Michael Jecks

The Outlaws of Ennor

Prologue

He couldn’t stay below decks, it was too stomach-churning with the ceiling apparently remaining still while his head and belly told him it was swaying violently to and fro, whirling wildly through the roiling waters. Instead, while his companions groaned and bemoaned their fate between bursts of retching, the tall knight with the soiled white tunic made his way up to the deck.

Sir Baldwin Furnshill sniffed the air and felt his temper improving as the wind flung salt spray at his face. It was refreshing, invigorating. He walked carefully to the mast, grabbing at stanchions and ropes on the way, and, when he reached it, took hold of a convenient cord and leaned back so that he could stare up at the sail.

Some twenty or more yards above him, Baldwin could see a man sitting with his buttocks resting on a short plank of wood. Like all the sailors, this fellow seemed unworried by the ship’s movement. He held on with an arm hooked about a rope, his thighs wrapped about the mast in front of him as he surveyed the horizon with a careless ease. Baldwin had noticed so many other sailors up there, all demonstrating the same indifference to height. The knight, who treated even short ladders with a degree of trepidation, felt quite faint to think of being so high. One slip, he told himself …

It was better to avert his gaze. The sail itself was enormously impressive; that the thick woollen material could harness the power of the wind and propel this ship, the Anne, in almost any direction, wherever the master chose, bellowing his instructions to the helmsman, seemed almost God-like, and entirely thrilling.

While the daylight lasted, all was well, he knew. If it was dark, he might have cause for concern because here, in the sea between Galicia and England, there were often alarming waves and sudden squalls, but at least with the compass held in full view of the helmsman, and with the lack of land in sight and several hours before dark, they should be safe, especially now, in the late summer of 1323. Such foul weather was rare at this time of year. It was only dangerous at night, when the compass couldn’t be seen (since this elderly ship had no binnacle with an enclosed candle to show the way) and rocks and other hazards might be hidden out there in the murk. Too many sailors died each year for Baldwin to be sanguine about their chances of survival in such conditions. How men could become inured to a life on the sea was beyond his comprehension. For him, sailing was a necessary but often unpleasant experience; he would never be able to actually enjoy it.

The only joy he felt in his own heart was at the thought that he would soon be home again. He had a bone-deep craving to be there. He missed his wife Jeanne, his young daughter Richalda, his comrade Edgar … and his dogs. It felt as though he had been away from Furnshill for years, rather than a few months. For Simon, his old friend, it must be even worse. The fellow had never spent an extended period away from his country, let alone from his wife and daughter. He’d only ever left his home for a night or two at a time. Even when he was called away by his lord, he tended to bring his wife with him. Now Simon was returning to a new job and new responsibilities. That would make the homecoming more exciting: more of a challenge.

A sudden lurch made Baldwin smile. Simon was a lousy sailor, and right now, Baldwin knew he’d be heaving and retching on an empty stomach. He’d be good for nothing for days after all this.

Baldwin looked up at the mast again, listening to the crackle of the sail, the whining of the wind in the shrouds. The top of the mast inscribed a lazy circle against the sky, and Baldwin was again glad that he had not accepted the lunch offered to him by the cabin-boy, Hamo.

At the time it had been the sight of the runny-nosed brat which had put him off, rather than the ship’s movement. Hamo was a short, rickets-ridden, underfed boy with a moon-like, pale face, whose eyes were hollow with exhaustion. He was filthy. And scrawny too; he looked swamped by the linen shirt made for a grown man, and his bare feet were already as horny as those of the older sailors, but at least he was quick-witted and bright. Baldwin felt sorry for the lad, was often amused by his chatter, but was repelled by the thought that Hamo could prepare Baldwin’s food or touch his bread. Not that there was much — already that which they had brought with them was all but used up, and they couldn’t venture inland to buy more, not in this weather. Better to stay away from land until the wind died a little.

The master stood near the helmsman. He was a powerful-looking man, this Gervase from Truro, and Baldwin instinctively liked him. He stood only as high as Baldwin’s breast, but he had the thick thighs and biceps of a fighting man, and the face of an elderly peasant, wrinkled and brown as a baulk of ancient oak. When his expression changed, Baldwin could almost hear the muscles squeaking, as though they were composed of wooden fibres as tough as those of the ship herself. Not that Gervase’s expression altered very often. Usually, as now, his face was set in a grim scowl, eyes narrowed against sun and salt, his brow creased into a thousand furrows. Even when he joked, he remained po-faced, a fact that always confused Simon. The plain-speaking Bailiff was easier with men who smiled occasionally. With Gervase, a man could not be sure when he was serious or making fun.

Now Gervase was crossing the deck beneath the huge rectangular sail, his manner thoughtful. He turned his face upwards, then back to the horizon with a glower, as though he was challenging the sea to try to sink him.

‘Are you well?’ he roared when he caught Baldwin’s eye. He had a pleasing cadence to his voice, like so many of his countrymen.

Against the squeaking of timbers, the howling of the wind in among the sheets and shrouds, the thump and hiss of water at the hull, both men had to bellow to be heard.

‘As well as may be expected, I think,’ Baldwin cried back, grabbing hold of a rope as the ship bucked beneath him. A fine mist of spray was hurled up over the deck as the ship crashed into a high wave.

‘This is nothing. You should see her in a bad squall!’ the master shouted without humour, his knees flexing to accommodate the deck’s movement. Then he gave a slow smile.

It was the sort of smile an esquire might wear while speaking to a boy who had just been unhorsed and winded by the quintain during weapons training. Many an esquire would take pleasure in describing how much more painful the shock of falling would be while wearing armour, or when prodded from one’s seat by a lance in the lists. Professionals, as Baldwin knew, always took pleasure in the anguish of those unused to their environment, no matter whether it was a seaman or a man-at-arms. There was a curious delight in the sight of others suffering an experience to which they themselves were grown immune.

‘Aye, and you should join me for a ride in the lists some day,’ Baldwin growled, but not loudly enough to reach the master, who was already striding back towards the helmsman.

Baldwin was glad to be alone again. He was a tall man, with features bronzed by the summer’s travelling. Thick in the neck and shoulder from many years of practising with weapons, he was strong and healthy for a man who was about fifty years old, but he was always conscious of the size of his belly, and at present he was keen to return to normality.

He was content with thoughts of his wife and the warm homecoming he could expect — but other, less attractive thoughts, occupied him, too. His dark eyes stared unseeing at the horizon, brow furrowed. With the deep tracks at either side of his mouth, lines graven by years of doubt and sorrow, the intensity of his expression made him look stern, an impression which was enhanced by the thin black beard that followed the line of his jaw. It was neat and trimmed, but oddly out of place on the face of a modern knight, and it gave Baldwin a curiously intimidating look.

His thoughts were grim enough. When he had left England, the country was on the brink of disaster. The King’s rapacious advisers, the Despensers, father and son, were setting the entire country against themselves, and by association, against the King himself. Baldwin was convinced that the realm must force the Despensers from the reins of power, and he hoped it could be done without more bloodshed. The Despenser wars of two years before had demonstrated that the Despensers could only be removed by force; they were too firmly installed in the centre of power, like spiders in their webs: the King and his realm their prey. Yet those who had once possessed the strength and will to destroy them were now all dead or scattered. The Welsh March was in uproar: the Marcher lords, who once had controlled the dangerous borderlands, were crushed. The Despensers had tried to take over the whole of the Welsh territories, and when the Marchers had rebelled, complaining about the extortion and theft of the invaders, they were themselves broken, imprisoned or forced to flee the realm. There was no one left around whom an opposition could form.

And even if there were, Baldwin told himself, they would be keeping quiet. In the threatening atmosphere that pervaded the kingdom, no man wished to put himself forward as an opponent to the King or his favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger.

The knight was roused from his gloomy reverie by a sudden movement. It was the master, who had snapped his head around and was staring up at the mast once more, a questioning glare on his face.

Following the master’s look, Baldwin saw that the sailor who had been lounging up at the mast-top was now peering out to the east, his whole posture one of vigilance. He roared something down to the deck and pointed.

‘God’s turds!’ the master swore, and reached for the nearest shroud. As agile as a monkey, he swung himself upwards climbing until he could stand at the side of the lookout. Then he dropped down, hand over hand, legs crossed about the rope, and as he came, he bawled with all his might.

‘Pirates! Breton pirates!’

A gabbled stream of commands followed, and the Anne turned her bows westwards. Immediately, the ship began to make heavier weather, the prow rolling and twisting against the horizon, but it apparently didn’t affect the master as he struggled with a heavy crate whose lid had jammed. He prised it off with a crowbar, and Baldwin could see it was filled with weapons.

‘So, Sir Baldwin. This should make your voyage more memorable!’ Gervase grunted when he noticed the knight’s glance.

‘Perhaps. I think I should be agreeably satisfied without excitement,’ Baldwin replied easily. He would not show a sailor that he could be alarmed by mere Breton thieves, and intentionally did not so much as glance behind to see what manner of boat was making towards them.

But although he wanted to hide his feelings, he could not help but feel his sword and make certain that the blade moved easily in the scabbard.

He had the feeling that he might soon need to use it.

On the island of Ennor, William of Carkill opened his door and peered out; a short, but thick-bodied man, he had a round head and almost no discernible neck. The wind was picking up, and the sea was turning a grey colour, the wavetops whipped white.

Born near the River Tamar, William had not seen the sea until he was more than five-and-twenty years old and already a priest. There hadn’t seemed much point in going to look at a mass of water. Then he had sailed here, first to St Elidius, and more recently to Ennor, to his little church of St Mary’s, and he had loved the place immediately.

The church was set at the western edge of Porthenor, the ‘doorway’ to Ennor, the place where a boat could put in or go out. Here the church stood, high above the water, so that it should be safe even if there were a storm. There was a monk on St Nicholas Island who remembered storms which had brought the seas up the beach as far as the doors of his church; the saltwater had washed through the priory’s main undercroft, and it was only the speed of the monks that had rescued their wine.

Those storms must have been terrible, William thought. Not that the idea worried him. He had an entirely fatalistic attitude to life. If God wanted to take him, He would, and that would be that. In the meantime, William intended making the best fist of his life as possible.

On the opposite side of the bay he could see the cottages of the fishermen and peasants in the little town of La Val, as the monks from Tavistock called it. La Val — ‘Down There’. It was a silly name for the place, but William rather liked it. It made him feel as though he was set apart, up here on his hillside, peaceful in his isolation.

In the bay in front of him, he saw a small boat come racing in on the wind. That was strange in its own right. Usually ships had to make their way laboriously against the wind when they came up into this bay. The fact that this vessel was speeding along must mean that the wind had changed direction again. William gazed back out to sea and felt the first prickings of concern.

Far off to the east and south, a mass of blackness loomed menacingly on the horizon. It was the sort of weather that broke doors, tore away roofs, slaughtered cattle, and dropped tree limbs on unsuspecting fools as they lay in their beds. Awesome, impressive, and as terrible as God’s rage. If this storm came here and struck the islands, William reckoned he would be called out to many a burial.

The melancholy thought made him decide. He had a small flock of sheep, and before this weather hit, he must bed them down. Otherwise the lot would disperse all over the island … and there were some people who were less trustworthy than others. Better that he should prevent a peasant from being tempted. One of his lambs would be enough meat for a month for most of the families here, and many would be pleased to accept such a gift without asking God why He had so enriched them.

A sharp gust blew at him, hurling salty mizzle at his face, and he glanced back at the sea, murmuring a short prayer. Before long night would fall, and then any poor devils out there on the water would be at God’s mercy. It would be a terrible death for those who were thrown against the cruel spurs of rock that surrounded the islands. William set his jaw at the thought, then marched off to the lean-to shed behind his church. Stabbing a forkful of hay, he thrust it over his shoulder and followed the mud-filled track that led upwards to the fields that were a part of his glebe behind the church.

Here, he whistled and called to his little flock. A boy from La Val was there to guard them, but tonight William commanded him to return home. If the foul weather came here, it would be cruel to keep the lad out in the elements. Besides, as William gathered up his flock and took them down to the little rough-walled shed at the bottom of the pasture, he reflected that there was little point in the lad remaining. Protection against animals was unnecessary here. There were no wolves, no foxes; the worst pests were crows and dogs, and neither of them would be out once the storm hit.

There was a rock set at the highest point of his wall, where he often sat to muse and plot his sermons. The view from here, over the seas towards Geow and beyond, was always fascinating to him, and he found his thoughts cleared even on his worst days. Here he could create sermons even when in a lousy mood. Just the sight of ships on the sea made his heart swell with joy, and the thought of their cargos made the words leap into his mind.

Today he gazed about him anxiously. Out to sea there was no sign of any sails, and that at least was a relief. William wouldn’t want to think of a ship approaching the coast in this wind. It was already pulling at his habit, snapping at his cowl, a chill, bitter wind that felt as though it held sparks of ice even though it was too early in the year for that. The whipping at his skin set his cheeks tingling, as though they were licked by a hundred tiny candleflames. ‘Pity the poor mariner,’ he thought aloud.

Out to sea, he could make out the islands of Agnas, with Anete beyond, their shapes thrown into stark relief as the sea exploded into white mountains and then subsided against the rocks that fringed them. The sight was awesome, and the priest sat there entranced for a long while, until his buttocks told him that it was too chill to remain here.

Standing, he found himself facing the castle on its little crag above the town. Instantly William’s face darkened.

‘Have a good meal, I hope,’ he muttered sarcastically. ‘And if the storm must take a man’s life, I pray it may be yours!’

Only then did he see the man striding along the lane, and William glanced at the coming storm pensively before making a decision. He hurried down the path and began to follow the man.

Chapter One

Although he wasn’t tall, Robert of Falmouth gave the impression of height in the way that he held himself. He strutted — rather like a pigeon — with his chest thrown forward and his head lowered, jaw jutting in imitation of a truculent man-at-arms. He strutted now, as he made his way to the beach at the northernmost tip of Ennor.

The posture was all an act. Robert had never yet been on the receiving end of a blade. When he was a child he suffered no bullying. That was why he was here, so he often thought, because he had no idea how to defend himself. If he had been bullied, he might have learned how to use his fists, and, seeing his chance, destroyed his enemy quickly, with no one getting seriously hurt. Instead, he was unsure of himself, and that made him reach for his dagger too quickly.

Long ago, when he was a youth, back in his home of St Cleer, a rival for the affections of a girl in the vill had met him in the road and sneered, calling him names, shouting that Robert was only after her for her father’s money, and then, his voice sinking, he let slip the warnings — that he’d see to it Robert had no chance with her. His thick forefinger stabbing Robert’s breast, the other youth brought his face down until Robert could see nothing but his hog-like eyes, raw and angry.

Robert was scared. He had never been pushed around before and was fearful that he might get hurt if he didn’t pre-empt an attack — but he didn’t know what to do. So he entered the fray wholeheartedly, arms flailing wildly. In the span of a minute or two, his enemy was on the ground, his nose fountaining blood, and then Robert saw his hand move. Yes, the bastard was reaching for his knife, and that sight gave Robert the chill certainty that one or other must die. Fear had started his fighting, now it forced him to act again. He kicked at the fellow, trying to knock the hand away from the blade, but even as he did so, he was pulling his own dagger free. It whirled in an arc, cutting a slice from the lad’s cheek; a second wild slash opened his throat, and then suddenly, before Robert could swing his arm again, a jet of blood shot across his vision and two others grabbed his arms and pulled him away.

Aghast, he had stood panting while his victim fell back, his legs thrashing while his lifeblood pumped away, like a hog whose throat was cut. There was no shrill screaming, but Robert was sure now that there had been a loud gurgling sound, like water in a small stone-lined leat hurrying away from a moor.

There was no pleasure in his victory, only more fear. The fellow had brothers, aye, and a powerful father who’d take pleasure in avenging him. Rather than wait for that, or the long, slow process of the law, Robert had taken the advice of the men with him and left home. He had never returned. He had run away to the coast, first to nearby Liskeard, thence to Falmouth, where he was taken on as a sailor and tried to learn his new trade.

He spent much of his time aboard ship in terror. While the master was an unholy, drunken fool, prone to beating and lashing his crew-members, another sailor, Jack, was a sodomite who saw it as his duty to assault any youngsters — and he soon made it clear to Robert that he was next. One night — Christ’s bones, Robert could remember it so clearly still — he had been reduced to a gibbering wreck, trying to evade the man while he was hunted from stem to stern of the cog. Only by concealing himself behind boxes of merchandise had he managed to escape, his dagger gripped tightly in his hand, and then the ship had landed at Dartmouth, and Robert fled.

Rather than seek another ship, he thought remaining on dry land would be preferable — and he should be safe so far from his home. Having found himself a job working in a tavern, which seemed ideally suited to his needs, since it not only paid his living but also employed a pretty serving wench whom he intended to know rather better, he was appalled one night to hear a familiar voice in the main room.

Over the hubbub of thirty or more voices roaring at one another, as though all were talking in the midst of a storm, he recognised one: Jack. He was in the tavern. From the slurred way he spoke he was already drunk, and Robert made sure that he remained at the farther end of the hall, away from Jack, as he served customers. Someone else could serve him.

There was a practical issue he hadn’t considered, though: that there was only one other servant there that night. When Robert heard the wench he desired give a short scream, he felt his blood freeze in his veins, but then in an instant it was boiling.

Yes. That was why he was here on the island of Ennor: because of another woman. He had rushed into the hall as soon as he heard that cry of terror. The maid had been picked up and slammed down on a table; her skirts were thrown up and over her waist, exposing her lower body as far as her belly, and Jack was between her legs, holding her wrists with one hand, preventing her from covering herself and hiding her shame, while gripping her cheeks in the other hand and trying to make her kiss him, laughing uproariously the while.

Robert had not hesitated. He ran in, pulling out his knife as he went. There was a rushing noise in his ears, and he felt an unholy thundering in his breast. Raising his arm, he struck once, twisting the blade deep inside his tormentor’s flesh. Then, when his victim roared and flailed his arms about, trying to catch his assailant and kill him, Robert began to stab and slash, again and again, desperate to kill Jack before the man could take him in those awful arms and break him to pieces, and then … all went black, as though he had fainted. Afterwards, all he remembered was waking, doused with water.

‘Come with me!’ The man’s voice was low and urgent.

Robert couldn’t recall where he was, nor how he had arrived there. ‘I … who are you?’ he stammered.

‘You misbegotten son of a Southwark whore! Are you so stupid you need to question me? Isn’t it enough that I’ll save you? If you stay here, the watch will catch you, and then what’ll happen, eh? Follow me.’

And he had. He was taken to a ship and hidden aboard, and later he felt the ship begin to heel over as she made sail. Only then was he taken up to the deck from his hiding place to be introduced to his rescuer.

‘Who are you?’ he asked again.

‘I am Sergeant to the Lord of the Manor at Ennor,’ the man said. ‘You can call me Thomas.’

‘Where are you taking me?’

Thomas had an easy manner about him. He eyed Robert speculatively, and appeared to like what he saw. For his part, Robert was impressed with this Sergeant. He was a slimly built man of maybe four or five and twenty years, with a narrow chin and thin lips. His hair was fair and he had the brightest eyes Robert had ever seen. With fingers as elegant as a lady’s, he tapped his chin thoughtfully. ‘I’m taking you to sanctuary, boy. To my master’s manor. You’ll be safe from the law there, and you can help us. We have need of a brave man.’

Robert could still remember the sight of that bloody corpse. The whole of Jack’s back had been crimson with blood. Someone had pulled him over, and Robert had seen his face. It had been terribly cut about, but underneath the blood there was an awful pallor. White, waxen — it had been even more fearsome dead than alive. There was evil in that face, an unholy foulness. At the time, Robert had shivered with revulsion and relief. But then he realised he would never see her again. That made him sigh.

‘Don’t worry, boy! Where you’re going, you’ll be safe enough,’ Thomas had chuckled.

So he had saved Robert. For some reason, Robert’s reputation soon spread over the island of Ennor. He was considered a berserker, and no one would dare to insult him. Even when he was given the post of gather-reeve, no man in Ennor was rude to him. They were all scared. And while he strutted, he felt sure that no one could see through him. He was no murderer, no bloodthirsty killer, he was just a man protecting his woman. Although he’d not been able to taste the sweet fruits of his prize, because he had bolted with Thomas.

Women would be the death of him, he thought with a quick grin, little knowing how soon that thought would be proved true.

On St Nicholas, the large island north of Ennor, David the reeve rose to his feet as the first gusts blew through the hut, and went to the door.

Outside, the low scrubby bushes were being thrown from side to side by the wind. Out over the sea he could see the dark line on the horizon, and when he sniffed the air, he could smell the metallic edge. This storm was going to be a mad, curling one, he thought.

There were many different types of storm, and having lived here all his life, David knew all of them. Most peculiar were the water-spouts, which appeared suddenly like tall cones of terror, moving with fearsome speed across the water, the dread of any craft which got in their path. Then there were the sudden squalls, the ferocious gales. It was as though the flat seas that surrounded the islands allowed the very worst of all weathers to take the place by surprise.

This did not look to be one of the worst, but nonetheless an unpleasant little tempest in its own right. He wouldn’t want to be out at sea in it. A curling storm was one in which the wind seemed confused. It whipped about from one side to another, ripping at sails until they sheared, unless they were reefed carefully.

At least it wasn’t racing to the islands like some bad blows. There was time for the islanders to protect their own vessels, and as he glanced down towards the vill, he could see the last of the boats being brought into safer waters, the two sailors rowing hard. Around the islet, David knew that the other boats would all be up on dry land or sheltered by the encircling arms of the porth. They should be safe enough. That was more than could be said for ships blown by the storm from their allotted courses. All too often they would be hurled against the rocks of the islands and broken to pieces. If that happened, all the men aboard would die.

The people of the islands had learned to enjoy the benefits when ships were wrecked, for despite their sorrow for the dead, all shared in the sea’s generosity when cargoes washed up on the shores. The thought was enough to cheer David. If there were a gift for the islanders in the midst of the storm, so much the better — so long as the ship foundered here on St Nicholas and not on Ennor. That was the main thing. It would save him and the men of the island from turning to piracy once more to find food for their families.

David looked towards Ennor, and as he did so, his thoughts inevitably turned to the scandal that was affecting the vill. It was a disgrace that the two of them, Tedia and Isok, should have failed in their marriage, but far worse was the shame that Tedia’s adultery would bring upon them all.

A distance away, on the cliffs of Ennor, he could see a slender figure bent against the wind. It looked rather like Robert, the gather-reeve, the third man in the triangle. The man who was determined to cuckold Isok.

Baldwin felt the ship’s progress alter slightly. There was a sharper sound to the sheets, as though the great sail was trying to tear the ropes apart. The wind was coming from over Baldwin’s shoulder, and he felt it whipping across his face whenever he turned to glance behind them.

They were still coming.

The pirates were in a small boat, maybe a quarter as long as the cog, with an enormous, square sail billowing. Above it was a long, thin, red and white flag, something like a lance’s pennon, which snapped in the wind like a serpent’s tongue. Baldwin could see the men on board, their pale faces showing as flashes of light in the Anne’s own shadow.

‘What are they after?’ he wondered aloud.

The master was not far away, and he grunted. ‘They’re after our cargo, the murdering sons of pox-ridden stoats! They know we’ll likely be carrying wine and iron, let alone all the other goods. We’ve got a hundred and fifty tuns of wine below decks — that’s what they’re hoping for, beshitted knaves! I swear, when I return home this time, I’ll turn privateer and catch me some of these devils!’

‘Are they a constant problem now?’

‘As constant as the waves.’

‘Then we must show them that attacking an English ship is foolhardy,’ Baldwin said. He drew his sword and studied it a moment. On one side of the bright, peacock blue blade was an inscription: BOAC — BeatiOmnipotensque Angeli Christi, ‘Blessed and Omnipotent are the Angels of Christ’. Even as he gazed down at it, he felt his soul stirring. Turning the blade over, he gazed at the other side. Here was a neatly carved Templar Cross to remind him of his time in the Order before its destruction by an avaricious French King and his henchman the Pope. All of Baldwin’s former comrades had been humiliated, many murdered, and all so that the King and Pope could profit from the Templars’ wealth.

It was a period Baldwin was not prepared to forget, nor would he relinquish memories of his Order and his youth spent there. Baldwin had laid out a small fortune, having an expert cut this symbol and the letters with a burin, hammering fine gold wires into the lines, but he felt that the money was well spent. The little sword with its blade of less than two feet was comfortable to carry and comfortable in his hand. While he held it, he usually felt all but invincible.

Today, though, gripping his sword he felt a sudden sadness sweep over him. Perhaps this time the sword would be inadequate to protect him, for this was not his element. He had no love of the sea even if he did not fear it as much as many men did. For him to fight at his ease, he needed to be seated upon a destrier, ideally with a lance in his hand and a roar of defiance in his throat, not here, on a wobbling wooden platform far from safety. Perhaps he had seen the last of his beloved Jeanne and his darling daughter Richalda.

‘They’re going to come on as night falls,’ the master predicted gruffly.

Baldwin’s spirits plummeted. The first rule taught by any master of defence was that the feet should be firmly positioned before attempting a blow of any sort, and here he was, about as secure as a man standing on the back of a bucking stallion. No, it was worse. There were ropes of all different thicknesses lying about, and an assortment of boxes of merchandise, all ready to trip the unwary. Fighting here would be very difficult.

The pirates’ boat was a low, sleek vessel, some sort of keeled ship. Cogs were large, ungainly brutes, to Baldwin’s eye, all huge arse and swelling sides, designed for carrying large amounts of merchandise; keel ships were more suited to raiding parties and pirates. Their low lines were strong, but importantly they gave the master the ability to use oars to propel the vessel those last, crucial few yards. Galley-like, the boat was similar to the ones Baldwin had seen in the Mediterranean: it also resembled the ships used by the arch-enemies of the world, the detested Vikings, whose raids had been made possible by the use of fast, seaworthy ships like this one.

All at once, he saw the oars breaking out on each side. To the beat of a thunderous drum, he saw them slash into the water. Seeing the young cabin-boy Hamo passing him, Baldwin caught him by the arm. ‘Go below and ask my three friends to come up here — kick them up the stairs, if you have to. I will not leave them to die there. Better that we should all die together up here.’

The lad sniffed and wiped a grimy sleeve across his face before giving Baldwin a duck of his head and darting off.

The pirates were approaching more quickly now. Their leader stood in the prow, gripping an axe with which he beat the air in time with the oarsmen’s drum. He was a short, burly man with very white teeth all but concealed by a thick growth of beard. Baldwin at that point would have given much for a cross-bow and a well-made bolt. From here he could have pricked that devil without too much effort, he estimated, as the deck beneath him rolled and plunged.

He heard a stumbling step immediately knew who it was.

‘This is terrible,’ Simon said thickly.

Baldwin gave him the once-over. His friend the bailiff did indeed look awful. His hair was matted and smeared with vomit, his intelligent grey eyes were dulled and bloodshot showing up unnaturally in his waxen face. There was the yellowish cast of a corpse about him, and Baldwin was quickly anxious. ‘Old friend, you are not-’

‘Dead — which is a great source of regret to me,’ Simon said shortly. The sight of the horizon rising and falling had a disastrous effect on his belly, and closing his eyes didn’t seem to help. His stomach ached from spewing, he knew he smelled foul, and his mouth tasted like a midden: Christ Jesus, he detested sailing! He detested ships, and right now he detested himself. A liquid sensation in his bowels made him wince and clench his buttocks. ‘That gormless youth told us you wanted us. Why? What’s so hellfire important that you forced us- Christ’s pains!’ Leaning over the rail, he caught sight of their pursuers.

‘Yes, pirates,’ Baldwin answered as another passenger joined them.

‘What is all this? I can’t understand a word that blasted boy says.’

This was Sir Charles, a tall, fair Englishman who had met Simon and Baldwin in Compostela. His blue eyes were haughty, as though the whole world was an amusement designed to please him, but Baldwin was unpleasantly aware that he was a mercenary, a ruthless and dispassionate killer. The man was a knight whose lord had died, leaving him with no means of support. There were many such knights wandering Christendom now. Some of them ended up in the most peculiar places. Baldwin had even heard of one who was captured while fighting Crusaders on the side of a Moorish Sultan!

With Sir Charles was his companion Paul — a shorter, Celtic-looking fellow in a faded green jack. Of the three, Paul had the clearest eyes and the fastest mind. ‘They going to board us?’ he asked Baldwin.

‘They mean to.’

Simon grimaced and felt for his sword. ‘They’ll pay if they try.’

Sir Charles stumbled as the ship dropped sickeningly from the top of one wave down into the trough beyond; he grabbed hold of a rope. When he spoke, his voice was a little breathless. ‘How many are there on this ship?’

‘Too few,’ Baldwin said. ‘There are four and thirty in that keel.’

‘And we have only six sailors and us. Not a good wager.’

‘Be damned to a wager!’ Simon declared. ‘We can thrash a boatload of French pimps! Pox on you all! Sons of turds! You …’ He drew his sword and waved it defiantly, before hastily leaning over the side again.

Baldwin shot a look at Paul. ‘What of your longbow? Could you hit that man?’

Paul did not bother to gauge the distance. ‘The string has been soaked. I looked at it last night, and the thing’s useless. I couldn’t even hit our sail.’

‘Then we shall need to repel them,’ Baldwin said heavily. ‘So be it.’

The distance was closing all the time. Master Gervase used every trick of seamanship to escape the smaller craft, but the oars made a great difference, propelling the Frenchmen towards them at a surprising pace. The four stood watching, all holding tightly to the rail as the ship rode up massive waves, hesitated as though wavering at the crest, and then pointed the prow down into the trough. Time and again, Baldwin saw Gervase cross himself, saw other sailors reach for the nearest rope and close their eyes as though they felt that this dive would be the ship’s last, and they would all be carried through the trough and down into the depths.

The Frenchman had bided his time, but now Baldwin was sure that there was a greater urgency in his voice as he roared at his men. It was the light, Baldwin realised. The sun was going down behind leaden clouds in the west, and even as he looked ahead hopefully, he felt the first flecks of rain strike at his cheeks. There was a brief flash of orange light as the sun peeped through the clouds, and Baldwin felt a sudden awe at the sight of the bright orange finger stabbing towards him across the water. It made him feel as though God was showing him that he was safe. Then the light was swept out as though by a massive grey hand, and Baldwin glanced back over the stern.

He stared in astonishment. A column of blackness seemed to be racing towards them, overtaking them and the pirates.

‘Thanks be to St Nicholas,’ the master breathed. Baldwin glanced at him and saw that he was crossing himself again.

‘Master, what is that?’

‘Foul weather. If we survive it, we’ll be safe. Even Breton pirates wouldn’t try to attack in that,’ the master said, and sneered at their pursuers, bellowing, ‘HEAR THAT? KISS MY BUTTOCKS GOODBYE, YOU DUNG-EATERS!’

Glancing at him, seeing his joy, Baldwin gave a heartfelt prayer of thanks to God for saving them from attack. Surely this was the miracle they had hoped for.

Chapter Two

At the Priory of St Nicholas, on the island of the same name, Cryspyn set the brothers to work as soon as the shepherd had rushed in to warn them. It took only a moment’s glance south-east from the roof of their little priory church, to see what he meant, and Cryspyn had instantly ordered the lay-brothers and monks to their various tasks.

God had no mercy sometimes, the Prior reflected, glancing heavenwards. ‘Why now?’ he muttered aloud, staring out at the approaching storm, watching to see where it might strike first.

There was never enough time these days to sit and consider things in peace. Since the famine, this priory had been teetering on the brink of collapse. At least they had sheep and the support of the mother-house, Tavistock Abbey, which meant that there was rarely a shortage of ale and grain, but that was not everything. Cryspyn had the unpleasant feeling that the priory was beginning to fall apart.

It had all begun with the disastrous appointment of Peter Visconte, the chaplain of St Mary’s Church on Ennor until his concubine was discovered. The fellow had been hauled up to Bishop Walter’s court in Exeter so quickly he hardly had time to pack. It was essential that a new man be appointed as chaplain, so Cryspyn had immediately sought out William of Carkill, who lived, hermit-like, on the small island of St Elidius, and sent him to run the church on Ennor until a replacement could be found. The Prior had his doubts about William, but the man appeared to have done a fair job, persuading some of the more disreputable characters to attend his church. His replacement at the little chapel of St Elidius was a strange young man. Luke needed watching, Cryspyn felt. The Prior was still unhappy about Luke’s motives for talking to Isok’s wife about her problems and giving her advice.

As though his thoughts guided his eyes, he turned towards the little hump of rock north of his priory where, at this time of day, the tide would be on its way out. He glanced at the waters between St Nicholas and Ennor to gauge the depth against the trathen, the sand bar that reached between the two. Even as he did so, he felt sure he could see Luke. The man was down on the beach, striding towards the seas.

Cryspyn drew in a deep breath and bit his inner cheek. Then, taking a fateful decision, he walked to the ladder, and climbed down, crossing the yardway to the gates.

He would go and speak to the priest Luke.

At the water’s edge, Tedia stood hopefully.

Her husband had said that he was going to go out in the boat, and that gave her a little while to come here, to the southernmost point of St Nicholas, from where she should be able to see her lover on his way over from the main island of Ennor.

It was hard to control her beating heart. Tedia was nearly two and twenty years old now. She had been married for some three years, and still the marriage was unconsummated. By committing adultery, she hoped she might find a little ease. She was desperate.

That cow Brosia was so cruel, with her snide little comments about women who couldn’t please their men in bed. Brosia boasted that she found it easy. Her breasts were enough to make any man mad with lust, but then, as she would say with a sweet smile of pure venom, looking at Tedia, not all women were lucky enough to be so well-endowed.

It was nothing to do with that, Tedia was sure of it. In a way, she still felt sorry for her man. Isok appeared desperate and ashamed, but there was nothing he could do. They had tried all forms of cure; Tedia had even gone to see a woman who was supposed to be wise, but the old whore had merely cackled and advised Tedia to put her hands to better use.

Her hands were perfectly able with other men. There had been lovers enough when she was young who had enjoyed the way she used her hands. She had loved the feel of them, and she liked to watch the boys as their eyes grew languid, then urgent, their breath coming more swiftly, their hips thrusting. It was a form of power that she relished — until it came to scare her.

That was when Peter Visconte, the priest at St Mary’s on Ennor, had been found out and removed from his position. Suddenly Tedia herself had realised that the pleasure she was giving, the pleasure she received, might be forbidden by God outside marriage. Eve had tempted her man and wrought terrible damage; Tedia was doing the same.

Some of the men she had loved tried to persuade her otherwise: some had succeeded. The four years from hearing of the priest’s misbehaviour to her marriage had been sexually active, but with each coupling had come still more guilt. Tedia knew that only within marriage was a woman supposed to perform those acts which made a man cleave to her, and she had chosen her Isok because he was entirely innocent of such offences. Oh, he was generous to a fault as well, and he was kindly, and he had a good future with his fishing skills: all that swayed her, but not so much as the fact that he was still a virgin. To her knowledge he had not tried to take advantage of her, or of any of the girls in the islands. Religious, she felt sure he was holding his carnal desires in check.

That was a joke! She soon found out that he had no carnal desires! His prickle wouldn’t rise even after the most careful and deliberate attention. She had even submitted to a tale told by a friend, who had heard from a sailor what some whores in the Sutton Water stews did, and set her lips to the task. All to no avail. Poor Isok did what he could, but nothing seemed to work.

And so now, after three years of trying and failing to tempt her husband to service her, Tedia was here, standing at the southern tip of St Nicholas Isle some yards from her house, hoping to catch sight of her first lover since her marriage.

The first drops of rain spat into the sand at her feet, and Tedia realised that she had been so deep in thought that the weather had overtaken her. The clouds were black and angry, and what looked like a wall of rain was approaching. It was two miles out to sea still, but approaching as though resolved to roll over the islands and crush them.

Struck at first with anger that God should prevent her lover’s journey to her, she stamped her foot. Then she had a moment’s regret for her husband: if Isok was far out to sea, he would be right in the thick of this terrible storm … and then her feelings returned to pique. This was God’s way of preventing her from breaking her marriage vows.

She only hoped, as she turned and marched homewards, that God hadn’t decided to make her lover pay for her lusts with his life. If he was caught out in the banks with this weather, he must be drowned.

She turned and stared, a hand shielding her eyes. If he died, she would never forgive herself. The poor fellow. All he wanted was a companion. He was like her, lonely. To die, just for seeking friendship, was cruel in the extreme.

There was no sign of him, though. That gave her a moment’s relief, and then she saw another figure. Someone was wading back the other way, from St Nicholas to Ennor. Not many people were supposed to know of that route, but one man obviously did. She wondered who it could be, and then a freak gleam of light from the heavens answered her question.

‘Where are you going, Brother Luke?’ she wondered aloud, but then shrugged. Before the weather broke seriously, she wanted to be back indoors. Once home, she shut the door, but couldn’t settle. After only a little while she went to peer out to sea. The rain was falling regularly now, the wind blowing mercilessly, and she again felt a twinge of guilt that her husband should be out there, risking his life in the attempt to win a living for her.

There was nothing she could do for him. She shut the door and sat on her stool in the dark by the fire, swaddled in a blanket, but only a little while later her door suddenly opened. She spun round, hoping that it was Robert, but her husband entered. He stared at her a moment, then gazed about the room.

‘I thought you were out at sea!’ was all she could think of saying. In her heart, she was sad that she was not to be widowed. That would have been better for both of them. It would save him the lifelong shame … and her the grief.

‘Is that all you can say?’ Isok demanded. ‘You look anxious, wife. Have you brought a man here to cuckold me, then? Or were you just hoping I’d never return?’

Her expression must have given him his answer. ‘I shall leave you to him, then. I shouldn’t want to come between you both,’ he said and gave a harsh laugh, a sound halfway between a growl and a sob, before walking out again.

The master was knowledgeable about the sea and his boat, Baldwin saw, and he was more than capable of defending it when evenly matched, but this was different. These Bretons were too numerous. If there was a good arrow and a decent bowstring aboard ship, perhaps they would have had a chance, although Baldwin doubted that even Paul, Sir Charles’s man-at-arms, could prick a man accurately even if they were able to find a dry bowstring, the deck was now rolling so sickeningly.

All they could do was wait. The Bretons were smiling now, sure that the prize was in their grasp. All they must do was win the fight before the storm hit them all.

They couldn’t, though. The rain began gently, and then it was as though a heavenly sluice had opened. Water fell in a torrent, turning the sea to a grey, bubbling mass of craters; the deck of the ship grew slick and slippery, and Baldwin and Sir Charles both slid and fell as the ship suddenly turned in response to some command of the master.

Gervase was using all his skills to prevent the attack, but it was only delaying the inevitable; Baldwin saw a man at the prow of the pirate ship heave his hand back and hurl a grappling hook high overhead. It caught in a rope some way over Baldwin’s head, and instantly a sailor at Gervase’s side swung himself up, hand over hand, towards it. He had a knife in his belt, and as he pulled this out to saw at the rope attached to the hook, a man in the other boat raised a crossbow. It fired, and the sailor gave a scream. He fell slowly, one hand on the rope, which Baldwin saw growing darker as the man dropped to the deck. The tough cord had stripped all the flesh from his hand and thighs, and become soaked in his blood.

The weather was abating a little. In place of the initial heavy downpour, there was now only a faint drizzle, but the deck was as treacherous as ice.

There was another cry, and Baldwin heard the dull thudding of poles striking the ship’s side. They were long boat hooks. Baldwin went to the first and hacked at it with his sword, but the thing was more than an inch thick. He could cut only partway through it, and as he did so he was aware of a raucous bellow of exultation from the Bretons. Glancing down, he saw that more grapnels had been hurled, and now men were swarming up the ropes. He couldn’t see the leader of the pirates.

Leaping back, Baldwin retreated a short distance to give himself space. On either side, he saw that Simon and Sir Charles were ready. A sixth sense made him throw a look over his shoulder, and there, to his horror, he saw two men clambering over the sheer. With a roar of defiance, he ran at them, knocking the first bodily against the timbers at the edge and hearing a satisfying grunt of pain. Then he was on the second, whom he recognised as the leader. Somehow these two must have clung onto the ship’s outer skin and climbed around until they could attack the defenders from the rear. Baldwin had no idea how they could have managed such a feat, but perhaps it was while the crew rushed to remove the grappling iron and the sailor was shot. Few eyes would have been on the front of the attacking ship during those moments. Like Baldwin, all the men on board were watching the man falling from the yard.

No matter. There was no time to waste; for now his concern was to prevent an attempt to board the Anne.

Baldwin was no dull-witted hacker. He had been trained in combat from his youth, and his skills had been honed by his years as a Knight Templar. It was natural in the Order for men to practise daily at their weapons, and now he stood warily while the Breton leader circled him, an axe in one hand, a long-bladed knife in the other. Baldwin was sure that he was trying to get to the other side of the ship, so that he could return to his comrades. He would also be hoping that the man whom Baldwin had knocked down would recover and stab Baldwin in the back while he fought the leader.

Casually, while the Breton leader moved crab-like across the deck, Baldwin took a step backwards and stabbed downwards, twice. There was a hissed curse, then a bubbling sob, and a rattling of bare heels as the man’s soul fled his body. Baldwin’s attention was on the leader, and now he could see the doubt in the man’s eyes. He hadn’t expected Baldwin to be as ruthless in his defence as the Bretons would be in their attack.

That made Baldwin’s grim temper fall away. He grinned, then laughed aloud, and sprang forward, his sword making a bright blue arc. The leader of the Bretons pulled back, his face registering alarm. He had a slight cast in one eye, which Baldwin thought made him look more vulnerable. It was as though the man had defective vision. He might miss Baldwin’s more elaborate attacks. It was worth noting.

Baldwin stamped his foot, then made an elementary lunge. The pirate’s eyes narrowed slightly and he slipped to the side. Baldwin stamped again, stabbed again, and the pirate slipped to the other side. So be it, Baldwin thought to himself, and stamped his foot once more, but this time the ship rolled, and as he made his move, instead of running the man through the breast, his blade merely caught the Breton a glancing blow over the chest.

The man looked down at the blood staining the long slash. When he looked up at Baldwin again, the glittering in his eyes told of no fear, only rage. He stood easily on the balls of his feet, waiting, and Baldwin made as though to attack — but before he could strike, the Breton moved.

His axe rose high over his head before he swung it directly at Baldwin’s head. Baldwin had thought that it was a feint, had kept his attention on the dagger as well, but when he lifted his blade to block the axe, he was beaten back by the power of the blow. It was a heavy weapon, and its mass was bearing down upon him with the full intensity of the pirate’s hatred behind it. Baldwin had only time to slip his sword away and bring it down, striking away the dagger as it aimed for his lower belly. Immediately the axe swung down and to Baldwin’s right. It was an error, for it left him an opening, and he used his blade to knock the arm up and away, then turned it to stab at the man’s breast.

It would have been perfect, but at that moment the ship lurched, and Baldwin’s foot slipped away from under him. He felt his head hit the deck, and a dull ache smothered his conscious thoughts.

Is this how I am to die? he wondered dumbly as he saw the axe lift and begin to plunge towards him. He rolled away, heard the axe strike the deck a short distance from his neck, and then lunged upwards.

He missed his mark. Aimed below the ribcage to tear into the man’s viscera and heart, the blade caught on a bone, skittered across, and dived in under the man’s armpit, slicing through the soft flesh. A minor wound, but painful.

The Breton reached down and pulled his axe free as Baldwin lifted his foot; he was about to dash out the knight’s brains, when the ship moved once more. This time it was the weakened Breton who was unbalanced, and Baldwin’s booted foot caught him as he was leaning too far backwards. One hard shove, and the man was sent hurtling across the deck. Even as Baldwin rose to a crouch and took stock, he saw the man hit the side of the ship. Immediately Gervase, who was fighting with another sailor, punched him viciously in the belly and pushed his head back. The pirate balanced a moment with eyes and mouth wide in astonished horror, and then he fell overboard.

Baldwin climbed to his feet, taking in the scene, and saw that the Bretons were falling back. Sir Charles was wielding his sword like a berserker, while Simon stood before two bodies, his sword dancing in the greyness like a sliver of glass. The helmsman was bellowing, but even as Baldwin began to move towards him, a great gout of blood shot from his lips, and he fell, coughing, almost crushing the cabin-boy, Hamo. A man had crept behind him and stabbed him between the shoulder-blades with a short, wide blade. Now the reddened blade was turned towards the boy. Hamo stared up at the pirate with wide, agonised eyes, his hands held tightly over his ears, as though by blocking the noise he could protect himself.

His terror was the spur. Baldwin rushed at the man and beat at him, the blood-rage settling on him. It was like a veil of crimson: he saw no one except the man before him, and he advanced steadily, his peacock-blue blade flashing and glittering, darting from one side to another, sweeping in a great arc, and then slipping quickly upwards, taking the man across the neck and all but removing his head.

The boat rolled again as the man fell, and now there was a shout and all the Bretons retreated, piling back over the side of the Anne. Baldwin stood gripping the sword, his hands turned red with the blood of his attackers. He looked down at them and sighed as the fighting spirit left his soul. He felt utterly drained. At least Hamo was alive. The boy was pale and shivering, but unwounded, clinging to a rope at the mast, staring at the captain, Gervase, who was sitting holding a large cut in his belly from which the blood seeped. That, Baldwin told himself, was a deadly wound.

‘What now?’ he said to himself.

‘God’s ballocks! Don’t ask me,’ Simon snapped. ‘We’ve no helmsman and the master’s wounded! Even if St Nicholas himself knew where we were going, I doubt whether he’d be able to tell us how to guide this old tub on our own!’

Chapter Three

There was nothing but emptiness in his heart as Isok reached the cottage north-east of his own. He threw open the door and pulled it to behind him quickly, keeping the weather out so far as he could.

‘So you’ve decided, have you?’ a voice asked quietly.

He looked into the shadows. There was a dog curled by the fire, a goat tethered at the far side of the room, and he could see his wife’s aunt as a bundle of old clothes on a bench near the wall.

‘Mariota, she’s-’

‘I know, you great lummock! Come in and sit by the fire. I’ll fetch you some ale. Did you hit her?’

‘How could I?’ he demanded bitterly. ‘She’s made it plain enough she wants me. She’s tried to make me stiff for her, but nothing works. I can’t blame her, can I?’

‘Many men would, though,’ Mariota observed. She had brought him a jug of warmed ale, and now she pushed him down on the floor near the fire, and stood over him to watch while he drank off a great gulp. She was much older than this man, and tonight she felt all her years. It was during a storm like this that she had lost her own man. Now poor Tedia was going to give up hers, but in a more painful manner. Mariota knew perfectly well how much her niece had loved Isok and wanted him — and yet he couldn’t service her. Both were humiliated and shamed.

Well, there was nothing so certain as suffering in this world, she reflected. ‘How is she?’

‘How do I know? I left her ages ago.’

‘Don’t sulk with me, Isok, or I’ll let you feel my fist!’

‘I had to go and see to the boat after I left her. Once it was safe, I came up here. I can’t live with her any longer, Mariota. She’s already selected a lover, someone to service her,’ he said, his voice breaking.

‘I can’t stay there while she does that, can I? I can’t welcome another man into my home to take my own wife!’

‘Are you sure she’s sought a lover?’

‘She didn’t deny it.’

‘That’s not the same thing,’ Mariota said.

‘She’s already chosen her way. It doesn’t include me.’

Making a quick decision, Mariota pulled a heavy rug from her bed and tugged it over her shoulders. ‘Well, if you’re so stupid, at least I can go and make sure that your wife is safe this night. Stay here and look after the goat while I’m gone. I don’t want to come back and find her dead of fright because you left her in the middle of a storm!’

Isok said nothing. He was staring at the heart of the fire. But as the woman left, he felt a slight lightening of his spirits. At least now the future was decided. The knuckles had been thrown, and he could see how they had fallen.

He knew what the future held for him.

Thomas, the Sergeant of Ennor Castle, strode along swiftly as night fell. The rain was sheeting down as he hurried towards the castle and warmth, a huddled figure in his sodden cloak.

He hadn’t realised how bad the weather would be. The squall had been a black slanting smudge on the horizon when he first glanced up, but it appeared to be about to pass to the north of the island. He hadn’t expected it to move over and envelop him on his way back to the castle.

This place! It was as wet as Ireland. As wet and as miserable. There was no reason for him to be here, other than the obvious ones. He hated the place, and the people. They were nothing more than cattle.

No. Not cattle. Here the peasants were more likely to grab a knife and try to avenge an insult immediately, rather than behaving like proper serfs. It was the atmosphere of this curious little place. Five islands men could live on more or less comfortably, but without much in the way of pasture or decent farming land. It was all hills. Even when the farming brought in a return, what little the peasants had was always likely to be broken up and stolen or burned by pirates. The island of Ennor was the first place that many ships would see when they set sail for England, if they were blown from their course and approached from the west. That meant that hungry and thirsty sailors would arrive with pennies in their pockets, happy to pay any price for a good pot of ale — but it also meant that pirates and murderers from Brittany would sometimes arrive here instead of Cornwall or Devon, and denude the islands of all their stores, killing where they could. It was some years since the pirates had last come here, but that meant nothing.

It certainly led to a particular … spirit of independence among the islanders. When they heard the warning bells from St Mary’s on Ennor, or from St Nicholas on the island named after the Priory, they would grab their tools and go to protect their land and families.

The trouble with such independence, as Thomas knew only too well, was that it could sometimes lead to peasants getting above themselves. They grew to desire control over their own lives — and that was never a good idea. They were not powerful like him; he was free, and he had his own wealth as a result of his speculations.

A drip ran from the back of his thick felt hat; he felt it trickle down his neck, and beneath his outer tunic to his shirt. It itched like a devil, and he had to set his teeth. Damn this place! Full of ignorant peasants and mud. That was it. Mud and peasants.

Ennor, they called it. Imaginative arses! The old folks who could still speak the ancient tongue reckoned that it meant simply ‘The Land’. Ingenious, these peasants, he sneered to himself. Look at the ruddy place! He stopped and glared about him. The trees were rattling as the raindrops struck them, and all about him was the noise of water. Here, in the middle of the area called Hal La Val, the ‘low, marshy ground’ near La Val, all was soaked already. These wetlands sometimes made Thomas anxious. He had odd dreams, in which the sea rose here, in the middle of the island, and suddenly overwhelmed and consumed the population. It had happened in The Flood that all men were drowned, so the priests said, apart from the especially righteous one, whatever his name was.

It had happened before here on the islands, too. Men spoke of a legend that all the islands were once one. They had been broken up by a terrible storm and now the sea was biding its time, ready to smother them entirely. Even since Thomas had arrived here, seven years ago, there had been one exceptionally bad storm during which the sea battered almost over the sands at Porth Mellon. It had been a terrifying sight. The waves pounding at the shore, white spume jetting up fifty feet and more, and then the thunderous crashing as the water hurtled down once more.

This one could be as bad, he reckoned. The way that the sky had become suddenly black and the clouds had rushed over the sea as though to engulf Ennor and its neighbouring island St Nicholas, and then this heavy rain: it seemed more alarming than a normal storm.

For him, a storm at this moment would be disastrous. His investments were heavy, and the cargo expensive. There was no point in smuggling small amounts when a large consignment was possible, and when his ship landed in Cornwall — if it did so, safely — Thomas would make a lot of money.

The Sergeant to Ranulph de Blancminster was taking advantage of the confusion created by the sudden changes in the earldom. A short while ago, the earldom had been the possession of Earl Edmund, but since his death twenty-two or — three years ago, the earldom had been given to Piers Gaveston, just before he was exiled and then captured and executed, and more recently Queen Isabella had been granted it. There were new officials with each change in control, new men to bribe and flatter, but for all that Thomas reckoned he had some years of profit-making left to him. It would take an age for the earldom to realise that he was sending a ship of smuggled goods to Cornwall once a year and meantime profiting by the customs.

It was easy. All ships which landed in the Earl’s lands had to pay customs for their cargoes. The money collected was for the Earl, of course, but Thomas had soon realised that since his own master, Ranulph de Blancminster, couldn’t read, the only reports that would be seen by the Earl’s officers were the ones Thomas bothered to send in. Since the Earldom was in a constant state of flux, it was easy to falsify his reports. Thus, since Gaveston’s death, the Sergeant had been creaming off large amounts of the customs, which helped subsidise his investments in smuggling. Now he was independently wealthy, and he rarely sent in any customs reports at all.

His ship was the reason why he had been out tonight. He had been hoping to see a sign of it coming towards land, but the horizon was devoid of hope, offering only an evil darkness that foretold of the storm. This meant that his ship was either in the middle of the storm, or had already foundered. Neither option was attractive. Thomas had invested heavily in this shipment. Over fifty tuns of wine, all paid for by himself. If that lot was at the bottom of the sea, he would be severely out of pocket. It was enough to make him scowl as he marched back towards the castle.

There was a figure walking towards him in the gloom, and he slowed his steps. Living in the castle of Ranulph de Blancminster, one took no chances, for it contained the most unpleasant group of felons, thieves and outlaws Thomas had known. If one of them was out in this weather, he could only be enormously drunk, and in that state was more likely to pull out a sword and run him through than ask him to move aside. The locals were just as likely to try to kill Thomas if they could do so with any chance of escaping afterwards. No one liked the Lord of the Manor’s Sergeant.

In the past, Thomas had relied on the fearsome reputation of his men to keep order. The peasants were a quarrelsome group at the best of times, but now they were furious because their taxes had risen sharply. Thomas had taken to spreading word of how he had found Robert, his gather-reeve, just to ensure that people were too scared to harm the fellow. But a drunk might forget his fears, and Thomas was the Lord’s administrative officer, detested even more than the man who collected the taxes.

The shape hesitated, almost seemed about to turn away and hide among the trees, but then came on, and Thomas felt his hand make its way towards his sword almost as though it went of its own will and without his compliance.

‘Thank God!’ he muttered when he recognised the man. ‘What are you doing out here, Brother Luke?’

‘Coming to see you!’ Luke said, and his face held an unpleasant, set smile.

There was no sleep for Jean de Conket and his Breton crew, that terrible night.

It had looked so easy, nom de Dieu! The great lumbering cog, obviously overloaded with tuns of good Guyennois wine, hides and skins, maybe even a little gold, and yet the master had managed to evade him, Jean de Conket, with his ponderous vessel. It was galling to think that he had been beaten by superior seamanship, but Jean was nothing if not a realist. He had been outmanoeuvred by the master of the cog. Perhaps the wind and rain had played their part, but that meant nothing to Jean. He took it as a personal affront that another seaman had beaten him. Then there was that knight …

Yes, that bastard who had marked him. Jean flexed his arm, grimacing at the pain. Surely it wasn’t so bad; his dip in the sea must have washed it clean. Jean had faith in the cleansing properties of seawater. It was pure good luck that his plight had been witnessed by two of his comrades, who had immediately taken steps to save his life. If they had stayed on the cog, they might have won her and slaughtered the knight and the master, but that would have been little satisfaction to a corpse. Jean was glad they’d come to his rescue. The alternative was a hideous death. Some weeks hence, his corpse would have washed up on a shore somewhere, the eyes empty sockets, his clothing shredded, bite marks all over him, like any number of bodies spat out on coastlines after every storm. All sailors had seen them, and all felt the horror of suffering the same fate. The thought made him long for home and safety.

There was no possibility of turning into the wind to try to make their way home now. All the crew knew that. They sat huddled on the thwarts, their oars lashed to the deck as the winds grew in force, while their master bound himself to the mast, his eyes searching for that damned ship all the while, his senses alert to the sounds of straining rigging, tortured wood, and, most important, the thunderous roar of waves crashing on the rocks which he knew lay about the west of England. If they were thrown onto those rocks, their ship would shatter in a moment, and he and all his men must die. In the dark of night like this, Jean feared those rocks more than anything. This ship was a good size, about five and twenty yards long, and with a keel of beech, while the framing, stem and planking were of good Breton oak, but if flung onto rocks by this sea, she would last no longer than a coracle.

Where had the cog gone? It had disappeared as the rain started lashing down again, concealed behind a wall of water. At first, Jean and his men hoped that they might be able to regain her after their abortive withdrawal; Jean in particular had prayed for this. He wanted that tall, dark-haired knight to eat his steel. No man had ever wounded Jean de Conket so cruelly before! The murderous, white-livered Englishman would pay for that!

He hoped that the Englishman was dead, that the cog had hit a rock and sunk. No, he didn’t wish that, he told himself with a grin. He wanted that knight to feel Jean’s blade in his ribs. Also, he wanted that cargo. Better by far that the Anne had lost her mast, that she had wallowed like a hog in a pond for ages, so that all her crew were unwell. Jean and his men would find her later, when the rains had stopped and the wind died down, and the seas grown calmer.

Tedia woke as soon as the door opened. ‘Isok? Is that you?’

The storm was raging now. The wind caught at the open door and slammed it back against the wall, the gusts scattering the bright sparks from the nearly dead fire in an orange cloud.

‘No. Not Isok, my dear.’

Tedia relaxed. ‘Mariota! Is Isok safe?’

‘Yes,’ her aunt laughed, pushing at the door with main force until she could reach through the hole and bind the thong which held it. ‘He’s fine.’

‘Oh, good.’ There was an odd tone in Mariota’s voice, as though she was angry or bitter about something. Still, Tedia was too tired to worry. She felt her eyelids closing. As she did so, she was aware of Mariota shaking her blanket from her shoulders. Her legs were sodden, as were her skirts. Tedia thought she looked like a woman who had been through a downpour.

At last Simon felt the sand scraping at his knees, then a rock snagged his shin, and he could set his feet on the sloping beach. In the thin morning light, he stumbled on through the shallows, the slash in his shoulder hurting abominably; his teeth were set into a snarl of determination as he forced himself on, dragging his burden.

The moorstone grey of the sky had faded gradually while Simon had clung to his timber, and now above him was a gleaming blue vision that was as clear, distinct and perfect as the inside of a polished bowl, except this had no flaws or scratches, only occasional soft clouds like finest lamb’s wool. Of the previous night’s storm there was no hint. Simon guessed that there would be a thin line of blackness at the far horizon to give a hint of the filthy weather heading onwards, but in his present state he didn’t care. All he knew was that it had gone, and that he had somehow survived.

He pulled the body with him up the beach with what little strength remained in him, and dropped it when they were far enough from the water, sinking to his knees. There was no sound, and Simon eyed the boy for a moment with a sense of alarm.

When the mast had gone and the ship had grounded, the graunching noises grew. Only when he realised that the sound came from the ship’s main timbers as they began to break up, did Simon understand that the ship was doomed. Then a man went below and reported that there was a huge hole in the ship’s bows. She must sink. Gervase said tiredly that it was every man for himself, but insisted on being left behind. He would die with his Anne, he said. Simon had been about to leap into the depths when he heard the keening.

It was Hamo, the cabin-boy. When Simon saw him kneeling and praying, he had been tempted to jump and forget the lad, just as he must leave behind the other sailors, but then he caught sight of the tear-streaked face and there was something about it, something oddly like his own son. His boy was miles away, was only a fraction of Hamo’s age, and yet Simon liked to think that had Peter been left on a ship like this, another man might have tried to save him.

The thoughts sped through his mind, and then he was racing over the leaning deck. He grabbed Hamo under the armpits, roared, ‘Hold hard, lad!’ and set off for the lower rail. As he sprang over and down into the water, he heard a short scream of complete horror, but then they hit the water.

Simon was no great swimmer, but Hamo, like so many sailors, had never learned. Sailors often preferred a quick death by drowning, rather than to suffer the prolonged death of swimming until exhaustion took them over or a sea monster found them and made play with them like a cat with a mouse.

There was something to be said for that view, Simon told himself as he struggled his way towards a massive timber, dragging Hamo behind him. By this stage, the cabin-boy was nothing more than a dead weight, and swimming here, with the waves slamming down onto them after every few strokes, was almost impossible. There was rubbish all about, ropes and spars intermingled, but Simon dared not grab at them in order to bind Hamo to the beam, because he was certain that the loose ropes would entangle them, and probably seal their doom. Instead Simon made his way to the timber with a set determination, while the saltwater threatened to flood his lungs at every stroke, the wind blew spray into his eyes, and his arms began to ache with the unaccustomed exercise. At one point he let go of Hamo when a large spar cracked over his back, but fortunately he caught hold of the lad again, and set off once more. The world was a roaring blackness, a place filled with pain, noise and fury; Simon must reach the beam to have even a remote possibility of survival.

And as if by a miracle, suddenly his nails scraped the slimy surface, and he could haul Hamo to his side, loop his arms over it, and then allow his own exhausted frame to cling to the other side, not knowing where they might end up, nor whether there was a hope of their survival, while the black storm raged.

Thus had Simon spent himself, his strength supporting both of them until the breaking dawn, when suddenly the wind’s rage died and the foul weather passed by. As it did so, Simon looked up and saw that they were drifting slowly towards a group of islands. Kicking with renewed energy he helped them on their journey until they came to the shore.

But now Simon gazed helplessly at the boy, and suddenly his eyes filled with tears. He was all alone here. The only companion he had was this cabin-boy, and if he should die, Simon had no one. It was a selfish wish, but he wanted the lad to live just so that he had some company. Especially since Baldwin …

A wracking sob burst from him, as though a giant had taken his chest in his hand and squeezed. It was entirely unexpected, but Simon could not prevent himself from falling to his knees, a hand going over his face as he began to give himself up to his loss. Baldwin, his friend, the man with whom he had gone on pilgrimage, was dead.

‘Christ! Brother Jan!’

Simon felt a hand on his back, but he remained as he was, his face covered, while the sobs choked his throat, ashamed of the tears that flowed. Gentle hands prised his head up until he found himself surveyed by a friendly face, through the haze of exhaustion, tears and his salt-filled eyes.

‘Christ’s wounds, master — you need warmth. What of your friend?’

Vaguely Simon was aware of the man grabbing Hamo, turning him over and muttering a swift prayer.

‘Save your tears, master. He’ll live.’

There was a damp scratching at his cheek when Baldwin moved. The world was filled with noise, when all he wanted was peace.

An idea was floating near his consciousness, but he couldn’t quite get hold of it. He didn’t mind. The most important thing was Jeanne. She was lovely; she had given him Richalda. They were all to him. There was nothing without them. His life depended upon them both, and it was somehow important that he concentrated on them.

There had been a fight, he recalled. On a ship. They had repelled the pirates, but then the storm struck them again, the rain beating down from all sides. The wind was vicious, sending them tearing along at a terrifying speed, the cog rolling fearsomely, bucketing down over the crests and diving into the next wave. It was terrible, a scene from hell.

He could remember a crack. A rippling series of explosions like detonating gunpowder that seemed to go off directly over his head, and then the sail was nothing more than a series of shreds. He vaguely recalled one sailor falling to his knees and weeping inconsolably; another climbed up to try to do something to the wreckage of the sail, but he was almost immediately flung from the yard. The helmsman’s body was there one moment, gone the next. Throughout it all the master remained sitting on his arse, trying to hold his belly together, his face grey with pain as his narrowed eyes darted hither and thither. Simon and Sir Charles were clinging to a rope near the stern, both silent and fearful, while Hamo cowered on the deck between them. Sir Charles’s man, Paul, sat impassively near the rail. He was resigned to whatever fate God had in store.

A cold wash flowed past Baldwin’s face, up into his mouth, and he choked on the chilly salt. It made him retch, and he felt warm water shoot out from his nostrils.

It was too difficult. Better to remember his wife and daughter. Easier, too. They were something to hold on to, to recall with pleasure and pride. Better that than worrying about the present. There was no point. He was probably asleep. This was all a dream.

The noise washed over him like water, constant but ever-changing. It was like a series of pebbles being rolled around a breastplate of armour, different all the time, but always there.

As was the water, he realised. It was odd. A part of his brain reminded him that this was all a peculiar dream, and he was instantly reassured. He could have imagined that the sensation at his brow and over his ear was water, but what if it was?

He felt safe and warm, with this gentle massage of water all about him. Yes. He would sleep at last.

Chapter Four

When he had recovered sufficiently to clear his eyes, Simon found himself meeting the gaze of a powerful-looking man. From his garb, he must be a priest, and although his eyes were serious, there was a kindness in his voice as he told Simon: ‘You did well, my friend. You saved his life.’

He had rolled the lad onto his belly, his head nearest the sea so his legs were uppermost, and then pushed repeatedly on the fellow’s back. Even as he spoke to Simon he was still pumping. ‘Yes, this boy will live. You were on a ship together?’

‘Where are we?’

‘On the isle of Ennor. Some miles from Cornwall. You’re Cornish?’

‘Devon,’ Simon responded shortly.

‘Hmm. You drew the short straw in life, I see. How many were there on your ship?’

Simon tried to calculate. ‘Myself and three other passengers, six I think in the crew, and this lad.’

‘So many!’ The priest stopped his pumping for a moment. ‘Aye, and I expect there will be more, foundered on other shores. The sea is a hard mistress.’

Simon nodded. ‘My friend … he was washed from the deck …’ His voice broke as he recalled the events of the previous night.

‘He may have lived. You can never tell with the sea,’ the other man said reassuringly: a lie of this sort was kinder than the truth. ‘Come with me. I am called William. At my home we can fill you with warm drink and good bread.’

‘What about the others? The ship is still out there,’ Simon said, pointing a shaking finger vaguely out towards the empty sea.

‘If it’s that way, it’ll be seen and no doubt many of my neighbours will want to go and see what the damage is,’ William said drily. As he well knew, when food was scarce, the islanders would themselves turn to piracy. Wrecks saved them the risks of such adventures. The people of the islands made good profits from wrecks. Any who helped rescue the vessel would be entitled to a share of half its value. The new law of salvage was understood and appreciated by all on the islands. Not that it mattered, William thought privately. He had been kept awake all night by the storm, sleeping with his flock in the little barn, and he was sure that these two were enormously lucky to have survived. Surely no one else could have, if the ship had foundered. In any case, if there were beams from the ship … ‘Aha!’

Simon followed his excited gaze. ‘What?’

‘There’s a damn great lump of wood out there. Wait here a minute!’ William declared gleefully, and waded into the cold waters. He soon reached Simon’s baulk of timber, and pushed it into shore, dragging it up the beach, a smile breaking across his face. ‘This will replace the broken lintel at my church! Perfect! Now for hot drink and food!’

So saying, William picked up the slight figure of the boy, who was now coughing weakly, and led the way up a sandy path. Simon was exhausted, and had to stop and rest at every opportunity, although it was only a matter of a few tens of yards, and William was patient, waiting for him whenever the coughing or sobbing took him over.

‘Come, master. We’ll soon have you before a fire. Life looks better with a warm fire in front of you.’

Simon knew that. Long before they reached William’s door his teeth had begun to chatter uncontrollably, and as soon as he saw the stool near the fire, he tried to sit on it. His enfeeblement made him miss the mark and he fell over, painfully striking his head against a hearthstone. Even when he had righted the stool and tried again, he slumped so heavily that he nearly overbalanced. In preference he seated himself on the packed clay of the floor.

‘I’ll have to send for the castle’s men,’ William said. ‘But I’d dearly like to know how you came to survive and make it here.’

‘We were lucky.’

‘You mentioned a friend?’

‘We were chased by pirates,’ Simon said shortly. ‘They came upon us on our route home from Compostela.’

‘They are the devil’s own whelps, these foreign pirates,’ William said with feeling. ‘They plunder where they may, murdering as they …’ Then he noticed Simon’s expression and waved. ‘My apologies. Please continue.’

Simon spoke as the man poured wine from a small barrel into a large pot, which he set on a trivet over his fire. There were three goodly-sized logs glowing, and William soon blew them into life.

‘We fought them. They came at us like wolves, and when they threw their grappling irons, it was all we could do to keep them away. They would have overcome us, but for my friend. He slew their leader, and they withdrew, but they had done the damage already. They’d killed the helmsman and three other sailors. There weren’t enough men to steer and man the thing. When the storm hit us, we were driven like lost souls in front of devils. It was a terrible sound, the way that the wind sang in the ropes.’

William nodded. He hoped Simon wouldn’t speak of such things in front of any of the fishermen in the vill. They would mercilessly rib a man who didn’t know his cable from a sheet or a sheet from a shroud.

‘Then,’ Simon continued, ‘the sail burst. It was like a clay plate being struck by a hammer! One moment it was there — the next: nothing! A man went up to do something, but the next gust took him away. All we could do was lie down and cling on to anything that came to hand.

‘We survived like that for a good long while, and then there was a scraping jerk, and the ship spun around on her centre. One of the sailors cried aloud in prayer, saying we’d struck a rock and must be destroyed. Another one told him to shut up, that while there was life in our bodies, we had a chance, and then a great wave came over the ship.

‘My friend Baldwin was holding on to a baulk of timber that ran along the side of the ship. It was held rigidly in place, but this mass of water crashed over him, and when I could see again, there was a hole in the side of the ship. All that rail had gone, and with it, Baldwin.

‘I think that I gave up then. I wanted to be dead myself. It was awful to think of drowning in that sea, consumed by the waters, but the weather began to abate almost immediately, as though God was satisfied with our sacrifice. He had taken enough.’

It made the tears spring back into Simon’s eyes to think of that moment. When he saw Baldwin was gone, he felt as though a great void had opened in his own chest. With a scream, he almost hurled himself into the water to try to find Baldwin, but Sir Charles had taken his arm and prevented him.

William nodded. ‘I know, friend. I come from a seafaring family myself. My own brother Jan went to sea — and I am inordinately glad that I found a vocation in the Church. Our father died in the sea, and so do so many who depend upon it.’

‘You thought I was Jan, didn’t you?’ Simon recalled. The priest had called him ‘Jan’.

‘There was a resemblance,’ William said quietly. ‘Please, continue.’

‘Not long afterwards, the cog spun around a few times, and then seemed to shudder, and with that, she began to move again. I think the water rose and lifted her off her rocky spike. But she was badly holed. A man went to look, and came back to say that she couldn’t survive. She was about to sink. We jumped and found the beam you have left at the waterside, and held fast to it. When dawn came, we saw — God! with how much relief! — this island. I made for it with all the strength I had. The others …’

‘Don’t worry about them. If they all followed your example, perhaps they will all be well enough.’ William rose. ‘And now, master, if you will excuse me, I shall report my finding of you to the Lord of the Manor. He will want to know.’

Aye, he added sourly to himself. And Ranulph will want to be among the first of the thieving devils to get his hands on any free cargo!

He was the kindest man on St Nicholas. That was the trouble. Tedia sniffed as she went about her work that next morning. Mariota had sent Tedia with food to wake Isok, and Tedia had found him snoring on Mariota’s bench, the goat bleating angrily. Tedia released the animal and tethered her outside, then woke her husband and gave him a loaf and some cheese for the day. Isok had taken them, then disappeared quietly, walking along the shoreline to meet his brother and others, to mend nets and chat. Tedia waved to him once, and then realised that he wouldn’t turn to acknowledge her, and she bent her steps homewards, sobbing quietly.

She knew she was the subject of gossip all over the islands. The men and women of St Nicholas, St Elidius, Bechiek and Ennor all knew of her troubles — and Isok’s complaint. Who wouldn’t? Even the children pointed and giggled. They knew as well as any that a man and woman who couldn’t couple couldn’t perform their most important responsibility: have children of their own.

Tedia was no shrew. She didn’t want to see her husband hurt. Poor Isok. All he had wanted to do was keep her happy, and he had tried his best. He had tried to consummate their marriage, while Tedia had made herself as alluring as possible, lying naked before him, squirming and pleading with him to service her, touching him with the enthusiasm born of hope and simple lust, but it had all failed. There was nothing she could do with the touch of her hands, breasts or lips that would make the broken wand stand.

While Tedia felt her excitement wane, to be replaced with shame and frustration, Isok reddened, chewing at his lip. It was the beginning of his bitterness, and all because she wanted him to do his duty by her, as he himself wished. Now all was too late. Tedia had applied herself to the problem with her usual single-mindedness, and when all else appeared to have failed, she spoke to the new priest up at the chapel of St Elidius to ask for his advice.

Luke was a better-looking priest than the average, she reckoned. He was well-made, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His eyes were a startling blue, his hair fair, and he had that way of looking at a person, as though there was no one else in the whole island who mattered. Her frustration was grown so great Tedia would consider anything — any man. She reckoned that if she wanted, she could have taken Mabilla’s place as another priest’s mare. Perhaps she still could. Trouble was, if she were to do that, it would almost certainly mean the end of Luke’s time here. Mabilla’s man, Peter Visconte, had been called back to Exeter as soon as stories of their behaviour reached the Bishop. The talk about that affair hadn’t stopped yet, although it had happened a good seven or eight years ago.

Strange that such a witty, intelligent man should have been sent here. The islanders were used to a strange mixture of malcontents and incompetents. To have someone who was apparently learned was curious. Especially since Luke was so good at the way he put his ideas across. All the women thought he was wonderful. Brosia was always preening herself when she went to church. The reeve’s wife said Luke always stared at her breasts. Tedia thought Brosia was fooling herself. The man had more interest in people like Tedia — someone with intelligence. That much was obvious.

But he was still a priest, and Tedia drew the line at seducing a man of God. The thought that she might do that was scary. She preferred to pick on men more of her standing. And Robert, the gather-reeve of Ennor, their neighbouring island, was the best she had seen.

He was a good-looking fellow, once he stopped strutting about. Most of the time he walked around like a constipated duck. She’d told him that, and he had looked hurt, but then he had to laugh with her.

It had been a long, wonderful summer’s day, only a matter of two weeks ago. Isok and the men were out in the boats, and Robert had come past. Tedia was thirsty after a backbreaking morning digging in her field, and Robert had been carrying a wine-skin.

‘That looks good enough to kill for!’ she had said, half-jokingly, almost before she realised what she was saying. This man was the gather-reeve for the Lord of the Manor, Ranulph Blancminster, after all! If Robert were to denounce her for her lack of respect, she could have been taken and whipped. She’d put nothing past Blancminster.

The latter instilled fear in all the peasants. Ruthless and indifferent, he ruled the islands under his authority like a monarch. There was no one on Ennor to restrain him, and although Tedia lived on St Nicholas, and was serf to the Prior, owned by the Manor and ultimately answerable to the Abbot of Tavistock, the Lord of Ennor would be a very bad enemy for a mere peasant.

‘You think I’d be worth killing just for a mouthful of wine?’ Robert had asked, with mock offence. ‘Perhaps I am too violent to give up my wine without a fight.’

‘You’d wrestle with a poor woman like me, sir?’ she’d responded, and then flushed to the roots of her hair.

Tedia knew that it wasn’t so often that a woman would flirt so suggestively with any man — especially the gather-reeve. She hadn’t meant to — but when he grinned at her he was quite handsome, and she felt a familiar stirring at the sight. It reignited memories which she had tried so hard to suppress. Memories of rolling naked with a boy in fields of flowers while the sun warmed their backs; memories of swimming naked with boys; memories of golden afternoons with nothing to do but lie in the grass and listen to the waves while a boy’s hands investigated her body with a cautious, delicious reverence.

‘I think there should always be wine for a lady,’ he had said, and within the hour, they were sitting side by side on the beach at the westernmost porth of the island, beyond the line of hills that hid them from the view of the vill and the monks of St Nicholas. Here they spoke for hours, until the sun was moving too far from its zenith. As it began to sink westward, they had stopped speaking, and merely watched. The wine was all gone, and Tedia felt a warmth flowing through her body from the unaccustomed drink. She wanted to stay there for ever. If she had died then, she would have died happy.

Her happiness almost turned to ecstasy when she touched him and felt him shake. And then she kissed him, softly, sweetly, and with real affection. An affection which grew to desire when she saw how his body had responded. She stared at him for what felt like an age.

It was curious. No, it was more than that: it was wonderful, exciting, thrilling! For the last few years she had felt like an old woman: undesired and unlovable. No matter what Isok said to her, she always believed that it was her fault. It was her sin, perhaps, in loving too many boys when she was a girl before she married; or maybe it was something Isok had done. She had no idea. All she knew was, that suddenly she had here, within reach, proof that she was not undesirable, that she could still make a man’s heart run with liquid fire. She could make his manhood rise as firmly and proudly as a mare could her stallion or a bitch her dog. She was still a woman.

That discovery was wonderful. It was as though her life had suddenly begun again. The desperation and despair of the last years were wiped out as though by magic, and in their place was a new confidence. This was the proof: the problem was not hers, it was her man who was at fault. And yet she could do nothing about it. She was tied to him with indissoluble chains, witnessed by God.

Attempting to balance her feelings and desires in this way, Tedia had driven herself almost into a brain fever. For two days she felt as though she was floating on a cloud of happiness high over all her troubles, and even tried to invigorate her husband again, but then she sank into the pit of despair once more. It was while she was deep in a depression on the fourth day that she had sought out Luke, the chaplain. She needed spiritual help.

At once he had seen her misery and asked what the matter was. After a lot of snivelling and sadness, she confessed that she had no idea what to do, explaining her predicament.

‘My child, the solution is easy,’ he said with that gentle smile of his. ‘You must divorce him.’

If Isok was unable to service her, he was failing in his duty to God and to her. She must find a new husband so that she wouldn’t fail in her duty. That meant she must divorce her Isok.

She listened with her mouth agape. The idea was shameful! Terrible! But there was a certain elegant logic to it. Divorce was less bad than continuing life without sex or children. That was unbearable. It was an insult to God, Who had commanded that men and women should multiply.

When Luke explained it to her, it seemed so clear and logical, she was overwhelmed with gratitude. He told her that she must find another man. That it would only be doing God’s will, were she to find a lover; she should find a man who could satisfy her, and whom she could also satisfy, while also producing the children which God desired above all else.

Of course, she thought. That is natural. And then Luke reached forward, and kissed her so kindly, she had felt her heart leap in response. She had risen, thanked him and explained that she must return to her husband or he would wonder where she was. There was a slightly petulant expression on his face when she said that, but she hadn’t thought much of it at the time.

So she had made her choice. Her lover was to be Robert. Last night she had hoped to consummate her love for him, and then, when the divorce was granted, she would go to Robert and be his wife. They would live at the castle behind La Val and would have many children as God wished.

Except Robert had not arrived the night before. It was no surprise. He was a man of authority. His face was known across all the islands, and he could have been called away to deal with a problem somewhere else. Or maybe he was simply intimidated by the weather. He could well have rationalised that her husband might have turned back from the sea as soon as he saw the storm approach, just as Isok actually had. In which case, Robert might be coming to see her today to apologise.

With this thought in mind, she left her home and walked down to the beach.

It was smothered in driftwood and weeds. The sands which had been so clean and white the day before, were now cluttered with pebbles and dirt. Sections of the grassed banks at the top of the beach were rent asunder, the rich soil spilling out and staining the sand. When she continued along the seashore, she saw huts and houses with their thatch blown apart, and in one case a house had lost its entire roof. The peasant who lived there was standing on an unstable ladder trying to make the best of it he could. Tedia thought that she should offer to let him stay with her in her house, but then a certain rectitude told her that it might be a bad idea while her husband was away in his boat, as he had said he would be.

Isok had been acting oddly ever since she had said that she wanted a divorce. It appeared not to surprise him, but had sent him into a sulky mood that hadn’t gone away. She wanted to comfort him, but it wasn’t possible. He resented her, as though she was disloyal in desiring a divorce. She could understand that. Still, she didn’t dislike him. Perhaps her love had dwindled over the long barren years, but she was still fond of him. If they had managed to have children, she was sure that he would have made a good father. He was kind and generous, more so than many other husbands. There was only his one failing: but that was a vital and unforgivable one.

She sighed. The sooner she could proceed with the divorce, the better. She had already spoken with Prior Cryspyn and asked that he petition on her behalf. At first, the Prior had refused, saying that an oath spoken before God could not be undone even by the Bishop’s court, but then he had relented enough to agree to write to the Bishop and set out the facts on her behalf. He had said that he would hope for an answer soon, or at least some indication of how to proceed, even if a simple annulment was not possible.

Putting the thoughts away from her with a skill which she had learned from her despair, Tedia considered the view, glancing over towards the main island, Ennor. In the water she saw many pieces of wood, and she wondered whether a ship had been driven onto one of the many groups of rocks which were scattered so liberally about here.

The sea brought up many strange objects, but last night’s storm must have been more violent than any she had witnessed before, she reckoned, because there was a vast amount of flotsam and jetsam. Pieces of timber, ropes, small barrels, and bundles of rags. That must mean a large ship had gone down. With a sudden certainty, she turned and stared out towards Ennor. There, near the westernmost tip of Agnas, she saw what looked like a dismasted ship rolling on the low tide, and the sight tore at her heart. Born an islander, she knew what a wreck meant: dead men.

As though her mind suddenly appreciated the sight, she gasped, turned and bolted towards the rags. They were yellowish green, lying up near the top of the tide-mark, and as she approached, she was sure that she was too late. The cold of the sea must have killed him; if not that, then surely he had taken in too much water to live. He couldn’t have survived.

But when she came closer, she could hear the stertorous breath snoring in his throat and nose, and she ran to him to see whether she might save him, little knowing how this meeting would change her future for ever.

Chapter Five

Ranulph de Blancminster was already out investigating the damage done to his properties when William arrived at the small castle, and William couldn’t help but feel that it was fortunate. He and the Lord of the Manor had never seen eye to eye, and William dreaded to think of the expression on Ranulph’s face when he heard that there was easy plunder from a wrecked ship.

Ennor Castle itself with its new crenellations appeared unaffected by the storms. It was a simple rectangular keep, sitting on a craggy outcrop of rock with a rocky outer wall enclosing the main court with its stables, cookhouse and stores. It was not designed to protect the occupants from invasion, and a good thing too, in William’s view. Still, it was built of good local stone which could keep out discontented islanders, and that was all Ranulph wanted.

Outside the walls were more stables and stores, together with some living quarters for the men who served the castle and Ranulph’s manor all about. These were in turmoil as William walked through, and he offered his sympathy to women who forlornly picked through the wreckage of huts blown over in the gales, all their meagre belongings crushed beneath. One mother sat sniffing sightlessly, a dead child cradled in her arms. The father was nearby, picking up timbers and throwing them aside, calling increasingly desperately to his other daughter. William felt a clutch at his heart at the sight. This was the reality of God’s power. Simple folk could be destroyed in the twinkling of an eye. At least this woman would soon conceive and bear more children. They would have to be her consolation in the future, for these two would soon be only a sad memory.

He had known both children since their births; he’d christened them both. He came here to St Mary’s in Ennor when Peter Visconte was ordered away by the Prior after his whoring with Mabilla de Marghasiou, the ‘priest’s mare’ whom he had brought with him when he first arrived in the islands. At the time William was living a quieter life up in the chapel of St Elidius in the north of the islands, but he had been commanded by the Bishop to come here and take over Peter Visconte’s responsibilities, and his own little chapel had sunk into disuse until Brother Luke arrived. Clearly Luke had been badly behaved, because the Bishop had given him the hermit’s chapel. William, by contrast, had been told to stay here at Ennor instead.

William looked about him with a blank expression. He must comfort the people here, he knew, and yet he would have been happier to have been left up on St Elidius. He craved the peace of his little chapel. Not like Luke, who appeared to loathe it.

Luke was a weird one. He was certainly bright enough. His sermons seemed to catch the folk all about with their vivid depictions of suffering, as though he himself had experienced loss and pain; he fixed on the sins of the flesh a little too much for William’s taste. William himself felt happier preaching against the sins of gluttony, pride and sloth — especially when he observed Ranulph de Blancminster in his audience.

There was something in Luke’s expression that spoke of sadness. No, it was more than that. Perhaps it was soul-deep. William had a theory that there were two types of person. Some wore their sadness on view for all to see. The woman who had lost her children was one example: she would mourn loudly when the terrible torpor which now had her in its grip finally left. Then would begin the longer period of quiet grief.

Others couldn’t afford to succumb to their misery. Her husband was an example. He would work now, seeking to save whatever he could from their little property, and when that was done, he would spend his time in trying to comfort his woman. He would hide his sadness, but it would still be there, deep within him, burning away at him like a canker.

Of the two, William was sure that the man needed the more support. The woman had her man to give her his strength, but there was no one apart from the chaplain to give her husband comfort. His pain lay far below, not up on the surface. It was there that William must concentrate his efforts.

Luke had that same sort of quiet, concealed pain. It was a manly pain, a hidden grief that was enough to tear at his soul, but which he could not mention to others. Perhaps he had raised it with his confessor at St Nicholas’s Priory. Because Luke had come here from a convent, so William had heard (gossip among the brothers and other religious was more common than among the most garrulous women on the islands), he was confessed by the Prior himself, so William had heard. That in itself was a bit curious. Not many lowly chaplains had such a prestigious confessor.

Yes. It was possible that the fellow had a deep hurt which had led to his being brought here to recover himself.

However, William was unconvinced. He had seen the way Luke’s eyes invariably sought out the prettiest women in his congregation and stayed there. To William’s mind, Luke was the sort of man who depended upon women to keep him content, and that was a poor qualification for a celibate. It was more likely that Luke was here for a failing. Perhaps it was that common failing among priests: the same as that which led to Peter Visconte being removed from St Mary’s in the first place.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Walerand made his way from the castle towards the marshy lands in the middle of Ennor, and thence up towards Penn Trathen.

He was relatively new to Ranulph’s service, but he was confident that he’d be promoted before too long. For now, he was merely a servant, but he hoped to follow men like Robert, the gather-reeve, and become a known strong man. Perhaps he could take over Robert’s job, winning money for their master. It was easy enough. The man only had to sneer a bit, act tough, and these pathetic bastards gave him their money. Walerand could do all that. More, in fact, because he wouldn’t stop at a scowl. He’d be happy to beat the living shit from most of the cretins on the islands.

He wasn’t born here. Originally he came from Falmouth, but an unfortunate mistake had led to his leaving in a hurry. The mistake was, he had thought that the priest in the church up on the hill just outside the town, was asleep. Sadly, he wasn’t, and when Walerand tried to pinch the plate, the chaplain had come in breathing hellfire and damnation. Walerand had been forced to pull out his knife to defend himself as the priest drew his sword and denounced him as a trailbaston and thief. Luckily, the priest was old and unused to fighting, whereas Walerand had grown up as an orphan in the rougher streets of Falmouth, and was more than capable of defending himself. He ducked under the priest’s blade, then stabbed upwards, feeling his own blade snag on something. Unpleasantly convinced that the ‘something’ was the priest’s heart (it was in fact merely a jerkin of sheepskin which the priest wore under his tunic during the miserable winter months, and he was unscathed), Walerand fled the place with no money and the conviction that he had consigned his eternal soul to hell.

The islands had called to him eventually. It had taken some while. After the botched robbery, he had escaped to Truro and tried his hand at many jobs, but every time, when a tradesman realised that he had never been apprenticed, he was looked at askance, apart from in the small brothel there, where any fellow could have gained a position.

One day, he heard of the island of Ennor from a sailor who had been there, and learned that there was a place which was a haven for outlaws. As soon as he heard this, he resolved to visit and offer his services. The sailor was happy to take him there, for a fee, and before dawn the next morning, Walerand stole the purse of the brothel’s keeper, and boarded ship. As he had hoped, Ranulph was happy enough to have him as one of his men, initially a servant, but soon no doubt he could take on more responsibilities as a man-at-arms or something.

He’d like that. He might even turn out to be better at that than at collecting the taxes. All too often people paid up on time, which wasn’t what Walerand wanted. He’d prefer a weaker peasant to give him trouble so that he could give the poxy shite a good kicking. He had gone with Robert before now, helping the gather-reeve as one of his guards; Robert always had guards about him because so many people here hated the tax collector. Robert got in their way, took whatever money they had, and most of them thought he stole a slice for himself. What if he did? Walerand thought it was fair payment for a man who had a hard enough job of it, trying to keep track of who owned what, who earned what, and who could pay what. If he made a bit on the side, that was only to be expected. He was farming the farmers.

It was no surprise that the folks here disliked him. Although it was odd to Walerand that Robert felt he should have a guard. From Walerand’s experience, there was no one on the island who was enough of a threat to the men from La Val’s castle to justify the protection of men-at-arms.

He walked farther up the coast. His master, the Lord of the Manor, had told his men to go and investigate his properties to see if they had been affected by the storm. Ranulph himself had gone to the worst-hit parts, over on the south-eastern side of the island, to inspect the damage. It was expected that there would be extensive waste of the crops over there, and he had some flocks pastured there too, which he wanted to see, to assure himself that they were all well. Meanwhile, the servants had been ordered to view other stretches, and Walerand had been detailed to come here, to the northernmost tip of Ennor, at the place called Penn Trathen by the locals. It meant ‘the end of the sand bar’, a treacherous spit of sand that always caught the unwary larger boats when they attempted to pass between St Nicholas and Ennor at low tide.

It was not the sort of work which appealed to Walerand’s nature. He broke off a stick from a hedge and used it to slash at the road as he went. From the castle, he had taken the old rutted track towards the middle of the island, until he reached the marshes. Once there, he took a detour around them, not knowing the safe routes through the middle which older Ennor hands told him existed. Once Walerand had witnessed the death of a pony which had fallen into the marshes, and its protracted suffering had amused him, but he had resolved never to allow himself to sink into that same damp embrace.

From the marshes, he had to climb the little hill. At the top he began to drop down again, towards the shore. Walking down between the fields, he soon passed in among the little stand of trees which a farmer had planted as his shaw. Once through them, the trail took him down to Penn Trathen itself.

He stopped at the treeline. Here he could see the length of the sand bar clearly, with the line of old rocks below the surface, their position clear because of the slimy trails of seaweed which clung to them. The sight made him shiver with revulsion. To his mind seaweed looked like a dead man’s fingers, and the feel of the soft, stringy tissues against his skin made him want to scream with terror, as though the weeds would drag him down into the icy depths of the sea. It was a fear he had wisely not confessed to his companions in the castle, but when he saw the peasants collecting kelp and drying it for fuel, he wanted to be sick.

Some said that the line of rocks here was an old road which was now submerged, but Walerand neither knew nor cared whether that was true. He would never try a roadway that was so smothered with weeds.

Continuing down the path, which now grew sandy and less muddy, he reached the shore and started for the point. There was not so much damage here, he noted. Some of the cottages had suffered badly, their roofs blown off, their doors of hanging leather or old wood stripped, their windows of waxed linen shredded, but that was the problem of the peasants, nothing to do with de Blancminster. No, his concern was the fields which bounded the sea, and the animals which lay within.

Since the fields were small here, the walls and trees offered good protection to the creatures, and when he peered over the walls, Walerand saw that the cattle and sheep appeared to have forgotten any fears from the night before. The cows sat chewing the cud contentedly, the sheep circled their pastures, cropping the grass.

Bored, Walerand wandered idly to the shore and kicked up the sand. Here, above the watermark, the sand was still cluttered with rubbish from the water which had blown over it the night before. Pieces of timber abounded, and he frowned. Surely a ship must have foundered for there to be so many wasted baulks lying about here.

A man who had lived on the islands for any period soon knew when to look for an opportunity, and Walerand was no exception. He knew that the island folk would soon be out here, scavenging whatever they could from the wreckage, and rather than let them take everything, he started searching for valuables. You never could tell what might have been lost from a drowning ship.

The treasure he found, though, was more directly beneficial to him than all the timbers and trinkets which might have fallen from the ship.

He had just passed Penn Trathen, and was continuing along the coast, when he saw an odd lump in the grassy dunes. Walking over to it, he saw it was a boot, and a good one at that, so he scrambled up the sand to grab it. But when he got to it, he saw that it wasn’t one boot, it was a pair of them, bound together with a short thong. He had bent to pick them up, already assessing their value and quality, when he saw something else.

A short distance beyond lay a man: Robert, their owner. He lay on his back, his hosen off, leaving him bare-legged, his jack open at the breast and his shirt beneath a curious hue. There was blood on his lips, and Walerand realised that more had run down his torso and stained the sand a pale pink all about him. When Walerand saw his face, he thought Robert must have died in agony, his hands scrabbling at the sand and grasses about him. Some grasses still protruded from his dead left hand, although when Walerand prodded at the hand with his boot, the bits and pieces fell away, leaving his clawed hand resting on the sand.

This was an unpopular place because it was said that a vill had once stood here until the sea had overwhelmed it. Ghosts were supposed to populate the place. Now Walerand looked about him, but he felt no fear. He had seen enough dead men to know that Robert was no longer a danger to him. More to the point, as he told himself happily, throwing the boots over his shoulder and whistling, the job of gather-reeve was open again. He began searching for booty among the corpse’s belongings. Maybe his promotion would come sooner than he had expected.

On St Nicholas, it took some little time for Tedia to gather up women and two men to carry the body to her house. As the woman who had found him, Tedia laid claim to the half-drowned man, and soon had him laid upon a palliasse in her home. It made for a crowded room, but there was nothing she could do about that.

Baldwin for his part was only semi-conscious. He came to partly as soon as he felt Tedia’s hand on his neck, gently stroking him, but the night had taken its toll, as had the shock of the long journey, swimming desperately in the hope that he might find a spar or piece of jetsam to cling to. It seemed too much to hope that he might strike land, and as soon as his exhausted mind took in the fact that he was safe, he fell into a deep sleep and was entirely unaware of anything that went on around him.

While the men stood in the doorway and watched, the women stripped the figure bare, then began to wash him with warm water fresh from the fire. His clothes were taken by Mariota, who shooed the men away, and then sat in the doorway with needle and thread to mend the worst of the tears, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the stained and malodorous material.

Tedia surveyed him as she cleaned him. There was blood in profusion from a graze at his temple and down past the left side of his jaw, and a long, deep scratch from his shoulder to his right nipple, and the women washed these areas most carefully with clean water. Salt in a wound caused great irritation, as the islanders knew. When all had been cleaned, one woman broke an egg, quickly separated out the yolk, and poured the white into the wounds to clean them. The yolk was set aside for him to eat later.

When he was cleaned, Tedia sat back on her heels and studied him. He was definitely good-looking, she thought. If she hadn’t already lost her heart to Robert, she could be tempted by a man like this.

He was much older, at least double her age, not that such a difference mattered. The thin line of beard that followed the line of his jaw was odd, for men generally wore their beards untrimmed or went close-shaven, but this man seemed to have cultivated an appearance of cleanliness, for all the filth on him from his time in the water. It was attractive, and she found herself wondering who he was and where he had come from, to arrive here so suddenly. His breathing was irregular, and now and again he made little snuffling noises, then gasps and cries in his sleep, and she stroked his hand and arm. Gradually his alarms faded and he calmed.

The other women all had their own work to attend to. They melted away when they could see that nothing exciting was likely to happen for some time. Before long even Brosia had gone (Tedia had seen her at the edge of the group while she washed Baldwin’s wounds), and there was only her Aunt Mariota left sitting impassively in the doorway, her needle rising and falling with her stitching.

‘This is a fine mess, isn’t it?’ Mariota said when she felt Tedia’s eyes upon her. She was a large woman with pendulous breasts under her shift from birthing and nursing eight boys. Three of them had survived to adulthood, a good record. ‘I wonder where the man’s ship struck.’

‘He doesn’t have the look of a sailor,’ Tedia said reflectively.

‘No,’ Mariota laughed. She held out her own hands, heavy and powerful like a man’s. Work had made them hard, just as it had made her arms more powerful than many a smith’s. ‘Look, mine are more horny than his! He must have an easy life of it. You mark my words: he’s a rich man.’

Tedia felt her aunt’s eyes on her. Mariota had the sharp intelligence of a woman who was used to dealing with her own problems alone, ever since her husband had died, many years before, in another storm. ‘You mean he may pay me for saving him?’

‘No. You know what I mean. When you have got divorced from that wastrel, you-’

‘There’s no need to call Isok a wastrel. He has done all he can.’

‘You protest all you want, maid. I only say what everyone else thinks. He may be a good enough fisherman, but he can’t snare his own wife, can he? What sort of a man does that make him? You mark my words, you’ll be best off without him. Feel sorry for him, by all means, but you need a new life. A new man.’

‘He has been a good husband to me,’ Tedia stated, and left her aunt sitting there on her stool with her wise old eyes sparkling with humour.

The trouble was, there were no secrets on an island. She had gone to Luke, and already her aunt knew all about it. So did everybody else on the island. As she left her home, Tedia was sure that she could feel their eyes on her. She set her back defiantly and strode proudly, bucket in hand, to fetch fresh water.

Meanwhile, in William’s church of St Mary’s on Ennor, Simon Puttock felt his eyes growing heavier with each passing moment. Soon after William had left him, he nodded, his chin resting on his breast, and when he came to with a start, he saw that an old man with a long, skeletal frame was sitting cross-legged at the cabin-boy’s side.

He had a hand on the boy’s wrist, and he mumbled to himself softly. As he spoke, he lifted his other hand outstretched, and then slowly let it fall towards the boy’s chest. Simon almost expected to hear something as it touched, but there was nothing, only a sudden pause in the old man’s voice.

‘He’ll be well now.’

‘Who are you?’ Simon asked. He had no need to ask what the man had done. He was a charmer, a man who could cure animals of most ailments. Such men were prized in vills of all sizes, although often frowned upon by the Church.

‘I’m known as Hamadus. It’s a good enough name, I daresay, master.’

‘Tell me, where are we?’ Simon asked. ‘The priest told me, but …’

‘But you were tired. Yes, you did well, master, getting all the way here. You are on the island of Ennor. It’s south and west of your land.’

‘Ennor.’ Simon had heard of it before.

‘It is owned by the Earl of Cornwall,’ Hamadus added helpfully.

It was little help to Simon. The information only made him realise how much further he must travel to get to his home. ‘Christ’s blood, and I have to cross the damned water again,’ he groaned.

‘To get home?’ Hamadus cackled. ‘Of course, my friend. You can go nowhere from here without getting your feet wet, apart from to other islands, when you’re very lucky and the tide’s well out.’

‘I don’t want to go to other islands,’ Simon said. ‘I only want to make my way home.’

‘You’ll have a wait. There’s a boat every once in a while.’

‘What of all the ships based here on the islands?’

Hamadus shrugged with a happy smile. ‘They’re all looking for your ship now. They’ll try to steal everything they can before Ranulph finds it, and then they’ll claim salvage. You know what that is?’

‘Yes. I know,’ Simon said. After all, when he returned home, he was to take up a new post at Dartmouth, under his master, Abbot Champeaux of Tavistock, who had bought the post of Keeper of the Port. The good Abbot hoped to make a profit for the Abbey, so that it would be left with a favourable balance on his death. Simon knew that his master was determined to see the Abbey on a sound footing, and the way that the Abbot had arranged the Abbey’s finances, Simon was comfortably assured that his master would succeed. ‘Who is this Ranulph?’

‘Ranulph de Blancminster, the Lord of the Manor. He owns all these islands, apart from the northern ones, of course. They are the Abbey’s.’

Now Simon remembered the name. Of course! Tavistock Abbey owned property in a place called Ennor. This must be the same place. That was a stroke of luck, since he was himself in the Abbey’s employ. ‘Thank God,’ he breathed.

‘Salvage is the law that means a man can win himself a share of half the value of the ship he finds, if he helps it to be saved. Half of the value of the ship and all the goods inside it.’

‘Yes,’ Simon said as testily as his tiredness allowed. ‘I know.’

‘Better than a wreck, of course.’

‘I know … Why?’

Hamadus grinned, as though acknowledging that he had won Simon’s interest against his will. ‘Because salvage means that they will save lives if they can. They’ll win money anyway, but if it’s supposed to be a wreck, then they have the problem.’

Simon waited impatiently. His head was hurting already, and he had no wish to sit here listening to the old dollypoddle. ‘Well?’

‘It’s not a wreck if there is a man, woman, dog or cat left alive, is it? In the good old days, people would sometimes kill everyone, just to remove witnesses, and then they’d take the ship and its cargo for themselves. It was profitable in those days. Unless the King’s Coroner, or the Earl’s Havener got to hear of it. Many were hanged for taking a ship that wasn’t theirs. The law of salvage is better: a man knows he can go and save a ship and all the souls in her, and be paid up to half the value of the vessel and her cargo. It means losing the whole value and only claiming a part, but at least a man doesn’t risk his neck for the money. Better for all.’

‘They would kill people to prevent witnesses giving testimony against them?’ Simon asked, appalled.

‘Do you realise how much some of these ships can be worth?’ Hamadus asked scathingly.

‘So a King’s Coroner lives here?’ Simon said. ‘A Coroner must view all wrecks.’

‘Not here. We have the earldom’s Haveners to answer to. The money goes to the earldom.’

Simon was frowning. His head ached, and his eyes felt gritty and foul from saltwater, as though someone had thrown a handful of sand into each. ‘That makes no sense. I thought the King owned all wrecks. It’s nothing to do with the islanders.’

‘The King?’ Hamadus laughed aloud. Standing, he walked over to Simon and crouched at his side, eyes gleaming like a demon’s. ‘You think the King’s writ runs here? He’s a clever man, so they say — witty, generous and bold — but that means nothing here. We live miles from him. He would have to cross the seas to find us. We have our own laws.’

Simon felt a sudden shaft of fear as the man lifted his hand to Simon’s face, but there was nothing he could do to protect himself. It was just the exhaustion of the ship’s foundering, he told himself; that and the loss of his closest friend. To have lost Baldwin was appalling. It made him feel a renewed grief, and as though in sympathy, his eyes watered again.

It was good, though. As soon as the old man’s hand touched his face, he felt refreshed. His eyes were less sore, his body a little less worn. Instead he felt overcome with an enveloping lassitude.

‘But the King’s laws …’ he muttered.

‘Here we have the Earl’s laws,’ Hamadus said, his voice showing that he was concentrating on other things. ‘Well, usually. If a ship is wrecked, it’s not the King’s. It may be the Prior’s, and it may be the earldom’s, but if Ranulph claims it, the earldom won’t argue. Ballocks! It’ll probably never even hear of it!’

His voice seemed to come from a long way away. Simon knew that the hand was gone, but he didn’t care. For the first time in weeks he felt secure. In Spain he had suffered from illness and wounds; while travelling he had been constantly on his guard, worried that a sailor might rob him, or a footpad cut his purse, and this felt a soothing, reassuring place in which to rest. ‘Sleep well,’ were the last words he heard.

Chapter Six

There had been no such calm voice speaking to Jean de Conket when he finally felt secure enough to drop exhausted on the thwart and cover himself with a blanket. He was asleep almost before the thick blanket had settled over him.

Waking in the warmth of the noonday sun, Jean stared about him with confusion. His men were still, for the most part, sitting at their rowing positions, backs bent over their oars, snoring, some of them, fit to raise the dead from the deeps. But they were alive. A stabbing pain made Jean wince and snap his eyes shut. It was awful, but he had once been told that the worse the pain, the better the wound. Worst of all was a cut that felt fine, but when you touched the skin, you could feel the fever burning beneath. No, the fact that it hurt like hell was good. It meant that something was going on. The flesh was living still.

It was good, so good, to feel the sun on his face when he had not honestly expected to live to see another morning. Jean stood and peered about him. To one side was a quiet, tiny island, which must surely be uninhabited, except by birds. Southwards the view changed dramatically. Here was a broad expanse of land, a low-lying, flat place with few trees, none of which was more than a few feet tall, and much long grass. The shoreline was all vicious rocks, black with water. They could not go there for provisions. At least the mast could be mended, Jean thought sombrely. Last night it had cracked some thirty feet up with a noise like a cannon, and the top had sagged. It had taken a great deal of effort to rescue it, preventing it falling into the sea and dragging much of their rigging with it. By hard effort and with great good fortune, his men had saved it.

The sooner they were away from here, the better. Jean began assessing the work to be done before he would be happy that his ship was ready for the open sea again. There was no point in a voyage when Jean was unhappy with the ship’s worthiness. He wouldn’t risk her and his men so lightly. First they had to make the mast usable, and Jean wasn’t sure how, yet; there must be some way of strengthening what was left. Arnarld was a competent carpenter. When the man woke, Jean would ask his advice.

Jean himself was a cheerful man. A quirk of nature made him smile at any adversity, and his apparently easygoing character had led some enemies or business competitors to misjudge him. Most of them had later had cause to regret their mistake as they realised that the smile could remain on a man’s face as he killed another.

His woman would wonder what had happened to him. She would know that the storm had been worse than they could have expected, of course, but that was the nature of the sea. Sometimes it threw up worse weather than a man had reason to fear, and that was when the real mariners earned their reputations. At least Jean’s woman had seen him return after similar storms. She would know that he could win over it and get home. If he didn’t, he wondered now what would happen to her and their four sons. She’d probably have to resort to prostitution again. He shrugged. No doubt if she had to, she’d make the best of it. At least it would bring in some money.

Meantime, to make the mast good again would mean at least a day’s work, he estimated, and a day here in the open sea was not sensible.

It had felt like a miracle. When the storm had blown itself out, they had drifted for some while, until at last the light cleared and they saw that there were these islands to the south. Jean ordered the men to row them near to the shore, so that they would be a little protected. There was the lumpish island north of them, and the main land mass at the south meant that they were shielded from most eyes. The only danger here would come from someone on the land itself, and as Jean looked, he felt sure he could spot a roof of thatch on the island. It was a proof that they were not yet safe, but he had a feeling that there must be a safe harbour not far away.

He was sure, as they reached this place this morning, he had seen two massive rocks between this island and the lump. Either was long enough to conceal the ship from the land, and he could anchor there, far from nosy inhabitants, and effect the works that the vessel needed before they could set sail again.

First, though, he would take a small rowboat and have a man row to the island to check that there was no raiding party forming up to take the ship. Jean had to go and seek out any witnesses.

Mariota heard the footsteps return, and when Tedia had seated herself chastely, her hands in her lap, eyeing the sleeping man, Mariota shrugged.

There was nothing for her to say. Tedia knew full well that Mariota and all the others here had heard of her visit to Luke. Some had already started their tongues wagging, saying that Tedia couldn’t get satisfied by her husband, so she’d been forced to go to a priest. Funny how so many men laughed at that, as though it was hilarious to see a buxom little wench cuckold her husband with a priest. There were enough men who didn’t realise what their wives got up to. Men thought that theirs was the only sex which sought adventures outside marriage, but it was only because their women knew how to conceal their affairs.

Mariota wasn’t sure about Tedia, though. The rumours were strong enough, but the old woman fancied herself more able to see the truth than many of her neighbours. They all believed that any woman in Tedia’s position would throw herself at the first man who showed interest in her, compared with living with a man like poor Isok. Mariota was not so certain. She had been in love herself once, and she wondered whether even if her man had failed in the way that Isok had, she would have been ready to dive into the bed of any other man at the slightest opportunity.

Before she could question the girl, she heard approaching footsteps, and then the doorway was darkened by the heavy-set figure of the vill’s reeve in the doorway.

‘David,’ she said. ‘I thought you’d be out with the fishermen.’

‘What, looking for wrecks when we already have a man here? No, I heard of this fellow and thought I should see him for myself.’

He entered, head bowed low under the lintel, and stood up, hands on hips, a broad man, with a belly that was rapidly running to paunch. His hair was black, other than where flecks of white marred the overall appearance, and framed a face that was formed by the weather and the sea. The deep-set grey-blue eyes were steady and calm, his face a deep brown from years spent on the sea in boats of all sizes. His hands were large and powerful, strong enough to smash a man’s head in anger, but Mariota had never heard of his losing his temper. He was too confident of his own position as reeve on St Nicholas for that. The reeve was the leader of the men of the vill, the representative of the Prior among his villeins — but he was also master of the men when they went seeking ships to raid. Few dared answer him back, other than their lord, the Prior.

‘Well, child?’ he asked of Tedia. ‘Who and what is he?’

‘I found him on the beach this morning,’ she said.

‘Which beach?’ He had walked to Baldwin’s side and now stood staring down at the gently snoring man.

‘At the point, the nearest beach to Ennor.’

‘I see. There is no wreckage there,’ he mused. ‘Perhaps he was brought in with the water at high tide, or washed in on the storm, while his ship foundered on the eastern rocks, or Bechiek. It would make sense.’

Mariota chuckled richly. ‘You think a man could have been blown all that way, in between the islands, that easily? Reeve, you’ve been drinking too much wine.’

‘Learn respect,’ the reeve said, but lightly. He liked Mariota, and always had. She was irreverent, certainly, but that was no great difficulty. Reeve David was not afraid of people making fun of him. He felt it was a proof of his leadership that he dared to permit people to joke at his expense — especially the women. Any man who was disrespectful soon learned to regret his impertinence. ‘I have seen timbers land on our shores, and so have you. It’s possible that this man clutched a beam — or perhaps he was just blown in, through the gap between the isles and Ennor. I don’t care which. If Tedia says he was there, that is enough for me. Now, the question is, what do we do with him?’

‘Take him to the priory, of course,’ Tedia said.

‘Ah, but should we? He’d be safe enough there, it’s true, but if he’s worth a little money, and you have to admit that he looks as though he is, then we’d be better served, perhaps, to deliver him instead to La Val.’

‘No.’ Tedia was emphatic. ‘I found him on priory land and I am a villein to the Prior. It is nothing to do with La Val, and think what the Prior would say if he learned you’d delivered a poor man like this to Blancminster.’

‘Perhaps Blancminster will pay for him,’ David said, adding unkindly, ‘and you may have need of funds soon, good wife, in order to pay your procter to gain your freedom from Isok!’

‘I think,’ Mariota said, heaving herself to her feet, ‘that you should wait until he is fit, and then bring him to the priory, before taking him to La Val. That way, you make sure that he has the protection of the priory, and he couldn’t ask for more than that.’

David nodded thoughtfully, and then, as she sidled from the small room, turning at the doorway so that her massive hips wouldn’t snag on the timbers which made up the doorframe, David followed her, holding the door to one side as he went. ‘Mariota? May I speak with you?’

She nodded, but did not turn or acknowledge him. ‘Well?’

‘Luke — is it true about him and her?’

‘It’s true that he told her to get a divorce.’

‘I have seen how he stares at the women about here. Do you think he wants a priest’s mare for himself?’

‘How should I know? It wouldn’t be a surprise, would it? Look at Tedia. She’s attractive enough, isn’t she?’

David hissed, ‘That’s no excuse! Luke is a priest; he shouldn’t be tempting a woman from her husband!’

She threw him a look of annoyance. ‘You know how Isok and she have tried. They have done all in their power to try to consummate their marriage, but he can’t. That’s all there is to it. Tedia can’t wait for ever. She needs a man to fill her loins.’

David nodded abstractedly. His concerns did not lie with Tedia alone. He was worried about his own wife, Brosia. Although he dared not accuse her, because her tongue could be vicious, he was sure she was wagging her arse in the priest’s direction. ‘So she wants to leave him?’

‘Why — are you thinking of taking Tedia?’ Mariota said, and then laughed aloud at his expression. ‘Have no fear! I won’t gossip like some. No, she has her eyes elsewhere, David. Fear not that she’ll find someone.’

‘Like whom?’ he asked, his mind still fixed upon his own wife with a desperate unhappiness.

‘Why, surely that man in her home is as good as any!’ Mariota said, and with another bellow of laughter, she waddled away.

David essayed a weak smile, and then glanced back at the house. Brosia was a soft-looking, calm woman, but when angry, she was a vixen. She would bite his head off if he were to accuse her of trying to persuade Luke into her bed, but David was sure that she was already trying out the priest. Without the proof of his own eyes, she could reject his accusations, and make his life hell in the bargain, and the sad truth was, he daren’t risk such harmony as existed in their home by accusing her without proof. Most men were masters in their own homes; David was ruler of the men of St Nicholas and the ships that were born in St Nicholas, but a slave in his own home.

His eyes were anxious at first, but then they hardened, and when he finally made his way along the roadway towards the priory, his mind was made up. Whether Luke or another man, it mattered not a whit. No man would shame David’s community by taking someone else’s wife. Even if he was a priest.

In the priory, David’s master, Cryspyn of Morwelham, rubbed his eyes with the weariness of a man who had been awake all night.

It was not good enough that the storm should have hit the island so early in the evening, disrupting the sleep of monks who would have to rise in the middle of the night to pray and begin the devotions of the day, but as soon as their prayers were done, all the exhausted brothers had been forced to rush down to their oxen, their sheepfolds, and the poor gardens which contained all that they depended on for food. And then the roof had blown off the storehouse near the brewery, threatening all their barley. If they had not got to it immediately and carried the well-sewn and wrapped sacks away, their supplies would have been terribly diminished, and that could have spelled disaster for the convent. They needed the ale that the barley represented. Without it, they might be forced to leave St Nicholas Island until they could replenish the stores to a sufficient level. The Abbot, Robert Champeaux, would have been displeased with an evacuation, but the place was run on a tightly bound purse as it was, and there were simply not enough men to keep it going. The corollary to that was, that if there were more monks, there would be too many mouths to feed.

Cryspyn sighed. This was his constant worry. The place was perfect for them. Windswept, barren, it had been a wasteland when his brethren had arrived here two hundred years or more ago, during the Abbacy of Osbert. A monk called Turold had been sent here then with some brothers to see to the support of the churches.

In his own time, Cryspyn had seen why it was necessary to have men on the ground here. Raiders had come and stolen what they could, the weather had ruined many of the chapels on St Elidius, Bechiek, St Sampson and, of course, on St Nicholas itself, and all in all, coming here to the islands was not looked upon as a gift or honour, but more as a penance for some form of misdemeanour.

Cryspyn wouldn’t mind, except no one ever bothered to tell him why people were sent here. Obviously he knew why he was here, but he felt he would rather like to know if the priests and brothers were known to be rampant sodomites or womanisers. Either could have spelled at best embarrassment on islands like these. Damn it, if the good Abbot was going to send blasted fornicators here, the least he could do was warn his representative. Cryspyn had a good mind to write him a stiff letter. Except, as he acknowledged with a sigh, the Abbot was more capable than him at dictating terse and cutting letters. Not that he could exactly threaten much to Cryspyn. Once he’d arrived here, he had realised that this was about as bad as things could get. As he deserved.

He stood and went to the window, musing sadly.

It was many years ago now that he had committed that evil murder. He had not intended to kill. He had been waiting for her, but she brought the man into the chamber with her.

Their passion was so intense, it had scarred him for life. He had stepped from his hiding place as they flung away their clothing, and they were all but naked when he put his hand to his sword. Not that they noticed or cared. She was bending before the man, while he was looking down at her, a smile on his face … that smile! At the time Cryspyn thought it was the smile of a satyr, a foul, demonic thief of his woman’s heart, and it made his blood steam. In a furious passion, he lifted his sword and ran at them, the blade whirling and hissing, and when the man glanced up, his look of passion and adoration changing in an instant to one of terror, he lifted his forearm to protect himself. It served no purpose. As poor Sara shrieked in horror, pushed out of the way by her lover, the sword sank through the arm like an axe through lard, and carried on to sweep off the man’s head and half his shoulder. Then the body walked forward jerkily for three paces, until it collapsed against Cryspyn. He had toppled, appalled, gripping the corpse as the gore and blood fountained over him, filling his nose and mouth and eyes, marking him forever as a man who had killed unnecessarily. He had murdered a woman’s lover through jealousy.

Which was why he was here. In his nostrils he could still smell that foulness, the blood of an innocent victim.

Looking out, he could almost forget his past crime. The weather had improved miraculously over the morning, and the sun sparkled on a clear blue sea that looked as though it was incapable of rising in waves ten foot tall and overwhelming the whole of the northern side of his island. That was a thought which sent a shiver through his delicate frame.

Cryspyn was almost forty-five now and had lived here on this obscure rock in the middle of the sea for more than fifteen years. It had taken its toll on his frame. When he had met Sara, he had been a chunky young man, with a cheery smile for all who met him. That happy-go-lucky, healthy fellow had grown to be an embittered monk with a pronounced stoop, a frowning squint because of his poor eyesight, and hunched shoulders as though he permanently felt the cold.

Someone had once told him that the islands were so fruitful because of the weather. Well, clement it might be in a decent bloody year, but this last had shown the emptiness of the comment. The winds had scoured the place through the last winter, the rains had fallen throughout the summer two years ago, devastating the crops and making all the islanders have to depend on any fish they could catch or starve, and now this storm. It was almost more than he could take. He had a mind to beg of the Abbot that he be taken back to serve as an ordinary brother at Tavistock again. Tavistock! The mere name brought to mind a quiet chuckling river, the steady thump of the water-wheel groaning its way through the latest batch of grain, the odour of fresh bread each morning, the divine scent of ale brewing, the smell of a fresh wine, the flavour of the heady Guyennois exploding on the tongue. He could all but taste it if he closed his eyes.

At least there he would be warm. The fires in the calefactory! There, even the stones radiated heat. A man had to be dead already not to be warmed by them! Here, the monks relied on dried kelp for their heat. It did throw out some warmth, it was true, but in all these years living on the island, Cryspyn had not grown accustomed to the damned stuff. It stank. Even now he could smell it drying in the pits farther down the island. You couldn’t escape the ruddy smell.

The only reason any man would be sent here was for committing a sin of remarkable evil. That was the thing. Cryspyn knew what he had done: it would be good to know what crime that sad figure Luke had committed. Cryspyn had some shrewd suspicions. He had seen Luke giving a sermon, and could not help but notice that the fellow appeared to have eyes only for the women. None of the men merited a speech, apparently. That probably pointed to his past offence. Not that it affected the way that the Prior treated him. As far as Cryspyn was concerned, any man who was sent here to live deserved his sympathy, and that was why as soon as day broke, he had sent one of the lay brothers to check on the man and make sure that he was all right. The tide was flowing early today, so the man should be able to cross on foot to St Elidius and Bechiek. Another was sent the other way to see that the chaplain at St Sampson was safe.

The chaplain was fine, as was the priest at Bechiek, but the matter that was causing Cryspyn’s irritation and dissatisfaction with his lot, was the report that Brother Luke had been snoring, drunk again. The servant had been unable to wake him. Instead he left Luke lying on his palliasse, the vomit pooling by his head. It was not enough that the fellow should have arrived here unwanted and without explanation; now he was rapidly turning into an alcoholic who had no respect for his chapel or those who visited it. St Elidius was the focus for a small but loyal group of pilgrims each year. The priory could ill afford to lose them just because of a wine-sotten fool. Cryspyn would speak to Luke. If he didn’t mend his ways, Luke would be removed again. Cryspyn would see to it.

His unhappy thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking at his door. With a bellow he ordered his visitor to enter and stop trying to ruin a perfectly good piece of wood with his banging.

‘You look surprised to see me, Prior.’

‘I am. It’s a long enough while since you came here, David,’ Cryspyn said coolly. His manner, he hoped, indicated a lack of welcome, but he knew he couldn’t conceal his interest. This fellow was, after all, the leading man on the island after Cryspyn himself. David was the source of many of the disputes, the cause of much of the hostility between St Nicholas’s Priory and La Val.

The reeve was well-known to him, of course. David was responsible to the priory for most issues because the vill was a part of the community of St Nicholas, which meant that legally the people who lived within it were all owned by the priory; David no less than any other man. Yet Cryspyn was not keen on too much involvement with the folk of the vill. There was always the risk of temptation. Where there were women, there were dangers for a man sworn to celibacy, and Cryspyn had some youngsters like Luke who were potentially at risk of being tempted beyond their meagre wills’ power to refuse. Then again, there were other reasons why a man like Cryspyn disliked David. No, he didn’t dislike the man, that was too soft and generous a term. It was more that he despised the man. David stood for many things that the Prior loathed. Although Cryspyn had no proof, he was certain David led the men in occasional piratical raids.

‘I know you don’t want too much to do with me,’ David said with a flash of his yellowing teeth. ‘I might pollute you and your little chamber here. But I thought you’d like to know that we found a man on the beach today.’

‘Christ Jesus, give me strength!’ Cryspyn muttered, and let his head fall into his hands. He went to his chair and stood by it, his back to David. When he eventually turned and sat, he fixed his most contemptuous glare at the reeve. ‘So tell me how he died, then. Not that you’d have been there to see, I don’t suppose!’

‘What do you mean?’ David asked in a hurt tone of voice.

‘Don’t whine at me, you pathetic piece of bird dropping! You murdered this fellow, didn’t you? Why? Did he possess a cargo you craved? Let me guess: it was a tun or more of wine, yes? And you met him on the open seas and killed him.’ His modulated speech hardened. ‘Don’t come here to lie to me, Reeve. I know about you and your piratical companions! You murdered him and now you want me to bury him for you, is that it?’

‘I am offended that you should say such things, or think them, Prior,’ David said.

‘Maybe you are. In your intolerable pride you thought you had hidden your crimes from everyone, did you?’

‘Prior, he is alive. He is recovering in the cottage of Isok,’ David said with quiet dignity. ‘You will find him there. It was my duty as reeve to tell you, and I have done so.’

Cryspyn was so astonished, he could say nothing as David left, walking from the room with a pained expression.

It looked to Cryspyn as though the man had a severe toothache. He sincerely hoped he did.

Chapter Seven

It was cold on the island of St Elidius, and Brother Luke woke to the sound of water slapping at the rocky shore. It made him remember the meeting last night. At the memory, he began to sob anew.

Christ’s pain, but he hated this place. It was miserable. No one here apart from the swine-like peasants who infested this far-western group of islands, and they were good for nothing, not even rutting. The one woman, Tedia, with the soulful eyes and soft breasts thrusting at the thin material of her tunic, she would have been worth a rattle, but as soon as Luke thought he had her convinced, up she’d jumped like a rabbit seeing the ferret, and she bolted. He could almost imagine the ferret where she had been sitting, a mouthful of white fur from her arse in his mouth. Luke would dearly have loved to get his own mouth about her arse, but she obviously didn’t want him. There was still Brosia, but Luke had noticed the looks which David threw his way. No, he’d best leave her alone for a while.

This was the usual process of his waking. He would curse the place first, for he loathed and detested it. Then he would dream idly of Tedia and one or two other women, before he set himself a task or two during the day. Two was the most, because so much of his day was spent sitting at the highest point of St Elidius, staring eastwards towards the mainland and home.

It wasn’t his fault he was here. Any man would have succumbed to the luscious nuns in that convent. He couldn’t help the fact that he still had warm blood beating in his veins, and yet the Bishop had made his feelings very clear on the matter. Luke had been sent here in exile. He could repent his crimes in solitude, over a long period, for it would be a very long period, Bishop Walter said frostily, before he could be brought back to civilisation. All Luke had done was make one nun pregnant. And then there was Ireland too, but Luke didn’t want to think about that right now.

At first he hadn’t believed that any man could be so cruel. Sure, as the priest at the Belstone nunnery, he shouldn’t have got the nun with child. But it seemed impossible that he had been sent here to die. He was only young, and he’d had so much life in him. All he had wanted was feminine company. There was nothing wrong in that for most men, and he knew perfectly well that other priests were allowed their concubines. They were not ejected, forced into exile. Why should he not be allowed back? Yes, fine, she was a nun, but that wasn’t his fault. He would argue that the Church had sent him to Belstone to perform an impossible task, expecting him to be immune to her attractions. Any priest would have desired her; most would have tupped her. It wasn’t his fault!

He felt the familiar gloom assailing him. It was so unreasonable. And now, here he was, on this miserable little island of Elidius in the middle of the sea. No women to speak of, and few ships. The ones that did stop at Ennor were no good for him. He couldn’t just walk out of here and ask for a ride. The shipmaster would laugh at him, and Luke had had enough of ridicule. He wouldn’t try that.

This was why he had taken to drinking strong wine at midday and snoozing through the afternoon. He had been told to mend his ways by the Prior, but what was the point? He was here to die, so why behave like a martyr? He was depressed, and he saw no reason to hide the fact. His last chance had been last night, but that had come to nothing. All he had wanted was a ship to take him away from this place. He could have gone to the mainland, maybe even to Guyenne, but no! He would get no help from Thomas, the bastard!

Luke, after the last two years, was no stranger to self-pity.

Originally, after being uncovered in Belstone, when he and the suffragan Bishop Bertrand had both been sent away to Ireland, Luke had thought that this was the worst possible fate a man could suffer. He had been convinced of it all the more during the hideous voyage. The Bishop had sent him away to pay for his offence. And there Luke had found … well, she had been willing enough, God’s blood. It wasn’t all Luke’s fault.

No, it wasn’t his fault that he’d found the little strumpet there. She’d seen him when he first arrived at Ferns, a lovely green city with a beautiful little cathedral. Not far from the cathedral had been the old holy well, and he had met her there one day, a beautiful, green-eyed, red-haired woman with a body that would have tempted St Peter! Her long neck was like a swan’s, her legs perfection, her oval face smiling and welcoming, her breasts like … Ah, but she was beauty itself!

He was not to know that she was related to a lord. It was not his fault: after all, she had been as keen as he, and she had made her desire for him quite plain. They had repaired to the field above the spring, and yes, he had sort of forgotten to mention that he was a priest, and when she asked him in that lovely, soft voice of hers whether he’d want to marry her, he might have given her a hint that he’d be a mad jackass not to be willing to jump from the cathedral’s battlements for the chance of a single kiss from her juicy lips, but that was mere poetical language. It was the sort of crap that women wanted to hear.

The row when he’d been found out had astonished him. He’d not thought that a quick tumble with a willing maid could cause so much noise, but by Christ’s balls, he’d soon learned his mistake! He was out of Ferns and on a ship homewards in moments, lucky to get away with both ballocks attached, from what he understood of the furious father’s words.

Back home to England, he’d thought. That was good news. Now he’d be able to persuade the good Bishop Walter that he was a changed man, that this second failing had taught him his lesson, that his experience of exile had made him a better man, more capable of heeding his vows. He was convinced that the Bishop would listen and then sympathetically nod and agree to send him on to the Bishop’s college at Oxford, or somewhere else where his talents could be honed and put to good use. In God’s name, Luke was not the first priest to have rattled a well-bosomed strumpet!

As it turned out, the Bishop wouldn’t so much as give him an audience. He actually had Luke held in chains in his gaol. In his own gaol with all the vagrants, misfits and outlaws! It was humiliating! And outrageous, because what possible reason could there be to hold a man of God like Luke in those conditions without reason? Taking a willing mate for an hour’s fun was hardly the crime of the century.

It was probably jealousy. That was it! Luke reckoned that Bishop Walter was just a spiteful old lecher who couldn’t see further than the end of his nose without his spectacles, and that was why he’d sent Luke here, to this bleak, wasted midden of an island. The Bishop no doubt told other people that Luke was an habitual womaniser, but it wasn’t true. He’d never raped a maid. All his companions were perfectly willing and eager. It wasn’t his fault that he was attractive to pretty women. It was, he supposed, a curse.

Well, a curse on Bishop Walter for sending him here! Luke prayed fervently that the Bishop’s piles might grow ever more painful.

A year and a half he had been here. A year and a half, and now he knew the meaning of purgatory. The worst had been last night, though. That storm had been appalling. Really alarming. He’d thought he wouldn’t get home at first, and when he did, it felt like his whole cottage was going to lift from its moorings and fly off the islands, and he’d cowered in his bed, the heavy blanket pulled up to his forehead, shivering from the cold and his fear, convinced that he was about to die. In the end, he’d risen and fetched himself wine, drinking steadily until either the storm ceased or he collapsed in a stupor. He wasn’t sure which. Either way, at least he slept, although now his mouth felt and tasted as though an incontinent cat had defecated in it overnight.

Only when he had reached for the jug to rinse his mouth did he remember that sight. The man’s body arched like a bow as the dagger was thrust in his breast.

He felt sick. The roiling in his belly was foul, and he had to swallow hard to keep the liquid down. He had seen men die before, of course. Who hadn’t? The usual scene wasn’t that alarming — if anything it was oddly amusing, with the vendors calling out their wares while the men stood stoically, or shivered and pissed themselves, or declared their contempt for the executioner, the public and all others, while a priest muttered prayers beside them until the executioner slapped the rump of the bullocks and the cart slowly moved off, leaving the men dangling. Yes, there was some fun in going to see them dancing their last.

Not the slaughter of a man like Robert of Falmouth, the gather-reeve of Ennor, though. That wasn’t funny. That was petrifying. To see that knife slip in so easily while the hand gripped Robert’s throat, holding him there — that was hideous. Really hideous. Robert had stood there, his body curved away so that his flesh was as far from the killer’s knife as he could keep it, and then the blade was planted slowly inside him. The curvature of his back eased, and he had relaxed, falling gradually towards his assassin like a woman sinking slowly against her lover. Then the knife was withdrawn, and Robert simply collapsed. And his killer stabbed the sand again and again to clean his blade before making off. He hadn’t seen Luke, though. Luke was sure.

He stood, a little unsteadily, and the breeze from the door lifted his fair hair and blew it back. Living here, he had little access to a barber, and had neither interest nor inclination to ask the Prior if he might be allowed to use the Priory’s, a man who came over once a two-month from Ennor.

Picking up his jug again, Luke peered inside. The last of his wine. He drained it and belched. It was depressing. Only wine had kept him moderately sane here, and now that he had witnessed a murder, he felt the loss still more. He set the jug down on his little table, then petulantly hurled it at the wall. ‘I don’t want to be here!’ he cried out, and sank to his knees weeping.

It was no good. The room was stifling him in the afternoon’s heat, and the smell of his unwashed body, filthy clothes and vomit all made him crave the open air. He stood, wiping the tears of self-pity from his eyes and lurched towards the door. Perhaps, he thought, he could use this murder as a means of escape for himself? If nothing else, it would show that he was in danger, if he could point the finger at the murderer. And then the Bishop would have to rescue him from this hell. If he was to do that, he must go to the priory first, to tell Cryspyn what he knew, the old devil, and then go to La Val for the Coroner’s inquest. They were sure to have found the poor bugger’s body by now, and his evidence could be vital.

Satisfied with his logic, he stumbled as he hauled the wooden door open. It was a hard job because the leather hinges had rotted and the door scraped along the floor, but soon he was out, blinking in the open air. He walked past his chapel, out through the gate, and then he stopped.

‘Brother, I wanted to speak to you,’ the man said.

Luke hesitated at the sight of him. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He couldn’t say anything. It was impossible.

Luke shook his head. ‘It wasn’t me!’

‘What wasn’t?’ the murderer asked evenly, a small smile on his lips.

Even as Luke took a deep breath and tried to command his legs to turn and let him flee, he knew it was too late. He saw the lunge. To his surprise, he scarcely felt the blow at all. It was merely a thump, as though someone had struck him with a clenched fist but, looking down, he saw the dagger’s hilt in the man’s hand. Then there was a very curious sensation. As the blade was withdrawn, he was aware of a subtle snagging, dragging sensation, an awareness that became more perceptible as the metal caught on a bone and grated. He saw how his flesh clung to the blade as though reluctant to give it up, as though his body knew that the metal was removing his own life’s essence, and wanted to hold it there inside him.

Luke opened his mouth to scream, but suddenly there was a hot, liquid effusion in his throat; it went up into his mouth like vomit, and he felt its warmth in his nostrils. No sound came. He fell back, twisting, his hands clutching, heels spasmodically jerking and kicking, trying to cough up the blood that was drowning him, suddenly desperate to cling to the life which he had grown to detest.

Once the heels stopped their frantic dance, the man peered down at him indifferently. He stabbed the blade clean in the sandy soil and sheathed it once more. Then he chewed his lip a while thoughtfully before finally hoisting the body over his back, and carrying it down to the sea.

It was evening when Simon awoke, the scent of soup burning at his nostrils. When he opened his eyes, he saw William at a little pot, stirring furiously and periodically feeling a lump of unleavened bread which was cooking at the side of the fire on a large flat stone.

Suddenly Simon felt a pang. The scene was reminiscent of his home: the smell of bread cooking, the figure bending over the pot — and yet the figure was not his Meg. All at once, Simon longed to be at home in Lydford, watching his wife at their fire, waiting for her to serve him. Instead he was here on this miserable island of Ennor, waiting to be fed by this strange, thick-set priest. His raw feelings were exacerbated by the loss of Baldwin. The sight of his comrade being swept from the deck of the ship by that massive wave would never leave him: it was a picture which must haunt him until the end of his days. And the knowledge that he was already so near to his wife made him restless. It was ridiculous, but he was already within the King’s realm, and yet there was another expanse of sea between him and his home. It made him miss his Margaret with a more poignant longing than he had ever known before. He was alone, and he wanted to be home again. Oh, Christ’s bones, how he wanted his home again!

‘Still alive, then? That’s good,’ William said pleasantly.

Simon grunted as he rose to an elbow. ‘Where’s the old man? He was here, telling me all about the place. I couldn’t understand what he was going on about, much of the time. He was explaining about the laws here.’

‘That was Hamadus, my sexton. He’s always rabbiting on about the customs here. Personally I find that they can be safely ignored. Just behave like a decent man and no one will give you trouble,’ William advised. He frowned at the food. ‘I hope you like pottage.’

‘I do.’

‘In that case, let’s hope this strikes you as similar to pottage, then.’

As William set about finding a bowl, peering into it with a suspicious glare and wiping it clean with his fingers, Simon asked about the youth he had rescued from the sea.

‘He’s at the castle. Hamadus has seen him and made him comfortable. The poor fellow was not well. I think he tried to drink half the ocean on his own. No doubt he was jealous that you were there to take the other half,’ William said drily. Seeing the expression on Simon’s face, he apologised. ‘When you live in a place like this, you forget how to behave towards other people. He is well enough, but I thought he could do with a little care. I can make some foods,’ he added, gesturing towards the pot, ‘but he needs some real nursing, and Hamadus is better than most healers I’ve known.’

‘He is a physician, then?’

‘Of a sort, yes. He will cure warts, treat cows with swollen udders, or help a dog with a bad sprain. Whatever needs curing, he can do it.’ Glancing at Simon, he added defensively, ‘I don’t know how he does it, but he is very successful.’

‘I wasn’t judging,’ Simon said. He gratefully took his bowl, a thick hunk of bread floating in the greenish soup. He tasted it and beamed. ‘This is wonderful!’

William smiled with satisfaction. The pottage was made by a woman in La Val who came to cook and clean for him each morning, but he saw no need to explain that to this marooned stranger. While Simon drank from the rim of the bowl, William poured himself a little more and ate it fastidiously with a spoon.

‘I suppose I shall have to take you to the castle to speak to the Lord of the Manor,’ he said. ‘But it is already getting late. That can wait until tomorrow.’

Simon had finished his bowl. His belly felt as stuffed as it did after a great feast and he realised that he had not kept any food down since leaving port four days ago. When William made to offer him more, Simon shook his head. In a moment, he told himself; once this meal had gone down a little. ‘This lord — Ranulph, I think Hamadus said?’

‘Yes,’ William said, and his face hardened. ‘Ranulph de Blancminster.’

Simon frowned. ‘I know my Abbot owns lands here. Does Ranulph owe Abbot Robert allegiance?’

‘I don’t think Ranulph agrees to owe honour to any man other than himself,’ William said. ‘He is the employer of thieves, wastrels, outlaws and murderers. No man is so evil that Blancminster won’t take him in. I know, because I have had to hear the confessions of a few when they have been at death’s door. Ranulph is scared of no man. He even takes the King’s fish. Fourteen odd years ago, he imprisoned the King’s Coroner and fined him a hundred shillings because the man did his duty and impounded a whale washed up on the beach. Ranulph wanted it himself, so he had the Coroner flung into his gaol.’

Simon felt the first twinge of anxiety. ‘But would he dare harm an Abbot’s man?’

William gave him a level look. ‘There is nothing he wouldn’t dare.’

‘Perhaps I should make my way straight to the priory then,’ Simon said, and explained about his position in the Abbey’s staff.

‘Well now, Bailiff. Since you are an official yourself, perhaps you can dare to feel a little safer.’ William sat musing for a moment, staring at the fire’s flames. ‘For now, sleep. You’re safe enough here with me, and not many are likely to wander abroad when darkness falls. But just in case, I shall send a message to Prior Cryspyn at St Nicholas so that your presence is noted. It can’t hurt to have the Prior on your side.’

Sir Charles woke with a feeling of dog-weariness. His neck was cricked, his shoulder hurt from lying on the hard wooden deck, and he had a sore hip for the same reason.

Still, he was alive, and that, right now, was a cause of gratitude. It was a miracle that the Anne hadn’t foundered. More miraculous still was the fact that she remained afloat even now. After the terrible storm, they had drifted for a day, wondering what might happen to them, and all had fallen asleep where they were.

Sir Charles offered up a prayer of thanks as he rubbed salt-sore eyes and stretched, feeling the torn and bruised muscles all along his back and flank. At his side, his squire snored loudly. Paul could sleep through a massed charge of chivalry, Sir Charles sometimes thought.

An entirely secular man, Sir Charles dealt with life as he found it, which meant that he tended to look upon all individuals as potential enemies or friends. He had been a loyal companion to his master, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, but Earl Thomas had died when he was captured at Boroughbridge, executed by a King jealous of his power. The Earl had dared to oppose King Edward II and subsequently paid the price, along with many of his companions.

Only good fortune had saved Sir Charles and Paul. They had not been at that fateful battle, and therefore had time to flee before the King arrived to exact vengeance on any he considered disloyal or treasonous. The two had taken ship to France, and then took up a life of adventure until their money had run out and they were forced to join the company of a fellow from Portugal. Travelling with him to Compostela and then on to Tomar in Portugal, they had met Sir Baldwin and threw in their lot with him.

A great shame that he was gone, Sir Charles thought to himself. Hearing a hoarse shout, he glanced about him.

The ship’s mast was a broken, splintered stump; ropes lay scattered about the decking, mingling with pieces of timber and strips of ripped sailcloth. On his left, where the hull had ended in a thick beam of oak and small rail, there was a ragged, gaping void. The mast top had fallen here, shearing through the wood like a razor through parchment. On the torn deck boards, there was a dark stain. That was where a sailor had been standing when the mast fell. Sir Charles eyed it with a certain surprise. He would have expected the waves and rain to have washed it away. Not far from the stain was Gervase. The master was breathing very shallowly, his features extremely pale and grey, lips blue, and all about him there was a thin smearing of blood. His hands were reddened claws that clung to his belly as though they clung to life itself. In a way, Sir Charles thought that they probably did. The poor devil clearly had little time left.

Used to warfare, and experienced in all the different forms of death, Sir Charles was nonetheless drained after last night. Fighting men was very different from battling the elements, withstanding wind and waves in their relentless efforts to smash and destroy all in their path. The realisation that God could have sent such a storm was fearful to a man. It made him realise his own puny frailty compared with His power.

‘They thought you’d sink, didn’t they?’ he muttered to the Anne, patting the mast’s stump. ‘Simon and the others, they reckoned you’d fail and go to pieces. Shit on a plate! I thought it myself! If I’d the brains to have learned to swim, I’d have done as the Bailiff did and jumped overboard. A man doesn’t sit on the field of battle waiting for the enemy to finish him off. If he’s got half a brain, he finds a horse and bolts. But if you can’t swim, you can’t escape a sinking ship.’

That was the reason why he was still here, but it was also why the master and two others were with him. None of them could swim, so they had chosen to remain, praying that they might be spared, and not long after Simon and the others had jumped, the storm had begun to abate somewhat.

A sailor, one of the two who had remained with Sir Charles, was pointing northwards and saying something. Standing, Sir Charles was astonished to see that only a few miles from them there was a group of islands.

He gaped in wonder. Being no poet, he could find no words to express his feelings, but he was thrilled enough to offer up a short prayer of thanks. The islands gave the impression of security and beauty, set here in this sparkling ocean as though God had singled out this little area for his best and most detailed experiment. Spray was thrown up over a rock, and Sir Charles admired the spume like one befuddled by drugs. It was astonishingly lovely.

Then he saw the little armada which was heading towards them. The sailor saw it at the same time, and Sir Charles heard him swear. The sailor was staring with suspicion in his dark eyes, although Sir Charles could not understand why. He walked over to him. ‘What is it?’ he asked.

‘We’re sitting on top of tuns of wine and other merchandise.’ The man jerked his chin at the armada. ‘I just hope they won’t try to pretend that there were no survivors on this old tub so that they can take the lot.’

Sir Charles gave a smile. His friends knew that smile and recognised the danger in it: he had no living enemies who had ever witnessed that smile. Those who had seen it were dead. The sailor knew nothing of this: he saw only a knight who appeared to be laughing at him, and he walked away irritably. It was bad enough having to worry about the thieving devils approaching, without having a stuck-up, landlubber of a knight sneering at him.

Chapter Eight

Walerand strolled through the gates to the castle with the pair of boots he had found slung over his shoulder. He made straight for the little hall where Thomas worked.

The Sergeant’s room was small and uncluttered. Thomas had a trestle-table at one end, in front of a tapestry which showed a hunting scene. The picture was somewhat spoiled by a thick, dark stain all along the left-hand side, but Walerand didn’t care. It was just a piece of material to him, its only purpose to show a visitor that the man who worked here in this room was important and could afford expensive things. Not that he could, necessarily; the tapestry, as Walerand knew, was one item from a ship which had sunk offshore a while ago.

‘What do you want?’ Thomas snapped. ‘Haven’t you ever been told to knock before entering?’

He was dressed in his usual uniform of crimson tunic over a linen shirt, and greying hosen, much stained and worn. When he went out, he tended to throw on a clean tunic that hid the worst of his hosen, but in the hall, he wasn’t so bothered.

Walerand skirted the small brazier in the middle of the room. In front of Thomas, he let the boots slip down his arm until they fell on the table-top. ‘Thought you’d like to see these.’

‘A pair of boots?’ Thomas asked coldly. He was holding a reed in his hand, trying to add up a series of figures.

Walerand was clearly unworried by his hostility. There was something in his face that made Thomas look more closely at the boots. The leather was quite good. They could have belonged to any of the men-at-arms in the castle. Himself, even. ‘Well?’ he demanded.

‘His body lies not far from where I found these,’ Walerand said smugly.

‘Whose body?’

‘Robert’s. You need a new gather-reeve.’

Thomas’s eyes glittered angrily.

‘He’s out up at Penn Trathen.’

Thomas stared down at the boots. Then: ‘You murdering …’ he spluttered. ‘Do you mean to tell me …’

Walerand hastily held up a hand. ‘Not me! Someone else killed him. It was last night, maybe. He felt cold enough.’

Thomas hesitated. He himself had been out last night. Anyone who asked the gatekeeper would soon learn that Thomas did not get back to the castle until late.

‘Send a man for Ranulph, go to the nearest households and demand that they go to Penn Trathen immediately for an inquest, and then meet me back here,’ he rapped out.

He watched Walerand as he strolled from the room. No matter what, Thomas was resolved that none of the blame for this death would adhere to him.

Thomas had not needed to ask how Robert had died. No gather-reeve to a master like Ranulph de Blancminster would ever live to an old age. The man had surely been murdered.

When the boats arrived, Ranulph de Blancminster was the first man up the side of the Anne. He stood, hands on hips, while he took in the ruined deck. It was much as he had expected, as soon as he heard of this broken vessel lying off the southern coast of Annet.

The mast was shattered, with a hedgehog of splinters erupting. Ropes lay all about, where they had fallen when the remnants of the sail had been cut away. Two barrels had rolled around, one crushing a man at the side of the ship, and then both had broken asunder, their hoops lying amid a bundle of broken spars. Pieces of woollen sail lay snagged on any splinters, a great bundle hunched under the forecastle where the devoted sailors had tried to preserve whatever they could find.

Ranulph de Blancminster was a powerful, black-haired man with a large belly and double chin to show his wealth and status, but any impression of softness was belied by his eyes. They were grey, like the sea on a stormy winter’s day, and sat deep in his square face. Wearing his usual working clothes of a faded green tunic over particoloured woollen hosen, he hardly dressed like a lord, but here he had power of life and death over all the inhabitants of Ennor. Ranulph wore an aged sword that had been his father’s, and two daggers in his belt, set horizontally for easy accessibility.

He had lived here for many years, and his experience of wrecks was second to none. At the first moment of seeing the Anne, he knew she was badly hogged. She drooped fore and aft, showing that her back, if not already broken, would never withstand the seas between here and the mainland. This ship was not going to make another journey. It was not possible to save her, but it would certainly be possible to rescue any of the cargo that wasn’t already completely ruined. He glanced at the hatches and gave them an experimental kick. Blasted thing must have leaked terribly. She was as much use as a pot made of linen. All the tuns below decks must have been washed in saltwater. The sooner the lot could be rescued, the better.

‘Hello, Master. You didn’t see fit to ask permission to come aboard?’

Ranulph cast a look at the tall man dressed in a tatty tunic. ‘I did not expect to find any men still aboard,’ he said coolly.

‘Not all can swim, so we remained,’ Sir Charles told him. ‘There was little point in jumping into the water, when we might survive by staying here.’

‘I congratulate you on saving her.’

‘It wasn’t easy.’

‘But now she is salvage, so she is forfeit.’

Sir Charles’s smile broadened. ‘She feels stable enough under my feet.’

‘She wouldn’t make it to shore without my ships hauling her,’ Ranulph stated flatly. ‘That means she is salvage, and it also means she’s my responsibility now. Under the law, half of the cargo and half the vessel is mine as Lord of this Manor.’ He nodded sternly to the knight.

‘So, you are going to take her?’

Ranulph eyed him. ‘There’s no mast, no sailors … do you mean to paddle her all the way to shore? I can save the cargo, and all I’ll do is take half. If I leave you here, wreckers may come and take it all. They could kill you and lead the ship to rocks to founder, and claim that you wrecked far off out to sea. Which do you prefer?’

Without waiting for an answer, Blancminster turned his back and went to the side. ‘Send up a cable,’ he bellowed. ‘We’ll need to tow her to port. I’ll come down and-’

Suddenly he was aware of a pricking at his back and heard a voice saying pleasantly: ‘Now, Master, before you begin to order this vessel into dock, perhaps we should discuss what I’ll require for me and my companions aboard. We wouldn’t want any of us falling into the sea and drowning, would we?’

Blancminster turned slowly and faced the smiling man. He was an unprepossessing fellow, with a ragged day or two’s growth of beard, and a vaguely mad look in his blue eyes. It was the eyes which held Blancminster’s attention: they were the eyes of a man who had killed, who would kill again, and who felt no qualms about it. Blancminster recognised that look. It was the sort of look which his own men often wore.

‘Who are you?’ he asked softly.

‘Sir Charles of Lancaster.’

Ranulph sneered. Everyone knew about Earl Thomas of Lancaster and the destruction of his army. This man looked like one of his loyal adherents, now down on his luck and destitute.

‘And your name?’ Sir Charles enquired politely.

‘I am Lord of this Manor. They call me Ranulph de Blancminster.’

Sir Charles opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly there was a slamming blow at the back of his head which made his teeth rattle together. His legs lost all their strength, and he felt himself tumbling into a great blackness even before he struck the deck.

Baldwin came to with a sweet sense of comfort. There had been a delightful dream of Jeanne gently soothing his forehead, kissing his lips, easing his troubles and massaging away his bruises. It was so seductive that he fought waking for a long while, and even when his mind was fully alive once more, he resolutely kept his eyes closed, as if by doing so he could retain his dream. A ridiculous notion, he scolded himself. If he wanted to continue his dream, he need only open his eyes and look upon Jeanne his wife.

But then, while he lay back on the uncomfortable palliasse, he realised that it was not his bed. The smells were not those of his home, nor were the sounds. Where was the whistling from Edgar? The chickens in the yard, the neighing from the stable? With a frisson of anxiety — no more than that yet — he opened his eyes and peered about him.

He saw a gloomy little room. In a corner was a single small table and stool. A fire smoked in the middle of the floor, giving off a rank odour. In another corner he noticed a small pile of dung — probably left behind by a sheep or goat — and an all-pervading but unfamiliar scent. Only later would he learn that it was the smell of drying kelp. Baldwin was quite tall, and lying full length, he was almost as long as the room was broad, so it must be some twelve feet long and maybe eight broad. He became aware of voices outside and pricked up his ears, listening intently.

To his alarm he realised he could understand nothing. The language here sounded much like that of the Bretons, and with that thought, he suddenly recalled the attack of the pirate ship, the death of so many good men: the helmsman, the sailors. It made him shudder, and as soon as he did so, his shoulder hurt like the devil, and so did his face. When he tentatively lifted a hand to it, he found that his cheek was swollen and sore. For the life of him, he couldn’t think where that had come from.

With the failure of his memory, panic seized him. He could remember the fight, but everything from then on was a blank; he was convinced he had been captured by the Bretons and taken back to their lair. It could be anywhere, perhaps in Brittany, perhaps in a quiet inlet elsewhere. There were tales of raiders who had found landfalls in Ireland and other places. They would run their ships up the estuaries late at night, come upon the inhabitants in their sleep or at first light, and slaughter them all before taking their ease among the corpses and seeing what could be stolen and carried away. Baldwin felt his spirit chill at the thought. However, if this was an English territory, at least he might be able to escape and find his way to safety.

The voices appeared to be raised, and Baldwin saw shadows appear at the doorway. After a sharp altercation, a large man walked in, a big fellow with hunted eyes and a twitch at the corner of his mouth, like one who had been given a long sight of Hell and would never be able to forget it. When he saw Baldwin, his expression hardened like moorstone, and Baldwin feared that the stranger would launch himself upon him. He was quite unable to defend himself.

A woman followed after the man, a slender, attractive, dark-haired woman with an oval face. She had high cheekbones, and slightly slanted eyes that looked as though they would find it easier to laugh than scold. Her lips were very full and tilted up, albeit petulantly. She looked to be some two or three and twenty years, and Baldwin knew in an instant that this was the woman who had cared for him — she had saved his life.

The man stood over Baldwin. Instinctively Baldwin’s hand started to move to his sword, but then he realised he was naked. His sword was not at his side. Worse, he could see no sign of it.

‘Well, man! You’re lucky to be alive,’ the man rumbled in a deep voice. He could speak English, but with a strange dialect — stronger than a Cornishman’s. Baldwin could understand it, but only if he listened carefully. ‘You’re luckier still that the Prior has heard you are alive, because I wouldn’t offer much for your chances otherwise.’

Baldwin said nothing. He kept his attention fixed on the man, but all the while his ears were straining for other voices. The fact that the man spoke English was a relief. Where did that accent come from, though?

He shivered. The strains of the last days had caused a reaction, and he felt as though ice had entered the marrow in his bones. It would have been easier if he knew where he was, and how he had got here.

The man was still glaring at him, but no longer looked as though he was about to launch himself upon Baldwin in a murderous assault, so the knight felt safe enough to look up at the woman again.

She gave an exclamation of frustration, huffed loudly, and left the room. Returning shortly thereafter, she barged past the man with her arms full of Baldwin’s clothing, ready washed and almost white again. He received them thankfully, and slowly he rose from the palliasse, naked. She stood eyeing him with her head cocked a little to one side rather like a thrush studying a patch of soil for worms and under her gaze Baldwin felt himself flushing. He was not used to being given so intimate an inspection by any woman other than his wife, and when he looked up, he saw that the man did not like the affair any more than he. His expression was furious.

Dressing as quickly as he could, Baldwin glanced about the place for his sword.

‘What do you seek, man?’

‘My sword. Where is it?’

‘Perhaps it is in the sea, still,’ the man said with a nasty chuckle. ‘What would you need of a sword, anyway? It’s only a bar of metal. Who needs protection here on St Nicholas?’

‘St Nicholas?’ Baldwin asked. ‘I find the name familiar, but-’

‘This is St Nicholas’s Isle,’ the woman said quickly. ‘You are here, and the Prior would like to meet you.’

‘The Prior?’

‘The Prior of St Nicholas, man!’ the man said. ‘And he’s important: answers only to the Abbot of Tavistock, so you’d better be on your best behaviour!’

Baldwin felt his heart pounding in sudden gratitude. ‘The Prior? You mean that this isle belongs to Tavistock Abbey? That is a great relief!’

‘You think so?’ said the man, and leaned towards Baldwin, his lip curling into a sneer. ‘We’ll see what you say when you’re in front of him, and the Prior has an opportunity to question you!’

Southwards, on the isle of Ennor, Simon woke in the little bed near the fire, and stretched contentedly. This was all much better than he had hoped. Perhaps, he thought, he would soon be on a ship to the mainland, then at last he could walk home and see Meg. The idea was delicious, and he gave himself over to a daydream of his arrival home.

The scent of fresh bread was circulating, and his nostrils twitched happily. With it came the distinct odour of frying bacon, and Simon smacked his lips. William was whistling cheerfully outside while he pulled some leaves for a salad, and all in all, Simon felt at his ease.

Last night he had been exhausted, but his mind was working still, and he begged William to explain a little about the islands before he went to sleep. The other man was nothing loath, and squatted on his stool in front of his fire, talking quietly about all the islands and their master.

Simon learned that shipwrecked mariners must rest and wait for the Lord of the Manor to arrange for their journey back to the mainland. It was not always easy, William implied, but they should be able to find a berth for Simon on a ship before long.

The place was run by Ranulph de Blancminster, who had an evil man underneath him, his Sergeant, Thomas. The latter was nothing more than a bloodsucker, it appeared, who would sell his own grandmother if he was guaranteed a good price. Blancminster was a lazy man, but he saw to his duties with enthusiasm, building up the castle so that it could repel invaders, William said. ‘Although the way he’s gone about it, it’s more like a fortress to protect himself against the islanders here.’

‘They would hardly dare to lay siege to their own lord,’ Simon scoffed.

‘Would we not?’ William demanded. ‘We have seen that monster bringing over ever more foul felons to guard himself. Why should we not want to destroy him?’

‘Why? What does he do to you?’

‘He steals from all.’ William’s face was hard, but then he looked up with a sparkle in his eye. ‘Most of us, anyway: he leaves me alone. His men, too, take what they want, when and wherever they want. His gather-reeve, Robert, is the worst of them all. He steals from everyone with impunity. There are even rumours that he is involved in smuggling. I doubt whether Blancminster knows that, though.’

Last night, Simon was too tired to take in any more, but as he felt his chin start to sink towards his chest, he wondered what Blancminster’s story would be on this subject. He had a shrewd guess that it would sound starkly different. As Simon knew, peasants would often describe the local officials in less than complimentary terms. That was not to say that all officers were corrupt or criminal. In fact, it probably meant that they were simply zealous in their duties. Simon himself had been accused of accepting bribes in order to see to a man’s conviction, his accusers failing utterly to comprehend the idea that it was wrong to release a man who was guilty, just as it was wrong to see a man pursued when he was innocent.

Simon had been more than happy with William’s hospitality. A real bed was a great improvement compared with the rough boards of the old cog, and it was wonderful to smell the homely odours of this little place rather than the stench of vomit and death.

Baldwin was dead, of course. Simon had no doubt about that. He was close to tears as he remembered his old companion, the quiet smile, the acerbic tongue in interrogation, the intelligence and skill of his investigations. All gone for ever, washed away in a storm.

Others had died too. Before he did anything else, Simon decided to attend church. He dressed quickly, and then walked to the door. As he went, he met the lad from the ship coming in. He gave the youngster a grin and welcome. ‘How are you today?’

‘I’m well enough, sir,’ Hamo said, and he looked it. To Simon’s faint disgust, the boy looked almost fresh — a little tired, certainly, with bruises under his eyes, but apart from that, he had apparently suffered little from his near-drowning. His recovery was remarkable.

‘I wish I felt the same.’

‘Sir, come with me, please!’ Hamo said, eyeing William suspiciously.

‘I am going to the church to pray for the men who died on that ship.’

‘Yes, sir. I’ll come too.’

The boy was touchingly keen to remain with Simon. It was endearing in a way, but also rather pathetic, like a woman who was so jealous she wanted to follow her husband no matter where he went. Simon was about to respond sharply that he needed no company — he wanted no one there to witness his tears for his old friend — when he saw the lad’s eyes go past him towards a group of men-at-arms standing up at a rock, staring out to sea. A couple of donkeys with pack-saddles were tethered behind them.

‘Very well, boy,’ he agreed gruffly. ‘Come along, then.’

‘Thank you, sir.’

They walked on for some distance, avoiding teams of donkeys carrying goods back towards the castle. ‘What’s your name, boy?’

‘Hamo, sir,’ he said in a hurt tone of voice. ‘Don’t you remember me?’

‘I am sorry. Since the storm …’ Simon glanced down at him. Hamo was loping along at his side like a hound who distrusted the surroundings. His eyes were flitting here and there, his head was held low, and he kept a hand close to his sole means of defence, a knife in an old sheath at his belly. As they stood aside to let a larger cart go past he asked, ‘Why did you go to sea?’

‘My father was a seaman, but he died in a bad storm. My mother was able to make some pennies at needlework and spinning, but then she was struck down with a disease and died. I had no family left.’ Hamo shrugged. ‘What else could I do? Didn’t want to be a farmer, so I got out, walked all the way to Sutton Water, and Gervase took me on board his ship. Said he was saving me from the sodomites and fornicators who infested that place.’

There was sadness in the youngster’s voice, and Simon suddenly realised that where he had mourned for the loss of a friend, Hamo had lost in Gervase not only a friend, but a father as well.

There was no point in lying and pretending that Gervase could have survived. ‘Let’s go and pray for them all, lad,’ Simon said kindly.

‘You think they may be killed?’

Simon heard his words with disbelief. He turned to peer at Hamo. ‘What do you mean, killed?’

Hamo allowed a small frown to pass over his features at frustration with this bailiff who appeared to be so dull-witted.

‘They’re still on her, aren’t they? Gervase would never have left his ship. Couldn’t swim. Anyway, he adored the Anne. He wouldn’t desert her.’

Simon followed the direction of his pointing finger, and felt his jaw drop. ‘By all the whores of Paris!’

Out beyond the little harbour, he saw the drooping vessel. Men were scurrying all over her, and a pair of large boats was towing her towards the safety of the porth while a small flotilla of boats waited, ready to ferry all the goods from her hold to the beach where donkeys were gathering.

‘What are they doing?’ Simon demanded in shock. Believing that the ship had foundered along with all the sailors, he was dumbfounded to discover it here, just off the shore.

‘They call it salvage. They’ve saved the ship, so they say, so now all her goods can be taken,’ Hamo said bitterly. ‘That’s why I came to find you. They’ll leave nothing for us, you’ll see.’

Chapter Nine

Ranulph de Blancminster climbed down the rope-ladder from the Anne with an agility that belied his weight and age. Soon he was in the boat beneath, and he gazed back at the ship with a measuring eye as he was rowed ashore.

It was certainly a good prize. Fully laden, with only a few tuns damaged where the rocks had started to breach the hull, for the master had been a clever and skilful sailor. He had ordered his men to plug the hole with bales of woollen clothing, tugging them into the gap in the wood by means of a rope running from the bales to the capstan. Held there firmly, the ship was more or less plugged, although it could only last a short while without serious repairs. Well, she wouldn’t get them here. Ranulph had already seen the familiar faces on the hills about the Porth, and he knew that the scavengers would descend as soon as his men left the ship. They’d rip off any decent timbers for lintels in their cottages, or for new doors, or for rafters. On islands which had no trees to speak of, the people depended in large part on the charity of the sea.

In any case, there was no guarantee that even the best shipwrights in England could save this poor beast. She had suffered so terribly that there was little point in dreaming of rescue. No, the sensible thing to do was to remove all valuables from her, and then break her. Her constituent elements could then be sold to Ranulph’s peasants.

When they reached the shore, he jumped down into the sand, splashing a great mass of water. He cared not a whit, but lumbered heavily to dry land, and then scowled as he saw Walerand waiting for him.

Walerand was not one of his favourite servants. There were many whom he distrusted, but that was a sad fact of life in the modern era. Men-at-arms used to be faithful retainers in whom a man could place all his trust, but those days were long past. Now a man like Ranulph had to take the dregs of society. It had been noticeable when the King’s Coroner, William le Poer, had been most enraged by Ranulph, that the most serious allegation which could be brought against Ranulph was that he habitually recruited outlaws and felons. So he did; and he would continue so to do. These islands needed defending, God knew, and the best men to defend them were those who were utterly reliant on the islands for their lives and had nowhere else to run. Who better than men who could not return to their homes on pain of death?

Some, of course, were more enthusiastic about violence than others, which was a cause for concern when their heavy-handedness upset too many locals. Yes, a man had to keep the population cowed, else they might take it into their heads to seize power for themselves. Still, there were some who scared everyone, thank God. When the locals had grown restive recently, Thomas had carefully let slip the tale of how he met Robert. Most people said that the gather-reeve was the worst of all the men on the island, because for all his apparently mild manners, the story of a crazed murder in a tavern had spread like a wild fire over the moors. None of the local peasants dared so much as answer him back when Robert went to collect the rents. He was the best man Ranulph had employed as a gather-reeve.

Walerand was a different matter altogether. The fool seemed to think that he was intelligent — which in itself was a proof of his dull-wittedness. When Ranulph had been his age, he wasn’t nearly so gormless. He’d been bold enough to come here, for a start, and offer the old King his three hundred puffins or six shillings and eight pence each year for the use of the islands, and he’d made them work for him. This place had been falling apart when he arrived, in 1306, but since then he’d made the peasants realise that they had to work to live, and they must all work for him. If they didn’t, they suffered.

If he had wandered about the place idly like this Walerand, he’d no longer be here. The old King, Edward I, didn’t suffer fools gladly. Not that he was about for long. His son soon took over, and although Ranulph despised him as a weakling who was unable to control even the Welsh Marcher Lords, let alone the Scots, Ranulph was glad that Edward II was King. While a weak King ruled in England, swayed by each gust of discontent in his realm, Ranulph could maintain his iron grip on his own little fiefdom.

‘My lord?’

Ranulph did not so much as look in Walerand’s direction. ‘What?’

‘I’m feared Robert has been murdered.’

Cryspyn remained in his seat as the man rescued from the shipwreck entered: with him were Isok and Tedia. The sight of the couple was enough to make the Prior feel the acid bubbling in his belly again. There was a pain there whenever he felt the pressure of his responsibilities, and Tedia, as he knew, had applied for a divorce on the basis of her husband’s impotence. Why it was, Cryspyn didn’t understand. He himself was not driven by lusts as once he had been, not since killing Sara’s lover; that had destroyed something in him. No, he was safe from the carnal desires, but that was different from being immune to the attractions of a young woman who was still in the flush of youth, and whose beauty had not faded from exhaustion, malnutrition and childbirth. Considering her objectively, he was sure that if Tedia had been his wife, he would have found it hard to keep his hands from her.

This reflection was unsettling, and the pain in his belly increased. It was always the same. Whenever he had a matter to decide, it would affect his digestion. To distract himself from the pain he studied the man before him.

‘I am Prior Cryspyn,’ he said. ‘I understand that you are a shipwreck. Is this true?’

‘I believe so,’ Baldwin said. ‘I cannot remember what happened. I know that my ship was attacked by pirates, but I thought we survived that.’

‘Your ship broke up?’

‘I assume so, Prior, but I can remember little about it,’ Baldwin said reluctantly. There was an edge of eagerness to the Prior’s voice which he found unsettling.

Cryspyn was wondering where the bulk of the vessel might have fallen. Although Ranulph disputed every claim, and now that he was also the Coroner on the island, he made it more and more difficult for the priory, but Cryspyn knew that the rights to the wreck were his. All the parts of any ship which broke up at sea were to be collected and sold to the benefit of the priory. Usually it was too difficult to rescue bits and pieces before the peasants ‘liberated’ them all, but perhaps this time the priory could get there first. Sadly, if a ship didn’t break up, he had no rights; if someone saved a sinking ship, they were entitled to half its value under the new law of salvage, but surely this was a ship ruined by the storm. Any new injection of money would be welcome, of course, but Cryspyn hoped he didn’t sound too greedy, for that might make him appear ghoulish, grateful for the deaths of this man’s friends.

‘How do you come to be here?’ Cryspyn asked.

Baldwin shrugged apologetically. ‘I do not know,’ he said simply. ‘I hope I shall remember before long.’

‘Very well. Where were you travelling when you were blown upon our shore?’

‘I was returning from pilgrimage to Compostela,’ Baldwin said. There was a catch in his throat when he next spoke. ‘My friend Simon … I assume no others have been washed up on your shores?’

‘I do not know of any, no.’ Cryspyn shrugged.

‘Prior, I do not understand your tone. I do not wish to be an unwelcome guest, and I should be glad to know why you seem so unhappy to find me here on your island.’

Cryspyn glanced at Tedia and Isok. ‘It is simple. We know of pirates here. Raiders have attacked our priory many times before, and I have no doubt that they will do so again.’

‘You think me a pirate?’ Baldwin said disbelievingly. The man was a fool.

‘I think many people could be pirates,’ Cryspyn said, and was pleased to see Isok stiffen. ‘Some attack us here, others attack ships at sea. You say you were boarded by pirates, and I suppose that should be enough for me, but it is difficult to accept a man’s word on such a matter. Pirates are never far from these islands. A hundred years ago the Prior ordered the deaths of a hundred and twenty foul sea-raiders. I should be surprised if some among my flock here were not guilty of the same crimes. And I should be glad to command the same penalty as my predecessor!’

Baldwin gave a dry smile. ‘Were our positions reversed, Prior, I suppose I could even find it in my heart to suspect you. Yet I swear that I am no pirate, and if there are any monks here who know of Abbot Robert of Tavistock, I may be able to give some credentials. I know the good Abbot quite well. My friend, Simon, who I fear has been drowned …’ Merely saying those words made a lump rise in his throat and his eyes watered. He had to swallow and wipe them before he could continue. ‘Simon was the Bailiff of Lydford, one of Abbot Robert’s men. I can give you assurances that I know your Abbot and convince you I am no pirate.’

‘That is good,’ Cryspyn said, and questioned Baldwin on a few matters which he knew only a man who had eaten at Abbot Robert’s table could know, such as the Abbot’s tastes in hunting and in his board.

Baldwin answered as fully as he could, then asked whether he could sit down. He still felt terribly weak. Isok and Tedia remained standing.

‘My apologies, Sir Baldwin. You will understand that here, in so remote a situation, we must be cautious,’ Cryspyn said.

Baldwin nodded. ‘I can readily understand it,’ he said. ‘I feel the need for caution myself.’ He slapped his left thigh where his sword should have hung. The sadness of losing Simon was still heavy upon his soul, but so was the feeling of danger at being unarmed in a strange country. It felt like being undressed. ‘I have the most curious sense that I have come here clad in the garb of a beggar, Prior,’ he told Cryspyn. ‘It is peculiar, but the mere fact that I have lost my sword makes me feel like a man without britches.’

Cryspyn smiled. ‘If you wish for another, I am sure that I could find you one somewhere on the island,’ he said, adding with a burst of honesty, ‘although whether you would want such a weapon is another matter. They tend to rust quickly here, and swords are used like any other tool, for most of the year, for hedging and chopping wood.’

‘I think I can live without that, but perhaps if my …’ Baldwin had been about to say ‘beautiful rescuer’, but omitted the adjective when he caught sight of Isok at her side. ‘If my rescuer could guide me, I could return to the place where she discovered me, and seek it there. Surely it would not have strayed far from me?’

Cryspyn pulled a face. ‘There is no telling where the seas might deposit a man or his belongings. It is entirely in God’s hands. You may find that your sword fell from you at the same moment you lost your ship and comrades. It is likely to be at the bottom of the sea.’

‘I believe you could likely be correct,’ Baldwin said doubtfully. He was thinking of his sword-belt. It seemed odd to him that it should have untied itself in the water. It was perfectly understandable that the sword itself could have fallen from the scabbard, but it niggled at him, the fact that a perfectly good belt had become untied. It was a point to consider later. ‘Yet the thing has sentimental value to me. I would like to confirm for myself that it is not there. I do not suppose that it was removed from me when I was found?’

Tedia found that he had turned in his seat and was subjecting her to a steady scrutiny. She reddened, and shook her head with the stirrings of anger. ‘What would I want with a sword! You accuse me of stealing it?’

‘No, my saviour, I do not. I merely wondered … it was heavy, and so someone could have untied my belt and let it fall rather than carry it and me. The belt was strong, so I would be surprised if it could have been ripped from me without leaving me bruised about the hips. It’s easier by far to believe that someone removed it.’

Cryspyn stood. ‘I am sure Tedia will be happy to take you to the beach where she found you. In the meantime, I have many other problems to deal with. After such a storm, I have to see to the repairs to the priory, but also to the chapels. I am sure you will excuse me.’

Thomas had expected to hear from the bailiff before long, but this was much faster than he had expected.

‘Please be seated,’ he said suavely. ‘How may I serve you?’

Simon entered the little room panting slightly. The gate-keeper had pointed him away from the castle’s keep and down here to a separate chamber in the northern wall. A brazier kept it warm, for it was set in the shadow of the keep and in all but the warmest summer day, the thick walls would be cool. Behind Thomas hung the large tapestry, while the other walls were bare. One contained a small wooden door covering a hole in the mortar and stone, a private locking cabinet for valuables. The door was open, and inside Simon could see a number of rolls of parchment.

Thomas was sitting at his trestle-table, a fine cloth lying over it, reading from notes. In his hand he held a reed, with which he occasionally marked the lists on the parchment. As Simon burst in, he settled back in his chair and smiled welcomingly, the reed twirling slowly in his delicate, agile fingers. It seemed odd to Simon, used to the ways of lords and knights in England. He knew that most would insist that their stewards and sergeants conducted all their business in public in the main hall — but then the hall here was a very much smaller one than most. It would have been difficult for a man to concentrate in there. Perhaps it was necessary for Thomas to have this little chamber to himself.

Simon blurted out, ‘My ship! It’s been saved! I have to see it and learn who survived!’

‘Ah!’ Thomas smiled and carefully set his reed down. He steepled his fingers. ‘There is no one aboard now. All have left.’

‘What? The ship was empty when you found it?’ Simon asked, astonished. He had expected that at least one or two sailors might have survived.

‘Not quite empty, no,’ Thomas said, glancing indifferently at the table before him. ‘Some men were there. They threatened my lord Blancminster, so they will be kept in his gaol until they can pay for their freedom.’

‘Who is among them?’ Simon asked eagerly.

‘There are some sailors, a man calling himself Sir Charles, and another who professes to be his squire.’

‘My Gracious God! That is indeed good news,’ Simon burst out delightedly. ‘You may release them, they are honourable men.’

Thomas’s eyes took on a steely look. ‘I am afraid I cannot, Bailiff. This “Sir Charles” actually drew a weapon and threatened the Lord of the Manor. He is being held until my master decides what to do with him. It is a serious business, threatening a man in his own manor.’

Simon had been about to leap for the door and seek out his friend. Now he felt as though he had been punched about the head. It was terrible to think that he had lost his oldest friend, Baldwin, and now that he had found that a more recent acquaintance was still living, he wanted to rush to see him. To find that although he was alive, Sir Charles was to remain a prisoner, was appalling. ‘Surely there is some mistake. Perhaps I could speak to him and-’

‘I hardly think that will be necessary. In any case, there are other matters which are more important right now.’ Thomas smiled again and indicated the papers before him.

‘My friends are locked in gaol, and you say there are more important issues?’

‘Yes. There was a murder on the night of the storm, Bailiff. Robert, our gather-reeve, was attacked out on the sands. Until we learn who was responsible and see him pay for his offence, there will be little enough interest in any other issue.’

Thomas picked up his reed again, and dipped it into a pot of ink before scratching a note on a list of taxes paid. Simon watched him with a slight frown. ‘You clearly know that the men on board the ship must be innocent of anything to do with that. They were trapped at sea, man!’

‘All I know, Bailiff, is that a man was killed at the same time as a ship appears.’

‘You aren’t suggesting that my companions could have had anything to do with it, surely?’

‘I’m not suggesting anything, Bailiff. For all I know, it could have been you yourself.’ When Thomas saw the bailiff’s face flush with a quick anger, it was hard to control his amusement. Thank goodness for men who were so easy to read, he thought. It made his job so much simpler.

‘You seriously suggest that I or my companions might have killed this man?’ Simon snarled. He moved forward slowly, a figure of menace. ‘You are mad — or a fool!’

Thomas set his reed on his table once more and studied him. ‘I am an officer, Bailiff. What of you? If strangers appeared suddenly and a man was murdered, what would you think?’

‘I’d think of who might have a reason to desire his death. I wouldn’t instantly accuse a stranger,’ Simon rasped.

Thomas let his hand fall into his lap. In front of him, under the table, was a small dagger. He had on occasion found that a small knife could help during more intense business negotiations — or, indeed, the usual discussions with the staff of the castle. ‘Bailiff, perhaps we could come to an arrangement. Why do we not go to witness the Coroner’s inquest? That might prove useful. It could even prove that your friends are innocent. And you, of course!’

‘Very well,’ Simon said coldly. ‘And in the meantime, I should like to visit my companions.’

‘Perhaps after the inquest,’ Thomas said smoothly. Then, as the door shut behind a glowering Simon, he was taken with considering the discovery of Robert’s body. Simon could be useful, he thought. The bailiff could investigate the murder and his testimony would be accepted. He must find the murderer, and leave others in peace. Thank God that most people were so easy to manipulate, he thought contentedly. He had no desire to be personally suspected himself.

The thought soon faded and he tapped his teeth with the reed as it was replaced with his overriding concern: where the devil was his ship?

Baldwin found the island of St Nicholas quite extraordinary. The first thing that struck him was how flat it was. To the western end of the island was a large part which was called, so Tedia told him, Breyer, or the ‘place of hills’ in her tongue. It was connected to the rest of St Nicholas by a low-lying strip of land which could be smothered by water when the tides rose more highly than normal, he learned, just as was the narrower sand bar between St Nicholas and St Sampson.

‘There are stories that the whole of this was once one large island,’ she said as they stood at the tip of the finger of land that pointed towards Ennor.

‘What of all that water?’ Baldwin said with a smile, nodding towards the great expanse of sea between the islands.

‘Perhaps it was the flood? Luke was speaking about that last year. He said that the waters covered all the earth.’

‘Yes,’ Baldwin agreed. All knew of Noah. The thought of being here when the seas rose was chilling. He could hardly imagine what it must have been like for the islanders so long ago. So far from the mainland, there would have been no chance of escape.

Standing here, on a slightly higher spot, he had a curious view of the rest of the islands. They were, today, quite beautiful. The sea was a glorious blue, graduated from paleness nearer the shores, to a deep dark blue farther away, and the sun was making the wave-tops sparkle as though each held a tiny mirror. The breeze was cool, but not unpleasant, bringing with it the odour of the kelp-pits where seaweed was dried for burning.

Here, in the midst of this peaceful water, lay the low shapes of the islands. Baldwin asked Isok what they were all called, but the man spat at the ground and ignored him. If he had his sword, Baldwin could have been tempted to reach for it, but instead he turned to Tedia again.

She was keen to help. Her pleasure in showing off her islands was like that of a child who prattles on about a favourite toy. There could be no doubt that Tedia was entirely happy here, and her pleasure was delightful. With her parted lips and bright eyes, she was perfect. A beautiful face, slim and strong body, elegant in movement as an Arab horse, she had the carriage of a lady. If only Baldwin was a few years younger and unmarried, he would be tempted to try to tumble her, he thought, forgetting the presence of her husband for a moment, as he also forgot the lack of a sword on his hip.

‘That one, that’s Bechiek, then there’s St Theona, that small hill there, and up there is St Elidius, where Luke preaches, and between us and them is Arwothel, that long island. This is St Nicholas, of course, and that’s Ennor, where the Lord of the Islands has his castle.’

‘That pile of cow dung!’

‘Isok!’

‘I am not afraid to speak my mind, woman!’ Isok spat.

‘He is a hard master?’ Baldwin enquired.

Isok answered him. ‘A brute. On Ennor the taxes are paid to support him and his idle men-at-arms. They sit about and slurp wines and ales we couldn’t afford, and then demand customs from us when we take food to Ennor’s market or offload our fish there. We bleed to death, but they don’t care. When the terrible rains came, we starved. Many died. Not the Lord, though, nor his men. They lived like kings up there in their keep, while the mothers wailed and buried their children. Blancminster is a devil, as is his gather-reeve. All they want is more, more, more! They aren’t our masters, but they still take our money, the thieves!

Baldwin nodded, but unsympathetically. He couldn’t like this man. His manners were gross, especially towards his little wife. ‘It is the way. A taxman is always unpopular,’ he said, gazing out to sea, musing on the remoteness of the islands once more. He would find it intolerably restricting here, he thought. No space for a decent ride, every day the same limiting landscape. Never a new sight. It was a strange idea.

‘Unpopular? The gather-reeve is evil!’ the other man spluttered. ‘He demands all our money and food just because they are too lazy to grow their own on Ennor. They live in luxury while we starve. And then he wants other things, too.’

Baldwin heard a catch in his voice, but when he glanced around, he saw that the more affected of the two was Tedia. She stood haughtily, chin raised, and met her husband’s stare with defiance.

Here, Baldwin told himself, there is something I have missed.

‘Shall we seek my sword, then?’ he asked aloud, and saw the woman’s husband turn away with a curse.

Without looking at either the knight or his wife, Isok said in Cornish, ‘I’ll wait for you at the house. Try to remember you’re still my wife.’

‘It would be easier,’ she said sharply, ‘if you would make me feel like your wife.’

Isok felt the warm waves of shame wash over him. It was like a tide of self-pity, rolling up and back, removing the few remaining sand-particles of pride. He could do or say nothing. His head hanging, he walked up the dunes towards the track that led to their home.

Baldwin watched him go without regret. As far as he was concerned, the man was a boor and a brute, lacking any politeness or respect.

Rudeness was a fault in any man, by Baldwin’s reasoning. It was simple commonsense. If a man was arrogant enough to think that he could insult all those whom he met, he would soon find a man who was bold enough to offer a challenge, and that could mean, even to a competent warrior, that he could die. For a mere peasant, rudeness was unforgivable. In some it could be caused by the humours, something which was beyond their control, he knew, but in many people it was no more than the proof of ignorance, and especially when the target of their ire was a man from so different a station as Baldwin. No, the man deserved no sympathy. He was a mere fool. At any other time, Baldwin could have taught him a lesson, he thought with a grim smile.

As he thought this, he automatically slapped his waist, where his sword normally hung, and at once his attitude altered.

He had no right to be so dismissive of the man. Baldwin was without his signs of honour and rank, he was a mere drifter on the tides. If it was not for Isok’s wife, he might be dead by now. If he had been left out here on the shore for any time, he would have died — that much was certain. He had no sword: he was a nothing. A person in a strange land, who had wished to take issue with a woman’s husband just because that husband was a glowering, mean-spirited churl. Well, Baldwin knew plenty of men who were similar in temperament. Quite possibly this Isok was no worse than any other, and it was certainly the case that many men would grow irritable when they saw their wives bending over backwards to help another man. At least this Isok had not tried to remove his woman, but instead had left her with Baldwin.

He must, Baldwin thought, trust her a great deal.

Chapter Ten

Isok trudged home gloomily. His wife was a slut — no better than the drabs you met at the harbours and fishing ports up and down Cornwall, for all her pretended honourable ways.

He had loved Tedia from the first moment of seeing her, and perhaps that was the problem. Other men beat their wives, he knew. They thrashed the wenches to make them obedient. It was no different from training a dog, after all. All creatures needed to know their place in the world. A man had to know to whom he must answer: Isok to the reeve, David, David to the Prior, Cryspyn — just as the Prior himself answered to the Abbot and the Abbot to the Pope. The men of the island of Ennor were the same, they had their own masters. The taxman Robert, rot his soul, responded to Thomas, who was Ranulph de Blancminster’s man, and he reported to the Queen, because Isabella had been given the Earldom of Cornwall by her husband, Edward II. Everyone had a master.

But his wife chose to ignore him. She flouted his will, and would see to the dissolution of their marriage. That thought was like a bitter north-eastern wind that blew through his soul. It had been there for many a day now, ever since he had heard that she planned to leave him.

‘You can’t, you’re my wife!’

‘That’s not what Luke says,’ she’d replied defiantly, tossing her long hair back. ‘He says that if a man isn’t doing his duty to his wife, she can divorce him. And you aren’t, are you?’

‘You wouldn’t dare,’ he said, but with a terrible dawning fear that she would. ‘Who would have you? A used …’

‘Who has used me?’ she instantly retorted. ‘You haven’t, have you? Why should you think that someone else wouldn’t?’

‘You want them to, don’t you?’ he had demanded, torn with the pain of his own failure. He knew that she had been willing to be his lover, Christ Jesus! He knew that from her behaviour with him. She was uncontrollable — a whore on heat; she couldn’t understand that it was impossible for him. He’d tried, Christ’s pains, he’d tried so hard.

He lived with his failure. Now, for him, just to have her at his side was enough. He was not consumed with desire like she was; although he adored her he couldn’t consummate his love. He’d always thought, if you loved your wife, that should be enough, provided she knew it. Except even a man who treated his wife well wanted to lie with her, and Isok couldn’t.

He sniffed sadly. He knew that there was something wrong with his tarse. Something prevented him hardening and being able to service her. It was his failing, not hers, which was breaking their marriage. But she should accept that he adored her and be content.

Except she couldn’t be satisfied with that; she wanted a lot more — she wanted the use of his body, and he couldn’t do anything to help her. He knew that unless he could give her a child, she would leave him. Sooner or later, it would happen: she would either decide to leave him for a man on the island, or she might go over to that damned nest of thieves and robbers, to Ennor.

From here he could see the sweep of Ennor. He stopped and surveyed the island, noted the group of men huddled at the shoreline near Penn Trathen. The Lord’s men, he thought. Damn them!

So they thought they could win his wife, did they? Never! He’d not let them have her. He’d rather kill her than have her live with those who taxed him and his friends so highly. She was his, his — and he wouldn’t let any man take her.

‘Isok, friend. Are you well?’ It was David, the leader of their vill.

‘David, I … my wife is with that stranger.’

The reeve studied him carefully, then peered up towards the shore where Isok pointed. ‘She’s a good woman, Isok. You know that.’

‘Of course I know that. But she still wants to shame me in front of all.’

David set his head to one side. ‘You can’t blame her, man! You won’t give her a decent stab with your pork sword.’

‘I can’t! I can’t do what a husband should,’ Isok mumbled. ‘I just can’t do it.’

‘But why, man?’ David asked with incredulity. This was a wonder to him. ‘I don’t know of any man who could stop himself from fondling and adoring her. She’s lovely, your wife. Why can’t you just-’

‘It doesn’t work,’ Isok told him. His shame was just that: his manhood failed him when he needed it. ‘I can’t.’

‘There are others who will want to try their luck, you know.’

‘I know. And she will want them to,’ Isok added bitterly.

‘But you can do nothing?’

‘No.’

‘The Prior has asked me whether there is any hope. You know that Tedia has requested that the Bishop’s court investigate you? She wants a man to hear her case and decide whether you should be divorced.’

‘I know that!’ Isok burst out. He wanted to grab David by his smart tunic and pound his face until his own mother wouldn’t recognise him. ‘But what,’ he asked, as his anger subsided and his self-pity rose to envelop him once more, ‘would you have me do? I can’t splint it! All I can do is to kill any man who attempts to get close to her, and that’s no good to me or to her.’

He felt as though his heart would break. There was no time during their marriage that he hadn’t loved her. His lack of stiffness was not from lack of love. He adored her. It was merely that he couldn’t do anything about it. It was a curse which had been laid upon him. Surely there was no other explanation.

‘You could try that,’ David said loftily. ‘But if I learned you had committed murder, I would have to catch you.’

‘Perhaps I have already,’ Isok said. ‘I know I have in my heart.’

‘What do you mean?’ David asked suspiciously. A terrible thought sprang into his mind. ‘Have you killed a man? Have you?’

‘If I had, it would be because he had tried to cuckold me.’

‘Isok, how could a man cuckold you? You have your woman to have and hold, but you refuse her. It’s no secret, man! She has let it be known, and so have you! If Tedia seeks the attention and companionship of another man, it’s not her fault.’

‘You mean it is mine?’

‘Can’t you … think lewd thoughts, or imagine another woman you’d prefer, or …’ David was at a loss. ‘Just think of whatever might work for you.’

‘I can’t,’ Isok said despairingly. ‘I’ve tried, God knows.’

‘Then you must grow used to being divorced and the butt of jokes,’ David said uncompromisingly.

The patch of beach to which Thomas brought Simon was broad and clean, curving gently from rocks on the right-hand side to a low sandy promontory on the left. There were maybe fifteen men waiting there when Simon and Thomas arrived. Fifteen peasant men and a few women, all inhabitants of Ennor, and all thus serfs to Ranulph, standing by a man’s body which had been dragged down from the grassy dune where it had lain.

Simon groaned. It was ever the way. As soon as a body was found, people would go and gawp at the damned thing, generally trampling any bits and pieces which might point to the killer. There could be marks in the sand which could identify the man responsible, little indications which only a man who had learned how to investigate could see. Baldwin had taught him that; Baldwin believed that even when a man was dead, there were often clues as to who might have killed him and why left about his corpse, if only one took the time to search for them.

Baldwin was gone, though, he thought dully. He must grow used to this emptiness where his friend had once been. Wrapped up in memories of the past, he turned from the corpse and audience, and stared out to sea.

‘Why have you brought me here?’ he asked.

Thomas sniffed with amusement. ‘You are a stranger. Maybe that means you can assist with the investigation into this man’s death.’

‘You mean, I may have seen him here and killed him, or know of someone else doing the same?’ Simon scoffed. ‘It’s ridiculous! I know nothing about this man.’

There was a beach on the next island, and he watched some people walking about it. Somehow the feeling of loss grew more acute as he stood there observing them, until he was brought back to the present by a hoarse bellow.

‘Set it here!’

Thomas was pointing imperiously at a patch of level sand, and as Simon watched, three bitter-looking men arrived, heavily laden. One was carrying a large chair, a second two trestles, and the third a table-top. Under Thomas’s instructions these three set about creating a desk area for the Sergeant. They put the table-top over the trestles, then placed the chair behind it. Ignoring their sulky mien, Thomas sat in the chair. It promptly sank into the sand, back legs deeper than the front, tilting madly.

‘Get me up!’ he shrieked, his arms waving, legs in the air.

Simon grinned, despite himself; it took an effort of will not to laugh aloud. Looking at the men watching, though, his smile soon faded and died. Not a man present saw any humour in Thomas’s predicament. The jurors stood grim and stolid as their Sergeant lost all dignity and screamed in rage. This showed Simon just how deeply Thomas was detested by the islanders among whom he lived.

Two men-at-arms from the castle eventually walked forward, one hauling Thomas up while the other shifted the chair. Soon Thomas was on his feet again, but this time he left the chair and stood at the table, red-faced, setting out parchment, reeds and ink. He had just finished when there was a sudden hush.

‘Where are the jurors, then?’

Simon glanced up to see a large, bluff man in a clean white tunic approach. He moved with a surprising speed for his bulk, while the skinnier figure of another man scurried in his wake like a small boat bobbing behind a cog under full sail. Although Simon didn’t know it, this last fellow was Walerand.

Interestingly, though, Simon sensed that the people present did not dislike this newcomer so much as Thomas. They were still, and there were signs that they deferred to him, but Simon gained the impression that there was respect for this man, rather than the hatred they felt for Thomas.

‘Sir, they are all here and ready,’ Thomas said obsequiously, and Simon correctly guessed that the man in white was the Lord of the Manor.

‘Good. Stand over there, Walerand. Got your inks ready, Sergeant?’

Thomas nodded as he prepared a roll of parchment and knelt not far from the body, his reed dipped in a little flask.

‘Right, then, as Coroner of this benighted isle, I call on you all to give us your names. Who was First Finder?’

‘I was.’

‘Record that, Thomas. The finder was Walerand. To whom did you speak?’

‘Hamadus and Oderic.’

‘Fine!’

Simon watched sombrely as Ranulph declared the amercements, the sums each must pay to guarantee their appearance in court when the case was discussed. Ranulph seemed very happy with the fact of the men called, and the amercements were quite high, to the bailiff’s mind.

‘Let’s look at the poor bugger’s body, then,’ Ranulph declared. ‘Come on, men, clear a way for me. Right — you and you. Strip him.’

Walerand and another man stepped forward and began removing the clothes from the corpse. Simon disliked the pulling about of bodies, but at least it was a distraction. He felt as though he might go mad if he were to dwell on Baldwin’s death any longer.

Before looking at the body, one thing struck him: the man was without his boots. He was dressed in an old-fashioned manner, probably because he relied on a local tailor with old habits, and his hosen were bound to his under-girdle with laces. Simon could see that, because his hosen were off too, as though he was preparing to wash his legs. It was curious enough for Simon to note it. Where, he wondered, were the boots?

The corpse was that of a youngish man, in his mid to late twenties. As the body was rolled over and undressed, Simon saw that he had been a good-looking fellow. Now, all trace of attraction was gone. The eyes were filled with sand, the hair matted and repulsive, the mouth a gritty mess of reddened mucus. As the men lifted his hosen tunic, some of the jurors hooted with mirth to see that his bowels had voided during or after death. It was a small but significant indignity; Simon was disgusted that this should be cause for amusement and delight among the men and it made him unaccountably sad. What, he wondered, would they make of Baldwin’s body, if that too turned up on this shore? But then he reminded himself that this man had been the gather-reeve — such men were always hated. The one thing Simon saw was that the blade hadn’t penetrated the man’s back. It was a short blade, then.

After a cursory viewing, they had finished. Under Ranulph’s stern gaze, the body was turned over and over by Walerand and the other man.

Ranulph looked up at the watching peasants. ‘I find that this man was murdered, that he was stabbed in the breast with a short blade by an assassin. And when I find that assassin, I shall see him executed as a felon, in the way we know here on our islands.’

Baldwin watched Isok leave with a lightening of his spirit.

All the while Isok was with them, it felt as though he might at any time launch himself upon Baldwin. The thought of that brawny character leaping, fists swinging, was unpleasant. Still, Baldwin knew that a knight was impervious to threats and attacks. As soon as he found his sword, he would be a great deal more confident.

‘Your husband appears out of sorts. I hope it is nothing that I may have said or done,’ he said to Tedia as they traipsed over the dunes. He kept his eyes fixed on the sand. From listening to her voice, he would be able to learn all he needed.

‘He is not pleased with me. Ever since I decided to divorce him,’ Tedia said, and then she gave a short sniff. ‘I wish I didn’t have to.’

‘Why must you?’ Baldwin enquired. ‘What are the grounds?’

It took her little time to explain. There was no need for her to go into much detail, thankfully. ‘I am no mean-spirited wench who would shame my husband,’ she said defensively. ‘But what can I do?’

Baldwin was silent for a moment. He had heard of men who were not tempted by their wives, but this was extreme. ‘Perhaps, um, you could-’

‘I have tried everything,’ she cut him off flatly. ‘He couldn’t get the beast to rise. Nothing works.’

‘It must be terrible,’ Baldwin said, thinking of the mental anguish which Isok must be suffering. For a man to be unable to raise his tarse and sleep with his own wife was a curiously appalling idea. It was no surprise that Isok looked so dour and miserable. The poor devil must be suffering the whole time, wondering what his neighbours were thinking of him, wondering who was laughing behind his back … wondering whether his wife would be faithful. Could any wife be faithful in those circumstances? Baldwin was relieved that he had never had a problem with that. His wife could never complain of a lack of attention — the opposite, perhaps …

‘I have to do something. I am failing in my duty to God,’ Tedia said, and there was a mournful tone to her voice. ‘I used to love my man, but now?’ She disconsolately kicked at a pebble. ‘I don’t know. I think I could be tempted by any fellow with meat between his legs. It’s been so long …’

Baldwin heard little, fortunately. His emotions were confused enough as it was. Instead he was studying the ground. This, he felt sure, must have been the place where he had been washed up. There were so many prints in the sand. And then his mind caught on to Tedia’s comment and he felt a surge of trepidation. He looked up and surveyed the area. There was no one in sight.

She continued sadly, ‘I could be sorely tempted by almost any man, and that’s no way to live, is it? I want to cleave to my husband, yet I dream of other men all the time.’

‘Is this where I was found?’ Baldwin asked hurriedly.

She turned to him as though she had forgotten he was there. ‘Hmm? Oh, yes. You were just here — see? There’s no sign of a sword.’

Baldwin had to agree with her. Nothing marred the pristine sand apart from some few baulks of timber and the occasional piece of seaweed. Everything else was flotsam.

It was a terrible fact to face, that his sword was gone for ever, and he felt the full weight of the loss, as though this was a final breaking with his past. He hoped that the ship had survived. Other ships lasted out the bad weather, and it was quite possible that Simon was still alive, and yet Simon was not here, and Baldwin was appallingly alone. He felt deserted, and to have lost that most important symbol of his power and position, his sword, redoubled his loneliness. It was as though he had not only lost his friend, but at the same time had lost his right to call himself knight. Had lost his own past. Without that sword, he felt as though his own Order had disowned him. Childish, yes; foolish, certainly — yet the feeling was there, a conviction that he could not shake.

‘Are you all right?’ Tedia asked.

‘Yes, but I …’ He felt emotional, close to tears.

‘What?’

‘I cannot believe that my sword fell from me. It could have fallen from the scabbard, but not the whole belt. I wondered, suppose someone found me, and left me there, thinking I was near enough to death already, and simply sought to steal my sword?’

‘That couldn’t happen,’ she said with certainty. ‘No one about here would leave a drowning man to die. We live by the sea: none of us could allow a shipwrecked person to die without help.’

Her conviction was reassuring, but Baldwin knew men could behave astonishingly badly when given the spur of temptation. However, the argument would only upset the woman. ‘I am a little thirsty. Could we find a place with ale or wine?’ he asked quietly.

‘What, here?’ Tedia asked. Then she gave a twisted grin. ‘There may be such a place, but only if you don’t tell.’

Chapter Eleven

Fortunately his purse was still fixed to his belt and when he had returned to the castle, Simon managed to bribe himself into the gaol without too much difficulty. Once there, he demanded to speak to Sir Charles and Paul, and they were brought to him, both in chains.

‘This is a fine welcome home to Britain,’ Charles said with a bright smile. ‘I would have preferred some other response to my arrival.’

The room in which they were allowed to meet was a small cell near the castle’s foundations. There was a black trickle at one corner that stank of urine, and all the walls were bare stone. It was lighted by a malodorous candle which sat in a pool of wax in the middle of the heavily boarded table, and the three men had to stand about it for lack of a stool or bench. Simon was comfortable enough in the cool room, but every time that Sir Charles moved, the links of his chains rattled annoyingly.

If Simon had been in any doubt as to the treatment which Sir Charles and Paul had received, the bruises on Sir Charles’s face, and the dried crust of blood over his temple, as well as Paul’s swollen jaw where he too had been knocked down, would have quelled it. Their clothing was filthy. Days at sea in a tarry, oily cog, sea-sickness and pirates, followed by the storm and then gaol, had all taken their toll on Sir Charles’s usually neat appearance. He had a rough growth of beard, which for some reason made him appear younger than usual, but the gaunt look of his face with its deep eye hollows, and the stains and tears in his tunic, made him seem like a beggar of particularly ill-repute.

Simon at once went to them. ‘I had thought you were both dead! How did you come to survive that last blow?’

‘It was all very well for you to flee,’ Sir Charles said with a certain hauteur, ‘but not everyone knows how to swim, Bailiff.’

‘You should have told me! I could have helped you!’

‘To find a lingering death clinging to a spar?’ Sir Charles said with a faint smile. ‘Far better, I thought, to tempt fate and hope that the ship might survive.’

‘I thought we all agreed it was going to sink.’

‘Yet, as you can see, it didn’t. We arrived here safe and sound.’

‘In most ways,’ Paul grumbled.

‘I am deeply sorry,’ Simon said. ‘Why have they treated you in this way?’

‘Aha! That, I think, I can answer easily enough. It was probably,’ Charles said with a judicial consideration, ‘the way I held my sword to the back of Ranulph Blancminster. Apparently he is the local lord. I thought from his behaviour and arrogance that he was a mere official, or maybe even another pirate. Sadly, I now learn that he is the Lord of the Manor and demands full payment from any vessel which suffers damage about his shores.’

‘Can he do so?’ Simon asked.

‘He can from my master,’ Paul interjected bluntly. ‘His men saw my master shoving his sword-point at the man’s back. That was when they knocked him even more bloody stupid than he normally is.’

‘It was,’ Sir Charles confessed, ‘a rather extraordinary sensation, to be so beaten about the head that I collapsed on the spot. Yet it was interesting in its own way.’

‘As interesting as having an adder bite your arse,’ Paul said scathingly as his master gingerly touched his scalp.

‘No … there was nothing of the serpent about de Blancminster,’ Charles said thoughtfully. ‘He was less of a fighter, more of a merchant. I think all he was doing when he first appeared on our ship was assessing its value. He had no idea how many men there were on board at the time.’

‘He soon learned, though,’ Paul added, and then he spat. ‘And now he knows, he doesn’t want anyone who could cause him trouble to survive.’

‘What do you mean?’ Simon asked.

‘He wants the full value of the ship for himself, doesn’t he? That means no survivors.’

‘I am sure he isn’t so cynical,’ Simon said, but with a hesitation in his voice as he recalled Blancminster’s features.

‘He wants what he can get, Simon,’ Sir Charles said. ‘I understand such men. I thought I had a pirate on the ship, which was why I pulled out my sword — and I was proved right. From the moment he arrived on board, he was looking at the value of the thing. Paul says that as soon as I was down, he went about the Anne from stem to stern, checking all the wines and goods in the hold, and he took the ship’s records with him when he left.’

Simon suddenly remembered the documents Thomas had been working on when he went into his room at the castle. The parchments spread over the trestle-table could well have been a ship’s manifest.

‘As soon as he realised how much the ship was worth,’ Paul confirmed, ‘he took the lot with him and ordered her to be taken into port.’

‘He could surely not leave her without mast or sail,’ Simon said reasonably.

‘He could have asked permission before taking her,’ Sir Charles said flatly. ‘And as soon as I am free of these chains, I shall ask the good Blancminster to meet me for a discussion of the rights and wrongs of his behaviour.’

‘It may be better not to,’ Simon said thoughtfully. ‘He is powerful enough here on his own territory. It would be easy for him to arrange for you to disappear.’

‘If he killed me, he would have to answer to the King’s Coroner soon enough. You and Paul would report his actions!’

Simon looked at him, but it was Paul who caught Simon’s expression and gave a low whistle. ‘You reckon he’d do that? He’d kill all of us to keep us silent?’

‘From his behaviour so far, I wouldn’t think him incapable of it,’ Simon said.

‘I don’t care!’ Sir Charles said. ‘He must be taught manners.’

‘He has many men here. He could easily kill you.’

‘The King’s Coroner …’

‘He is the Coroner.’

‘So much the better. He must be a man of honour, then,’ Sir Charles said.

He stood and Simon saw that he was smiling again. It was a look which Simon distrusted. When the pirates had attacked the ship, Simon had seen Sir Charles. Beforehand, waiting for something to happen, he had been grim, a shadowy, angry man pacing the deck; as soon as the pirates’ grapnels had caught the ship’s side, Simon had seen him wielding his sword. He had been smiling, as happy and innocent-looking as a child, but this child was a berserker in knightly clothing. Sir Charles used his blade to take off one man’s hand, then was back, a club in the other hand, to beat at a second. He smiled as he fought, as though the whole of his soul was thrilling to the power and authority of the steel in his hand.

Seeing that same smile again, Simon left the cell and returned to the fresh daylight, unhappily convinced that if he wished to see his home and his wife again, he would have to ensure that Sir Charles not only escaped from the cell in which he was incarcerated, but that he was kept away from Ranulph de Blancminster until they were safely off the islands.

Simon’s concerns were nothing compared with those of Thomas who, once he returned from the inquest, spent the next hour sitting in his room with his records, assessing the cost of his latest venture should his ship not arrive.

If all was well, the Faucon Dieu should have arrived back at Ennor at any time over the last four days. True, sometimes the French port officials could be difficult, requiring a larger bribe than usual, or there could be a dispute with a clumsy dockyard worker — like last year. Then the master of the ship had arrived in port with a consignment of pottery, and because the lazy drunk had been abed when the dockers arrived, no one had shown them the ropes. When one snapped and a number of pieces were shattered on the hard stone flags, the dockers had accused the ship of maintaining poor ropes, as well they might. They wouldn’t want to have to pay for their incompetence, would they? The master had suffered a large financial penalty for that gaffe. It was normal procedure for all ships always to display their ropes so that this sort of thing couldn’t happen.

To lose one load of pottery, that was one thing, but Thomas now feared that he could have lost much more. Of course, as he reminded himself every few minutes, it was more than likely that the ship was held up in port and couldn’t make the sailing he expected, so they were simply late, but somehow he didn’t feel reassured.

Pirates were always a problem, especially with shipping to and from the British ports in Guyenne, but things had been quiet for a while. Now, though, Thomas had heard that the Anne had been chased by what must have been a Breton ship, from the sound of things. Pirates didn’t tend to travel far: they preyed on ships close to their home ports. So, if the Bretons were up to their tricks again, no cargo was safe, and Thomas was unpleasantly aware that he had overextended himself on this voyage. It wasn’t insured, and if the vessel was caught, he would be in serious trouble.

It was curious the way that this affected him. After the first few anxious moments, he could almost study himself like an observer from a distance. The problem was one about which he could do nothing. Could he fly to the ship to see that she was all right? Of course not! The only thing he could do was sit and wait, and meanwhile ensure that his work was all done. Except he couldn’t. It was impossible to concentrate on anything while his mind was tormented with the fear that he had lost everything he’d built up over the last years.

Money was not important hereabouts, of course, but if he was ever to escape these islands and return to civilisation, he would need hard cash. No man without a lord could survive long in England without some money behind him. No, Thomas needed money, and lots of it … where was that ship? It should have arrived by now.

Then again, piracy was not the only threat to shipping. The Faucon Dieu may have been overwhelmed by the storm, just as the Anne had. Perhaps the master of the Anne had noticed it? Whether he had or not, the man called Gervase had died not long after the damaged vessel was boarded by Ranulph and the rest. Perhaps one of the other survivors had spotted Thomas’s ship? They could have passed her, or … No. It was better to leave the men from the Anne out of it. Ranulph would wonder why he was so keen to speak to them, and Thomas had no desire to let his master find out what he was up to. Filling in customs forms was frowned upon in England, certainly, but the customs due were supposed to be paid to Ranulph, and if he learned that his own trusted Sergeant was taking the money and shovelling it straight into his own purse … life on the island would grow infinitely less pleasant. No, he must keep all that quiet for now.

The Faucon Dieu must surely turn up soon. Where in God’s name was she?

A horrid thought jumped into the Sergeant’s mind. It wasn’t only Bretons who attacked ships. The men of St Nicholas were more than capable of taking to the seas when they were feeling the pinch. The spoil from a couple of merchants’ ships would compensate for a poor harvest, for instance. This summer, the weather had been indifferent and most of the crop had suffered; it would be no surprise if David got together a band of men to find a ship and steal the cargo, murdering all the men aboard. They could have been the fellows who sought to take the Anne, but were prevented … if they had met with the Faucon Dieu, they could have taken her easily.

Thomas sat very still, gazing intently at the door before him. Automatically, he took the dagger from the secret sheath under the table-top and gripped it hard. If the men of St Nicholas had taken his ship, he would wreak the most terrible revenge upon them, he promised himself. After all, people who raided ships deserved all they got. Their punishment was to be the sea’s prey.

The cottage was not far from Tedia’s, and she led him back up the beach towards it. Mariota’s home was a somewhat dilapidated building, with the thatch thin and weakened by the storms. A well stood in a yard, some boards laid over it to stop unwary chickens falling in, and beyond was a little garden with a few spindly beans and peas, long past their best.

‘Here we are,’ Tedia said, and settled Baldwin on a bench by the door. In a moment, Mariota had joined them.

She was a shortish woman, with wide hips and a compact, powerful body. Large breasts jutted above her belt, and her sharp eyes studied Baldwin, creating an impression of hostility, he thought, but only for a moment. Then her eyes crinkled and she smiled. ‘So, Sir Knight. You look drier and cleaner than when I last saw you.’

‘I am well, I thank you, if a little sore and tired,’ Baldwin said.

‘It was Mariota here who mended your clothing,’ Tedia explained as she brought out a large cup of wine.

‘I am grateful to you, then,’ Baldwin said and sipped. It was a delicious, sweet wine, and he smiled at the flavour for a moment, and then his mind turned to wondering how a woman like Mariota could have afforded it and his smile faded.

‘It was nothing. The least I could do,’ Mariota said warmly. ‘I should have found you myself. You were nearer to me than Tedia’s. Still, it was foul weather that night.’

‘Yes,’ Baldwin said. He was about to speak when he saw Mariota’s look go from him to Tedia, a small grin on her face.

She said, ‘So then, Tedia — have you tested the length of his sword?’

Baldwin was about to say that he had lost it, when he caught the true meaning of her words. As Tedia laughed aloud, Baldwin could only feel a rising embarrassment, and mumbling about returning to the beach, he drained his cup.

Back outside, Simon took deep breaths to rid his lungs of the foul air in the cell. He had to get away from the castle. Standing here beneath the walls of the keep, he was taken with a feeling of loathing for the place, and he turned through the gates, past the donkeys bringing in the smaller loads from the ship, narrowly escaping being squashed against a wall by a two-wheeled cart. Soon he had left the castle behind him, and he headed south.

The sun was high, and here, before the castle, he was given a clear view over the sweep of the great bay in which his ship sat. Rather than get stirred up at the sight of Ranulph Blancminster’s men raping the Anne, he stared beyond her to the south.

The sea was a marvellous expanse of blue with bright sparks where the sun was reflected. In the far, far distance, he saw a pair of ships with their sails billowing. Perhaps they were fishing — Simon couldn’t tell. It would be some time before he became used to the different vessels, just as it would be some little while before his guts grew accustomed to their motion over the waves. He was quite certain that he would grow used to such things, because other men did. Look at Baldwin: he never minded sailing …

Simon felt buffeted by a hammer of grief. It started in his ribcage, and the pain of it leaped up into his throat like a thick bolus; he could scarcely breathe, and then his eyes grew prickly. A tear formed as he remembered his friend’s stern but kindly expression. It was terrible to think that he was gone for ever. Simon would have to go to see Jeanne and tell her himself that her husband was dead. He couldn’t expect anyone else to do that. He wouldn’t want anyone else to do it. It was the last service he could do for his comrade.

Strange. They had been friends since 1316, yet it felt as though they had been companions for much longer. There was something about the knight which invited loyalty; maybe the way that he respected almost all men, and was reluctant to make assumptions about someone’s guilt based solely on their status in the world. Baldwin held firmly to the principle that the truth was the only issue of importance in an investigation.

Simon sniffed, about to walk into the open, when a low, malevolent snarl at his heel made him jump with fright. At the side of the road was a large hound, crouched low like a cat ready to pounce, his great shoulders rippling with power, head a scant inch from the ground, his tail still except for a little twitching at the tip. Large amber eyes held Simon’s fixedly.

‘It’s all right, boy,’ said a voice.

Simon looked up and saw the figure of Hamadus.

‘Christ Jesus, Sexton!’ he said.

‘Aha, you shouldn’t misuse the Lord’s name like that,’ Hamadus remonstrated. The dog gave a low rumble again. ‘Calm down!’ The old fisherman appeared to take his silence for an apology. He glanced down at the port. ‘I’m sorry. It must be distressing to see your ship pulled apart like that,’ he said, more kindly.

‘It’s hard,’ Simon agreed.

‘Better than not being alive to see it, though.’

‘I only hope that I can find my belongings.’

Hamadus squinted at him. ‘If it’s something worth holding, it’ll have already disappeared,’ he said reasonably. ‘Those men aren’t there for fun, you know.’

‘No,’ Simon agreed mournfully. He had not thought that his private belongings could have been taken. It was fortunate that he had already sold most of his goods on his journey. There was little to lose. ‘I suppose not.’

‘No suppose about it. The thieving bastards would take the skin off your back if they reckoned they could get away with it and make a profit.’

‘If they’re such thieves, why doesn’t Ranulph or Thomas go and keep an eye on them?’ Simon asked, unthinking.

Hamadus gave him a long and contemplative look. ‘They are the men who ordered the theft, man.’

Simon shot him a frown of disbelief.

‘Don’t believe me?’ Hamadus said without rancour. ‘Wait till you see more of the island and our master before you judge.’

‘Who actually has the power here?’ Simon asked shrewdly.

‘You are a wise man,’ Hamadus said with twinkling eyes. ‘Well now, up there,’ he pointed northwards, ‘on St Nicholas, the man who’s supposed to have the power is the Prior. After all, he’s the man put there by the Abbey in Tavistock. But there are only a few monks at the priory, and they could easily be overwhelmed by the men of the vill. St Nicholas has about fifty men at the vill and about the place, and if they refused to work and perform their labours for the priory, the priory would have to close. The man with the real power is the reeve, David, because the reeve is looked up to by all the men of the vill, and at the same time the Prior daren’t upset him, because the reeve is his ambassador in the vill. The reeve lets him know when there is a discontented feel in the air, and the Prior can put things right.’

‘Why should he wish to upset his reeve?’

Hamadus gave him a curious gaze. ‘Perhaps the Prior disapproves of some of the reeve’s activities. Even so, he doesn’t want to cause conflict. With so few monks, it would be easy to overrun the priory.’

Simon noted that he had not answered his question, but since Hamadus appeared unwilling to continue, the Bailiff nodded as though content.

‘Well,’ Hamadus continued, ‘it’s the same here. The man on top should be Ranulph de Blancminster, the Lord of the Manor and castellain. But all his business with the people here is dealt with by that lying, thieving bastard of a Sergeant. What Thomas wants, Thomas gets. He orders the men about the castle, he administers the collection of taxes, and no doubt pockets some, just as any good tax-gatherer will. He commanded the gather-reeve, poor devil, and he still commands the men-at-arms. Ranulph has little power in reality. He thinks he owns this place, but it’s his man who runs it all.’

‘Are there many villeins here?’

‘I suppose eighty or ninety families. Ennor is a good island,’ Hamadus responded.

‘And on St Nicholas the peasants are answerable to the priory, not to Ranulph?’

‘Aye. There’s little love lost between the two islands.’

‘Why is that?’

Hamadus kicked at a pebble. ‘Perhaps islanders can feel hunger and disaster more than folk on the mainland. People over there reckon a bad harvest will mean a hard winter, but they don’t know the half of it. Here, if we have a bad harvest, we starve. In winter, there aren’t the boats to bring enough food. We can’t go to the next market to demand help, we can’t walk the roads begging alms like someone from the mainland. No, if there’s not the stock put by, we go hungry. So sometimes in the past, islanders have been forced to put to sea to try to win a prize.’

‘You mean that they have turned pirate?’

‘At times. And the harvest is poor this year.’

‘Why should that mean that the two islands resent each other?’

‘Here on Ennor, Thomas and his men control the people. It’s only the folk of St Nicholas who can slip the leash when they feel they must, and who go to take Breton ships.’

Simon nodded. So that was why the Prior was annoyed with his reeve. The latter was little more than a pirate-leader, and took his friends out with him on his raids! No wonder, too, that the men of Ennor disliked their neighbours.

‘What of the death of the gather-reeve? Do you think he was corrupt?’

‘Do you know a man who pays his taxes and rents who doesn’t believe the gather-reeve is a thief?’ Hamadus chuckled with a wheeze. ‘Everyone thought he was bent.’

‘So anyone could have killed him.’

‘It’s possible,’ the old man said. ‘How much shall I help you? Put it like this, master: if a man was going to murder another with a knife in the chest, either he was trusted enough to get close to the gather-reeve, or he was an assassin, and Robert knew nothing of his approach.’

‘True enough.’ Simon wondered who was honourable here. Peasants weren’t honourable, nor apparently were Ranulph or his men. The islands seemed full of men who were happy to turn thief as soon as a battered ship appeared in sight. It was a depressing thought.

‘Cheer yourself!’ the old fisherman urged him. ‘Surely no island man would think of killing a fellow in that devious way. They’d all stand before their enemy and demand a fight; they wouldn’t slip a knife in a man’s breast as he was planning to meet his woman.’

‘His woman?’

‘A woman who lives on St Nicholas,’ Hamadus said, as though reluctantly.

‘How would he have got there?’

‘No doubt he had a boat to convey him.’

‘There was no sign of one. Perhaps his murderer took it?’

‘Perhaps.’ Hamadus was looking at him oddly, as though wondering whether to tell him more. Simon pressed him, ‘What were you doing on the night he died?’

‘I was cleaning the church. William was up on the hill with his flock, so I stayed in the church to see that it was safe.’

‘You saw nothing of this Robert?’

‘Not since that morning. He visited me to ask for more rents — but my dog persuaded him to rethink his plans!’ Hamadus wheezed with amusement.

‘I can’t think why,’ Simon said drily with a glance at the great beast.

‘Oh, he’s all right, Bailiff. It’s the animals with two legs on this island you have to worry about!’

‘So you saw no one?’

‘While in the church? No.’ Hamadus peered at Simon. ‘But perhaps when I was walking home I saw Thomas, the Sergeant. He wasn’t in the castle when night fell. He got back late, so I heard, and very wet from the storm. I wonder where he was before that? Now, I have to return to my work. Godspeed!’ Hamadus walked away with a light whistle. The dog immediately rose, moving with a lissom smoothness that was more feline than canine, and slunk around Simon to trot down the track towards La Val at the bottom of the hill.

Simon stood watching. He was not normally afraid of dogs, but that one, he confessed to himself, was enough to scare a man witless. He would hate to think of it attacking him in earnest.

Chapter Twelve

Baldwin was at last forced to confess defeat. They had walked all the way along the flats while the tide retreated, resolutely ignoring Mariota’s smutty innuendo, until at last Tedia pointed.

‘Look. Now you can see the sands all the way to Ennor.’

‘It appears as though a man could walk all the way,’ Baldwin observed.

‘Yes, it does. At the lowest tide, a man might think of it,’ she explained, ‘but not now, though. The sea can always be treacherous. Sometimes a wave will come in, and then anyone out there would be washed away in moments. Then again, although it may appear that there is a solid path from here to Penn Trathen, appearances are deceptive. The water is a great deal deeper than you might expect.’

‘I have little interest in the sea for now,’ Baldwin admitted with a slight shiver. His body felt very feeble still, and after his walk about this sandy bar, he felt ready to fall to his knees, not that he would let himself do so in front of this woman. That would be a source of shame to him. He was still a knight, as he told himself.

Tedia walked on a short way while he watched her. She was still studying the ground, keenly seeking his blade. They had turned back and were wandering roughly southwards, and the sun, lower this late in the summer, reflected off the water. For a moment, as she passed before it, the light shone through her threadbare tunic, and Baldwin was captivated.

She was a slim, dark-haired girl. Her dress hinted at the soft curves of her breasts, her legs were long and firm, while her belly was rounded enough to look like a pillow fit for a king to rest his head on. As he watched her, feeling the breath catch in his throat, she lifted a hand to ease a long tress of hair behind an ear, and he caught a glimpse of the woman as a whole: she was as unspoiled as the beaches, as beautiful as the islands, as calm as the seas. Her neck was long and elegant, her face in profile was as gentle as that of the Madonna herself.

He saw her glance towards him. ‘Are you quite well?’

‘I …’

‘So this is the stranger, Tedia? How are you now, Sir Knight?’

To his intense annoyance, aware of a furtive sense of guilt, Baldwin found himself confronted by a man some six to eight years younger than himself, a man with a thick shock of unruly black hair and eyes that were a clear blue like a sky glimpsed through clouds on a chilly winter’s day. His face was strong, with an angled jaw that dropped to a narrow chin. The nose was broken, and he had at some time won a great scar on his cheek that had sliced deep and almost reached his ear.

There was something about him that appealed to Baldwin. This man, he felt instinctively, was no brute. The reflection somewhat abated his desire to hit him.

Tedia was at Baldwin’s side in a moment. ‘Sir Baldwin, this is David, the reeve.’

Reeve David studied the knight cheerfully. ‘I am glad to see you looking happier than you did, Sir Knight. Last time I saw you, you were snoring fit to wake folks on the mainland.’

‘I think even my snores would not reach so far,’ Baldwin said with some sharpness.

‘It’s not too far,’ David said, glancing southwards.

Baldwin realised that he was referring not to England, but to the main island, Ennor, and the idea struck him as quaint. It was endearing how people who lived so far from the shores of England could look upon Ennor as the nearest place of any meaning. What, he wondered, did the people of Ennor look to? Was it the next wave-tossed island to the east? When he looked towards the south-west he could see some rocks projecting beyond the westernmost shore of Ennor, and he wondered whether they were the beginning of another island which was only visible from Ennor itself. He wondered, too, how many islands made up this little scattering of land in the vast sea. It was unsettling to think how far it might be to another place. There was nothing to the west, of course, but eastwards, how far would it be to the Cornish coast? Many miles, he guessed.

‘What are you doing here, Tedia? Helping your guest to recover?’

‘He has lost his belongings and wondered if they might be here.’

‘Have you found any of them?’ David asked.

‘No. But I have given him some air, which is good. And shown him Ennor in the daylight — the good knight had a desire to see for himself how close the island is.’

‘Did he?’ David said, looking at Baldwin, who managed to fit a suitable expression of bland disinterest on his face. ‘And what does he think of the place?’

‘It is a strangely attractive little land: rocky, but green. It looks fertile,’ Baldwin answered honestly. ‘It appears a pleasant enough place.’

‘Yes. That’s a fair summary,’ David said. ‘The islands all have their own atmosphere. Here on St Nicholas, we have more variety, with our western hills and the eastern rocks. North we have a wild sea, while here in the south, is this gentle landscape. Ennor has soft sandy beaches all around, apart from that odd spur there, west from La Val. There the sea can be violent.’

‘The seas all about here can be violent,’ Baldwin said. He touched his hip, and was about to mention his sword again, but decided not to. His face was still sore, as was his shoulder, where he had been pounded against a rock, or perhaps a piece of wood had been hurled at him while he lay in the water. Either way, it was a proof of the viciousness of the sea when roused, and yet there was a curious lack of any damage where his sword had hung. He’d had a good strong scabbard, with a belt that was more than up to the task of holding it in place, so it seemed most peculiar that the entire thing should have disappeared. As he recalled, there had been no weaknesses in the leather of his belt.

He could have understood his sword falling from the scabbard and being lost in the sea, but to lose the scabbard and belt at the same time was quite impossible: of that he was sure. Yet he was equally certain that the thing dangled at his hip all the while he was on board the ship. In fact, even as he thought of pirates and the attack, he had a feeling, no more than that, of being washed over the side of the ship.

While he was engaged in his thoughts, the other two were talking.

‘Yes, there’s a ship in the harbour,’ he heard David say. Tedia smiled and chuckled to herself, and Baldwin wondered why.

‘What sort of ship?’

‘A great cog. One of those which travels between Guyenne and London. Probably got blown this way by the same storm which blew you here.’

‘I hope that there are some survivors, then.’ Baldwin felt choked up at the memory of all those good men who had been aboard the Anne when they had set sail, in particular Simon: the honest, bluff Bailiff who had been Baldwin’s first friend when he arrived home at Furnshill after so many years of travelling. It seemed that his entire life had been composed of losses: first all his friends and comrades in the Knights Templar, and now Simon. With that thought, he wondered whether he would ever recover his ease of spirit. In large part he knew that it had been caused by his friendship with Simon. He was the counterbalance to Baldwin’s depression. At least he still had his wife and daughter. They must be his consolation — and yet a man who had been a member of a warrior band would always regret the loss of his comrades. There were bonds between men who had fought side by side in battles and survived which were stronger even than those which held a man to his woman.

‘There are some, I daresay,’ David said, more seriously. ‘If a whole ship is saved, there must usually be some folk who are kept hale and hearty.’

‘I shall pray so,’ Baldwin said fervently. The sea was a cruel mistress, he thought. A sudden hope sprang into his heart. ‘This ship … I do not suppose it could be mine?’

David gave him a look of surprise. ‘But surely yours broke up? That was how you came to be in the water.’

‘I suppose so, but I cannot recall what happened, nor how I came to be thrown into the sea.’ Baldwin frowned. There was something that niggled at his memory: what, he wondered, if the ship had not been thrown upon the rocks? Could he have somehow been separated from it?

‘Anyway, there is something else to occupy minds on the mainland today, from what I’ve heard,’ David said. ‘Oliver from La Val rowed over earlier with some puffins for the Prior, and he told me: a man was murdered during the night of the storm.’

‘Who?’ Tedia asked, but she already knew the answer and a deathly chill flowed from the roots of her hair down to the tips of her toes.

‘The tax-gatherer. That pox-marked, bile-infested son of a heathen, Robert.’

Baldwin was shocked to see how the woman was affected by this news, but assumed that it was another proof of her softness and femininity. Any decent woman would be upset to hear of a senseless killing, he reasoned. From a professional interest, he enquired, ‘How do they know it was murder?’

‘He was stabbed. It’s easy to guess he didn’t die at his own hand.’

Hearing a sudden intake of breath, Baldwin glanced at the woman. ‘Tedia?’

She could say nothing. She only stood and stared at David in incomprehension, her mouth open, her eyes filled with terror and remorse.

At the same time that Baldwin heard of Robert’s death, Simon, too, heard some news. He had returned to the castle to speak to Thomas after his conversation with Hamadus, and when he entered Thomas’s chamber, was amazed to find himself confronted by the sight of Baldwin’s sword. It lay, unsheathed, on Thomas’s table. A tall, slightly stooped lad was standing beside it, an unpleasant smile on his face.

‘So, Bailiff — returning so soon?’ Thomas asked. ‘And I thought you would be with your companions in the gaol for a good long while.’

That, Simon realised, was a veiled warning. As soon as he had bribed the gaoler, Thomas got to know. ‘I wished to think.’ He couldn’t keep his eyes from the bright blue blade on the table.

‘You recognise this sword?’ Thomas enquired gently. ‘It is a lovely piece of work, isn’t it? It was well covered in grease when we found it, as though it had been prepared for a voyage.’

‘Should I know it?’ Simon asked warily.

‘I don’t know. This was found in the dunes, not far from the body of Ranulph de Blancminster’s tax-gatherer.’

‘And who found it?’

‘Walerand here. He stumbled over it after the body was taken away.’

‘You seem to make a habit of finding things,’ Simon said, eyeing Walerand with distaste. ‘First a corpse, now a sword.’

‘I am lucky, maybe. Or maybe I’m just competent. I know how to find things and please my master.’

‘Perhaps you do!’ Simon agreed, struck with the comment. It made him think afresh about the man in front of him. He didn’t like his thoughts.

‘So, are you sure you haven’t seen this sword before?’

Simon was about to answer when a caution sprang into his mind. This was Baldwin’s sword, as he knew perfectly well, but it also bore the signs of the Templar Order. If he were to declare that it was Baldwin’s, his friend’s memory would be poisoned. Jeanne, Lady Baldwin, could become the target of vindictive comment, and that was not a position in which Simon would willingly put her.

‘Why should I have?’

‘It was found here as you arrived. No one on the island owns a weapon like this. I would know.’ Thomas shrugged, but he had already lost interest. ‘I am sorry. It seems ridiculous to ask you, but sometimes a man who is responsible for affairs of the law must ask foolish things. It’s all a matter of form, you understand. It is a curious weapon, though, don’t you think? And it appeared here, with what looked like blood on the grease used to protect it, as though it had stabbed a man recently. Surely that would prove its use in Robert’s death.’

‘He should have guarded himself,’ the man at the table said harshly.

‘Perhaps, Walerand,’ Thomas said with a hint of weariness in his voice. ‘And perhaps not. Maybe it was my fault for not insisting that he took a guard with him. We can’t afford to lose men like him. He was a good fellow.’

Simon looked at Walerand. He was an unprepossessing sight, scruffy, with the pale skin and eyes of a man who needed more exercise, to Simon’s mind. Then he dismissed him from his mind.

‘Your tax-man would no doubt have had many enemies.’

‘Don’t all tax-collectors?’ Thomas said mildly. ‘Nobody particularly enjoys giving up his money to his lord, no matter who he is.’

‘Perhaps not, but not many take up a sword and murder the gatherer,’ Walerand said. He had noticed the Bailiff’s cursory look, and felt insulted by it. He knew he was better than this Bailiff, and he didn’t care to be snubbed. It was a calculated insult, that’s what it was. He’d show him.

But Simon barely registered that he’d spoken — he scarcely noticed Walerand at all. ‘This man who was killed,’ he said. ‘Perhaps I can help you? I have investigated many murders in Dartmoor, where I deal with such matters for Abbot Champeaux.’

‘It is kind of you to offer,’ Thomas said, eyeing him thoughtfully. ‘Another man’s eye can sometimes see the obvious which is hidden to others.’

‘Do you have any idea when he might have been killed?’ Simon asked.

‘He was alive at the time of the meal here on the day of the storm. I rather think that he went out after eating, and as it grew dark, he was caught, attacked, and then left to die.’

‘And this sword was beside him?’ Simon said after a moment.

Thomas nodded to the man standing at the table. ‘Walerand? Where was it exactly?’

‘About five or six yards from the body. I found it on my way back.’

‘The killer must have attacked Robert, then hurled this away,’ Thomas said.

‘Why? The sword isn’t going to point anyone in the direction of the murderer since no one here knows it,’ Simon observed. ‘He could as well have kept it. If he wanted to conceal it, surely he’d have thrown it in the sea.’

‘Maybe he did. A waterspout is very powerful,’ Thomas said. ‘I have seen one gather up a boat from the sea and hurl it many yards. The men in it were killed, of course. The storm of that night could have plucked the sword from the sea and thrown it back to show us who killed Robert. God works in odd ways.’

‘That’s true,’ Simon agreed, thinking how violent the sea could be. ‘But if the murderer left it there, why should he do that?’

‘Perhaps he was appalled at having killed a man,’ Thomas said solemnly.

There was a moment’s silence. Simon and Walerand both knew that this was a forlorn hope. It was Walerand who finally said, ‘What — a gather-reeve?’

Thomas frowned, but had to accept the validity of the comment. ‘Yes — not many would feel guilt at executing one such as him.’

‘How are the islanders?’ Simon asked. ‘Most peasants and farmers are docile enough even though they dislike paying taxes.’

‘These are different, Bailiff,’ Thomas said heavily; in truth, he believed what he said. ‘The folks of these islands are self-supporting and self-reliant. They don’t realise that they depend upon us to maintain them, they think that they can go their own way. It is ridiculous, of course. They need the castle here at La Val to protect them. Where would they be without the men whom Ranulph supports here? Dead, that is where. They do not realise how dangerous the world can be. If it wasn’t for us, they’d be raided by pirates from the wild north, or Bretons from the mad south. The people feel safe here, so they don’t accept the need to support us. Ridiculous, but there it is.’

‘They are no better than pirates themselves,’ Walerand grunted. ‘Cut-throats and draw-latches, the lot of them. Pox on them, I say. Make them pay more and sooner, so they realise their place!’

So these two thought the same as Hamadus, Simon noted — except these appeared to be talking about Ennor; Hamadus talked of pirates on St Nicholas. He saw Thomas wince.

‘Yes, yes, Walerand, I know your views, but don’t forget that you’re not the only one who has an opinion. So does our Lord, and he says it’s better to maintain them without antagonising them too much. Bear that in mind.’

‘The peasants here are rebellious?’ Simon said.

‘Not exactly,’ Thomas sighed, ‘but certainly they won’t take a bridle with a short rein. They need to have their own head — otherwise you find that they are trying to ride you, rather than the other way about! The islands earn their living from the sea.’

‘I would have expected the men to make their livings from the sea,’ Simon said jokingly.

‘Yes, one expects seamen to make money from farming the fish, and sometimes to earn a little from salvaged goods or wrecks, no matter how legal it may be,’ Thomas said, and he was now fiddling with a reed. He paused and met Simon’s eyes. ‘The trouble is, sometimes they will decide to make wrecks for themselves. There are men here who would not hesitate to lead a ship onto the rocks so that they could steal her cargo; or they might attack and destroy a ship, taking all they can before sinking her — or take their ships to a rival town or port, and steal and burn and rape. This is the sort of man who lives here. They were moderate enough in their needs, I believe, but the famine changed that. Now they are more … unstable.’

Simon knew what he meant. The great famine of 1315 and 1316 had caused untold horrors, and few men were free of the fear of a recurrence. ‘What did you mean, they might decide to make wrecks?’ he questioned.

‘A wreck is only a wreck if all on board are dead,’ Thomas said, and he watched as the words sank in. ‘Not all men are honourable.’

Simon nodded. ‘Even in Dartmoor there are people who have been driven to murder,’ he said quietly. Pirates were no different from felons who preyed on travellers on a road. Both stole and killed. In Devon Simon had met enough killers to know that even his pleasant county had its own madmen and outlaws.

‘That is why we have to treat them with caution, Bailiff. Some of these folks are a little wild. There is a vill on St Nicholas which … Well, I shall merely say that I should not wish for a friend of mine to be left there.’

‘I understand. So you think that one of those men could have been responsible for the murder of the tax-man?’

‘It is likely. Those idiots think that all we do here is live in luxury on the money we prise from them. As if the amount we collect in customs from them for using our port or market could pay for a castle like this and all the staff we need! It is ridiculous. But it goes to show what sort of people we are dealing with here.’

‘Quite.’ Simon glanced at Walerand, who hawked and spat noisily before casting a contemptuous look in Simon’s direction. There was so much hostility in that look that it put Simon on his guard. When he returned his attention to Thomas, his expression remained bland, but his mind was whirling.

‘That, Bailiff, is why I would be grateful if you could investigate this matter on our behalf,’ Thomas said.

‘Why do I feel you had decided to ask me to help before I entered this room and offered?’

‘You heard Ranulph. He wishes to learn who killed his gather-reeve. You are independent; you are unknown. You will create fewer problems than if I were to ask another man to do this task.’

Simon was somehow certain that the man who would otherwise be asked to perform this duty was also in the room with him; he felt just as certain that Walerand was perfectly capable of igniting a full-scale war if diplomacy were required. He had the sort of brutish face that spoke of ignorance and bigotry. ‘I would be pleased to help,’ Simon said, ‘but I would first have to ensure that my friends were released from their gaol.’

‘That is difficult,’ Thomas countered. ‘They drew weapons against my master.’

‘In a confused situation,’ Simon said firmly. ‘They had recently all but succumbed to a pirates’ attack, and then a storm, and when your Lord appeared, they had no idea who he was.’

Thomas nodded slowly. Then he took a deep breath. ‘Very well. But I shall have to confirm my decision with my Lord. I shall ask him at the very first opportunity.’

Simon had seen such prevarication before in his dealings with clerks. ‘When would that likely be?’

‘Very soon,’ Thomas said smoothly.

‘Excellent.’ Simon rose. ‘Let me know, and as soon as my friends are released, I shall begin my investigation.’

‘I would prefer you to begin now, Bailiff,’ Thomas said politely.

‘And so I shall … as soon as my companions are free,’ Simon said with equal civility.

Thomas eyed him bleakly. ‘You are a hard man to bargain with. Very well. You may count on it that they will be released immediately. Now please go and investigate this crime. Walerand here will go with you and ensure the compliance of the population with your inquest.’

Simon grunted and stood. ‘It is a bargain. I shall also need a sword. I left my own on the ship. Perhaps your men have already found it?’

Thomas smiled at the sarcasm in his voice. ‘Walerand will lead you to the armoury. Choose what you wish.’

‘There is no need. This sword will be fine.’

‘You cannot have that. It may be the murder weapon.’

‘What, to kill the gather-reeve?’

‘Of course.’

‘It couldn’t. The stab wound in Robert’s back was too shallow.’

‘There is blood on the blade.’

‘Where?’

Thomas pointed to a large dark stain near the quillons.

‘To have blood there the sword must have run through the man,’ Simon said reasonably. ‘Robert was killed by a dagger, not a sword.’

‘You seem very certain,’ Thomas observed.

‘I am. And I need a sword.’

Chapter Thirteen

Thomas had stood as the two men left his chamber. Now he sat back and chuckled to himself. The Bailiff was so entirely predictable and easily led.

Ringing the bell that sat at his right hand, he bent his head over the Anne’s documents once more. The ship had been carrying plenty of wine, thank God. Some of it was good Cretan, too, which was that bit stronger and sweeter than the Guyennois varieties. That was good; Ranulph liked his Cretan wine.

A servant tapped at the door. ‘Ah, Oliver — go to the gaol and tell the men to bring that knight and his squire up to the chamber off the main hall and leave them there. They are to be locked inside in case they try to escape.’

The man went to do his bidding, and Thomas settled back in his seat. The poor Bailiff would be unhappy when he heard, but if he wanted men accused of treating the Lord of the islands in a cavalier manner to be released from custody completely, he would have to do more than bargain over an investigation. He would have to find a culprit.

In the meantime, it was good that the dullard had not spotted the weakness of his own position. He might now have a bright blue sword to wear, but he was one man against the castle’s garrison. Hopefully he would soon conclude that the men of the vill had been responsible for Robert’s death.

Yes, thought Thomas. All in all it had been a good morning’s work.

Where was that damn ship, he wondered yet again with a slight frown. The Faucon Dieu should have docked by now. It was one thing to deflect the Bailiff with tales of murderers so that Simon didn’t enquire too deeply about Thomas himself, but the real problem in Thomas’s mind was the missing ship.

There was a knock, and he harshly commanded the man to enter. It was the Bailiff.

‘Thomas, there is one last thing,’ Simon said mildly. ‘What were you doing out on the night Robert was murdered?’

‘Me? Who says I-’

‘Someone saw you. All I wanted to know was, what were you doing and did you see Robert?’

Thomas felt his chest tightening. ‘I was out to see others. That is all you need to know.’

‘Can I see your dagger?’

Thomas silently stared at him. Slowly he pulled his dagger from its sheath and passed it to Simon.

‘Ah. As I thought: no blood,’ Simon said, passing it back.

‘So I am to be considered innocent?’ Thomas asked sarcastically.

‘No,’ Simon said. ‘You’re bright enough to wash a weapon after committing murder.’

He left without speaking further, and now Thomas felt less comfortable about selecting Simon as his investigator. As he sat tapping his teeth once more, the two worries nagged at him: the investigation into Robert’s death and his ship.

Where was she?

Simon was tiring already and demanded the use of a staff. When Walerand had found him a decent five-foot-long stave, he followed the other man out along the trail from the main gates, and down a winding path that gradually turned across the western face of the crag on which the castle stood. Here Walerand turned right across a field.

Ahead of him Simon could see the whole of the flat-looking island. Directly before them was a low hill with gently sloping sides, but Walerand was leading him to the north of this, taking him through the marshes.

‘Sorry if you find it a bit wet here,’ Walerand said after a while.

Simon glanced down. ‘This? On Dartmoor, this would be considered quite dry,’ he said without thinking.

Walerand said nothing. The man was just ignorant, that was all. Pig ignorant, the blown-up piece of pus. He didn’t know anything about the islands or the people who lived here — that much was obvious. At least Thomas had given Walerand the job of watching him while he was here on the islands. That was something. Maybe it meant he was considering Walerand for another task. This could be Thomas’s way of telling him that he was well thought of. That would be good.

In any event, it was a good thing that this Bailiff had someone with a brain to look after him. He was blundering about like a bug-eyed pilgrim right now, staring about him like a man who’d never seen a small island before. Now that Walerand had lived here for such a long while, he felt quite an expert. This Bailiff was an embarrassment.

‘What?’ he snarled when he heard the Bailiff speak.

Simon pointed up ahead of them. ‘I want to climb that hill.’

‘Why? It’s just a-’

‘It’s this way, I think,’ Simon said, setting off.

‘That’s not the bloody way!’ Walerand called after him. The cretinous, louse-infested piece of horse dung was wandering up over Oderic’s land. ‘Oh, let him learn,’ he muttered, and waited.

Simon strode up the hill without minding the sudden quiet. Halfway up, he saw a low, thatched cottage, a place that seemed to blend into the landscape as though to allow the wind to flow over and around it rather than battling and trying to contest the right of the elements to pass by. Carrying on, he soon reached the summit.

It was only a small hill, but it was enough to give him a better view of the islands. They seemed oddly peaceful here. West lay St Nicholas, he knew, with the hilly spine on the left that reached all the way down to the twin humps that he had been told were called St Sampson. Right was another great mass, which he guessed was that place called Bechiek, while between that and St Nicholas, there were some smaller islands. Some had buildings on them, but only very few. Northwards, he could follow the line of the coast up to the plain which formed the larger part of Ennor. That was the direction in which they were heading. Behind him, he could see the castle, about a half mile or so eastwards, and beyond he could see the sea, sparkling and glinting merrily, as though it could never have risen in fury.

A lump returned to his throat as he recalled seeing Baldwin taken by that massive wave and washed away, like a piece of jetsam on the tide. One moment there: the next gone, as though he had never existed.

He wiped his eye and began to make his way towards the trail a little farther up than where Walerand waited. There was no path, and he must walk through the fields. With his upbringing, and appreciating the value of crops, he didn’t walk through the middle as Walerand had done, but stayed at the edge by a wall topped with thin, straggling bushes, so that he would do as little damage as possible.

There was a snarl, and he looked over his shoulder to see a pair of black dogs racing towards him. These were mere farm dogs, not vicious hounds like that monster of Hamadus’s, and Simon felt little fear of them. At the first sound, he almost reached for his sword, but when he saw the dogs approaching, he thought better of it, and instead readied himself, holding his staff towards them. As they came closer, one received a sharp tap on the muzzle, while the other was prodded twice in the breast. Both chose to reconsider their attack, and retired out of reach, making a deal of noise but not trying to close with him.

‘What are you doing here? Leave me dogs alone!’

‘My friend, I am merely a stranger in this land,’ Simon called. ‘I didn’t realise I was going to cause you any trouble by coming here, and I apologise. Please call your dogs off. I don’t want to harm them, but if they attack I’ll have to draw my sword.’

There was a short but piercing whistle, and one dog gave Simon a withering look before springing up and over the wall, disappearing from sight. The other was already gone.

Soon thereafter, a man appeared. He was skinny and bent, with thinning grey hair that was blown by the wind until it stood in all different directions. His mouth was sunken, and Simon could see that he had already lost most of his teeth. Not an uncommon sight since the famine, he knew, but it was an interesting comparison with the men at the castle. None of them had suffered scurvy, so far as he had seen.

‘Who are you?’ the man asked suspiciously. He was about ten years older than Simon, the Bailiff reckoned, maybe five and forty summers. The face was browned by the wind and sun, with wrinkles that would have looked good on a walnut, but his eyes were a clear, watery blue, and showed intelligence.

‘I am called Simon Puttock. I am the Bailiff of Lydford in Dartmoor, and was shipwrecked here in the storm.’

‘What are you doing on my hill?’

Simon looked about him at the view one last time. ‘I didn’t realise it was anyone’s hill. I was here with a man from …’

‘La Val. I should have guessed.’ The older man peered down the road. ‘Oh, it was that little turd, was it? I know him well enough.’

‘He is named Walerand.’

‘Wally would be about right. He thinks he owns the islands. Thieving shit!’

‘What is your name?’

‘Oderic.’

‘Thank you, Oderic. Tell me: how do you find the men at the castle? Are they looked upon as fair masters?’

‘You asking me? Why?’

‘You’re the only man up here I can speak to. All the rest of the time I’m going to be in the company of men like him,’ Simon said reasonably, pointing with his chin towards Walerand.

‘Why should I trust you? You’ll probably take anything I say and report it straight back to Ranulph Blancminster.’

Simon turned to the south. It was just possible to see William’s church and the carts loading bales of cloth. ‘See that? That was my ship, and all my goods on it have been impounded. My friends, those who were living, were taken and thrown into a cell. Do you think I can trust Ranulph, or that he can trust me?’

The man studied Simon for a moment in silence, then stared out towards the ship. ‘If there was a chance, the men here would rise up and throw Blancminster into the sea. He’s a thief. Everything we make or farm, he takes. He leaves us little enough. Look at me! Even during the famine, I grew enough to feed my family. Blancminster took all my produce, and my family starved. My children died, my wife killed herself in grief … Who wouldn’t want to rid the islands of him? He sucks our blood! The two worst men were Thomas and his gather-reeve, that devil Robert. They don’t care for us any more than they care about ants. That’s all we are to them — creatures to be used and then destroyed when the whim takes them.’

Simon sighed. ‘I see. What can you tell me about the men who live on St Nicholas?’

‘A small group. They are hardy men there, and dispute Blancminster’s right to command them, yet he still tries to tax them. Anything they want to buy from Ennor, they pay him customs; anything they import which passes through Ennor, they pay for. He daren’t impose all the taxes he forces on us, because he would get a bloody nose, so he is cautious. He looks to have bits and pieces from them, while he milks us, who cannot defend ourselves.’

‘Why so careful about the men on St Nicholas?’

Oderic shrugged. ‘They are the Prior’s men. For now, Blancminster and his murderous Sergeant, that evil, rapacious whelp Thomas, take what they want from us here on Ennor, but soon their greed will take them up to St Nicholas too.’

‘When they do, they will have to answer to the Abbot of Tavistock,’ Simon said firmly, appalled that someone might dare infringe the liberty of the Abbey.

‘And who’s going to report them to the Abbot?’ Oderic asked. ‘Someone like me? I’d be killed as soon as I thought of it. In any case, if there was a fight, it would be over months before anyone could come here to sort out the matter.’

‘I could report him myself,’ Simon said.

‘You, eh? And what makes you think that your hide can withstand Thomas’s knife or an arrow?’

‘Would you have killed Robert? You sound bitter enough.’

‘Did I want to? Yes. Would I have dared? No. I’m not scared of Blancminster, but what purpose would it serve me to kill one rent-collector? They’d just get a new one. They will! And what then? I’ve risked my life all for nothing. There’s another man in place, demanding the same money from me. All I’ve done is promote a new bloodsucker.’

‘Then you won’t mind telling me where you were on the day of the storm and afterwards?’

‘Not much. Before the storm I was with my old friend Hamadus, but when the storm hit us, I went to my fields to make sure that my property was safe while he said he was going to the church. I stayed there until the storm was done.’

‘I suppose no one was with you there?’ Simon asked hopefully.

‘In a storm?’ Oderic asked pointedly. ‘I am sorry, Bailiff. I’d like to help, but sometimes life isn’t so clean and easy. If you need to confirm where I was, you’ll have your work cut out.’

‘All I want to do is make sure you aren’t pestered in the future,’ Simon protested.

‘Good. That makes two of us.’

Simon grinned at that. Then he turned and frowned at the sight of St Nicholas.

Oderic saw the direction of his gaze, and cleared his throat. From his many years of dealing with reluctant miners on Dartmoor, Simon knew when to stay silent. He knew all too well that a countryman when pressed would close his mouth with as much determination and stubbornness as a mule. Better by far to let the fellow have his moment of choice and hope that his choice was helpful. It was.

‘Sir, I don’t know … I dislike to say that there was someone … It could mean him suffering, after all, and I don’t …’

Simon continued to say nothing, but turned upon Oderic a face so bland and apparently unconcerned that Oderic felt an urge to blurt out his story. ‘I saw two men while in my field, you see — one was David, the reeve from the vill on St Nicholas, and the other was Thomas himself, the Sergeant at the castle. They were both out here on the evening of the storm. I saw them.’

‘I see. I thank you.’

Simon left him soon afterwards, and walked back to the track sunk deep in thought. He could hear the barking of the dogs as he reached Walerand, but he said nothing, merely trudged off up the roadway towards the beach.

She had suddenly burst into tears, and as Tedia wrapped her arms about herself and sank to her knees in the sand, Baldwin was left feeling incompetent and confused. He had no idea what had led to her breakdown, unless it was something to do with this man who had been found dead.

David said hastily, ‘Tedia? I’m sorry, maid. I didn’t think.’

Baldwin threw him a baffled look. ‘Tedia, what is the matter?’ He stepped closer, and then he could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. ‘Tell me what is wrong.’

She couldn’t speak for a while. The shock of hearing that Robert had been murdered had knocked all the stuffing out of her. She took hold of Baldwin’s tunic, and began weeping furiously.

‘It was him!’ she sobbed. ‘He killed Robert to keep me from him! It’s my fault that Robert is dead. How could he! I didn’t want to upset him, but what else could I do? I couldn’t help loving Robert! Oh, it’s all my fault! I couldn’t love Isok any more!’

There was a great deal more, but Baldwin was unable to hear her pitiful protestations. He stood stock still, a hand on her head, stroking her hair gently until her worst sobs began to subside, and then he spoke softly. ‘Come, Tedia. Don’t blame yourself. If you did not order a death, if you did not commit the killing, then it is nothing to do with you. Someone else is responsible.’

‘That’s the point!’ she spat, leaning back within the compass of his arms and staring at him with anger. ‘I did it — unintentionally, but I did it! He killed Robert to keep me! He couldn’t face losing me!’

Baldwin felt the familiar stirrings of excitement. This woman was beautiful even in her distress, and her warm body was a sore distraction after so many weeks from his wife. He tried to put thoughts of her attractions from him and concentrate. ‘Perhaps he did not. It is possible that you are wrong.’

‘You are wrong, Tedia!’ David said forcefully. ‘Isok would never kill like this.’

Tedia ignored him. ‘It was Isok. I should have guessed. He was going to be out when the storm hit the islands, and then suddenly he was back here. He must have found Robert and murdered him so that I couldn’t meet my lover. My God! What have I done!’

‘You have done nothing!’ Baldwin said gently. ‘In any case, Tedia, you have no proof to suggest that your husband did this.’

‘He was out and-’

‘What actually happened?’ Sir Baldwin asked softly, but David intervened.

‘Tedia! You don’t have to prove Isok’s guilt — not to a stranger!’

She sniffed a little, and then pulled away from Baldwin, holding his eyes with grim determination, as though daring him to judge her behaviour. ‘I was to go and meet Robert. I had already met him before, and we had spoken, but we had never lain together. That night, we were going to. He had arranged to meet me at my home, and we were going to spend the night together. I agreed because I was so lonely. My husband was to be away, so I felt us to be safe.’ She turned and stared at David as though daring him to comment. He dropped his gaze; if she was determined to put the responsibility on Isok, there was little he could do to stop her.

‘You waited for him at your house?’ Baldwin asked.

‘No. I knew where he would arrive at the island, and I was so excited, I had to go to the shore to see him as he came.’

Baldwin could imagine her there, standing at the shoreline, staring out towards the island of Ennor, her heart fluttering with hope and desire, thinking that at any moment she would catch a sight of her lover rowing towards her.

‘But he didn’t come,’ she said brokenly. ‘I was there until late afternoon, and by then the storm was brewing. I thought he must have seen it coming and thought better of making the crossing. As it was, I thought it was fortunate, because I was back at the house only a short while, when my husband arrived home again. He had seen the weather and decided to remain in port.’

‘He stayed with you that night?’

‘No,’ she said more quietly, ashamed of how she had behaved. ‘He saw me, we argued, and then he left. He slept that night at Mariota’s — my aunt’s. But I fear that he came to know of my intention to meet Robert, and he went to Ennor and murdered him there, before I could even … could even …’

As she burst into wracking sobs, Baldwin stared out over her head towards Ennor. It looked calm and quiet in the early afternoon light and he found it hard to imagine that there could have been a murder there so recently. ‘Perhaps it was someone else,’ he suggested. ‘How could your man have learned about this Robert?’

‘There are people who would have told him,’ she said coldly, facing David.

‘I told him nothing,’ David said.

‘What of your wife, though? She knew, didn’t she?’

David shrugged. ‘Brosia may have known, but that means nothing. Others may have known too. You didn’t hide your desperation or your lust, did you?’

Tedia’s tears were stilled, and she stood, dusting her skirts with both hands. When she looked up again, Baldwin was chilled to see how composed she was. There was a core of steel in her soul, he thought.

‘Brosia would have told him if she’d known,’ she asserted. ‘She always wanted to compete with other women for men’s attention. Perhaps she told Isok just to shame me. It is just the sort of thing she’d do.’

David flushed with anger. ‘You should watch your tongue! My wife is a good woman. She’d not lower herself to that level.’

‘You think so?’ Tedia spat. ‘She lies in the gutter with the other rats!’

David stepped forward and his hand rose to slap her face, but before he could do so, Baldwin was between them. With ease, David removed his hand from Baldwin’s grip. ‘Don’t pick fights until you’re back to your full strength, Sir Baldwin,’ he said, but calmer again now. ‘Tedia: watch what you say. Next time I may not be so lenient. I won’t stand here to listen to my wife being insulted.’

‘Wait, Reeve,’ Baldwin said as David made to walk away.

‘What?’

‘Where were you on the night that this man died?’

‘The night of the storm? I was with my boat, making sure that it was secure.’

‘Did you see anyone else?’

‘You doubt my word? I had no reason to kill that son of a whore.’

‘Perhaps so, but if you saw another man, that man might himself be the murderer.’

‘I only saw the priest: Luke from St Elidius. If you want to question someone, question him,’ David said, and marched away.

With a sudden clarity, Tedia saw Luke’s face again, that day when they had spoken about seeking another lover. His eyes had been so kind and understanding, but then, when she had said that she knew a man who could service her, his expression had frozen, like ice settling in a pond. ‘The Brother!’ she gasped.

‘Which brother?’

‘Luke, the man at St Elidius. I spoke to him, and he said to me that I should find another man, but now — I think he was jealous. He wanted me for himself!’

Baldwin gave an understanding grunt. It was easy to see how a man could become infatuated with this woman, he told himself.

‘It could have been Luke … but what if it was Isok? What can I do? I can’t live with a man whom I suspect of killing my love!’ she exclaimed, and slumped in despair, her hands covering her face. Turning, she threw herself back into Baldwin’s embrace, and he found his hands reaching out to go about her body, then hesitated. Somehow he was sure that if he were to cradle this woman again, he might not be able to save himself from lusting after her. He paused, arms near her, but not touching. A delicious scent rose to his nostrils, the fresh, sweet smell of a young woman.

She snuggled herself into the crook of his shoulder, and Baldwin could feel his heart thundering like a smith’s hammer. ‘If you want to know who killed Robert, leave it to me,’ he said, and put both arms about her, pulling her into a tight embrace, staring challengingly at David.

Chapter Fourteen

Simon reached the sandy bar where the body had been found, and studied the place with interest.

Without the jury there, it appeared a still more deserted part of the island. It was a broad sweep of beach, with a low huddle of grassy dunes behind. When Simon went to the water’s edge, he saw that it was clear through to the shallows; shoals of tiny fish were darting backwards and forwards amongst the small stones and shells.

For all that he was here to catch a killer, he was aware of a fair-day attitude of mind. He indeed felt as though this was a day of rest away from the toils of his work. The islands were beautiful, the weather was warm, the wind a gentle breeze, and he felt entirely comfortable and happy. Still …

‘Show me where you found the body,’ he said reluctantly to Walerand.

‘You were here for the inquest.’

Simon ignored his sulky tone. ‘Yes, I was, wasn’t I?’ he agreed amiably. ‘The body had already been moved from where you found it, hadn’t it?’

Walerand gave him a long, hard stare, suspecting that Simon was making fun of him. ‘He was here.’

Simon, who cared little what Walerand thought, went to join him. There was a soft dip in the ground, a concave section of sand with thick grasses growing all about it. A man could have been hidden here for days, he noticed. He said sharply, ‘It would have been hard for a man to know where to look.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘The body would have been hidden in the grasses.’

‘It wasn’t so hard. I saw his boots.’

‘Ah yes. His boots. He had taken them off, and his hosen as well.’

‘What of it?’

‘Nothing. It is interesting to note, though.’

‘If you say so.’

‘I do. It is interesting that the sea has washed up here since the storm too.’

‘I couldn’t command the sea to stay away,’ Walerand sneered.

‘How did he lie?’ Simon said impatiently. He was swiftly growing bored with Walerand’s whining voice as he scanned the rest of the dunes, walking slowly and cautiously.

‘He was on his back, facing the sea.’

‘His wound?’

‘You heard the Coroner: one stab in his breast. Could have been the sword I found. That one,’ he added, pointing.

Simon ignored the comment. He was still searching, and then he found something. A mark or two, indentations in the sand at the bottom of a dune. They were spattered with tiny craters, so the rain had come afterwards, but from looking at them, Simon wondered whether they might have been made by a person kneeling in the sand. Hard to tell, he decided.

Returning to where the body had lain, he noticed a pitted area of sand. It was marked with lines, and there was a darker central area — again, all pitted from the rain. Simon pursed his lips, but then he scooped out the sand and peered at it. There were some darker stains where the grains were flocculated, and he gently broke some apart, sniffing at them. It was impossible to be certain, but he felt sure that these lumps were congealed blood. This could have been the place where the murderer cleaned his knife, he thought.

Searching on, he found nothing, so he stopped and stood with his arms akimbo, gazing about him. Baldwin had many times said that a man could learn much from a body or a murder scene, but here there was nothing, merely an empty stretch of land between this island and the others.

He noticed that the islands here seemed to encircle a patch of sea, as though set out originally ringing a large pool. A man might come here to watch the other islands. Perhaps he would sit and gaze at them. But why? Purely because he liked the view? It was possible. Many men would so adore a particular piece of land that they would go and stare at it. Women would be more likely to create their own space. Margaret, Simon’s wife, had caused the small plot behind their house at Lydford to be converted into a large, open-air hall, and in clement weather, when they had guests, she was pleased to walk with them through this patch of cultivation. It made Simon smile to see how proud she was of it.

Men were less enthusiastic about man-made spaces, Simon felt sure. He himself was most happy in Dartmoor, because he knew that land intimately and he was most at ease in that great waste.

‘This Robert: was he keen on this place, do you know?’

Walerand stared at him. ‘Keen? It’s only a beach.’

He saw Simon’s quick look of disgust, and felt close to clenching his fist and hitting the fool. This Bailiff was no better than some pimp. He wandered about the place so carefully in case he got his tunic dirty, the pus-filled windbag. Ooh! Mustn’t get my boots mucky; mustn’t have any sand on my tunic; mustn’t slip into that water … It made Walerand feel sick just to watch.

‘Which island is nearest?’

Walerand looked at him, then out to sea. ‘The nearest is St Nicholas, I reckon.’

‘I hear he had a woman out there.’

Walerand felt a sneaking respect for him. ‘Where’d you hear that?’

‘It doesn’t matter. Is it true?’

‘Might be.’

‘Because if it is true, this could all be a jealous boyfriend or angry father or vengeful brother.’ As he scuffed the sand, Simon walked about the dip in the ground, then wandered back to the dunes. ‘You didn’t carry the body back this way?’

‘In Christ’s name, no! What would be the point of that, when there’s a perfectly good roadway just over there? That’s why we came that way!’

‘Correct. And no one else has been over these dunes since the storm?’

‘Why should they?’

Simon grunted. He walked over eastwards, staring still at the ground. ‘And no one seems to have walked over this way, either. What of the sword? Where was it?’ And where was Robert’s own, he added to himself thoughtfully.

‘So now you think it might have something to do with his death after all?’ Walerand smiled nastily as he led Simon up another sand dune. ‘It was here.’

Simon glanced from the dune back towards the sea. ‘This is not on the way to the road and it is a long way from the water.’

‘So?’

‘Wake up, man! If a killer was here, where did he go after the murder? Did he go back, like your men, towards La Val, or did he head in a different direction completely?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Yet the people here believe that Robert had a woman on St Nicholas — the isle which is so near. Was there a boat nearby?’

‘Not when I got here.’

‘So perhaps someone stole it, or took back a boat that he was borrowing,’ Simon guessed. ‘Anyway, what was your gather-reeve doing up here? There was no money to collect, was there? If there was, from whom? Was he here to collect money from someone who promised to bring it here to him, and who then decided to execute him?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You know very little, don’t you? What was he doing up here?’

‘Rumours …’

‘What sort of rumours?’

Walerand replied, ‘Like you said: that he fancied some woman.’

‘On St Nicholas.’

‘Yes. But Thomas had something against him prodding her.’

‘Maybe Thomas didn’t like his men-at-arms taking advantage of women on the islands?’

Walerand laughed sarcastically. ‘He doesn’t mind that, no.’

‘But you said Thomas didn’t like Robert meeting this woman?’

‘He certainly had something against Robert just recently. I assume it was her. Maybe Thomas was jealous.’

‘Perhaps we should find out who it was?’

‘She was only a piece of-’

‘Whatever you think she was,’ Simon interrupted, ‘Robert thought she was worth visiting and Thomas had something against Robert, which means he might have held some desire for her too. Jealousy can be a strange temper.’

‘You think to accuse Thomas of killing him?’ Walerand sniggered. ‘You’re mad!’

‘Perhaps.’

‘And you reckon you can find out all about it?’

‘I can probably do better than others,’ Simon said with a confidence he didn’t feel.

Only a little over a mile away, on St Nicholas, Brosia was at the well when she saw the tall figure walking towards her with the slighter shape of Tedia at his side. The sight of the two striding towards her with what looked like a degree of purposefulness made her stand up straight, wiping her hands on the belly of her tunic. She knew that doing so would emphasise her breasts, and she was pleased to wonder how they would impress this stranger knight. Looking at Tedia, she was sure that she, Brosia, would be better able to ensnare him. She had the build, and no one had ever complained about her looks. Nor had she ever failed to make a lover rise for her.

‘This is her,’ Tedia said, her tone dismissive.

‘You are Brosia? Good.’

‘Sir Knight, I am so pleased,’ Brosia said in her best, most breathy, voice, ‘to see you’re all better now. I’d reckoned you’d be laid up in bed for an age, you were so badly harmed. Tell me, are you feeling quite right? I have a small cot in the house, if you wish to settle a while, and maybe I could bring you something while you lie there?’

Baldwin guessed at the sort of ‘thing’ she would bring. ‘No, but I thank you. You have heard that a man was killed on the night of the storm? Do you know anything about this?’

‘Me? What could I know?’ she asked. With a sweet smile, she glanced at Tedia. ‘Have you something you want to say to me?’

‘You know about it, don’t you, slut?’ Tedia snarled, and would have leaped forward had Baldwin not grasped her shoulder and forearm.

‘You call me a slut?’ Brosia demanded, outraged. ‘I wasn’t seeking to bury Robert’s tarse in my-’

‘Be silent! I would prefer not to witness a fight,’ Baldwin said. ‘I simply want to learn what happened, not report two women to the Prior. Brosia, what do you know about this? What are you implying?’

‘It’s common enough knowledge,’ Brosia said, and tossed her head. ‘Most folks on St Nicholas are fully aware of Tedia’s little infatuation with Robert. Not many of us were very impressed, though. If you have to fall in love with a man, Tedia, you should have picked a better one. Look at you! First you find a man who can’t service you, and then you find a man who is so devoted to money, he collects the customs for the Lord of Ennor. Someone who is reviled by everyone on the islands. It’s no surprise he’s dead now,’ she said spitefully. ‘David told me something like this might happen.’

‘So your husband knew about Tedia and Robert?’ Baldwin demanded.

‘Of course! My husband is a competent officer! He knows everything that goes on over all the islands; he told me only a few days ago that Tedia was throwing herself at the gather-reeve.’

Baldwin did not like this woman, and her snide comments about Tedia were setting his teeth on edge. It was useful to listen, though. He noted that Brosia’s words implied that David himself could have had a motive to kill the gather-reeve; like all the others, he would dislike paying too much in customs or fees. Also, David had surely said that he didn’t know about Tedia’s affair when Baldwin had asked. Now his wife was contradicting him.

‘How did David learn about Robert? Did you tell him about Tedia’s affair?’ Baldwin asked harshly.

‘Do you expect me to keep secrets from my husband?’ Brosia asked sweetly.

She had already realised that this fellow was not interested in her: he was already smitten by Tedia. Christ’s wounds, it was weird to think that any man could prefer that little harlot to herself, but some men had peculiar tastes. If he was the sort to be taken in by a little strumpet with less sense than a rabbit, that was his look-out. It was a shame, because this Sir Baldwin had a glint in his eye that would be fun to investigate; he looked the sort of man who would be a demanding but active and enthusiastic lover. A bit like a more experienced Robert, in fact.

Robert was a prat in the end, though. When Brosia had flaunted her hips and tits at him, he’d gone all embarrassed and anxious, like he thought her husband would be back any moment, and hadn’t dared do anything to — or with — her. And then Brosia heard from one of the men at La Val that he had formed a passionate association with Tedia. Or it would have been passionate, had either of them dared. Brosia could have spat. She’d have had him in her house naked and ready in moments, if she’d had a chance. All she’d needed was the right weather so that David and the men would all have been out at sea, and then Robert would have had to look out for himself!

But no. He wanted dear, sweet, mousy Tedia. Bless! He was no better than a mouse himself. Scared off by Brosia, no doubt. Or perhaps he was just scared of her man. David was capable of violence, and it was possible that someone warned Robert. Mind, Isok would have thrashed any fellow who cuckolded him. Suddenly Brosia realised what she was thinking: that Isok had murdered Robert. Well, it wasn’t impossible, that was certain.

Baldwin was speaking, and she had to concentrate. ‘What?’

‘I said, “I expect no woman to hide things from her man”, but spreading gossip is a different matter, woman!’

‘In a small vill like this, everyone knows everyone else’s business,’ Brosia said huffly, ‘and David is an important man, so he probably learned about Robert and his women before most others.’

‘He didn’t have any “women”,’ Tedia asserted sharply. ‘What, do you say that he was a lubricious man with an eye for any leg or well-shaped breast?’

‘If he was after a well-shaped breast, he fared poorly, didn’t he?’ Brosia said.

‘He didn’t want flapping great bladders about him, it’s true!’

‘Flapping great …! Better comfortable breasts than a pair of flat pancakes!’

‘Yes, I suppose you think all men want something inelegant and floppy rather than pert and sensitive.’

‘Sens-? I would have thought,’ Brosia said with poisonous sweetness, ‘that most men would prefer a woman whom they could cover with comfort, rather than a bony body that felt like a sack of bones with an occasional lump.’

‘Perhaps he preferred one lump to a mass of them!’ Tedia shrieked, and would have jumped at her again, if Baldwin hadn’t gripped her hard about the wrists.

‘Enough! I shall hear no more of this! You, Brosia, can rest content that you might well have helped precipitate a murder! If you learn nothing more in your life, learn how to keep your mouth shut!’

Baldwin was relieved to see that both women suddenly stopped. Brosia’s reaction had intrigued him, though. If he didn’t know better, he would say that she was jealous of Tedia, as though she herself had tried to entrap Robert, only to be bested by her rival. Jealousy was a terrible emotion, Baldwin knew. It could lead to all kinds of upset — especially if it had driven her to tell others, hoping that they would then inform Tedia’s husband. A jealous woman was capable of anything. In fairness, a jealous man was equally capable of causing untold problems — even murder. Isok, for example: he could have heard the rumours about his wife with Robert and chosen to execute her lover.

‘Me?’ Brosia said, affronted. ‘If I had held my tongue, what then? Do you think that this slattern’s affair would have remained a secret? Are you saying that my David went straight to Isok and said, “Look, old friend, your wife is lifting her skirts for any man from La Val — aren’t you going to do something about it?” Do you think my husband is such a fool? Someone else went to her precious husband. Anyway, my David hardly saw Isok before that murder. Isok was supposed to be going out in his boat, although he didn’t. My man didn’t talk to him, though. Why should he? Isok’s only a pathetic fisherman. David is the reeve, much more important. He doesn’t bother himself with the likes of Isok.’

‘Still your tongue, woman,’ Baldwin said. ‘You sound like a viper!’

He was feeling his anger rise. There was no need for this woman to be so vicious, but she seemed to take an unholy delight in Tedia’s pain. He pulled Tedia away, thrusting her behind him, while holding Brosia’s gaze. Her face had taken on a sullen expression, and Baldwin saw that she was a little ashamed.

‘So, Sir Knight. You find my wife to be a little upsetting? What has she been saying?’ David asked. He walked forward from behind Baldwin, white-faced with rage. ‘I leave you, a visitor to our island, saved by my people from death, and come here to find you hectoring my wife. I don’t reckon I like your attitude, Sir Knight.’

Simon walked slowly back towards the area of La Val, keeping close into the sea, Walerand strolling along behind him.

As usual, Simon was reluctant to view the body, but he knew that he must have a closer look at Robert if he was to make any sense of the man’s murder. If it was murder, of course. Until he personally examined the corpse, he couldn’t tell. The unfortunate fellow may have got hit on the head by a lump of wood when he was out, and a scratch had torn the flesh of his breast, making people think that he had been murdered in complete denial of the true facts.

It was the sort of matter which Baldwin would have revelled in, he thought sadly. Every few moments he would forget that Baldwin was dead, and know a short period of ease, but then he would recall that he had lost his friend and his eyes would fog once more.

Now and again, he would think he heard a familiar step behind him. Or there was a bird in the sky, and he wondered if Baldwin would know what it was. A sudden slanting of light from a cloud would remind him of a time when he and Baldwin were in Dartmoor, and he would all but turn his head to ask his friend whether he recalled that instant … So many memories, so many moments. And then the full force of the loss would strike him once more and he would know anew the misery of bereavement.

The presence of the abysmal Walerand was no comfort. The fellow walked along in Simon’s wake like a reminder of doom to come: scowling and kicking at stones in their path. When they came across other people he was invariably rude, unless he ignored them completely.

With relief Simon saw William at the top of a moorstone outcrop that projected well into the sea. The chaplain carried a long rod and string, and was evidently on his way to catch as many fish as he could. Hurrying forward, Simon left the morose Walerand behind as he joined William.

‘Out investigating one death while your friends languish, Bailiff?’

Simon smiled gently. There was still a certain blackness over his soul with the most recent reminder of Baldwin’s death. ‘Yes. But my friends will be free soon, and it appeared the best thing to do, seeing if this man was murdered.’

‘Robert? You won’t lack for men who wanted him dead.’

‘Why do you say that?’ Simon asked.

‘He was not a very pleasant fellow, Bailiff. When a farmer was in trouble, it was Robert’s habit still to go along and take what he could for taxes. Such men aren’t popular even when they are polite and generous — and Robert was neither. No one will mourn his passing here on Ennor. Not even me.’

‘I think that they are shortsighted, then.’

‘Why so, Bailiff?’

Simon glanced back at Walerand. ‘Because I get the impression that the replacement could be much worse.’

‘Christ in Heaven! You don’t mean …’ William gazed at Walerand with dismay. ‘That ignorant dollop of shit? True, he’s got the same enthusiasm for bullying any man who is weaker than him. How could Ranulph de Blancminster think of a man like him for the post? Ah well, I suppose that’s obvious. The nastier, the better; that’s what you want in a tax-man. And there are few nastier than him.’

Simon nodded, shooting a look over his shoulder. As he did so, up on the beach of St Nicholas, he saw a group of figures. One looked familiar — the set of the head, an impression of his features … but no, it was too far away, and anyway, he was only torturing himself by hoping that his comrade had survived. Baldwin was dead.

‘The man who died,’ he said huskily. ‘How unpleasant was he?’

‘He was one of those who gave you the feeling that he was in the job against his wishes and better judgement, but that since he had the job, he’d do it to the best of his ability. Mean though his abilities were, he exercised them strenuously. He gave every man who owed money two opportunities to pay, but if they didn’t on the second visit, he had the castle’s men-at-arms visit and remove an animal or some stores. No one escaped without paying. He remembered all the debts.’

‘So any of the villeins or tenants here would be happy to see him dead?’

‘Of course. Even mild-mannered Hamadus hated him, because Robert was terrified of his hound and threatened to have it killed if Hamadus didn’t keep it away from him. No one liked him.’

‘Always the same with a gather-reeve,’ Simon noted gloomily.

William set his rod down on the ground. ‘There’s not that many people live here on the island, but Robert had managed to upset most of them. He was about to upset all the folks of St Nicholas, too, by asking for money from them for customs. It didn’t go down very well, because the Prior already claims their tithes and rents, but Robert thought they should be paying him as well.’

‘What of Hamadus: do you honestly think he could have decided to murder a man because of the threat to his hound?’ Simon asked, but he already knew the answer. The man was devoted to his brute.

William merely looked at him with a faint smile. ‘And don’t forget Oderic. He hated Robert because the man went on to his land recently, and rode through the middle of his fields. He scared some sheep which were in lamb, and caused three to miscarry. Oderic was enraged. He swore he’d cut Robert’s ballocks off with a blunt knife, sawing slowly to make the pain last.’

Simon didn’t blame him. To his mind, riding through a field in which sheep were grazing was bad enough; to do so when they were lambing was criminal. It could have caused great loss to the farmer.

‘I have heard that a man was seen here — David, the reeve of the vill on St Nicholas. Do you know whether he had a cause to kill Robert?’

‘Quite possibly. David has been caught by the customs, I expect, just as all the other sailors have. The castle demands a high cut of anything the folk of St Nicholas want to bring to sell, or to buy. And everything has to be brought here and sold at the market. Yes, I daresay David would hold a grudge against the man who made him pay … as would almost everyone else on these islands.’

‘No one liked the man,’ Simon said, adding to himself, ‘apart from this woman.’

‘No, that Robert was a nasty piece of festering vomit, if you ask me,’ William said, cheerfully. ‘He was an evil bastard who deserved a more unpleasant death than the one he got. I’d imagine he’s gone straight to Hell, and he’s already being tormented by demons with long prods, so that they can force him into the never-quenching fires without hurting themselves. That’s what has happened to him — and the same will be most fervently desired for his successor. Whoever takes on his job will be damned. Damned to Hell, and to eternal torment. Best thing you can do is run around a bit, make lots of noise about finding his murderer, and discover nothing. Just let the affair die down and get forgotten. He will be soon enough!’

His tone was lighter, and when Simon glanced behind him, he saw that Walerand had edged nearer and was listening unashamedly; seeing that both had noticed him, he curled his lip and wandered away a few yards.

‘He’d be a splendid choice to replace Robert, don’t you think?’ William continued more seriously. ‘Someone like him would make Robert look like the soul of gentleness and conciliation.’

‘You think so?’

William shot him a look. ‘You reckon he could have desired to hasten Robert’s end just to get his post?’

‘Yes,’ Simon said, and he was thinking of Hamadus’s words. The killer must be an assassin by nature, or a coward. That described Walerand perfectly. ‘What of you? Did you want him to die so badly that you could have killed him?’

William said simply, a hardness in his eyes, ‘Yes. I could have done.’

Simon nodded, muttering with some distraction, ‘Is there anyone apart from poor Tedia who didn’t desire the death of this Robert?’

William gave an exasperated gesture. ‘Bailiff, I doubt it. Nobody liked him. Certainly not me! I’ll be happy to pray for the soul of the man who did this.’

Chapter Fifteen

David walked past the knight and the younger woman to stand at his wife’s side, taking Brosia in his arms and hugging her. He felt a smouldering rage that these two had come to bother his wife while he was not there. He faced them with the anger still apparent on his face, but although he could feel her hand wandering down to his belt and under his shirt, her fingers gently coursing down between his buttocks, he was concentrating on Baldwin. That was where the danger lay, David thought, and he must not lose his temper and harm him. If he did, it could be the end of his vill.

‘I am surprised you came to talk to my wife when I was not here,’ he said directly to Baldwin.

‘Why? There is nothing that you should be concerned about, is there?’ Baldwin said.

‘There is nothing for me to fear, no. Yet a man who comes and questions a woman may be putting her under too much pressure. My wife does not deserve to be questioned when I am not present.’

‘I am sure that she is intelligent enough to know when she should not answer, and should tell me to speak to you.’

‘That is not the point,’ David said. ‘What are you trying to learn?’

‘We were asking her what she knew of the man who has been killed, this Robert.’

David could not help shooting a look at Tedia. ‘What do you want to know of him?’

‘Only whether someone has been gossiping about him and Tedia,’ Baldwin said sharply, catching sight of David’s look. ‘You told us that you had not told Isok. Do you still say that?’

‘There are always rumours and gossip. What do you expect? Women chatter, and they tell their husbands. There is no surprise there.’

‘What rumours?’

‘You know: that Tedia has been spreading her legs for him.’

‘Why do you fear me asking your wife about him: do you have something to hide?’ Baldwin snapped, angry to see the effect that David’s words were having on Tedia. Her eyes were brimming, and her face was flushed with shame.

‘I have nothing to hide. I am a reeve, Sir Knight, not some peasant to be browbeaten,’ David said with a quiet dignity.

‘Wrong! This is a matter of murder, not mere local gossip,’ Baldwin said sharply ‘Do you know of any man who might have told Isok about Robert and Tedia?’

‘Not in particular, no. But if someone had told Isok, I would not be surprised. Isok is a quiet man, but well-respected. He is also pitied by many of the men in the vill, because he suffers from this inability of his. If a man chose to tell him that his woman was being unfaithful, would it be any surprise? I don’t think so.’

‘Did you tell him?’ Tedia blurted out.

‘Me, woman? I said before: no! Not through any loyalty to you, or kindness to him. It was purely because I do not want to see my vill damaged by your treachery!’ David said firmly. ‘You should wait until you have your divorce, before trying to snare another man. You are guilty of petty treason to your master!’

‘It was the advice of Brother Luke that I should find another.’

‘He said that? Why, he’s no better than catshit on a boot! He’s as much help as a turd in a bed, the-’

‘He may have had honourable motives,’ Baldwin interjected.

‘Let me hear them, then!’ David snarled. ‘A foreigner who comes here to molest the women in my vill — I’ll have him ballocked with my own knife!’

‘You seem very angry about this man,’ Baldwin observed. ‘More angry than you were about the gather-reeve. Or were you more angry about him before he died?’

‘What do you mean by that?’ David snapped.

‘Perhaps you felt as furious about Robert getting his tarse into one of the vill’s women as you do now about Luke. Is that true? Did you want to punish him for polluting one of the vill’s women?’

David was about to respond angrily when Baldwin saw Tedia start. ‘I saw him!’ she whispered, and a hand went to her mouth as she realised what she had said.

‘What do you mean?’ David said quickly. His temper was still up — partly because of Baldwin’s suggestion, but mostly because he hated to think that the priest could have tried to get inside Tedia’s skirts. David had seen how Luke watched his own wife. Not that it was all the lad’s fault, he thought sourly, shooting Brosia a quick look. She would have led him on if she could have, which was why David had ensured so far as he was able, that she never had an opportunity.

‘The night Robert was murdered, I saw Luke running back over the flats.’

Baldwin was unsure what she meant. ‘Robert’s body was found on the next island, Ennor, was he not? Do you mean you saw this Luke running back from a boat?’

‘Yes,’ David said hurriedly. ‘There are some boats out on the flats. You saw him running back from there, Tedia?’

She saw his look and understood what he meant. ‘Yes. He was hurrying. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, because I was waiting for Robert, but what if …’ A hand went to her mouth at the thought that she might have witnessed the escape of the man who had killed her lover.

‘It means nothing,’ Baldwin said. ‘The most important thing is, not to tell people. Otherwise, this Brother Luke might be caught and hanged on the spot. The worst crime in the world must be the hanging of a priest without a fair trial.’

‘We all know what a “fair trial” means for a priest,’ David said scathingly. ‘It means a boat to England and a day in the Bishop’s court, before he’s sent away to serve a penance. And what was he doing here in the first place, eh? Serving penance for some crime committed elsewhere! What if we’re just sending a criminal away to kill another?’

‘There’s not even the faintest hint that he would have a reason to kill the tax-man,’ Baldwin said, but his voice was losing its force. He was in truth very tired.

‘You say so? I think you’ve already heard the reason, Sir Knight! Jealousy. It will eat at a man, won’t it? And here you have a fellow who lusted after all the women in the vill, and then spoke to one whom he thought he could have as his own little “priest’s mare”, this lovely little wench here. Except he learned from gossips that she was already settled with Robert, and so the priest took a knife to Robert’s throat.’

‘He had his throat cut?’ Baldwin asked.

‘I don’t know,’ David shrugged. ‘But this priest must have been the killer. He ran out there, killed the man and came back.’

‘Where he was seen by Tedia,’ Baldwin murmured. It made some sense. ‘And if not, it was surely Tedia’s husband.’

‘Unlikely, I should think,’ David said. ‘Isok is a sad, embittered man, but no murderer.’

There was a note of conviction in his voice which surprised Baldwin, but then he reflected that men living close together on an island must have an intimate knowledge of each other. The inability to escape unwelcome company must lead to men either learning to control their tempers, or to lose their tempers ever more swiftly and violently. There was little alternative.

‘Very well,’ he said. ‘Then we must speak to this priest and learn what he has to say for himself.’ Aye, and to the husband of Tedia, too, he told himself with a sidelong look at her. Isok was still one of the most obvious suspects, although he was beginning to think that David came a close second.

However, the conversations with them would have to be conducted more cautiously; Baldwin had no wish to see Tedia hurt any more.

Isok dropped the heavy stone at the end of the rope and watched as the cable unrolled itself through the v-shaped notch it had worn in the upper edge of the boat’s hull. At least here he was himself. On the seas which he had known since his childhood, he felt at peace. The troubles of the island seemed to fade a little. He was alone, and alone he was able to cope. No one could hurt him here.

He was well enough, he supposed. There was only this lassitude that seemed odd. It was out of place for him. Beforehand he had always been an energetic man. Now, nothing touched him. At least when he first married, while they were trying, he and Tedia, to consummate their vows, there had been the pride of ownership. He had the woman whom all the men in the vill desired, partly because of her bright eye and quick humour, partly because the lithe and supple body which lay beneath that tunic was so tempting, but also because she was apparently so eager for lovemaking. Others had enjoyed her body, of course, but that was of no concern to Isok. He, after all, had won her heart.

So he believed. Now he sighed. The cable was stopped, and the boat began to swing about. Here he knew that the fishing was usually good. The first end of the line had been fixed to a point on the beach, and he had rowed out here, paying out the long net, and now he must row back to shore. Once there he could pull in the net and see what catch he had won.

It was more usual to do this with another man. One would row while the other paid out the net, and then both hauled on it. It was certainly efficient fishing that way, but Isok had grown sick of hearing men whispering behind his back. If he came out here with another man, he knew he must be observed the whole time, as though he was a curious form of cod which was washed up to be studied in the shallows.

‘I am no fish!’ he growled to himself.

Even now he was convinced that someone was watching him, although here, up at the northern tip of St Theona, there were fewer people. No matter. Damn any man who wanted to stare at him. Isok had suffered enough. For a while now, he would be idle. His net was set, and he could pull it in at any time. He was happy to just sit here in his boat and listen to the waves kissing the strakes.

If he could have had his time again, he’d still have married her. There was no disgust or hatred for her in his heart. He was extremely fond of her. Tedia was so pretty, no man could think of disliking her. A divorce would be hurtful and embarrassing, but he knew that he must go through with it, if only for her sake. He loved her enough to want her to have another husband, if he could make her happy. If he, Isok, was not man enough to bed her, it was not his right, he felt, to keep her from another man who could.

He had tried everything, as had she, but nothing seemed to make his damned prickle work. Even now, staring down at his loins, he couldn’t begin to understand why. It was terrible that he should be so punished. Somehow he must have greatly offended God to have been inflicted with this.

The Prior had spoken to him and explained what would happen. When the Bishop heard the details of the case, he would write to the Prior and ask that he arrange for a suitable test to be made. That meant that certain ‘wise women’ in the vill would be asked to see whether they could make his prickle work. If they could put it in semen, the divorce would fail because it was simply a lack of success on Tedia’s part, and she would be exhorted to redouble her efforts; but if they failed, the wise women would have to give a report to the Prior, and he would have to recommend that the marriage be dissolved. There was no justice in leaving Tedia bound to a man who was clearly, according to God’s apparent will, not suited to that particular wife.

Cryspyn had been kind about it. He had spoken gently, as though to a child, explaining that if God saw fit to deny them the ability to consummate their marriage, He must not be challenged. The Prior’s face was filled with sympathy, and he had offered to listen if Isok had anything he wished to discuss, but what was there for Isok to say?

It was a terrible thought, that Tedia might be taken from him. He had grown accustomed to her presence. She was a cheery bedmate — or had been. Always warm and craving a cuddle when he returned from the sea, welcoming him with a kiss and hug even when he was wet through and frozen. She was all that he had hoped for in a wife.

All that would remain, when she left him, was shame. Everyone in the vill would know why she had gone. They would know that he was only half a man.

He sniffed. The sadness and despair he had known ever since he first realised that she was serious about finding another husband had abated a little, and he was growing accustomed to the prospect of losing her. She had sworn to be his own wife, and if she now decided she needed another man, he could forgive her — but he wasn’t sure he could forgive whoever took her from him.

There were rumours. Always rumours. Some he discounted immediately, but others were more insidious. Some men would do anything to bed her, his Tedia, and there was nothing they wouldn’t try.

This was torture, he told himself with a shake. The air was cooler, and when he looked up, he saw that the sun was well past its high point. He had only a few hours left. Picking up the oars, he set them ready, then started hauling up the anchor stone. Soon it was moving steadily upwards, and he carefully stowed the cable in a neat bundle so that it wouldn’t twist or snag. Then he sat and began to row back to the island and home.

There was still that nagging feeling that someone was watching him, but he put it down to his own grim knowledge that everyone was watching him. Everybody knew his problems.

Soon they would become more clear as the church broadcast the results of his awful test, he thought to himself.

In the natural harbour between the rocks, Jean de Conket felt he had every reason to be proud of his men and his own efforts.

True, he could do little about lifting heavy baulks of timber or splicing the ropes which had snapped when the mast fell into the sea, but at least his mental capacity had not been affected so badly as his arm. It was growing fatter now, and it was hard to bend the elbow, as well as gut-wrenchingly painful. He had a suspicion that he might be forced to have it cut off, but he was not going to rush into a decision on that score. It could wait until they reached home again. It shouldn’t take too long to make that journey. It would be good to be home again, and he was sure that his woman would be delighted to see him back.

She was a good woman. Tall, slender as a birch, with an almond-shaped face and slanted green eyes that laughed at him all the time; he was content with her. She rarely whined at him like some men’s women. If she did, he’d have whipped her, but there was no need. She seemed happy with him. The thought of her man dead would probably scare her, and his delay in returning would have left her anxious. She’d be glad to have him home, with or without his arm. At least he still had the other. He could wield a sword happily enough with one good arm.

The boys were good fellows, too, apart from Raoulet, the oldest; he had already been enough of a disrespectful shit to have been punched out twice by Jean. If he wasn’t careful, the bastard would try to take his place at the head of the family. He would be delighted to command his brothers and mother. There was no doubt in Jean’s mind that little Raoulet would even consider removing his father, were his father to have the bad manners to return alive.

It was good to think of them, all sitting at the table to celebrate his return, even if Raoulet’s thankfulness would more than likely be feigned.

That homecoming was bound to be a little while coming, though. First Jean had to get this vessel back to his port. That would require careful sailing, and taking no risks. Before they could even think of stepping the mast, they would have to wait until dark. There was no one on the island who could see them, so that was one less risk, but there was still the problem of the journey about the island. The ship could be badly trimmed with the shorter mast, and Jean did not want to risk being seen as he left port. Other ships might be able to overhaul him. Better that they should wait until dark, and then make their way around the islands. Jean would have a pair of men in front in the little boat to check the soundings and ensure that the ship couldn’t run across a spine of rock that might hole her hull.

Yes. They would wait until night, and then make their slow progress out to sea before finding their way home.

A shame, though. They had come all this way without a sight of their original target. Sometimes the sea was like that. She would throw a choice vessel at you one week, and give you a fleeting glimpse of a still more tempting morsel the next, without letting you near either, and then let you at a small boat.

It would be sad to return home without a decent prize, especially since Raoulet would make fun of him. His son could well see this failure to take the ship as proof that Jean was too old to lead the men any more. That would mean a fight with Raoulet. Hardly an even-balanced fight, if Jean was about to lose his arm, but Jean could shrug mildly enough. It was the natural order of things.

After all, it was how Jean himself had managed to win his first command, by killing his own father in full view of the whole crew and throwing his body over the side for the gulls.

After seeing William, Simon knew he must go and visit the body. The inquest had been too brief for any discovery. The thought repelled him.

It was Baldwin who was always keenest to seek out corpses and study them. Simon was happy to leave him to it, while he himself hung around nearby, listening to the descriptions of the wounds and drawing his own inferences from them, but generally trying to avoid going near enough to smell the sour odours of urine and faeces, the sweet stink of blood. He loathed seeing the wounds generally, too. The sight of the cuts made him feel the full dread of his own mortality.

Robert’s body had been housed in William’s church, and Simon walked there trailing behind Walerand, his head down as he went.

He needed Baldwin. Trying to learn how a man might have died was beyond him. There was no point in his trying to do so, and it was ridiculous to expect him to find out much. It would be better if Ranulph and Thomas were to instruct one of their own men to speak to the reeves on the islands, and ask all of them who might have caused Robert’s death. They would certainly be a damned sight more help than Simon with his meagre knowledge and understanding of the islands.

Yet he had sworn to do his best, in return for the release of Sir Charles and Paul, and right now Simon felt the need of a companion. If he could have remained with William, that cheery fellow might have proved enough to keep Simon’s equilibrium, but William had to leave to seek his fishes. That left Simon once more with the morose Walerand as company; the latter had a limited stock of stories and conversation, but the commonest theme was one of contempt for the world and disgust for the people of the islands, while attempting to persuade Simon of his own intelligence and shrewdness.

When Simon had heard his opinion of the farmers and fishermen of the islands, and how all their women were desperate for ‘it’ and how Walerand would go about all the houses now that Robert was gone, ‘seeing to’ the wives, Simon tried to stop his ears and think of something else, and yet the dirge-like voice droned on, spewing out expletives and incoherent bigotries.

The idea of being stuck with Walerand was so appalling, Simon glanced at the sea several times — with a view to pushing Walerand off a cliff, rather than jumping himself.

When they reached the church in which the body was kept, Walerand walked straight in and stood over the corpse, staring down at it. ‘Pathetic little sod, wasn’t he? Weak bastard. If it’d been me, I’d have got them myself. You won’t catch me napping. I’m on my guard, me. Some bastard tries to stab me, they’ll find themselves swallowing the end of my sword. Tossers. That’s the trouble with the people here. They don’t know how to respect their betters.’

Simon commanded him to silence.

Robert was lying on a large door before the altar, propped on trestles and covered with a linen cloth. Someone had at least had the goodness to wipe away much of the sand, excrement and blood, but there were still dark whorls and circles where the blood had congealed and dried hardest. His clothes were gone, probably kept by the First Finder, Simon guessed, glancing sideways at Walerand. There was no cut in the breast of his jacket, corresponding to the cut on Robert’s chest, but Simon was sure that Walerand would not have allowed anyone else to take what he would have viewed as his perk for discovering the body.

Robert was a well-formed lad, Simon thought, surveying the naked body. His arms and legs were quite well-muscled, his belly flat, and the face looked ruggedly attractive. He would have been tall, and his square chin must have made him appealing to women, he thought.

The wound was obvious enough. It was a broad slit in his flesh, just under his left nipple, maybe an inch across. About the wound were other marks, and Simon contemplated them for some while, trying desperately to ignore the odour of decomposition. It was only when he got very close that he could see that the marks looked like scratches, and he rocked back on his heels, thinking about them. After a few minutes, Simon had Walerand help him roll the corpse over. As he thought, the blade had not penetrated the back. Only a short dagger could have inflicted this wound — unless it was a blade which had been inserted only a short distance, but the scratches at the entry point seemed to indicate something different. Simon reckoned that they were made by the quillons of a knife. As the killer stabbed, he rocked the knife a little in the wound, and that led to the scratches in the flesh. It seemed to make sense. So this man had been stabbed by someone armed with a short-bladed knife. Surely this was a case of a planned ambush.

When he took a careful look at the man’s hands, Simon saw that they were clear of defensive wounds. Often, as he knew, a man who was attacked would grab at the sword or knife to try to deflect it, cutting the palms or fingers of both hands. The attack must have come as a complete surprise, he deduced — perhaps from a friend, or someone who was not viewed as a threat.

‘I think I’ve seen enough,’ he said at last, letting the cloth drop back over the corpse. ‘We should be getting back to the castle, I suppose.’

‘Yes,’ Walerand said.

There was something in his tone which made Simon prick up his ears, but then another matter struck him and he glanced back at the huddled form beneath the winding sheet. ‘That man — did he have a sword on him when he was killed?’

‘Oh, I expect so.’

‘Does that mean he did, and therefore you have it now? Or that you think he did and can’t quite remember finding it there?’

‘There was one on him. It’s back at the castle.’

‘In the armoury?’

‘Perhaps.’

‘I want to see it. You will fetch it to me,’ Simon said. He was certain that Walerand had stolen it for himself. He led the way out of the church.

The sun was almost over the hill behind them, lighting the castle with a pink glow as they set off towards it. Simon walked with little attention for the views or the landscape about him, but before long some instinct made him glance around at Walerand; the man was gripping his sword, his knuckles white with tension.

‘What is the matter with you, man? Are you fearful of ghosts?’

‘Not ghosts, no. But these islands are filled with pirates and murderers. If they dare kill a tax-gatherer, who wouldn’t they dare to murder?’

Simon shrugged. ‘The folk here seem pleasant enough when treated like humans.’

‘You don’t know the mad people on the off-islands.’

‘What of them?’ Simon asked, but then he saw the real anxiety in Walerand’s face.

As they walked back, the sun sinking lower in the sky and the twilight gloom taking over from the bright daylight, Simon found that the islands appeared cloaked in a more menacing aspect, and he too kept his hand close to his sword hilt.

Chapter Sixteen

Isok was finished, and with the tiredness of a man who had worked hard all afternoon, he rowed back to his island as the sun slipped down to the horizon.

He had taken a good haul of fish. All were gutted on the beach, the offal left behind for the gulls to eat, and now he had a much heavier boat with the weight of fish.

There was no comfort for a troubled mind like hard work, he reckoned, and he knew his task so well that he was able to squat and clean the fish with an empty mind. It was the first peace he had known for many days, and as he threw the last of the fish into the boat, he felt a fleeting regret that there was nothing more here to save him from his thoughts.

The boat needed a good shove to push it out to sea, and then he was wielding the oars, settling them between the pegs and beginning to row. He must travel around the islands and into the pass between Bechiek and the eastern islands, then on to the bay at St Nicholas, a journey which would take an age in a smaller vessel, but today he could count on the wind. His mast was stepped, and he pulled on the halyard to raise the little yard up the mast, then released the heavy linen. Pulling the sheets as the boat began to surge forward, he settled himself on the thwart at the upper part of the boat, from where he could see the way ahead.

There was a certain calm that came from hard work, and now, as he felt the wind on his cheeks and adapted his position to the gentle roll and sudden slap as the boat made its way around the first of the isles, he could sense a peace settling on him. There was no one here to laugh at him, give him difficulties or make snide comments behind his back.

Currents swirled about these islands, and many sailors would avoid the hazards of Great Guenhely and Inisvoul, but Isok was no novice. He had lived here all his life; there was probably no better seaman than him in all the islands. It was his skill as a master which regularly brought in the largest prizes. He knew the islands as only a native could. They had been his playground when he was a child, and now he was an adult, these were the waters he knew best of all. Since he was a youth he had been taking ships and boats about these islands in all weathers.

Years before, he had learned his craft from the old man they called Hamadus. He had taught Isok with a cynical eye and acerbic tongue. Hamadus had taken him on and for two months, Isok had been shouted at, cursed, and twice beaten with a rope’s end, but after those two months, Hamadus had called him into his little house and broached a barrel of wine illegally purloined from a wreck, and held out a filled mazer to Isok with a wry grin. ‘Ye’ll do, lad.’ After that, Hamadus had treated Isok as an equal. Although they had not spoken in many weeks now, Isok knew that Hamadus would have a sympathetic ear for him.

He was rounding the farthest eastern rocks of Bechiek, preparing to sail forth into the channel between it and Little Guenhely, when this thought came to him, and he was tempted to go and speak to Hamadus.

Hamadus was on Ennor, of course, down there on the main island. If Isok was to go there, he might as well dodge about the back of the Guenhellies, between them and the mass of Great Arthur, and make his way down the southern coast of Ennor. He looked at the sail, checked the wind, and made up his mind. There was time to put about. Without further ado, he released one sheet, pulled on the other, and ducked under the heavy material of the sail itself. Soon, with the great steering oar gripped under one armpit, he could feel her starting her turn, and then the hull heeled over at a slightly more acute angle, and standing with his thighs straddling the edge of his haul, he felt her taking his new course.

It was a wonderful sensation, this. He felt like a king when he was able to harness the power of wind and waves and set them to do his bidding. Not that it was quite so entirely in his command. In truth, he knew that Hamadus had been right many years before, when he had told Isok that the real skill of a mariner lay not in trying to force the vessel or the seas to do his bidding, but in seeing how the sea and his ship wanted to behave, and persuading each to permit him to go as he wished.

There was no feeling better than this, though. He felt her rise and screw around at the bow, and watched the horizon ahead as it moved up and down and across his vision, in the narrow gap between the ship’s side and the sail. Perfect, clear sea, then a snatched glimpse of an island. That was Little Arthur. The ship was soon level with the island, and then it moved on past, and he could see the long sweep of sand that made up the enormous beach.

Hearing a faint odd noise, he looked about again. The shore was far enough away with the tide this high, that he need not fear rocks in this part, and yet he heard some curious knockings, and when he glanced down at the sea, he could see some bits and pieces of broken wood. Not large timbers from a large wreck, like the one which had brought that knight to his home, but small sections of flotsam, such as a small rowing boat might be built from. There were pieces with the caulking still attached, and spread over a wide area, he saw, as though a small vessel had come to grief on one of the jutting rocks that lay so thickly about here, and then the parts had been dispersed over a wide space by the tides.

Over the years the people who lived in the islands grew accustomed to seeing wreckage, and often they would offer thanks to God for destroying another ship near to their shores. To a poor man or woman, living a harsh existence with the danger of starvation ever-present, a sudden windfall of free timbers, wine, and food or clothing was a near miracle.

Every so often a ship would founder on the rocks to the west of the islands. Usually it was a vessel which struck at Agnas or Anete, or the rocks far west, and the currents and winds would bring them into the beaches, white, bloated bodies lying in among the mess. At such times the seamen would all share in the revolting task of preparing the bodies for burial. All saw the holes in the flesh where the small fishes and crabs had nibbled or cut away with sharp pincers; all saw the empty eye-sockets. And afterwards, Isok would forego his crabs or lobsters for weeks. The thought of the meat lying in their bellies made him feel sick.

This was not the same, though. The bigger ships foundered on the rocks after being blown far from their courses, but this was a small vessel, which meant it must be from one of the islands.

Isok remained gripping his steering oar, but he crouched low now, peering ahead with the eyes of a man used to searching for small signs on the water, a feeling of sickness rising in his belly. This, he was sure, was a place where a man must have died. Too often when a man’s body was taken by the sea, it would sink and disappear for some little while, until then reappear, swollen and repellent, the veins turned blue and obscene, the flesh pale like a ghost’s, sometimes coming away from the body like a spare item of clothing. Today, he felt sure, another had been taken by the sea. It could be anywhere.

Then he saw it. A lump of huddled grey lying on the beach, a moving mass of white over and around it: squabbling seabirds fighting over morsels. He altered his course, aiming for the sand, but knew as he did so that it was too late. There was no chance that a man could have lived after striking rocks with sufficient force to destroy his boat so completely.

He allowed his boat to beach, the sail already furled, and leaped into the water. As he pulled the vessel up the beach a short way, his muscular thighs creating a great wave before him, the birds rose into the sky, screeching like devils. He made his way up to the body, every footstep crunching on broken pieces of timber and shreds of material, until he was near enough to crouch and roll the man over onto his back.

‘My Christ! Brother Luke?’

Simon returned to the castle deep in thought. There was no obvious focus to his investigation. The only things he knew from his enquiries were that Oderic had seen Thomas and David out that evening before the storm. Other than that, he had learned that the dead man was unpopular, which was hardly earth-shattering news.

He had little desire to visit Thomas and report his findings, so he went into the buttery, demanding a quart of strong ale. It was a full-flavoured brew, thick and malty, and while Simon supped at it, he wondered how to confront and question Thomas. Finishing his ale he was no nearer a conclusion, so he went to ask the gaoler where his friends were now.

‘Thomas ordered them to a cell at the hall,’ the turnkey said.

Simon felt his face pale with rage. ‘The Sergeant told me he would have them freed,’ he said at last.

The man shrugged. ‘Nothing to do with me.’

It wasn’t, of course, but now as Simon left the gaol and stood in the yard, he was struck with the reflection that accusing Thomas of involvement in the murder could be dangerous, especially while Sir Charles and Paul were still held in his power. Thomas was not a man who could be trusted. He’d given his word to have Sir Charles taken from the cell, and he had done so … but only in order to move him to a new one.

Taking a deep breath, Simon walked to Thomas’s room and rapped on it before entering.

‘Ah, Bailiff. I hope you have had a rewarding time?’ Thomas asked.

‘Where are my friends?’

‘They are safe enough.’

‘You promised to release my companions.’

‘I have had them taken to more pleasant accommodation. Bearing in mind your friend threatened my lord with a sword, I have to say I think he’s being treated leniently! Now, what of your enquiries?’

Simon bit back the words that sprang to his lips. Coldly furious, he told Thomas all he had heard that morning, except that when he mentioned Oderic, he realised that a certain care would have to be exercised; he couldn’t trust Thomas. Instead, he mentioned no name, and only said that he had heard that a man called David had not been at his vill on the night of the murder. He did not mention that he knew Thomas himself had been abroad that night.

‘Reeve David was not at the vill?’ Thomas repeated.

‘No.’

Thomas appeared to listen to little more of what Simon had to say, and when the Bailiff had completed his report, telling him about his thoughts on the wounds and that he didn’t think his new peacock-blue sword could have been responsible, Thomas merely fluttered a hand in irritable dismissal.

Outside the room, Simon felt baffled at the man’s response. As soon as Simon had mentioned David, Thomas had become distracted. Perhaps he had seen David, and realised that if someone had seen him, they might also have seen Thomas himself? Perhaps he feared being uncovered as the murderer?

Baldwin and Tedia crossed the island and made their way to the eastern edge of St Nicholas, where they could see St Elidius.

‘That’s where he lives, almost like a hermit.’

Baldwin nodded absently. ‘How do we get to the island?’

‘The usual way is a boat to cross anywhere along here,’ she said, pointing. ‘If you want to get to St Elidius, you must cross this narrow sea between St Nicholas and Arwothel, then cross Arwothel to St Elidius.’

‘I had thought we might simply step over to it,’ Baldwin said with a frown. ‘When I have heard talk about this place, I have always had the impression that there was one, maybe two islands at most. I had no idea there were so many. Where can we find a boat?’

‘I can find one — my husband has a small boat — but I don’t know where I can get one tonight,’ she said reluctantly.

‘Well, we can do nothing about it tonight, then,’ Baldwin said. ‘And, I for one am glad. My immersion has had an impact upon my ability to concentrate. I think that a walk to your home will be about as much as I can cope with.’

It was true. His feet were leaden, and his bones ached with exhaustion, as though he had aged at least ten years in the last few days. It was ironic, he thought to himself as they set off back along a little track that followed the line of the sand, then up and across a peninsula before heading southwards to Tedia’s house, that only three or four days ago he had felt so filled with energy. His journey to the south had given him a new lease of life, just because he had gone back to the lands where he had lived when he was much younger. It had made him remember things he had thought were buried for ever. Such as the women on the island of Cyprus, when he was learning his vocation. There had been such beautiful women there, slim, dark-haired girls who were keen to amuse or entertain the Templar novices. Baldwin had learned much of life while he had been there, in the unrestricted environment. Perhaps that was partly why he loved the feel of this island, too, he thought. Because he had such happy memories of that other island: Cyprus.

Then a burst of honesty made him stare at the ground. This was no affection for a lump of rock in the sea. It was the sense of pleasure which an older man felt on seeing a young, beautiful woman who was not only attainable, but deliberately available. He shot a look at Tedia, and was disconcerted to see that she was simultaneously glancing at him. Both looked away.

When they reached her house, Baldwin was about to suggest that he should remain somewhere else, when she motioned him inside, and he found that his feet took him within. He sat near the hearth, and watched while she collected a bound bundle of dried kelp and set it on the top of the old ashes. She placed a few pieces of kindling about it, then blew gently. Some tiny coals sparked. Amid the dust which she caused to fly, there were chips of orange. Soon a wisp of smoke arose. Then another, and in a moment there was a flickering as a tiny flame rose.

She ignored him. It was impossible to let her feelings show. This man, this stranger knight, had shown her more interest and compassion today than most had shown her in all her life. It was so unfair that poor Isok couldn’t do his duty to her. He was a good man, she knew. It was just that he was terribly affected by this damned weakness of his. She had no option other than to leave him, with the Church’s consent, and find another man who would give her the children she craved.

As soon as she had heard from Luke that it was possible to divorce, she had set her heart on Robert, but now he was gone, and all she knew was that, without him, her life could have little meaning. There were so few men about here who could woo her. Only this one man fascinated her, this knight.

He was a curious fellow. Calm yet easily embarrassed, from the blush she had seen so often when he looked her way; he was plainly intelligent, and had money too. He was not one of those poor, mercenary knights whose entire income and ability to earn was lost with his lord in some skirmish or other. No, he was well-endowed, from the look of him and to hear him. He had no sword or expensive jewellery, but he had the sort of manners and courtesy which spoke of his position. That showed more than anything that he was an important man.

Poor Isok. She had loved him, but without apparent proof of his own love for her, that was nothing. Gradually her love had diminished, until it had dwindled to so small a flame that it had died in the faintest whistle of the wind: the tiny gust caused by Robert’s interest. His amusement in her company had reignited her passion; and now he was dead. Two men whom she had wanted, desired, loved. Both lost to her.

Her eyes rose and studied Baldwin as she collected herbs and fish for her pottage. He was a good man, a kind man, she felt. He was older, certainly, she accepted as she saw his eyelids drooping, but that was no bad thing necessarily. He would be married, of course. Every worthwhile man was married, as she knew too well. No, she must accept her fate. She’d end up a wizened old maid here on St Nicholas, and that was that.

Poor Robert! She rubbed at her eyes, clearing the tears. He had shown a keen interest in her, and she hadn’t been able to give herself to him as she’d wished. That was all. The poor man! Dying like that, on his way to see her.

Isok had never shown himself to be so jealous that he’d try to murder a potential lover. If anything, she’d have said that he was the sort of man to accept his fate. But no one could truly know what went on in a man’s head when he was suffering like Isok. Perhaps he thought that it was revenge for betrayal. No, if it was that, he’d kill her. No, this must be a punishment, killing Robert so that Isok could keep his wife. Unless it was Luke who had killed Robert. Luke was certainly a curious fellow. She wasn’t sure that she could trust him.

She suddenly realised that the room was much darker, and she went to the door, staring out.

‘What is it, Tedia?’

She smiled, but didn’t turn. ‘My husband, Sir Baldwin. He should have been home by now. It’s growing dark and he’s usually back by this time.’

‘You fear for him?’

‘In some ways,’ she answered, still not facing him, but leaning against her doorway and staring out into the darkening night. ‘I have known him many years.’

‘Tell me about him.’

She sighed, but not unhappily as she recalled their wooing. ‘He was a good man. Always considerate, always caring. I felt like a queen when I was with him. Other men I’d known, they wanted my body, but with Isok, he seemed more interested in me because he liked me. It made him more appealing to me, I suppose. I never thought he wouldn’t be able to make me his wife.’

‘How did he marry you?’

‘I was happy with him,’ she said, returning to the room and pouring a large mazer of ale for Baldwin. Passing it to him, she said, ‘He made me laugh. What more does a woman need? So I told him I wanted him, “to have and to hold from this day, for fairer, for grimmer, from this day onwards”, and he said, “Tedia, I take you as my woman, and will want no other woman for as long as I live”. I felt so happy that day. I’d never thought I’d get the man I wanted, but he gave himself to me. It was so lovely.’

Her eyes watered again at the memory. ‘It was a beautiful day, and rather than take me as I had expected, to consummate the marriage immediately, instead I was delighted to hear him say that he wanted a priest to hear our vows. He insisted that we see William at St Mary’s, because William had been at St Elidius for many years, and Isok respected him greatly. Isok had to go to sea for a day, but when he returned, he said, he would marry me in full view of witnesses and William.

‘So two days later, Isok and I rowed over to Ennor, our little craft surrounded by a flotilla of small boats, with all the men making lewd gestures to me, while their wives howled with laughter and made bawdy comments to Isok.’

The general atmosphere of hilarity had been increased by the sudden appearance of some tuns of wine. Several had been delivered already to the port on Ennor, for the Lord of the Manor, but the rest were stored safely for the good of the community of St Nicholas — apart from the monks who, it was felt, needed no more wine.

‘William was wonderful.’

Speaking with his slightly catarrhal accent, William stood before them like an avenging angel, threatening them with hellfire if they were to fail. He silenced the crowds without a word, just an intimidating glower, and they were quietened in a moment. Afterwards, when he had bound their hands with his alb and pronounced that they be man and wife, he had grimly stared at the crowds as though daring them to make a sound until he had finished, and when the people erupted in joyful celebration, he had only then allowed a smile of satisfaction to pass over his lips.

Later the priest had taken Tedia to one side and told her that she was lucky indeed to be winning such a devoted husband. ‘He’s a good man,’ he had said, and then, ‘You should be very happy.’

It was not far from the truth of it. They had been happy. Except for this one fault. Only a little one, Mariota said to her, and in many ways a beneficial one because it saved her from the trials of childbirth, but Tedia knew that she wanted children, and Isok would or could give her none.

So terribly sad. All she wanted was a man in her bed with her. If Isok could be a stud to her, she would be content. Yet he couldn’t. So now she was forced to look elsewhere, and her one lover was dead.

She wondered where Isok was. He ought to be back by now.

During the storm, the sky had been an angry red colour, then black and lighted by flares of lightning, but now it was the normal starry sky she knew so well. Each little star stood out so brightly, she had to wonder what was behind the blackness of the sky. It looked so like small pin-pricks in a sheet of black velvet with a bright light behind to light each hole; she sometimes felt she could touch the material.

Tonight she stared out seawards, wondering where her man was. Normally he would be home by now. No one stayed out to sea too late, in case they might be thrown against a rock hidden in the dark, and although she knew full well that Isok was one of the best mariners on all the islands, she feared that he could come to grief. She was still his wife, and their lives had been shared. If he had been drowned she would regret his passing.

Unless … With a sharp pang of guilt, she realised that if he was going to be staying out for the night, she could perhaps cement her attraction to Baldwin. It was certain sure that he was as attracted to her as she was to him.

She felt her loins melting with the thought. In a moment, she decided, she would turn slowly and stare at him. Baldwin would see her lust: he would be bound to. And if he had any doubts, she would pull off her tunic and show him her whole body. Then she would walk to him slowly, her hands emphasising her womanly perfection, and by the time she reached him, he would be ready for her. She would undress him, pulling his hosen down, and kiss him there, so that he would enter her without difficulty. Yes.

It took her only a few moments to ponder the attraction of this course, and she leaned against the door frame again, rolling her body on it until she was facing the room once more. Licking her lips, she could see the form of Baldwin in the murkiness inside. She cleared her throat, said, ‘Baldwin,’ and then heard his snore.

Thomas finished checking the records of the cargo on the ship and sat back with a smile for a moment or two. Then, again, he began to frown and he glanced at the fading sunlight outside.

Where had David been?

This little haul was perfectly timed to make Ranulph’s life easier. It would all be considered salvage by most folks, but as far as Thomas was concerned, this was a wreck. The fact that it had fallen into his hands was his Lord’s good fortune, and nothing more.

It was a very good thing indeed that Thomas had been here when the ship had been discovered, because otherwise Ranulph would have taken more control of the affair, in which case there might well have been more bodies to bury, rather than the two unwelcome guests sitting in a quieter room in the castle.

Ranulph always wanted to ensure that the least expense was incurred by his manor. To his mind, the law which stated that a wreck was only a wreck if no man, no dog and no cat survived the vessel being cast upon the shore, was enough. The law must be complied with. Sometimes a ship wouldn’t make it to shore, in which case Ranulph and his men would sail out to ‘rescue’ it. Occasionally, when a ship was cast up on the shore, her survivors could be ‘lost’ so as to validate the letter of the law. That was not something Ranulph sought to do, but sometimes his staff would grow over-enthusiastic. The new law of salvage was more humane, and Ranulph was delighted to comply with it, because it saved his involvement in concealed homicides.

Here on Ennor things were more relaxed than in Cornwall. There local lords had to work hard to keep news of shipwrecks hidden, because the earldom’s men might hear of them. The Havener was a crucial member of the Earl’s household, and was targeted on claiming any wrecks, any royal fish, and all the duties owed to him. He was a pest to all ordinary folk living near the sea. Here in the Isles, the Havener had his work cut out. He tended not to bother to come here now because the journey wasn’t worth the effort. In any case, there were ongoing disputes about whether King Edward II or the earldom had the rights of royal fish, and to confuse matters still more, the earldom was now owned by the King’s wife, Isabella of France. No one was too sure who was supposed to gain now, which was why there had been disputes like the one fourteen years ago between William le Poer and Ranulph. Le Poer was the King’s Coroner at the time, and arrived just in time to snatch a whale which had been thrown up by the sea. That was too much for Ranulph, who had the mischievous devil thrown into prison, only releasing him when a hundred shillings had been paid.

Since then, Ranulph didn’t worry too much about exactly how Thomas dealt with people and got the money in. He instructed him to just go ahead and get it. It was rare that he would bother to attend a fresh vessel’s arrival. And now Ranulph had acquired the post of Coroner for himself. It certainly made life easier.

This was a magnificent ship, though. The Anne had a huge hold and plenty of tuns of wine as well as several bundles of cloth tied up into bales and some excellent Spanish metalwork. All in all, Thomas estimated her value to be in the order of one and a half thousand pounds. She would be a great prize, and there was little need to worry about an owner arriving to take the thing back. She was wrecked, and that was how her situation would be reported. The earldom would require some form of payment, but they wouldn’t know how much to claim, and there should be no risks.

His eyes narrowed again. Yes, the Anne was a magnificent catch, but who had trussed and delivered her? David was not in the vill, the Bailiff had said. Where had he been? Leading a small pirate party to attack a merchant ship?

No. Once more Thomas put the idea from him and returned to his papers. There was no point going over the same ground. If David had been out in the storm, no doubt he’d have been overwhelmed by the weather. As it was, there was no news of his death or disappearance.

Once again, the Sergeant’s thoughts turned wretchedly to his main preoccupation: the whereabouts of his own ship. The Faucon Dieu had still not made an appearance. Could that churl David have taken her?

He put the ledgers away carefully and tapped his teeth absentmindedly with a reed. To ease his mind, he pondered the problem of the new tax-gatherer. Of course he could suggest Walerand, as he had already hinted to the young fellow, and that would almost certainly bring in a shilling or two, because Walerand would understand that if he wanted the post, he would have to buy off Thomas first … but there were difficulties.

When all was said and done, Walerand was a gormless fool. He had less intelligence than the average chicken in Thomas’s opinion — and the Sergeant particularly despised chickens. Walerand’s way of ‘persuading’ a peasant to pay up would involve the use of a dagger and probably a hot brand, rather than honeyed words. That was where Robert was so useful. He could coax people into paying. They didn’t like it: no one liked paying taxes; yet they would cough up. The story of how Robert had killed the sailor in the tavern while wearing a smile of sadistic delight, had affected all who met him; but to Thomas’s certain knowledge, the gather-reeve had never had to display his brutality.

That was not Walerand’s way. He would try to scare people for the sake of it, just because it made him feel good. He would resort to actual physical violence at any opportunity. But at least Walerand was devious enough to make a good spy on the Bailiff.

What would the Bailiff make of all this, though? He would guess, probably. That was how most officers worked — they guessed at what might have happened. Someone had taken enough of a dislike to Robert to grab a knife and shove it into him. Simon would wonder what on earth Robert had been doing up there at that time of night. He should have been back in the castle by dusk, but he’d told others he’d be staying out for the night. That hinted at a woman — this woman he was supposed to have been porking in St Nicholas. If he’d been going to see her, why hadn’t she come forward to announce his disappearance? Probably because she was married.

Some men were hard enough on their women. Perhaps Simon would think Robert had chosen to take some female, and she reacted with an all-too-hasty dagger? He’d expected her to submit in return for a lower tax bill, and she’d repaid him in the only way she knew. That was quite possible.

Yes: possible, and alarming. If the locals thought that they could get away with murdering one of Ranulph’s leading men-at-arms, then they might decide to resist future demands for money and customs. It was a short step from one man being killed to the entire castle being endangered. Thomas was as sure as he could be of that.

Ranulph had sanction to hold twelve men here to maintain and protect his castle. There were some others here, mainly servants who were either weak of muscle or weak in the head, but if a man counted only the fighting strength of the place, it was actually alarmingly under-manned, compared with the number of people the castle was supposed to oversee. There were a couple of hundred men on all the islands, and most of them were strong, hardy types, used to the sea and weapons of all sorts. If it were to come to a fight between them and the men at the castle, Thomas knew that though the walls of the castle might survive, the people inside could easily be beaten. There was no hope of rescue or support. Even if a messenger could be sent to the mainland, any help must arrive too late.

The idea made him frown. Since a man in the castle had been murdered, it was up to the men of the castle to put things straight again. They needed a scapegoat: a group must be found which would carry the responsibility for the murder. Some rascals who could be believed to be thieves and murderers; some peasants who could be held up as an example of what would happen to others if they were to dare to flout the laws. An extreme example, a source of horror and fear for many years to come.

That was what the folks here needed. A definite signal that their behaviour must improve, he thought. But there were not enough men in the castle to chastise a whole vill.

Thomas sighed. Matters were already going beyond the means of simple resolution. If only he had more men at his disposal.

Feeling that he must suffocate if he remained within, Thomas stood, locked away the ledgers, and made his way to the castle’s walls. There he clambered up the steep staircase and peered out towards the sea. Still no sign of the Faucon Dieu. It was hard to believe that any of the pirates on St Nicholas would have dared to attack her. Could David …?

Thomas felt the certainty hit him like a hammer. David had led a party of the men from his vill to attack the Faucon Dieu: that was why she hadn’t appeared. They had taken what they could and sunk the ship to hide their crimes. That was it! Thomas felt himself bristling with righteous fury. That was why David wasn’t in the vill on the night of the storm, that was why Thomas’s ship wasn’t here, safe in port. Those murderous peasants in the vill on the next island had taken her.

By Christ, he would find out. Yes, Thomas would find out, and if he learned that they were guilty, he’d set such a flame under them that they’d all wish they were already in Hell!

Chapter Seventeen

‘William? It’s me, Isok.’

The priest threw open his door with a rattle. ‘Good God alive, Isok, what is this?’

He was justifiably annoyed to be woken. All those who lived in the vill knew that it was after his hour for sleep. By this time he had completed the round of services, and it was his routine to finish the day with a large cup of wine, followed by a good long sleep, ready to wake for Matins. He had been asleep for about an hour, and now this idiot wanted to talk? He noticed that Isok was carrying something. ‘Are you mad, man? Whatever you’re carrying, get rid of it! Do you want Ranulph’s guards to come here and find you with contraband?’

Isok stared at him bleakly. ‘I have some fish in my boat, but no contraband today. This is more your line of work, Priest.’

He entered, shouldering William aside, and allowed his burden to fall to the ground.

‘Jesus’s cods! What have you done, you moron?’ William demanded, falling to his knees and feeling Luke’s face, hands, wrists. ‘He’s dead!’

‘Of course he’s dead,’ Isok said coldly. ‘Whether he drowned or not, I don’t know. But look at him more closely, and you’ll doubt it, I expect. I found him out on Arthur’s Porth. There were bits and pieces of boat all about him.’

‘Why?’ William wondered.

‘Someone killed him and threw him into a boat,’ Isok shrugged.

‘You mean his murderer thought that when the body was found, people would think he’d been killed in an accident?’ William said scathingly. ‘Any fool can see he’s been stabbed!’

‘Perhaps the killer thought Luke’d just sail into the distance and never be found,’ Isok grunted. He had discovered William’s mazer, and was filling it from the priest’s large cask.

‘Hey!’ William snarled, and snatched it back. He spilled a little, but the rest he eagerly poured down his throat. ‘This is a complete mess. What can we do?’

‘You have to deal with it,’ Isok said flatly. ‘If it gets suspected that it was someone on my island, it could be troublesome. The men at La Val would welcome an opportunity to come and destroy our vill.’

‘You think it could come to that?’ William breathed, but then he nodded. ‘Yes. It makes sense. Ranulph has sought to impose his will on the island for the entire time I have lived here. You’ve seen it too.’

‘Yes — and the murder of a priest is enough justification for him.’

‘Leave it to me. I shall do what I can.’

Isok thanked him, and was about to leave when William stopped him. ‘Where are you going? You can’t sail back home at this time of night.’

‘No,’ Isok said, his eyes downcast. ‘But I wanted to speak to Hamadus. I haven’t had a chance to see him for a while.’

William was tempted to ask whether he wanted to see the old man about his marital problems, but something stopped him. The younger man looked like a fellow who had been tightened and tightened like a new rope; he was now so tautly stretched that any movement might make the hemp break — and when that happened, William was not sure he would want to be in the near vicinity. A divorce was one thing: in this case it was the accusation his wife had levelled against him which was going to cause him the most grief. It made William sad to see this couple whom he had joined in God’s name so close to separation.

‘Friend, go carefully,’ he implored, but said no more. He could give no solace to a man who was suffering so much.

‘I go as carefully as I may,’ Isok said, but his eyes avoided William’s. ‘You know Robert was after my wife? David told me earlier today. He was trying to get under her skirts. And now he’s gone, there’s another at my house.’

‘Another man? Who?’ William asked, so surprised that he forgot to ask about Robert. He had an unpleasant suspicion that, were he to ask whether Isok had killed the man, he would either hear something he would prefer not to, or he would be told a lie. Either was a considerable responsibility, and he needed more time to think of how to frame his question.

‘Some knight. He was washed up on the evening of the storm and Tedia found him. Rot his ballocks! Why couldn’t he have been found by someone else’s wife? Brosia would have been happy to have picked him up. You should see her: hitching her tits up for all to see when she thinks he’s got his eyes on her, and David looking daggers at anyone who doesn’t pretend not to notice! I wish he’d just drowned.’

‘Yes,’ William said absently, but then his brows lifted in surprise. ‘That is an evil desire, Isok. You dare to wish a man damned, just because you don’t trust your wife any more?’

‘I don’t normally, you know that,’ Isok said with harsh self-pity. ‘I wouldn’t wish a death like this on any man,’ he added, prodding Luke’s body gently with a foot. ‘But why should I be forced to suffer more? Haven’t I got enough troubles of my own?’

‘Perhaps you have. And perhaps God in His mercy will look down on you and offer you some consolation, Isok. But He won’t if you continue to damn other mariners.’

‘I’ll hold my tongue in future.’

‘Good. Where did this knight come from?’

‘From a ship that foundered during the storm. It sounds like he doesn’t know what happened to him. He was fortunate that he was washed up on our shore.’

There was no need to add to the comment. Any man who fell overboard was lucky if he lived, just as men who survived wrecks were lucky. It was said that, for every man who died naturally on the islands, nine more bodies would be delivered by the seas. That was how many wrecks there were each year. God alone knew how many died at sea and never reached land again, their bones picked clean by the monsters of the deep.

Remembering Simon’s words about a friend who had been washed from the Anne, William mused, ‘I wonder whether …’

‘What?’

‘There was a wreck, and a man was washed away. Perhaps your fellow is this man. I should like to speak to him. Can you arrange for him to come here?’

‘I’ll try.’ Isok was a little happier to think that the stranger would soon be removed from his home.

‘Good. Well, Godspeed, Isok. I shall see you in the morning.’

When Isok was gone, William sat down beside Luke and put a hand on his cold shoulder. ‘You were a fucking idiot, weren’t you, you overblown piece of pigshit! And now, thanks to you, that poor bastard there’s going through hell.’

In the castle, Thomas pushed away his plate with a grunt, then belched softly. At the opposite end of the trestle table he could just see Simon, and he wondered how the good, decent Bailiff was feeling, sitting in this den of criminals. Hah! he thought sardonically.

Thomas himself was feeling more than moderately belligerent. After deliberating over David’s probable crime, and swigging down the better part of two pints of wine, he was not prepared to take any nonsense from some bedraggled Bailiff from the mainland. Puttock had no idea what it was like, trying to keep an island like this on an even keel. The damned peasants were so fractious; self-reliant and argumentative, aggressive, and acquisitive. They were thieving devils who’d have the laces from a man’s boots if he stood still long enough.

He was worried. There were rumours of a second ship which had appeared after the storm, but of which nothing had been seen since, and he was convinced that the Faucon Dieu had sunk without trace, or had been carefully taken to a quiet cove and unloaded into the ships of the men of St Nicholas. It was their usual behaviour. They were pirates. Thomas had no proof, nor witnesses, but he could see how well the men lived on that island, and it was surely not on the incomes which they won legally, because Thomas knew what they each should have. It was a profitable business, piracy, slaying everyone on board, then stealing all the goods before holing the ship and letting it sink or be broken on the rocks west of the islands. The best part was, they wouldn’t ever be seen, not unless Ranulph formed his own navy to guard against such attacks, but the cost of that and the cost of the men hired to sail the ships, would be prohibitive.

What if it was his own ship?

As Ranulph stood and made to leave the room, Thomas coughed loudly. Ranulph shot him a look. When Thomas pointed at Simon, Ranulph gave a sneering smile, then nodded.

Thomas beckoned to a servant and gave him instructions before rising and making his way to the little solar. He felt some trepidation. His master might refuse to believe him: after all, the vill on St Nicholas was owned by the priory. The villeins there were the property of the Prior, and that made attacking them a dangerous course of action. The Abbot of Tavistock was a litigious fellow, quite prepared to take any man to court in defence of his rights and liberties, and an attack on his island would result in costly legal actions even if it was possible to prove that David was leading a new band of pirates.

He had no doubts on that. The people there were known to take part in piracy, but for the most part they had concentrated their efforts on Breton and other vessels, not British ones. Ranulph, too, was convinced of their piracy, but he’d always declared that while they were attacking other men’s ships, he would leave them alone. For one thing, it meant that they had more money to swell his coffers, and for another, that they were busy elsewhere and not causing trouble for him.

It was tricky. Thomas couldn’t come out and accuse them of attacking his ship … he wasn’t supposed to have his own ship. He was only a Sergeant, and if Ranulph learned that he had a ship of his own, he would not unsurprisingly wish to know how he had accumulated such wealth. No, Thomas would have to be more subtle.

Robert’s murder was the perfect pretext. If the people of the vill had dared to attack and kill the castle’s own gather-reeve, that was a different matter. Ranulph would be so furious, he’d be bound to demand the head of the man responsible. And David was not at the vill on the night Robert died, the Bailiff said.

Reassuring himself with these reflections, Thomas made for Ranulph’s solar.

The solar was a small chamber one floor above the main hall, and as Thomas entered, Ranulph was already sitting on his chair. ‘Come on,’ Ranulph said, waving a beech mazer with silver inlay. ‘You have a face like a mastiff with a paw in a mantrap. You’re going to tell me bad news, aren’t you? Well — get on with it.’

‘The gather-reeve was stabbed,’ Thomas said. ‘I think that the killer was one of those mad felons out on St Nicholas.’

‘Why one of them? Why not one of our home-grown bastards?’ Ranulph demanded.

‘Oh, few of our Ennor islanders would dare to do such a thing. No, it’s more likely that it was a St Nicholas pirate. Perhaps Robert saw someone with a boat after dark, or was lured to the beach by a man.’ Thomas went on to explain that he suspected David of killing Robert.

‘From what I’ve heard, it was no man lured Robert out there,’ Ranulph said.

‘Ah — so you have heard of that?’

‘He told half the men in the castle that he was hoping to get laid!’ Ranulph said dismissively and finished his mazer. Handing it to a steward, he barked, ‘Come in!’ as knuckles rapped on the door.

Thomas was surprised that Ranulph was already aware of Robert’s womanising. Not that it should surprise him. The man sometimes learned things with surprising rapidity when Thomas least expected it. Still, it would make the coming conversation easier. Then, when Simon entered, Thomas was still more delighted to see how relaxed the Bailiff had become after a good meal with plenty of wine.

‘I have to thank you for your hospitality,’ Simon said, bowing to Ranulph. ‘I haven’t eaten or drunk so well in many a week. Foreign food is not good to an Englishman’s belly.’

It was true enough. He’d been laid up twice with a bad gut ache while he was in Spain. The second bout had threatened to kill him, and he still felt that it was a sign of God’s kindness that he had been brought back from the brink.

‘I am keen to support shipwrecked mariners,’ Ranulph said.

‘Your generosity is welcome,’ Simon said, impressed by the aura of power that surrounded the man. Ranulph wore his responsibilities lightly. Now he was in his own chamber, he sprawled in his large chair like a man who was entirely relaxed, although Simon couldn’t help but notice the weapons which lay within reach. There were two daggers on the table near his hand, a sword at his belt, and leaning against the wall was a polearm with a curved blade like a billhook.

‘I would be grateful if you could see to the release of my friends,’ Simon said.

‘Are they the two who tried to attack me?’ Ranulph growled.

‘That was surely a misunderstanding.’

‘I dislike misunderstandings which almost cost me my head,’ Ranulph said. ‘So I think I’ll keep them until I am sure that they fully comprehend their places here.’

Simon opened his mouth to speak, but Thomas interrupted him.

‘Don’t worry, Bailiff. For our part, we intend Sir Charles to be released. There’s no point in keeping him locked away. He’s no threat to us, is he?’

‘How soon before he’s freed?’

Ranulph gave him a slow, steady look. ‘You can trust me to decide on when I allow prisoners to be released, Bailiff, in my own manor.’

‘I asked the good Bailiff to enquire about Robert’s death, since he has had some experience of such work,’ Thomas said. ‘Perhaps he should let us know how his investigations are progressing.’

‘I haven’t had much time to speak to anyone,’ Simon said.

‘There are not many people up at that part of the island to speak to,’ Ranulph said, taking a fresh mazerful of wine from his steward. ‘And those who live there aren’t necessarily going to help an official, eh, Tom?’

The Sergeant smiled in acknowledgement. ‘True. Many of these islanders are less than cooperative when they meet men from La Val.’

Simon chose to say nothing about the men of the castle of La Val. He had only experience of Walerand, and he sincerely hoped that Walerand was not an example of the sort of man who was routinely hired by Ranulph. He said, ‘I questioned a few men, but could learn nothing from them.’

‘Perhaps I should have them rounded up and persuaded to talk,’ Ranulph said ruminatively. ‘My boys like the chance of using their fists. They can be right persuasive. And any man who has a daughter might decide to open his trap when his daughter is being raped in front of him.’

Simon was about to smile politely, thinking that this was some kind of tasteless sally, but his face froze as he realised that Ranulph was serious.

The Lord of the Manor appeared to notice his sudden stillness. ‘You shocked, Bailiff? You don’t treat a felon that way where you come from? Well, we do. If we find felons, we take them out at low tide to a rock in the sea to the west, with a couple of loaves and some fresh water. And we leave them there. There’s no need for chains or anything, because if they’re found back on the islands, they’re taken straight back, and if they don’t make it here — hah! — there’s little chance of them swimming to another shore! We’re miles from anywhere out here.’

Thomas smiled serenely. ‘I don’t think the Bailiff understands, sir.’

‘No?’ Ranulph swung his leg from the arm of his chair suddenly, and in an instant he had snatched up one of the daggers from the table. It flashed in the light, and then thudded heavily into the wood of the door. An instant later, the second followed it.

Simon did not blink, but he glanced at the two daggers. They had struck the door at a man’s breast height, and where they stood, he saw many other chips and marks where they had hit before.

‘I don’t practise with these every day for my amusement, Bailiff,’ Ranulph said, getting to his feet and retrieving the knives. He hefted one in his hand, eyeing Simon. ‘I won this place in the last year of the old King’s reign, in thirteen hundred and six. The castle’s crenellated now; I managed to get permission from our new King back in the eighth year of his reign, thirteen hundred and fifteen.’ He peered at Simon to see whether the Bailiff understood the significance of this. ‘He has banned all tournaments, he’s restricted castles throughout his realm, he won’t allow his barons to fart without asking him first, but he let me crenellate. You know why? Because Cornwall is the easiest place for an invasion to start. If someone wanted to invade our country, they’d land in Cornwall. And where would a man start from to get to Cornwall? It would be easy for him to start right here, wouldn’t it?’

Simon nodded, but without conviction. Such strategic matters were for others to consider, rather than him.

‘I have twelve men-at-arms here. Twelve to guard the islands from invasion. It’s not enough. I also have to keep a watch on the people here. These men are my officers, Bailiff, just as you are an officer to, so I hear, the Abbot of Tavistock?’

Simon nodded again, this time more warily. Ranulph was hinting at something, as though the fact that he knew of Simon’s position gave Ranulph power over him.

‘We have some hundred and fifty, maybe two hundred men living here since the famine. That’s all. But they are all strong enough and ugly enough to want to rule their own lives. And we let them much of the time, because it doesn’t hurt us, and it keeps them busy. If they have a fight amongst themselves, so much the better. While they hate their neighbours, they can’t be plotting the ruination of my castle and the murder of my men.’

‘Perhaps if your men were to treat them better, you’d have less need to protect yourself.’

Ranulph gave him a long look, then flicked a dagger up into the air and flung it. The second was in the air before the first slammed into the door. ‘You think so? If I had some feeble milksops here, how long do you think they’d last? The people on these islands are living close to starvation most of the year. The only way they can survive is by occasionally catching a ship and stealing the cargo. That’s the sort of men that my lads have to deal with. You think you can treat pirates with kindness? You reckon appealing to their better nature will win them over?’ His voice dripped with sarcasm. ‘What you need is a strong arm, Bailiff, a strong arm and the mailed gauntlet. That’s the only treatment the islanders understand.’

‘I got the impression from William that-’

‘You mean William from St Mary’s? Christ’s armpits! You explain, Thomas.’

‘You see, Bailiff, the priest used to be on St Elidius. There he got to know the pirates quite well. I think they look on him as some sort of mascot — it is said that he blesses the children but specifically excludes their right hands, so that if they feel the need, they may murder with their right hands any who get in their way, and their hands are only blessed when they die. They have it all thought out. William is in league with them, and the only reason he’s here on Ennor is so that he can spy on us, to the benefit of his friends.’

‘You mean to suggest that he’s a pirate and murderer? I can’t believe that!’ Simon scoffed.

Ranulph continued, ‘It’s true. That’s why we’re so careful what happens here.’

Thomas was concerned now. Simon was growing truculent. As Bailiff to Abbot Robert of Tavistock, he could be a sore embarrassment if he didn’t swallow the story Thomas had concocted; his smiling scepticism at the stories about William, which Ranulph and Thomas knew to be true, was proof enough that he was unsound. Perhaps the Bailiff shouldn’t be allowed to make his way to the mainland again … Without him, the Abbot wouldn’t get to hear about an attack on St Nicholas until it was too late, and Ranulph and Thomas’s stories had already been spread widely from the Earl of Cornwall to the King. That was their only protection. Thomas would try anything to have his revenge on the bastards who’d sunk or stolen his ship.

Then, in preference to killing Simon, Thomas realised that there was another manner of dealing with him. He smiled.

‘If,’ he said smoothly, ‘the islanders here were to think that they could get away with the murder of a gather-reeve, they might think they could attack any of us here with impunity. We must find the murderer. Or perhaps we should make an example of someone else.’

‘Like who?’ Ranulph asked, throwing his knives again.

‘If only we could put paid to the pirates of St Nicholas once and for all,’ Thomas said. ‘But we don’t have the manpower. So perhaps we should make an example of someone who has been disloyal or treacherous in some way.’

Simon watched them, and as he did so, he saw a strange look pass between the two: Ranulph seemed frowningly confused, Thomas smilingly confident. It was his exhaustion, he later considered, which had prevented his understanding that look.

Otherwise he must have realised the implications.

Baldwin awoke lying on his side, with a feeling of intense comfort. He stretched, and immediately was aware of the naked woman who had moulded herself to his back. She lay still, her warmth all along his body giving him a sense of well-being and joy. With his eyes closed, his mind still befuddled with sleep, he smiled, thinking of Jeanne, and how pleasing it was to have such a woman as a wife, and he turned to her. She had rolled away as he turned, and now he pulled her warm body to him, feeling her buttocks slip agreeably into the curve of his lap, her legs fitting about his own, and he slipped an arm under her neck, the other over her torso, his hand cradling her breast, his finger finding her nipple. He bent his head to kiss her shoulder, then her breast while his hand strayed lower, and it was only then that he realised that this was another man’s wife.

She was not withdrawing from him. Indeed she arched her back, sighed, and thrust her arse at him in a manner which left her own desires plain. Lifting her arm over his neck, she turned her head and her lips met his in a soft kiss. It was impossible to reject her. With an exquisite thrill, he felt her lips part slackly, felt the tip of her tongue. Her hand caressed his chest, avoiding his scratches, then it moved down to his groin, taking firm but gentle hold. He could feel her lips broaden into a wide smile. ‘Good morning,’ she murmured.

Baldwin felt a hot rush of guilt at the thought of his wife, waiting at his home for his return, lonely without him, never dreaming that he could betray her, and then he felt Tedia’s lips on his again, and he shivered at their touch.

He should have hurried from the bed, but her soft warmth was captivating, her odour alluring, and her enthusiasm entirely overwhelming. He closed his eyes as she pushed him onto his back and began to make love to him.

Chapter Eighteen

Afterwards Baldwin lay back in the bed with the euphoria thrilling his entire body, listening to Tedia as she prepared food for them and sang with more joy than he had seen in her before. He felt only a wonder and delight, but soon, as he listened, he found his thoughts growing more confused.

He adored his wife Jeanne, and what he had just done was against his oaths to her. He had betrayed her. He was a traitor.

Other men would take any available woman, he knew. His own principles were such that he considered that dishonourable, and yet he had now performed an act of adultery with this woman almost without thinking. And not only had he betrayed his wife, he had done so with a woman already married. She had betrayed her own husband, just as he had his wife.

It made him feel wretched just to hear her happiness. He rolled out of the bed which had become hateful to him, and pulled on his tunic, walking out into the open air. He crossed the track that passed before the house, and went barefoot along the beach.

There was a cleaner smell to the air here, a musky, masculine scent of sea and of salt. He approached the water with a certain trepidation. It was chill, but not cold. He hesitated a moment, and then threw off the tunic and walked into the water. With handfuls of sand, he rubbed his torso and legs until his skin tingled, and then he immersed his entire body, closing his eyes and allowing himself to sink beneath the gentle waves.

Rising again, he was caught by a slight breeze that took the remaining heat from his body, but rather than any sense that he was risking his health, he felt refreshed by it — not that the fact stopped him from pulling on his tunic at the earliest opportunity.

The morning was perfect. There were a few clouds high in the sky, but mainly all above was clear and blue, an exquisite colour that looked like washed silk. All about him the islands shone in a sea which sparkled with a million stars of sunlight: their sand was a gorgeous yellow like honey, their plants were the most verdant Baldwin could imagine, their leaves bright and glistening as though each had been waxed and oiled for his benefit. All about him, he was aware of birds singing and trilling, while the constant rhythm of the sea was soothing.

Walking to a cluster of rocks, Baldwin sat and stared out south and east. He could imagine that this view was created solely for his enjoyment. The sea looked as flat as the glass Baldwin had seen in the windows of Crediton Church, but the hue was incomparable. There was nothing in his experience which could have matched the sheer beauty of the colour when tied to the sparkling of the sun. Before him was the vista of Ennor with, south and a little west, Agnas. It was peculiar to think that there were these little hillocks of security in the vast seas, and still odder to consider that these same havens had caused the death of Simon and all the crew.

Simon. He had not thought of him for several days now, and yet it was as if the pain was ever-present, always just on the borders of his awareness. Simon was his oldest friend after his servant Edgar, and now he was gone.

Baldwin took a deep breath and was surprised to find that it caught in his throat. His eyes were filling, and he had to bow his head in grief.

It was some while before he realised that the soft sensation at the back of his neck was the warm hand of Tedia. He snorted, swallowed, and wiped his eyes. ‘I don’t know what came over me.’

‘It’s natural enough. You’re a long way from home,’ Tedia said gently. ‘At least you’re still alive.’

Baldwin was able to smile at that. ‘Yes, and in large part that is due to you.’

‘I did nothing that others wouldn’t do.’

‘Really?’ Baldwin was interested. As she went to his side and sat on his lap, he rested a hand on her thigh, another in her hair. ‘All islanders would save a wounded and dying man?’

‘Maybe not all. Some would merely take them for their slave and force them to lie with them at all hours for sex,’ she said lightly. His hand moved to her armpit and tickled; she gave a brief scream and moved away — but not leaving his lap. ‘There are stories of a man who was found washed up and near death after a storm, and a woman of Bechiek cut off his fingers to take his rings. She didn’t realise he’d survive. Later he was able to show his dreadfully scarred hand, and she was so fearful, she died on the spot. They found his rings in her cottage.’

Baldwin gave a low whistle. ‘So I was fortunate indeed to have been won by a beautiful woman who would not only save me, but who was captivated by my good looks.’

‘They aren’t bad,’ she admitted. ‘Although you are dreadfully old.’

‘My thanks,’ he growled.

After a moment, she asked, ‘What is the matter, Baldwin? You are quiet, and your face is so sad.’

‘It’s my friend. He was on my ship too. I think he must have died.’

‘Oh, my love! I am sorry — I didn’t think to ask whether you lost a companion on her.’

As he saw a pair of women appear around the corner of the beach, he felt her arm go about his neck, and then the cool, moist touch of her lips on his, and he revelled in the kiss while feeling revulsion for his behaviour. So this, then, he thought, this is dishonour.

He had to admit that it felt extremely pleasant.

Jean de Conket had lost it. Yes, he could confess to his rage. When the fool of a helmsman had misjudged the ship’s motion, so that the two vessels collided, and most of the men preparing to sling their grapnels and shin up the cog’s sides to take her had been knocked from their feet, Jean’s anger had all but choked him. He went to the helmsman, his sword already in his hand, and hacked at the man until his body was in pieces on the deck. Only then did he look at his crewmen. They were staring at him, some with sympathy, others with horror. ‘Get on with it, cretins!’ he shouted, waving his gore-besmottered weapon, and the men returned to their stations while Jean himself took the tiller.

The men on the deck above were watching with fear in their eyes. They all knew what a pirate ship could do. As soon as Jean came nearer, the first missile was hurled, a pig of lead, which fell into the water before the pirates could reach her side. Jean gritted his teeth and pushed the tiller. At once there was a ripping pain in his underarm and breast, a pain that made his heart stop and the blood shrill in his veins. He wanted to scream, but daren’t give so obvious a proof to his men that he had lost his energy and strength. ‘Go on!’ he roared, urging the tiller about with sheer, brute willpower.

They had caught sight of the cog sailing lazily towards them almost as soon as the lightness rimmed the eastern horizon. It was a large ship, with a massive, billowing sail like a flag set out just to attract a pirate ship. To Jean it was a beautiful sight. She must be crammed with good produce. Surely God had taken pity on him, he reflected as he bawled commands at his crew.

They sprang to their posts, and soon they were bucketing through the water, the deck rolling and lurching and making Jean wince as his wound gave him more pain. The cog had seen them almost at the same time, and put on more sail in the hope that they might ram their raiders, or at least scare them away and race on past, putting them far beyond Jean’s craft. Anticipating this, he had his ship turn. If he could have bet, he would have said that the cog was heading straight back the way he had come, to Ennor. If that was so, he would win them long before they could reach the islands.

It was the regular thumping of his arm against the mast which had first caused his mood to grow ugly. He couldn’t help it. Every buffet from a wave as they turned, agonisingly slowly, made his arm clump against the side of the ship; each blow was like razors running from armpit to hand. Now, when he recalled his concern yesterday that he might be forced to have the limb amputated, he could smile wryly. Having it cut off had become an attractive option.

The helmsman had tried to run the pirate ship up to the side of the cog just as the cog began to tack. Instantly their ship was overwhelmed by the cog taking their wind. Their sail sagged, they began to lose way, the ship grew as sluggish as a hogged hulk, and then there was the collision. Jean was thrown to the deck, and he screamed as his arm took the full force. That was when he cut his helmsman down in a rage.

A large feather of spray was thrown into the air as the two ships came together again. Jean gripped the tiller with his good arm, but it was no good. Every thrust of the sea against the tiller caused his body to lurch, and that meant his bad arm shook and his whole body shuddered with agony. He had to give up the tiller to another man; they had lost her now, he could see that. Without the steady hand of a good helmsman, they had no chance. This lad was a mere boy: he had less feel for the ship than an ape.

Three times they had come close enough to try to board her, but each time, something had gone wrong. The ships struck and bounced apart twice, the second time a hapless sailor from Jean’s crew had fallen between the two and disappeared for ever. After the third collision, there was an audible crunch, followed by a hideous wrenching sound. As soon as he heard it, Jean knew that they had lost the battle. He called to the helmsman, and the ship took a new course, more with the wind, while another man raced to the spot where the noise had originated. The strakes were loosened, and water was coming in. It wasn’t desperate, yet, but they couldn’t make it back to Brittany. Jean reluctantly accepted that they would have to find a safe harbour to sit and repair her.

The cog was clearly heading towards the port at Ennor, and they followed behind her, their course slanting across hers. It was clear that the others were racing to the port as fast as they could, and Jean gave orders to take their own vessel around the eastern edge of the isles, and thence to the little harbour where they had rested the previous few days.

This whole fucking voyage was turning out to be a disaster, he told himself as he kicked a lump of the helmsman’s flesh from his foot.

Simon woke with the feeling that all was not well. It was after dawn, he could see from the light shafting in through the window at the side of the hall. Sitting up and blearily rubbing his eyes, he realised that his hosts had mostly departed. Many others were already up and about. He was one of a few sleeping men.

Getting up and making his way to the trestle tables at the far side of the room, he sat with a hunk of bread and a good jug of ale. Soon he found that the world was taking on a more pleasant aspect; he speared a slab of cooked meat and ate it with gusto.

‘Bailiff?’

The quiet voice startled him at first, but then he recognised Hamo. ‘Lad! How did you sleep? Have they been treating you well enough up here?’

Hamo was certainly looking a great deal improved. He had lost his pallor; his features had regained the ruddy complexion which had impressed Simon when he first met the lad. ‘Sir, I have to speak to you,’ he muttered agitatedly.

‘Why? What about?’ Simon asked, and then realised that his voice was not as quiet as he might have liked. The last bit of meat had caught in his teeth and he was concentrating on excavating it, rather than being as hushed as Hamo would have preferred. Fortunately, no one appeared to be taking any interest in their conversation.

‘Sir, it’s Sir Charles and his companion. I heard someone talking,’ Hamo whispered. ‘They intend to make an example of Sir Charles by putting him on a rock and leaving him there to drown.’

‘No!’ Simon declared with a burp. ‘They wouldn’t dare treat a man like him in that way.’

‘I heard two of the guards discussing it,’ Hamo hissed.

‘You must have misheard them,’ Simon said, but he was worried. It was possible, of course, that guards might give out such a story in the hearing of a gullible lad like Hamo, but what if someone had let the truth out by mistake? ‘Why should they do that to Sir Charles?’

Hamo gave him a longsuffering look.

‘Sir Charles did nothing, apart from try to protect his ship from invaders,’ Simon said reasonably.

‘That’s not what they say here. They reckon he pulled a sword on Ranulph, and that’s enough to deserve a slow death,’ Hamo said. ‘They say they’ll drag him out to sea as soon as they have someone to keep him company.’

‘Who do you think they meant?’

‘This man who killed the gather-reeve. If they can, they’ll catch him and set him out on a rock, too.’

‘They have little idea who that murderer can be,’ Simon said easily.

Hamo stared at him, his eyes wide with fear. ‘Sir, I’m telling you because they may try to harm you too. You have to know what sort of men you are living with.’

‘I am aware,’ Simon said. ‘Hamo, you aren’t as experienced in the ways of the world as I am. Take my word: the lord here is as good a lord as you could hope for and he indicated to me yesterday that our friends would soon be free!’

‘Sir, please!’

Hamo was going to speak again, but a man at the far end of the room called out, and the boy ran over to him.

Simon watched him go. It was typical of the lad that he should be jumping at shadows. Hamo had been a nervous sailor, and now he was on dry land, he was still seeing dangers at every turn. Simon actually felt a little attached to him. There was a warm, paternal smile on his face when Hamo hurried past him.

‘Don’t worry so much, Hamo,’ he counselled. ‘Leave things to me.’

‘That man just told me not to talk to you,’ Hamo whispered, looking round, and then, in a rush, ‘Please, Bailiff! You must try to save Sir Charles! Speak to William — see what he says!’

Simon chewed more slowly. What if Hamo was right? Then Simon recalled the look which passed between Thomas and Ranulph, and suddenly he was less sure. He instinctively liked William, but could he trust him? The man might be a pirate himself or in league with pirates.

Hamo gave him an agonised look and said, before scampering away, ‘William saved our lives, Bailiff. We can trust him.’

It was true that the cabin-boy had been saved by the priest, but that was no proof that he was better than any other man. Anyone finding a body on the beach would have done all they could to save that person. Ranulph could be a vicious brute as an enemy, he had no doubt, but Simon had a responsibility to the law. He was a Bailiff of Abbot Robert, and that meant he must be careful of his actions.

Not that Simon was convinced that William was guilty of the offence which Ranulph and Thomas ascribed to him. The moving from one chapel to another was a case of mere chance, nothing else; there was no need to think him guilty of spying for felons. Simon had heard the tale from another man the previous night, after Ranulph had dismissed him. William had been quite happy on his little island, a place called St Elidius, which had a small chapel and not much else, because William wanted peace, but he was asked to move to the main island when the previous chaplain was recalled to the Bishop’s Palace. The chaplain had been guilty of bringing a woman with him, and living with her in imitation of matrimony, although as a priest he was bound to his vows of chastity.

Priest’s mares were no rarity, and Simon was surprised that his friend Bishop Walter could bother himself with such a matter. He had plenty of other issues to concern him, after all, since he was regularly involved in affairs of the state. In any event, apparently Walter had recalled William’s predecessor; and that was why William had been called to St Mary’s Church. Someone else had taken over at St Elidius.

That being so, it seemed unlikely that William could be guilty of acting the spy. He had probably been the unwitting victim of tittle-tattle. Simon thought it would be a good idea to speak to William and warn him …

Mariota smiled but shook her head. ‘You’re talking nonsense.’

‘You saw them as clearly as I did, you old fool!’

‘Brosia, if I want insults, I can think of enough of my own without listening to your viperous tongue!’

Brosia tried a more placatory tone. ‘What was she doing sitting in the knight’s lap with her arms about him then, her lips on his, if she wasn’t making love to him?’

‘They were both clothed, so they weren’t-’

‘Oh, come on! So they weren’t rutting! They weren’t rolling on the grass with no clothes and little other than their smiles to cover them, but they were at it, and you know it, you old baggage! They were at it while her husband was away.’

‘Where is Isok?’

‘No idea. His boat isn’t in the harbour or on the sands.’

‘So you’ve been to look already, have you?’

Brosia flushed. ‘I happened to notice! Wives often go to look for their husbands’ boats, don’t they?’

‘Your man was away last night?’

‘No, he was with me. As a husband should be.’

‘So you weren’t looking for his vessel.’

‘I was watching to see it was safe … that’s got nothing to do with it! Mariota, your niece is an adulteress.’

‘You have no proof of that.’

‘What more proof do you need than the evidence of your own eyes, woman?’

‘I saw nothing, Brosia.’

‘You saw the same as I did!’

Mariota’s voice sharpened. ‘But I didn’t want to make any assumptions like you.’

‘That’s unfair!’

‘Is it?’

‘You won’t believe it? Very well. I shall take it to my husband.’

‘You can’t! If you do that, you know what will happen.’

Brosia drew away from Mariota’s grabbing hand. ‘Keep off me! You won’t help me, and that’s fine, but I won’t hide this from my husband. I have a duty to him, as a wife and as a member of the vill.’

‘Very good, but Brosia, remember this, Isok is going to have to submit to investigation no matter what happens. If Tedia has sought a little pleasure, it’s no surprise. She’s a woman — just as you are.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘I think you spend so much time worrying about her, because you wanted her lover for yourself.’

‘It’s my duty to report-’

‘And it’s my duty to report how you flaunted yourself before this stranger. Perhaps I ought to tell how you pulled your tunic up to tempt him?’

‘That’s a lie!’

‘Just as your tales of Tedia teasing this shipwreck are lies.’

‘It’s true!’

‘I deny it.’

‘You can deny it all you like, old woman. I’ll make sure that everyone knows what she’s been up to!’

Brosia stomped off, angrily kicking up small clouds of sand as she went, and Mariota stood for a long while, staring after her. Then, with an air of resignation, she turned about and started toiling back up the hill towards Tedia’s house.

Chapter Nineteen

It was a good day, a beautiful day. No such day had been so good in all his life. Good wasn’t the word. It was brilliant. Excellent. Walerand was on top of the world.

He walked down the road to the harbour with a whistle on his lips. Seeing a servant from the castle glance at him in surprise, Walerand sneered at him. The fool didn’t matter. Walerand was higher than him. He’d arrived. He was the new gather-reeve.

Thomas had drawn him aside early this morning to let him know. He said that he needed a man he could trust, and that he’d like to have someone like Walerand take over after Robert. The latter had been too nice, too gentle and kindly. What the islands needed was a someone who would squeeze the peasants until they shrieked. And Walerand was that man, Thomas said. He and Ranulph had been watching him, and Walerand was just the man for the job.

He reached the harbour and stared out at the ship. There was little left of the hogged vessel which had limped into port so recently. The upperworks had already been snatched away. Ranulph was happy with the immense beam which was going to form the bressemer of his new fireplace, and other pieces of wood were allocated to shipwrights and builders throughout the islands, provided they could afford to pay for them.

Thomas was Walerand’s role model. A man who had made himself into the person he wanted to become, without any help from another soul. He had arrived here when Ranulph had won his licence to crenellate the castle, and from that day forth had not looked back, from what Walerand had heard. A powerful man in his own right, Thomas was happy to serve someone like Ranulph, because it meant that his own authority was increased. And Walerand had been chosen by him to be his right-hand man! That made Walerand one of the most important men on the islands.

He reached the port, and collected the records of the items sold from the ship. Some were personal effects of the sailors who had lived on her, while others were items of equipment which were listed for sale. So far as Thomas was concerned, the ship could be sold for the profit of the master of the islands. He might make a little himself, too, of course.

William was at the harbour, pushing his little flock away from his church with a bellowing laugh. ‘Go on, clear off! I want my breakfast. Where can I go for my ale this fine morning?’ When he saw Walerand, he stiffened noticeably. ‘What do you want?’

‘None of your business,’ Walerand said haughtily. ‘I’m engaged on business for my master.’

‘Glad to hear it. Wouldn’t want to think you were here just to steal odds and sods from the ship,’ the priest said.

‘You shouldn’t joke about things like that. Some of us have important work to do.’

‘Imp-? You don’t mean they’ve put you in charge of the pigs at last?’ William said, goggle-eyed.

Walerand’s face darkened. ‘You watch your tongue, Priest; you’re not so important that I can’t take you apart. Learn respect, or others’ll beat it into you.’

‘You’ll not hurt me?’ William said with a tremulous voice, a hand on his heart. ‘You wouldn’t hit me, would you?’

‘Take that leer off your face, you fat bastard.’

He had stepped forward, a fist clenching, but William’s expression hardened as his own hand dropped away to lie at his side, leaving him apparently defenceless.

Walerand realised that the man wanted him to thump him, and the thought was confusing. The piss-pot priest should have retreated in fear, but he stood his ground, waiting, like a man who was happy to be clobbered.

As William had said to Simon, the thought of Walerand as gather-reeve was appalling. The fool was always swinging his fists whenever he thought that his victim was weaker than himself, and woe betide any woman who agreed to share his bed, because all too often she’d end up with a black eye or worse. William had often had cause to curse him, when he was helping some poor girl from one of the taverns who had been beaten up by the youth. An arrogant man was always a problem, William reflected, but a fool with power was worse.

Which was why he was determined to show Walerand to be a liability before he could do any real damage to William’s flock — and the easiest way to do that was by provoking him. If the cretin attempted to lash out, he’d get what was coming to him. William knew that, out of the two of them, he was the stronger, the faster, and the heavier: and once he’d ground Walerand’s face into the dirt, he would parade him along the streets of La Val, so that the vill’s population could laugh at him and see that he wasn’t so dangerous, after all. It would take a braver man than Walerand to remain, after that. It would take a more foolish man than Ranulph to try to impose his will through such a broken reed, or to try to punish William for defending himself. Any man setting hands upon a priest was on very dangerous ground. The Bishop would have Ranulph excommunicated.

Sadly, though, he could see that his wish had become clear to the new gather-reeve — or maybe Walerand was less stupid than he thought.

Walerand stood back, his lip curling with contempt, and then he spat viciously at the ground by William’s foot.

‘Yes, Priest, I’m in charge now, and don’t think people will get away with what Robert used to allow,’ Walerand said curtly.

‘Then we’ll have to see to it that you’re not in charge for long, Master Walerand,’ William said under his breath as he made his way back to the church, all thoughts of ale and food gone.

Initially, hearing that she was Tedia’s aunt, Baldwin was delighted to be introduced to Mariota. He was less than happy to see how she glanced at him, as though he was a small but poisonous insect which had crawled out from beneath a stone.

‘I want to talk to my niece,’ she said as soon as she arrived.

Tedia said, ‘I am pleased to-’

‘Not here. What if your husband should arrive? Come with me. You stay here, Sir Knight.’

Baldwin was nothing loath to remain. Here, he could see the whole sweep of the great pool of water which lay between the islands, and the sight of it all, with occasional craft sailing by, was delightful. He lay back, his hands behind his head. These islands, he told himself, were captivating.

He was still there when a monk appeared, trotting along the sands. His sandals were too small, his robes too large, for him to have been anything other than a novice, and Baldwin gave him a tolerant smile as he drew closer. ‘A pleasant day, Brother. Godspeed!’

‘My friend, are you the shipwrecked knight?’

‘I am. How may I serve you?’

‘It is not me, but my Prior. I understand that you are experienced in dealing with the dead? There is a body my Prior should appreciate your advice on. It’s the body of a priest, a man who was apparently murdered recently. Could you help us?’

‘Of course,’ Baldwin said, his eyes going to the two women. Tedia was animated, her hands and arms moving, while Mariota appeared more calm and unruffled. ‘Where is this body?’

‘It is over on the mainland. You must come now … there is a boat waiting for you.’

‘I must give my farewell to the lady who saved my life,’ Baldwin said, quietly but firmly.

‘If you are sure,’ the monk said, but the look he gave Tedia told Baldwin that he held islanders in scant regard.

That disrespect annoyed Baldwin considerably. He made a point of hurrying up the sands to the two women. To his surprise, he saw that Tedia had been weeping afresh. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked, concerned.

‘Yes, yes. It’s just scandal and slander, that’s all. People can be such arses!’

‘That is certainly true,’ Baldwin said with a chuckle. ‘Tell them where to go. Tedia, I have to leave for a while. There is a body found on another island, and the Prior has asked me to view it. If I go now, I should be back here before dark. I will return as soon as I can.’

She nodded dumbly, and only as he saw Mariota’s dark eyes turn to him did he realise that he had sounded more like a husband or lover than grateful shipwreck. The quick guilt made him flush; he had shamed Tedia before her aunt, and he had also abused the memory of his own wife. Jeanne might be many miles from here, but he had caused her an affront, whether she would ever know it or not. By taking this woman he had insulted his wife. He had forever altered the relationship that he had with her. A concealed line had been crossed, and he could never return over it.

What made the guilt still more poignant was the shame on Tedia’s face as she dropped her eyes. He had managed, with a few thoughtless words, to remind himself of his own dishonour as well as the treachery Tedia had shown to her own husband, and he had done so publicly in front of Tedia’s aunt. At that moment he swore to himself that he would never again cause her to be shown up. Nor would he perform another action which could lead to the humiliation of his wife. He couldn’t do that to either woman.

He loved them both.

With a feeling of sadness, he took his leave of the two women and walked back down to where the priest stood waiting.

Later, as he stood in the small boat as it was rowed the short distance to Ennor, he glanced back, sure that he could see Tedia, standing on a projecting rock and watching him as he went.

Cryspyn sighed as he read the document again. He closed his eyes, tapped his forehead with the parchment, and then tossed the annoying thing on to his table, and walked over to the window.

He had known that this would have to happen at some time. The problems with Tedia and Isok were so well-known that it was essential to get the issue sorted out as soon as possible. The question was, if the normal measures failed, what then?

Picking up his little bell, he rang it loudly. Soon a novice appeared in the doorway and Cryspyn commanded him to seek David. It would take a while, he reflected as the lad fled to do his bidding, and that was no bad thing. In the meantime, he would have to think about the wiser women in the vill. Usually a Prior had the advantage of a whore or two, but in a place like this, there was no such luck. All he could do was pick on some women who were experienced in the ways of the flesh.

And now Luke’s body had been found.

Another murder. Another sin.

Baldwin found the vessel’s rocking motion a little unsettling. It was a long time since he had been in such a small craft, and there was something about the way that it moved as the oarsman moved, rowing regularly with many a snort, involuntary kick of his heel and shiver, that did not instil confidence.

The great island grew. It was a strange shape, Baldwin thought. There was a large lump on his left, all bounded by sheltered sandy beaches, then a lower, curiously shallow space, before a second, smaller hill on the right. This was very different, a rockier space with plenty of black stone tumbled about the water’s edge.

It was the lower area between the two hills to which the oarsman was conducting Baldwin. This, apparently, was near the place where the body was being kept, and it was here where Baldwin must be disembarked.

‘It’s very difficult, of course,’ Cryspyn had said. Baldwin had been taken to meet him by the novice, and they were walking in the little cloister of the priory on St Nicholas. ‘A priest dying, and the suggestion is that there was some kind of foul play … My God, I wish I had never seen the day … So if you could please go and look into it, Sir Baldwin? There is no one here who is remotely qualified. I certainly couldn’t do it. And there are so many other things for me to see to. My priory may be small, but the trials it can generate …’

‘Of course I shall go there, if you wish it,’ Baldwin said soothingly. ‘Shall I bring a report back to you here?’

‘If it is possible, yes. Poor Luke. Poor unhappy fellow. He was sent here as a punishment, but I doubt whether even Bishop Walter would have been so cruel, had he but realised …’

Baldwin remembered another Luke, but that man had been sent to Ireland, he recalled. ‘You have many pressing troubles, Prior Cryspyn?’

‘I most certainly have. This death is merely the latest one.’ Cryspyn stood and stared at the priory church. ‘I wish God would remove me from this place,’ he said quietly.

‘But it is beautiful, surely?’ Baldwin said, surprised.

‘They say that the most treacherous and deadly things in the world are the most beautiful,’ Cryspyn said.

‘I have heard similar comments,’ Baldwin acknowledged.

‘A woman is always at the root of it,’ the Prior stated.

Baldwin smiled thinly. Such misogyny from a priest was not unusual, but today of all days Baldwin did not wish to hear such a theme. He maintained a dignified silence, thinking to himself how his outspoken wife would respond, were she to hear Cryspyn talk. Jeanne was sometimes roused to anger by men who denigrated women — but only once the perpetrator was gone. She was not foolish enough to embarrass her husband with her disrespectful outbursts.

His smile faded. Baldwin adored his wife, and now he was confronted with the thought of her reaction, should she discover that he had been sleeping with Tedia. He was tempted to speak to the Prior, but instinct told him that this man was not an ideal confidant.

‘Perhaps that is true,’ he ventured.

‘It is! An unattached woman is a sore temptation to any man, God knows, but still worse is a married woman who is dissatisfied with her lot!’

Baldwin felt the prick of guilt again. ‘You mean Tedia?’

‘You know her already, of course. You may feel loyalty to her, for she saved your life, but I see the other side of her. She is a distraction for so many men in the area, and if she wins her divorce from her husband, she will be a still more troublesome source of discontent.’

‘You mean that other men will desire her?’

‘They do so now, and they will in future. You perhaps do not understand how so attractive a young woman can disrupt a community alienated from the mainland. Here, she can wreak terrible damage. She has upset her husband, caused other women to vie with her for the attention of their husbands, and so disturbed a priest that he-’

‘You mean Luke?’

‘Yes. I think he was infatuated with her. I also think it was because he was … desirous of her … that he recommended her to seek divorce, hoping that her affections would be won by the man who showed her the way out of her marriage.’

‘You think he told her how to divorce in order that he might take her for himself?’

‘We have had another priest here recently who also revelled in the carnal desires.’

‘The chaplain from St Mary’s?’

‘Yes. Peter Visconte, the idiot! He thought no one would spot the fact that he’d brought his woman with him. Mabilla was pleasant enough, I admit, and she was content with him as her man; she bore him many children. But that does not make his sins legal. He was ordered back to Bishop Walter’s court and, I believe, moved to a new church in the north-east somewhere.’

‘Luke came here after that?’

‘Yes. He arrived to look after St Elidius. Better for all concerned if he had stayed away. It’s too remote for a man like him.’

‘I once knew a priest called Luke who was sent to Ireland,’ Baldwin remarked.

‘Really? This man came to us from Ireland.’ The Prior was strolling still, but now he stopped and shot a look at Baldwin.

Baldwin was already staring at him. ‘The man I knew was sent to Ireland because of his … over-interested attitude to his flock. The suffragan Bishop of Exeter asked me to investigate the murder of a nun …’

‘It was him,’ the Prior declared. ‘For his crimes, he was sent to Ireland, but even there he betrayed his trust. It was only a short time before he was removed from that church and sent here. It was felt there was little harm he could do. Nobody thought he could be so crass as to persuade a woman to leave her husband! What sort of a priest would make it his job to ask a woman to break her holy vows?’

‘I understand,’ Baldwin said slowly, ‘that her man cannot give her children. Surely there are precedents for divorces under those terms?’

The Prior nodded. ‘Let’s not beat about the bush: he can’t raise his tarse and insert it. She is therefore, not unnaturally, frustrated. In such a position, any woman might be. They are more salacious by nature than we men. We all know that.’

Another discussion Baldwin preferred to avoid. He asked, ‘So what is your concern with this divorce? If her man is prevented from paying her the dues expected from a husband, she is justified in seeking divorce, surely?’

‘Yes, but Luke actively promoted the idea to her. Beforehand she was not content, but realised that it was her lot, and she must be satisfied. She could have remained so. But when Luke persuaded her to ask me for a divorce, I had no choice but to seek advice, and now I have been told to arrange for poor Isok to be diagnosed by any wise women I can find.’

‘Whom will you set to the task?’

‘Ah! Perhaps Brosia. She is more worldly than I could wish, and she would be delighted to make him rise, if only to upset and diminish Tedia in the eyes of all living here. They have ever been enemies, those two. Mariota, too, could help. She is older, and she may know more … um … tricks.’

‘I cannot imagine,’ Baldwin said. It was a curious case, and the thought of two women manhandling his private parts was oddly repellent.

‘If this man Luke was killed,’ Baldwin continued, keen to change the subject, ‘do you know who was last to see him, and where? Tedia told me that he was out on the night of the storm. Did you see him?’

‘Where did she say she saw him?’ Prior Cryspyn asked.

‘I think she said on the flats,’ Baldwin said, frowning. ‘But there are none about here, are there?’

‘There are many, but the people try to conceal them,’ Cryspyn said. ‘Most of the time they hide them so that there is less risk of a man arriving unexpectedly from La Val.’

‘Such as the gather-reeve,’ Baldwin commented.

‘Correct. Yet most of us know of the flats. When there is a low tide, it is quite possible to walk from Bechiek to Ennor, for example. Just as it is easy enough to wander from here to Bechiek. Thus on a low tide, I could walk from here to Ennor.’

‘Could Luke have learned of such a path?’

‘Someone could have told him. On the other hand, he may have merely seen someone making their way from one island to another.’

‘When was Luke last seen? That is the question we need to answer. Could you ask about the island to see whether anyone saw him after the night of the storm?’

‘I shall try, yes. I know that he was alive at noon on the day after the storm. One of my novices was sent to check on him, and he reported that Luke was alive, but hideously drunk, besotten with wine and snoring like a hog.’

‘So it was some time after that. Someone went to him and stabbed him to death after the storm.’

Now Baldwin and his oarsman were almost on the island of Ennor. The boat was rocking more gently here in the great sweeping beach.

‘Porth Mellon,’ the man said as the bow scraped on sand, and Baldwin waited while the fellow sprang into the water, expecting him to haul the boat up the sands so that Baldwin could leap in safety onto dry land, but the boatman stood in the knee-deep water and waited for Baldwin to jump.

With a muttered curse, Baldwin stepped forward and ran at the bow, gaining as much distance as he could when he vaulted forward, and landed with a splash in shallow water. He barely glanced at the boatman, but made his way towards a figure he could see ahead.

It was that of an old man, who turned suspiciously when he heard Baldwin approach. Suddenly a great dog with amber-coloured eyes appeared at his side.

As soon as he heard the low rumbling begin in the hound’s throat, Baldwin turned his attention to it. He had never in his life been fearful of dogs, and had never been bitten by one. This was a large creature, but still a dog, and he looked down at its breast without confronting its eyes, crouching and holding out a hand gently, moving slowly as he snapped finger and thumb beckoningly.

To the old man, he said, ‘Master, I am seeking the church of St Mary’s. There is a dead priest there, and I have been asked by the Prior to view the body and report on the man’s death. Could you direct me there?’

‘Perhaps I could. Be careful of my hound. He’s vicious.’

Baldwin smiled, and looked up into the hound’s face. The dog had his head turned to one side, and was studying Baldwin quizzically. ‘I do not think he is vicious,’ he said. ‘He’s just very wary of strangers, and that is a good thing in a guard, is it not?’

‘Not many would put themselves in so insecure a position with him,’ the old man said with grudging respect as the hound stalked forward, at last sniffing Baldwin’s fingers. When Baldwin lifted his hand, the dog ducked his head with a sharp rumbling deep in his throat, but when Baldwin remained still, smiling, the hound gradually, and with distrust, raised his head until Baldwin was touching the coarse fur. He stroked the animal gently, then tickled behind his ears, and was rewarded with a subtle lessening of tension.

‘I think some men are understood by hounds; others aren’t,’ Baldwin said.

‘Perhaps. I am called Hamadus, master. I am sexton of St Mary’s. The church is over there, the other side of the island.’

‘I thank you. I am Sir Baldwin, of Furnshill in Devon. The church, is it hard to find?’

‘No. The island’s only small, and there’s a big sandy beach over there …’

Baldwin could see it. It was the next beach along the coast.

‘… when you get there, you can cross over the waist, and then follow the road towards the town. Soon you’ll come to another beach with a natural bay, with the town on the opposite side from you. That’s the place called Ennor.’

‘I thought the island was called Ennor, and the town was La Val.’

‘La Val is what the churchmen call it. We folk who live here know it as Ennor, which means “the land”. Others can call it what they like; we know what it really is. The church is over on the right side of the beach, under the western hill. It’s easy to find.’

Baldwin smiled. ‘I thank you. Even I should be able to find that.’

He gave the dog a last tickle behind the ear, and slowly rose from his crouch. Bidding farewell to the man, he set off. The tide was low, and he could march around from Porth Mellon to the other side of the island. Soon after arriving at the larger beach, he strolled up and over the waist of the land, and found himself gazing down into another broad harbour. Nearby was a roadway, and when he set off along this, the town soon appeared, a clump of small peasants’ cottages set a way up from the shoreline with the grey and intimidating keep of the castle showing behind.

Walking along, Baldwin noticed at last the church where it stood opposite the town. He was about to make his way to it, when he stopped dead in his tracks and stood staring at the sea, dumbfounded. A shiver convulsed his body and he was overwhelmed with feebleness, falling to his knees.

From what Baldwin could see, he was convinced that this vessel was the one in which he had travelled, and although he had thought her foundered, and believed that his friend was drowned, now he could see she was afloat, he was almost scared to approach the Anne in case Simon’s death was confirmed. The vessel had been terribly pulled apart, he saw. The mast and much of the stern had gone, and there was a rent in her side. Much of her deck was empty, but she was still recognisable. She must be the Anne!

Suddenly he felt sure he remembered a massive wave, a crash as the yard fell, and then a jolt as he tumbled through a gap in the ship’s side. He had struggled, swimming hard, but the ship was gone, and he was all alone. Had he untied his sword? It was a dead weight, he recalled that, but no, he was sure that the sword had remained on his hip. Curious.

Baldwin knelt for what felt like an age, unable to rise and go to ask, terrified that he would learn Simon was truly dead. At last he heard a friendly voice.

‘Well, master, it’s a fine day to pray, but I’ve never seen a man drop like that at the sight of my church before! Hello! What’s this?’

Baldwin looked up and saw a thick-necked priest with a gleaming tonsure staring at him. Then the priest shot a look at the harbour and, following his gaze, Baldwin saw another ship entering the harbour.

Chapter Twenty

Ranulph was already out that morning, long before most of his men, and Thomas remained in his chamber to conduct a little business of his own, which was why he was the first to hear about the new vessel in the port.

He hurried to the castle’s gate, from where he could see the second ship, moored near the first.

‘Who is it?’ he asked with desperate excitement.

Walerand was toiling up the little hill and responded, ‘She’s called the Faucon Dieu, out of Dartmouth.’

‘My Christ!’ Thomas grabbed the gate for support. ‘My Christ, thank you!’

‘She has been badly mauled by pirates. They came on her last evening, and tried to take her, but were beaten away through the night. The master says the pirates sailed away north and east. He’s happy: he didn’t want all her wine to be taken by foreign pirates, he said!’

‘A good thing, too,’ Thomas said, smiling broadly. ‘And how many tuns are there aboard?’

‘One hundred and seventy-eight, they say.’

‘And to think that pirates nearly won her,’ Thomas said. He wanted to sing and shout his joy. A hundred and seventy-eight tuns would fetch an excellent price in Fowey. At last his ship was in! Blessed day!

‘It is odd, though. They say that they were found yesterday on the open sea only a few miles south of us. They’d thought that they were safe this far west, but they are sure that their attackers were Bretons. They were lucky to fight off the pirates. It was led by some Breton with a thick black beard.’

‘Those snail-eating sons of worms are coming farther and farther westwards, aren’t they?’ Thomas said.

‘You think so? I just wondered …’

Thomas glanced at Walerand’s face. The youth seemed confused, but then he often did. Now his features were screwed into a frown of concentration that was almost painful to behold. ‘What is it?’

‘Just that I didn’t think they’d come all the way here. It’s a long journey home for them, isn’t it? And at risk all the time. You don’t think they’ve found somewhere to lay up, so that they can come and attack ships about here?’

Thomas’s good humour left him. In a flash his earlier reflections returned to him. This was no idle speculation — this was certainty. David had attacked it. Some other islander must have black hair and a beard.

‘No, it’s not Bretons at all!’ he burst out. ‘It’s those damned islanders. They go from their strongholds in St Nicholas and attack honest merchantmen on their way from Guyenne to England, the murderous devils! They attacked this lot because they were sure that the people on board would be carrying a good cargo, but were beaten off, just as the last ones were when they attacked the Anne!’ He struck the gatepost. ‘This is the last proof. Maybe it was one of them murdered Robert as well, just because they hated paying customs! And now they are trying to steal more cargos. Well, they have attacked their last ship now! We’ll see to the miserable crew of cat’s offal! We shall end their crimes once and for all!’

‘With twelve men?’ Walerand said scornfully. ‘You reckon you can storm the St Nicholas islanders? Even with all the servants from the castle, they’d be too few.’

‘You are a moronic little turd, aren’t you?’ Thomas said, contempt dripping from his voice like venom. ‘You don’t mind causing pain to a woman or a man weaker than you, but when it comes down to serious work, you cringe and whine. You have no plans greater than seeking an extra penny a day for yourself. You don’t even dream of making a pound, you are so far behind. Perhaps I should not put your name forward to Ranulph to take over Robert’s duties.’

Walerand felt that like a fist in the gut. He whined, ‘I didn’t mean to insult you, sir. You know so much more about these things and I just-’

‘You just opened your mouth before thinking, as usual! Well, listen then, fool! Perhaps you’ll learn enough to make you useful. We have a ready force of men to help us.’

‘Where?’

Thomas favoured him with a glance in which amusement and derision were mixed in equal portion, before staring out at the Faucon Dieu.

‘Can’t you see them yet?’ he asked.

Baldwin was delighted to enter the church with the stolid priest and accept a large pot of wine before viewing the corpse.

‘I thought that the Prior would ask someone to come and view the body,’ William said, eyeing this tall knight with interest.

He struck William as a dangerous man. Most knights could appear dangerous in one way or another, of course, but to William’s eye, Baldwin seemed like that most intimidating of men: a powerful officer who was not interested in bribes but who actually sought justice and truth. While speaking to William he seemed to pay a lot of attention to the plight of the people of St Nicholas, but the only time he showed anger was when William spoke of Robert and the flagrant abuses of his power.

‘He was one of the castle’s men, I suppose,’ Baldwin said, frowning. ‘Did his master know that he was trying to steal from the people of the islands?’

‘Of course he did! But Ranulph and his blasted lackey Thomas don’t give a ha’penny damn for what the people feel. As far as they are concerned, the islanders here are no better than cattle. They can be hung, killed, or baited, but God forbid that they should try to retaliate.’

‘Yet someone has retaliated,’ Baldwin observed. He was keen to bring the subject around to the ship in the port, find out whether it was the Anne.

‘Aye, well, perhaps that was for his other sins.’

‘What other sins?’

‘Who can tell?’ William asked, his face hardening. ‘The man was run out of England when he committed a homicide in a tavern. That was why Thomas brought him here, because he had killed a man in cold blood, and Thomas saw that he enjoyed it. The Sergeant always tries to recruit men who enjoy their crimes.’

‘Thomas himself had no reason to seek this gather-reeve’s death, I suppose?’ Baldwin mused.

‘There were stories …’

‘Such as?’

‘Perhaps Robert learned about some of Thomas’s other ventures. What would Thomas do to silence him then?’

‘What form of venture would that be?’

William set his head to one side. ‘There is only one which would interest Thomas, and that is making money. Men here have their own ways of doing that. Some allege that they turn to piracy, but I doubt that! No, I think that Thomas has his own way of fattening his purse.’

‘Come on,’ Baldwin snapped, eager to be done so he could go and look at the ship. ‘Enough of this innuendo! What does he do?’

‘I can’t explain now. Wait until later, and I’ll introduce you to someone who knows.’

‘Who?’

‘Someone on the island who knows much about the sea. But now we should concentrate on the poor fellow in here.’

‘Of course,’ Baldwin agreed. ‘I believe that he was a priest called Luke?’

‘Yes, Luke was the chaplain of St Elidius, so of course he fell under the Prior’s control. I didn’t like him, I have to admit.’

‘The Prior? Oh, you mean Luke.’

‘Yes. In my vocation, one sees a few men like him: they can’t wait to get their hands on the next woman. It’s bad for the Church, and they risk their eternal souls, but they will still do it, just for a few minutes’ pleasure.’ He sighed loudly.

Baldwin could control his agitation no longer. ‘Before we speak about this Luke, can you tell me: that ship in the harbour — what is she called?’

‘Her?’ William stood and peered. ‘The new one, I don’t know, but the older of the two was called the Anne, I think. She came into port the morning after that terrible storm.’ His mouth fell open with a jerk. ‘Ah! Some day my head will be knocked from my body, and it won’t matter because there is so little in there! Of course! He mentioned a man, a close friend who was washed from the ship during the storm, a knight called Baldwin. There has been much on my mind, Sir Baldwin. My apologies — I should have sent a message to the Prior to tell him of your friend, but — alas! — I forgot!’

‘You have met Simon?’ Baldwin exclaimed, leaping to his feet.

‘Yes, but hold your excitement, friend! He’s at the castle.’

‘That is wonderful! I have to see him at once!’

‘No, you don’t,’ William said forcefully, and stood in front of the knight. ‘No, Sir Baldwin, you mustn’t. I’ll send a messenger to him and ask him to come here to meet you.’

‘I should go at once! He will fear that I am dead, and I should put his mind to rest.’

‘No. If you go there, you run the risk of being kept in captivity. There was another knight on the same ship as you, a man called Charles?’

‘Yes. He was a companion on my way here,’ Baldwin said.

‘He is held prisoner, and I have heard that the Lord of the Manor may decide to have him tried as a felon for drawing a sword on him,’ William explained, and told the story of how Sir Charles had sought to protect the ship. ‘So you see, it could be dangerous for you to go to the castle. Better that I should persuade Simon to come here to meet you.’

‘Friend, I don’t intend to draw a sword on the good Lord of the Manor,’ Baldwin said humorously.

‘Friend, you don’t have a sword to draw,’ William responded.

‘So what problem could I have?’ Baldwin asked, confused.

‘Only this: rumours fly about a small town like La Val. I have heard that a sword was found next to the body of a tax-gatherer after the storm, and it may have been used to run him through. But this sword was an odd one, Sir Knight. It had a short blade, like a knight’s riding sword, a bright blue blade, and there was an inscription on it, I’m told.’

Baldwin smiled, but he could feel his blood moving more slowly about his veins. ‘Well?’

‘Sir, the inscription was a Templar cross, I am told. A sign of evil and the devil.’

‘What does that have to do with me?’

‘I may be a mere priest to a vill of brutes and fools, sir, I may spend most of my days in my fields labouring like my flock, and perhaps I have a little of the slow mind of a local man, but I was educated once, and I can add and subtract. And my addition tells me that the appearance of a knight with no sword at the same time as a body, stabbed with a strange and unique sword found near the body could add up to a knight who met a man and killed him, and then discarded his weapon. If I can add up the matter to that, what could not the Lord of the Manor make?’

‘I see.’

‘And worse, if the Lord of the Manor could show that the man he had captured and killed for the murder of his own gather-reeve, if Ranulph could show that this man had been a Templar Knight, he would be acquitted of homicide, because he would have executed an outlaw. Even if he killed this knight’s friends, he could argue a close case that he had thought them all Templars or he had thought them all heretics with the Templar.’

‘He would hardly think of …’

‘Sir Baldwin, he is holding Sir Charles and is likely to have him executed for drawing a sword on him; if other survivors of the ship die, it means he can take all the goods from it, as well as the ship itself, and keep them. Do you seriously believe that he wouldn’t consider such a course?’ William leaned closer, his face an anxious frown. ‘Believe me, I know this man! He would tweak the nose of the devil if he thought that there was money in it for him!’

Baldwin sat back and stared unseeingly at the wall. He lifted his pot automatically. ‘I never met a man that night. I was almost drowned. The woman, Tedia, found me, and she saved my life. She could swear to my ill health. I was in no fit state to kill anyone.’

William gave a snort. ‘Her evidence wouldn’t do much more than guarantee your death, Sir Knight. The Lord, in his great wisdom, has decided to view all the islanders of St Nicholas as felons or potential felons. If she was to go to the Lord’s court and swear that you were innocent, he would probably insist on your execution before the day was out.’

‘This is ridiculous!’

‘Of course it is! And it would be alarming if it were not easy to see why Thomas would like to see you convicted.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘It will become clear when I introduce you to my friend,’ William said.

‘I dislike the idea of sitting here and not letting my friend know that I am alive.’

‘I don’t like it myself. I shall see to it that he is advised of your presence here, and I can ensure that he goes to visit you on St Nicholas. That would be safer.’

‘Then I shall take your advice,’ Baldwin said reluctantly. He hated the thought that Simon could be anxious for him, or believe him dead, as was more likely, but he liked the priest, and if William was to be believed, this would be the safest option.

He tried to put thoughts of Simon from his mind. ‘Now, tell me what you can about this dead man.’

Cryspyn felt happier about the idea of walking unarmed into a lion’s den than sitting here with these two, but he knew that it must be done.

‘I suppose you know what I am about to ask.’

Brosia gave a sidelong glance at Mariota, wondering whether someone had denounced her for flirting with Luke. If anyone would dare, it would be Mariota. The slack-titted draggle-tail had jealousy enough for a vill of lepers staring at a King’s feast; she had no man and was resentful of any attractive woman. Obviously, she hated Brosia, just as Tedia did, because Brosia was better-looking and won the hearts of many men in the area. Luckily David never found out. He wouldn’t be happy to learn that he had been cuckolded.

She was about to open her mouth to deny whatever Mariota had said, when the older woman spoke.

‘Prior, I’m not up to the task. Ask Brosia here, by all means, but I am too old and ugly to do what you want. Why should a man like Isok want me to service him?’

‘I don’t know what a man like him would want,’ Cryspyn said gallantly, ‘because I am chaste, as I should be, but I am sure that a man with fire in his veins would be honoured to have you try to help him.’

Brosia cried out, ‘What, you want us to make him large with semen for his wife?’ She couldn’t believe her ears. ‘Me? I’m a married woman, Prior!’

‘I can’t think of a better woman to attempt this. Consider, Brosia, I must have honest women to help with this task. I have been ordered by the Bishop himself to see to it. He suggested three women — can either of you think of a third to help?’

Brosia bridled. ‘This is silly! How can you expect me to try to rouse him when his own wife cannot!’

‘That, I think, is the point,’ Cryspyn said drily. ‘And I have heard much about some successes on the part of certain women in this manor. Perhaps they were overblown.’

Mariota was studying Brosia with delight. ‘Perhaps you fear you aren’t capable of such an onerous task?’

‘I can …’ Brosia stopped, flustered, with a wary look at the Prior. ‘I am sure I can make a man rise as easily as any other woman, but why I should do this for him, I don’t know.’

Cryspyn said shortly, ‘Because the Bishop has ordered it, woman, and you are one of his flock. I desire you …’ he flushed as he heard his own double entendre and continued swiftly, stammering slightly, ‘to test Isok and report back to me. You both know what is needed.’

Baldwin finished his cup and set it down. ‘Very well, let us take a closer look at this body of yours.’

‘I should have thought that the Prior would want the corpse to be returned to his island for burial,’ William said, leading the way down the middle of the church.

‘There can be little doubt of that,’ Baldwin observed.

‘You think so? Cryspyn can be very straitlaced. He hates priests who fail in their oaths. He’s been here so long, I think he has come to look upon the priory as his own personal manor. Any man who threatens the stability of his manor can expect harsh treatment at his hands.’

‘I thought him a very moderate man.’

‘You should see him when he is angry! And little makes him more bitter than behaviour that brings his priory into disrepute. Consider Luke: the man was notorious. He came here because of his womanising, and he probably died because of it.’

Baldwin nodded. ‘You think her husband sought to punish the man who desired her?’

‘Yes. David was furious, I have heard.’

‘David!’

‘Who did you think I meant?’ William asked in surprise.

‘Why, Isok. I had heard that this Luke had actively sought out Tedia and that his overtures had been observed by others.’

‘I don’t think so. In the past, I have seen Luke ogling all the women in the vill, but more recently he’s concentrated on Brosia, I think. Certainly over the last couple of weeks. She has been flaunting herself at him outrageously.’

‘There are two bodies here?’

‘The other was the gather-reeve.’

Baldwin had reached the body and peered under the sheet. ‘How did he die?’

‘He was stabbed in the chest.’

‘By a short-bladed knife, then. It wasn’t long enough to go all through the man’s chest. And the knife had two edges to it.’

‘Um … yes,’ William said. In a few moments of peering, this man had seen as much or more than Ranulph during his inquest. He felt faintly impressed as Baldwin went to the second body and lifted the sheet.

It was Luke, and Baldwin sighed to see the young man’s ravaged, eyeless face. ‘I truly wish this monk had learned from his errors. He is a man I used to know.’

‘Can you tell me anything more about him?’

‘Only that if he was killed by an outraged husband, it would be no more than he deserved, and certainly wouldn’t surprise me,’ Baldwin said.

‘I see you know more than you’re telling me,’ William said, but shrugged. ‘Let him answer for his own sins before the Father.’

The body was naked, and Baldwin studied it with interest. ‘This man was stabbed and died almost instantly, I should guess. I have seen stabs in the breast like this, and when the blade passes into the heart, it results in a very swift end. How long has he been dead, do you think?’

It was a fact that priests grew accustomed to death. Dealing with bodies which had been discovered after some while, and observing corpses before their altars prior to their being buried was an unpleasant, but necessary, part of their duties.

Now William set his head on one side like a hound questioning a stupid command. ‘I should think he died more than a few days ago. What would you think?’

‘I am no coroner, but I have had some experience with bodies left in the open, and I personally believe that this man has not been dead for very long. In fact, I think that he was still alive on the morning of the day after the storm. He was alive the day before yesterday, but died before last night.’

William’s eyes narrowed, and he peered at Baldwin.

The knight laughed. ‘The good Prior sent a man to see all was well on the morning after the storm. Luke was alive then. He clearly died before last night, though, since he was brought here to you then.’

‘I understood the last night bit,’ William muttered. ‘But when could he have died? And who did it?’

‘That we need to learn still,’ Baldwin said. ‘Was he undressed when he was discovered?’

‘I think he was clothed, but there were tears in the material.’

‘I would like to see his clothing.’

William fetched the robe from his chest at the back of the church. ‘I was wondering whether to keep this or not. It is too small for me, but would have helped patch my old one.’

‘There are some tears, as you say. I should have expected more in the way of rents in the cloth,’ Baldwin said. ‘It would seem that he has been attacked by some birds, but also by other creatures.’

‘I expect that would be crabs or fish,’ William said. ‘He was not found in a boat but lay on the sands. All manner of sea creatures would have feasted upon him.’

Baldwin shivered at the thought. This, he knew, was the kind of death which was nearly visited upon him. ‘You mentioned that he was not in a boat?’

‘No. He had been, though. Pieces of broken timber were all about him as though he was in a boat which was wrecked upon the shore.’

‘Who found him?’

‘It was your friend: Isok.’

Baldwin’s face fell. ‘Oh.’

Chapter Twenty-One

Simon found the room at the back of the keep, and when he had managed to persuade the guard at the door, with a penny and a flask of wine, that he was a genuine visitor, he was allowed in to see Sir Charles — once he had deposited Baldwin’s sword with the gaoler.

Entering the cell, Simon was still trying to convince himself that Ranulph and Thomas were honourable and wouldn’t harm Sir Charles and Paul, but that memory of their fleeting glance was firmly imprinted upon his memory. Yet he had no idea why Ranulph should wish to have them kept in gaol. It made little sense. Sir Charles may have threatened him once, but there were good reasons for that.

Could Ranulph and Thomas have decided to use Sir Charles as a pawn in some way? Maybe they wanted to force Simon to condone some action, or do something for them — something that he would otherwise refuse? No, that was surely too far-fetched! In any case, what could they want him to do? Something regarding the murder of the gather-reeve? Not very likely. Unless, Simon realised, unless Thomas was the murderer and he wanted Simon to find another man guilty … Thomas had had the chance: he had been there, and he, like so many, always carried a dagger.

If he intended demanding that Simon should support the conviction of an innocent man, he could think again. Better that ten guilty men went free than that one innocent man should be wrongly punished. Anyway, this was all foolish. There was no indication that either man was intending to cause such a miscarriage of justice. Simon stepped inside the cell.

If anything, Sir Charles was still more beamingly happy to see him than before. ‘Bailiff! Come in, my friend! This is extraordinarily good. Paul! Move your fat, luggardly arse off that stool and let our friend be seated. Would you care for a little ale, Simon? It is not good, but it is better than the wine with which they have supplied us.’

‘I thank you, but no. I’ve tried the local ale and I think I’d prefer the piss-water from the stews in Exeter. It’s foul.’

Sir Charles nodded with amusement, but he was watching Simon keenly, like a man who was expecting an answer to an unspoken question.

‘I have heard nothing more about your release,’ Simon began, ‘but I think it can’t be long. The Lord of the Manor is a harsh master, though, and he dislikes dissension.’

‘And so do I.’ Sir Charles exclaimed heartily. ‘He disliked my drawing my sword on him, and I disliked his way of piracy. Theft has never appealed to me — not when it is theft of my property.’

Simon was unpleasantly aware of the guard at the door, who would be listening carefully to every word. ‘Ranulph is a good man and perfectly fair. All we have to do is explain everything and apologise.’

Sir Charles listened attentively, nodding. ‘Yes. By the way, Bailiff: I was taken downstairs to meet your friend yesterday. He called me into his room and showed me a sword. When I declared that it was not mine, he asked whose it was.’

‘Did you say?’ Simon asked. If Sir Charles had identified it, it would reflect badly on Simon, who had denied all knowledge of the thing.

‘I said I knew of one like that, which was owned by our friend, yes. But I told him that poor Baldwin was washed overboard and must be dead. Why, was that a mistake?’

‘I do not know,’ Simon said, but inwardly he blamed himself for the error. He should have admitted whose sword it was and been done. No matter that his friend would be posthumously acknowledged as a Templar; in reality it would only harm his memory with a few people, and by denying Baldwin, Simon had lied to his own rescuer. ‘Did they say anything else about your release?’

‘Not in so many words, no,’ Sir Charles said with a pensive wrinkling of his forehead. ‘They mentioned that they thought I was a liar, accused me of murdering some fellow who collected taxes, and then threatened me with execution unless I confessed my crimes. Apart from that, nothing.’

‘What crimes, in the name of Christ?’ Simon demanded. ‘We only came here, what, two days ago?’

‘But apparently they are plagued with pirates hereabouts, and I would make a good example to all my friends.’ Sir Charles spoke lightly, but it was plain that his sense of humour was not translating itself to Paul.

‘I’m ready to catch one of them and take a sword or dagger to the rest,’ Paul said in a low voice. ‘Bailiff, would you help us? Can you get us weapons?’

‘There should be no need for that,’ Simon said. ‘There has been another ship attacked by pirates, I’ve heard. It’s come into the port today. That means you can’t be associated with the pirates. They’re still at large, while you two have been locked in here for the last couple of days.’

‘That is very reassuring,’ said Sir Charles. He leaned back in his chair, nodding sagely. ‘However, I think my companion here has a point. Perhaps a dagger or two would make us feel more comfortable. Bailiff?’

Isok stared at Baldwin with an inscrutable expression. ‘I came when you called me, Father William. What can I do for you?’

‘You can take that mulish expression off your face for a start, you bellicose old fart,’ William declared. ‘Come in and sit down here. Now tell this gentleman what you found when you saw Brother Luke on the beach.’

‘It was as I told you before, Father,’ Isok said, ignoring Baldwin. ‘I noticed some wreckage on the water and looked about me to see where it came from. When I glanced at Great Arthur, I saw the splinters of wood, and then this body. I took my boat in to pick him up and bring him to the island.’

‘Speak to the man here as well as to me, Isok.’

Isok shivered slightly. ‘I don’t want to talk to him.’

William glanced at Baldwin. ‘It looks like this man has grown a worm in his bowels. Sorry he’s so rude.’

‘If he wants company, he can get it from my wife, no doubt,’ Isok declared vindictively.

‘What has your wife to do with this? Come, man, we’re trying to find out what happened with this monk. What is the difficulty with that?’

‘I want nothing to do with him.’

‘Isok, he has to see where the body was found,’ William said heavily. ‘This is ridiculous! Look, you were First Finder. You have to help us to seek the killer.’

Isok lowered his head. That was a fair point, and he knew it. If he didn’t help the authorities to investigate a murder, he was breaking the law and risking a serious punishment. A First Finder had legal responsibilities, and since the dead man was a priest, the Prior had every right to demand that his murderer be found. Added to the fact that Prior Cryspyn was Isok’s master, Isok knew he couldn’t very well refuse to help, but he saw no reason to volunteer too quickly.

‘Can you take me there?’ Baldwin asked.

At last Isok favoured him with a cold look. ‘Aye. I could.’

‘And his safety would be on your head,’ William rasped. ‘Don’t think you can throw him over the side, lad! In fact, I think I’d better come too, Sir Baldwin, just to make sure that you’re safe.’

Baldwin was glad of the company. It would be more pleasing to have William to talk to. The belligerent sailor obviously wanted nothing to do with him, and in fairness to Isok, Baldwin was unpleasantly aware that he had cuckolded the man that very morning. It would not be possible for him to relax in Isok’s company.

They soon made their dispositions. William said that as soon as they came back he would send a messenger boy to the castle to let Simon know that Baldwin was safe, but that he couldn’t do it yet if Baldwin wanted to investigate the island where the body was found today. William had duties in his church, he couldn’t spend all day wandering over islands. Baldwin asked for a dagger, and William found an old rusty ballock knife — a long-bladed weapon with two large round spheres at the base of the blade. It was a Dutch weapon, and well-enough balanced, for all that the metal was tarnished and pitted. Baldwin found a stone and began sharpening it. Isok merely demanded some cold meats and a skin of fresh water to take with them.

His boat was large enough for them all, and Baldwin was pleased to see that William was a mariner in his own right. As soon as he was on board, he installed himself at the back, well out of Isok’s way, but he leaped forward when Isok needed a rope to be pulled. For Baldwin’s part, he had little enough understanding of how the vessel was propelled, and was content to sit at the rear of the boat and listen to the thrumming of the taut ropes as the wind blew.

It was a magnificent way to travel, he felt. The spray was thrown up at the bow, and tiny spits of seawater flecked his cheeks and brow, instantly drying as he turned his face to the sun, which was like a fire in the sky. The warmth was marvellous, and soon he felt that the skin of his face was being gently but firmly stretched, the flesh tightening against his bones. The salt air licking at him was wonderfully soporific, and if it wasn’t for the alarm he felt at the thought of sleeping in Isok’s presence, he would have dozed off. The rocking of the boat was enough to lull a man to sleep, he thought. At least, it would be in an environment like this, when the seas were so calm.

To keep himself awake, he glanced out at the island of Ennor as they passed around it. It was beautiful. Rocky shores, sandy beaches, sheltered coves, and over all a lush green blanket of healthy plants. Small cottages stood alone, some clustered together, while herds of cattle and flocks of sheep wandered happily. William had mentioned that there were no predators on the island, and Baldwin could see that all looked content. It was indeed an Eden here on earth.

On a hill, he suddenly saw a figure. It made him start up: the man had the same build, the same posture, it … it must be Simon! But before he could wave, they were past the point of land, and the figure fell back out of sight.

Baldwin felt strangely heavy-hearted, as though as well as having caught a glimpse of his friend, he had been offered the opportunity of renewing their friendship, but now that the fleeting view was gone, so was his friend. A sense of impending loss remained with him all the way to the island, as though he had rejected Simon by sailing past.

It took them long enough for the sun to have moved about the sky, and when Isok steered them around the farthest point of Ennor, the sun was already on Baldwin’s back, a warm hand pushing him on towards the island where the body had been found.

‘You are steering far to the east,’ Baldwin remarked.

‘There are many obstructions in the waters here,’ William said. ‘Rocks and sands lie close beneath the surface of the water.’

Baldwin peered over the side, and could see what William meant. There were stones amid broad fields of sand, with thick clumps of weed waving gently. Flitting here and there were shoals of fish: occasional yellow bursts of sand erupting as a tail flicked, or a series of little puffs as a crab scuttled hurriedly away from the boat’s shadow. It all looked so close that Baldwin could have reached down and touched them. Impossibly close, impossibly beautiful, it reminded him of the stories he had heard of beaches in the Holy Land. Sadly, he had never been able to see one. He had arrived in Acre near to the end of the defence of that great city, and had not been granted a sight of the beautiful country.

‘It is all very calm today,’ William commented.

Isok grunted, but Baldwin felt the urge to make comment. ‘It reminds me of the Mediterranean.’

‘You were out there?’ William asked.

‘I sailed to the Holy Land to protect Acre, but not successfully.’

‘It was a terrible battle, so they say.’

‘It was,’ Baldwin said. There was no sadness now. The events of so long ago had dwindled and even the nightmares of those last days had faded.

‘That was many years ago,’ Isok said with a glower.

‘I was only some seventeen years old,’ Baldwin admitted, ‘so it was a good two and thirty years ago.’

Instantly Baldwin felt Isok’s eyes upon him. ‘You are that old?’ he asked, and there was some astonishment in his voice, mixed with what sounded almost like relief.

‘I am, I fear. I was an enthusiastic young squire in 1291, and now I am only an enthusiast.’

‘And a devout one,’ William said. ‘Only the devout went to Acre.’

‘There were some with less honourable intentions,’ Baldwin said, recalling faces from his past. ‘Some were keen simply to make money, others were there because they had been offered forgiveness for past evils. There were many men who should never have been permitted to take up arms in God’s name. Men who were spending their free time in the brothels or who appeared to have suddenly won great wealth.’ All the way to the Holy Land Baldwin had seen them.

‘The fact that they went there meant that they deserved praise,’ William said firmly.

‘I do not think so,’ Baldwin said. ‘A man who is a criminal should seek forgiveness on his knees, begging God to forgive him, not seeking another country to kill other men.’

‘They were seeking Moors,’ William pointed out. ‘Better that they should kill those heretics than stay here pleading for God’s mercy.’

‘Even a Moor can be a good man,’ Baldwin said. ‘Saladin was a Moor, but he was an honourable, chivalrous knight.’

‘As far as he could be, within the restrictions of his faith,’ William said shortly.

‘I am afraid that I consider a man who has lived honourably and chivalrously is as deserving of God’s compassion as a Christian who has committed a great sin and begs forgiveness.’

William smiled cynically. ‘I don’t think you should let the Bishop hear you talk like that.’

Baldwin smiled and shrugged, but he was silent. From the old priest’s tone he was quite sure that William was one of the Church’s firebrands. The newer, younger men were often created in a different mould. More commonly, they would look with sympathy upon men who were from different faiths, considering them to have been misled or perhaps not led at all, and that their lack of education or direction was the cause of their belief in heretical ideas. William was plainly one of those who saw all foreign ideas as alien to his own God. It was not a line which Baldwin could accept. ‘You remember the story of the Good Samaritan?’

‘Of course.’

‘Sometimes a man who is not of the same belief can still be a good man.’

‘Perhaps. Yet a man who believes in God may enter Heaven, whereas a man who has no belief may not.’

‘Perhaps God is more tolerant?’ Baldwin enquired mischievously.

William shot him a look, but did not deign to respond.

Soon Baldwin saw that they were approaching land. Compared with Ennor, or the great mass of St Nicholas, this was a tiny island. It curved like a large ‘C’, with the eastern, concave section containing a broad swathe of bright sand, up to which the waves rolled softly. Isok aimed the boat at the beach and soon they were scraping the boat’s bottom along the sands as he furled the sail and neatly stowed the ropes. He sprang out, indicating that Baldwin and William should do the same, and then dragged the vessel up the sand a little, until she could not be pulled away by the waves. He picked up the anchor rope with its heavy stone and, walking away from the boat, he paid it out as he went until he reached a large formation of rocks. He wedged the anchor in among them.

‘Where did you find the man?’ Baldwin asked.

Isok walked him to a point on the sand where there were some few timbers. ‘Here.’

This was a spot towards the middle of the island. ‘Here’ was about the narrowest point on the place, with a scant eighty yards from the eastern shore to the western. From north to south the place was little more than a half mile long, stretching roughly north to south, although with the degree of curvature, Baldwin was sure that it was longer in reality.

It was impossible to detect any sign of footprints. The sea had washed up and over this point, and any marks of blood or prints from the body or a possible killer had long since been laved away.

‘This is a fool’s errand,’ William said, grimly staring about him. ‘There’s no chance of learning anything from this remote spot.’

Sadly, Baldwin had to agree. ‘We do not know that he died here, of course. It is possible that he died somewhere else and was brought here.’

‘In which case our journey is still more of a fool’s errand,’ William grunted. He had not enjoyed their discussion on the way.

Baldwin could see the spars and bits of small wood. ‘What are they from?’

‘A small boat,’ Isok muttered.

‘What are they doing here?’ Baldwin wondered.

‘Someone must have been out in a vessel which foundered here, or perhaps on the rocks.’

‘Could it have been Luke himself?’ Baldwin asked.

‘Could have been anyone.’ Isok shrugged.

‘I don’t think Luke would have stabbed himself prior to climbing into a boat,’ William said.

‘He died quickly, I should think,’ Baldwin agreed. ‘Which means that either someone was in the boat with him, stabbed him and left him in the boat, which then came here and crashed, or he was killed and then put in the boat, which came here.’

‘He was killed first, then,’ Isok said.

‘Why?’

Isok kicked at a stray piece of wood. ‘A larger boat would have used better timber. We don’t have trees here, so we have to use as little as possible in our boats — whatever we can rescue from the sea. This was a tiny boat. No space for a second man.’

‘So we can assume that he was murdered and set loose in a boat,’ Baldwin guessed. ‘What would the purpose of that be? Presumably to hide the murder. The killer decided to kill him and then conceal the crime, hoping that the man would be taken away, drifting on the waters.’

William nodded, and then, Baldwin noticed, shot a suspicious look at Isok. ‘He might have hoped that the poor fellow’s body would have been washed out to sea and lost. Even if Luke was found later, the fact of being in the sea would mean that his wounds would become hidden as fishes ate his flesh.’

‘Who could have done this? Who in these islands would be cruel enough to send a man’s body out to be devoured by the creatures of the sea?’

Baldwin’s question was rhetorical, but he was shocked, when he looked up, to see how pale Isok had become; from the expression on William’s face, he could see that the priest was already convinced that he knew the murderer’s identity.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Simon left Sir Charles with a feeling of despondency. It seemed as though the pleasantly reassuring words that Thomas had given him were not the same as the ones Sir Charles was hearing. He looked like a man who was in danger of his life — or a man who believed that his life was in danger. That was why at first Simon was pleased to meet Hamo as he walked along the road from the castle. That feeling was soon to pass.

‘Bailiff, I have to talk to you.’

‘Not now, lad. I have other things to-’

‘Sir, they’re going to storm the island.’

‘Island? What island?’

‘St Nicholas, that one.’

Simon gave him a pitying look. ‘So what? It’s only the haunt of pirates and felons. I don’t think they deserve my sympathy.’

‘Not all of them can be pirates.’

Simon was about to answer with a sarcastic comment, but then he saw the expression on Hamo’s face. ‘Look, lad, it’s possible that they aren’t all felons, and if that’s the case, so much the better.’ He began to walk along the roadway southwards from the castle. Farther on, he knew, there was a path that led along the hills which bounded the coast. ‘But many of them are, from the sound of things. It’s certain that they act as killers. I suppose it’s not surprising, living in a terrible little place like this. I’d probably get anxious if I were here. The thought of a bad winter is terrible.’

‘It’s not that, sir. It’s the Sergeant, Thomas. I’ve learned what he’s been up to, the fornicating son of a Moorish harlot.’

Simon’s eyebrows rose a little.

‘He’s been cheating the customs, taking money from his own ships and lining his purse, then sending the ship off to Cornwall with receipts in the earldom’s name. Ranulph doesn’t know about it, and he’d be angry if he did, but Thomas knows that none of the people here would dare to denounce him because he’s too powerful and in league with Ranulph. It makes Thomas terribly important. Ranulph won’t hear a bad word against the bastard son of a diseased whore …’

Simon’s eyebrows rose a fraction higher.

‘… but the fucker is safe anyway, because everyone on the island is scared of him.’

‘I … where did you learn that sort of language?’

‘What sort of language?’

Simon looked at him. The lad had been living with sailors since a youngster. It was no surprise that his language should be extreme — but there and then, Simon resolved to keep his own daughter away from sailors or youths who had had anything to do with the sea. He shook his head. ‘Never mind. He may well be as corrupt as you say, but that certainly doesn’t mean that the rest of the islanders are free of guilt.’

‘No, but he has been earning good money … Perhaps he’s trying to distract people — start a little war to stop them looking at his accounts?’ Hamo said slyly, looking up at Simon.

Simon was passing by a large stone. He thrust his hands into his belt, leaned against the rock, and stared down at Hamo. ‘I don’t think that is very likely. You have been confused because of the trials of our voyage here.’

‘You think I’m dreaming because I’m only a boy, but I’ve heard the men talking. They all say that he’s ruthless, and he’s been on edge for the last few days. Ever since we got here.’

There was a knowing tone to his voice, and Simon gave him a quizzical look. ‘What of it?’

‘What happened the night we arrived, Bailiff?’

‘The storm.’

‘Aye. And the murdered man. And Thomas was out that night. He didn’t get back until the storm was begun.’

‘How do you know?’ Simon asked, surprised that Hamo too had heard this. Plainly Oderic had told the truth then.

‘I’m only a boy. Men talk when I’m around because they can ignore me,’ Hamo said bitterly. ‘It doesn’t matter what I hear because I’m too thick to put two and two together.’

‘Is it common knowledge that Thomas was out that night?’ Simon asked seriously.

As Hamo nodded, Simon stared out to sea. If Thomas had been involved in the murder of Robert, perhaps he might suggest that someone else had killed his gather-reeve. A man like Sir Charles was a gift to him. The perfect suspect: a man who had been seen to be violent, who drew his sword first and asked questions later, a man who was used to killing.

That was one thing; there was also the matter of the men of St Nicholas. Simon detested pirates. Now he had experienced at first hand how terrifying their assaults could be, he was happy to think that any who were guilty of attacking innocent ships, like the Bretons who had pursued the Anne, should themselves be hunted down and slaughtered. People who routinely committed such crimes deserved all they got.

However, the murder of the gather-reeve was a different issue. Simon was unwilling to see Sir Charles used as a convenient scapegoat in the absence of the true criminal. Especially if Thomas’s action was a result of his own guilt.

Thinking furiously, Simon recalled Sir Charles’s request for weapons. That was one option, of course, but better if Sir Charles and his man could simply be whisked away from here and removed to a place of safety. But the mainland was a long way distant.

First things first: Sir Charles needed a weapon. Suddenly Simon recalled that Robert’s sword had not been found.

‘Hamo, there are some things I think we need to try to do,’ he said meditatively. ‘First, can you find your way to the kitchens?’

Baldwin walked farther up the beach. He had left William and Isok near the place where the body had been found, because he felt in need of solitude. Something about this place was soothing to his nerves, but the company of Isok and William was disturbing.

Isok had reason to hate Luke, he knew; he also had good reason to detest Robert. Both men had either attempted or were about to assault Isok’s wife. Baldwin was only hopeful that Isok never learned that he himself had already tasted the sweet pleasures of Isok’s wife.

Looking back at the pair of men at the shore, Baldwin felt a renewed pang of regret. He should never have taken Tedia. Her desperate desire was no excuse. Chivalric love stories occasionally permitted a love to be consummated, but generally such pleasures led to disaster — in the tales, the lover and the object of his desire were destroyed by their love. Such were the stories of all great lovers, even Guinevere and Launcelot.

That thought made him look about him with a frown of concentration. This place was called Great Arthur — did that mean it was named for the fabled King? If so, it was a curious choice. This island was certainly no Camelot.

The story of Arthur, his one love, Guinevere, and the King’s betrayal by his most loyal servant, Launcelot, was one which was known to most knights, but here Baldwin felt that it had an especial significance. The place was imbued with a curious spirit. He would ask his two companions whether there were any tales associated with it.

Sitting on a large stone at the southern point of the stretch of land, which rose after the beach, Baldwin found himself considering the man Luke. Certainly he had been a liability as a priest, and he was probably the worst womaniser Baldwin had ever met, other than that terrible Irishman John, whom he had known in Crediton. Luke would ignore any obstacle in his single-minded assault on a woman. He would not worry about husbands, certainly, since Baldwin knew that he had once succeeded in wooing a bride of Christ. He had the nerve to try to steal Isok’s woman from him, probably because Luke felt safe enough, protected by his cloth.

With most men, he would have been safe, too, but in a place like this, an island far from the King’s justice — or the Bishop’s — he would have learned a hard lesson. And that he had, apparently.

Guinevere had betrayed her husband, just as Tedia had betrayed Isok; Guinevere with Launcelot, Tedia with Baldwin.

And yet earlier she had tried to betray Isok with Robert. Robert, whom she loved already, so that when Luke tried to foist his own affections on her, she read his offer as a licence to sleep with Robert. Whichever way Baldwin looked at it, in this situation the most likely candidate for murderer was Isok. The peasant had learned of Robert’s desire for Tedia from David; he had heard of, or probably saw, Luke’s infatuation with his wife at the chapel each time they went to it. Luke was never one to hide his desires, from what Baldwin recalled.

Slowly, feeling every year of his age, Baldwin walked back to the beach. ‘Let us return,’ he said.

‘It was a waste of time coming here, then,’ Isok muttered. ‘There was nothing to learn, just as I thought.’

‘Perhaps not,’ Baldwin said. ‘Isok, tell me, what did you do the night of the storm?’

‘Nothing.’

His broad back was as undemonstrative as his face, but Baldwin persevered as they trudged back to the boat. ‘You went to your wife, but when you spoke to her, you argued and you left her there, didn’t you?’

‘Yes. She insulted me.’

‘How so?’

Isok turned and glared at him. ‘Because she taunted me on my inability …’ His voice seemed to choke him. Ashamed of his outburst, ashamed of his incapacity, he reddened and had to look away, staring instead at the waters which rolled softly to the shore.

‘Isok, I am sorry if I seem insensitive, but consider: you are the obvious, clear, bitter enemy of the two who are dead.’

‘Me? Why?’

Baldwin smiled apologetically. ‘I have heard of Robert’s desire for Tedia, and that Luke was instrumental in your wife’s attempt to win a divorce. Such things must drive a man mad. Is that what happened the night of the storm? You were prepared to go to Ennor and murder the gather-reeve and then you went to see Luke and murdered him too, putting him into a boat and hoping that he would float away for ever. You had two hated enemies, and you saw to them both in a day. Is that what happened?’

Isok frowned angrily. ‘I have had to endure the jibes of all my family and friends, with their humorous little comments, ever since my marriage and knowledge of my … my failing. Now you come to me and ask whether I killed someone? Is it not a miracle I killed no one before? Why should I suddenly choose to kill a man now? If I was so bitter, I would have lashed out at a man long before now.’

‘Perhaps something occurred which made you lose your mind in rage at the time,’ Baldwin said.

‘No.’

‘Then where were you during that night? Tedia said you were not with her.’

‘I went and slept in a friend’s house. Tedia’s Aunt Mariota looked after me, and stopped me from going out. She told me to remain in her home, and then she went to discuss the thing with Tedia. She wouldn’t want a niece of hers to become a divorced woman, she said. It was dishonourable.’

‘So she left you, went to speak to Tedia, and when she returned … what?’

‘She stayed there. Next morning Tedia came, but said she wouldn’t see reason. That was all. I would have to go through with the shameful tests.’

They had reached the boat, and Isok glowered at Baldwin as the knight and the priest climbed in. Isok walked to the anchor and picked it up, then placed it carefully in the boat before shoving it until it was off the sand and rocking gently. Then he climbed inside, dripping, and pushed away from the shore with an oar. While he prodded the sand, using the oar like a punt’s pole, he spoke. ‘Tedia was a wonderful wife to me. You should have seen her on the day we wed. She was tall, slim … perfect. We loved each other completely.’

He stopped. The oar he set away on the boat’s bottom, and then let the sail fall free. Tying the sheets until the vessel was moving at a fair speed, he sat at the back before he continued.

‘I think that she still does, but her mind is poisoned by the number of people who have told her that the only part of life which matters is sex. Brosia is always on at her about how much men look to her and not to Tedia; Luke desired her and was prepared to do anything to win her; Robert adored her, I think. But so do I. I would kill any man who harmed her, yes, but I can’t stop her trying to leave me if she wishes it. If she has decided she no longer wants me as her husband, then I cannot force her to love me. Yet I will still love her.’

It was the truth. Tedia would always, to him, be his wife. He hated discussing her and his marriage before a stranger, but there was something about this knight that made the experience less painful. Something in the man’s eyes made Isok feel as though Baldwin felt sympathy for him. There was compassion in his face, as there was in Father William’s as the priest said quietly, ‘Isok, I think I understand a little of what you’re experiencing. Come and talk to me if you need to discuss anything. I will always have an ear for your problems.’

‘Thanks, Father, but I’ll be all right.’

Baldwin was looking out at the sea as he asked, ‘I suppose you slept poorly that night in Mariota’s house?’

‘How could I sleep? I had just learned that my wife didn’t love me.’

‘She told you that?’ Baldwin asked.

‘She didn’t have to! I mentioned what David had said about a man who was cuckolding me, and I saw in her eyes that it was true! That was why I left. I couldn’t stay there. I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t hit her, do something I’d regret!’

‘You went to Mariota’s house; you state that you didn’t kill Robert or Luke. Yet when you were walking to Mariota’s house, did you see anyone else out at the time?’ Baldwin pressed. ‘Someone certainly did kill Robert and Luke. With two murders, it is surely most likely that the killer was the same person in both cases. Someone who was out at Ennor on the night of the storm and who had reason to wish to see Robert dead. The same person wanted Luke dead — although we have no means of knowing exactly when he died, of course.’ Having spoken, he bent his head, considering. Isok’s words had introduced another person with time and ability to kill Robert — Tedia’s aunt. Much though Baldwin disliked the thought, he knew that women were often guilty of homicide.

While Baldwin’s attention was concentrated down at the boat’s planks, William found himself staring at Isok, and his eyes narrowed as he saw Isok glance shiftily in his direction. William was shocked by that look. It made Isok look as guilty as a newly hanged felon, and he was tempted to call the other man’s attention to it, but he knew that as soon as he had done so, Isok’s face would have returned to its natural bullish resentment. There was no point. Still, William resolved to keep a close eye on Isok while he could.

Baldwin looked up, frowning. ‘Well? Did you see anyone else out there?’

‘I saw one man: Hamadus.’

William drew in his breath with a start. ‘Him? What was he …’

‘I don’t know. I saw him near the point, down near the way to Bechiek,’ Isok said, and then threw a suspicious glance at Baldwin. ‘I was walking, trying to clear my head. It was later I thought of going to Mariota’s house.’

‘Did you see Robert?’

‘No. I walked about the place for a while, and then went to Mariota’s. She left me for a while, and that’s that.’

‘Mariota. I shall want to speak to her, then, as well as this Hamadus. Who is he?’

William smiled drily. ‘He’s no one much. Just an old man who’s given up the sea. He taught Isok here much of what he knows about the sea.’

‘He would have had nothing to do with Luke’s death,’ Isok said shortly.

‘Why do you say that?’

Isok met his gaze firmly. ‘No seaman would have pushed Luke offshore. Whoever did that didn’t think about the tides, see? The sea pulls things away from the land when it goes away, but then it brings them back. I think that the boat was pushed out to sea from one of the islands when the killer thought that he was safe, but the tide was coming in, and took the boat and wrecked it on the island there. Hamadus wouldn’t have made that mistake. He’d have taken it far out to sea and let it go there, where it couldn’t come back to trouble him.’

‘Perhaps this man wasn’t thinking,’ William said. ‘After all, he was committing a serious crime in killing Luke — especially if he had just killed poor Robert too.’

‘Any man with sense could have killed them and not thought it a crime!’ Isok said.

His quiet violence was impressive. His tone was calm and undemonstrative, but Baldwin could see the way that his hands were pulling at the boat’s ropes as he spoke, and how his knuckles whitened with the effort. There was enough anger and frustration in those hands to kill a man, Baldwin thought. Easily.

Ranulph de Blancminster rode back into his castle with a curt glower at all who greeted him, his customary response to any form of friendliness from his staff or his peasants alike. He had no trust in men apart from his own very small and specific circle of family and one or two friends. Only one or two, though, and even among them his trust was limited.

No warlord should ever totally trust those about him. Blancminster knew full well that, just as Walerand was keen to take on the duties so recently discarded by Robert, there were plenty of men who would be glad to own the licence to Ennor Castle — as he himself had been when he had seen the opportunity to take the place after the De Wika family. Thomas was a very ambitious man, he knew. He suspected that it was Thomas’s ambition which had led the Sergeant to try to take the customs money of the Manor for himself. Ranulph knew all about that, of course. Only a fool would think that he could get away with stealing from Ranulph on a small island like this without being discovered.

He himself wasn’t born on this island. Like other Lords of the Manor, he had come here from the mainland, in Ranulph’s case from Benamy, near Stratton in Northern Cornwall. His brother had inherited, there was nothing for him to achieve by remaining there, so he had snatched at the chance of moving to the little group of islands and making a new life for himself. With any luck he would be able to found a new dynasty on this group of rocks in the middle of the seas. But that pleasing thought did not blind him to the realities of his situation.

Ranulph cantered into the castle’s broad yard, his rounsey rearing as he drew him to a halt. He could feel his two daggers move in their sheaths under his sword-belt where he kept them hidden. When he had the horse under his control again, he stared at the men in the cobbled yard.

The men were a mix of his own servants and peasants. From the look of them, they had been moving the Anne’s cargo about the storerooms. Thomas was never satisfied unless he had all stowed as efficiently as the master of a ship. Wines and ales would remain down by the shore in one of the lock-up sheds, apart from a couple of tuns of each which would be brought up for tasting, while the more easily transported goods would be moved up here to the castle itself. Even now he could see Thomas standing at the top of the stairs which led to the keep. The Sergeant was talking to a man with thinning brown hair, whose face was burned the colour of old chestnut by the sun. When he moved, Ranulph saw he had the bandylegged gait of a sailor.

Swinging himself from his horse, Ranulph stood a moment while grooms scurried to take the horse from him, and then, ignoring Thomas, he crossed the busy courtyard and climbed the steps which gave onto the walls, standing and staring thoughtfully over his estates.

It was a novel Manor. No one else he knew had anything like this. On all sides he was bounded by the sea, and from here he could see both the north and south coasts. On a fine day like this, he would be able to see the whole of his estate practically from the top of the keep, a heartwarming sight.

Many would have thought this a perfect location. Ranulph was more sanguine. He knew that the King, Edward II, was weakly and incompetent. The stories of the man’s profligacy abounded, especially in Cornwall. There all were astonished at the generosity of the King, giving his earldom of Cornwall to the appalling Piers Gaveston at first, and then, in a deliberate act of reconciliation, to his wife, Isabella. Not that it would help matters between them so far as Ranulph had heard. She was as bitter now as only a Frenchwoman of nobility could be, learning that her husband had rejected her. Worst, from her perspective, was the fact that he had not rejected her for another woman, but for a succession of men, if rumours be true. The latest was this Despenser puppy, another upstart who saw a way to wealth by pleasing the King’s loins and flattering his imbecile fancies.

That was Ranulph’s reading of the situation on the mainland, and for his part, he was more than delighted with his islands here in the sun, west of Cornwall. Most Manors throughout the country had boundaries which met other men’s lands; here Ranulph had no such problems. Other lords meant disputes, questions about a man’s loyalties, fights among staff when they met in adjoining towns, and in the last analysis there were too many risks when a man was called to support his King or the most powerful barons in the land. True, the King had quashed Thomas of Lancaster and seen to his execution — a forceful means of chastising an errant cousin! — but that meant nothing. Up and down England, more men were preparing to take Earl Thomas’s place, jockeying for the chance to remove Edward’s adviser and lover, Hugh Despenser, and his equally rapacious father, because whosoever was lucky enough to get those two out of the way, would have an immediate line straight to the King, and could control all power within the realm.

Ranulph was not stupid enough to think that he could win such a position. He knew that other men would take the laurels and power, and he was content with that, provided he was not called upon to help any of them. Getting involved in fights against the King was dangerous, and Ranulph enjoyed the sensation of having his head on his shoulders too much to want to endanger that satisfactory union.

It was strange to think that the disloyal and treacherous Earl Thomas had, by a curious quirk of fate, the same name as Ranulph’s Sergeant. Perhaps treachery was inherited with a name? At least there were no neighbours here who could bribe Thomas to make Ranulph’s life more politically confusing. Any shenanigans like that stayed on the mainland, and the folk there were welcome to them!

For Ranulph, looking out over his estates from here was a pleasant reminder that here there were no bickering neighbours to discontent him. Here, all was apparently calm. He had a sea, which could be more or less troublesome, and peasants, which could be worse.

He also had Thomas and Thomas’s men.

The steward was a fool. Soon Ranulph would have to remove him, but he’d have to do so carefully. Thomas thought that he had hoodwinked his master. Ranulph would enjoy seeing his reaction when he accused him of the crimes he knew he had committed.

In the meantime, although the men in the castle had been hired by Thomas, Ranulph was content that they would obey him and his money when he had a need of their obedience. Thomas had picked them from the detritus which tended to wash up in the ports and docks of Cornwall and Devon because, as the Sergeant was so fond of pointing out, what other sort of man would be happy to move all the way out to the islands? No man wanted to be exiled to a tiny plot of land so far from England. No man in his right mind, anyway. So they had to recruit the idiots and the callow, the feeble, or the wicked, and the wicked were best, because they were strong, they were fearsome, and they kept the peasants quiet. There was no doubt that they scared the living shit out of the folk who lived here, and from Ranulph’s point of view, that was one thing that Thomas had proved to be correct about: the peasants here were an aggressive, suspicious, greedy mob who needed a firm hand to rule them. That was why he had given Thomas a more or less free rein to control them.

And Thomas had failed.

Now was the time to think about Thomas’s replacement. Thomas had persuaded Ranulph of the need for an attack on the island of St Nicholas to pursue the pirates there, but Ranulph had to decide what to do when that attack was completed. Somehow he had to find a man who was capable of taking over Thomas’s place. That wouldn’t be easy, he reckoned, as he glanced over some of the faces in the yard about him.

Thomas had joined him on the walls now, and was fawning at him like a hound who’d been kicked once too often. The man often did so, and it annoyed Ranulph no end; he was a servile fellow, and that was all there was to him. It was irritating, but not, as Ranulph told himself, for much longer.

‘Well? Have you done all I told you?’ Ranulph barked.

‘Yes, of course,’ Thomas smiled. ‘And when they heard that there was a chance of having their revenge upon the pirates, they leaped at the opportunity.’

‘How many are there?’

‘Fifteen from the Faucon Dieu and the Bailiff and three from the Anne. That should be enough, together with our twelve. That is thirty-three, with you and myself added.’

‘Who was the man with you just now on the steps?’

‘Him? Just the master of the Faucon Dieu. He appears happy to assist us for a chance of getting at the pirates.’

‘A shame we couldn’t have the knight join us,’ Ranulph said grimly.

‘What could you do? The man drew a sword on you as though you were yourself a common pirate! He deserves his fate.’

‘We shall have to have a court as soon as we have succeeded in destroying that nest of adders,’ Ranulph said. It was curious that in an island like this, where there were no serpents, the men living there became more snake-like themselves. Ranulph had suspected them of piracy before now, but the arrival of the Anne had confirmed his worst fears.

Over the last years he had repeatedly warned the Prior to keep them under control. If they didn’t stop raiding shipping, he would be forced to attack them, but they hadn’t listened, had they? And now they were going to suffer for their crimes. It was the least he could do as guardian of the castle. His true position was a curious mixture: in part the protector of the realm’s farthest western territory, in part the King’s official. As tenant-in-chief, he was Keeper of the Castle, but also Coroner, now that the fool le Poer had been sent back to the mainland with his tail between his legs. He had tried to pull a fast one, but Ranulph had soon shown him his mistake. Ranulph was the master of this manor, and he wouldn’t let anyone else take advantage. This was his and his alone.

Now the pirates who lived under the wing of the priory thought that because they lived on Cryspyn’s island, they were safe. Ranulph would show them that they weren’t. He was going to make them realise that when a Blancminster made a threat, it was serious. He’d kill them all, if he had the opportunity, and then, he smiled to himself, then he could control all the islands.

The beauty of it was, the Bailiff would help. In part because he wanted to defend his friend, but also because he hated the men who had attacked the Anne. So he would help Ranulph win over St Nicholas against the priory, even though Simon’s own Master would be furious to hear that St Nicholas had been stolen.

Simon was Ranulph’s defence. If any accused Ranulph of highhanded action, he could point to Tavistock Abbey’s own Bailiff. And while the dispute raged, he would consolidate his position on St Nicholas Island.

He could become the Lord of all the islands.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Baldwin was relieved to see that Isok had brought the boat up beside a small ladder built against the wall of a quay on Ennor. He climbed from the boat and up the ladder, holding out a hand to help William to follow him. Isok threw a rope and Baldwin caught it and thrust it tightly through a large steel ring set into the moorstone floor. Only when it seemed secure did Isok join them.

‘Are you going to come with us?’ William asked.

‘No. I must collect some provisions. When I have them, I shall be gone, back to St Nicholas.’

‘I have to get back there, too,’ Baldwin said. ‘Will you wait for me?’

‘Find your own way,’ Isok snarled, and was off along the quayside before Baldwin could recover his senses, he was so shocked at the rudeness. As a knight, Baldwin was unused to being treated in so abusive a manner.

‘Don’t listen to his growling. His bite is non-existent,’ William said gently. ‘How would you feel if you knew that there was to be a public test of your manhood?’

Baldwin knew that he had no right to feel anger at Isok’s attitude to him. Although Isok didn’t know it, Baldwin was acutely aware of his guilt. To molest the man’s wife in his own bed! The guilt of that encounter tore at him.

‘So, Sir Knight. Do you really wish to question this man Hamadus? I know him well enough because he is my sexton. He’s the man I was going to introduce you to to learn about Thomas’s activities. Perhaps I could take you to speak with him?’

‘Yes, if that would be possible, I am sure that your company would be most useful,’ Baldwin said, and then all thoughts of the investigation fled. ‘But I must find my friend Simon first. It is intolerable to think that he has no idea of my survival.’

‘Absolutely! And as soon as it is safe, we shall arrange for him to visit you on St Nicholas — but not now. I discussed that with you earlier. I do not think it would be safe for you to go to the place yet. Not while they harbour suspicions about you.’

Baldwin nodded grimly. He was unhappy to think that he was not free to see his friend, but he could understand that William was probably being sensible. Baldwin felt very far from home — in some ways these islands were more disturbing to him than his pilgrimage to Spain. At least there he had been excited because of returning to a land he had known in his youth, and all strangeness was understandable because it sprang from the foreign languages and habits of the people. Here, on an island which was supposed to be English, he felt the differences between this and his home more keenly. It was alarming to think that he could be viewed as a felon.

Before long the two were padding up the road past the vill of La Val. It was here that Baldwin had his first real sight of the castle standing on its little crag. ‘That is an unpleasant-looking fortress,’ he remarked.

‘The worse for its owner,’ William grunted. ‘Ranulph de Blancminster is a harsh master to his people here. If it were only possible to remove him and install a more moderate man, I should be glad.’ He surveyed the castle and walls for a moment, then sniffed. ‘Ah! There he is now.’

Baldwin looked up and saw a dark-featured man staring out towards the north. He was dressed in a light linen shirt and simple green jack like a peasant, and had a short grey riding cloak draped over his shoulder.

At his side was a shorter figure, a man who wore a more ostentatious dress. He had a thicker woollen cloak, a fur-trimmed coat with high collar, and his head was warmed by a hat with a broad brim.

‘Which is Ranulph?’ Baldwin asked.

‘The man on the left, with the riding cloak.’

‘He looks less interested in money than his companion.’

‘Yes, well, his companion is his damned clerk. That is Thomas, the man who’s behind much of the unrest on the islands. I wouldn’t trust him further than I can spit,’ William said and demonstrated. ‘See? Not very far. I hate that bastard. If it weren’t for him, my life would be a lot easier.’ He shot Baldwin a look. ‘When they have a complaint against the castle, the peasants usually come to me first, to whinge about the way they’ve been treated. It takes me hours each week, trying to deal with all the problems. I’ve got other things to do, as well as see to the pastoral side of life here. Damn it all, I have a smallholding to run!’

Baldwin smiled. ‘Tell me, now that we are alone, what do you think of these murders? I do not see Isok as a killer by nature, but he has a strong build, does he not? And it is quite possible that he could have wished to see Robert and Luke dead.’

‘So could many others,’ William said warily.

‘True, and I do not expect you to betray any confessions which you have received,’ Baldwin said hastily.

‘No, no. I’ve had nothing like that,’ William said, ‘but you have to appreciate that I’ve lived among these folks for many years, and it’s hard to put the neck of a man you’ve enjoyed an ale with after harvest, a man whom you’ve grown to like — well, it’s hard to put his throat in the noose.’

‘I quite understand. Yet if these homicides are the result of one man’s outrageous violence, then we have to consider how to prevent him striking again, do we not?’

The two men had been steadily approaching the castle, and now William gave a short bleat of dismay. ‘Sir Baldwin, you mustn’t go any nearer! Not while Ranulph de Blancminster can see you! Any stranger here will be noticed among so few people!’

Baldwin stopped. ‘But this is ridiculous!’ he muttered. ‘I am a King’s Officer.’

‘Perhaps you are. It’s only fifteen-odd years ago that Ranulph arrested and fined the King’s Coroner for taking a whale. What would he do to a man he suspected of murder?’

Baldwin reluctantly nodded, and William led him around the castle walls and along the road to the east of the island.

‘How far is it to this man Hamadus’s place?’

‘He lives not far from here.’

‘On this island nowhere is far from here,’ Baldwin said, trying to lighten their mood. He disliked that castle — no, more than that: there was a brooding atmosphere about the place.

‘Who’s that with the priest?’ Ranulph scowled.

Thomas squinted at the two men walking northwards. ‘I don’t recognise that fellow. He wasn’t on the Anne.’

‘Was he on the Faucon Dieu?’

‘No, of course not,’ Thomas said, adding hastily, ‘I don’t think so, anyway. I believe the master mentioned to me that he dislikes carrying passengers.’

And you know his likes and dislikes very well, don’t you, Thomas? Ranulph thought to himself. Aloud he said, ‘Perhaps we should offer to remove a part of his cargo. The ship was close to being sunk, wasn’t it?’

Thomas smiled thinly. ‘No, I think it could be dangerous. The master knows the Despensers. If we were to threaten him or kill and rob him, the Despensers could wonder what was happening down here on the islands.’

‘We’ve never worried about them before,’ Ranulph noted. Then irritably, ‘Don’t you have a suitable spy to keep an eye on those two? I want to know who that man is and what he’s doing on my island.’

Thomas looked down into the yard. He could see Simon Puttock talking to Walerand. ‘Walerand! Come here. I have a mission for you.’

‘And then we need to make sure of the plan for tomorrow,’ Ranulph said. ‘I do not want the risk of any men escaping. You must see to it that the vill is unwarned and unprepared.’

‘I have guaranteed that, I think,’ Thomas said with a smug grin. ‘Tomorrow, I have learned, the whole of the vill will be occupied. We shall attack late in the morning.’

Ranulph closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes again, he turned them, glittering malignantly, upon his servant. ‘You pig’s turd! Do you know nothing about fighting? The crucial thing is surprise! That means coming upon them when they least expect it and destroying any armed men before they can grab their weapons!’

‘My Lord, tomorrow we shall have the full benefit of surprise,’ Thomas promised. ‘Tomorrow, so I have been told by a reliable man, is the day which is set for that man Isok’s trial. All the boatmen are talking about it. Two women have been told to investigate him and see whether they can make his tarse harden. If they can, his divorce fails; if they can’t, it’s accepted that it’s not merely some excuse from his wife to attain a divorce, and the Prior can report back to the Bishop’s court that all the best efforts of the good and honest women were to no avail, and the divorce shall be permitted.’

‘So what?’ Ranulph demanded. ‘Can you be sure of surprise?’

Walerand had arrived, a nervous, shambling figure in front of his master and the castle’s steward. ‘You wanted … something from me?’

‘Get a grip on yourself, you pitiful churl!’ Thomas grated. ‘Now go up that road and see who it is with William. I don’t know where they are going, nor why. Follow them, learn their movements, and then come and tell me here. Is that clear?’ Thomas rapped out his commands in the manner of a military leader.

‘Yes,’ Walerand said, and seeing the expression on Ranulph’s face, he bolted.

‘Yes,’ Thomas continued when they were alone again. ‘I can guarantee surprise, I think. The whole vill will be watching this test. Nobody will miss it, not after the amount of talk about the two of them. While they are all watching to see whether the man can get it up, we can come upon them like sea raiders ourselves!’

‘Good,’ Ranulph said, but his attention had wandered. He had spotted the Bailiff below, walking about near the armoury. There were boxes of arms in there, enough for a fellow to remove a dagger or two if he had a mind — but why should the Bailiff bother? He already had a sword.

Ranulph put the thought from him as he listened to Thomas. It was only later that he was to realise what Simon had been doing there.

Hamadus was in his room when his dog woke. The hound’s head shot upright, wrinkles forming all along the broad skull, and then he gave a low, warning growl.

Hamadus heard the tread of two pairs of feet. Cocking his head, he listened as intently as Uther, and then gave a dry grin. ‘All right, you old bastard,’ he muttered to the hound, and set another pot near the fire.

Soon there was a hammering at his door, and the little cottage felt as though it shook. Hamadus rolled his eyes as Uther rose to his feet, the hackles rising all along his back. ‘Sit down, Uther!’ he commanded, and then called, ‘Come in, William, and stop upsetting my hound.’

Baldwin entered and was pleased to find the place was not so ramshackle as it had appeared from outside.

It was a typical fisherman’s cottage, Baldwin supposed. From outside it looked dilapidated, with the thatch green and holed, the walls mere moorstone patched and filled with soil; inside, he found it was a warm, well-heated place, with a goodly-sized fire in the middle of the floor bounded by a circle of large stones. About the room were the man’s few belongings: a single stool, a palliasse, unrolled and ready for sleeping, on which the dog now stood, head down and frowning like a suspicious alewife watching a none-too-sober client entering her hall. At one wall was a large falchion, a sword with a single edge to its blade, leaning as though ready for use some time soon. A low table and a chest formed the only other items of furniture, but a wooden fence had been erected at the far end of the little room, and there a pig snorted gently in sleep, while two chickens strutted about the floor and a third roosted on top of the fence itself.

There was an odour of urine and ammonia, but the pig gave off a wholesome smell, and it was a cosy, comfortable place, Baldwin thought. After all, there were few homes the length and breadth of England which were not more noisome than this.

‘Hamadus, we are here to ask you what you were doing out and about on the night of the storm. We know you were near where the gather-reeve died,’ Baldwin said calmly.

‘Really? Ah, you’ll want some warmed ale, then.’ Hamadus smiled, and indicated his warming pot. ‘It won’t be long.’

‘I do not want to drink something rescued from a wreck,’ Baldwin said sternly.

‘It was paid for, like all my other goods,’ Hamadus said. He maintained his smile. After all, as he knew full well, he had done nothing wrong. He glanced at William, and saw that the priest’s face remained black, but that was no surprise. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘You were once a sailor?’

‘I was once a fisherman, yes. Now I’m sexton. It’s much safer when the wind starts to blow.’

Hamadus watched as Uther slowly crept forward, nose down low to the ground, and stood at Baldwin’s side. It was a sight that made him smile whenever he saw his hound approach others. It was always alarming to people to have that great ‘brute’ approach. Then he saw Baldwin’s hand drop as though unthinkingly, to touch Uther’s head, and saw how, imperceptibly, Uther’s head rose to relax into the scratching fingers, and suddenly Hamadus felt less secure even with Uther in the room with him. He shot another look at William, but the priest was still scowling. Yes, Hamadus felt suddenly very nervous.

Baldwin glanced at the dog beside him. ‘Did you take this brute with you on the night of the storm?’

‘Yes. I always have him with me.’

‘I would imagine that would make assassination difficult,’ Baldwin said lightly. Ignoring Hamadus’ swift intake of breath and angry expostulation, he continued, ‘Do you have a boat? Something small which could sail about the islands?’

‘Yes, but I don’t use it much. It’s on the shore now because it was holed by a falling branch during the storm.’

‘I should like to see that,’ Baldwin said thoughtfully.

There was little about which he was sure, but he was quite certain that Hamadus was not the murderer. There were a number of little pointers which seemed to indicate his innocence. His boat would be one proof, but more to the point was Isok’s comment about a seaman not pushing a boat like Luke’s out into the sea in the hope that it might disappear. In Baldwin’s mind, this had the ring of authenticity. Surely the murderer was a land-based man. Unless Isok himself was trying to distract him …

‘May I see your dagger?’ he said, holding out his hand.

Hamadus reached to his belt, hesitated, and then pulled his dagger free and passed it to Baldwin.

It was a good little knife, with a blade of eight inches. It was possible that it could have killed Robert, but the man’s wound was a shallow one which had not managed to puncture both breast and back. A hard blow of the sort which had killed Robert would have gone through and out the other side with a knife-blade this long.

Baldwin nodded and passed it back to the old man. He was even less able to believe in Hamadus’s criminality after feeling the muzzle of Uther. In his experience, the harsher and more brutal the man, the more unsettled and dangerous the dog. Yet Uther appeared calm and biddable, while Hamadus gave no impression of being mad or evil. If anything, he appeared perfectly sane and intelligent.

‘I thank you. Your hound is a good brute. I used to have a dog by the same name. A mastiff,’ he said, stroking Uther. ‘Why did you give him that name?’

‘These islands. You know that some say Arthur is buried here? Uther was Arthur’s father.’

‘Ah, of course. Now, that night, I do not care what you were doing out there, but did you see anyone else?’

‘I saw Luke.’ Hamadus’s paused.

‘Luke? Where did you see him?’

‘On the beach,’ Hamadus said. ‘He had been over to the castle, I think. He was with Thomas, anyway.’

‘What would Thomas have had to discuss with him?’ Baldwin frowned.

‘That is why we’re here,’ William said. ‘Ham, can you tell Sir Baldwin about Thomas’s business?’

Hamadus looked seriously at Baldwin. ‘I suppose so,’ he said reluctantly.

‘It will go no further,’ Baldwin promised.

‘Thomas smuggles some stuff, just for the money, but that’s not his real game. What he does is, he collects customs from all ships coming into the port here, and then takes a large amount of the money for himself.’

‘Does not his master realise?’

‘Doesn’t seem to. Thomas has been playing this game for many years now. He’s made himself rich. Now he can afford his own ship to bring over more legal cargoes, although I think he still brings some illegal stuff, just because he thinks he’s indestructible.’

‘And you saw Luke on the night Robert died, talking to the gather-reeve?’

‘Yes. Just after I saw Robert and Thomas. The Sergeant was threatening Robert.’

‘Why?’

‘The gather-reeve had learned of Thomas thieving from Ranulph, and wanted him to stop. He said he’d have to tell Ranulph if Thomas didn’t swear to give over.’

‘I assume the good Sergeant was not enamoured of this course?’

‘He told Robert to go to hell. I didn’t listen to any more.’

‘Did you see anyone else?’

‘Only that streak of piss from a poxed tarse, the one they say’ll replace Robert. He’s an evil bugger, that Walerand. I wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire.’

As he spoke, Uther stiffened again, this time, his head turning away from the door to the small, leather-curtained window. A low rumble started deep in his throat.

Without speaking, Hamadus crossed the floor to the doorway and threw it open. Instantly Uther bolted from the room and out into the late afternoon sun. There was a muffled cry, then a scatter of gravel hit the wall like bullets from a sling. For an instant there was absolute silence, as though the men in the house could see the man drawing breath for his scream of terror, yet none could make a sound to allay his fears or withhold the panic that must soon overtake him. They were themselves held by the same expectation, knowing that there was soon to be a finale, and after a pregnant moment there came a wailing squeal — rather, Baldwin felt, like a pig when the knife has opened its throat and it has begun its last desperate race before dying, its meat drained and clean.

Chapter Twenty-Four

William crossed himself. ‘Hamadus, what have you done?’ he demanded, his face a pale disc in the dark room.

‘Nowt, Priest. My dog’s done a bit to help a man’s bowels, though.’

‘Your dog’s bloody killed him, you vicious son of a Sutton Water whore!’ William exploded.

Baldwin was more sanguine. ‘Shall we see what has happened to the fellow?’

He walked out with Hamadus, and it took them little time to find the figure, lying recumbent beneath the form of the great hound.

‘My Christ in Heaven!’ William whispered. ‘The brute’s eaten his throat! The poor devil’s dead.’

There was a whimpering gasp, followed instantly by a rasping snarl, and Baldwin found it difficult to control his delight. ‘I think not. The good Uther has simply caught a felon in the act of attempting an attack on Hamadus’s life, and has held him ready for us to capture.’

‘Of course,’ Hamadus agreed blandly. ‘I wouldn’t teach a dog to harm a man unnecessarily. He’s taught to hold a thief until I arrive.’ He whistled sharply. ‘Uther, here!’

Baldwin stepped forward to stand at the side of the petrified Walerand. ‘What do you want here? Who are you?’

‘He’s Walerand, the new tax-gatherer, if his master’s to be believed,’ William said, repugnance making his voice harsher than a steel rasp.

‘What were you doing here?’ Baldwin asked. ‘Were you spying on this fellow?’

‘No. I wasn’t,’ Walerand declared. ‘I wouldn’t spy on him!’

His voice was very positive on that score, Baldwin noted, and told himself that he would have to consider William’s allegations in a more careful light. ‘Then who were you following? The Brother here? Or me?’

‘No one! I just saw you all here, and, and …’

‘And thought that we might be getting up to no good, eh?’ Hamadus grated. ‘I ought to call my dog back.’

‘No!’ Walerand cried, and made an effort to get up. That hound was a beast fresh from Hell! The thing had appeared from nowhere, and before he knew what was happening, it had slammed into him, just as he was about to listen at the open window. His legs collapsed, his feet slipping on the pebbles as he went, and he was bleating in fear as he wondered what the monster was which had knocked him to the ground; his fearful wonderings were soon to be answered. As he lay on his back, before he could rise to his elbows preparatory to climbing back onto his feet, there was a low rumbling snarl, and then a massive weight hit his breast.

Stunned and now winded, Walerand could only gaze in horror at the jaws that opened just below his chin. He was held in place by the monster’s weight, and when he attempted to move a hand to grasp his dagger, the lips drew back and the fangs moved perceptibly nearer his throat, the rumbling snarl echoing in the hound’s ribcage … and Walerand let his hand fall back.

Now, the mere thought of the dog returning to him was enough to make him try to clamber to his feet. Before he could, Uther, who looked upon him as a threat to his master, growled warningly, and Walerand’s hand whipped to his dagger. Baldwin kicked his hand away, reached down and snatched the weapon before Walerand could try to regain it, and held it.

‘That’s my dagger!’

‘You don’t need a weapon among friends, Friend,’ Baldwin said calmly as he turned the knife in the dimming twilight. As far as he could see, the blade was clean. Although it was only six inches long, the blade had only one edge. Baldwin recalled the body and shook his head. To his knowledge the knife which killed Robert must have had two edges.

Not that it let Walerand off the hook necessarily. He could have a second knife.

Walerand sank back on his elbows as Baldwin leaned down, smiling pleasantly in a manner that scared Walerand somehow more than the hound. ‘And you are among friends, aren’t you? Now, friends don’t spy on each other, so you weren’t spying, were you? No. You were just interested in us. Tell me, who was so interested in us that he sent you to find out what we discussed?’

‘I don’t know what you mean. I just wondered-’

‘I know what you wondered,’ William said. ‘You wanted to know what the Keeper and I were doing here with Ham, weren’t you?’

‘I just came down here to see whether this was where you’d gone.’

His sulky voice irritated Baldwin. ‘I think he needs to meet your hound again, Hamadus.’

‘No! No, I’ll tell you. I was told to come here by Ranulph. He wanted to know where you were going, what you were doing. That’s all.’

‘And why should he send a child like you when all he had to do was ask me?’ Baldwin wondered aloud.

‘You haven’t presented yourself to him, have you? He doesn’t like strangers on his island when they don’t ask permission to be here. Why should he trust a man who comes here like a draw-latch in the night?’

‘You call me a draw-latch?’ Baldwin asked silkily, leaning closer. ‘I am worse than a draw-latch, boy; I am a King’s Officer. I can arrest felons no matter where they are. Do you understand me? I can come here and deal with people like you.’

‘I’ve done nothing.’

‘That I doubt. Where were you on the night of the storm? The night that Robert was killed?’

‘I was in the castle. I’m no fool, I wasn’t going to stay out in that weather.’

‘Someone else was out of the castle, though. Who was it?’

As the hound rumbled deep in his throat, Walerand said hastily, ‘The castle’s Sergeant — he was out. But I don’t know what he was doing.’

‘Luke too is dead. Did Sergeant Thomas hate the priest on the island as well?’

‘I …’

Hamadus hissed and his dog began to growl, his head dropping lower again as though preparing to pounce.

Walerand spoke quickly. ‘Luke had learned about Thomas’s ship and demanded a ride to Cornwall the next time his ship sailed.’

‘What ship?’ Baldwin asked with a frown. It seemed too coincidental, if William was right: Thomas had murdered Robert because the gather-reeve had threatened to talk of his business. Now Walerand alleged that Luke died because he tried a similar blackmail.

‘The Faucon Dieu, the ship in the harbour.’

Baldwin glanced at William, who was now nodding with satisfaction. ‘Sir Baldwin, I wanted you to hear that from Ham here, but Walerand is a more informed expert, isn’t he? That was what I was telling you: Thomas is involved in stealing the customs for himself. He arranges for his own cargoes to be brought here, then pays himself the customs, without a penny going to Ranulph or the earldom.’

‘He does better than that, doesn’t he?’ Hamadus cackled at Walerand. ‘He steals parts of cargoes which Ranulph himself owns.’

‘I know nothing about that.’

‘Oh yes, you do,’ Hamadus said, facing Baldwin. ‘Thomas takes part of the cargoes like yours off the Anne, and puts them in his own little storehouse. Then, when his ship arrives, he puts the bits and pieces onto his own ship and smuggles it to the mainland. It all lines his purse.’

‘So he had to kill Robert to prevent him from reporting this to Ranulph?’ Baldwin asked. He assumed this was William’s belief, but wanted Hamadus to confirm it.

‘That’s what I think, yes.’

‘And what of this sword which was found nearby?’

‘I expect he just thought that was a gift. He used it and threw it away.’

Baldwin nodded, but he was unconvinced. He was suddenly aware of a hunted feeling, as though someone was cautiously making their way towards him in order to accuse him. The loss of his sword was itself suspicious: it was extraordinary, too, that it should turn up near a corpse on a different island. Had someone found him and stolen his sword? They had not used the sword to kill Robert, which was peculiar, but the fact that the sword was there, near his body, was incriminating. Especially since the sword had that emblem on the blade: the mark of the Templars.

There was no point in holding on to Walerand, so Baldwin told him to go.

‘What of my knife? I want it back!’ the youth said truculently.

‘You have no need of a weapon,’ Baldwin said smoothly. ‘And if you do, you can ask your master for a new one.’

‘I want it back!’

Hamadus muttered a low instruction and his dog stalked forward. Immediately Walerand blenched and bolted.

As he scurried off, Baldwin wondered again why Ranulph had bothered to send a spy after him and had not merely sent for him to respond to his questions. It would have been faster, and easier. And it was his man, Thomas, who had been out on the night of the storm. He had been in the same area as Robert.

Baldwin sighed. There were too many problems and not enough solutions.

Now he had another problem. He made it clear to William that he wished to leave, and before long the two men were walking along the roadway which led north from Hamadus’s house to the top of the island.

‘William, I should not have allowed that fellow to go before I had joined Isok. The way he will tell the story is bound to reflect badly upon us — me in particular. If they have any sense, they will see to it that Isok’s boat is prevented from sailing until they are sure that I am not on it.’

‘I think you could be right. Whether it’s because of the ship and the salvage, or simply the discovery of your sword, I don’t know. The fact that your sword was found near the dead man’s body certainly seems to imply that you had a part in his death.’

‘Do you really believe that a murderer could be so stupid as to leave the weapon like that? Just throw it away casually after using it to kill a man? The idea is nonsensical.’

‘Perhaps it is, but the fact that they sent a man to follow you shows that you are under suspicion.’

‘Unless they were seeking to have you followed, William,’ Baldwin noted.

‘Me!’ William laughed, and then his smile froze.

‘Yes. If they thought that I was a potential killer of the local taxman, then they would naturally consider you askance, realising that you were showing me around the island. After all, it is plain that you look with little favour upon them.’

‘It is one thing to look on them with little favour and quite another to suggest that I had any part in the murder of …’

‘I didn’t say that you did. I merely pointed out that they have as much reason to doubt you as to doubt me.’

‘But it’s preposterous! I am a priest.’

‘Aye: a priest who could be looked upon as harbouring a known killer,’ Baldwin said drily.

‘Those maggot-ridden cretins! God rot their cods! Of all the-’

‘The most important thing for us right now is to get away from this island,’ Baldwin said firmly. ‘When Walerand tells Ranulph what happened to him, the latter will be after us. He can accuse us of roughing up his man now.’

‘What of Hamadus?’

‘I am sure that Walerand will treat him with caution. It could be embarrassing for him to admit that he was bested by a hound,’ Baldwin said grimly. The old sexton had impressed him, and he liked to think that his first impressions were generally accurate — as were his judgements on dogs. ‘We cannot get to Isok. Is there another man who can assist us by taking us to St Nicholas?’

‘No,’ William said, and then he cast Baldwin a curious, shifty look. ‘But it may not be entirely necessary to find a boat.’

Simon had felt out of sorts all day since his talks with Sir Charles and then Hamo. It had made him feel unsettled and anxious, as though he had in truth been hoodwinked. So he spent the afternoon idly, sitting under the castle’s walls and watching the sea, then crossing over to the great lump of rock that stood at the westernmost point of the island, and keeping his eyes fixed on the horizon.

There was surprisingly little shipping. Every so often he would see a small boat set off from Porth Ennor, and then he might catch a glimpse of a sail far off on the horizon, but that was all. The only life appeared to be in Porth Ennor, about the Faucon Dieu, where men scrambled like ants on a disturbed nest. Late in the afternoon, he saw them setting new sails to her mast, and then there was a fresh life to the decks as a boat arrived at its side filled with ropes of different types. While Simon watched, men climbed up the ratlines and began replacing all the ropes that made up the complex cobweb of the mast’s supports. If Simon had been involved in that work, he would have made a dog’s breakfast of it, he thought.

A small boat had been moored to the quay, and Simon saw that the owner was furious to be hindered when he attempted to leave. As Simon watched, the man threw his hands in the air, and then a guard or two came over to see what all the fuss was about. While they were there, two men climbed on board and appeared to search it. They were soon finished, and the man climbed into the vessel, at last pushing off and rowing away from the island. Once out at sea, he let his sail fall, and in a few moments it was filled and twisting with the gusts. The man settled back with the steering oar and the boat moved away, rounding the point until it was out of sight.

That sight made Simon feel terribly sad. Whenever he saw something of note, he wanted to turn and mention it to Baldwin; if there was an odd hump of ground like this, he wanted to point it out; they were close companions, perhaps still more so because of their many investigations into murders. In Simon’s heart there was a space that could not be filled, and out here, in this strange island environment, he was even more aware of the curiousness of his own position.

Here he was, a Bailiff of the Stannaries, and now the representative of the Warden of Dartmouth, and yet here in Ennor he had no position, no rights or responsibilities. He was a displaced pilgrim with no pilgrimage, for that was completed. Out of his own element, which he knew was Dartmoor itself, he was lost. There was nothing here for him. He was close to the mainland, yet he felt as though it might as well have been a thousand miles away. So near to his wife and family, and yet he might as well have been a thousand miles away. So near to his wife and family, and yet he might as well have been in Arabia, the journey was so difficult. All Simon wanted to do was return to his home, and hug his woman, but he might as well have wished to walk to the moon.

Margaret, his wife, was like a figure from a dream. He adored her, he missed her, he wanted her. It was so lonely here without her. He felt desolate, as though he had lost everything.

It was a sad and chastened Bailiff Puttock who rose as the sky darkened and the long, slow advance of twilight began to creep over the water. He saw the sun sink down towards the horizon, and realised just how late the hour had become.

Reaching up with both fists, he stretched with a grunt and began to make his way to the castle. He could see it from here, the grim rectangular proof of a man’s power over all others in this island. Although, as Simon looked at it, he became aware that there was a certain shabbiness about it, because when he looked over to the island of St Nicholas, he could see that the Priory stood more cleanly in its space. Somehow the castle looked a mean little affair, even with the cluster of buildings at its foot, the evidence of cattle and horses, the stables, the paddocks and pastures. On the wind there came a quiet bark, then another, as two dogs celebrated the coming night by squaring up to each other. Yet all the while on St Nicholas the Priory stood as though challenging the castle. One building secular, the other entirely ecclesiastical, they looked almost like two opposing towers of faith in this flat, peaceful land.

He returned to the castle, arriving as the gates were to be closed, and bribed a guard to let him inside. Bribed a guard!

It was that sort of minor problem which most displeased him about this place. For a doorkeeper to refuse to allow a guest into a castle unless he was paid — that niggled at Simon’s sense of rightness. He threw the money at the fellow, and ignored the curses that followed after him as he made his way to the keep.

Simon stalked angrily into the hall and out to the buttery, where he drew himself a jug of ale at the bar. Back in the hall, he sat and musingly supped the drink.

The meal must have been over some while ago, for all evidence of eating was past. The trestles were folded, the boards which made up the tables set against the walls, the benches propping them up, waiting for the men-at-arms and servants to claim them for their beds. In a castle like this one, only the Lord and his most favoured servants would have a bed. All others had to make do, including uninvited guests like Simon.

It was a relief to see Hamo arrive in the doorway to the kitchen. He had a furtive look, and Simon hoped it was not so obvious to others as it was to him that Hamo had been engaged upon mischief.

The lad sidled across the floor and nodded to Simon, and Simon felt a certain relief. At least the first part of his plan was in place. Now all he must do was find some suitable weapon. Suddenly Hamo slipped away, and Simon glanced up to see a pale-faced, nervous-looking Walerand. ‘Good. This sword that you are looking after — Robert’s old one. I’ll look at it now.’

‘I haven’t got it.’

Simon stood slowly. ‘Fine. Right — I’m off to see your master. Ranulph will be interested to hear that the man he was about to promote to gather-reeve has stolen a sword and won’t let me see it as part of my investigation.’

‘Christ’s feet! All right, I’ll bloody get it!’

As good as his word, Walerand spun around and went out. Simon thought to himself that none of the men here in the castle had anywhere to keep their belongings. All must have little cupboards or holes in a wall where they could hide valuables. Simon waited a short while, and when Walerand came back with a cheap sword, the blade badly rusted and pitted, he said irritably, ‘Take it! I don’t want the thing.’

A heavy-set guard appeared in the doorway. ‘Bailiff? Our master wants to speak to you.’

‘Can’t he wait?’ Simon said irritably.

There was no need to feign his annoyance. He had no wish to be questioned again. It was pleasant, sitting here in this hall with the residual heat of the fire still warming the place, and he wanted to speak to Hamo, not go running off on Ranulph’s whim.

‘No, he can’t wait,’ the man said with emphasis.

‘Very well,’ Simon grunted with a bad grace. He kicked Robert’s sword under his bench, picked up his jug, and followed the servant up the small staircase and into Ranulph’s solar.

Ranulph sat in his chair; in his left hand he gripped a mazer full of wine, while in his right he gripped one of his pair of knives by the point of the blade, as though ready to hurl it at an intruder. Seeing who it was, he set the knife down on his table and gave a smile of welcome.

‘Bailiff. I am glad to see you again. You weren’t in the castle this afternoon.’

‘I had to take some exercise. I went up to a hill and sat there. The time flew quickly.’

‘You have been sitting on a hill?’ Ranulph repeated, a small frown on his face. ‘I hoped you would have been investigating the murder as Thomas asked you. Aha! But you agree with him that it was one of the pirates from St Nicholas, perhaps? You saw no need to continue to search Ennor for a murderer?’

It was clear that Ranulph could not understand Simon’s need for solitude, and he was about to snap at the man for disbelieving him, when he suddenly realised that Ranulph’s needs were the opposite of his own. If Simon felt over-pressured from work, he would delight in the peace and emptiness of Dartmoor; yet this man would always seek out other men. Ranulph lived in a constant emptiness. The only folk he could ever meet were those who were so far below his own position that he wouldn’t feel comfortable in their presence. If he was unhappy or worried, Ranulph would naturally want to find someone who was of his status. Yet there was no one here, apart from perhaps the Prior.

‘I find it clears my mind and helps me to consider problems like this murder,’ he explained. ‘Tell me, have you much dealing with the Prior?’

Ranulph’s eyebrows rose. ‘We speak on occasion. Usually when I take a boat to visit him. Why?’

‘It occurred to me to wonder whom you’d speak to when the mood took you,’ Simon said. He glanced at the servant who had brought him to this place. ‘You are an intelligent man, after all; it wouldn’t be someone from here, would it?’

Ranulph laughed. ‘I see your point. When I have to talk to a man at my own level, I’ll go to the Prior, I suppose. I have few real friends here.’

‘My own friend is lost,’ Simon said sadly. His eyes were drawn to the peacock-coloured sword at his hip.

‘It is a lovely thing, isn’t it?’ Ranulph said. He could see Simon’s mood, and he suddenly spoke more quietly. ‘Bailiff, you have lost your own weapon, and a friend too. I have heard that he used to wear this sword. Is that true?’

‘Yes.’

‘I saw the marks on the blade.’ Ranulph shrugged. ‘What of them? They mean nothing. But I would like to hear about this man and what happened to him. I know one thing: a man would more likely float than a sword. If the sword is here, perhaps he is too.’

‘He is no murderer,’ Simon said bluntly, but in his heart there was a sudden pounding. If only Baldwin were still alive! Simon had never felt so lonely as he had in the last three days.

‘Maybe you’re right. He hasn’t come here to talk about it, though, has he?’

‘Why am I free?’

Ranulph set his head to one side. ‘What does that mean?’

‘You want to find my friend so that you can throw him into your gaol. You already have my other friends held. Why have you left me free?’

‘Your friends in gaol tried to hold a sword to me, Bailiff! Don’t forget that I have offered you the freedom of my islands and have made you welcome! If you had pulled a sword on me, your welcome would have been far less enthusiastic!’ Ranulph said, and his voice was loud enough to make his two daggers rattle. He poured himself more wine from a pewter jug, then beckoned Simon to approach. Peering into Simon’s jug, he pulled a face, then poured wine from his own jug into Simon’s.

‘Sit down!’ he commanded, kicking a stool towards Simon. ‘If I thought you were a threat to me, I’d have you in gaol in an instant. Either that or in a grave. Would you prefer that?’

‘I’d prefer to be free, and to have my friends free with me.’

‘It must be strange, coming to a place like this. I remember when I first came here, I couldn’t believe my luck. Then, after some weeks, I felt as though I was myself in a gaol. A large, green gaol, but a gaol nonetheless.’

Simon was intrigued despite himself. ‘You have got over that, then?’

‘I adore the islands now,’ Ranulph said. ‘I used to be a keen huntsman, but there are no deer here. Still, I couldn’t leave the place for any time, because there is …’ He waved a hand in the air while he scowled, searching for the words. ‘There’s a feeling about the place. Perhaps it’s the feeling that I’m free of the politics of England. Here I am my own King. I do what I want, how I want. I would defend it against anyone who threatened it.

‘The place is worth protecting — that’s what I think,’ he went on. ‘I would guard it against any man who sought to harm it, whether it was a Breton or a Cornishman. And if some arsehole peasant with visions of riches sees fit to turn pirate while living on one of my islands, I’ll learn him the error of his dreams! We have a sharp justice here, and that’s all a pirate deserves.’

There was a hard edge to his voice, and Simon slowly nodded, then tossed his head back and all but drained his jug. ‘Thank you. I should find a bed to-’

‘Stay there! I love this place, Bailiff. I serve it. You could also serve me tomorrow,’ Ranulph added.

Simon felt his face freeze.

‘We shall go to St Nicholas tomorrow and rid these islands of the pirates which infest the place,’ Ranulph said. ‘Will you come and assist us?’

‘I could not think of attacking an ecclesiastical Manor,’ Simon said with a slight hauteur. ‘Especially one owned by my Lord Abbot of Tavistock.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of asking you to.’

Simon was lost for a moment, but then he had to smile and shrug. ‘Well, if it is to destroy pirates … but there is one stipulation I have to make. I shall not feel comfortable in helping with this if my companion Sir Charles is left to wallow in misery. Why do you not release him and allow him to join us?’

‘I will not because he is a dangerous man.’

‘He is a noble knight.’

‘He tried to threaten me. That is an end to the matter.’

Simon set his empty jug on the table. ‘You could not wish for a better warrior.’

‘Enough! I have said no. That’s all there is to be said!’

‘Tell me why you are holding him!’ Simon said forcefully.

Ranulph’s hand went to his dagger. ‘Don’t push me too far, little man. I’ll crush you.’

‘I am a King’s official, remember,’ Simon said in a low, menacing tone.

‘You are many miles from the King, and the King has other matters to occupy him, you fool! Don’t you realise yet? I could have you killed here, tonight, and no one would notice. No one would be told. None of my men would think twice about removing your body and throwing it into the sea for the crabs to eat. Do you understand? Your friends will stay in my gaol because it pleases me to leave them there. And I may have them killed, if it strikes me as a means of tidying things. I need to find the killer of Robert, and your precious friend suits my bill.’

‘It wasn’t him!’

‘Perhaps not, but I wouldn’t want the islanders to think that someone could kill my gather-reeve and get away with it. I must have a culprit, otherwise the peasants might think that they could rebel with impunity. So your friend will die … unless I find another suitable murderer. Tell me, where were you on the night Robert died?’

‘I was in the sea, as you know.’

‘But I don’t, do I? No, you could have come up on the land a while earlier. So you’d make a convenient victim of island justice, too. Perhaps I should have you arrested as well.’

Simon set his teeth until he thought his jaw would crack, and he held Ranulph’s fixed, stern gaze for some moments. And then, as he was preparing to turn and walk away, as his mind dwelled on the risk of leaving his back exposed to those two daggers, Ranulph spoke again.

‘So you will join me tomorrow, Bailiff. You’ll fight with me to protect this place. And if we find another suitable victim, maybe I’ll let your friend free. Maybe. It’s up to you.’

Chapter Twenty-Five

‘I have never felt so ridiculous in all my life,’ Baldwin said.

It was not the first time he had said this, and he was aware of the fact, but repetition somehow made him feel a little better. This was a ludicrous position for a knight. Swordless, he felt unprotected, but that was nothing compared to removing his boots and hanging them about his neck, removing his hosen, lifting his tunic and tying the skirts about his waist, and then setting off to walk in the sea at twilight. ‘Are you quite sure of this?’

‘This’ was the path through the waters. Baldwin was stepping timidly through the cool water following William along a sliding pathway that was hidden by waters that came up to Baldwin’s knees. With every step he took, Baldwin could feel the sands shifting beneath him, chill fronds of seaweed tickling at his shins, tiny fishes nibbling at his toes, and the occasional terrifying rasp of … of something else. The feel of sand would give underfoot, and instead he would have the unyielding, rough scrape of moorstone, although the first few times he had sensed it, he had thought it felt like the outer shell of an enormous crab, and even now his feet cringed at each step when he felt the sand move.

‘It is the way that the islanders often use when it is dark,’ William said, happily unaware of Baldwin’s anxiety. ‘But I’d be grateful if you kept this path secret. We don’t want the castellan to learn of it.’

That, Baldwin thought, was an interesting point. ‘Surely he must know already?’

‘Not, um, necessarily,’ William admitted as he placed his foot in the water and shivered. ‘Christ alive! I thought it was warmer at this time of year! No, this pathway is an old route which has sunk for some reason. I’ve been told that this used all to be a part of one big island, and this road was the main path from La Val to Bechiek and thence St Nicholas, but that it was all washed over by the sea many years ago, and now the roadway is open only at low tide generally. At the lowest times a man could almost walk dry-shod.’

‘If that is the case,’ Baldwin scoffed, ‘the castle must be aware already.’

William sniffed. ‘No. We told them that the sands were treacherous and prone to sucking men in.’

‘You told them that they were quicksands?’

‘There are only twelve men-at-arms who could want to know, and all of them were too scared to attempt it,’ William said smugly. ‘There are enough men in the castle who know the truth, but why should they help the greedy bastards who live there? It made sense for us to keep it quiet so that we could get from one place to another, even if the castle men couldn’t. If you lived on an island like this, you’d want to keep some secrets too. Ranulph isn’t a kindly man, Sir Baldwin. No one wants him to learn of the road from Penn Trathen.’

Baldwin shook his head. His feet were gradually losing all feeling, but at least he had lost the conviction that someone a scant hundred yards away was trying to draw a bead on his back with a crossbow. ‘That name is familiar. What does it mean?’

‘Penn Trathen? It means “end of the sand bar” in Cornish. “Trathen” itself is a sand bar. That is how the place got its name, because of this old sunken road.’

Baldwin stopped suddenly. ‘My God! This is where he was when he was killed!’

‘Who?’

‘The tax-gatherer, Robert. He was found here, wasn’t he?’

‘Yes, I believe he was,’ William said loftily. ‘But that means nothing.’

‘That is why Tedia mentioned the flats. I suppose ultimately this roadway takes us up to the flats at the south-eastern edge of St Nicholas?’

‘Yes.’

‘Of course! I was stupid not to have realised before. If Robert was murdered here, it was as easy for a man from St Nicholas to kill him as another from Ennor!’

‘I suppose you’re right.’

‘So it was quite possible for Isok to have come along here and killed Robert. There was no alibi for him. He could have come here, murdered Robert, then gone back to the island and stayed with Mariota. Yes! Yes! Isok is a perfect suspect for the murder. And then he went to kill Luke as well, because Luke was the man who was most active in trying to climb inside his wife’s skirts.’

‘It’s possible, yes. But think of the alternatives: the people here on Ennor all detested him as well,’ William said, slipping slightly as softer sand gave way under his feet. ‘Practically everyone wanted Robert dead!’

‘The fact he was a tax-gatherer is not sufficient excuse to see him dead, surely? If that were the case, we should expect murdered tax officials to be found daily. No, there must have been another motive behind his death.’

‘If you say so. For my part, I still believe that Thomas is the obvious culprit.’

Baldwin scarcely heard him. ‘Another man with a good reason to want to kill him … or a woman, of course.’

Mariota could have had the opportunity — and where was David at the time of Robert’s death? He said he was at his boat, but that might have been a lie; he could have been out here on the sands. Was William right, that only the people from St Nicholas and a few from Ennor knew of the route through this sand? That would make sense to Baldwin, if only because Robert had been planning to see Tedia, yet had not taken a boat. He had instead gone to Penn Trathen, the end of the bar. There he had waited, perhaps for his woman to come and take him away. Maybe he was standing there at the end of the bar, excited, convinced that he was about to be given the reward for his gentle wooing of Tedia, only to be confronted by her husband.

No. That bucket would not hold water. If Robert had been there waiting, he would surely have noticed that the figure heading towards him from the sea was not his beloved. He would have seen that it was the figure of a man. He’d have stood, protected himself. If he saw Isok, he’d have known he was in danger. Of course, if the figure was that of a woman who hated Robert enough herself to kill him, he wouldn’t see the need for defence. Or, and this was possible, Robert had no idea that there was any route over the water, and therefore waited with his breath stopped in his lungs, keenly watching over the dunes. If he had, though, surely he would have heard the splashing of a figure through the waves as the murderer appeared and rushed forwards to strike him down?

No! That was surely wrong. The man was there with his boots off and his hosen too. Surely that showed that he knew there was a secret route …

There was another possibility, that Robert’s killer had chosen to attack him not because of his affair, but because he hated some other aspect of the man’s behaviour. His affair with a woman from St Nicholas was perhaps known to only a few, no matter what David had said. Yes, David had told Isok, but then, if David was the murderer, wouldn’t he have done just that, providing a perfect suspect to deflect all attention from himself?

Another thought came to him. If Robert was preparing to make his way over the bar, someone could have crept up on him when he was about to set off. Then the murderer could have been another man from Ennor. His motive? Taking over Robert’s job after his death?

They had covered more than half of the distance now, when Baldwin saw William turn eastwards and move off in a new direction. ‘Where are you going, Father?’ he asked.

‘This bar is not so certain as all that, Sir Knight! It doesn’t go in a straight line like an arrow. It goes this way now, to Bechiek, and when we arrive there, we have to take a new route from there to St Nicholas. It’s not so far.’

Baldwin slouched along behind him, loathing the feel of the water. It was all too much a reminder of his near death after the storm, and he was shocked, when he turned, to see how far from solid land he was already. The hills of Ennor were a large mass far behind him, and he could see the white lengths of the wave-tops rolling gently to the shores. He had to steel himself to continue, rather than running back to Ennor. Panic gripped him, and he walked more slowly and cautiously.

They were heading towards a small rock that jutted up ahead of them. When they got nearer, Baldwin saw that it was a sea-washed lump of some black rock, splashed with a white covering of birds’ excrement. It had an unnatural appearance, to Baldwin’s heightened alarm, like a rock that had been set here as a marker, and suddenly he stopped dead, seeing a head rise from the depths.

‘Jesus, Mary and all the saints!’ he blurted with shock and fear. ‘It’s the woman, the lady!’

William followed his pointing finger and chuckled. ‘That’s no lady, Sir Baldwin — it’s a seal. Good eating on them. Catch the pups when they’re young, and you have a pelt fit for a king, too. They’ll keep the coldest winter from you. Now, come along.’

Baldwin moved off after him, but he couldn’t help glancing back at the head in the water. It was so like the old tales of Arthur’s death, with the ghostly woman’s hand rising from the depths to take Excalibur back until Arthur should need it again, that he felt a shudder pass down his spine. That must be why the island on which Luke was found was called Arthur, he told himself. Because someone had seen this place, and knew the tale of Arthur. There was certainly an otherworldly atmosphere here. It had the feeling of death and old pains.

He was relieved to reach Bechiek as darkness began to fall. Then his relief turned to grim resolution when William smiled, and said, ‘Right! Only a short step to St Nicholas now.’

In the castle, Ranulph sat thinking long and hard, his daggers thudding into the door with monotonous regularity. He finally came to a decision. Shouting for his steward, he told him to bring Walerand to him.

‘You want to be the gather-reeve now Robert’s nailed, don’t you?’ he began.

‘If I can! I’ll be a better rent collector than him any day.’

‘If you’re serious, I have a job for you.’

‘Anything, master.’

Ranulph held up a key. ‘See this? It’s the key to the shed down at the harbour. I want you to go in there when all’s quiet and the castle’s asleep and count the tuns of wine — all of them, mind. Then come back to me tomorrow morning and tell me what’s in there.’

‘Oh.’

‘Don’t look so surprised, lad. Do you know why I want to know?’

‘No.’

‘Good. See to it that you stay ignorant until I explain it all to you.’

‘Yes.’

‘And Walerand? Don’t screw up. If you are found down there and Thomas hears of it, I’ll accuse you of stealing my wine.’

Simon made his way through the hall to the bench he had started to look on as his own, but when he reached it, he saw that another had already taken it and was snoring like a peasant after a particularly good harvest. From a short look at him, Simon was quite sure that he would not be able to reason sweetly with the man, if he could wake him at all. Instead, he reached under the bench and rescued Robert’s sword.

Already up and down the hall there were men snoring fit to raise the dead at St Nicholas’s graveyard, and Simon, glancing about him, wondered where on earth Hamo had gone for his own sleep. The young fellow must be exhausted, being so young, he thought, then told himself not to be so foolish. Hamo was a sailor, as his language proved, and he was more than capable of staying awake through the night or collapsing at noon and snatching half an hour’s sleep.

Not yet ready to copy the man on his bench, Simon went to the cross passage and out into the yard. Here he saw that the moon was quite full, and he stood for a while staring up at it.

It was painfully beautiful. The stars shone with a particular clarity, and the breeze was cool but fresh with an odour of kelp from the pits not far from the shoreline. It may have been a long way away, but the smell was distinct even up here.

‘Bailiff?’ Hamo slipped around the corner of the hall, his eyes large and nervous in the flickering light of a torch over at the stables opposite. ‘I wanted to make sure you were all right.’

Simon had that guilty feeling again. The cabin-boy was plainly sad and anxious. He had no family to speak of; his only reliable relation had been his master on the Anne, but now Gervase was gone too. The lad had no one to rely on, apart from Simon. It made Simon feel bad to think of what he was going to ask him to do.

‘Did you get some …’ he began.

‘Yes,’ Hamo said, holding up a small flask. ‘Here’s the burned wine you asked for.’

‘Excellent. You go to your sleep now. I can make sure that they are saved.’

Before the castle was awake, Simon had gathered up Robert’s sword as well as his own.

The previous day Simon had bought a small cask of wine. After seeing Hamo, he went and left it outside the door to the gatekeeper’s hut, thumping on the door and beating a retreat. There was no doubt in his mind that a man who would demand a bribe to let a guest in through the gate would be more than happy to steal wine left by someone at his door — and so it proved. The kitchen, visited by Hamo, also had a useful supply of herbs and potions, as Simon had hoped. One such was Hamo’s burned wine, a potent alcoholic mixture refined from a strong wine. Simon added this into the cask. When he tried it, it tasted a little rough, but he doubted that the gatekeeper would notice.

He was right. When he returned to the hut a little after midnight, the man was snoring enough to lift the thatch from his roof. Simon entered quietly and took the keys from the man’s belt where he lay on the floor. The fellow didn’t so much as grunt. Simon was about to leave, but then he hesitated, and picked up the cup from the table. On occasion, a little vinous courage was a help.

One key, Simon knew, opened a small door near the castle’s stables, where tools were locked away to prevent peasants from stealing them. In there he soon found what he needed, a bar of steel. He took the bar with him to the castle.

The room where Sir Charles was being held was a small chamber to the north of the castle itself. There was no gaoler here. The two men were kept locked in their room with a shackle about an ankle holding each to a ring in the floor.

‘It’s me,’ Simon whispered at the door. There was no response, but he was not surprised at that. He set to with the bar, attacking the mortar between the stones used to construct the chamber, and began prising the stones apart. Before long he had managed to create a hole where three rocks had come out, and was starting on the next stone when a hand reached out, grabbed his, and gently took the crowbar. There was a muttered, ‘Damn these things,’ and ‘Extraordinary how hard they make life for a fellow,’ and then the loud report of a snapping bolt. Soon Sir Charles began attacking the stones from the inside.

After a few more minutes, there was a quiet laugh, and then Sir Charles’s head appeared through the hole, grinning widely. ‘Your plan has worked excellently!’

‘So far,’ Simon grunted. Now all he had to do was see to Sir Charles’s and Paul’s escape. Creeping through the shadows and keeping close to the walls. He led the way to the gates and opened the small postern. Outside, he could point the way.

‘Go north from here and soon you’ll find yourself staring at the sea,’ he instructed them. ‘The big island north and west of here is St Nicholas. All you have to do is find a boat and steal it to row up there. When you’re on the island I think you’ll be safe enough. No one will dare to try to come and arrest you from the sanctuary of the priory.’

‘This is most extraordinary,’ Sir Charles said gleefully, rubbing his hands together. ‘An opportunity to escape — and yet I’m not sure I wish to flee. I could almost wish that I could remain here, just to speak with Ranulph and remonstrate with him.’

‘You have no sword,’ Simon said, and saw the way Sir Charles’s eyes lit upon his own. He put a hand to it protectively, but then grunted and pulled out the two daggers he had stolen from the armoury the day before, and finally removed Robert’s sword from under his tunic. ‘You can have these — they’re the best I could do. Now go and make yourselves safe on St Nicholas. Once you’re there, you can plan your revenge. Better that than a sudden, ill-conceived notion.’

‘I suppose so,’ Sir Charles said regretfully.

Simon grinned at the knight’s reluctance but then concern took its place. If Ranulph were to attack and win over the vill, Simon was perfectly aware that his own position would be very difficult. He was an Officer of the Abbot of Tavistock, the man to whom all those on St Nicholas Island owed their allegiance. Simon wanted the pirates captured and punished as much as anyone — but that was only possible if the Prior agreed and evidence was produced. Simon would not — he could not — condone Ranulph’s attack. It must be deflected. And thank God, Sir Charles could warn the Prior and the vill to make sure that there was no bloodshed.

‘Don’t forget to inform the good Prior that there is to be an invasion today,’ Simon said. ‘Otherwise I dread to think what could happen.’

‘It shall be my pleasure to warn him,’ Sir Charles said with evident truthfulness, and then, as the sun was beginning to light the eastern sky, he set off with Paul, who said nothing but merely gripped Simon’s hand in gratitude before scurrying after his master.

Simon watched until the two were out of sight, then he went back to the postern and closed it behind him. He didn’t see the slight figure of Walerand which rose from beside the roadway and stood watching his every move.

Cryspyn winced in the bright sunlight as he left his lodgings and went into the courtyard. It was a perfect morning, one of those which made a man happy to be here on this little island in the middle of nowhere. Not that he had any right to enjoyment. He was here in order to atone for the murder of Sara’s lover, not to find pleasure. His duty was to make recompense for the insult he had given to God.

The Prior’s expression was grim as he made his way to the little block near his chapel and entered. The old lock was loud in the stillness, and as he let the door swing shut, the slamming was alarming in the quiet. Sitting up in the corner were William and Baldwin, both eating heartily.

‘Well, now, my friends, how are you this fine morning?’ he asked.

As they gave him their thanks for the use of the room the previous night, the Prior allowed their words to wash over him, smiling when he thought it seemed suitable, but mostly simply nodding.

‘You look as though you yourself have had a less than satisfactory night,’ Baldwin commented.

Cryspyn gave a sad shrug. ‘Certainly it was not pleasing. I have to see to Isok’s humiliation today. The poor man doesn’t deserve it, but Tedia did insist upon this enquiry, and I have been ordered to obey. I cannot merely lie and suggest that the person whom I consulted told me not to permit the matter to go any farther. No, I have to see to the man’s destruction here in his own vill.’

‘Have you had to do this before?’ Baldwin enquired.

‘It is not a common complaint,’ Cryspyn said flatly. ‘No, I haven’t any experience of such affairs. And I would prefer that situation to have remained unaltered. It is terrible! I do not know how I shall be able to help Isok recover from his ordeal.’

‘From what I have seen of him,’ Baldwin said, ‘he appears a resilient sort of fellow. Perhaps it will grow to be a blessing.’

‘I agree,’ said William. ‘After all, if he is unable to put his wife in pup, perhaps the wedding itself was not meant to be. This could be God’s way of releasing them both from an existence which is painful to them both?’

‘It is possible,’ the Prior said doubtfully, ‘but Sir Baldwin, what a manner of saving them! Poor Isok shamed before the vill, and his wife left to wander. In a small community like this, there are many men who will assume that a woman who has divorced her husband must inevitably have a desire for a man of greater sexual prowess, and that invariably means himself, whoever he may be. Men always assume that they are unbearably attractive to a woman, no matter how little they are egged on by her. And if widows suffer from unwanted attentions, how much worse is the position of the woman who seeks a divorce on the grounds that he’s not damn-well giving her a seeing-to when she wants it!’

His voice had risen with his own frustration, and seeing their surprised expressions, he forced himself to take a deep breath and calm himself.

‘My friends, I am sorry, but this … this matter will not leave my mind. The poor woman — I am sympathetic to her, but does she realise what she’s doing to her husband? I doubt it.’

‘What will happen to him?’ Baldwin asked.

‘He must strip in front of two wise and honest women, and we must see whether they can make his pride stand erect,’ the Prior said, pronouncing the euphemism with a degree of hauteur. ‘Later they shall report to me.’

‘So this will at least be a trial conducted in private?’ Baldwin assumed.

‘I wouldn’t allow the vill to witness his failure! No, this is to be held in a private chamber, but then the women will report in front of all so that the poor fellow’s woman can have all the world see that the fact that she is not serviced is not her fault. The marriage’s failure was not of her making, it was all her husband’s.’

For a few moments Baldwin was silenced by this revelation. ‘I had not realised. That seems to me to be unnecessarily cruel.’

Cryspyn nodded and took up a pot of strong red wine. Downing a good quarter pint in one long draught, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shook his head. ‘It is,’ he said at last.

‘Would you like to hear my conclusions about Luke’s death?’ Baldwin asked.

‘Please.’

‘He was murdered, and later he was thrown into a small boat, presumably in the hope that his body would be carried away by the currents and lost somewhere far away from the islands. He was stabbed. I think his death would have been instantaneous, for the wound must have punctured his heart and no man lives long after that.’

‘Who could have done this?’

‘I do not know what to think about that,’ Baldwin admitted. ‘Is there anyone who could have wanted him to be dead?’

Cryspyn felt the knight’s eyes upon him. There was no point in hiding his own feelings. Ever since he had learned of the reason for Luke’s being foisted upon him, because of his womanising in England and then Ireland, Cryspyn had disliked the fellow. It felt as though God was mocking him, he who had loved but once, and who had lost her when he killed the man she loved; but that was no secret and Cryspyn had no intention of being thought of as a hypocrite. ‘I know that he was not perfect, but that was no reason to see him killed. A man may make mistakes. One can only hope that a fool will eventually learn from them. Sadly, all too often there are men like him who do not.’

‘You were not fond of him?’

‘I was not. He was a foolish fellow, and men like that are no good for a small vill like ours. They create dissension and bad feeling.’

‘Can you think of a reason why someone might have chosen to execute him?’

‘I can think of some men who might have been tempted to put an end to his womanising. Jealousy can be a terrible cancer in a man’s breast,’ Cryspyn said sadly. ‘There is one woman — I shall not mention her name — but she delights in tempting any likely men. Her husband was probably angry if he saw her with Luke. Perhaps he chose to exercise his rights as a man, in order to protect his family and his woman? Perhaps there is another man in the same position? Any man would act, surely, and the law support them. Who may tell?’

‘Who indeed?’ Baldwin said. He finished his bread, drained his mazer, and stood. ‘And now that I have taken advantage of your hospitality, Prior, I should leave you. But before I do, may I go to Luke’s chapel and have a look around it? I should like to know whether there are any signs there that a man had been killed.’

‘Very well. I see no difficulty,’ the Prior said. He nodded to William. ‘Brother, would you lead our visitor to the chapel?’

William nodded, his lips a thin line in his saddened features. ‘Of course. I hate to go back there like this, though. My poor little chapel! Do you really think that he could have been killed in there? It would mean the whole place was defiled. Terrible thought, that.’

‘Perhaps the chapel itself was clean,’ Baldwin said. ‘Yet we shall need to find out.’

Chapter Twenty-Six

Simon rose to the sound of men arming themselves. There was the steady rattle and scrape of a grinding-wheel as men ran knives, swords and axes over the spinning stone; a subdued chatter filled the hall, as though all were making an effort to be normal, to hide either their fear or their excitement. Simon reckoned there were more who were looking forward to the day than were fearful that the innocent could be harmed. For his part, he wanted to be off, but only so that he was away from Ennor before the gaoler discovered the escape of Sir Charles.

There were some twelve men-at-arms in the guard at the castle, but Ranulph had managed to accumulate a mob of mercenary sailors, all of whom were enthusiastically relating stories of previous fights, and a group of servants from the castle and the farms about, who handled their weapons less enthusiastically.

To kill a man was wrong, Simon knew, although it was excusable on occasion. Clearly a man might protect his own life by killing an attacker, just as he might to protect his wife from death or rape, or protect his property from a felon who sought to take it. Plainly that was fine. Then there were other admissible homicides, such as the execution of a known felon who was on the run from justice, or a man who had accepted exile and then returned. These were judicially approved executions.

What Simon found difficult was the attitude of these sailors. They seemed to think they were entitled to seek out and sink a Breton ship, yet when the latter treated them in like fashion, they were called pirates and labelled as among the most foul of God’s creation.

It was confusing. To an extent Simon had always felt that he had a better understanding of his fellow men than most, which was one reason why he thought he made a reasonable Bailiff, but listening to these men, he was struck by how different they were from the simple miners of Dartmoor. It applied to all seafarers, he told himself. The miners on the whole were reasonable men, while seafarers were quite mad. Any adult male who decided that a good life involved being thrown from side to side in a wooden bucket, or hurled from a mast in a gale, or dying as a pirate or a pirate’s prey, was mad or a fool. Simon didn’t care which, he was only aware that the whole idea of being responsible for a port like Dartmouth was growing steadily less desirable.

‘They nearly took us, the sons of Saracen whores,’ one sailor was saying, ‘so this time we’ll go and rip them all open from tarse to chin. That’ll teach them to try to take the Faucon Dieu.’

‘It’s the same with us. They chased us for hours in the Anne,’ Simon heard a man from his own ship respond. ‘I’m looking forward to cutting the throat of that bastard with the beard.’

‘The same man attacked us,’ the first replied. ‘Short-arsed git! He had a wound, right about here.’

Suddenly Simon remembered that fight, the wind howling, but the men making more noise as they streamed up the side of the Anne and tried to take her. The mad scramble, the stab, block, stab on the treacherous deck, and that evil-looking Breton man … he could have been a Cornishman, Simon supposed; he had the right features and build. Yet Simon was sure that the voices which had cried at them had a different accent to the men here on Ennor. Why should he have had so definite an impression that the pirates were Bretons, if there was nothing to substantiate it? It was very strange — but these men understood the sea, they knew the accents of the people here, and of the ships which had attacked them, so surely they could be trusted. Nobody would be so foolish or so wicked as to attack an innocent vill, would they? And yet had anyone bothered to think of the language of the pirates? He doubted it.

He strapped on his belt, and his eyes narrowed as he studied the workmanship of the blue steel. If he was to fight, he would prefer a good, well-made blade, and he knew that Baldwin’s sword was only recently manufactured. It would be a much better weapon than any he could find in the castle’s armoury.

It was as he was thinking this that Thomas appeared in the doorway and surveyed the men in the room. Another man appeared behind him. When Simon nudged his neighbour and asked who it was, he learned that this was the master of the Faucon Dieu.

Fitting a smile to his face, Simon approached them. ‘Thomas, I am pleased to see that I shall be going with you today.’

‘Yes, it’ll be good to see the pirates finished,’ Thomas said. ‘Still, Bailiff, you were unable to learn anything about the murderer of my man. A great shame.’

There was an emphasis on that ‘my’ that made Simon pause. There was definitely some sort of warning here, maybe a hint that he should stay out of the way while other men went about their business. It made Simon want to hit him, very hard, but he restrained himself, although some devil tempted him to say, ‘I wanted to ask again about my companions from the boat. They should be released. In an attack like this, they would be a considerable help to your cause.’

‘I doubt it. Felons aren’t much help usually,’ Thomas said without thinking. His mind was on other things. Then his thoughts snapped back to the present. ‘I am sorry? You were saying?’

‘Felons?’ Simon repeated.

‘Sorry?’

‘You said “felons” when I mentioned Sir Charles. What did you mean by calling him that?’

‘I was thinking of the men whom we are to capture today,’ Thomas said suavely. ‘Now, your friends are comfortable here. Taking them out to fight for my Lord when they drew weapons against him, that would be irrational and inhospitable. Leaving them here to rest after their exertions is generous. They should be very grateful.’ His voice was grown sharp.

Simon watched him swagger away. ‘No court you run will ever be fair or just, you vain, primping peacock!’ he muttered under his breath. It was better that Sir Charles and Paul had been taken off Ennor. The sanctuary of the church of St Nicholas was their target, and hopefully they were there already.

Looking about him, Simon prayed that this unruly host wouldn’t find them on their way to the island. He wondered how the two of them had fared.

It took Baldwin and William a little while to find a boat, but once they had spoken to a surly old man with a face burned all but black from a life out on the sea, they were soon off.

‘This is the island of St Elidius,’ William said.

He was sitting forward of Baldwin in the little boat, while the ancient man rowed without comment, as though he had seen too many people come here for him to worry himself. For his part, William was sitting keenly eyeing the little place as they drew nearer.

‘This place is good for the abbey. It generates quite a good revenue from pilgrims and shipping. Any vessels which come here for water and provisions can have what they want, but they pay a heavy toll,’ William said, indicating the broad sweep of water.

Baldwin looked about him with interest. The water was growing more rough, as though restless, and looked a great deal deeper. ‘Just here?’

‘Yes. It’s called many things, sometimes just the Priory Pool, because the Priory makes so much from it. If Ranulph could, he would take this. It is a profitable port, worth as much as all the customs on Ennor. I always called it the Pool of St Elidius, though. This is all his land. Or so I believe.’

He had a fanatic’s expression on his face, a mingling of fervour and spiritual excitement. Baldwin thought he looked like a stuffed frog. ‘Who was St Elidius?’

‘He was the son of a Cornish King, a Bishop and confessor. He came here many years ago to build his church, and he remains here, buried under his own altar. His feast day is only recently past.’

Baldwin was struck by the look of the island. It was not so vast as Ennor or St Nicholas, but it was a good-sized place, with a soft-looking southern shoreline with lots of sand. It stretched far to left and right before them, and Baldwin was struck by the sense of peace here.

‘He was a good man,’ the taciturn rower told them. ‘He helped the people here while he lived, and he still does now he’s dead.’

‘There are several pilgrims each year,’ William agreed. ‘They come from Cornwall, of course; St Elidius is not known elsewhere.’

‘I had not heard of him,’ Baldwin admitted. ‘So there are many people travelling to this island all the year round?’

‘Not so many now,’ William said.

‘No one much since Luke came here,’ the rower spat. ‘He’s not like you, Father.’

‘Come now,’ William said, unhappy to hear a member of a congregation criticising his own priest. ‘He was as good as he could be, but sometimes a man will follow the wrong path and things fail. I am sure Luke tried to be a good man, but a place like this, with so few islanders, well … It was more like a hermitage for him than a church with its own flock, wasn’t it? I don’t think you should blame him for his weaknesses, however many they may have been.’

‘You forgive if you want,’ the boatman said. ‘Me, I’ll not forget how he used to look at my daughter.’

Baldwin smiled to hear that. It was the way of such men that their grudges were harboured long and kept fresh by constant reminders to themselves of the iniquities of others.

‘Tell me,’ he said to the rower, ‘are there many people living on the island?’

‘No, sir. Most moved away during the famine, and few have returned. Most are on St Nicholas and Ennor, and a few on Bechiek. St Elidius suffered from the rains, and now it’s all but deserted, except by the priest at the church.’

When William and Baldwin had hopped from the boat into warm, shallow water, William led Baldwin enthusiastically up the shore until they were into a thick scrubby area of gorse. Here they turned up the slight incline to a little-used path.

‘My heaven!’ Baldwin exclaimed as he topped a low hill.

Before him was the enclosure. A group of three small huts connected by a low wall for protection, and a small round cell on the left. Beyond, inside the wall, was the church.

‘It’s a good size,’ William said proudly. ‘Some twenty-six by fourteen feet. Enough for most of the people from St Nicholas, when they wanted to come to visit. Sometimes they did.’

‘Who would come here to talk to you?’

William gave him a look from under grim brows. ‘Often it would be Tedia — while I was here and at St Mary’s too, but not for the reason that Luke invited her. When I was here, she came to ask me for help, and I would pray with her, at her side, to try to give her the courage and support she needed so badly. And then a man like Luke arrives, and all that’s out the window. Damn his black soul, the pustulent streak of piss!’

He took Baldwin to the western edge of the wall, where there was a little gate. It flapped open in the wind, and Baldwin stepped around it carefully, looking for signs of a man having walked past here on his way to kill, or returning from killing, Luke. ‘There’s nothing to see here,’ he said. ‘The ground is too stony. If there were some marks, they have been blown or washed away.’

‘So he died before the storm?’

‘Prior Cryspyn told us that it rained last night,’ Baldwin noted, touching the leaves of a plant near the gate. His fingers came away damp. ‘Yes, it clearly did. Which means that any bloodstains or marks could have been washed away by now. No matter, we shall have to do the best we can, that is all.’

‘Yes,’ William said, mournfully walking to the church. ‘I shall just see whether my chapel has been defiled.’

Baldwin smiled. The man was a single-minded fanatic when it came to this island, plainly. When William had disappeared, Baldwin himself walked about the enclosure, studying every part of the ground with interest, but finding nothing.

Luke had been no gardener, that much was plain. The little beds in which plants had grown were infested with weeds; the grassed lawns were long and rank, unkempt as a peasant’s hair during the harvest when he was living in the fields for days at a time. At the far edge of the church’s land there was a garden which should have provided all the sustenance a priest should need, but that too was a mess. It was almost as though the man had decided that he was not going to be here on the island for too long. There was no need of cultivation.

Baldwin walked around the outside of the church once more, and then opened the great door and entered.

The walls were covered in rich paintings, all scenes from the life of Christ. Baldwin recognised the largest, which showed Him being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. It caught his attention immediately: a thin, painfully hungry Jesus, a black-faced demon at his shoulder, showing all forms of earthly delights, and the Son of God recoiling in revulsion.

‘It took me an age, that one,’ Baldwin heard.

William was behind him. He stepped forward, a glow of pride on his face, and pointed out the details. ‘You’d never believe how hard it was to make the face so realistic, especially the devil’s! That was dreadful. I had to make fourteen shades of black for it. Every time I tried to use charcoal in oil or anything, the colours didn’t work.’

‘Did you paint all these?’ Baldwin asked, but there was no need. The similarity of each face told of the skill and pleasure of the artist, and proved that one man had painted them all.

‘Who else could have done them? When I arrived here, there was nothing. And then, when I started painting, I couldn’t stop. The only pleasure for me, moving to St Mary’s, is that at least I managed to finish this first.’

‘The one of Jesus Christ being tempted is most striking.’

William grinned suddenly. ‘And what could be more realistic here than a man tempted by all manner of pleasures, when he lives on a rock in the middle of the ocean like this, eh? All the people who visit here go to that one first; even pilgrims come and stare before going to the altar. Yes, it’s done its job well enough.’

At the eastern end, there were two altars of moorstone. One was in the main part of the church, but beside it, the north wall had two rounded arches leading to an aisle. Both had platforms for their altars, and Baldwin and William knelt awhile in prayer, and then Baldwin insisted on visiting the cell where Luke had lived.

It was a small chamber in the outer wall, and when Baldwin pushed at the door, it squeaked open easily enough, but then crunched on something. When he peered into the gloom, he saw shards of pottery broken on the floor. There was a rancid stench, as though a man had tipped over a whole barrel of wine on the clay floor. From the feel of it, the fire hadn’t been lighted in a long while, and it was a cheerless little room.

A palliasse lay on the floor near a wall, while some rubbish and bits and pieces of food littered the place, scattered by a scavenging creature of some sort. When Baldwin crouched, the shards were pieces of a broken jug, and he considered them thoughtfully before carrying them outside and studying them in the light.

‘He was prone to heavy bouts of drinking?’ he asked William.

‘It’s no secret that he lost his vocation and sought comfort in whatever he could find inside a jug,’ William agreed.

‘The room stank of it.’

William shrugged. ‘It is a common failing with those who take up the cloth and live in remote places. He’d have had no visitors except occasional pilgrims and sometimes a member of the congregation, like Brosia or Tedia. The women liked to come, to flaunt themselves at him.’

‘There is no sign or smell of blood, anyway,’ Baldwin said. ‘Your church and outbuilding is not polluted with the man’s murder.’

‘That is a relief,’ William said, his eyes on the seas about them. His eyes held a great longing.

‘You didn’t mind the solitude?’

‘Not at all. There are views to compensate.’

‘Show me.’

Needing no second bidding, William led Baldwin up from the church along a narrow path, and up to perhaps the highest spot of the island. ‘Look about you!’

Baldwin gazed about him, and at last he could understand William’s attitude.

St Elidius was a small island, nothing like as large as Ennor or St Nicholas, but it had as much variety as both together. Northwards was a small separate island with a rounded, rock-girt outline called, William said, An-Voth, which meant ‘hump’ in the local language — a very suitable name. The channel from there to St Elidius was covered with water, but Baldwin was sure that he could see the ground beneath, and suspected that it would be accessible when the tide was lower. To the west of it stood the northernmost tip of the island, a promontory which William told him was called imaginatively Men-ar-Voth, which meant ‘rock facing the hump’. Beyond this series of rocks the island spread out farther westwards, Baldwin could see, and there were some inlets, but all looked as rocky and dangerous as the north Cornish coast. It was only as he turned and studied the southern view that he saw that the bays grew more sandy and attractive.

‘I love it here,’ William said. He made a brief sign of the cross. ‘It’s so restful and quiet. I always felt that St Elidius was watching over me. He’s buried here under his own altar, as you know.’

‘It is most soothing.’

‘Not during a storm it’s not,’ William chuckled. ‘I can understand Luke wanting to leave here in the middle of a storm. That sort of weather isn’t easy on a man of weak spirit, and Luke was not a strong-willed man. All he ever wanted was a woman. The fool should have remained a peasant and raised hundreds of smaller Lukes with a woman who was happy to lie on her back for him when he demanded it.’

‘He was unfortunate, then?’

‘Look at this beauty! Not just the island, with the joy of welcoming pilgrims every year, but the delight of living amongst these seafarers. The people here do not welcome strangers open-heartedly, but if you work with them, you learn to appreciate their dedication to work, their strength. But Luke couldn’t do that: he just looked on them as peasants — a class of person he detested, I think because he had once been like them and was revolted to remember it.’

‘Whereas you …?’

William suddenly guffawed. ‘Me? I’m an unrepentant old sinner who’s proud to say that I was a peasant, am a peasant, and will die a peasant! My family came from Cornwall, and if I hadn’t shown a skill at singing and learning my letters, I’d have gone to sea like my father and brothers. I suppose that’s why I like it here. It reminds me of my family.’ He was silent a moment, staring out over the gentle seas. ‘It is a good place, this. Harsh but kindly.’

Baldwin nodded. Glancing to the north again, he was about to speak when he saw a ship’s prow.

The vessel had lain concealed in a bay low beneath them, resting in a natural harbour north of their island. Now that Baldwin saw the ship, he could see that there was a rock or pair of rocks that stood between An-Voth and St Elidius, lumps of black stone that stretched east-west for maybe five hundred feet. Now that the ship had appeared, Baldwin could see the rock as a slightly different colour, maybe a paler grey against the darkness of An-Voth. Before, he had thought that they were a part of An-Voth’s coastline, but now it was obvious that there was a natural cleft between the two.

‘What is that doing there?’ William cried in surprise. ‘I didn’t know there was a harbour up there!’

‘I think,’ Baldwin said, staring hard, ‘that there could be a clue here to the murder of Luke.’

‘What do you mean?’

She was emerging from her hiding-place now, a long, low, ship with her mast slowly rising as men scrambled about and hauled on ropes. Gradually the massive timber lifted upwards to the vertical, and Baldwin could all but feel the strain in their arms as the crew roared commands at each other.

At any other time he would have stood and watched, but not this time. The sleek raider was preparing for sea, and Baldwin knew what that meant. He could see the black-bearded face of the Breton master as the current caught her and swung her head around. The master was at the back, his arm in a makeshift sling, bellowing at the helmsman.

‘Come quickly, William!’

‘Why? What is it?’

Baldwin saw before his eyes the helmsman of the Anne collapsing, gouts of his blood splashing on the deck, the screaming sailor falling from the grapnel he had tried to cut away, the cowering figure of Hamo — and when he spoke he scarcely recognised his own voice, it was so thick with hatred.

‘That ship: it is the pirates who attacked us.’

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sir Charles stood at the edge of the island and stared out in dismay. ‘Paul, he did say the north-western island, didn’t he?’

Paul nodded. They had arrived here with only one mishap when they had nearly rowed into a rock, but apart from that all was well. They had walked to the north of the castle, swinging around to the east of the marshes, and then northwards again until they reached the coast. By then the sun was already fairly high. When they had found a small beach, they searched but could find no boats. They had been forced to walk eastwards until they discovered this small rowing boat, and then they had set off for the nearest large island.

Their journey had been difficult. When they tried to row about the northern tip of the island, they found their way blocked by a substantial patch of sand just beneath the water. Nothing loath, they set off along the side of this bar, unknowingly following Baldwin’s steps to Bechiek.

Neither man was experienced at rowing. It was surprising to Sir Charles to find out how tiring it could be, merely pulling on a pair of oars, using brute force to haul the things along, and then trying not to make the sea fly on the return stroke. Quite extraordinary. Still worse was missing the sea when he leaned backwards. He did it three times, each time scraping the surface of the water and tumbling backwards into the front bit of the boat. Damn thing. The third time, Paul had sniggered so loudly that Sir Charles forced him to take a turn on the things.

‘God’s feet!’

‘No — your feet! Keep them on the floor and the oars in the water,’ Sir Charles said unsympathetically.

It had taken them an age to cover so short a distance. At least they were now here, safe and well. They landed the boat, and set off to find the priory. There was no need to ask anyone, Sir Charles knew, because even a small priory was an obvious building. Surely they would soon come across the place. They walked around the eastern edge of the island, and then carried on up the northern shores, but there was no sign of it.

‘Damn it, do you think Simon was having fun with us?’ Sir Charles demanded. ‘We shall climb to a higher point and see if we can seen it from there.’

They did so, and found themselves on a long ridge. The island had a spine of higher land which ran almost east-west, and from this the land dropped away shallowly to the south, towards Ennor.

‘There is no sign of a priory,’ Paul noted glumly.

‘No! I shall look forward to having words with that Bailiff when next we meet.’

‘There looks to be a number of people over there, though,’ Paul noted, pointing.

‘I wonder what they are doing?’

Paul shrugged. While Sir Charles stood staring at the group of men and women gathering near the beach, he sat on a nearby rock and picked up a stone or two, throwing them at another larger pebble a short distance away. Picking up another few stones, he threw them harder. One bounced back, almost hitting his face, but he ducked aside quickly, and bent to pick it up from where it fell behind him. It was as he took hold of it that he saw the ship.

‘Christ’s ballocks!’

Isok went into the house with Mariota comfortingly holding his hand.

He knew what he was supposed to do, and he set his jaw as he entered. Inside was Brosia, sitting at a table with an amused look on her face. Mariota unrolled a palliasse and beckoned to him, and when he went to her, she gently removed his belt, then untied the laces which held up his hosen and slipped them down his legs. She stood and pulled his tunic from him, so that he was left with only his shirt on.

There was nothing he could do but submit. Lying down, he closed his eyes, and tried to think of nothing. It didn’t help. If his wife couldn’t make his tarse work, he was sure these two women couldn’t. No matter how hard they tried.

Simon stood out of the way as the rest of the men piled aboard the ship. He was anxious, lest there should be the discovery of his plot the previous night, some form of accusation that he had been guilty of releasing Sir Charles, but no one seemed remotely interested in him. Hamo wandered onto the ship innocently enough, and soon concealed himself behind Simon, and then, while more men were gathering ready to join the ship, Simon reached behind him and patted Hamo’s shoulder.

So long as Sir Charles had reached the place, all was well. He should go straight to the priory and warn the Prior, and then all these men would achieve nothing. They would land, but find the island protected. Soon, after a negotiation, the men of Ennor would inevitably decide to leave, and when they did, Simon and Hamo would refuse, claiming sanctuary with the Prior and remaining on the island, safe.

As the deck began to move, the sail dropping and rippling in the wind with a dry clattering, he felt a nervous anticipation growing in him. With luck, he would soon be able to leave this fearsome group of men and return to normal life with the Abbot of Tavistock’s own brethren. That was his most fervent wish. Now all he had to hope was that the Prior was prepared to receive them all, including Hamo. The boy must find sanctuary there.

The sea was flat calm, and the ship set off to the west of the island, rounding the little hump of land that looked so much like a separate island connected to Ennor itself by accident. Then they were tacking slowly, almost against the wind, heading for the eastern edge of St Nicholas Isle and the harbour.

‘It’ll be all right,’ Simon muttered to Hamo, for he could feel the boy shaking from fear. ‘Don’t worry. Just wait until we’ve all jumped from the ship, then follow us a short way until you can hide. Then go to the Priory. It can’t be hard to find.’

Strange, he mused, how the lad could appear so strong and self-reliant on occasions, so childlike on others. It must just be because he was so young, surely not yet eleven summers old. No wonder he was petrified at being in among so many violent men. The last ship he’d been on hadn’t given cause for confidence, after all.

Hamo’s terror made Simon want to turn and hug the lad, just as he would have comforted his own son, but today he daren’t. The master or Ranulph could realise that Hamo was there, and Simon had no desire to see that. Instead he stood stolidly, hoping that the lad was shielded by his body.

Thomas had already briefed them. There was to be a meeting of the vill’s men up on the north-eastern shore. Thomas and his band of men would run into the harbour, and then hurry to the meeting, attacking as soon as they could.

‘So, Bailiff! Are you looking forward to the chance of destroying the men who almost killed you and drove you into the storm that brought you here?’

It was Ranulph. He stood nearby, a broad smile on his face, both hands set in his belt, rolling with the sea like a sailor.

‘Yes. If I find the pirates, I should enjoy attacking them.’

‘You speak so carefully, Bailiff. Yet I believe you are a fighter. You are like so many of my men here. You enjoy fighting. Even my last gather-reeve liked a scrap. That was why he was here. Thomas carefully sought him out, of course. A man with a reputation as a killer is less likely to be killed.’

‘His reputation was striking.’

‘He murdered a man in cold blood. Thomas told people of his crime to protect him — and he told how Robert enjoyed killing. That was the main thing, you see. He actually enjoyed inflicting pain on people. It was why he was so safe as a collector.’

‘It didn’t work very well then, did it? He was murdered.’

‘He lasted a while. His mistake, as it is for so many, was to trust a woman. The bitch probably sold him to her friends.’

‘Why? Would he have been carrying money on him?’

‘No! But scum like them think that killing one rent collector will stop any others going after them. They don’t understand men like you and me, Bailiff. They think that there is no law other than what they want to obey. They don’t agree to pay the King’s due, they don’t accept the laws of ownership, and they certainly don’t hesitate to commit murder. These folks are pirates, nothing more. And the women are as bad as the men! They will kill half-drowned sailors just to steal a ring. Don’t show them any mercy.’

‘I still don’t understand why they should have attacked the gather-reeve on that particular night. They could have killed him at any time.’

‘They didn’t dare attack in broad daylight. Whoever killed him was a coward — but I shall find the man.’

‘But you aren’t imposing a new tax on your peasants, are you, and you didn’t hear of Robert extorting extra money from islanders, did you? Can you think of any reason why he should be killed now?’

‘No. It was a spur of the moment thing, I expect. Someone saw him and decided to take revenge for the taxes he collected last year.’

‘I see,’ Simon said thoughtfully. ‘But your taxes have risen?’

‘Of course. The famine years hurt us, and recently we’ve had only a few wrecks to help support the islands.’

‘I recall Thomas saying that the peasants were growing restive.’

‘Yes. Thomas started spreading tales about the violence of our men-at-arms just to remind them how they might be treated, were they to become more fractious.’

‘Stories such as that of Robert himself?’ Simon asked.

‘Yes,’ Ranulph said absently. He was growing bored with the questions. ‘Did you find a good weapon yesterday? You spent some while in my armoury.’

Simon felt the deck lurch, but it was the movement of the ship, not his heart. ‘I saw many weapons, but nothing appealed,’ he said eventually.

‘Interesting. I thought you must have picked a dagger to match the sword, but then I realised that there was already a dagger on that sword belt,’ Ranulph said. He nodded to himself, and then wandered along the sloping deck to talk to the helmsman.

Simon let out his breath in a gust of relief. Yet he could not lose the feeling of being hunted. He glanced down behind him at the pale face of Hamo and gave him a reassuring smile, but when Simon faced the front again, he saw those terrible dark eyes of the Lord of the manor upon him.

Cryspyn sat at his table, his grim expression reflecting his mood.

Isok had gone in like a lamb to the slaughter, he had heard, and now he must wait until the poor man came out. It wouldn’t take very long, surely. The examination per aspectum corporis was a formality, really. They all knew that Isok didn’t want to be divorced.

There was a noisy gang of men gathered near the hut, most of them drunk, all enjoying the occasion. There was something unbearably revolting about an Englishman in at the destruction of another man. They would turn out in hundreds to see a man hanged, and today they would wait an age in order to see poor Isok shamed before them all. Cryspyn felt sick. The thought of Isok being led away from that place like a felon, when his only crime was that God had decided that he had married the wrong woman, was horrible.

Cryspyn took a deep breath and beckoned his servant for a sip of wine from his mazer. He had need of it today. The last few days had been appalling. First there was the gather-reeve’s death, then Luke’s, and now Isok was being slowly destroyed and there was nothing Cryspyn could do to help him.

There were few things he was sure of now, but he felt certain that his time here on the islands must soon be over. He must petition the Abbot and the Bishop to be released from his duties. He should find a quiet hermitage or priory where he could go as an ordinary Brother, somewhere he could leave all this death and blood far behind.

‘Prior!’

The cry came from near his hall’s main door, and he rose stiffly to his feet. Emptying his mazer, he passed it to his servant before walking slowly to the door. When he was no more than halfway there, it was thrown open, and William pelted in, his face red and sweating. ‘Pirates! We must have a ship to catch them!’

Baldwin had told William to go straight to the priory, while he himself ran along the path which led to Tedia’s home. When he saw it was empty, Baldwin carried on up the roadway, until near the middle of the vill he saw a large crowd standing about. Clearly this was where the trial was being held.

Even as he drew closer, the door opened, and Isok stalked out, followed by two women. Baldwin recognised Brosia and Mariota.

‘Well? Come on, women, how was he?’ shouted a voice.

‘Did you get his tower to rise?’

‘Or has it been undermined?’

The laughter which greeted each weak sally was uproarious, and Baldwin suddenly found his path obstructed by men and women moving forward to speak to Isok or the women. Brosia refused to talk, but marched giggling to her husband, whom she clutched with a firm embrace and kissed more passionately than Baldwin thought entirely natural. He shoved men from his path and tried to reach David, but the press was growing. ‘Let me through!’ he roared. ‘Let me through, you festering, fly-blown cakes of bull’s shit! Let me pass!’

It was so unsettling, having no sword. At least he had the flimsy dagger which he had taken from Walerand yesterday. That was something.

‘Baldwin!’

Suddenly he was aware of Tedia. She stood nearby, her eyes gleaming, a smile on her face. ‘Poor Isok,’ she said.

‘Damn him!’ Baldwin cried. ‘There are pirates here. They’ve been sheltering in a harbour north of St Elidius, and now they’re making good their escape.’

‘What do you want us to do about them, love?’ she asked.

‘All who have ships must chase them! They are the ones who attacked the Anne. While they live, no vessels are safe about here.’

‘That’s the one!’

Baldwin suddenly found his arm being gripped, and he snatched it away. It was taken again, less gently, and he turned to glower at a thick-set villager with gnarled skin and a bush of gingerish beard. ‘What?’

‘It’s you took his wife, isn’t it? You took Tedia. Now he’s like this, and it’s all because of you.’

Baldwin was stunned. He shot a look at Tedia. Her face had fallen, and she shook her head. ‘He only got here three days ago!’ she protested. ‘Isok’s not made himself my husband since we married …’

‘But this is the man you wanted, wasn’t he?’ the man said.

Already a small crowd was gathering about them; Baldwin looked around to see David, but the faces all about them were too thick for him to see past them. ‘Let me go, I have to speak to David.’

‘Yes, of course you do!’ the man sneered.

Another one said, ‘He’s an adulterer, let’s take him out to the felon’s rock.’

The suggestion seemed to meet with general approval. There were several offers of a boat to carry him, then more said that they’d prefer to hang him. One was all for castrating him first, a proposition which appeared to meet with general approval.

All at once Baldwin found his arms grabbed. He managed to free his left arm, and reached for the dagger, but he could only touch the hilt before his hand was pulled away and the knife removed from its sheath. He was lifted, his feet off the ground, as men took hold of his limbs, and he was taken inexorably down the path towards the beaches.

Over the heads Baldwin could see David, and he bellowed for help as loudly as he could, but then he saw that the reeve was watching with a small smile on his face, as though this development was the greatest delight. In that moment Baldwin knew what it was to hate.

‘Release that man at once!’

The voice was so ferocious, the bellow seemed to reach beyond mere ears to the souls of the men carrying Sir Baldwin. They released him so swiftly, he was all but hurled to the ground.

He clambered to his feet, aware of Tedia behind him. She was one complication without which he could have lived happily, but he was glad to feel her hand in his as the white-faced figure of Cryspyn appeared, shaking with rage. Baldwin thrust Tedia to safety behind him when he saw the man with the ginger beard glowering, but Cryspyn’s roar stilled them all.

‘How dare you manhandle this knight! How dare you lay hands upon him! He is here as our guest, and you threaten to kill him? Any man who touches so much as a hair from his head shall know the full depths of my ire!’

‘Yes, stand back, you churls,’ David yelled. He was close now, and he marched swiftly to the Prior’s side. ‘You shouldn’t treat an honoured guest like a felon.’

‘Baldwin!’ he heard whispered, and felt the hilt of a dagger being pressed into his hand. Tedia trusted David as little as he did.

He took it, and squeezed her hand again, then shoved it into his belt as he stepped forward to Cryspyn.

The Prior was not waiting for him. ‘David, you must ready your boats instantly! There is a ship over there. William and this knight saw it as it set sail. It had been harbouring there, up at An-Voth, behind the rocks, and now it’s heading away.’

‘What of it?’ David said. ‘Let them go.’

Baldwin grated, ‘They were the pirates who attacked my ship.’

‘Then you go after them,’ David said loftily.

Baldwin was tempted to pull out his dagger, but even as he considered punching this arrogant reeve to the ground, he heard more shouting: war cries!

‘Blancminster! Blancminster!’

Simon felt the ship thud into the harbour piles and then the men began to leap over the side and race up to the vill.

They had circled around the northern edge of St Nicholas, out of sight of the Priory and the vill, and now the sailors and men-at-arms were in a state of excited tension as they poured from the vessel. Simon waited until most had already gone, then reached back, grabbed Hamo by the shoulder, and jumped over the side.

For some strange reason, Simon felt the tension leave him as he pelted off with the others. There was no shouting or singing, only the slap of bare feet or boots on the dusty track, the rattle and clatter of the weapons, and the hiss of men breathing through clenched teeth.

They ran on, Ranulph and Thomas towards the front, while Simon remained nearer the rear. Hamo was running lightly like a nervous sheepdog, constantly on the lookout for a fox or wolf, his feet scarcely seeming to touch the ground. In comparison Simon felt heavy and flat-footed. Seeing a bush, Simon all but hurled the lad at it. Hamo landed heavily, but as Simon watched, he squirmed and disappeared.

They passed by a great sweep of sandy beach, then on down, faster all the way, the blood up and rushing in their ears as they went, until at last they saw the cluster of men and women ahead of them.

Still on they rushed, silently, men pulling their lips back and baring their teeth. Simon could feel the concentration here: some wanted money, some wanted women, but most wanted revenge against the pirates who had plagued them. All the sailors had experienced their predations, and the men-at-arms were content to be able to join in a legal fight. They had no interest in the deeper issues at hand.

Walerand was one of the few who appeared less eager to be in at the start, Simon noticed. He was dropping back a little, glancing about him as he did so, as though he was looking for someone. And then he caught Simon’s eye and stopped falling back. Simon allowed him to draw nearer. They were at the rear of the whole host now. Suddenly Simon dropped to his knees, head hanging as though winded. As he looked up, he could see the shadow of Walerand standing over him.

‘So what were you doing last night, Bailiff? Letting your friends go free?’ Walerand hissed. ‘I think that’s worth a shilling or two.’

‘What?’ Simon gasped.

‘You give me your purse and I won’t tell Thomas that you released Sir Charles last night.’

Simon had time to wonder. The damned fool could have ruined everything and seen to Simon’s destruction, but like the adder he was, he wanted profit before he divulged anything. It made Simon shake his head as he collected a handful of sand. ‘Very well,’ he wheezed, and hurled the sand upwards.

There was no need for a sword. He reached out and yanked Walerand’s ankle away. The man fell clumsily, and Simon chopped him quickly across the windpipe, then while he choked, Simon bunched his fist and hit him as hard as he could behind the ear. Walerand started to snore, mouth gaping wide.

It was one thing to have to watch the man in front in a fight, but quite another to have to worry about your comrades on either side or behind you, Simon reflected as he tore off after the others.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Sir Charles delicately poked a foot at the water. He had his tunic lifted above his knees, and he stepped cautiously forward. Suddenly he yelped with alarm as he slipped into a hole. ‘What?’ he demanded, reddening.

‘Nothing, Sir Charles,’ Paul said, straight-faced.

‘You are fortunate that I have known you for so many years, my fellow,’ Sir Charles said before turning back to face the water. ‘This is extraordinary. We arrive here, thinking that we are on the correct island, only to discover that it is separated from the one we need, and all the people we expected are there, not here, and then my incomparable companion manages to forget to tie up the boat we need to reach the damn place.’

‘It wasn’t my fault. I thought you’d have done that,’ Paul objected.

‘Did I say that I would do so? I do not recall any such words passing my lips. No, I think it is usually the servant who is expected to tie up the boat.’

‘There was nowhere to tie it to.’

‘Then you should have pulled the damned thing up the beach.’

‘I did.’

‘Not high enough, Paul.’

‘It’s the way the sea goes up and down. I thought it was up. Then it came up higher, didn’t it?’

‘Quite extraordinary,’ Sir Charles said.

At least he was feeling cheerful. The only problem was that the men from Ennor were going to attack the vill under the priory, and Sir Charles had not managed to get to the Prior in time to warn him. That was a matter for regret, but also for urgency. If they were quick, they might be able to get there before the main fight, and then Sir Charles desired to meet with Ranulph alone, to teach him that capturing Sir Charles and keeping him in irons was only to be attempted by someone who was going to execute Sir Charles quickly. Because otherwise he would return to haunt you, and make life very painful, if only for a short while.

‘Come on, Paul,’ he rasped. ‘We have to get there.’

‘God’s eyes! Look at that!’

Sir Charles looked up, saw the men racing over the sand to meet with the villagers and swore. He took an unwary step forward, felt his feet sliding away from him, and with a startled squeak, his eyes wide open, he heard the water slap up over his ears and the sudden burst of roaring as it reached inside them. Then the cold rushed in through his mouth and nose, and he knew what panic was.

Ranulph roared in rage and delight, hefting the sword which had been his for a decade, a long weapon with razor-sharp edges. A man was before him, and he ran straight at him, the point of the sword thrusting through his ribcage as though it was simply lard. There was no friction, nothing. The sword was as good as it had ever been. He slashed at another man, but missed, and then there was a serious-faced dark man with a narrow beard in front of him.

The fool had no sword, only a short dagger. Ranulph laughed and swung his sword up, ready to bring it down on the idiot’s skull, but the man had slipped forward, unfearing of the naked steel dripping blood, caught hold of Ranulph’s sword-wrist, and wrenched it backwards. Only when his face was near to Ranulph’s did he recognise the man as the same fellow who had been with William the day before, walking up towards Hamadus’ home.

‘Who are you?’ Ranulph gasped.

‘I am Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, and you are a knave to attack an innocent vill.’

‘Let me free, sir, and we’ll see who’s a damned knave!’ Ranulph spat, and punched at Baldwin’s face with his free hand.

Baldwin felt the first blow slam painfully into his cheek. He lowered his head to make Ranulph’s aim more difficult, gripping Ranulph’s wrist with both hands, but Ranulph’s strength was astonishing, or perhaps it was Baldwin’s weakness after the journey here. Whichever led to it, Baldwin found that he couldn’t force the wrist down any further. Instead he had to cling on tightly as the thick, callused fist battered at him. And then, when it stopped, Baldwin knew that there was a reason. He glanced quickly, just in time to see the small dagger aimed at his heart, and kicked out with all his strength.

The two men were unbalanced, and Baldwin’s sudden movement forced Ranulph to go over backwards. He had to drop the dagger to try to break his fall, and then he received Baldwin’s full weight in his stomach. Before he could even think about recovering his breath, he felt the prick of a dagger under his chin.

‘Tell your men to stop. Right now. Order them!’

‘They won’t hear me!’ Ranulph snarled.

Baldwin pushed the little blade upwards. ‘Well, you had better try sodding hard, then, had you not?’ and watched the trickle of blood run down the slick metal. He set his jaw.

Ranulph gave a grunt — a nod would have been dangerous — and Baldwin slowly withdrew the blade. Instantly, Ranulph grabbed his second dagger and shoved Baldwin away, readying his arm to stab. Baldwin felt himself overbalance, and then he was on his back, Ranulph’s hand at his throat, the dagger reversed in his fist. Ranulph lifted his hand to thrust it into Baldwin’s chest, and roared, ‘No one tells me to stop, you churl!’

In the moment before the blade sank into his breast, Baldwin felt that sense of having witnessed this scene before. He knew this had already happened, and suddenly he was there on the ship again, reeling and falling as the Anne shifted, leaving him stunned while the pirate-master prepared to swing his axe. But Ranulph and he were on dry land. There was no plunging deck to save him now. He saw the determination in Ranulph’s eyes and saw his own death mirrored. There was nothing he could do.

Oh God, I love my wife, was his last thought, and then as he was about to close his eyes, there was a flash of blue, and he winced even as Ranulph’s eyes suddenly popped wide in alarm. There was that hoarse bellow which he had missed so much over the last few days.

‘You misbegotten bastard offspring of a wolf and a drunken priest’s whore! Drop your fucking weapon before I take your head off!’

‘Simon,’ Baldwin said, looking up with a wash of exhaustion trickling through his bones as the dagger fell from Ranulph’s hand. ‘There are times when it is a positive delight to see you. However, that is never more the case than when you turn up in the middle of a fight like this. Even if,’ he added with mock sternness, ‘you have the infernal nerve to pinch my own sword in order to save me.’

His expression was curious, slightly weak as though he was exhausted, but Simon could hardly see, because his own eyes were suddenly fogged, and his voice was not to be trusted. It was all he could do to sniff, wipe a hand over his brow, and nod. Then, as Ranulph made a move to reach for a dagger, Simon stood on it and then pulled his sword’s blade higher, one hand on the hilt, the other on the blade, pulling Ranulph’s head up against his own belly and forcing the blade into his throat. ‘Don’t think of it; don’t tempt me!’

He looked about at the mess. There were many men struggling on the ground, but fortunately the battle had been quite equally matched. Although Ranulph’s men had intended to grab a number of men by surprise, the place appeared to have been almost ready. There were plenty of men already armed, and few, fortunately, were lying still on the ground. ‘Enough! Stop this fighting,’ he roared at the top of his voice. ‘Ranulph de Blancminster has surrendered.’

More quietly, he said, ‘Get up, and order your men to stop. Otherwise, in God’s name, I swear I’ll cut your throat like a rabid dog’s.’

Blancminster staggered to his feet, both hands on the blade. He felt that he could have tried a number of ruses: perhaps a kick to Simon’s shin, or an elbow to the gut … but there was something in the man’s voice that didn’t invite gambling. Ranulph bit back a curse and commanded his men to yield, all the while swearing to himself that he would have revenge upon this upstart Bailiff. ‘You were my guest, yet you behave like this!’

‘I was your prisoner, ordered to obey your whim while you threatened my companions with death to suit your caprice. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have killed my friend here, too.’

Baldwin stood, swallowing and feeling his neck. The men about them were beginning to draw apart, watching each other warily. Sailors and men-at-arms gripping their swords and axes on one side, while the villagers from St Nicholas fingered their own long daggers and knives on the other. Seeing William and Cryspyn standing wringing their hands, Baldwin waved to them, inviting them to join him and Simon. He had the feeling that it would take only a small spark to set off the men here again, and he had no desire to see the pleasant area erupt in an open battle once more. Perhaps having a Prior and a priest in the midst of the warring factions would prevent the sides coming together in violence again. After all, the real enemies were out there, on the sea. The pirates were probably escaping even as the castle’s men glowered at the fishermen of St Nicholas.

When he saw David lurking at the back of the group of St Nicholas men, he beckoned him with a bent finger. It was not in him to forget David’s inaction when the crowd sought Baldwin’s death, but he could wait a while before he sought to discuss his feelings, preferably using a sword to emphasise each of his verbal points with another less gentle one.

Simon had released Ranulph, but retrieved the Lord’s own sword, which he now gripped. When Baldwin glanced at him, Simon held out his own sword to him, hilt first, and Baldwin took it back with a smile. Just to hold it felt wonderful. He raised it to the sky, and it caught the sun, gleaming with an oily sheen.

‘Listen to me!’ he called, loudly enough for all the assembled men to hear. ‘This day, a ship of pirates was seen leaving the northern parts of these islands. They set off eastwards, and I doubt whether they can be caught now. They were Breton pirates. They had attacked the Anne and the Faucon Dieu. They killed our men and tried to steal our goods. Yet you here prefer to accuse each other of crimes, and try to attack each other. Ranulph de Blancminster, you are a felon for attacking Church lands and Church villeins. You have broken the law, and you will pay for your crimes. You and your men must go back to Ennor. I have no doubt that the good Bishop Walter in Exeter will make his own feelings plain.’

‘God rot his bowels!’ Ranulph declared. ‘He can make all the feelings he likes plain to me, but I-’

Simon still had Ranulph’s sword. He used it now to prod the man. ‘I should hold my tongue if I were you, Bishop Walter is the King’s friend. He is the Lord High Treasurer.’ It gave him a deal of pleasure to see how Ranulph’s eyes narrowed, first in suspicion, then in horror as Simon added, ‘And he is a personal friend of Sir Baldwin’s.’

Baldwin was talking to the Prior. ‘We should attempt to follow that ship. Is there a vessel which is swift enough to overtake her?’

David shrugged when the Prior glanced at him. ‘Many, I expect, but all too small to take a crew large enough to hope to threaten them. What sort of ship was she?’

‘A keel,’ Simon said, remembering something that Gervase had told him. ‘She had one large square sail and banks of oars.’

David looked up at the sky and wrinkled his nose. ‘No, I doubt we could catch her, then. Those things are very quick — it’s why they use them for raiding. We could try in one or two ships, but we could only carry five or six men per boat, and they’d keep us off too easily.’

‘Is there no other way to catch them?’ Baldwin demanded. Every moment that they waited here, he could feel the distance growing between the pirates and the islands. ‘There must be some means of pursuing them and bringing them to justice.’

David shrugged. ‘The only ship we have is the Faucon Dieu. She’s large enough to carry men to take the pirates’ ship, but she’s still full of wine and other merchandise.’

‘How long to empty her?’

‘Forget it. It’d take a day to empty her and prepare her for the chase. By the time we could set off, the bastards would be home. Face it: we can’t catch her.’

‘We can try,’ Baldwin said, and then he turned angrily on Ranulph. ‘You cretin! You were greedy enough to come here and try to take this island, weren’t you, but that was because you saw a means of extending your lands. You wanted the customs from St Nicholas’s Water, I suppose.’

‘I wanted to punish the pirates,’ Ranulph said. ‘These peasants are responsible for murder and piracy and the Prior wouldn’t do anything about it.’

‘You had no proof,’ Baldwin snapped. ‘Because they weren’t responsible! Those pirates out there are the men who tried to capture the Anne, not the people from this island.’

‘I wasn’t to know.’

‘Could you prepare the Faucon Dieu to sail,’ Simon asked David, ‘without emptying her? Then we could empty her while sailing. It would save time.’

‘No!’ Thomas cried with an agonised voice. ‘You can’t throw away all my-’

‘Yes,’ David said.

‘Send a man to order it,’ Baldwin said. ‘Select the best men from here and have them join us at the ship. We shall sail as soon as we can.’

‘We’ll need more water and some victuals,’ David said, frowning. He called a man over. ‘It will take a little while.’

‘How long?’ Baldwin demanded.

David gazed up at the sky. ‘If we can use the priory’s stores, we can set off before the sun is at her highest.’

‘Do so, then,’ Baldwin said. ‘And hurry.’

William sighed. He had been silent for a long while, staring pensively at Ranulph and listening to Baldwin, but now he shook his head sadly and peered at the Prior. ‘There is one thing, perhaps, Prior, which is a relief: the people who killed Luke are uncovered.’

‘What?’ Simon demanded.

‘It must have been those pirates. They were nestling there in among the islands, and they decided to kill the one man who might have seen them. Perhaps he was out seeking gulls’ eggs and spotted them, or maybe they came ashore to raid, and slew him then. Whichever was the true case, I suppose we shall never know.’

Cryspyn’s face lightened. ‘You think that this is possible? That is a marvellous relief.’

‘It would explain much.’ David nodded.

Baldwin shot him a look. ‘Such as what?’

‘I found it hard to believe that a local man would have killed him. We aren’t murderers,’ David said, nodding towards Ranulph in a gesture of comparison.

Ranulph reddened. ‘You call me murderer? My sword-’

‘Is in my hands,’ Simon reminded him harshly. ‘Shut up.’

‘What of the gather-reeve?’ Baldwin asked. ‘And the theft of my sword?’

‘Theft?’ This time Ranulph’s eyes looked like they would pop from his skull. Simon told himself that to be accused of homicide was one thing: Ranulph clearly had very definite views on suggestions that he was no better than a drawer-latch, though.

Baldwin looked at him without comment for a moment, then, ‘I was washed up on to the beach. If my sword had fallen from my body, it would have sunk. Also, it would have bruised me, were it torn from me. I am not bruised, nor is the belt damaged. See! It is being worn by my friend Simon, and there is no damage done to it. Someone must have found me and removed the sword. They carried it back to Ennor, and when they arrived there, they set it near the body of the dead man.’

‘That is mad. How can you reach that conclusion?’ Thomas had joined them, and now he stood a short way from them. ‘I could understand someone taking your sword and using it to kill, just so that his own dagger would be clean of blood, and then discarding the thing, but carrying it to another island? And that supposes that he knew to find you there in the first place.’

‘There were some people who were out that night. We know that Luke was, and we know that you were,’ Simon said. ‘You had gone out to speak to Luke, hadn’t you? Or was it to talk to Robert, to persuade him not to blackmail you?’

‘He wouldn’t have dared to blackmail me! The fool was too feeble to try it!’

‘Yet we all thought he was a murderer!’ Simon said. ‘You told everyone that he was!’

‘A murderer in my pay, though,’ said Thomas dismissively. ‘He wouldn’t threaten me. He knew I could order any of the other men at the castle to kill him.’

Ranulph cleared his throat. ‘In whose pay?’

‘He was your servant, my Lord. As I am,’ Thomas said silkily.

Ranulph nodded. ‘I see. What were you doing there, then, loyal servant? You were out until late that night. The gatekeeper told me you paid him to open the gate quietly after dark. Where had you been?’

‘I was talking to Luke. He wanted to pay me to take him away from the island.’

‘And how would you do that?’ Ranulph asked.

Simon thought that if Baldwin’s sword showed any signs of rust, that voice could be used to protect it. It was as smooth as the best oil, dripping with insincerity.

‘I was to try to win him a passage on a ship.’

‘Why should you do that for him?’ Ranulph asked.

‘He thought that I might,’ Thomas responded calmly. ‘Because he was a priest and I was known to be a religious man, he thought he might be able to persuade me for free, just as a favour to a priest. When I refused, in horror,’ he nodded to Cryspyn, ‘to think that I should be asked to carry away a man of God from his vocation, he offered me money.’

‘I didn’t realise he had any,’ Baldwin said. ‘There was none in his cell.’

‘His belongings were terribly stirred, though, were they not?’ William said. ‘Maybe the pirates broke up his belongings to find his cash, and took it with them.’

‘Or perhaps someone else paid him, and went back to steal the money away again, and killed the fellow at the same time,’ Baldwin said.

‘What are you suggesting?’ Thomas asked, but his voice was harder now.

‘I suggest that since you had a ship, and were dealing illegally, taking the customs to yourself and not reporting them, perhaps you paid Luke to hold his tongue. And then you went to his home to find the money, but managed to kill him as well,’ Baldwin said.

‘Or,’ Simon considered, ‘there was no money. He attempted to blackmail you, and you simply murdered him for his efforts.’

‘This is fascinating,’ Thomas said sarcastically, ‘but surely it was more likely that the pirates killed him.’

‘What of Robert, though? Did he learn of your venture and ask for money as well?’

‘My friend, I have no such ventures,’ Thomas said, but he was looking paler, grey about the mouth, Baldwin thought. It could have been righteous indignation at wrongful accusations, or it might have been fear at the correct accusation.

He nodded. ‘So you deny these allegations?’

‘Of course.’

‘I believe the accusations,’ Ranulph snorted. He hawked and spat. ‘Walerand? Come here.’

Simon cast a nervous look over his shoulder. The new gather-reeve stalked forward, still wiping his eyes, and giving Simon a look of concentrated hatred. If he was lucky and cautious, Walerand reckoned that he could slip a knife between the Bailiff’s shoulder-blades if only he could get a moment alone with him. Simon deserved it, the bastard.

Then he realised how Ranulph was talking. Ranulph obviously trusted him. That much was clear from the way that he had given him so many missions. Perhaps he could be the next Sergeant? ‘Sergeant Walerand’, he decided, had a distinct ring to it. ‘Sir?’

‘What did I tell you to do yesterday?’

‘You asked me to check the wines stored down by the harbour.’ Walerand had not noticed how Simon was gripping Ranulph’s sword. ‘And I saw the Bailiff there releasing Sir Charles and his man when I came back.’

‘And didn’t see fit to tell me?’ Ranulph took a deep breath. ‘We’ll talk about this later, Walerand. Meantime, you counted the wines?’

‘Yes, and there were three missing,’ Walerand said. There was a sinking feeling in his belly. Ranulph had looked happy until he reported the Bailiff’s actions last night, and suddenly Walerand felt considerably less comfortable. Perhaps he shouldn’t have mentioned that.

Ranulph said, ‘Three were missing. Yet there were three more on the Faucon Dieu this morning. I know because I had the ship checked. Someone had ordered them to be moved. I may not be able to read, but I can count. I have heard rumours that customs of many ships have not been registered. Including the Faucon Dieu.’

‘I was going to add it in,’ Thomas protested.

‘Really? But now I hear that you have a part in the ship yourself. Is this true?’

‘I …’

‘Perhaps we should merely ask the master of the ship who owns his cargoes. That would be easiest, would it not?’

‘It was mine,’ Thomas said quietly. Then he looked up. ‘But I did not kill Luke or Robert, I swear. Prior, I claim sanctuary, and I swear on the cross that I have not murdered either of those two.’

Chapter Twenty-Nine

At the very back of the group of men from St Nicholas, Isok stood watching disinterestedly. The worst had happened. He had heard the sniggers from the islanders, seen two boys point and laugh out loud; a girl had eyed him with open amusement. This, then, was the future: He was a figure of utter contempt. A man who was no man.

When the men began to talk, Simon and Baldwin discussing the affairs with the Prior, Isok was aware only of overwhelming depression. His woman was lost to him, and he must face the rest of his life alone. Miserably, while Thomas and David joined the group, he began to walk away. He had no idea where he would go, only that the propinquity of his neighbours was repellent to him, and he wanted solitude.

His boat was out at the beach near his house. He could go to it, fill a skin with water, and sail out to the west. Perhaps he could find a good source of fish, a place that would bring him some fame, make him renowned as a great fisherman. It was possible. That was always one way of getting credit with people. Not that it would work. They would always look on him as the ‘man without balls’, the ‘man whose ballocks were broken’, the ‘man whose tarse was blocked’ — or worse. There would be no end to the humiliation to which he would be subjected.

The boat was not far from where he stood now, and without bothering to fetch a skin, he made for it, his bare feet sinking into the warm sands. The sky darkened momentarily as a cloud passed over the sun, and it mirrored his feelings. The sea took on a grimmer aspect when the sun was hidden, he thought, and he felt a chill in his lower bowels. It was the mark of fear; when he was a child, he had been bullied by bigger boys, because even then he had known that he was different in some ways, and they seemed to sense it.

That was why he had learned to fight: so that he could protect himself. Not that it stopped them from hurting him, but it did mean that some of them realised that they should beware a lad who was prepared to fight with a ferocity that took no account of the risk to himself, only the urgent wish to hurt his tormentors. Then, that coldness between his buttocks and ballocks had heralded a bitter fight, one which he knew he must inevitably lose, but one during which he would make at least some of them regret attacking him. Now he had the same premonition.

It was only as he pushed his boat out to sea and threw a leg over the side that he wondered whether it was a sign from God. God had given him this affliction. Perhaps the kindest thing God could do was take him away from the islands completely, have him sail westwards until the seas and the weather conspired to destroy him. That would be a form of honourable ending. If he sailed away and died, Tedia would be free of him and could seek another man, and his own pain would be gone.

Feeling the boat come alive beneath him as the waves slowly lapped at the sides, he began to row away from the beach. Soon he could drop his sail and start his last journey.

This morning, there had been a crust of dried slime beneath his eyelids, and they felt gummed shut when Jean woke. At last, after rubbing at them hard, he managed to open them and gaze about him.

The strakes had been badly damaged. Two had broken, cracked vertically, and had to be repaired, a new plank laid over, and tar and caulking smoothing the joins and seams. Once that was done, the ship’s carpenter had made some oaken pegs and a baulk of timber, and made the damaged part even stronger with an internal vertical reinforcement. The work had taken them into the night, with most of the crew on alert, listening and watching as the carpenter and Jean stood under a pair of blazing candles, fixing the hull as best they could.

Now, in the open sea once more, the ship was taking on the feel that Jean knew so well. Her bow lifted and fell with that firm power that he had grown to love; the whistle and thrum of the wind in the rigging almost made him forget the agony that was his arm. He daren’t look at it. He knew how bad it was. Strange to think that at first he had thought the damned thing was going to be all right because it hurt. Now he couldn’t remember a time before the pain. It had spread like a liquid fire up the arm, and it had invaded his shoulder, even so far as his ear, which hurt like damnation — and he had a headache. The ship was no longer his own. He was a ghost, for all the good he was doing. His seamanship was no use to his crew; his thinking was too slow, too disorganised. He needed time to consider things.

But one thing he was aware of. The ship might have seen them rounding the island yesterday, but there was a possibility that she was still in the harbour. If he was lucky, he might get to it before anyone expected, win the ship, and take her and her cargo as a massive prize! That would be a feat for which people would remember him. And if he died, no matter. He would have died doing what he loved. Fighting and taking English property.

It wasn’t there. He could have thrown up his arms in impotent fury, seeing the empty harbour, but then he had the idea that it might have possibly gone on to another harbour in the islands. On that whim, he and his men set off to encircle the islands, and it was while they were rounding the western edge of Ennor, that the lookout at the masthead saw the buildings and called down to them.

‘Jean, there is a great house.’

‘What sort of house?’

The man was silent for a while. Jehanin was a cautious man, but he had the best eyes of any of them. ‘I would think it’s an abbey or a priory. Only small, but quite solid.’

Jean felt the blood pass through him in a rush. This was the prize: the sea was still on his side, and had taken away one prize only to reward his patience with another.

They would sack a priory.

Isok had intended that he would ride away in his boat as soon as he could get underway, but then he changed his mind. The little boat was facing north when he first unfurled the sail, but after a moment’s hesitation, he felt it would be good to see his home island just one last time. There was a part of his mind which told him that he would also, perhaps, have an opportunity to say farewell to his wife.

Isok set off and soon was skimming through the waves towards the sand bar, where he turned west and south, through the gap between the Trathen and the island, and along the coast with St Sampson ahead.

That was where he saw the long, low raider turning up into the broad waters from the other side of Ennor.

Isok felt his mouth drop open. This was a strange vessel for these parts. His first thought was that it was a swift ship for the Prior, but then he realised that it wasn’t heading for the priory’s harbour, up at the north-west of St Nicholas. This ship was racing into the beach which joined St Sampson and St Nicholas. Sure enough, soon the great ship was in the shallows, and as her keel grated on sand, the men dropped from her sides, swords, axes, daggers and clubs in their hands. One man, a great bearded fellow with blue-black hair in the sun, and a certain stiffness in his posture, had to be helped down a ladder, his arm in a sling, and then they started off up the roadway towards the priory.

Isok watched them as they went but his hands were already pulling on the ropes and pushing at the tiller. Before many minutes were passed, he was returning at speed the way he had come.

Baldwin was unimpressed by the new gather-reeve. ‘Walerand, I should like to ask you a couple of things, if your master does not object?’

Seeing Ranulph nod his assent, Baldwin continued, ‘On the night of Robert’s death, where were you?’

‘At the castle. There were many there who can swear to it.’

‘All the afternoon?’

‘Almost.’

‘You found Robert. Why was he there, do you think?’

‘Waiting for his slut. She was going to meet him, I suppose.’

‘Without his boots?’ Simon said. He remembered the inquest’s conclusion that Robert had removed his own boots before he was killed.

‘To get into the boat?’ Walerand guessed, and shrugged. ‘What else would he do?’

‘Perhaps walk? There are ways, hidden beneath the sea.’

William started and gave Baldwin an accusing stare.

Baldwin ignored him. William wanted to keep the pathway a secret, and so far as Baldwin was concerned, it was. He had not hinted at the actual direction, and it would take a man without a guide a long time to learn the location of it. Not that Baldwin cared — he wanted to learn the truth about the murder of Robert, and that overrode all other considerations. ‘Well?’

Walerand’s expression of horror and revulsion were too genuine for Baldwin to doubt him. ‘What? Walking through the sea? No one would do that! You’d have to be mad. And at night? Ugh! You’re off your head, you are!’

‘I did it myself last evening.’

Walerand shivered at the thought. The strands of icy weeds clutching at bare feet like the fingers of corpses, the nibbles from creatures he couldn’t imagine, and then, perhaps, the suck of a giant monster — the inevitable pull to a watery death. The mere concept was stomach-churning.

‘It’s only the damn sea, man!’ Ranulph grated. ‘What is the matter with you?’

It was at this point that Simon, who happened to be facing the sea, saw Isok’s boat. It was heading towards the men on the beach, and Simon thought he was coming a little too close. The vessel was under what looked like full sail.

‘Oh my God. Is he …?’

Isok’s boat slammed into the sands. The sail shook like a tablecloth being beaten as the mast almost snapped, and the boat rocked about her keel, gradually tottering over on her side.

Before she had settled, Isok was bounding up the beach. David turned to see him running, and his hand went to his dagger, thinking that the poor fellow was deranged after the decision of the Prior; he thought Isok might be trying to kill Cryspyn, and he half-drew his knife.

‘Prior! I have seen them! Pirates, and they’ve gone to the priory to sack the place!’

‘Oh, my Christ in Heaven,’ Simon moaned. ‘I sent Hamo up there for his safety! What if he’s-’

‘How many were there, Isok?’ rasped Baldwin.

‘About twenty-five, I think.’

‘Their leader — was he a thick-set, black-bearded man?’

‘Yes, there was one like that. He looked as though he was in pain. Had an arm in a sling.’

‘I am thankful at least for that,’ Baldwin said, remembering how his sword had slipped into the man. ‘Ranulph, David, we must arrange our men — quickly, before the pirates can escape.’

‘Come on!’ Simon said. He was already drawing away.

‘Do whatever you can to protect my priory,’ Cryspyn said. He was pulling at his bottom lip as the pain in his belly grew once more. It was typical of these damned islands! All in one day he had had to listen to a divorce case, seen his neighbour attempt an invasion, and now his seat was attacked by sea-raiders. Could he never find a moment’s peace in this land?

‘We will! Wait, Simon,’ Baldwin said. ‘We need to ensure the best disposition of our men. Ranulph, please take your men back to your ship and get them on board. Isok, where exactly is the pirates’ ship?’

‘On the sands between St Sampson and the priory.’

Baldwin looked enquiringly at Ranulph, who slapped his thigh where his empty scabbard dangled. ‘Yes, we can get there in a little time.’

‘How long?’ Baldwin asked.

Ranulph glanced at the sun. ‘In as much time as it would take for a gallon of water to boil.’

‘Then go, with all your men.’

He nodded, then glanced at Simon. ‘My sword, Bailiff?’

Simon was reluctant. He had won this in a fair fight. ‘Are there swords on the ship?’

‘Of course.’

‘Then you must take one of those. I shall need a weapon, and there is nowhere for me to borrow one.’

Ranulph nodded towards Thomas. ‘Do you trust him?’

‘No.’

‘Then take his sword. I know my weapon: it suits my hand and shoulder. You take another man’s, since you have none of your own.’

There was a fair comment in his words. A man grew accustomed to his own blade. Simon brought his lips together firmly, then nodded and passed the hilts to Ranulph. ‘Thomas, give me your sword and belt.’

With a very poor grace, the Sergeant pulled apart the laces and ungraciously dropped them on the sands before stalking away.

‘I fear you have upset him, Simon,’ Baldwin said drily before speaking to David: ‘How many men can you command?’

‘Perhaps fourteen men,’ he answered, gazing over at the ranks of men who were unharmed from the morning’s battle.

‘Collect them, then. We shall have to aid the priory before it is overrun.’

If Jean could have heard Baldwin, he would have laughed aloud. The place was already in his hands, and all he had to do was load the valuables onto his ship.

It had been ridiculously easy. He and his men hurried up to the gates and found them gaping wide in the most welcoming manner. A gatekeeper was there, some sort of layabout lay brother, from the look of his tonsure and garb, but a sword in the belly stopped his attempts to delay them. Jean thrust without thinking, although while the man shrieked on the ground gripping the entrails falling in coils from his belly, Jean was so put out by the noise, on top of the pain in his arm, that he swung his sword again, cleaving through the man’s head almost to the jaw. That shut him up, but it took a while for Jean to wrench his sword free from the man’s skull. In the end he planted a bare foot on the fellow’s breast and yanked as hard as he could. That made his bad arm jerk in its sling, and he thought he would pass out from the agony.

Then he and his men were running across the courtyard towards the priory church. That, they knew, was where the decent items would be stored — the crosses, the pewter, the goblets of gold or silver. Jean also sent three men to the Prior’s chamber. He’d probably have several things in there which would be ideal, too. With any luck, they would find a good stash. This was only a tiny island, but even the smallest could win good incomes from pilgrims and visitors. With luck, this would be one of them.

As soon as the doors were opened, there was a great shrieking as monks and novices pelted from their cells and places of work to stop this violation, but most held back when they saw the weapons arrayed against them. One man stood barring their way to the church, so he was cut down. All satisfactory, Jean thought. None of them had so much as a dagger with which to protect the place. There was a scruffy youth near a door, and Jean saw a man knock him down with a club. The boy fell, eyes wide open still, his blood staining the soil.

The church was at first a great disappointment. The altar itself looked like a lump of rock rough-hewn from a block lying on the island, and the drapery was ancient, with little merit. It didn’t even have any golden thread. As for the goblets and candle-holders Jean had expected to find, there was remarkably little. It was only when they caught a young servant and began to trace patterns on his naked torso with a couple of razor-sharp daggers that they learned about the big chest in the chapter-room, and after despatching the youth, they made their way there. Here, at last, they found what they were looking for: an oaken chest filled with all manner of plates and goblets. Jean commanded two men to grab it, and soon they were on their way to the ship again. Passing the door to the Prior’s chambers, they heard laughter, and Jean guessed the worst.

When he went inside, he could smell it. Fresh wine from the Prior’s own stores, discovered in the Prior’s buttery and opened by the men in there. They had caught a young monk and while two held him down, another raped him.

Jean was tempted to kill them there and then, but the feverish mood which kept swamping him was too exhausting. He eyed them with disgust, but said nothing. Ordering them to kill the man, and not to forget to bring a barrel or two to the ship, for the Prior had several small casks in his storeroom, Jean led the way down the stairs to the courtyard again. There he breathed a little more easily as the men began to manhandle their trophies past the now still body of the gatekeeper, then were out in the open again. In front of them they could see their ship ready and waiting, and that filled them with a new high-spiritedness, the men all but running with their loads.

They were only a matter of yards from the ship when Jean heard the roar, and he realised the danger as soon as he heard it. There was nothing so formidable as a peasant who saw others despoiling the church which he viewed as his own. Now, glancing over his shoulder, he saw that there were ten or more men running towards him, and he swore under his breath even as he looked to his own men and how they might be deployed. Making a quick decision, he ordered the church plate and casks to be taken to the ship, and all those who carried nothing to support him. Turning, he watched the oncoming men with a sense of resignation rather than excitement.

It was his arm — he was sure of it. The swelling was so bad, he scarcely dared look at it, and the smell which was coming from the stained bandages was particularly foul. Nothing felt, really, as though it mattered. It would be good to return home with a handsome prize, but if he died on the way, he wouldn’t mind. The main thing was, making the profit. There should be something for his woman. His boys could fend for themselves.

This damned arm … he could feel the blood being poisoned in his veins, all because of that evil bastard who had stabbed him on board that blasted ship. If he saw the man again, he would kill him.

And then, blessed miracle, he saw the fellow. There, in front of the men racing towards them, was the man with the ridiculous beard that followed the line of his jaw, the peacock-blue sword glittering furiously in the sun as though it actually had a life of its own and was seeking fresh blood to taste. The sight made Jean shiver with loathing; or perhaps it was the returning fever. He suddenly felt frozen to the marrow, but he wasn’t sure what it was that made him feel like that. There was a suspicion at the back of his mind that he was about to die. It was a premonition which he had never had before, and he felt terrified for a moment, as though he could see the long centuries ahead in which he would not exist. It lasted a moment only. Then he roared his defiance and waved his sword about his head twice, before marching forward to join battle.

Chapter Thirty

Baldwin saw him at the same time, and as soon as the black-haired man stepped forward, Baldwin ran to meet him.

Both knew that this was a personal challenge; whichever of the two was to fall, the other would be victor. If the pirate captain were to die, the pirates would lose; Baldwin preferred not to think of the consequences of his own death.

Not that he would have much to fear, he thought. The pirate was clearly badly wounded, and he panted as he lifted his sword to strike at Baldwin. It was easy to block it with a sharp flick of his wrist, and then Baldwin stepped back, waiting for the next blow. But it was terribly slow. Baldwin parried it easily, waiting for the hidden attack under the obvious, but there was nothing, and then he saw the edge of the flesh at the pirate’s neck. It was red, with veins showing darkly, as though the man had fallen into a fire and his flesh scorched.

Suddenly Baldwin felt sick. This man had been wounded by him days ago, and he had fought valiantly, trying to preserve his life, and now Baldwin had the duty of ending a life which must have been appallingly painful, from the way that the man favoured his arm in its sling. It was cruel to destroy someone who was all but incapable of defending himself, but Baldwin had responsibilities. If this fellow lived, he would return and he would try to rob and plunder again. It was in his nature. Baldwin could see it in his eyes, red-rimmed though they were: this man had no comprehension of the suffering of others, only of his own inordinate greed.

There was a slow, slashing sweep of the man’s sword, and Baldwin put out his sword to block it, but the blade had already moved with a flick of the pirate’s hand, and now Baldwin felt the snagging at his tunic.

He leaped back, seeing the cruel delight in his enemy’s face. The front of his tunic was soaked with blood. The blade had nearly eviscerated him, and if he had tried a thrust himself, which he would have done, had he not been distracted by the pitiable condition of the pirate, he would have been spitted like a hog over a fire.

The sting of the wound woke him to the realities of fighting. He held his sword out to stop another thrust, then blocked a sweeping blow to his head. When the pirate tried to kick, Baldwin was already out of reach, but he managed to swing a blow to the man’s thigh, and he felt the sword catch on the bone as he withdrew it.

That was enough to enrage the pirate. Without taking account of the agony in his arm, Jean jumped forward, dancing lightly on his feet, trying to ignore the dull throbbing in his thigh. It was nothing. No, he had to attack, press this shit-eating moron back, and wait for the chance to run him through, and then make his way to the ship.

He pushed forward, his arm stabbing with an extensive pain that seemed to swallow his entire soul. The knight fell back, and the pirate took a moment to glance back at his ship to see whether he could bolt for it if he needed. What he saw made him gape.

The ship had been pushed out to sea, and as he watched, he saw the sail drop and ripple in the wind. It was a moment before the ship started to move, helped by the ranks of oars on either side. There were enough men to propel the ship and manoeuvre her for a short distance, and as he watched her, Jean knew he had been betrayed. The men he had thought his companions had deserted him and his fellows; they were doomed.

With that thought, he realised how long he had been staring. He turned just in time to see the sword that swept off his head and his arm in one long blue shimmer of steel.

Baldwin watched the body collapse. Instantly he could smell the foulness in the rotten arm, and he retreated a step.

The men about him were almost all finished. David stood at his side panting, a scratch all down his cheek, from which a pale, watery blood ran steadily. Next to him was Simon, unscathed, while before him two pirates lay, one still twitching, Baldwin saw.

It was not these men who took Baldwin’s attention, though. It was the pirate ship, which was even now heading away from the island. Once it rounded the western tip of Ennor, that would be the end of the matter, he knew. The ship could take to the open sea.

Just then, he saw a great sail above the area of St Nicholas known as St Sampson, white and massive as a cloud, and then, a few moments later, the great hull of the cog herself hove into view.

The vessel moved steadily with the wind, which was almost behind her, and she had already built up speed after passing about the western edge of St Sampson. Now she was moving with great wings of froth at the prow, her bow rising and falling gently, all her motion taking her like an arrow towards her target.

Too late the pirate ship saw the danger. The men ran about the ship, the helmsman leaning on the rudder, the sailors running up the ratlines and out on the yards, hauling on ropes from below while those above untied the reefs, trying to get a few more yards from the wind. It was no good. With a loud cracking noise, the cog drove into the flank of the pirates’ hull, the oak smashed and wrecked, and all those on the beach could hear the terrible cries of the pirates who couldn’t swim as the cog’s bows rammed on, while sailors leaped aboard from the Faucon Dieu and began to finish the butchery.

It was enough. Baldwin couldn’t watch the last of the pirates being cut down and tossed overboard like lures to attract fishes. He supposed that was all they were now, but he did not like the fact, and he also thought to himself that the idea of eating fish on these islands had grown peculiarly abhorrent.

He was about to walk away from the place when there was a familiar roar, and he saw a strange figure striding towards him with a glowering demeanour and a ferocious appearance, largely due to the dagger gripped firmly in his fist. It said much for Baldwin’s impression of Sir Charles that the streamers of kelp which trailed from his arms and legs — and the air of seedy dampness given off by his filthy and now sodden clothing — did nothing to detract from the awesome power which emanated from him.

‘Where are the castle’s men? I want Ranulph de Blancminster now! Where is the coward? May heaven witness that I intend beating him with this dagger, if he won’t meet me in equal combat!’

‘My friend,’ Baldwin said with some tiredness, ‘I think you are a little too late.’

Simon was desperate to see Hamo and make sure that the boy was all right. As soon as the last of the pirates was captured, he left the men there on the beach and ran up the lane which he thought must lead to the priory.

And then he arrived and found the pathetic corpse, and all thoughts of the murders left him. He knelt, gently picking up the lad, while his eyes fogged and the breath threatened to throttle him. There was no need to check whether he was living. The dent in his skull where a mace had struck was all too obvious, and Hamo’s eyes were almost forced from their sockets from the violence of the blow.

‘Simon?’

Baldwin had been with him all the way back from the beach, concerned about his friend, and now he saw the body in Simon’s arms.

‘It’s ironic. I’d intended to save the boy, sending him away from the developing fight, and in so doing, I sent him into the midst of a more brutal battle. In such a way might a man fail his friends. All I wanted to do was save him from the castle and the bloodshed.’

‘I am sure he knew that,’ Baldwin said. ‘Let us take him into the church.’

Simon nodded. ‘I saved his life from the boat, I thought, when I needn’t have bothered — the thing didn’t sink. Now he’s dead, poor lad, because I wanted to protect him. I couldn’t have served him worse had I intended to.’

‘That is what happens sometimes, Simon. All we can do is treat people in the best way we can. No man can tell the consequences of his actions. We must simply behave as best we can.’

Simon bent his head, eyes closed, before walking on towards the church. They laid the small body by the others which were being brought in: the gatekeeper with his hideous wounds, a young monk found in the Prior’s own room, another fellow cut down by the church’s door. The two knelt in front of the altar in prayer for a few moments. It was only a short while later that the noise of wheezing heralded the arrival of the Prior. Cryspyn nodded to them, knelt, made a hasty obeisance, glanced at the dead, and then motioned to Baldwin and Simon to join him.

Baldwin was soon finished, and stood, a hand on Simon’s back. He left Simon there, walking slowly and contemplatively towards the back where Cryspyn waited.

‘I should like to offer you both wine and food when you are ready. I wanted to thank you for your warning this morning. And your friend for his attempt to warn me about the men from Ennor, of course.’

‘That is most kind. We shall be delighted to join you,’ Baldwin said, but his attention was absorbed by Simon’s distress.

Cryspyn saw his gaze. ‘Do you think we could do anything to help him?’

‘He was truly attached to that young fellow. I heard once that a man who saves another’s life can feel more responsibility than the one who has been saved. It is a great duty. And then to lose the life saved, can make a man feel doubly guilty.’

‘Perhaps. And yet it is a greater thing than killing. Killing can be too easy,’ Cryspyn said.

Baldwin surveyed the rows of dead men with Cryspyn. ‘Yes. And too many men learn that skill too young.’

The Prior bent his head sadly. ‘I fear so. Even I once committed that gravest of sins.’

‘You?’

‘What, you didn’t realise?’ Cryspyn said. ‘You think that only the happy, well-behaved monks would be sent here? I am afraid not. Luke was not the only …’

His voice trailed away, and he winced. Baldwin thought it was at a memory, but in reality, the Prior was merely aware of a fresh twinge of pain in his belly. The acid was stirring in his stomach, and swallowing achieved nothing. It had been the same ever since he had returned to his room and encountered the fresh, sweet odour of blood and something else: the taint of sex. He had been told what had happened to young Daniel in there, and it was as though the air that had supported the men who raped and murdered him had forever stained the room.

‘Not the only?’

‘Sorry?’ Cryspyn was brought back with a start. ‘Oh. I assumed you knew about me — I thought everybody knew why I was sent here. You know Abbot Robert, after all. I was sent here after a fight about a woman. I loved her … so did another man. I killed him. That is all. But it was much at the time.’

‘Homicide is always a terrible crime, I suppose,’ Baldwin said, but without censure. He had killed enough men in his time to know that the mere killing of another was not evil — it was the reason for killing that was foul. Sometimes homicide was necessary.

‘It can be,’ Cryspyn said, as though reading his mind. ‘But when it’s over a woman, the crime is doubly terrible. I killed him just because he had … won her.’

Baldwin studied him dispassionately. Cryspyn did indeed look guilty, as though this murder was weighing upon him. ‘A man who kills because another has stolen his wife … it is understandable.’

‘She was not my wife, Sir Baldwin. Only a woman whom I adored. I had thought she was perfection, and I even considered taking her and running. Consider! I was prepared to leave the Church, renounce my oaths, and live as a felon with her.’

‘What happened?’

‘I heard that she had already taken another man. At first I didn’t believe it, but then I laid a trap for her. I waited in her chamber, resolved to offer myself to her, and if she refused me, I thought I would run away. But when she entered the room, she wasn’t alone. While I watched, he and she … did as a man and woman will. So I took my sword, and I killed him.’

The simple restatement did not do the scene justice, he thought. That terrible headless body marching towards him like a devil’s plaything, then stumbling and falling against him, the penis still erect, he afterwards recalled, the arms reaching as though to clutch at his own life, the blood springing up and blinding him. And he knew that he had lost her for ever.

The long, long months of a penitent’s cell, the shame of the Bishop’s court, and finally the sailing boat which had brought him here. All were so clear in his mind. It still seemed strange and marvellous that any acquaintance of the Abbot’s should not have known of his crime.

‘What happened to the lady?’

‘Sara went on to become a nun until she died,’ Cryspyn said sadly. ‘I killed him with my sword, but I fear that I inflicted a worse wound on her. It turned her mind completely.’ He sighed. ‘So that is why I am here. Men like Luke and me are sent here because of our sins.’

Simon had risen now, and genuflected before the altar as Baldwin asked quietly, ‘What of William? Has he also committed a grave sin?’

‘Why no, I do not think so. I believe he adored these islands when he once came to visit, and chose to remain.’

‘Really?’ It was odd that all the other members of the community, from what Cryspyn implied, should have been sent here because of some crime they had committed, and William alone was innocent. He resolved to speak to the elderly priest again.

Isok was preparing his boat for departure when she found him.

‘Isok? I am sorry. Truly sorry.’

‘It’s not your fault, is it?’ he said as he loaded the water into the boat. ‘God didn’t want us to be together, and that’s all there is to it.’

‘I wanted you, you know that, don’t you? I’m so sorry all this has happened.’

‘But being sorry didn’t stop you cuckolding me, did it?’ he demanded harshly, stopping a moment and staring at her. The blush was all he needed as confirmation. ‘So, that’s all there is to say.’

‘It’s not all my fault!’ she asserted. ‘What of you? You never told me that you’d never managed to lie with a woman before.’

‘Some people aren’t fornicators,’ he said coldly.

She looked away. ‘What will you do now?’

‘I will go away,’ he said, staring out to sea. ‘I’ll find peace somewhere.’

‘But how? Do you have the Prior’s permission to leave his demesne?’

‘No. So you can go and tell him, if you want. Tell him to kill me to punish me and keep me here.’

‘I wouldn’t do that.’

‘No. You’d only betray me to men with ballocks, wouldn’t you?’ he said nastily.

She hung her head. Then looked up resolutely. ‘First …’

‘What?’ he demanded.

She was fearful, he saw, and licked her lips nervously. ‘Just this … Isok, tell me, truthfully, did you murder him?’

‘Who, Luke?’ he sneered. ‘The pretty fellow was killed by the pirates, wasn’t he? Wasn’t that what the good Prior said?’

‘Not him. You know who I mean.’

‘Oh, your tax-collector? You know, it’s a shame you sank that low. Not many women would have done so. Most would have been happy with a scavenger, or a shit-collector, but not someone who steals what we all earn.’

‘He wasn’t like that.’

‘No? What — so the stories about him murdering a man are untrue?’

‘He did it to save another. He told me. He said that the only people he had killed were those he had fought in order to protect others. He wasn’t evil.’

‘Really?’

‘So — did you kill him?’

‘No.’ He stopped his work and stared at her. ‘I’d feel better if I had, but no. You may like to think about that after I’ve gone. You’ve lost me, your lover’s dead, and the murderer’s still here somewhere. Think on that!’

She stood aghast with clenched fists while he pushed his boat out to sea, then sprang aboard, and she was still standing there when his boat disappeared around the northern rocks of the channel. When she looked down, she saw that her nails had stabbed deep marks in her palms.

Simon was unable to concentrate at the table. His stomach, for once, had betrayed him. The foods laid out so temptingly for them all were unappealing. All he could see as the others ate, was the slight, battered form lying so still in the church, the nervous smile forever dimmed. He reached for the jug of wine more regularly as the meal progressed, letting the wash of wine through his belly warm him in a way that the food could not.

In celebration of the victory over the pirates, the Prior had brought out the choicest titbits from his undercrofts. In reality these were few, but those about his table had not been in a position to enjoy good food for some days. Simon saw that Baldwin was eating sparingly as usual, but Sir Charles, on the Prior’s left hand, was grabbing at everything that passed within reach. Paul was sitting farther down the table with some monks, where they shared four to each mess bowl, but up on the top table, Sir Charles, Baldwin and Simon had one bowl per pair. Simon was supposed to share with William, but the priest had no more appetite than Simon. The Prior himself had a small plate of bread and plain meats to himself, and he dabbed at his face with a linen cloth, concealing his little burps and coughs.

Simon could feel Baldwin’s eye upon him occasionally, but he paid no heed to the conversation that flowed about the table. All he knew was an enveloping misery that felt like a premonition of some kind.

It was only when Sir Charles sat back with a contented belch that rumbled in his throat like water sinking down a pipe, that Baldwin asked, ‘How many knew of the sands which connect the islands?’

‘Almost everyone here, and most peasants elsewhere. It’s only the men at La Val who knew nothing of them,’ Cryspyn said.

‘Curious that they could be kept secret from the men at Ennor.’

‘Most of them would be pressed to find their arses with both hands,’ William grunted.

‘Perhaps, but some are intelligent enough,’ Baldwin said musingly. ‘I should like to speak to the Sergeant of Ennor, Thomas. And to David and Isok as well.’

‘Why?’ the Prior asked as he motioned to his steward to remove the emptied bowls.

‘Because surely one of them can help us to learn who was the murderer of Robert the gather-reeve. His death troubles me. I cannot see why he should have been killed. And to be stabbed in the back without defending himself … there is something peculiar about this.’

‘What is peculiar?’ William asked. ‘The man was a hated rent-collector. Anyone would have shoved a dagger in his back and thought it a good deed.’

‘I find it hard to believe that Luke was killed by pirates, either,’ Baldwin continued as though William had not spoken. ‘I did think that he had died because the pirates wanted to conceal their hiding-place, and knowing that there was a priest there might have given them a problem. They could have killed him just to hide their presence. Certainly they were more than capable of murdering him, but something about it strikes me as odd.’

‘They saw him, they killed him,’ William said off-handedly. ‘I see no problem with that.’

‘Do you not? Yet if I was trying to conceal my presence, the last thing I would do would be to proclaim it by removing a very significant person. The first man to be missed in any community would be the priest. And if the priest was gone, surely everyone would try to find the body? The death of Luke could have resulted in a widespread search of the islands. These pirates, after all, were experienced mariners. They must have raided plenty of islands and little hamlets before now. Usually they would install a spy on high ground to ensure that their ship was safe. It would be better than killing a man like Luke, no matter what we think of him.’

‘So you feel that he was murdered by an islander?’ the Prior asked heavily. ‘I know you have had a series of unfortunate experiences here, but surely you can trust me when I say that most of our people are decent, good men and women?’

‘You expect me to accept that? It seems certain that your people can turn to piracy, Prior,’ Baldwin pointed out.

‘What of the sand banks?’ William asked casually.

Baldwin looked at him with lowered brows. ‘Yes. That is a problem. You can see why?’

‘I have not the faintest idea, no.’

‘I was in the water, and I wore my sword. Yet when I was found, my sword had been taken from me and left not far from Robert’s body. That means that either someone took off my sword and dropped it there, perhaps intentionally to make me look like the murderer, and then carried my body to this island; or, more likely, someone found me on St Nicholas Island, took my sword, and carried that back to Ennor. Either way, it must have been someone who knew of the path beneath the sea. And they would have had to go all the way to Bechiek first,’ Baldwin added.

‘Perhaps they used a boat to cross over?’ William said.

‘Perhaps — but a boat was more likely to be seen, or missed from the beach,’ Baldwin said musingly.

‘It would be difficult to carry you all the way from Ennor to St Nicholas,’ Cryspyn joked, eyeing his solid frame.

Baldwin gave a dry grin of agreement. ‘I am no lightweight. Nor are the passes easy, as I learned myself in the company of William last evening. The ways are treacherous. That is why I am sure that the second is the more likely explanation. I had thought that the man who would most benefit from Robert’s death, the new gather-reeve, Walerand, must surely be the murderer, but he is too slight to carry me, and if he were to steal my sword, that must mean that he was already on the island of St Nicholas. Yet he apparently didn’t know about the sands. And I don’t think I mistook his disgust. He hated the very thought of walking in the sea. The idea of him walking to St Nicholas and back strikes me as unlikely.’

‘So he sailed?’

‘If he came by boat, he would have been seen, most likely,’ Baldwin argued. ‘And denounced since no one likes him.’

‘So you think it was someone who was able to make that walk, but who took your sword rather than carrying you?’ Cryspyn said.

‘Yes. Somebody killed Robert, I think, and then found me a little while later, and thought that the sword would be an ideal weapon to point to guilt. Perhaps the First Finder would think me guilty of murder, and then I should perish. Which means someone must have found me and left me to die, took my sword, placed it by the dead Robert, and then went home. The way between Ennor and here is only a half-mile. Unless …’

‘What?’

‘I just thought: suppose someone found me, and left me there, thinking I was near to death, and simply sought to steal my sword, and then was accosted by someone, so threw away my sword, and couldn’t find it again in the dark? That too is a possibility.’

‘Who would leave a man to drown like that?’ Cryspyn said. There was an edge to his voice, and Baldwin noticed that he was staring at his plate as though deep in unpleasant thoughts. When he glanced at William, he saw that the priest’s face had reddened, and he too avoided Baldwin’s eyes. Baldwin found all this very interesting.

Chapter Thirty-One

Tedia heard the men calling for David and Isok, and when she saw the two men marching towards the priory with David, she ran to Mariota and explained what had happened.

‘Best be going to the priory, maid. See what they’re saying about your man,’ Mariota said grimly. She stood, heaving up her massive bust and shaking her shoulders to settle her breasts. ‘Come on. I’ll support you.’

‘Thank you,’ Tedia said thankfully. ‘I don’t dare on my own.’

‘Since you rattled that knight, you mean?’ the older woman asked, and cackled at the sight of Tedia’s confusion. ‘Thought you’d kept it secret? I think we all know. He’s a good catch, if you can net him. Mind yourself, though. He looks like one who could bite back.’

Her words made Tedia smile to herself as they hurried after David. They reached the priory just as the reeve was disappearing into the hall. Although the larger abbeys and priories on the mainland would refuse to admit women beyond the visitor’s chambers at the gatehouse, on a small island such rules were not considered necessary. The new gatekeeper waved them through, and Tedia went to stand at the back of the hall to watch.

The Prior sat at his table, while on either side of him sat the two knights; her man Baldwin at Cryspyn’s right hand. Nearby was the Bailiff, who looked as though he had partaken too liberally of the Prior’s hospitality. Next to him was William, looking very pale-faced.

Baldwin stood as David came before them. He caught sight of Tedia, and she saw his expression lighten. A short while later, the Sergeant Thomas arrived, angrily snatching his elbow from the hand of the man who had fetched him, a brawny sailor from Ennor, who smiled lazily and crossed his arms at the door as though threatening Thomas to try to escape. He saw Tedia, and winked.

It warmed her, that wink. With the colour rising to her cheeks, she listened to Baldwin questioning the men.

‘We have doubts as to whether Luke was murdered by the pirates or someone else on this island. The good Prior has instructed me to investigate the Brother’s death, just as you, Thomas, instructed the Bailiff here to enquire about the homicide of Robert. That is why you two are here. Where is Isok?’

‘I don’t know,’ David said gruffly. ‘His boat’s gone. Perhaps he’s fishing.’

‘Perhaps he is.’ Baldwin scowled. If the man had run off, there was little they could do to capture him. He shrugged. ‘Thomas — we know that you saw Luke. What actually passed between you?’

‘I told you. He demanded a passage from the islands.’

‘And you refused him?’

‘Of course.’

‘But you said he offered you a bribe?’

‘He offered me some money, yes.’

‘How much?’

‘He held out a purse. I didn’t look. I didn’t need to; I merely refused.’

‘He threatened you, didn’t he?’

Thomas held his gaze angrily. ‘He knew about my ship, yes, and he said that if I didn’t take him, he’d see to it that Ranulph found out.’

‘Where was all this?’

‘On the headland at Penn Trathen. Where, before you point it out, the man’s body was found.’

‘Why should we point it out?’

‘Because that bastard saw me there,’ Thomas said, pointing at William.

‘Is this true?’ Baldwin demanded.

‘I was there and saw him, yes. I had been up at my flock,’ William admitted. ‘When the rain started, I thought I’d get off home, but then I saw the two men. They were exchanging angry words, and I went to see them; I exhorted them to cool their tempers. It worked. Then I left them.’

Thomas nodded, smiling thinly. ‘So you have another suspect,’ he sneered.

Baldwin was closely observing William. ‘Mere proximity doesn’t make a man a suspect.’

‘Why should I have killed Robert?’ William demanded hotly. ‘I had known him for years.’

‘And you always hated him for his arrogance and greed. That was the basis of your complaints to me, was it not?’ Thomas asked nastily. ‘Perhaps you decided that it was high time you paid him back for his treatment of your pet islanders, eh?’

Baldwin was looking at David. ‘What about you? You told us you were at your boat. Who saw you there? You already mentioned that you saw Luke that night. You told me that when you were at the beach with Tedia and me.’

‘I did see him. He was off towards the sea.’

‘Yet Thomas says he saw Luke before the storm, is that right?’ Baldwin asked.

Thomas nodded and William said, ‘It was some little while before the main storm struck, but the wind was building. I think that was why Luke was desperate to get back, before the waters could grow too violent.’

‘Yet you hated the gather-reeve too, didn’t you?’ Baldwin said to David.

‘Who didn’t? He was a murderous bastard.’

‘So the tales say,’ Baldwin agreed.

‘No!’ Simon said. He drank some more wine and narrowed his eyes, staring at Thomas. ‘Ranulph told me you started spreading stories again about him, how he’d killed a man happily. You started the rumours to make the people quiescent when the next demands for money came.’

‘Tell us the story,’ Baldwin commanded.

‘There is little enough to tell.’ Thomas shrugged. ‘He was a runaway from a vill because he’d killed a man, and I found him in a tavern in Dartmouth. That night, I saw him stab a man in the side and the neck, oh, must have been sixteen, seventeen times, and all because this fellow was feeling up some woman Robert found attractive. He was always getting into trouble with women. The point was, he was petrified. I could see it in his face: he was smiling, you know? A big grin of terror on his face. I told everyone he was a berserker to scare them and make him safer, but in truth he was no fighter.’

Baldwin could see a nodding head, and was not surprised to see that it was Sir Charles. Returning to Thomas, he said, ‘This story of his enjoying killing was well enough known on the islands?’

‘Yes. He was a wanted man for the murder of Jack of Carkill.’

Simon frowned. There was something about that name that was familiar … No. The thought was gone.

Baldwin was speaking to David again. ‘So who else could have been out there that night?’

‘Isok, I suppose. He walked to Mariota’s house once his wife rejected him again.’

‘What did he do then?’

‘He stayed there, I suppose.’

Baldwin looked at Tedia, then Mariota. ‘Did he remain in your house all the night?’

‘I expect so.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I went straight to Tedia, to comfort her.’

Baldwin gave a quick frown. ‘So it is possible that he too was out and about.’

Tedia shook her head. Her man wouldn’t have done something like this. What was Baldwin doing, trying to remove him? There was no need now, her marriage was over. Anyway, Isok had denied killing Robert.

‘So we have this: a man or woman found me, left me to die but stole my sword, and took it down to Ennor. There they left it by the body of Robert as though to put the blame for the murder on me.’

‘Unless it was you,’ David said smoothly with a cynical lift of his brow. ‘Perhaps you did kill him, and only came to this island to throw all of us off your path.’

‘Half-dead, I doubt any man would have considered trying to find a treacherous path in the darkness,’ Baldwin said shortly. ‘No stranger could manage it. It would have to be local man, one who had time.’

He couldn’t help himself. His gaze went back to William, to the man whose feet had unerringly led them both here only the day before.

It was late in the afternoon when all the people had left the hall. Many were singing drunkenly, so great was the relief at the dual saving, both from the pirates, and from the men of Ennor.

Baldwin stood at the priory’s gate and stared out. Far in the distance he could see the island of Ennor, a strangely calm scene now, apparently. With the fighting over, the place wore a suspiciously quiet aspect, like an enemy concealing its strength in woods. There should have been a lowering appearance to such a dangerous location.

‘Sir Baldwin?’

It was the voice he wanted to hear; the one he most feared. She stood as though nervous, a rug thrown over her shoulders, hiding the bright green tunic beneath. ‘Are you staying here in the priory tonight?’

He gave her a gentle smile. ‘I think I should. How would the Prior treat you in future if he were to guess that you and I committed adultery? You are married, and so am I.’

‘But he couldn’t be concerned on my account,’ she said, going to his side and leaning against him. ‘I am divorced.’

‘Has your husband returned from his fishing yet?’

‘You fear talking? Can we not even talk like lovers?’ she asked sadly.

‘We are not lovers, Tedia. We enjoyed a moment in time, but it was because of your sadness and vulnerability, and my weakness and vulnerability. Both of us needed companionship, and we were lucky enough to find some comfort in each other.’

‘I thought you loved me.’

‘I did. For a moment. But I am still married. I cannot change that.’

‘He won’t return.’

‘Who?’

‘My husband. He sailed away to die. He guessed the truth about you and me. He thought I’d been unfaithful with Robert, too. Well, that’s not his fault. I would have been, had I the chance.’

‘But he died.’

‘And in his stead I thought I’d won you.’

‘Who could have killed him?’

‘Many could have’ Tedia said. In her mind’s eye she saw Mariota walking in, laughing at the wind and sea, drenched after travelling through the storm. At the time she had thought that the water was a proof of how bad the storm was, but now she wondered.

‘What are you thinking?’

‘Nothing.’

‘I believe you told me a story once,’ Baldwin said, ‘of an old woman from Bechiek who found a man’s body and cut the fingers from his hand to take his rings.’

‘What of it?’

‘Perhaps Mariota is formed from the same mould.’

‘No! She is a good woman.’

‘Perhaps she is, after her own lights. I merely wonder about her treatment of a corpse. Would she despoil it? Me?’

Tedia could not answer. There was only one response. Mariota was a true island woman. The sea took her husband, but provided her with all she owned. Mariota spent hours each week studying the shorelines, seeking whatever the sea might have brought her. A man with a sword on his hip would be a perfect prize.

They said no more, but Baldwin walked through the gate and glanced back at her enquiringly. Wordlessly, she followed after him.

Mariota was indoors at her fireside, kneading a heavy-looking dough. At her side was an ancient quern, and Baldwin looked at it pointedly.

‘You want to say something?’

‘The quern.’

‘Yes, old knight. It’s illegal. So what? So is almost anything an old woman tries to do,’ she cackled. ‘I ought to take my flour to the priory’s mill, but they charge so much. The miller is nothing more than a thief. Nothing more than that, the devil take him.’

‘Perhaps the devil would prefer a woman’s soul. Especially that of a woman who robs the dead and sometimes leaves a man for dead, just to take his belongings. I wondered why, when we were here before, you said that you had mended my clothes because you “owed” it to me, or something like that.’

‘You did have a goodly purse and a sword like that one could be worth a few pounds,’ she said amiably. She finished her kneading and set the loaf at the fireside on a prepared, hot stone.

Watching her, Baldwin found it hard to hate her. He should, he knew. This woman had willingly left him to die, but she was not ashamed. That alone surprised him. ‘I had anticipated some form of words to indicate regret,’ he said stiffly.

‘Ah well, I am truly contrite, Sir Knight. In fact, I went straight to the church to apologise, as soon as I learned you were alive. It was a bit of a shock, that. I hadn’t realised beforehand.’

‘You took my sword and were carrying it over to Ennor, then?’

‘Yes. Hamadus often takes little trinkets from me, things I find on the beaches. He sells them to people at the castle, sometimes to the ship that comes from the mainland once a week. He earns enough from that to pay me a goodly sum.’

‘Tell me what you saw.’

She met his gaze sadly. ‘I suppose I have to. I crossed the water after finding you and the sword. The purse, I fear, I took too. The way isn’t that hard when you’ve grown up with it all your life.

‘It was not until I got to Penn Trathen that I realised I was in trouble. That damned fool Robert was there, and he laughed to see my startled face. I said, “What are you doing hiding here?” and he said, “Preparing to deflower that wench of Isok’s.” I’m sorry, Tedia,’ she added. ‘But he wasn’t worth your time, that one. He was just after the inside of your thighs …’

‘What then?’ Baldwin rumbled as Tedia bent her head. He was frowning intently as she spoke. ‘Did you stab him to stop him?’

‘Rot his soul, no! I’m no murderer. I gave him a sharp word, but he didn’t care. He just carried on pulling off his boots. Someone,’ she said, with a sidelong glance at Tedia, ‘had told him about the path between the islands. Anyway, while he was going on, I heard shouting. I went back into the grasses to hide, and soon I saw Thomas, that Sergeant, coming. He was bellowing, calling out for someone, like he’d been arguing with someone, and they’d fought, and he was chasing after the fellow in rage. His sword was out, and he stood at the water’s edge. Robert asked him what he was doing, and “Who in God’s name is that?” Thomas yells, spinning round. I thought he would kill Robert, but no, he just curses him some and storms off.

‘I was all for hurrying to Hamadus’s house, but before I could, Luke appeared. He was fearful, and well he might have been. Robert saw him. “Hello, Luke,” he says. “Don’t worry, Tom’s gone now.” “Which way did he go?” Luke says, and Robert says, all cheery, “Back to the castle. Whatever did you say to upset him?”

‘Luke was all fretful, I could see. He says, “That madman Thomas tried to kill me! I only wanted a favour, and he tried to kill me! He would have, if he’d caught me!”

‘“Why? What did you say to him?” asks Robert.

‘“I told him I knew all about his scams with the merchant ships,” says Luke.’

‘“Everyone knows about that, though,” Robert says.

‘“Yes, but I told him I’d tell Ranulph about it.”

‘Then there was a rustling, and Luke thought it must be Thomas come back. He took to his heels. There was a little boat down the beach, and he ran to it, hopped in, and was off like the coward he was.’

‘And then,’ Baldwin prompted, ‘the real murderer appeared.’

‘Then William appeared.’

‘I do not believe it,’ Baldwin said sadly. ‘He appeared such a sympathetic fellow.’

Mariota looked at him sternly. ‘It is better for all if you stop and listen without jumping to conclusions. William appeared, spoke a few words with Robert, all perfectly polite, and then left after staring after Luke for some while. Robert by now had his boots off, and had set them about his neck. He went down to the water’s side, and as he stood there, entering the water with some nervousness, I heard another man. He gave a gasp, and I heard him say, “No!” like he was in pain, and then he ran forward. Robert heard him, and turned. He walked back up the sand to talk, never knowing he was talking to his murderer.’

‘Enough suspense! Who was it?’

‘He is always so courteous, isn’t he, the Prior? He waved Robert on in front of him, and then stabbed him, once, very quickly, like it was distasteful to him to be so close to the corpse. Then he threw the man down and watched while he died. As soon as Robert was dead, Cryspyn lifted his skirts and set off after Luke. And that was that.’

‘Cryspyn!’

‘I waited a while, wondering what to do, and then William came back. He almost tripped over Robert’s body, and swore to himself, but when he looked out to sea, he could see who was there. There was no hiding Cryspyn’s figure. So, William looks down again and sort of sighs. Then he walked off home. Me, I daren’t be found with something like your sword, so I threw it a ways into the sands, and then sat down and waited. I couldn’t go straight to Tedia’s, in case Cryspyn saw me. I didn’t want that. No, I sat and bided my time, and when he was over on St Nicholas, I went off as sharp as I could. Back home.’

‘I thank you for your time,’ Baldwin said, coldly angry. When Mariota looked up at him, he turned on his heel. She repelled him: this was a reaction against her words. Cryspyn had not seemed an evil man — the tale of his crime before being sent here was damning, certainly, but Baldwin felt sure that he must have served out a penance, and subsequently he had reached the status of Prior. That meant that Abbot Robert of Tavistock and Bishop Walter both trusted him enough. Yet now Mariota’s words had damned the man.

It was with a heavy heart that Baldwin made for the door, and only after he had left the building did he hear Mariota calling out sharply. Turning, he saw Tedia’s face in the doorway.

‘I …’ she faltered, glancing over her shoulder.

‘Tedia!’ Mariota called again, and this time there was more harshness in her tone.

Baldwin recognised that tone: it was the same as that which a handler might use, calling to his dog when the beast was about to launch himself after forbidden prey. There was command, but also pleading in the voice, as though Mariota was certain that Tedia would be lost forever unless she returned. Baldwin gave her a grin, and there was a lessening of tension in her face, but there was no time for more. Baldwin had to get back to the priory. With a wrench, he left her there and made his way back to speak to the Prior.

And although he didn’t glance back, he knew that she was there, waiting in the doorway, neither a part of Mariota’s tribe nor Baldwin’s. Stuck in a strange middle ground, unsure where she would finish. Hopeful that Baldwin could represent a new beginning for her, except Baldwin knew that he couldn’t. Tedia must find a new man.

His wife Jeanne was waiting for him, and just now Baldwin felt he had never missed her so much as he did this moment, lurching his way back up the lane towards the Priory where he must confront Cryspyn.

Chapter Thirty-Two

In the hall, Simon was sitting blearily at the fireside. He looked up as Baldwin entered. ‘I was wondering where you had gone,’ he said, and held out a jug to Baldwin.

‘I have had a most interesting talk with Mariota. She saw the murder,’ Baldwin said. As he spoke he saw the figure of Cryspyn approaching them. ‘Prior.’

‘My friend. I am glad to see you have returned. I was wondering where you might have gone.’

‘I was with a most interesting person who witnessed the death of Robert,’ Baldwin said.

‘Was it William?’ Simon asked.

‘No,’ Baldwin said, looking at the Prior.

Cryspyn had jumped as though startled. His face worked as the acid rose into his throat. In the past he had been able to eat the finest of foods and wines, but not now. He was forced now to suffer the most tedious of foods, which a physician had told him would work well for his humours, but nothing seemed to work for unpleasant shocks.

‘And did this person give you a name?’ he asked hoarsely.

‘Yes.’

‘Then perhaps you’d have the goodness to tell me?’ Cryspyn asked, his voice rising with his impatience.

Baldwin said nothing, but held Cryspyn’s gaze with a serious intensity.

The Prior tutted. ‘Come, now! Won’t you tell me?’

‘I had thought you would like to say. After all, Benefit of Clergy protects a man in Holy Orders.’

‘Benefit of …’ Cryspyn’s face paled. ‘My God! You don’t mean … William?’

Baldwin snapped irritably, ‘No, I do not! I mean you!’

‘Me?’ Cryspyn’s face fell. His eyes widened, his mouth gaped, and then he hiccupped. A hand flew to his mouth, and his face drew back into its normal expression of pain. ‘Is this a joke?’

‘I think you should have the goodness to confess, Prior. You were seen there.’

‘Sir Baldwin, you are the unsuspecting victim of a joke, surely a joke in bad taste.’

‘You deny killing the man?’

‘Of course I do.’

‘You were not there on the island?’

‘No. I wasn’t!’

Baldwin was confused, but then he thought he had a glimmering of understanding. Of course! The woman Mariota was protecting someone else. She had only mentioned Cryspyn to give herself time to warn him! ‘Prior, please accept my apologies.’

‘I suppose I must accept them, but only as a matter of politeness to a guest,’ he said pointedly as he thrust past Baldwin and stalked out.

Baldwin roused Simon from his partially drunken reverie. ‘Come with me. We need to talk.’

‘I think it’s better that we find a place to sleep.’

‘Not yet, old friend.’ Baldwin had Simon’s arm in a firm grip, and he manoeuvred him through the door and out, across the courtyard and through the gate. ‘I have been speaking to a woman who stated that she saw Cryspyn stabbing Robert. Since Cryspyn has denied the murder, this means that one of them is lying. If she is lying: why? She has convicted Cryspyn for no reason.’

‘She has reasons,’ Simon said. He closed his eyes and leaned back. ‘Perhaps it’s just that she dislikes him and made it up.’

‘She knew that I’d have to confront him. That means that she knew her lie would be found out, and probably quickly. Perhaps she meant to run straight to the guilty man and warn him.’

‘Who?’

‘There are only two men whom she would try to protect. She would not wish to protect any of the men from Ennor, I am sure of that. No, I think that it comes down to two: either David or William.’

‘Why David?’

‘Because he is of her tribe. This place is astonishingly tribal. David is of her family, and more than that, he is the leader. Thus she would be willing to serve him by lying to us. That, to me, makes much sense.’

‘I see. What of William?’

‘There is a bond between him and the people of the islands. He loves them, and I think that they reciprocate that love. Luke, I think, he detested because of the mess he made of the church of St Elidius. William was enormously proud of that little church, and Luke ruined it for him. He murdered Robert, I suppose, because he was angry about the gather-reeve’s depredations — although any man could have seen it was Thomas, not the gather-reeve who was responsible. Why William should have suddenly killed Robert now, I do not understand.’

‘I think I know that, at least,’ Simon said. ‘I heard from Ranulph on the ship coming here that the story of Robert’s murder in a tavern had not been broadcast for some years. Perhaps it was common knowledge before William went to Ennor, and he never heard it before, or at least, he never heard who the man was whom Robert was supposed to have murdered. And then, recently, while he was living in St Mary’s, suddenly he heard the full story.’

‘What story?’ Baldwin asked.

‘William is called “William of Carkill”. The man Robert murdered was called “Jack of Carkill”, and William once told me his brother had run off to sea. When he saw me on my first day, he called me “Jan”.’

‘Another name for Jack,’ Baldwin breathed.

‘Yes. Jan is a nickname. I think he heard about Robert’s murder of his brother, and it made him lose his mind. He stabbed his brother’s murderer.’

‘Perhaps. Yet what of David? He has never made a secret of his hatred of Robert, nor his loathing for men who tried to prise apart Tedia’s legs. I think he has a particular detestation for any foreign man who attempts to win the affection of a local woman.’

Simon opened an eye. ‘That was said with feeling.’

‘No, no. I was just thinking.’

‘So if this woman would have protected either, which do you think it was?’

‘She told us of Cryspyn, knowing that he wouldn’t suffer — even if we were to accuse him, we could do little. He is a man of the Church, so he’s safe.’

‘The same goes for William,’ Simon yawned.

‘But not for David,’ Baldwin said. ‘She never mentioned David. Perhaps she wanted to make sure that he was secure even from investigation?’

Simon grunted. ‘You can let go of my arm now, if you want,’ he said. ‘Just point me in the right direction.’

‘I want to speak to David again, and William.’

‘William said he was going to the church.’

Baldwin glanced back at the great building behind them. ‘Come on, then.’

The door thundered when they threw it open and strode in, Baldwin tall and imperious, Simon more subdued.

For William, kneeling at the altar, their entrance was like a clap of thunder. He gave them a bad-tempered look before returning to his prayers and closing his eyes. It was hard, trying to remain forgiving, but he was determined. He had said many prayers for Robert already, since learning of his murder. Now he wanted to say some more.

But the presence of the two men was distracting. He found his mind wandering. It was infuriating that they should come in here and disrupt his prayers. Muttering a hasty Pater Noster, he stood, made the sign of the cross, and walked past them to the entrance, where he waited, fuming.

‘What was the meaning of that? It was an intrusion into a man’s communion with God, you irreverent arseholes!’

Baldwin was in no mood for his temper. ‘Mariota told us about you. She saw you at the beach. She said you were there, that you saw the body and saw the murderer.’

‘She’s wrong,’ William said, and made as though to move off.

Simon blocked his path with an apologetic, ‘Sorry, William.’

‘She told me it was someone else killed Robert,’ Baldwin pressed on, ‘but I don’t believe her. I think she was trying to protect someone. Someone like you.’

‘You think I killed him?’ The priest smiled thinly. ‘Just as I’d have liked to kill Luke for his betrayal of the trust put in him? He took my little chapel and turned it into a midden. A disgrace for St Elidius — Luke dishonoured him — so I executed them both, is that what you think?’

‘What of Robert?’

‘I was there, yes. I saw his body. I didn’t see her, though.’

‘Did you kill him?’

‘Why should I?’ He looked up and met Baldwin’s eye.

‘Because he killed your brother Jan,’ Baldwin said.

William sighed. ‘I knew of Robert as an evil man when I lived on St Elidius, and then, when I moved to St Mary’s, I met him a few times, and I realised that Thomas’s story about him being a cheerful murderer was nonsense. He was a weak-minded fool who had made some mistakes and was paying for them with his exile. He may have killed, but not in anger or from some bloodlust. No, he killed to protect himself or another. Then, when I heard of his victim, I realised that I hated him for ending Jan’s life, but I knew what sort of a man Jan was. He was an unholy terror, brutal and cruel. If he had found a good woman who could have held him in check … but no. Some men cannot even be held back by women. No, Robert was almost certainly forced to kill him. You see, I cannot blame a man for self-defence.’

Baldwin nodded. ‘Why should I believe you? Everyone appears to have had an opportunity to have killed Robert, but you definitely had the most pressing urges.’

‘You think so? Do you really think that a man who has forsaken God could deserve the same loyalty as a member of a community like this? Sir Baldwin, these islands are unique! They are home to a race of honourable, decent people who are fleeced by those devils at Ennor. They deserve their protection. A man like my brother? I fear not.’ He looked up with a sudden grin. ‘I suppose you now think I’m guilty because I wanted to protect the folk here from the depredations of a greedy gather-reeve!’

‘No, but perhaps David did,’ Baldwin said.

‘I doubt it. He hated Robert as the symbol of Ennor’s power, but he knew well enough that if he cut off the head of that gather-reeve, there would soon be another. Besides, I never saw him on Ennor that day. Who said they did?’

‘No one. Mariota said it was another, but he denies it.’

William looked away. ‘I cannot help you more.’

‘Did you see the killer?’ Baldwin said.

William burst out, ‘What good will it do if you find the man? What good will it do anyone? Can you bring either of them back to life? No. Can you heal the damage which they have done here? No. So leave matters as they stand. Why not let people believe it was the pirates who killed them? That would be believable, wouldn’t it? Let the people blame them.’

‘I cannot do that. Whoever …’ Baldwin began, but then he heard the great bell tolling mournfully and realised his error.

When they all arrived in the Prior’s hall, the doorway was filled with anxious, silent monks, all of whom stared inside at the grim sight. The room was still warm from their meal, and the body hanging by the neck was vertical, with only a slight tilt to the head, as though the Prior had stood on the chair to set something on the beam, and was welcoming them from that curious position. He had a slight smile on his face, although the eyes bulged and the flesh was suffused with blood. The smell of death was cloying.

Pushing past the monks, the three entered. He had used his own rope belt, Baldwin saw. Cryspyn had looped it over the beam, thrust his head through it, and used a stick to twist it tight, garrotte-style. Baldwin had seen many corpses which had been hanged, but only a few had remained standing on a chair like this. Most kicked the chair away, hoping for a swift, assured death. Cryspyn cared little for that. He had stood on the chair to reach the beam, and killed himself while he stood there, his legs giving way as the life left his body and, so Baldwin hoped, making the death more swift.

‘I should have trusted to my own intuition. I believed Mariota when she told me,’ he said. ‘I could have saved him this.’

‘He was an honourable man,’ William said softly, and Baldwin saw that there were tears in his eyes. ‘He was always good to me. I think he knew how hard it was to live with guilt. He had been guilty of a crime himself.’

‘Yes. He told me.’

‘And that guilt ate at him. There was not a single day he didn’t suffer.’

‘Simon, is there a note on his table?’ Baldwin asked. He knew his friend preferred to avoid intimate encounters with death. While Simon went and scanned the desktop, Baldwin pulled up a stool and stood on it, trying to untie the rope while William supported the body from below. The rope was too tightly bound, held with Cryspyn’s full weight, so Baldwin took out his knife and cut Cryspyn’s body down. William took the full weight of the sagging figure, and two monks hurried forward to help him lower their dead master to the floor.

‘Nothing here,’ Simon called. ‘Strange, I would have hoped he would have left us some clue as to why he did this.’

‘So would I,’ Baldwin said. ‘But sometimes a man’s heart is too full and bitter. He must have guessed that we’d return to charge him with the murders, and he wished to have nothing to do with the shame that would bring to him and his priory.’

‘Perhaps,’ William said. ‘Yet I would have hoped he would have tried to explain. It will make his death more — incomprehensible — and that will lead to rumours and foolish speculation.’

Simon had rejoined them. ‘I would have expected a note. Perhaps he was in too much of a hurry.’

‘He had little time,’ a monk offered. Baldwin recognised the man as the new gatekeeper.

Simon had lifted the rope and was staring at it with a strange expression. ‘Baldwin, look at this.’

Baldwin took the rope and studied it. ‘What of it?’

‘The knots are so precise. Was Cryspyn ever a sailor?’

William said, ‘No,’ as the gatekeeper continued: ‘Yes, he had little time after David left him.’

‘When was David here?’ Baldwin demanded.

‘He came just before you,’ the gatekeeper stammered, shocked by Baldwin’s sudden ferocity. ‘He was there until after you ran out to find William here.’

Simon and Baldwin exchanged a horrified look.

‘He was there in the hall when we spoke,’ Simon said. ‘He heard you accuse …’

‘And decided that the best course for his own defence was the death by suicide of the Prior,’ Baldwin finished for him. ‘The man’s a devil!’

Brosia was at her cottage shaking out her bedding when they arrived. She cocked an eye at them, hastily bundling it up and thrusting it in through her doorway. ‘Good day! Can I offer you-’

‘Where is your husband?’ Baldwin rasped. He glanced inside the cottage, and he saw Mariota. ‘I hope you are proud, woman! You have cost another good man his life!’

‘No. Not me. I have merely protected the man I had to,’ she said. ‘I am an islander, and I’ll always protect an island man over any other.’

‘He heard your words and instantly murdered the Prior! I said, where is your husband, Brosia!’

‘He is down at the boats, I suppose … why?’

‘Ask her!’ Baldwin spat, pointing at Mariota.

His anger at Mariota’s deceit was already fading as they hurried along the grassed track to the beach. He shouldn’t blame her: she was a hardy islander. This was her way of life, the way of life of all the people here. They were weak against the powers of Ennor, the priory, and most of all the weather. All they had was each other. Mariota was protecting her tribe. Tedia would have done the same.

There was a lurch in his heart at the thought of her, but it was lessened. Now the memory of her was already fading. More in his mind was Jeanne, her smile, her calmness, her warmth. ‘My God but I miss her!’ he breathed.

William led the way to the shore. There, up on a hillock of grassy sand the three gazed out over the flat expanse. There was no sign of David, and when Baldwin stared out to sea, there was nothing. Not a single sail showed itself on the flat calm water.

Up to the north of the beach there was a group of men working on a boat. ‘Come,’ Baldwin muttered, and they pounded along at the edge of the sea where the sand was firmer. Soon they were with the men. ‘Where is David?’ he called.

‘He’s just gone to sea. Should be back at nightfall,’ one of the men replied without looking up from his work.

‘Gone!’ Baldwin breathed.

‘Perhaps he will return,’ Simon suggested.

‘No,’ William said. ‘I think he has decided to imitate Tedia’s man. He has made his choice. He knows what would happen to him here, if he were discovered. No one would want to suffer the penalties given to a felon. He has gone.’

‘He has escaped,’ Baldwin agreed bitterly.

‘Perhaps he has, for now,’ William said, ‘but there is a higher justice, and he can’t evade that.’

They began their return to the priory.

‘One thing,’ Simon said, ‘which I still don’t understand, is why Thomas was so keen to accuse the men here of piracy.’

William shrugged, but then cast a sharp look at Baldwin. ‘Perhaps, if you could swear, both of you, to keep this secret, I can enlighten you.’ Having received their assurances, William chuckled to himself. ‘You ask why? It’s because it takes one to recognise another. Thomas was a pirate of a sort. He would rob any man to make his money — well, in that way he was a true islander. There is not enough land here for men to make their livelihoods. They can win fish from the sea, it’s true, and they can try to farm, but there isn’t enough land. We have to import food from elsewhere all the time. And when fishermen can’t earn enough to support their wives and children, what do you expect them to do? Roll over and accept death? No, they go out and take whatever they can on the seas.’

‘So Thomas truly believed that his ship had been attacked by islanders?’

‘I expect so. Why else should he want to attack them? And he had been under pressure. His own ship was late in, and he thought that he might be financially ruined. If the islanders had taken his vessel, he thought he should get his lost goods back. That meant robbing the robbers.’

‘And David was their leader,’ Baldwin stated.

‘Yes. It was why poor Cryspyn hated dealing with him. It gave him a pain in the belly to have to deal with the man whom he knew was every day planning the destruction of ships. Yet Cryspyn had no proof with which to accuse David.’

They had reached the priory’s walls, and they stood a while under the gateway. There seemed little to say.

‘So why do you think David killed them?’ Baldwin asked.

‘That is easy. I think he suspected that Luke was having an affair with his wife, Brosia. He hated that kind of behaviour, and he distrusted other men about her. Strangely, I don’t think he ever sought to blame her for their attentions. He never realised how she tempted them.’

‘And Robert was killed for the same reasons?’ Simon guessed.

‘I think so. He was trying to climb into Isok’s bed, and David could see that as well as any of us — including Isok himself. David was proud of the people here. He would have hated to think of some foreigner — still worse the thieving gather-reeve — taking advantage of Tedia. I think he went off to the other island with the hope of scaring the man off, but then events overcame him.’

‘Mariota was there and saw it all,’ Baldwin said.

‘Yes, I daresay. I only saw Robert’s body and the figure of Cryspyn striding off through the water. I did guess that he might have been the killer, but then commonsense came back to me.’

‘In what form?’ Baldwin asked.

‘I saw David’s boat putting out from the next beach,’ William smiled.

‘I don’t understand why David put Luke in a boat and let him drift like that,’ Simon said, eyes narrowed.

‘I expect he hoped that the boat would be taken by the sea.’

‘Isok was certain that no local man would believe that the sea would do such a thing,’ Baldwin reminded him.

‘That was what he said,’ William agreed comfortably.

‘You mean he lied to me?’

‘Sir Knight, the man had a choice of slipping a noose about the neck of a friend and companion over many years; probably the man who had stopped another from cuckolding him. Yes, I think Isok guessed, and I think he was so emotional that day when we saw Luke’s body, because he feared we might otherwise guess. So he put the blame on someone who knew nothing about the currents around here. It was a shrewd throw.’

Baldwin was silent a moment. So it was not only Mariota who had sought to protect his tribe: even Isok, who was ridiculed by his own tribe, still sought to defend his folk, trying to conceal the killer from Baldwin.

Simon belched. ‘There is …’

‘Speak!’ Baldwin said.

‘I don’t understand why David killed the Prior. If he killed Cryspyn to deflect attention from himself, as though to direct all blame upon the Prior, why then did he flee the islands? Why not leave Cryspyn alive and simply bolt?’

‘Because David and Cryspyn detested each other,’ said William. ‘Cryspyn knew what sort of man David was: a pirate. David had fought against the Prior’s interference for all his tenure as reeve. This was his last cast against the man who had meddled in his affairs for so long.’

‘Does anyone on these islands stoop to telling the truth?’ Baldwin asked bitterly.

‘Yes. But only to those whom they have known all their lives. Not strangers and foreigners,’ William said pointedly.

‘They trust you.’

William gave a wolfish smile. ‘And how do you think I come by such good quality wines?’

Chapter Thirty-Three

The decking rolled gently as they made their slow way up the northern channel from St Nicholas, through the deep water, and then started to corkscrew in earnest as they passed the northernmost tip of the islands. The shipmaster set her prow southwards as soon as he could, and the ship began her journey.

As they passed the dismal rock to the west of the islands, two figures knelt and begged on the slippery green-coloured stone. Both were bedraggled and sodden, their hands red where manacles had rubbed their wrists raw overnight, and their pleading was the more poignant for the way that they tore at their hair and begged with reedy, thin voices.

‘Aye, they won’t last above another tide,’ the master said. He was a short, hook-nosed man called Henry with an entirely bald pate and a thin scatter of black hair above his ears.

‘Poor, miserable devils,’ Baldwin muttered. ‘Give me the noose any day rather than this protracted and cruel death.’

‘Think that’s cruel? You should see some of the foreign ways of killing, Sir Baldwin,’ Henry said.

‘I have. I never thought to see their like on English soil,’ Baldwin said shortly.

‘Perhaps. But I say, they are welcome to their death. They asked for it by the way they tried to steal cargo and ships. They cost men dear in effort and treasure.’

Baldwin nodded. Henry’s tone showed his malice towards the two. Any sailor must detest pirates, but perhaps those who preyed upon their own countrymen were hated most.

‘Bastards!’ Henry muttered.

Turning away, Baldwin went to seek Simon. The cries and desperation of the two surviving Breton pirates was too heart-wrenching.

Simon was at the prow. He heard Baldwin’s steps, but didn’t turn. ‘You know, if you stand up here and keep your eyes on the horizon there, it doesn’t make you feel so sick. I could almost feel all right up here.’

‘Certainly it is preferable to being down below,’ Baldwin agreed.

‘How long will it take to sail all that way?’

‘I don’t know,’ Baldwin said. ‘The master reckoned anything from a half-day to nightfall, depending on the winds.’

‘Winds I can bear,’ Simon said sourly. ‘It’s the storms I despise.’

‘Forget such things, old friend. Concentrate on seeing your wife again,’ Baldwin said.

‘I shall. Although I still cannot forget that poor cabin-boy’s body,’ Simon said.

‘Nor me,’ Baldwin said, but for different reasons.

They had attended the church service in memory of the dead only two days after the capture of the pirates’ ship and the recovery of the Prior’s treasure. First the monks had set Cryspyn in a vault beneath the altar, showing their very genuine grief at losing so close a friend. When the rough slab had been set over him, the other bodies were taken outside. The gatekeeper and novice were buried in the monks’ own cemetery within the priory’s precinct, while the others, including Hamo, were carried out to the vill’s graveyard just outside.

While Simon stared down into the shallow, short hole dug for the boy he felt he had betrayed, Baldwin could not help but stare across the gulf at Tedia. She stood chastely, hands before her apron, hair bound up, eyes downcast, and yet Baldwin could not help but remember the sweet taste of her, the soft roundness of her breasts, the tough corded muscles of her arms and thighs. He must bring his mind back to the burial as the priest intoned the last prayers.

Afterwards Simon clearly wanted to be left alone, musing at the graveside of Hamo. Baldwin left him there and made his way to the beach, avoiding Tedia’s home. On the beach he sat staring eastwards, his heart heavy.

He desperately wanted to be away. Being here was tearing at his soul: the discovery of the murderer, David, the ferocious pirates, the acquisitive and immoral master of the islands, Ranulph, with his clear ambition to absorb even St Nicholas into his demesne, all repelled Baldwin. The islands had never looked so beautiful, but he felt like a man whose soul had been wrenched from his body.

It was not only the murders and the unnecessary deaths, nor the subsequent escape of the murderer. No, it was the loss of his own hope and happiness.

When he and Simon set off from Galicia, he had thought that their adventures were at an end; he had had no idea that they would be blown so far from their course as to arrive here on these islands. All he had hoped for was a short trip to Dartmouth or a similar port, a canter to his home, and the opportunity of sinking into the arms of his wife. Now Jeanne seemed much further away even than she had while he was in Galicia.

Tedia had kept away from him. That made him feel the prickings of guilt too. He dared not consider how his wife would view his behaviour. Perhaps she would understand the loneliness and longing he had felt: she had lost her family to outlaws, so maybe she would comprehend how worried and battered he had been, thinking that Simon was dead. All alone, he had made love with a woman who sought the same comfort and compassion as he did himself. Yes, perhaps Jeanne would understand … but Baldwin would never be able to tell her. This was one more secret he would keep. The secret of his own shame.

Later, when he returned to the priory, the sight of Simon made him feel a renewed guilt.

His old friend’s eyes were red from weeping. His face was marked with soil where he had rubbed tears away, and as Baldwin looked at him, he thought that Simon had never appeared so vulnerable.

‘I don’t know why, Baldwin,’ he said at last, ‘but I feel as though I have just buried my son again.’

‘Peter is long dead,’ Baldwin said gently. Simon’s first son Peterkin had died of a fever many years ago. At the time, Simon had been ashamed. He once told Baldwin that the sound of pitiful crying had gradually scraped at his nerves to the extent that he was glad when they slowly grew quieter, until at last they stopped. ‘Hamo would have been proud to call you “Father”, Simon.’

‘I would have been happy to call him “son”,’ Simon said, and let his face drop into his hands as he started to weep again.

Now at least the sunshine and the fresh breeze were giving him a new vigour. He looked more like the Simon whom Baldwin had known so well for so many years.

‘I suppose this is the last leg of our pilgrimage,’ Simon said musingly. ‘I had not expected it to last so long, nor to have been so moved by the things that happened. God’s feet! I hadn’t expected so many things to happen!’

‘Yes, I hope it is the last part of the journey. I want to see Jeanne again,’ Baldwin said, with a burst of shame exploding in his breast. He had betrayed her. It was the first time he had done so, and now he was terribly afraid that he had damaged his relationship with his wife. He could never forget Tedia.

‘Yes,’ Simon said, but without enthusiasm. ‘But when I return, I shall have to move house and start a new life in Dartmouth. I do not look forward to that.’

‘It will be a good life, you will see,’ Baldwin said with a heartiness he did not feel, his mind still fixed upon his wife.

‘I hope so. I hope so,’ Simon repeated, staring out blankly at the mist on the horizon.

William of Carkill was there to welcome the new Prior when he arrived: a tall, thin man, with eyes that protruded like a frog’s in so definite a manner that William suspected that, should he open his mouth, there might be a long tongue inside, ready to flick out and catch a fly.

‘You are William, the priest at St Mary’s?’ he asked as he came along the rickety gang-plank.

‘Yes, that’s me,’ William said. ‘And you are the new Prior.’

‘You may call me Prior John,’ the man said, gazing about him with a pained expression. ‘What a place!’

‘Indeed, Prior. The islands are-’

‘Beyond the fringe of civilisation. This is indeed the limit of Man’s ambition. What else could one imagine?’

‘It’s beautiful in the sunshine,’ William said loyally, prompted to defend his islands. In fairness, he accepted that the islands in this weak, grey light were not being shown to their best advantage, but that was no reason to be so insulting.

‘I suppose it looks better — marginally. My God, what have I done to deserve this! At least I should only be here for a short while.’

William smiled nastily. ‘Oh, aye, Prior? I’ve only been here about fifteen years myself.’

With a shudder, Prior John stared about him again. ‘My God!’

It was two weeks after Cryspyn’s death that Thomas was deposited at Penzance. He walked down to the harbour among the thronging crowds with a sense of disbelief as he was pushed from side to side, jostled by the eager stevedores. He almost stepped on a rope as it was being drawn away by a sailor on a ship moving off from the harbour, and had to dance to one side to avoid being pulled into the water.

This was his life now, he knew. He had the clothes he stood up in, a pack of some items which he had taken from the priory, a little ink, reeds, parchment, and other tools which he fervently hoped would help him earn a living of some sort, but that was all. His wealth, all of it, had been confiscated by Ranulph. His ship: gone; his belongings: stolen. All his profits from the last years of effort were gone. Nothing was left.

He walked out along the harbour to the main town. Here he stopped, and stared up the road blankly. There was nothing for him here, a poor man with skills in penmanship. What could he do?

There was a tavern nearby, and he entered, using one of his last coins to buy a jug of wine. Sitting, he morosely gazed into his pot, wondering what the next day would bring for him, but he could not think. Instead he slowly drank his wine. There was an alley alongside, and when he was done, he walked into it, pulling his tunic up to urinate, but then there was a harsh chuckle and he suddenly felt a knife prick at his throat, a rough hand on his back.

‘I have nothing. Take whatever you want,’ he snapped.

‘Oh Thomas, what could you have that I would want?’

Thomas frowned. It was a voice he recognised — someone he had known. He tried to recall their identity, but then the voice said, ‘Extraordinary to meet you here. I’d prefer your master, but he isn’t about, is he? So you’ll have to do.’

A few moments later, Sir Charles left the alley with a new spring in his step. He glanced up and down the road, and then set off towards an inn near the harbour-front. He would teach a man to keep him confined, bound. With a soft chuckle, he entered and ordered a jug of wine.

In the alley, there was a slow gurgling sound, followed by a sad little tapping sound as though a man’s bare heel was rattling on a loose cobble. A rat heard it and scuttled across the way to investigate, but the heel lashed out at it, once then twice, and the rat decided to return to the cat’s corpse under a loose box.

Naked, with his hands bound behind him and his legs tied at the knee, Thomas, sat waiting for rescue, miserably wondering how he might explain this latest predicament to whoever discovered him.

There was no point in going to the shore to see the sails unfurling, the ship gradually heeling over and picking up speed. Tedia had seen enough ships in her life. For now, all she wanted was the peace of forgetfulness.

Bitter? Yes, she was bitter. She had managed to lose so much in so little time. First her potential lover, then her husband, and now her real lover. Sir Baldwin had not spoken to her since that last visit at Mariota’s house. He had said nothing more since then, as though he had made his use of her and had no further need. Perhaps he was happy enough to know that he had conquered, like so many men were. Once they had stormed a woman’s last bastion, they were prone to lose interest.

Perhaps she was unfair to think of Baldwin in that way; she felt sure that he was a kinder, more generous-spirited man than that, but whether he was or not, it made little difference to her. She was divorced, and there was no need for sad memories of past lovers. That wouldn’t bring in the harvest. No, she must work now that she was alone.

Mariota had suggested that they should live together in Mariota’s home, and Tedia had almost accepted her offer, but rejected it after consideration. Now, standing in her room again, watching the smoke wisp up from the little fire, she knew why. This was her home. It had become hers when she married Isok, and she couldn’t just run from it. She must make it work for her.

The memories would remain, though. No matter how hard she tried to forget Baldwin, she was sure that he’d always be there, whenever she lay back on her bed in the dark. It would be his kisses she dreamed of, his hands on her, his arms embracing her.

With a deep sigh, she collected up the vegetables to make a pottage, and she was so engrossed that she didn’t hear the knock at her door.

‘Mistress?’

‘Oh, my!’ she cried, a hand going to her breast to keep her heart in there as it threatened to leap from its moorings. ‘Who are you?’

The dark figure in the doorway bent slightly to enter under the lintel. It was the tall, brawny sailor from Ennor whom she had seen at the priory, the one who brought Thomas for questioning and had winked at her. He stood and glanced about him with a half-smile on his face. ‘Not a bad home.’

‘Should I be grateful for your approval?’ she bridled.

‘No, but I’d be glad if you were,’ he said.

She saw his grin, and then she saw his gaze drop and look over her appraisingly. It was like being assessed by a farmer buying a new cow, and she was about to tell him to leave her home and never return, when he winked at her and smiled broadly. ‘After all, you’re the most attractive woman on the islands, and I’d like to get to know you,’ he said.

Opening her mouth, she intended to tell him to leave, but then she found herself eyeing him in the same manner — and found that she liked what she saw.

Thus it was that she found herself, five months later, petitioning the new prior for the right to marry again. It was necessary by then, for the child was beginning to show.

The tavern was dark and grimy, with smoke from sea-coal laying a thick black deposit over every surface, but Isok felt at home.

It had taken him days to reach this place. His first intention of sailing westwards came to nothing, because the winds would not aid him. Instead he let the wind decide his course, and sailed north and east until at last he arrived here in Bristol. It was a thriving place, filled with inns which teemed with haggling merchants and buxom wenches who brought jugs for the sailors thronging them. Isok could only watch with astonishment, but his bulk soon won him companions. Within a few weeks he was paid and accepted the money to go and work with a merchant who had wines to collect in Guyenne. A long sail, but an easy one.

They left on a fine day, and made their way in stages down to the English territories. There they were to load the massive tuns of wine, furs and materials, before turning about and making their way back, but for Isok, much of the joy of the journey was lost on the early, outward section.

The winds took them easily around the western tip of Cornwall, then headed east along the coast of England until they arrived at Falmouth, where they took on fresh water and breads. It was there that the master was importuned by a priest.

‘Please, you must,’ Isok heard him say, but Isok was helping load the water, and could hear little of what was said. Still, at some point the master seemed to nod and grunt his consent, a small purse of money was passed to him, and soon afterwards, a man was led aboard.

Isok stared. He could be in no doubt. It was David. His hair was shaggy, he was dressed as a penitent in sackcloth and he looked as filthy and drawn as only a beggar can; but it was still David, and Isok felt his heart thrill to think that he would be able to speak to someone from his home again. He saw David being led ungently to the prow, and then Isok continued with his work, assured that he would later seek his old reeve, and ask what he was doing here.

The work was unremitting, and as soon as the stores were loaded, the ship was underway, so Isok had to climb up the ratlines to work on the sail, and because of the curious gusting winds, he had to keep climbing up and down for most of the rest of the day.

At one point, when the wind was blowing steadily, and Isok had some minutes of peace, he walked up to the prow. There he found David in a small metal chamber. ‘David?’ he asked. ‘Is that you?’

The face was David’s, but the eyes were those of a rabbit in the hound’s mouth, haunted and terrified. ‘Isok? Is it really you?’

‘Why are you dressed like this?’

‘I was found stealing bread,’ David said dully. ‘They called the hue and cry against me and I had to win sanctuary. They gave me my life provided I agreed to abjure the realm, so here I am. This was the first ship which would take me,’ he added bitterly.

‘Well, we’ll soon be in Guyenne,’ Isok said cheeringly.

David looked at him sourly and turned away. ‘You may be. I’ll never get there.’

‘Why? What, are you ill?’

‘I was a pirate once, Isok.’

Isok knew that. Almost every man on St Nicholas had turned his hand to that ancient trade when fish were few and there was no food. ‘So?’

‘The master was on a ship I raided. He recognised me. Be glad you weren’t on that sailing, Isok,’ he added quietly, ‘because if you had been, you’d have been due for my end.’

‘I could free you …’

‘Try that and you’ll perish too,’ David said bitterly. ‘Just leave me.’

Isok could feel his heart swelling with sympathy. ‘I’m as guilty as you! I’ve raided ships as often. I could get the keys,’ he added hopefully.

‘And what? Both jump into the sea to drown?’ David snarled. ‘What’d be the point? Let me die. I’ve done the best I could for the vill … and for you. Remember me for that.’

‘You did kill the gather-reeve?’

‘Aye. Of course I did. There was no one else to make him stop sniffing around your wife, was there? You wouldn’t.’

‘I couldn’t. I hated it — and him — but how could I blame her for seeking a man when I was none? And I loathed him and wanted to kill him, but … he was only trying to do what she wanted him to.’

David looked at him a long time. ‘If I’d found a man getting his hand up Brosia’s skirts, I’d have cut it off for him; and sliced off his tarse and fed it to him. If she was my wife, she’d have regretted flaunting her arse at the nearest man. Sod it! Who cares! It was the same as that vain little prick of a priest. I killed him for that. He was trying to have a go at Tedia too, and I reckon he’d have had a go at Brosia the moment I wasn’t around. I don’t regret him dying either.’

Isok looked away. David was only aware of his own misery, and his self-pity was eroding Isok’s sympathy.

‘As for the Prior, he shouldn’t have tried to get me to confess. Mind, he looked almost glad when I strung him up! He didn’t care. Always hated the islands, didn’t he? Hah! What I’d give now for a last sight of St Nicholas. One last look. First thing in the morning, when the sea’s flat-calm and easy, the light just that golden colour, you know? And everywhere looks fresh and new, sort of clean. And I’d see it from a boat, a small one, with the wind singing in the rigging. Aha! That’d be the sight for a man about to die, wouldn’t it?’

It was the next day, while Isok was up working on the sail, that he heard the screams. Looking down with a feeling of ice in his bowels, he saw the prow’s cell opened, and David being pulled out by force. There was a gathering of ten sailors on the maindeck, and Isok saw them talking to David, who dropped to his knees before the master, begging. He was picked up unceremoniously, the shackles removed from his wrists, and then he was lifted to the rail.

The master said a few words, and then pushed. From where Isok was, he could see his friend’s face lingering for a moment near the water’s surface, and then saw it fade, a yellowish moon, sinking slowly below the waves, the drowning man’s mouth wide in a terrified, silent scream.

Content

Michael Jecks
The Outlaws of Ennor

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three