Hoodsman: Blackstone Edge

by Smith, Skye

  There was another wall and gate that separated the Abbey from the town, but its gate was also open. An old monk immediately left the gatehouse and came to meet them to ask their business. Thorold spoke for them and asked to see the Treasurer or the Prior.

  The first of the abbey's officials to arrive was the Hospitaller, who asked that the armed escort wait outside the gates where there was a long stone step for them to sit on. He then asked if they had any bodily needs while they waited. He sent two monks away, one to bring a more comfortable bench for the ladies and the other to bring ale for everyone.

  Prior Aethelwold came himself to fetch Thorold and the Countess. He nodded a welcome to Hereward, who as a Knight of the Abbey had the right to walk the abbey without escort. The Prior waved them forward into the buildings, and Hereward motioned Raynar and Anske to follow. They all were asked to leave their weapons at the gate, save for Hereward the knight. It was only when they were within the buildings that Thorold announced why he had brought his wife. That she wanted to redeem her jewels.

  Prior Aethelwold had a momentary look of worry or fear and then he shook it off as he took comfort in the realization that this was not his duty but that of the Treasurer. He showed them to the door of the treasury, but entered before them. They could hear urgent sounding whispers from the room. The Treasurer welcomed them inside and a monk, who had been in the room with him, swept some coins into a bag and left the room. The room was sparsely furnished and Raynar had to stand. The Prior excused himself to see to his other duties.

  The Treasurer was stalling for time. It was quite obvious. This man dealt with the business problems of the wealthiest Abbey in the North, and of it's far flung holdings. This was a trivial transaction that should have been delegated and been done quickly. Instead he kept talking about nothing.

  The delay was getting embarrassing when suddenly the Prior popped his head in and said, "We are ready for you know. We apologize for the delay." The Treasurer had a look of complete relief on his face.

  Prior Aethelwold handed Beatrice a tiny sealed pipe, and she confirmed in front of witnesses that they were her seals and that they had not been tampered with. The treasurer then heated a thin knife over a lamp and broke the seal with a quick twist of the hot knife. A very small scroll fell out of the pipe and he pulled it towards him in such a way that no one could see it by accident.

  The Treasurer then pulled a large accounts scroll from a stack of pipes behind him and asked for the date of the deposit. She told him and he scrolled quickly down to that date. He read the abbey's code word for that date, and then checked the mini scroll to confirm the validity of the mini scroll. Then he asked the countess for her code words. She gave them and he confirmed them against the mini scroll. "Thank you for your patience, madam. Though I know you, and have known your family my whole life, I must follow this same protocol with everyone."

  Prior Aethelwold stepped aside from the doorway and a monk carried in a small, well sealed chest and placed it on the table in front of Beatrice. She confirmed that her seal was still intact.

  "Madam, it is your choice whether you open the chest here in front of these witnesses, or not. It says on your ledger that the contents were witnessed here before the chest was sealed, so I would expect you would want to open it, also with witnesses."

  She borrowed the thin knife from the table and had Thorold slit the seal. Then she opened the chest and once again looked upon generations of collected jewelry. She heard Anske sob in awe at the sight of the jewelry. Beatrice lost the tenseness from her cheeks and gave Anske a smile of relief.

  "Now that my wife has redeemed," said Thorold, "I would also like to redeem my chest. It was deposited on the same day so it should be faster to find, though it may require two monks to carry it."

  The Treasurer lost his relaxed look. The Prior disappeared from the doorway with the monk. "Are you sure you wish yours redeemed at this time, sire?" The Treasurer was stalling again. "In these uncertain times with the Danish fleet so close, it is foolish to lose the protection of God and of Rome for your valuables. The highways are closed by outlaws and you would put your valuables to needless risk."

  "I thank you for your concern," Thorold said in a low calm voice, "but I have no choice but to redeem it, as the coin is needed to get Lincolnshire ploughed and planted, and to buy breed animals to replace those that were eaten last winter."

  "But surely you have the animals to plough and to breed. Yours would not have been eaten."

  "I may no longer be Shire Reeve, but I am land lord to many, and the refugees of the Norman harrowing ate every beast in their path, whether theirs or not. I have a duty to my tenants to ensure they can still farm and husband. I have brought with me an escort of the shire's most deadly archers. We will not be bothered by outlaws."

  The Treasurer bowed his head and said, "I am humbled by your goodness, sire." He rose from his seat by pulling himself up on a crutch and he limped towards the door. "I will return soon. In the mean time this good brother will wait with you," and a monk entered the room as the Treasurer left. Hereward followed the treasurer.

  There were some confused sounds from the corridor, and the echoing of indistinguishable but harsh words. The monk with them bowed his head and they could not see his face. They waited. When the Treasurer returned he was accompanied by two monks carrying a heavy chest. Hereward came in shortly afterwards.

  The procedure and protocol was the same for Thorold as it had been for Beatrice, save for the end. Because the treasure was in coin, it was not sealed, but locked. The Abbey had the permission of the depositor to use the coin for good works while it was on deposit. This kind of deposit had not require the paying of a fee, as the storage of the jewelry had.

  The lock was the Abbey's and the monk had the key. He unlocked the chest, opened it and then began counting the contents using a large scale. The contents did not seem to have been used for good works, and so were still the original coins that Thorold had left. There were a hundred and twenty marks of silver and forty small gold coins. It was a lords ransom, enough to buy ten villages.

  The gold was put back into it's belt, which Thorold then wrapped and buckled under his tunic so that it was hidden, and the weight taken on his hips like a weapons belt.

  Hereward sidled closer to Raynar and whispered, "I think we should try for Edgar's. I doubt they will allow it, but it is worth the effort in case they do."

  Raynar nodded to him and absent mindedly played with Margaret's ring. He wondered what she looked like now that she was heavy with child. He wondered what she looked like in a queen's crown.

  Hereward cleared his throat noisily to interrupt the fare-thee-wells that had begun. "I am here to redeem the chests of my Lord Edgar Aetheling that we left in your care on that same day." The treasurer looked like he would stop breathing. A monk went to find the Prior, and the Treasurer warned them that there would be some delay because the Lord Edgar was not present.

  "In our contract with the abbey, Edgar made arrangements that his treasure could be redeemed on his behalf so long as the two signet rings, and the two code words were supplied," explained Hereward patiently. "You wrote that contract, and both of us were witnesses. You also witnessed the knights oath I took due to that contract."

  The Treasurer hushed his voice, "We have a new Abbot now. He is making changes."

  Hereward had known this man for many years and regretted the position he had put him in. Thorold signaled to Hereward that he would speak for him. Having been a Shire Reeve for almost fifteen years had given him a deep knowledge of the law and the courts and of contracts.

  Thorold began, "The contract is with the Benedictine Order, separate from any king or pope. I am sure the Abbot must realize that it must be honored, otherwise the Order will have broken an oath given in the house of God."

  Prior Aethelwold stepped into the room in time to hear Thorold. "The abbot has just decreed that you cannot redeem the possessions of Edgar because Edgar is an outlaw. His p
ossessions, therefore, are forfeit to the crown."

  "He was an outlaw when he made the deposit. This did not stop you from taking it," argued Thorold

  "That was under the old abbot. The new abbot is more aware of the law," argued the Prior. The Treasurer was keeping his head down and his mouth closed.

  "Then under the law, the contract was not permitted, so it is void. Please return the property that was taken from Edgar under these false pretenses," demanded Thorold.

  Now the Prior was feeling the pressure. Both the Treasurer and the Prior had a long history of cooperation with Thorold. They both feared Hereward, who was a seasoned warrior. Truly they would rather have Edgar in front of them than either Thorold or Hereward.

  "It seems," said Thorold, "that you are both in a dilemma. You do not want to disappoint us, you do not want to renege on a contract, and you do not want to disobey your new abbot. Perhaps we should discuss this with the abbot directly."

  The two abbey officers exchanged looks of panic, but they knew that what Thorold had suggested was inevitable.

  * * * * *

  Unlike the uncomfortable stone rooms that the monks lived and worked in, the Norman abbot's quarters were richly furnished and spacious. There were two armed guards at the door. The three men and the two abbey officers were shown into the abbots presence. The women had remained in the Treasurers room with the valuables that had already been redeemed.

  The abbot was a large florid man who looked like he ate and drank to excess and exercised little. He was in the habit of yelling orders and he talked now in an unnecessarily loud voice. "I have been informed of the situation with Edgar’s chests of coin. It is beyond my power. I must follow the kings orders and hold the chests for the pleasure of the crown."

  "This contract between Edgar and the Order are outside the jurisdiction of the crown," stated Thorold.

  "My hands are tied. I was appointed abbot by the king. I must put his wishes above the wishes of an outlaw," argued the abbot.

  Raynar moved ever so slowly away from where the men were grouped by the door. There was another door to the room, probably to the sleeping quarters. Raynar moved slightly closer to it each time anyone spoke.

  Hereward could hold silent no longer. "Sire, as a knight of the abbey I am forsworn to protect the Order. I fear that your decision may put the Order in grave danger. We will return in a few days. Please use the time to consult with your chapter. You have many fine minds beneath this roof and they will advise you well."

  "Come then," interrupted Raynar, "we have far to go and we are wasting daylight." He purposefully left through the wrong door. A girl's voice protested from inside the chamber, and Raynar swung the door wide and stepped aside while making his apologies. The men in the room had a view of a young girl and a young boy naked in the abbot's bed.

  The abbot was furious and he turned on Raynar with murder in his eye. Hereward grabbed the abbot's arm in a steel grip. "Do not be quick to attack that one, sire. He is one of the most dangerous men in the kingdom." He could feel the abbot calming and he relaxed his grip. "Raynar, Thorold, perhaps you should return to the countess. I have Abbey business to discuss with the abbot in private."

  He waited while they left the room, and then he closed the door, both doors, and then perched on the edge of the table while he spoke. "I am sworn to protect the order, and I will to the best of my ability. Raynar is Edgar's man, or rather Edgar's sister's man. She is now Queen Margaret of Scotland. King Sweyn of Denmark is Edgar's ally. Sweyn has a hundred ships in the Wash and at least another hundred between the Wash and the Thames. He is moving his men into the Fens to protect the refugees from William's harrowing."

  He held his hand up to stop the abbot from interrupting. "Yes, I know that there are other reasons and versions of these happenings, but they do not change what I am trying to tell you." The abbot closed his mouth. "You have done a foolish thing today, refusing to let Raynar redeem Edgar's chests. You have risked the Order and the Abbey today and I will pray long and hard that this ends well. I was not jesting when I told you he is a most dangerous man, a Queen's champion. Lord Thorold and I both fear him, otherwise we would not have come here today with him."

  He gave each of the Abbey officers a hard stare. Two looked down in embarrassment. The abbot, however, was all bravado. "That man Raynar is a nothing. He dresses like a peasant. He speaks like a merchant. He has no title. He is a nothing."

  "That nothing peasant is the man who killed King Harald of Norway at Stamford, and the man who shot King William's horse out from under him at Senlac." Hereward stood. "Walk carefully Lord Turoldus. He does not respect you as a holy man, as he does these other two, but rather as a replacement for the sheriff."

  He looked into the abbot's eyes and dearly wanted to frighten him more by telling him that it was Raynar who had killed the last sheriff. "You are turning this burgh and the abbey into a fortress worthy of a sheriff, but in doing so you have also turned the Abbey the target for armies." As he opened the door to leave he said, "Send word to Thorold when the chapter has decided to redeem Edgar's chests. And be quick about it, else the next time Raynar comes, he will come with King Sweyn rather than with Thorold."

  As Hereward walked down the hallway he could hear the abbot bellowing at the other two officers. He said a quick prayer for any half truths he had just told on holy ground, and he also prayed that he had not just soured Raynar's life by telling too much.

  * * * * *

  * * * * *

  The Hoodsman - Blackstone Edge by Skye Smith

  Chapter 18 - Trouble at the Abbey in Peterburgh in April 1070

  Thorold did not wait for Hereward to return to the Treasury room. He motioned the women to follow him. Raynar and the monk carried the chest of silver, stumbling slightly under the load. They reached the Abbey gate where the bowmen waited, without incident, but there was trouble at the gate when the men tried to collect their weapons. The garrison had been called to the walls, and the sergeant in charge of the weapons would not release them without the permission of the abbot.

  Tempers began to flare at the separation of the Frisians from their weapons. There was a bit of pushing and shoving with the troop protecting the weapons. During the shoving, the sergeant grabbed Beatrice by the wrist. Perhaps he was trying to pull her to safety but that is not how it looked to Anske. Beatrice was fighting the grip and her skirts were swirling.

  Anske was also dressed like a lady, in long feminine skirts. With her own skirts a swirling, she walked through the sergeant's troop to the stack of weapons. Other than to admire her beauty, the troop of men ignored her. She walked straight to a quiver and drew out three arrows, and then with her back to everyone she chose the smallest bow closest to hand and strung it.

  When she turned around she had an arrow nocked and she immediately and willfully shot the sergeant in the buttocks. As she nocked another arrow the troop of men were frozen watching the wounded man gyrate and scream with the pain. Three of them ran to their sergeant and therefore towards Beatrice.

  "Move away from the countess, now" Anske called out. The men just stared at her until she drew the next arrow to its full. Then they moved quickly away from the countess and therefore away from the weapons. A dozen Frisians ran to their weapons and turned to face the troop. The troop backed away from them."

  Hereward had come through the abbey doors just as Anske had loosed. He had a sudden dark fear that his warning to the Abbot should have been given after the women were safely back to the ship with the treasure chest.

  The abbot and the other two monks now came through the doors and stood beside him and looked down the wide stairs at the scene in the forecourt. The dozen Frisians that had reached their weapons had now all strung their bows and were scanning the forecourt with their points. The sergeant's troops were running for the walls, and the garrison on the walls were calling warnings to each other.

  Thorold, Raynar and the rest of the Frisians were now at the weapons, while the chest of s
ilver was sitting on the last step, forgotten for the moment. Anske, with bow still in hand, was herding Beatrice and the old monk towards the cover of the gate.

  Raynar strung and loaded his bow. The men on the walls outnumbered the Frisians by three to one and had the advantage of the height of the wall. He saw the abbot near to Hereward and he turned towards him. "Abbot, is this your doing?" he yelled and aimed his point at the abbots face.

  Hereward shielded the abbot by stepping in front of him with his back to Raynar. "Stand your men down before there is slaughter," he hissed into the face of the abbot. The abbot peered over Hereward’s shoulder at the twenty arrows pointed at his guards, and at Raynar's arrow that was now pointed at Hereward’s back. He took a good look at the odds, at the wounded man being helped away by two of his men, at the strikingly beautiful woman protecting the countess with drawn bow.

  "Who is the angel with the bow? Is she for sale?" he whispered into Hereward’s ear.

  "She is Raynar's. Do you want me to ask him?"

  "No," the abbot spoke in alarm, then calmed, "no, I have enough already."

  "I wish Raynar had never seen the youngsters in your chamber. He is a funny one that way. He has been known to kill rapists, often, and with no remorse."

  The abbot looked at him in alarm. He raised his voice to the volume of a battlefield sergeant, "You men on the wall. Stand down. This is a misunderstanding, nothing more. You men in the courtyard, to your quarters." Other men passed on the orders along the wall.

  "How far does Edgar trust this man?" whispered the abbot.

  "With his life, with his sisters. It is why other lords fear him, for he is true. Is his point still aimed at us."

  "Yes, but the others have lowered theirs."

  "Good, then the crisis is finished, and you are safe." Hereward moved to pull away from being a human shield.