Knight of Betrayal

by Karen Perkins

  ‘So what happens now?’ Helen asked.

  ‘Now you get on with your lives,’ Donna said. ‘As best you can.’

  ‘How are we supposed do that?’ Alec said.

  ‘Well, Mike and I have been talking – I want to get away from this place, start again where nobody knows us,’ Sarah said. ‘Give John and Kate a chance at a normal life.’

  ‘You’d take them away from Dan?’ Ed said, incredulous. ‘Hasn’t he been through enough?’

  ‘He doesn’t even know who they are,’ Sarah said. ‘It nearly broke Kate when he looked through her and didn’t recognise her. I know Dan’s in hell, and I feel so sorry for him, but I won’t consign our kids there too.’

  ‘Well, you two bugger off then, take Dan’s kids, I’ll stick by him,’ Ed said. ‘I’ll make sure he has someone fighting for him.’

  ‘Yes, me too,’ Alec said. ‘We’ll get him the best medical help, then the best legal help. He didn’t do this, he was used by a vengeful ghost. It’s not fair to just leave him in there.’

  They sat in silence for a while, Sarah burying her face into Mike’s shoulder, then Donna asked, ‘What about you, Helen, do you have any plans?’

  ‘I’ve had a lot of time to think about that,’ she said and managed a small smile. ‘I’m going to write a book about what happened.’

  ‘What? Do you really think that’s a good idea?’ Sarah said. ‘Surely it’s better to try to forget, put it all behind you, not immerse yourself in it by writing about it.’

  ‘How else will the real story be told? Everyone thinks that Paul, Charlie and Dan went mad – some kind of mass hysteria. As Ed just said, they weren’t mad, and I want to set the record straight. I started all this by doing that bloody séance, I owe them that much, and maybe it will help Dan too – at least the proceeds may help pay for his care.’

  ‘It’s your penance,’ Donna said quietly.

  ‘Exactly. My penance.’

  The End

  If you enjoyed Knight of Betrayal, please consider leaving a few words in review. Reviews are very important to an author and do help me understand what you enjoy, as well as guide other readers to books they would like to read.

  Thank you – Karen Perkins

  For more information on the full range of Karen Perkins’ fiction, including links for the main retailer sites and details of her current writing projects, please go to Karen’s website:

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  Author’s Note

  Although a great deal is written about the assassination of Thomas Becket, barely anything is written about his murderers. Living close to Knaresborough Castle, where Morville, Brett, Tracy and FitzUrse fled and stayed in hiding after their crime, I wanted to explore these characters as well as the impact on their lives of what they had done.

  It is debatable whether they were headstrong and bloodthirsty or truly carried out explicit orders of King Henry II, but the one thing the texts of the time do agree on is that Henry II carried out a public penance for his part in the murder of his old friend, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket in 1174. Not something that would come easily to a medieval king, I’m sure.

  It appears to be true – and is certainly accepted fact – that his words, often misquoted as ‘Who shall rid me of this troublesome priest?’ instigated the vicious murder of Thomas Becket inside Canterbury Cathedral (this wording first appeared in Thomas Mortimer’s New History of England in 1764, and the wording I have used in this book is inspired by the three contemporary accounts recorded by Guernes, Gervase of Canterbury and Edward Grim). Whether this was an order, a passing comment, or possibly a release of frustration by a man who, as king of England, was used to getting his own way – in everything – we’ll probably never know.

  There are very few accounts of the lives and deaths of the four knights other than the murder itself, and what does exist is conflicting to say the least. It is known, however, that after the murder, they fled to Knaresborough Castle and were shunned by nobles and peasants alike. The timeline of the knights’ stay at Knaresborough is also unclear, and I have used the shorter option for purposes of dramatization.

  There is also a suggestion that King Henry instructed them to go to Scotland, but as Henry was in France at the time of the murder and the knights appear to have set off north before he heard the news, I have ‘reassigned’ this advice as coming from Ranulf de Broc who, incidentally, appears to have suffered no consequences of his role in the murder. Henry II even granted him Haughley Castle a couple of years later.

  The ends I assign to the four knights are what I think to be the most likely as they correlate to their family trees and the historical record – although as I mentioned above, many of the records are contradictory. Morville’s children appear to have both been born after 1184, and Tracy apparently had two children in the 1150s, possibly another in 1170, although I have been unable to find a second source to confirm this, and two more in 1171, then another two in 1184 and 1185 with his second wife. Brett’s first chronicled children are born after 1195. None of them had any children between 1172 and 1184, and I think this gives credence to the likelihood of an extended stay in piety in Jerusalem.

  Morville and Brett left for their audience with the Pope and then the Holy Land months after Tracy’s departure; but what prompted them to join him after all? Perhaps a king unable to regain the favour of the Church? A king – a medieval dictator – frustrated at losing his battle over clerical courts and blaming the knights who had brought about his fall from grace? A king who wanted to give his knights some ‘motivation’?

  There is no definitive record of FitzUrse after joining Henry in Ireland, merely a presumption that he either went with the others to the Holy Land or settled in Ireland. To my mind, this lack of information, coupled with Morville and Brett’s decision to follow Tracy, suggests FitzUrse died in the Ireland campaign, but there is no historical source to confirm it, and his death as described here is fiction. Probably.

  *

  Whilst Knaresborough does hold an annual festival of entertainment and visual arts – feva – every year, the modern characters and personalities described in Knight of Betrayal are entirely fictional, including the members of The Castle Players, which is a fictional drama group. If you are visiting Knaresborough in August, I highly recommend the events that feva offer, there really is something for everyone.

  Karen Perkins

  North Yorkshire

  21st March 2015

  Book Club Questions

  Why do you think Morville, FitzUrse, Tracy and Brett were able to reach England so much quicker than the richer and more powerful knights Henry II officially tasked with arresting Becket?

  What do you think was Ranulf de Broc’s role in the murder: bystander or puppet master?

  Why do you think Henry II placed no sanctions on the knights?

  What role have few and uncertain sources, the language differences and superstition played on the recorded history of Thomas Becket’s assassination? Can we be certain of the ‘facts’ of something that happened so long ago?

  How important was the twelfth-century lack of any reliable, independent source of news in the canonisation of Thomas Becket?

  Does Becket himself carry any of the blame for the events leading to his death?

  How much responsibility does Henry II hold for Becket’s murder?

  In your opinion, has history treated the knights fairly?

  Have you ever or would you ever experiment with a spirit board?

  How much culpability does Helen carry for the modern-day killings?

  Fiction by Karen Perkins

  Yorkshire Ghost Stories

  Parliament of Rooks: Haunting Brontë Country

  Knight of Betrayal: A Medieval Haunting

  The Haunt
ing of Thores-Cross

  Cursed (Short Story)

  The Yorkshire Ghost Stories are also available in a box set at a reduced price:

  Ghosts of Yorkshire

  Coming 2018

  Jennet (Ghosts of Thores-Cross #3)

  To find out more about the full range of Yorkshire Ghost Stories, including upcoming titles, please visit:

  www.karenperkinsauthor.com/yorkshire-ghosts

  Valkyrie Series

  Look Sharpe! (Book 1)

  Ill Wind (Book 2)

  Dead Reckoning (Book 3)

  The first three books are also available in a box set at a reduced price:

  The Valkyrie Series, The First Fleet

  To find out more about the full range of books in the Valkyrie Series, including upcoming titles, please visit:

  www.karenperkinsauthor.com/valkyrie

  About the Author – Karen Perkins

  Karen Perkins is the author of seven fiction titles in the Valkyrie Series of Caribbean pirate adventures and the Yorkshire Ghosts Series. All of her fiction titles have appeared at the top of bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic, including the top 50 in the UK Kindle Store.

  Her first Yorkshire Ghosts novel – THE HAUNTING OF THORES-CROSS – won the silver medal for European fiction in the prestigious 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York, whilst her Valkyrie novel, DEAD RECKONING, was long-listed in the 2011 MSLEXIA novel competition.

  See more about Karen Perkins, including contact details, on her website:

  www.karenperkinsauthor.com

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  The Haunting of Thores-Cross by Karen Perkins

  A Yorkshire Ghost Story

  Silver medal winner, European fiction - 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards

  #1 Bestseller British Horror

  #1 Bestseller Occult, Ghosts & Haunted Houses

  #1 Bestseller Gothic Romance

  Over 100 5-STAR reviews on Amazon

  A haunting novel set in the North Yorkshire Moors about isolation, superstition and persecution. Thores-Cross follows the stories of Emma, a present day writer, and Jennet, an eighteenth-century witch.

  Emma Moorcroft is still grieving after a late miscarriage and moves to her dream house at Thruscross Reservoir with her husband, Dave. Both Emma and Dave hope that moving into their new home signifies a fresh start, but life is not that simple. Emma has nightmares about the reservoir and the drowned village that lies beneath the water, and is further disturbed by the sound of church bells - from a church that no longer exists.

  Jennet is fifteen and lives in the isolated community of Thores-Cross, where life revolves about the sheep on which they depend. Following the sudden loss of both her parents, she is seduced by the local wool merchant, Richard Ramsgill. She becomes pregnant and is shunned not only by Ramsgill, but by the entire village. Lonely and embittered, Jennet’s problems escalate, leading to tragic consequences which continue to have an effect through the centuries.

  Emma becomes fixated on Jennet, neglecting herself, her beloved dogs, and her husband to the point where her marriage may not survive. As Jennet and Emma’s lives become further entwined, Emma’s obsession deepens and she realises that the curse Jennet inflicted on the Ramsgill family over two hundred years ago is still claiming lives. Emma is the only one who can stop Jennet killing again, but will her efforts be enough?

  Read on for an excerpt from The Haunting of Thores-Cross by Karen Perkins:

  Prologue

  26th April 1988

  ‘I dare you to go up to the haunted house.’

  I glared at my sister in annoyance, then up at the house. I’d been there plenty of times with Alice and my friends, but never on my own. I did not want to go on my own now.

  ‘Double dare you.’

  ‘You little—!’ I lunged at her, but she danced out of my way. She might have been small, but she was quick.

  She laughed. ‘Scaredy-cat, scaredy-cat, Emma’s a scaredy-cat!’

  I eyed the house again, then frowned at Alice. But a double dare was a double dare. And I was not a scaredy-cat. At ten years old, I could do this. I took a deep breath, ignored the butterflies in my stomach and started walking up the hill. I didn’t rush.

  I scrambled through the gap in the crumbling dry stone wall that separated the house from the field, using both hands to steady myself. Something caught my eye and I stopped to have a closer look. Curious, I reached into the jumble of stones, and pulled it from the dark recess in the wall.

  A little pot. Made of stone, it was rich brown in colour, roughly an inch high and two inches round with a small neck and lip. An old inkpot. I shook my head. How did I know that?

  ‘My story.’

  I froze, then spun round to check behind me. Who said that? I looked back at the house. There was nobody here. Although the stone walls still stood, there were no doors, windows, nor roof. Dark holes gaped in the walls and, I knew from earlier visits, it was knee deep in sheepshit inside. I must have imagined the voice. I glanced back at Alice, braced my shoulders and took a step towards the house.

  ‘Write my story.’

  My breath caught in my throat, then I sucked in a great lungful of air, turned and ran. Dashing past Alice, I didn’t care that she was laughing at me, that I’d lost the dare. I was terrified, desperate to get away from that house, that voice. It was only when I’d stopped running that I realised I still clutched the inkpot.

  The Haunting of Thores-Cross is available now

  Acknowledgements

  I am very grateful to the Dawn of Chivalry medieval re-enactment group, in particular Brian Robson. There are very few reliable reference sources for the 12th century, and without their help I would have found it even more difficult to make the details of this book historically accurate. Any mistakes on the historical detail (or anything else) are mine alone. If you ever get a chance to see Dawn of Chivalry in action, I encourage you to do so (website: www.dawnofchivalry.co.uk) The kids will love it (and so will the ladies . . .) For a sneak peek of one of their performances, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVvd9lEDf6E

  Thank you also to the Knaresborough Castle Museum, the Royal Armouries Museum Leeds, Royal Naval College Greenwich, Matt at the Coniston Hotel falconry centre, Janet Mitchell and the St Thomas a Becket Church in Hampsthwaite, and Practical Magick, all of whom have been very welcoming and helpful.

  Thank you to the Knaresborough and Harrogate Writers’ Groups, as well as the First Thursday book group, whose members have all been extremely generous in their advice and support, and have expertly steered me around many potential pitfalls – this is a better book for all of your input.

  I have so much gratitude for my family: my parents, Russ and Helga; my sister, Christina, and my beautiful nieces Chloe, Natalie and Sophie (and no, you can’t read my stories, girls, not until you’re a lot older!).

  Just as many thanks go to my friends, with a special mention to Louise Burke who bravely edits my books and doesn’t flinch in telling me where I’ve gone wrong (she’s usually right!), Cecelia Morgan, who never fails to design a stunning book cover, and Louise Turner who always tells me like it is. You have never wavered in your support of my writing, and I honestly could not do this without you.

  I am extremely grateful for the support, advice, encouragement and opportunities given to me by other authors – whoever said writing was a lonely business could not have been more wrong. Especial thanks go to authors Elisabeth Storrs, Janice G. Ross and my fellow ‘HotBoxers’: David Leadbeater, Steven Bannister, John Paul Davis, Mike Wells, Andrew Lucas, CR Hiatt and C K Raggio. My journey so far would not have been nearly so exciting or fun without each and every one of you. Thank you.

  Thank you also to Peter Illidge, Bernie C
rosthwaite, who taught me so much, and Andrew Bennett and Peter Mutanda waNdebele who both encouraged me (in other words pushed me mercilessly) on to this wonderful and exciting path.

  And most of all thank you, Reader. Without you, none of this means anything. I am humbled every time somebody reaches out to me either privately or in a review to tell me they’ve enjoyed one of my tales. I will do my best to continue to entertain and thrill you, and even give you nightmares – sorry!

  Bibliography for Knight of Betrayal

  Barber R & Barker J (1989) Tournaments Jousts, Chivalry and Pageants in the Middle Ages, The Boydell Press, Suffolk

  Barlow F (1995, 1999) The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042-1216, Addison Wesley Longman Limited, New York

  BiblioLife, LLC The Story of the English Towns Harrogate and Knaresborough by J.S. Fletcher, BiblioLife, Charleston USA

  University of Pennsylvania Press (2005) A Knight’s Own Book of Chivalry, Geoffroi de Charney, Translated by Elspeth Kennedy, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.