The shipmaster sat for a while, staring into the small glowing fire. His lower jaw, which stuck out so that his teeth markedly overlapped the upper set, made him look like an angry dog about to attack a tethered bull or bear.
'I'll take the ship and be glad to do so, Sir John!' he said eventually. 'It was sodding pirates of some sort who so cruelly slew Thorgils, my master and friend! It would be some measure of revenge if I could help you.'
John looked at his daughter and then at the two younger children, sitting wide-eyed watching them from the bed.
'You have a family to think of, Angerus - but with a dozen armed men on board, as well as myself, the constable and doughty Gwyn, there should be no great risk to you or your crew.'
De Wile looked across at his children, who were obviously well loved and well cared for. 'They have been brave since their mother died, Christ bless her soul! I'm sure if the worst happened, Mistress Hilda would see them cared for, as she has done for the families of Thorgils' crew.'
They talked for a while longer about the details of the proposed voyage and agreed that Angerus would sail the cog out of Topsham in ten days' time.
'It may well be that we'll see no sign of any attackers,' warned de Wolfe. 'Or it's just possible that some other privateers will take the bait, like those said to be working out of Lyme.'
Angerus shrugged. 'The sea's a big place, 'Crowner! You could hide a thousand ships just in the Channel, so the chances of them coming across us once out of sight of land are very slim, unless they know exactly when we left harbour.'
'That's just what we have been trying to achieve, and will do so again in the next few days, now that we have a date. You can tell your men that you have a cargo of silver coin for the king's troops, but for God's sake don't mention the soldiers until they actually turn up at the moment you're ready to cast off your mooring ropes.'
When he rose to leave, John made a point of going to each of the children to press a penny into each hand, as he ruffled their hair affectionately. Though he was not used to children, he sometimes had a yearning for some of his own when he saw a contented family like Angerus's. As he walked back along the strand to the tavern where he had left Odin to be fed and watered, he wondered if things would have been different if he had sired a few on Matilda, though she had never expressed the slightest interest in motherhood, preferring the sisterhood of the Church and apparently yearning only to be a bride of Christ. He was now forty-one years of age and life was slipping by at an astonishing rate, but he knew he still had the potential to be a father - all he needed was the mother!
The thought quickened his steps until he told himself sternly not to be such a damned fool, as an image of Nesta floated into his mind. Doggedly, he walked on and after checking at the alehouse to see that his stallion had been properly cared for, he turned up the side street and loped towards Hilda's grand house, its stone walls and two front pillars marking it out from every other dwelling in the village.
As he approached the heavy door, he felt excited at what had almost happened the last time he came here. He rubbed at his chin to see how much stubble had grown and even ran his fingers through his thick black hair in an attempt to tame it. Flinging the sides of his riding cloak over each shoulder, he tightened his broad leather belt another notch and adjusted the sheath of his short sword at his side. Then he pounded on the door with his fist and waited impatiently for Alice to open it and let him stalk up the stairs to the blonde beauty in her solar.
The oak boards creaked open and the maid looked out timidly.
'Alice, I'm here again to see your mistress!' he announced almost gaily, putting one foot over the threshold.
The young girl stared at him, this great man dressed in black and grey. 'But she's not here, sir. She's gone to Holcombe to stay with her family for a week.'
Deflated and feeling slightly foolish, de Wolfe backed down the steps and trudged moodily back to the waiting Odin.
The next ten days seemed to pass unusually quickly for John. There were a number of new deaths that needed investigation, one in Totnes which occupied two of those days, much of it in travelling. There were no more arrows fired at him, and with no possible means of investigating the failed assassination he had to write it off to experience. He was convinced that, like the killing of the Keeper, it was an attempt to extinguish his interest in Axmouth.
The false 'treasure' was duly brought to Rougemont by an armed party and locked in the sheriff's inner room. Both Gwyn and Thomas reported that the city was rife with gossip about the thousands of silver pennies destined for the king's troops in Normandy.
It was not the first such happening, as genuine exports from the Exeter mint had been made at intervals, albeit recently debased by the covert addition of tin. However, the large amount involved in this new consignment and the fact that it had been brought down from the Bristol mint made it a talking point in the taverns and churches of the city. John's two spies also confirmed that the place and date of its departure were widely known amongst the populace.
'If this doesn't reach the ears of those who would like to steal it, then we'll have to admit defeat,' said the sheriff resignedly as he bumped his shins on the six boxes of stones that cluttered his quarters.
During those days de Wolfe's relations with Nesta had improved, and he had spent several nights with her in the Bush, though he still felt awkward knowing that Owain ap Gronow was lying only a few paces away.
One day he again went down to Dawlish, as he felt he could not commandeer a ship and her crew that used to belong to Hilda without the courtesy of getting her approval. If nothing else, the potential danger to the master and crew made it imperative that Hilda was brought into the secret, as he knew that the welfare of their families was close to her heart. Following the rapprochement with Nesta, he decided to take Hugh de Relaga down to Dawlish with him, as the gaudy portreeve was not only the third member of their wool exporting consortium but would serve as an effective chaperone, as John felt that he might not be able to trust himself to behave if temptation became too great! The meeting was decorous and friendly, and John had no opportunity to be alone with Hilda, much as he chafed against his own decision to avoid temptation. Hilda readily agreed to using the cog as a decoy, as since Thorgils had been killed her anger still burnt against those who so treacherously slew shipmen on the high seas.
The circle of people made privy to the ambush plot was widening, but John felt that he could trust all of them not to divulge the secret until the moment that the St Radegund actually sailed. The troop of men-at-arms that would hide on the ship would not march aboard until the very last minute, when it would be too late for any spy to get a message to Axmouth to prevent a privateer from leaving to intercept the treasure ship. John still did not exclude the owner of The Tiger from being party to the murderous trade, and his servants in Exeter would be well aware of the departure of the vessel.
It was Gwyn, with his knowledge of the sea, who pointed out that any pirate ship would have to leave Axmouth at about the same time as the St Radegund sailed from Topsham, otherwise it would have to wait twelve hours for the next tide to be able to float off and leave the estuary of the Axe, by which time the treasure ship would have vanished over the horizon.
A few days before Angerus de Wile was due to take his ship to sea, John asked Thomas to scribe another short letter to his wife. He decided that though his wife's continued absence was something that he was getting used to - and which he was now quite content to be a permanent situation - he was bound as an honourable knight to try all means to persuade her either to return to him or at least to give some clue as to her intentions.
'I have to let her know that I have been called to London,' he growled to his clerk. 'Perhaps the knowledge that the king himself wants me to become coroner to the royal court will change her mind about staying in Polsloe.'
Thomas was quite ready to believe that Matilda's snobbery and ambitions of social elevation would entice her away from the
desire to take her vows of chastity and obedience. His master's thoughts were similar, but John felt that his duty as a husband and a Norman gentleman obliged him to take the risk. The letter was duly delivered to Dame Madge but, contrary to John's fearful expectations, no reply had materialised by the time he left on the St Radegund.
On the evening before the departure from Topsham, he went down to the tavern in Idle Lane to tell Nesta that all was set for the following day. He waited until one of Nesta's maids had brought him a thick trencher of bread carrying a meaty pork knuckle surrounded by fried onions - and Edwin had refilled his quart pot with best ale. With the auburn-haired Welshwoman sitting opposite to make sure he ate every morsel, he gave all the details of the trap they were hoping to set for the pirates. She had done well in carefully seeding the news of the 'treasure ship' amongst her patrons. As many of these were merchants or carters who travelled the roads of Devon and the nearby counties, he knew that the gossip machine would have spread the news from the Bush far and wide.
When he had finished his meal, they talked for a time and he found her in a pensive, reminiscent mood. She spoke of the stressful times of the past two years, of the burning of the inn when she had almost lost her life and of the miscarriage she had suffered. John knew from her mood that there would be no climbing the ladder to the loft that night. Before he left, she had a caution, born out of her regard for him.
'Be careful tomorrow, John. You can be too reckless sometimes - you are not indestructible!'
She bent and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then walked quickly to the ladder and climbed it without a backward glance.
Soon after dawn next day a cavalcade left Rougemont and proceeded through the city to the South Gate, drawing a lot of attention from the people clustered around the food stalls lining the main streets. The statuesque figure of Ralph Morin led the procession, erect on his big horse, followed by the coroner and his officer riding side by side on a pair of rounseys from the castle stables. Three packhorses came next, each with a pair of money chests hung over their backs, flanked by ten mounted soldiers. The rear was brought up by Sergeant Gabriel and another man-at-arms. All the escort wore round iron helmets with a nose-guard and jerkins of thick boiled leather. The only exception was the constable, who had a full-length hauberk of chain mail. All carried swords hanging from their belts, supported by diagonal baldrics over their right shoulders, and long sheathed daggers at their backs. This formidable group took the road south alongside the river, which led to Topsham, five miles away. They reached the port where the river became a wider estuary an hour before high water, and the boxes were quickly unloaded from the pack animals and stowed in the hold of the St Radegund, watched by a curious crowd on the quayside. Though the inhabitants of Topsham were used to ships and cargo coming and going every day of their lives, to see such a strong escort of armed soldiers was a novelty - and the novelty was increased when they saw the troop filing aboard the vessel, instead of going back to Exeter once the chests had been safely delivered. The crew of the cog were also mystified, as for the sake of secrecy Angerus de Wile had not yet told them the true purpose of this voyage.
His mate, an old sailor named Alphegus, voiced their concerns. 'We can't house and feed this lot all the way to Honfleur!' he exclaimed, as under Gabriel's direction the soldiers clambered down ladders into the hold and out of sight. He was already puzzled, as the ship had loaded no other cargo for the alleged voyage to Normandy.
De Wile placed an arm reassuringly around the old sea dog's shoulders. 'Don't worry about feeding them, Alphegus - they've got rations for a day in their pouches. We should only be out for a couple of tides!'
With the other five crew clustered around, he at last explained what they were doing. Though the coroner had been a little concerned at virtually tricking the crew into this venture, they were quite happy to go along with it, partly because they felt safe enough with eighteen armed men aboard and also because they wanted to see revenge wreaked on those who had caused the deaths of fellow mariners.
At high water they cast off and the ebb tide and light breeze took them down towards the open sea, where they turned south-east and began to cross the wide expanse of Lyme Bay. Until another vessel came in sight - if it ever did - there was no need for the men to be concealed, though all but de Wolfe, Morin and Gwyn did stay in the hold, most of them playing dice on top of the boxes of spurious silver.
The offshore wind was light and mainly northerly, unlike the last time John ventured to sea a few weeks before. Then the strong south-westerly hurried them up-Channel, but this much slower progress suited their purpose better, as it gave them more time to be exposed to any rogue ship searching for them. To increase their lingering even more, Angerus deliberately failed to make the best use of the yard-sheets and steering oar, so that they meandered away from the mouth of the Exe, slowly increasing their distance from the land. It was fairly hazy, and by noon the coast of Devon and Dorset was just a misty blur on the northern horizon. De Wolfe was beginning to fear that the whole venture was going to be a complete failure and a waste of several weeks of careful preparation.
'Where are we now?' he asked the shipmaster, who was standing alongside Alphegus, who manned the steering oar.
'About level with the Axe, Sir John,' replied the shipmaster. 'But a long way out. There would be no point in trying to flaunt ourselves as a possible victim within clear sight of the shore.'
Half an hour later that landfall had melted into the mist, though east and west, where the haze was thinner, Portland Bill and Start Point could just be glimpsed. The sea was calm, with just a slight swell passing under the ungainly hull - which was just as well, as the effectiveness of some of the men-at-arms would have been badly blunted by seasickness.
Those on deck stared into the distance until their eyes watered, feeling increasingly disappointed as the time went by.
'Can we turn around and go back for a while, to give them a better chance of seeing us?' demanded Ralph Morin, utterly ignorant of the ways of the sea.
The shipmaster shook his head. 'Not against this wind - and anyway it would be obvious that we were heading in the wrong direction for the treasure ship.'
One of the crew had clambered up the rigging and sat perilously on the centre of the yard that supported the single large sail. A few minutes later he gave a yell and called down to those on the afterdeck.
There's a sail away to the nor'-east. Coming out of the haze in this direction.'
There was a buzz of excitement, which was taken up by the soldiers in the hold, who were getting bored even with their gaming.
'How far away?' yelled Angerus, turning his pugnacious face upwards to the lookout.
'About five miles, I reckon.'
The master turned to the coroner and constable. 'Too far yet to see who it is. Might be a legitimate trader out of Lyme or Axmouth. I'll just keep on this course and see what they do.'
Morin motioned towards the hold. 'We'd better get out of sight soon and just leave the crew on deck.'
They went to one of the short ladders that were propped against the inner edge of the hatch-coaming and went down, to join their men. The hold was normally closed by a series of heavy planks across the opening and covered with a canvas sheet. Now, only a few of these boards were in place and the cover loosely draped across them.
Half an hour later Angerus came to the edge of the hold and called down. 'That vessel is coming straight for us, about two miles away. We are out of sight of land altogether now.'
'Can you see what ship it is?' asked de Wolfe.
'Not yet, just another cog, but she's going to cross our path soon, though I'm not making my best speed.'
'Perhaps you better had,' suggested Gwyn. 'If she is a pirate, her master will be suspicious if you don't try to get clear.'
There was some shouting and creaking of ropes and spars as Angerus went through the motions of getting a fraction better performance out of the St Radegund.
Aft
er another half-hour, de Wile called out again, sounding anxious. 'I'm sure it's The Tiger - she's closing on us fast. Another few minutes and she'll be here!'
Ralph Morin climbed partway up the ladder and peered over the hatch-coaming. 'You'd better act scared, Angerus,' he ordered. 'Get your men to run around and point. We'll stay quiet down here until they actually start to board, then you cross to t' other side of the vessel and keep out of the way!'
He motioned to the others in the hold to keep quiet, as sounds travel far across water on a calm day. They all drew their swords and a few had maces or long knives in their other hands, ready for action.
John felt the frisson of excitement that always pervaded him just before a fight. Gwyn was grinning broadly at the prospect, slipping his left wrist through the leather loop of his fearsome ball and chain.
In a few minutes they heard their own crew shouting defiance that held a fearful tremor that was not all feigned. Almost at once, a more distant yelling began and they heard, the creaking and splashing of another vessel as she came at them from astern with her port side towards their bow, then a lurch and grinding as she slid along their hull, deliberately smashing the steering oar to disable them.
There was a rattling as several grappling hooks were thrown over their side and the St Radegund lurched again as the two cogs locked together. All this was accompanied by bloodthirsty yelling from the crew of The Tiger, as they began to clamber over the gunwales.
'Right, men, get up and kill the bastards!' roared the constable. As the troop commander, he was in charge, but John and Gwyn were alongside at two of the other ladders, leading some of the men-at-arms up on to the deck. Angerus and his crew had wisely taken Ralph's advice and were running down the port side towards the bow, leaving the waist of the vessel free for the attackers to board. Five or six men were clambering down from the rail, waving knives and swords, as Morin and the others suddenly materialised in front of them.
The Manor of Death Page 27
