel,’ said Simon.

Hubert smiled grimly. ‘Our three votes outweigh you, my lord.’

‘I am the leader of this commission,’ Ralph reminded him.

‘But our judgements rest on majority decision.’

‘Only in the shire hall, Hubert!’

‘And that is where we should be, my lord.’

‘But it seems so heartless,’ said Ralph with passion. ‘Heavens above, man! If you went astray, would you want your colleagues to proceed calmly on as if nothing had happened?’

‘Yes, my lord,’ said Hubert.

‘It is indecent!’

‘It is a necessity.’

‘I agree with Canon Hubert,’ said Gervase.

‘You simply wish to discharge our duties here so that you can gallop back to Winchester and get married!’ Ralph was hurt. ‘Really, Gervase. I expected support from you at least. The lord Hervey is a Norman baron in a city which is full of resentful Saxons. Anything might have happened to him. Can you really turn your back on him like this?’

‘I am not turning my back on him, Ralph.’

‘You are putting your own selfish needs first.’

‘No!’

‘Then what are you doing?’

‘Directing my energies to resolving this dispute. Until we do that, we will never know the full truth. You must see that, Ralph.’

‘All I can see are three men deserting a friend in need.’

‘I resent that accusation, my lord,’ said Hubert.

‘So do I,’ added Simon.

‘We are not deserting him, Ralph,’ said Gervase. ‘We are simply seeking to find him by other means.’

Ralph snorted. ‘Ah! I see. Hervey is hiding in the shire hall. If we take our seats there, he will pop up from under the table to surprise us.’ His tone was contemptuous. ‘This is lunatic reasoning. There is only one way to find him and that is by joining the sheriff in his search.’ He looked round the table. ‘It is shameful that anyone should think otherwise.’

There was a bruised silence. It was eventually broken by Simon.

‘May I speak?’ he asked tentatively.

‘No!’ snarled Ralph.

‘Brother Simon is entitled to express an opinion,’ said Hubert.

‘He is a scribe and not a commissioner.’

‘I think we should still hear him, Ralph,’ said Gervase.

‘So do I,’ said Hubert. ‘Proceed, Brother Simon.’

The scribe glanced nervously around at the others before speaking. ‘I would ask you to call to mind what happened in York,’ he said querulously. ‘There, too, we were burdened with an immense number of disputes and there, too, we were granted the services of an additional commissioner to help to bear the onerous load.’

‘Tanchelm of Ghent,’ recalled Gervase.

‘A shrewd judge,’ continued Simon. ‘While he and Canon Hubert heard one set of disputes, you, my lord,’ he said, smiling at Ralph,

‘were able to deal with other cases in consort with Gervase. By dividing the work, you were able to speed up the pace of your judgements.’

‘Until the lord Tanchelm was murdered,’ said Ralph with a reminiscent glare. ‘Did we sit in session during the hunt for the killer? Did we forget about our colleague and carry on with our work? No, we did not!’ he stressed, slapping the table. ‘We suspended everything until the murder was solved. We showed respect for the dead. Thank you, Simon,’ he said with a nod at the scribe. ‘You have given us a timely reminder of how to behave.

We must do as we did in York and put our work aside.’

‘But that is not what I am proposing, my lord,’ said Simon.

‘No?’

‘The cases are similar but not identical. To begin with, the lord Hervey is simply missing. He may well be found alive and unharmed. The point which I was striving to make was this. Two commissioners were able to take responsibility in York.’ He trembled under Ralph’s glare but forced the words out. ‘Could not two also do likewise in Exeter?’

‘What do you mean?’ growled Ralph.

‘Simply this, my lord. I am suggesting a compromise. You wish to join the search party and must be allowed to do so.’

Ralph was determined. ‘No man on earth will stop me!’

‘We respect your decision,’ said Simon. ‘But while you join the sheriff, Canon Hubert and Gervase can continue the work at the shire hall. This answers all needs, my lord. Does it not?’

Dean Jerome liked to preserve an atmosphere of peace and harmony but that was not always possible when Geoffrey, abbot of Tavistock chose to visit Exeter. A pious man and a renowned scholar, the abbot was also liable to outbursts which could be distressing to men of contemplative inclination. His exalted position made him difficult to criticise, let alone to control. The dean searched for a means to hurry him on his way.

‘How long will you be staying with us?’ he said mournfully.

‘Why do you ask?’ said the abbot. ‘Have I outstayed my welcome?’

‘Not at all, my lord abbot.’

‘Bishop Osbern encouraged me to remain here.’

‘And so do I,’ lied the other. ‘So do I. Our community is enriched by your presence. It is always a pleasure to see you in Exeter.’

‘It was not pleasure which brought me here, Jerome.’

‘I know.’

‘I came to rectify a dreadful wrong,’ said the abbot. ‘Until I have done that, I will not stir from the city. If you wish to know how long I will stay, ask the commissioners. It lies in their hands to return to my abbey that land which was seized illegally from it.

Our cause is just.’

‘I never doubted that, my lord abbot.

‘Then speak to the commisioners on my behalf. Canon Hubert resides here with you,’ he said, ‘though I have somehow been prevented from meeting him within these walls. I am sure that both you and Bishop Osbern wish to see the property restored to my abbey. Help to bring that desired end about.’

‘It might be looked upon as interference.’

‘Not by me.’

‘By the commissioners.’

‘With whom does your loyalty lie, Jerome?’

The dean was saved from the embarrassment of having to answer the question. A novice brought news that the abbot had a visitor.

When he was told who it was, Geoffrey excused himself and scurried off at once. Ralph Delchard was waiting for him in the parlour. The abbot’s urgency swept pleasantries aside.

‘Have you arrived at a judgement?’ he demanded.

‘Not yet, my lord abbot.’

‘But my case is unanswerable.’

‘That is a matter of opinion.’

‘What is holding you up?’

‘A number of things,’ said Ralph. ‘One of which has brought me here this morning. We are beset by a serious problem.’

‘The only problem you have is an inability to make up your minds.

The abbey of Tavistock held those holdings in Upton Pyne until they were taken from us. Restore them and the matter is settled.’

‘Only to your satisfaction.’

‘And to yours if you value justice.’

‘What I value is the safety of my fellows,’ said Ralph with asperity. ‘One of them may be imperilled and just now his fate concerns me far more than some land to the north of here. I need to speak with one of your knights.’

‘Why?’

‘I have reason to believe that he may be able to help me.’

‘In what way?’

‘That remains to be seen, my lord abbot.’

‘Who is the man?’

‘Walter Baderon.’

‘Ah!’

‘He was the captain of the guard at the North Gate last night.’

‘I am aware of that, my lord, but I still have no idea whatsoever why you have come bursting in here in search of him. What is this all about? Which of your fellows may be imperilled?’

‘Hervey de Marigny.’

‘I remember him.’

‘He is missing.’

‘How does that concern Walter Baderon?’

‘The lord Hervey spoke with him the other evening.’

‘Yes,’ said the other sharply. ‘I know. And I would like to register the strongest objection. I will not have my men interrogated behind my back. It was a shabby device, my lord.’

‘I disagree.’

‘Then you set yourself a low standard of conduct.’

Ralph held back a tart reply. ‘All that interests me at the moment is finding the lord Hervey,’ he said. ‘He talked of speaking with Walter Baderon again and left the castle to do so. I need to know what passed between the two of them.’

‘Nothing, my lord.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘Because I warned all my men to be wary of the lord Hervey.

They were ordered to say as little as possible to him. I reprimanded Walter Baderon for being so careless when he was first questioned. He would not have been deceived by the lord Hervey again.’

‘I still have to speak to Baderon.’

‘Then you will have a long ride, my lord.’

‘Why?’

The abbot looked him in the eye and gave an enigmatic smile.

‘I sent him back to Tavistock at first light.’

Brother Simon’s suggested compromise was willingly accepted.

Gervase Bret and Canon Hubert accompanied him to the shire hall and began their examination of the last claimant. Tetbald was a clever advocate. Having scrutinised the relevant documents with care, he was able to argue cogently on behalf of the lady Catherine. A note of ingratiation sometimes crept in, but it was offset by an occasional lapse into arrogance. He held up under even the most hostile questioning.

‘Was the lord Nicholas prone to seize land illegally?’ asked Hubert.

‘No,’ said the steward.

‘Our evidence suggests otherwise.’

‘Then your evidence is wrong.’

‘Our predecessors found several irregularities relating to the lord Nicholas’s estate. Why was that, do you think?’

‘You will have to ask them.’

‘The returns for this county make sorry reading,’ said Hubert.

‘We studied them at the Exchequer in Winchester. The name of Nicholas Picard occurs time and again.’

‘The lord Nicholas is dead, alas,’ said Tetbald smoothly. ‘He cannot be called to account for any supposed irregularities. I am here to represent his widow, the lady Catherine, and shield her from further distress. The will lies before you. As you can see, all property and worldly goods of the lord Nicholas have been bequeathed to his widow.’ He became almost cocky. ‘That document, along with all the others I have produced, surely seals the dispute in our favour.’

‘No,’ said Gervase.

‘Why not?’

‘Because those holdings may not have been his to give. Our task is to establish whether or not the lord Nicholas acquired that land by just means or by seizure. If the latter is the case,’

he cautioned, ‘then the portion of the will relating to Upton Pyne is rendered invalid.’

Tetbald protested and the argument rumbled on for another hour. The commissioners dismissed him but told him that he would be summoned before them again. The steward stalked out.

Hoping for a final decision, he was disappointed to be sent away without one and he was now regretting the boasts with which he had left the manor house. On his return to the lady Catherine, he would be forced to show more humility.

Hubert was at once impressed and vexed by the man.

‘He spoke well enough,’ he said, ‘and knows every detail of the lord Nicholas’s tenure, but I found his manner irritating at times.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Gervase. ‘He was far too unctuous for my liking.’

‘It was that proprietorial tone which irked me. The fellow is only the steward yet there were moments when he sounded like the beneficiary.’

‘Perhaps he is.’

The thought was intriguing. Not for the first time, Hubert provided an insight which set up a whole train of new possibilities.

Gervase’s mind was racing. One of the images which kept returning was that of Nicholas Picard’s funeral where Tetbald escorted the widow of the deceased as if he were one of the chief mourners.

It was time to break for refreshment before recalling one of the other witnesses for the second time. Gervase was about to rise from his seat when one of the sentries came into the hall. He bore a small packet in his hand and offered it to Gervase.

‘This bears your name, Master Bret,’ he said.

‘Who gave it to you?’

‘I do not know. It was tossed out of the crowd at us as we stood outside the hall. We have no idea who threw it or what it contains.’

Gervase thanked him, sent him on his way, then inspected the package. It was a bundle of letters, bound together by a ribbon.

His name had been scrawled across the back of one missive.

Watched by the others, he undid the ribbon and spread the letters out on the table. Then he opened one of them. Gervase read no more than a few lines before his jaw dropped.