by Alys Clare
De Gifford watched her closely. ‘Forgive me for asking, my lady, but was his nocturnal departure anticipated?’
‘Of course not,’ she said briskly. ‘Something must have happened to make him flee without telling anyone.’
‘And this flight occurred the night following the discovery of Teb Bell’s body?’
‘Yes.’
There was a pause. Then de Gifford said, ‘There is no need for me to draw the obvious conclusion that suggests itself.’
‘But surely we should mistrust it purely because it is the obvious conclusion?’ Josse burst out. ‘If someone wanted to throw suspicion on Leofgar, what better way than to commit a murder and then come along afterwards and say, oh, Leofgar Warin had an argument with that man and I bet you a barrel of ale that it was Leofgar’s hand that killed him!’ To make quite sure that neither de Gifford nor Helewise had missed the point, he added, ‘We have only this Arthur Fitzurse’s word for all this!’
Looking at him, fighting so valiantly for her and her son, Helewise felt a rush of love for him. But de Gifford was speaking; she made herself listen.
‘That is true, Josse,’ he said, ‘and I have told Fitzurse that he must either support his accusations or else withdraw them. He says he will find evidence to support his theory and he promises to discover what it was that the Bell brothers argued with Leofgar about. He also claims that he can prove that Walter Bell went to the Old Manor.’ De Gifford glanced quickly at Helewise and then, turning back to Josse, said, ‘He wants me to go there with him.’
Helewise bit back her protest. I cannot prevent this, she thought; this man Fitzurse has every right to search for his missing friend and if indeed Walter Bell did go to the Old Manor, there will not necessarily be any proof of that.
Every instinct in her demanded that she accompany the sheriff to Leofgar’s manor. But it was possible – in her case absolutely necessary – to deny her instincts. She had just absented herself from Hawkenlye for a day and a night and there was no justification for doing so again. Especially when she had a loyal friend who could go in her place.
Turning to Josse, she said, ‘Sir Josse, would you be prepared to ride out with the sheriff? After all, you know the way to the Old Manor, having just come from there.’
His eyes met hers. She tried to put her pleading into her expression – Josse, please do this for me! I need someone to protect Leofgar’s interests and there is nobody I trust more than you! – and straight away he said, ‘Aye, my lady. I would be happy to go, if Gervase is agreeable.’
‘I am,’ de Gifford said. ‘And right pleased to have your company, Josse.’
They set out at once. A horseman was waiting for them at the top of Castle Hill and as they drew level with him, de Gifford introduced him to Josse as one of his men. ‘Go and find Arthur Fitzurse, Matt,’ de Gifford ordered him, ‘and tell him to meet Sir Josse and me at the Old Manor.’
Matt gave a curt nod then turned his horse and cantered off down the track. De Gifford went as if to follow him but Josse said, ‘We can go by a route that does not pass through Tonbridge, if you wish; it is the way that the Abbess took me and, as she said, it avoids the attention of the curious.’
De Gifford smiled. ‘I do not mind that sort of attention, but I am happy to be shown another way. Lead on!’
Josse was relieved that the sheriff had been so amenable. His reason for suggesting that they take the alternative route was to avoid any chance of Arthur Fitzurse coming to join them on the ride to the Old Manor; he very much wanted the chance to talk to de Gifford alone. Recalling with only a little effort the tracks along which the Abbess had led him, he wondered how to go about raising the matter he wanted to discuss and concluded that, given de Gifford’s intelligence and perception, the direct approach was probably best.
So, soon after they had crossed the river, he turned in the saddle and said, ‘This tale that Fitzurse has spun for you seems unlikely to me, Gervase. From all that you have said, it sounds as if the man is of a very different quality from the Bell brothers, and yet he claims to know them well enough to be aware of this hypothetical quarrel they have with Leofgar Warin. You have told us that the Bells are villains and that Walter is a killer, and should that not tell us something about Fitzurse? If a man associates with dishonest men, is not his own honesty open to question?’
De Gifford had moved up to ride beside him. ‘Yes, Josse, I have been thinking much the same thing,’ he agreed. ‘Indeed, there can be no question about the nature of the Bell brothers. Although I know I should not express pleasure at any man’s death, I have to confess that I felt no grief upon seeing Teb Bell lying dead in the Abbey infirmary, and I cannot entirely suppress the hope that his brother stays missing and never turns up again to cause trouble and pain to innocent people.’
‘Then—’
But de Gifford held up a hand. ‘Josse, I know what you would say and in my heart I agree: why bother to try to find out what has happened to Walter Bell? But his brother has been murdered and now Fitzurse makes this accusation that implicates Leofgar. For all that Leofgar is the Abbess Helewise’s son, I cannot do other than investigate to the best of my ability.’
Josse let out a gusty sigh. ‘Aye, Gervase. I know that.’ He grinned grimly. ‘It was worth a try.’
De Gifford returned his smile. Then, kicking his horse to a canter, said, ‘Come on. Best to get this over with.’
They reached the Old Manor in advance of Fitzurse. Wilfrid came out into the courtyard to greet them and Josse introduced de Gifford and was on the point of explaining why they were there when the sheriff interrupted.
‘I must ask you, Wilfrid, whether you recall a visit from a stranger, round about the beginning of the month?’
Wilfrid’s calm expression did not alter. ‘No, sir,’ he replied. ‘I can’t say as how I do.’
‘A stunted, skinny sort of a man, rough-looking, gingery, unkempt?’ de Gifford persisted.
Wilfrid said, ‘No, sir.’
‘What of the other servants?’
‘There’s not many of us, sir, not who spend their days mostly up here at the Manor, leastways. There’s my lad who tends the yard and the stables and my wife who cooks and keeps house. There was a wet nurse but she was gone ages back, long afore the start of the month.’
‘Will you ask your wife and son to come and speak to me, please?’ de Gifford asked politely.
‘Certainly, sir. My lad’ll see to your horses.’
He strode off around the side of the house, returning a few moments later with his fair-haired wife and his young son, both of whom gave shy bows and greetings to Josse. Wilfrid said, ‘Now, Anna, now Simeon, just answer the question.’ Turning to de Gifford, he said, ‘Sir?’
De Gifford asked again. Both the woman and the boy solemnly shook their heads. Then the boy put out his hands for the horses’ reins and led them away. The woman, with a swift glance at her husband, bobbed a curtsy and hurried away, muttering something about fetching the visitors something to warm them up.
‘Will you come inside, my lords?’ Wilfrid asked. ‘I will light the fire for you.’
Josse, who was feeling increasingly awkward at what he felt to be an imposition on these courteous and welcoming people of Leofgar’s, spoke up. ‘We await another man, Wilfrid. We will remain out here, thank you, and please tell your wife that we do not need any refreshments.’
De Gifford apparently picked up his unease; he said with admirable brevity, ‘Wilfrid, the man about whom I’ve just been asking is missing and there has been a suggestion that he came here to see your master a while ago. We have come here to see if there is any trace of him. The fellow we’re expecting is a friend of the missing man and, indeed, it is he who is pressing us to search here for him.’
‘I see,’ Wilfrid said. ‘Please let me know what assistance I can give you, sir. I know the estate well, having lived here all my life.’ He glanced briefly from de Gifford to Josse and then back again. ‘I’ll be in the stabl
es giving Simeon a hand. Call me when you are ready to begin your search.’ Then, with a bow, he turned away and walked off in the direction in which his son had led the horses.
It was cold. Josse was beginning to regret his embarrassed rejection of Wilfrid and his wife’s offers of hospitality and, from the way that de Gifford was shifting from foot to foot and wrapping his arms around himself, Josse guessed he probably felt the same. But then there came the sound of horse’s hooves on the hard ground and presently a man rode into view.
He was dressed in a heavy fur-trimmed cloak over a black tunic and his horse was a good one. He removed his hat to reveal a head of brown hair going grey. His eyes were dark in his sallow face and his mouth had a grim, discontented set to it as if he found it difficult to smile and perhaps, despite his apparent wealth and good health, considered that he had little to smile about. Taking all this in, one thing struck Josse more forcefully than any other detail: Arthur Fitzurse rode into the courtyard of the Old Manor staring around him with the proprietorial air of one returning to his own home.
De Gifford stepped forward to greet him. ‘I have brought with me Sir Josse d’Acquin,’ he added, turning to present Josse. ‘Josse, this man is Arthur Fitzurse.’
‘Sir Josse d’Acquin,’ Fitzurse repeated, with a twist of his mouth that seemed to suggest he knew very well who Josse was and why he was there. ‘Well, sheriff, shall we be about our search? You have questioned the servants, I imagine?’
‘I have.’ De Gifford watched Fitzurse dismount. ‘They have no recollection of any stranger visiting at the start of the month.’
‘I see.’ Fitzurse looked around haughtily, as if expecting someone to have appeared by now to take his horse. He yelled, ‘Groom! You are needed!’ and, after several moments, Wilfrid appeared and without a word took the reins from Fitzurse’s gloved hand.
Fitzurse stared after him as he led the horse away. ‘Feed and water him!’ he commanded.
There was a faint, ‘Aye, sir,’ then Wilfrid was gone.
‘Where do you propose we begin?’ de Gifford asked.
‘In the house.’ Fitzurse strode off to the steps and mounted them, opening the door into the main hall. It was empty and smelled faintly of the dried rushes on the floor.
‘There’s nobody here,’ Josse pointed out.
Fitzurse was staring around him, peering beneath the rushes, looking behind hangings, prodding at the shield that hung on the far wall, kicking at the charred logs in the great hearth and, picking up a kindling stick, poking through the mound of ashes. Then he turned his attention to the long table, running his hands over its surface and feeling underneath it.
‘What are you looking for there?’ de Gifford demanded curtly.
Fitzurse turned to him, his eyes bright in the dim light. ‘I told you that the Bell brothers had a dispute with Leofgar Warin,’ he said. ‘There may be some evidence of this concealed within the hall.’
‘Evidence?’ De Gifford sounded as incredulous as Josse was feeling. ‘What, do you speak of some written document, some incriminating manuscript? But good God, man, the Bells are surely illiterate! What could they possibly have to do with evidence?’
Fitzurse barely paused in his search. ‘I cannot answer that unless and until I find something,’ he replied smoothly. ‘In the meantime, let us proceed with our hunt.’
De Gifford gave an impatient sound. ‘We will look in the solar,’ he announced. ‘Josse?’
Together the two of them went up the stone stair to the solar and looked in the two sleeping chambers and the small chapel. Other than the family’s possessions – of good quality but few in number – there was nothing to be seen. Nor was there, Josse reflected, hating this imposition even more now that he was having to trespass into the private areas of the house, anywhere that a man could hide. Or – he tried not to think of it – where a body could be concealed.
De Gifford came out of the small chapel. ‘There’s nothing here,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Josse, I think we’re wasting our time. And I feel badly about doing this. Hunting through the house when its master and mistress are not here, for no better reason than because a man like Fitzurse has demanded it, does not feel right. Come, let’s go down again.’
They found Fitzurse on his back under the table. ‘Have you found your evidence?’ de Gifford asked coolly.
Fitzurse stood up, brushing down his tunic and arranging his cloak. Instead of answering, he said, ‘Anything amiss above?’
‘No,’ Josse said, just as de Gifford said, ‘Nothing.’
‘Then we must search outside,’ Fitzurse declared.
For a long time they did so. They kept together – at Fitzurse’s insistence – and searched kitchen, stables, storehouses, undercroft and even the room behind the kitchen where Wilfrid and his family lived. The blonde woman stood with eyes cast down as Fitzurse poked about in the blankets and covers on the narrow bed and raked through the piled ashes around the hearth; Wilfrid stared off into the distance as if his mind were far away. The child, after a scared glance, had disappeared in the direction of the stables.
Then they began to search the ground around the Manor, looking under the winter-bare trees and along the track that led off into the forest. Finally, as Fitzurse stood staring down a faint path probably made by wild boar, de Gifford had had enough.
‘Do you propose that we dig up the forest?’ he asked grimly. ‘Or may we now admit that, even given that Walter Bell did come here, which I propose is unlikely since none of the servants saw him, then he left no trace of his visit?’
Fitzurse turned and glared at him. ‘He came here,’ he insisted in a strangely forceful tone. ‘I know he did. And he has not been seen since.’
‘We have only your word for that,’ de Gifford said.
‘Do you accuse me of lying?’ Fitzurse demanded. ‘Is that it?’ He turned his angry eyes to Josse. ‘And you, sir knight, is that what you think too, you who are such a close friend of the lady Abbess?’ He nodded as if to say, yes, I know all about you. Then, with an abrupt movement, he said, ‘Oh, have it your own way then. I’ll carry on the hunt alone!’
‘It will do you little good if you do find evidence,’ de Gifford pointed out, ‘since, without a witness, there is nothing to say that you did not bring it here yourself. Furthermore, use of the forest that stretches out before us is permitted to all at this time of year and so it would be virtually impossible to link anything that you did happen to find with Leofgar Warin and his household.’
Fitzurse stared at him as if he would have liked to punch him. Then, lips tight, he hissed, ‘I have not done with this matter yet, sheriff. Just wait. Just you wait.’ And, leaving behind him a feeling of disturbing unease, he strode off under the trees.
After a moment, de Gifford said, ‘Josse, I am unhappy over this. There is something ...’ He screwed up his face as if trying to extract what he felt from the chilly air of the forest fringe. Then, shrugging, he added, ‘But it will not reveal itself, I fear, to two cold men who wish they were somewhere else. Come, let us fetch our horses and return to the Abbey. The lady Abbess will be relieved that nothing has been found.’
Aye, she will, Josse silently agreed. Remembering how she had looked when de Gifford had revealed who it was that Fitzurse sought, he added to himself, she’ll be relieved, even though she may very well also be surprised.
It was late when they finally reached the Abbey. All was quiet and still within the high walls but, as he and de Gifford rode off in the direction of the stables, Josse was aware of Sister Ursel diligently pushing home all three of the stout bars that secured the gates as if she too felt the vague sense of menace that seemed to hang in the air. The two men saw to their horses and then Josse led the way out of the smaller gate that opened on to the track leading down to the Vale. Once more the porteress secured it behind them, bidding them both a soft goodnight.
The monks, lay brothers and the few visiting pilgrims who were staying overnight in the Vale’s spars
e accommodation appeared to have settled down to sleep. Moving quietly to his own habitual corner, Josse found a bedroll and blankets for de Gifford and the two of them made themselves as comfortable as they could. There was a fire still burning in the central hearth and its warmth was very welcome.
Leaning close to Josse, clearly anxious not to disturb the sleeping people nearby, de Gifford whispered, ‘Fitzurse will go on with his search, I am thinking, despite the fact that I implied that anything he managed to turn up would not necessarily count against Leofgar.’
‘You think that he will find something?’ Josse whispered back.
De Gifford sighed. ‘I hope not, although I confess that I fear the worst.’
Aye, Josse thought, and that was why you were at such pains to discount any incriminating discovery that Fitzurse might make even before he has made it.
Listening to the rustling of the straw palliasse as de Gifford turned over and lay down, Josse reflected that, like the Abbess, the sheriff too seemed almost to be expecting trouble ...
It was not a comfortable thought on which to try to get to sleep.
Chapter 11
Josse reported to the Abbess early the next day. She was clearly very relieved when he told her that nothing had turned up at the Old Manor to prove that Walter Bell had visited Leofgar there. Josse did not think it either kind or necessary to add that there had been no sign of a body either, although he was quite sure she had been dreading that there might have been.
‘What will Gervase de Gifford do now?’ she asked. Her appearance of serenity, Josse decided, was costing her considerable effort. Her face was pale and he noticed that her strong hands were clenched so tightly that the knuckles showed white. As if aware of his sympathetic eyes on them, she tucked her hands away in the opposite sleeves of her habit.