Devil's Acre
Page 12
But then the boy Nicholas spotted her and with a howl of delight came lumbering towards Esme. This time, however, she made no attempt to run but allowed the boy to scoop her up in his arms, to much more applause from the ladies in the room. Then, just as she had done to me in Tottington, Esme covered the boy’s face with licks and nips making him squeal with pleasure. I have to admit to a slight feeling of jealousy. But then the female sex is ever thus fickle.
The countess watched all this with evident distaste and was about to issue further orders. Fortunately the lady Simone saw the danger and stepped forward to deftly coax the boy away while still clutching Esme. I let them go without comment. Well, that at least was one problem solved. It looked as though Esme had a new master. I can’t say I was entirely sorry.
The countess now made her move to leave indicating Samson to escort her. A moment later Lord William also left, accompanied by his own entourage, through another door. Thus it seemed the day’s business was ended as suddenly as it had begun. Now what? I looked round for Maynus wondering if we were to leave too.
‘I’m sorry about your puppy.’
I turned to see the lady Adela standing there.
‘What? I mean, excuse me my lady. It doesn’t matter. Esme wasn’t really mine.’
‘Nevertheless, you must allow me to pay for her.’
‘No no, I wouldn’t hear of it.’
‘Oh but you must.’
‘Adela, are you coming?’ It was the Lady Maud calling.
Adela’s smile vanished to be replaced by a pained expression. ‘I have to go.’ And then she said something very strange: ‘You will take care of him for me, won’t you Brother Walter?’
‘Him, my lady?’
‘My boy.’
‘Erm, yes - if I can. How exactly…?’
‘Adela!’
She laid a gentle white hand on my arm. ‘Promise me.’
What else could I say? I shrugged. ‘Of course.’
Adela smiled once more and then followed her sisters out.
Chapter 15
BLIND ALLEYS
‘So, mon frère, what did you think of our noble family?’
We were waiting outside the castle gate for Samson to finish his business with the earl.
‘Charming, quite charming. Are they always so loving towards each other?’
Maynus gave a wry smile. ‘Is it not usually the way with families?’
‘Not with mine.’
‘Then you are fortunate indeed, mon fils.’
That wasn’t strictly true. Joseph and I used to fight like mongrels as children, although we always made up afterwards - or nearly always. And I won’t begin to describe the battles royal I had with my mother, although nothing as vicious as what I had just witnessed between William and his mother. I was still reeling from the experience, not least Adela’s extraordinary approach at the end. What possible help she thought I could give, a poor monk she had only just met, I couldn’t imagine. Yet she seemed in earnest.
Take care of her boy. Presumably she meant one of the two in the hall, Richard or Nicholas, since both, apparently, were her brother’s nephews. But which one? By the time I thought to ask she had already gone. But surely there could be no confusion: angelic Richard must be hers. Monstrous Nicholas would have to be the product of a union between an ape and a gorgon not the product of such a lady as Adela. On the other hand, Nicholas was the one most in need of protection, not least from his own family if that appalling exhibition was anything to go by. Richard needed nobody’s help. Handsome and intelligent, few could be more favoured by God or better equipped for the ravages of this world. I supposed in that case it could be either. But which? Maybe Maynus knew.
‘Who exactly are those two boys?’ I asked him tentatively. ‘Nephews of Lord William - I gathered that much. But who are the parents?’
‘Ah well, now you have asked la question juste.’ Maynus lowered his voice. ‘It is rumoured that Richard is King John’s son. En fait it is not a rumour, it is fact. John all but acknowledges him. He even gives him his brother’s name and calls him Fitz-Roi.’
‘Richard Fitzroy - meaning “son of a king”.’ I shook my head. ‘I don’t know why I’m surprised. One of John’s little jokes, no doubt.’
‘Except no-one is permitted to laugh,’ smiled Maynus.
‘And his mother?’
‘Adela,’ he mouthed.
So I was right. It was Richard. But that just made her request to help him all the more baffling.
‘What about the other boy - Nicholas? Who’s his mother.’
Maynus shrugged. ‘Personne ne sait.’
‘Well someone must know. Or is poor Nick too much of an embarrassment for anyone to claim him?’
‘There are rumours of course.’
‘About Adela?’
He shook his head. ‘Adela could not be the mother of both boys. They are weeks apart in age.’
‘One of the other sisters, then?’
I wouldn’t put it past John to have fathered children by two sisters in the same family. His sexual appetites were legion. I had the dubious pleasure of witnessing them for myself when he last stayed at the abbey. Three years later I was still having nightmares about it. All the Warenne sisters were John’s cousins which would render any liaison incestuous in the eyes of the church, of course - not that such a minor technicality would have deterred John. But which one this time: Maud or Isabel? Frankly neither seemed his type. And I wasn’t sure Maynus knew or if he did he wouldn’t tell me. He was already looking uncomfortable with the subject. I decided to let it drop.
‘Father, may I touch on another matter now that we find ourselves alone?’
He hesitated. ‘Oh yes?’
‘My behaviour yesterday. I feel I owe you an apology. I didn’t have the chance earlier.’
Maynus smiled kindly. ‘Do not fret, mon fils. It is already forgotten.’
‘Not by me. I was wrong, I see that now. The abbot explained it all to me.’
At that he looked slightly surprised. ‘The abbot explained?’
‘About Father Ralf’s problem. Always a delicate subject, I know. But fear not, your secret is safe with me.’
‘I am relieved to hear it.’
I nodded affably. Well, I was glad that was out of the way. I didn’t like the idea of Maynus thinking badly of me. We’d got off on the wrong foot yesterday. Perhaps now we could begin our relationship again. I peered down the slope towards the castle gate where Samson was supposed to reappear.
‘Is he likely to be much longer do you think?’
‘The earl is a very sick man,’ said Maynus. ‘He has la paralysie…what is the English? It is not easy for him to communicate.’
I nodded. ‘Palsy. Poor man. Very difficult to treat. One really has only prayer. I recommend Saint Drogo. He always listens to my supplications. Still, you would have thought his son would welcome the intervention of such a senior churchman as the abbot.’
Maynus demurred. ‘Lord William is wary of the père abbé. He fears he may have too much influence.’
‘With the countess? Because of their past association, presumably?’
He gave a hesitant smile. ‘Past association?’
‘From when he was incarcerated here as a young man.’
‘The abbot has mentioned this time?’
‘Of course. He told me all about it - the abbot doesn’t keep much from me. He was a young novice then, of course. Hard to imagine now, I know. But surely you were here at the time?’
‘No,’ Maynus said firmly. ‘Nothing to do with that. It is to do with Lord William’s desire to go to Normandy.’ He lowered his voice. ‘You have heard, no doubt, that King John is there now making ready his defences against an expected invasion by King Philip?’
‘The abbot did confide as much, yes. Are you suggesting that has some bearing on the rift between William and his mother?’
Maynus inclined his head. ‘The countess is not enthousiaste.’
‘Yes. But he will want to take with him his entourage.’
Ah! So that was it. Of course, it made sense now. Adela’s brother wants to go to war and will take her son with him as his squire. No wonder she was fearful for Richard’s well-being. Although what she thought I could do about it heaven alone knew.
‘I’m sure Lord William wouldn’t place his own nephew in unnecessary danger.’
‘In war it is not always possible to control events, mon fils. The heat of battle. Both boys are still very young and totally inexperienced.’
I frowned. ‘Both boys did you say? Surely you can’t mean…?’
‘Naturally Nicholas will go too. You saw the exhibition in the hall. They are both squires now.’
‘But I thought the ceremony was for Richard alone.’
‘No no, both.’
I looked for signs of jest. There was none. I snorted. ‘That’s ridiculous!’
Maynus gave a wan smile. ‘How so?’
‘Well isn’t it obvious?’
He looked at me blank.
‘Good grief, father prior, do I have to spell it out? The boy is unfit. Richard - yes, I grant he’d make a splendid squire. But Nicholas?’
Maynus shrugged. ‘I do not see why not? He has lived under Lord William’s roof, been fed by him, clothed by him. Is it not reasonable to expect him to repay such a debt?’
‘But he’s fourteen.’
‘In law, a man.’
‘A man with a child’s mind.’
‘I doubt Lord William will see it that way.’
I couldn’t believe I was hearing this. Was Maynus being serious?
‘Well it doesn’t matter to me, of course. I don’t know the lad. But I’m surprised Lord William would consider taking a boy like Nicholas with him to war. He’d be less than useless on a battlefield. I doubt he’d survive the first cavalry charge. And frankly, father, I’m a little shocked by your lack of sympathy.’
‘I am not unsympathetic, mon fils, but we have to face facts. Lord William has many squires. He can afford to lose one or two.’
My jaw fell completely open at that. ‘Father can you hear yourself? This is a child’s life we are talking about. And not just any child. A child of noble - indeed royal - blood.’
Maynus shrugged. ‘Alas, the children of the aristocracy are often strangers to their parents.’
‘But Nicholas is still his flesh and blood,’ I said with exasperation. ‘What sort of uncle sends his own nephew to certain death?’
‘The sort who puts duty to king and country first.’
I could see I was wasting my time arguing with Maynus. Maybe Burgundians regard their families differently to Englishmen. I couldn’t see my mother agreeing to such an outrage. Harridan to her children she may be, but set against outsiders she would defend them to the last dugout. At least, I liked to think she would.
‘Can’t the countess stop him?’ I asked. ‘You said she was less than keen on this war.’
‘You saw today how they are. In theory, yes of course. And while the earl lives she will get her way. But every day the earl grows weaker, his influence is declining. And once he is gone there will be no holding William.’
‘Well I think it’s monstrous,’ I said folding my arms.
‘It is la noblesse.’
I was appalled by Maynus’s attitude. This wasn’t at all what I expected of him. I was beginning to regret that apology now. I looked again at the castle gate willing Samson to reappear, but there was still no sign of him. A stray dog trotted up and sniffed briefly at our boots before cocking its leg against the wall and rummaging off.
‘I’m afraid you have lost your own little pet, mon fils,’ said Maynus gently.
‘I’m sure she’s better off with Nick. Yes, and that’s another thing: you saw the way he was with her. That’s the sort of boy he is, a lover of animals, not a soldier.’
I looked again at the gate. What could be keeping Samson? Then just as I was beginning finally to lose hope he appeared - not from the castle as expected but from the town. He was strolling towards us seemingly without a care in the world clutching a parcel to his chest from which he appeared to be eating.
‘Thank God!’ I said going up to him.
‘Were you worried about me?’ he beamed. ‘Did you think the countess had locked me up?’
I frowned, irritated by his bonhomie. ‘You’re sounding remarkably gay, father. I take it your meeting with the earl went well?’
‘Very well. We accomplished what we wanted pretty quickly.’
‘Then may one ask what you’ve been doing since?’
‘Exploring my old haunts.’ He held up the punnet he was clutching against his chest to show me. ‘Mussels. From the market. I remembered they grew them here in the Nar. Try one, they’re delicious.’
I pulled a face. ‘No thank you.’
He shrugged. ‘Suit yourself.’ He offered them to Maynus instead. ‘Well now, what have you two been talking about in my absence?’
‘We have been discussing Lord William’s plans,’ said the prior helping himself to a mussel. ‘For the boy Nicholas.’
‘Oh yes? And what conclusion did you come to?’
‘The good doctor does not approve.’
‘Really? Why not? I should think it will be quite an adventure for the lad. A trip across the Channel. The chance to prove himself. Surely every young man’s dream.’
I looked at him aghast. ‘Not you as well. Father, the boy is child. Sending him to do a man’s work is…barbaric.’
He snorted. ‘Try telling that to Lord William.’
‘In all seriousness, father, I think you might have a word. He wouldn’t listen to me but he might to the Abbot of Saint Edmund’s.’
‘I doubt it. You’ve seen what he’s like. Not the sort of man to take advice.’ Samson gorged on another mussel making a disgusting slurping noise, the juice running down into his beard. ‘You don’t know what you’re missing with these mussels.’
I looked from him to Maynus. There seemed no reasoning with either of them. If I couldn’t persuade these two I had no chance with Lord William. If that was what the Lady Adela had in mind when she approached me she clearly overestimated my powers.
We started to walk slowly back up the hill towards the north gate of the town.
‘Your trouble, Walter, is that you think the whole world is in thrall to Holy Mother Church. Not so, I’m afraid. The world is far more earthbound. Look at Becket.’ He glanced sideways at me. ‘You won’t remember the trouble over the Archbishop of York, I suppose?’
‘Becket was Canterbury,’ I said petulantly, ‘not York.’
‘I’m talking about Geoffrey Plantagenet, the present Archbishop of York. A little before your time, perhaps. Maynus knows the story. It was when King Richard was in the Holy Land. In his absence the country was governed by the then lord chancellor, William Longchamp - an ugly little ape of a man.’
‘Charity, père abbé,’ said Maynus. ‘He could not help his looks.’
Samson shook his head. ‘Anyway, Archbishop Geoffrey wanted to govern the country in Richard’s absence, but Chancellor Longchamp had other ideas and even tried to prevent him from entering the kingdom.’
‘So what happened to him?’ I asked. ‘The archbishop I mean, not the ape.’
‘At first he sought refuge with the monks of Dover priory. But Longchamp’s guards soon discovered him there and dragged him by his ankles to the castle.’
I guffawed. ‘Did they really?’
‘Yes, I thought you’d like that. I would remind you the Archbishop of York is the second highest churchman in the land and this one was half-brother to the king. Yet here he was being bumped along the streets of Dover with his tonsured head banging on the cobbles.’
‘That’s terrib
le.’ I clamped my hand over my mouth.
Samson tutted. ‘I tell you this story, Walter, not to amuse you but to illustrate the point that men like Lord William and Chancellor Longchamp are no respecters of church authority be they priests, archbishops, monks or abbots. If they set their lance at a target they hit it. Here, have a mussel.’
‘I told you father, I don’t like them.’
‘Have one anyway. It’ll wipe that smirk from your face.’
*
‘Dom Walter!’
‘Oh, what now? Can’t a man be left in peace?’
‘You were giggling again. It disturbs the others.’
‘I was not giggling I was smirking. Smirking is a silent activity that disturbs nobody.’
‘It disturbed Brother Cedric.’
‘Cedric is an imbecile. He picks his nose and chews the contents.’
‘Nevertheless, if it persists I’m afraid I may have to take your writing material away.’
‘Take away my writing? No, you can’t do that. Gilbert, I forbid it! Only by writing it down can I hope to find the answer.’
‘The answer to what?’
‘To who the boy was, of course.’
‘What boy?’
‘The boy in the castle.’
‘Master, you speak in riddles.’
‘Ha-hah! Now you’ve said something sensible at last. A riddle - yes, that’s exactly what it is. I’m trying to solve a riddle.’
‘Well, why didn’t you say? I like riddles. Let me see:
My stem is erect when I stand in a bed.
My skin is as smooth but with hair down below me.
I swell up in youth but shrivel when dead.
And many’s the maid has wept to have known me - what am I?’
‘An idiot.’
‘An onion. The answer’s an onion. It’s obvious.’
‘Very well, you’re an onion.’
‘Riddles are clever things. They lead one along blind alleyways. The skill is to peel away the layers one by one in order to get to the true meaning underneath - just like the onion. Master, if I agree to let you keep your writing, will you promise to be a little quieter about it? Will you do that for me? Hm? Will you?’