The Owls of Gloucester (Domesday Series Book 10)

by Edward Marston

  Querengar the Breton and Abraham the Priest were brought in to hear the verdict. Both sat in dignified silence, showing no emotion when Ralph awarded the holdings to Querengar. The Welshman congratulated him without rancour. When the two men left, Ralph followed them out so that he could have a parting word with Abraham.

  ‘I am sorry to disappoint you, Archdeacon,’ he began.

  ‘It was a fair judgement.’

  ‘You will not revile us because of it?’

  ‘I have too much respect for you and Master Bret to do that. You helped to capture men who have been terrorising the Welsh commotes with their abductions. That reward alone was well worth the ride from Gwent. The news will be received joyfully when I announce it.’

  ‘Good. But what happened to your assassin?’

  ‘Ah,’ said the other. ‘You may well ask.’

  ‘Did he not even make it over the castle wall?’

  ‘He did not even arrive, my lord,’ confided Abraham. ‘I mounted guard myself until I saw someone sneak up in the dark. Thinking it might be the man I feared, I jumped on him.’

  ‘You are an aggressive man when you are roused, Archdeacon.’

  ‘Too aggressive for Tomos.’

  ‘Tomos?’

  ‘My companion. He fainted with fright. Since I had been out of Gloucester for most of the day, he had come in search of me. I only wish I had spoken to him before because he could have saved me from my sentry duty.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘While I was away, he received word from our friends that the plot had been abandoned. Wiser counsels had prevailed.’

  ‘Your disapproval forced them to reconsider.’

  ‘Partly that, my lord, but the consequences weighed most heavily with them, I suspect. In the excitement of the moment, they felt that they would be striking a blow for Wales by assassinating King William. They would be national heroes, lifting the foreign yoke from their native land.’

  ‘A complete illusion.’

  ‘I think they came to realise that. Had the plan been successful, it would not have liberated Wales at all, only subjected it to worse barbarities. One king would be dead but a more vengeful one would take his place.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘I am glad that my friends recognised that.’

  ‘So am I, Archdeacon.’

  ‘It means that they went of their own volition and not because I betrayed them to you. I can ride home with a clear conscience.’ He looked deep into Ralph's eye. ‘Thank you for all you have done, my lord.’

  ‘My thanks are due to you,’ said Ralph earnestly. ‘And not only because you rescued me from that boat. You acquitted yourself nobly in the shire hall.’ His face split into a broad grin. ‘This is a wondrous event. I am, for once, actually sorry to see a Welshman going home.’

  ‘I will give your regards to Archdeacon Idwal!’ teased the other.

  Ralph's grin vanished. His anger flared.

  ‘Goodbye!’ he yelled. ‘Ride hard!’

  Epilogue

  ‘Tomorrow, Golde!’ There was deep disappointment in her sister's voice. ‘You are leaving tomorrow?’

  ‘At first light, Aelgar.’

  ‘But why?’

  ‘The commissioners will have concluded their deliberations.’

  ‘They have been in Gloucester barely a week.’

  ‘Nine days in all,’ said Golde. ‘Don't forget that we arrived here well before you and Forne. Time has certainly not dragged. Those nine days have flown past.’

  ‘I wish that you could stay another nine,’ said Forne with clear affection. ‘Just when I am getting to know you properly, you leave us.’

  ‘It is not my decision. I must go where they go. I am simply part of the baggage.’ Golde gave a smile. ‘It always surprises me that Ralph does not strap me across one of the sumpter horses.’

  Aelgar was shocked. ‘He would never do that to his wife. Baggage, indeed! You set too low a value on yourself. Ralph would be lost without you. He more or less admitted that when he was here.’

  ‘I am sorry we did not see more of him,’ said Forne. ‘I fear that I was a little rude to him when we met.’

  ‘Extremely rude,’ scolded Aelgar.

  ‘With some cause.’

  ‘There is never any cause for abusing our guests, Forne.’

  ‘I did not abuse the lord Ralph.’

  ‘You are doing it now when you call him that,’ said Golde amiably. ‘I have told you before. If we are to be tied by family, no formalities will exist. I am plain Golde and he is plain Ralph.’

  ‘He's too handsome to be plain,’ said her sister.

  ‘I would agree with that.’

  ‘What about me?’ asked Forne, angling for a compliment.

  ‘You are almost perfect.’

  ‘Why only almost?’

  ‘Because I have not trained you fully yet.’

  ‘Oh, I am to be trained, am I?’ he said coltishly. ‘I did not realise that I was to be your pet animal when we married. I expected that it was I who had to do the training.’

  ‘You will each school the other,’ observed Golde fondly. ‘It is called being in love and there is no better education.’

  She had called at the house where they were staying to break the news of their departure and to apologise that Ralph could not make the visit with her. It was not simply a case of wanting to avoid any further friction with Forne. A final verdict needed to be given at the shire hall and he would be involved there until evening. Besides, since his arm was still heavily bandaged, Ralph did not wish to be put to the trouble of lying about the way he had received the wound. Forne and Aelgar could be told about the crimes at the abbey but word of the assassination attempt was being kept strictly within the walls of the castle. It was too sensitive a subject to be delivered to the local gossips. It upset Golde that she was not able to talk about her husband's courage in tackling the wouldbe assassin, but she appreciated the need for secrecy.

  Aelgar came to a decision. She looked directly at Forne.

  ‘We will see them off tomorrow.’

  ‘That early?’

  ‘At midnight,’ she insisted, ‘if that is when they choose to leave.’

  ‘Dawn is challenge enough for me,’ said Golde, ‘but there is no need to haul you two out of your beds. That is why I came to take my leave of you now. Enjoy your sleep while you can.’

  ‘How can I when my only sister is riding away from me?’ said Aelgar with unusual vehemence. ‘I will be there to wave you all off and Forne will be with me.’

  He grinned. ‘It is all part of my training.’

  ‘It would be lovely to see you,’ admitted Golde.

  ‘Then you shall,’ promised her sister. ‘It will give Forne a chance to make a better impression on Ralph. He has much ground to make up.’

  ‘Who does?’ asked her betrothed. ‘Ralph or me?’

  ‘Both,’ said Golde.

  ‘How long will this go on?’ wondered Aelgar.

  ‘What?’

  ‘This endless travelling you seem to do.’

  ‘I have no idea. If it were left to Ralph, it would end tomorrow and we would enjoy the simple pleasure of staying in our own home. But the King's word must be obeyed.’

  ‘We know that!’ muttered Forne rebelliously.

  ‘We go where Ralph and Gervase are sent.’

  ‘Well, I hope you are sent in our direction again, Golde,’ said her sister, reaching out to squeeze her hands. ‘Short as it has been, this visit has brought us much joy. I am so glad that we made the effort to get to Gloucester while you were here.’

  ‘So am I, Aelgar.’

  The two sisters embraced then looked expectantly towards Forne.

  ‘And so am I,’ he said willingly. He gave a vacuous grin. ‘You see, Aelgar? You have me trained already. I indulge your every whim.’

  ‘Good,’ she said sweetly. ‘For I have a lot of them.’

  The final day at the shire hall was punctuated by the small irritations they had learned
to take in their stride. One witness lied, another tried to pretend he had forgotten a vital document, and a third changed his evidence so many times that they had no idea which claimant he was really supporting. Under Ralph's firm leadership, the last case was resolved and dispatched into history. After thanking his colleagues, he gathered up his papers to put into his satchel.

  ‘A shorter visit than I anticipated,’ said Hubert airily. ‘Given the fact that we were distracted by other matters, I think that we showed exemplary efficiency.’

  ‘You always do that, Canon Hubert,’ said Brother Simon.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Especially when leading a murder investigation,’ noted Ralph.

  ‘Do not mock,’ said Gervase. ‘Canon Hubert's presence at the abbey was critical. We were the outsiders, Ralph. But for the fact that he and Brother Simon stayed there, we might never have been drawn into this whole business at all.’

  ‘I thank God that you were,’ said Simon. ‘The abbey was poisoned by those dreadful crimes. You and the lord Ralph helped to cleanse it.’ He saw Hubert's grimace. ‘With the assistance of Canon Hubert, that is.’

  ‘Not to mention a little help from the Archdeacon of Gwent.’

  ‘True, Gervase,’ said Ralph, who had now come to appreciate to the full the Welshman's contribution. ‘An extraordinary man. Whether acting as a midwife or swimming to my rescue.’

  ‘He should restrict his activities to the pulpit,’ said Hubert sniffily.

  ‘You mean that all future babies should be delivered there?’

  ‘No, my lord!’

  ‘Can we leave this distressing subject?’ begged Simon.

  ‘Of course,’ said Gervase. ‘Ignore Ralph. He is being skittish now that our work is done here. But tell us this. How has the atmosphere been at the abbey since Strang and his accomplice were arrested?’

  Simon smiled. ‘It is a different place altogether.’

  ‘It is as if a huge black cloud has been dispersed,’ said Hubert.

  ‘They know that you are leaving,’ said Ralph.

  ‘Abbot Serlo paid me the compliment of inviting me back at any time and Bishop Wulfstan was equally hospitable. Worcester Abbey is open to me whenever I happen to be in the county.’

  ‘They recognised your true worth,’ said Gervase without sarcasm. ‘It is a pity that they were not able to evaluate Brother Nicholas's character more accurately. Had they done so, much pain and bloodshed would have been prevented.’

  ‘Abbot Serlo appreciates that, Gervase. He will scrutinise his monks with far more care from now on. He and Brother Frewine both.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Ralph. ‘The Precentor is worth his weight in gold. I liked him more than any of them. Kind, honest, decent, humble, but with a mind as sharp as the edge of my sword. No wonder the novices turn to him. He understands them.’

  Hubert gave a flabby grin, forewarning them of a rare flight into humour. In a confidential whisper, he passed on information that caused none of them the slightest surprise.

  ‘They have a nickname for Brother Frewine,’ he said.

  ‘Do they?’ asked Simon obediently.

  ‘Brother Owl.’

  Gervase gave a dutiful laugh. ‘Very appropriate.’

  ‘Wise, old and feathered.’

  ‘But not the only owl in Gloucester,’ observed Ralph. ‘Bishop Wulfstan could certainly lay claim to that nickname. So could Abbot Serlo. And there were moments when even Abraham the Priest showed the requisite wisdom. But there is only one owl of Gloucester for me.’

  ‘Which one is that?’ asked Gervase.

  ‘The one whose hoot woke me in time to save the King. At least, that is what I believed I was doing. Accident or design? I'll never know. But that hoot outside my window helped me to catch Hamelin of Lisieux.’

  ‘And his wife,’ said Hubert grimly.

  ‘Both of them. What a fall from grace for the lord Hamelin! And for the lady Emma. Who would have believed that someone so beautiful on the outside could be so ugly on the inside? We were all at fault there.’

  ‘All of us, Ralph?’ said Gervase.

  ‘Yes,’ he explained. ‘We were vain enough to think that the lord Hamelin brought her here simply to dazzle us. Whereas she came on a much more pressing errand. The assassination of the King. The fact that she turned up at all should have alerted us to a darker purpose than tantalising three commissioners.’

  ‘I was never tantalised, my lord!’ howled Hubert.

  ‘What we lacked was a woman's intuition.’

  ‘Intuition?’ repeated Simon.

  ‘Golde had it. When she met the lady Emma, she knew at once that there was something false about her, even though she could not discern exactly what it was. Golde felt that she was in the castle for other reasons than simply calling on the sheriff's wife. So it proved,’ he said. ‘The lady Emma was there to spy out the land for her husband.’

  ‘She will pay the ultimate penalty for it,’ said Hubert. ‘And rightly so. Well, I think we can make one proud boast,’ he continued airily. ‘Thanks to our enterprise, we will leave Gloucester in a far better condition than we found it.’

  They all agreed. Chatting easily, they headed for the door. It was early evening and bright sun still gilded the shire hall when they stepped outside it. Ralph was sorry that Nigel the Reeve was not at hand for a final curt reprimand. The latter's friendship with Hamelin of Lisieux was now a cause of deep embarrassment to the reeve, and Ralph had intended to compound that feeling. That treat eluded him.

  Canon Hubert blossomed in the sunshine and grew lyrical.

  ‘Brother Owl was a bird of peace in a war-torn world,’ he said. ‘He sat, watched and waited with the wisdom of ages shining from his eyes.’ He turned to Simon. ‘I fancy that I have something of the owl about me.’

  ‘Oh, yes, Canon Hubert,’ endorsed the other.

  Ralph was less obsequious. ‘Does that mean you hunt at night and feed off vermin? Or that your feathers moult in summer? I know one thing, Hubert, if you are an owl, there is no bough you could perch on for there is not a tree which grows one big enough.’

  Hubert was hurt. ‘I was speaking in metaphors, my lord.’

  ‘Oh, that is different.’

  ‘Long experience has given me a degree of wisdom.’

  ‘I could not agree more,’ said Gervase. ‘Our time in Gloucester has imparted a little wisdom to all of us. Even you, Ralph.’

  ‘Me?’ protested the other. ‘What wisdom did I gain?’

  ‘You learned the value of forethought.’

  ‘Forethought?’

  ‘When a man hates water as much as you do, he should take care never to go into it or even upon it. Be grateful to Abraham the Priest,’ he said. ‘The Owl of Gwent. If he had not rescued you from that boat, you would have sailed all the way to Normandy by now. What would your dear wife have said to that?’

  Ralph needed only a second to find his answer. His eyes widened, his mouth narrowed to a circle and his arms went out like small wings.

  ‘Too-wit, too-woo!’