[Ela of Salisbury 03] - The Lost Child
Page 25
“Yet, God be praised, your heart is not hardened to the ills of the world like a battle-weary soldier’s might be.”
“And I hope it never shall be. A sheriff should not be concerned only with matters of property and maintaining the king’s peace. An orphaned peasant girl is as much a child of God as the king himself and deserves the same protections from the cruelty of men. It’s intolerable that a holy order should provide the channels to transport young children throughout Europe and beyond. And worse, that men who pledged themselves to serve God were interfering with them for their own indecent purposes.”
Haughton sighed. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard of such.”
Ela looked at him. “You know of others? How has no one put a stop to them?”
Haughton cleared his throat and glanced over at the box, where the stinking remains of Osbert Pinchbeck festered. “The church is more powerful than any man, even the king. To step on a bishop’s robe is to tread on the tail of a deadly snake.”
Ela struggled to compose her thoughts and drew in a deep breath. “While I fear God, I do not fear the mortal men that sully the sanctified ground of his holy church. If they do wrong they shall fear his wrath and mine too.” She paused. “But I shall think twice before asking you to step on a viper’s tail.”
“For you, my lady, I shall grab the serpent behind its head, should the need arise.”
His deadly serious tone made her laugh even as his words warmed her heart. “Let’s hope that will not be necessary.”
He sighed, and a wry smile tugged at his mouth. “With you, my lady, anything is possible.”
THE END
Author’s Note
Simon de Hal is a historical figure who did become sheriff of Wiltshire shortly after the death of Ela’s husband, William Longespée. It suited my artistic purposes to have him be less than stellar in the role, but when I researched him it soon turned out that he was an absolute supervillain. There are records of multiple lawsuits filed by his lawyers laying claim to other people’s property. The letter from the burgesses of Scarborough is lengthy and describes such violence and intimidation at the hands of de Hal’s men that local people were afraid to bring their goods to market. Ela must have been horrified when her beloved castle was handed over to such a man in the wake of her husband’s death.
Henry III’s Fine Rolls reveal that Ela did indeed pay a fine of £500—a great sum—to regain shrievalty of Salisbury castle and take up the role of sheriff of Wiltshire in 1227. Later she had to pay another fine of £200 to keep them. Talk about a racket! It’s hard to imagine the level of chutzpah that must have been required for her, a forty-year-old widow with young children at home, to demand this degree of power from the king—especially considering that Hubert de Burgh was the young king’s closest advisor. As is mentioned in book 1, Ela had coldly turned down a marriage offer from de Burgh’s nephew Raimund, observing his family’s low social status compared to her own (and the fact that her husband, though missing, was still alive). This must have keenly insulted de Burgh, who was arguably the most powerful man in the land and was by then married to Margaret, the daughter of King William I of Scotland. Given that contemporary chronicler Roger of Wendover himself accused de Burgh of poisoning William Longespée, it must have taken tremendous courage and self-confidence for Ela to stride into de Burgh’s royal sphere and make her demands. I can only imagine that she showed the same bravery and daring in the role of sheriff. I look forward to imagining her exploits in that role in future books.
If you have questions or comments, please get in touch at jglewis@stoneheartpress.com.
Copyright 2020 by J.G. Lewis
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Cover image includes: detail from Codex Manesse, ca. 1300, Heidelberg University Library; decorative detail from Beatus of Liébana, Fecundus Codex of 1047, Biblioteca Nacional de España; detail with Longespée coat of arms from Matthew Parris, Historia Anglorum, ca. 1250, British Museum.