The service was finished, and he left the cathedral by the side door opening into the cloister, where his nephew William met him.
Bishop Walter said nothing as they strode out across the little grassed area, along a narrow lane and thence into his palace, but he was tempted to speak. This constant attention was surely unnecessary. It was weeks since the note, and in the meanwhile, there had been nothing whatsoever. Only the death of poor Joshua, still sorely missed.
Reaching his chamber, he sat at his table and called for his steward. John de Padington entered in a rush, wiping his hands, and the bishop asked for mulled wine and biscuits. It was a cold day, but at least this room was always cosy.
As John came back, he brought another man with him. ‘This fellow says he has a gift for you,’ John announced, serving the bishop.
‘What is it?’ Bishop Walter asked.
The man was carrying a small barrel, such as might be used to transport a gallon of wine, but there was no stopper from which to pour. Instead, it had a tightly fitting lid.
‘William, you open it, please,’ he asked, reaching for his goblet of wine, which was why he missed the sight as the squire lifted the lid and gave a short cry of horror.
The barrel fell from his hands to the floor, and as the bishop turned, startled, he saw the dried and salted head tumble from within, rolling clumsily over the floor until it lay still, staring up from those hideous eyeballs as though accusing Bishop Walter himself.
Friday after the Feast of St Mathias*
Exeter
‘Yes, I swear it – and no, I did not!’ the bishop declared.
To William Walle, the bishop looked almost broken. The damage inflicted by that accursed note had been almost healed, but the arrival of this grisly remnant had set Bishop Walter back even further. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, and he had developed a curious shake in his left hand, which he tried to conceal by gripping it in his right.
The coroner, a bearded bear of a man called Sir Richard de Welles, snorted as he peered into the barrel again. ‘So this fellow was deposited here, although you don’t know him? Yet the barrel was addressed to you personally? You see me point, Bishop. Hard to believe you don’t have any connection with the deceased.’
‘I have not the faintest idea who it was,’ the bishop said again, shuddering.
William watched as the coroner shrugged and made to take his leave. He would investigate as best he could, he declared, but the likelihood of finding a body missing a head was more problematic than people might suspect. Most men tended to keep their skulls with them.
John the steward saw the coroner to the door, and William remained in the room with his uncle. He placed the lid on the top of the barrel again, pressing it down firmly. ‘I shall deliver this to the fosser,’ he said. ‘There’s no reason for you to keep it in here.’
‘No. Thank you.’
William hesitated.
‘Don’t you ask me as well,’ the bishop sighed. ‘I am sure he is not from here. We haven’t missed a man with fair hair like that, have we?’
‘No one has gone missing in recent weeks,’ William agreed. ‘I was wondering though, whether it could have been a while ago that this fellow died. He has been stored in salt, after all.’
‘What of it?’ the bishop said.
‘Salt would dry out the skin, make him look older than he really was.’
‘So?’
‘Perhaps this was a young man? After all, he has no beard to look at, and—’
‘Christ’s pain! No beard?’ the bishop gasped. ‘Show it to me again!’
‘Why, do you think … ?’ William said, opening the barrel and lifting the foul remnant.
‘The man from Despenser,’ the bishop breathed.
‘It was nothing to do with me,’ the bishop said, sipping his wine. ‘The men arrived here. You were with me, weren’t you, John?’
‘Aye. Didn’t like them, neither.’
‘No. Well. They were sent to me by Sir Hugh le Despenser,’ the bishop continued. He glanced at the lidded barrel, and averted his eyes again. ‘He wanted to send them to meet John Biset.’
‘Who’s he?’ William asked.
‘A boy who owns two manors that would be useful to me. I fear I … There is no concealing it: I was attempting with Sir Hugh to take the manors. The matter is closed so far as I am concerned now, but Sir Hugh wanted to progress, so he sent two men here, asking that I arrange for them to visit.’
‘Did you help them?’
‘I did not have a great deal of choice,’ the bishop said heavily. ‘I dared not defy Sir Hugh – you know what he is like. I asked the two if they were set upon bloodshed, and when both denied it, I felt that they were perhaps just wishing to speak with John Biset. And that was all.’
‘So you did help them?’
‘I allowed them an introduction to the nearest church and the chaplain. They took it, and that was that.’
‘Well, it appears that Master Biset was unimpressed, since here is one of them,’ William said. ‘Will you write to Despenser yourself and let the coroner know?’
The bishop stared at the barrel again. ‘I am tempted to send this to Despenser and leave it to him. But if I do, he is as likely to throw the head in the Thames as see to it that the fellow has a burial.’
‘Then bury it here,’ John said. ‘It’s what you were going to do anyway. Either the other man got away and Sir Hugh le Despenser knows their mission failed, or the fellow got killed, in which case Despenser knows nothing and there is no need to tell him.’
‘Perhaps you are right,’ the bishop said.
William shook his head. ‘What if this man Biset thinks you sent the men? He had the head delivered here, what if he tries to take his revenge on you?’
‘I don’t think he’ll do that. He’s made his point,’ the bishop said.
William nodded, but he was unconvinced. He would have to remain doubly on guard, he thought.
Fourth Monday before the Feast of St John and St Paul*
Exeter
It was in the middle of the morning when he knew that it was safe to go to the bishop’s chamber again.
Many months had passed since the first note, and it was time to turn the screw a little. That was how it felt, he thought: as if he was actually turning a thumbscrew on the man, every little twist of news adding to the man’s anguish. And this was the ideal time to do it, now that Bishop Walter’s first nervousness was waning.
It was astonishing to him, how badly that first message had affected the bishop. There had been an immediate deterioration in his appearance. Last year he had been a tall, striking fellow, until he had been sent with the king’s son to France, to try to maintain peace between the English in Guyenne and the French, but that mission had been a disaster. The queen took her son and kept him with her, the boy refusing to leave her, and all the guards bar a few who travelled with the bishop threw in their lot with the queen rather than return to England with him. To the bishop’s horror, he discovered that he was a marked man. Death threats were given, and he was forced to clothe himself in pilgrim’s garb and flee for his life. To hear him, it sounded as though he escaped only by the merest chance.
It had been that which had led to the plot. The sight of the man who was so detested arriving back in England like a beggar, with his clothes all disordered, his face wild and anxious, registering the terror that had driven him from France, had been a source of joy to those who hated him. Making him suffer as he had caused so many others to suffer, was massively appealing.
He slipped into the hall without being seen. It was easy enough. There was no one on the door at this time of day, and he could cross to the stairs which led up to the bishop’s private chamber. These were a narrow spiral set into the wall, and as he climbed, he feared that at any moment he might hear a voice demanding to know what he was doing there. Then he would be discovered, along with his guilty secret.
The stairs were dark at the top. There w
as a door to block the way, but it was ajar, and he pressed a palm against the timbers as he listened, eyes wide, head turned a little towards the opening, fearing disaster while also strangely hoping for it.
It was a curious feeling, this. He wanted to continue with the plan, to see the bishop wild with fear – and yet there was this odd compulsion to have it all end as well. To get caught. Part of him wanted to confront the man, to tell him who had done all this. To stand before the bishop and denounce him for his many crimes.
The deep pounding of his heart seemed to reverberate about his belly as he pushed the door open an inch, a little more, a little more again – until he could sidle through the gap.
The table stood at the far edge of the room. He crossed to it, trying to avoid the weaker, creaking boards in the middle of the room, but one gave out a shrill noise and he froze like a rabbit awaiting the talons of his predator.
He had no time to wait; he must get it over with. In a hurry now, he darted to the table. There was a mess of papers on it, and he was about to thrust the note in amongst them, when he saw the three books sitting on a nearby shelf. He picked up the first, but shook his head. It was the Thoughts of St Thomas Aquinas, and he couldn’t pollute that. The next book was a copy of the Chanson de Roland. The great epic story of the Battle of Roncevaux was one which the bishop had often extolled, and this was a book he returned to often. Without further thought, he picked up the Chanson de Roland, opened it and thrust the parchment inside.
Quickly and quietly, he made his way along the wall, the silent wall where no floorboards creaked or screamed, and reached the door. He drew it to behind him, and tiptoed down the stairs.
‘What are you doing up there?’
And hearing the voice, he stopped dead in terror.
Fourth Monday before the Feast of St John and St Paul*
Portchester, Hampshire
Simon Puttock walked into his house and slammed the door behind him. In the distance he could hear his son shouting and screaming, and he paused a moment, long enough to guess that Perkin was again trying his luck against grim authority, represented by Hugh. He gave a grin, and walked along the narrow passageway to the hall.
There was a good fire crackling and hissing, and he sighed with pleasure to be able to stand before it, his hands stuffed into his belt.
‘I did not expect you home so soon,’ Margaret said, hurrying in, wiping her hands on a towel. ‘You must be tired. Would you like ale or wine?’
‘I think today I need a strong wine. Where is Perkin?’
‘Your son has been a sore distraction to me today,’ Margaret said, dropping onto a stool. ‘He stole a pie before noon, and tried to blame a dog for the theft. Then he started digging with his knife at the new wall, and pulled off a foot of plaster, when he knew that the man only finished the work last week, and as soon as I chastised him for that, he stamped off sulking and snapped the heads off the roses. Simon, I worry about that boy. He is uncontrollable.’
‘Meg, he’s not yet four.’
‘There are some who say that a boy’s mind is fixed sooner than that. I would hate to think that he—’
‘Meg, come here and rest a moment. You’ve been working too hard,’ Simon said, drawing up his chair. ‘Tell me what this is really all about.’
‘It’s nothing.’
‘I know it’s nothing. Now tell me what is nothing?’
‘I am still worried about Edith.’
Simon sighed. ‘We know that she is as well as can be expected.’
‘I just want to hear from her. I worry that something could have happened.’
‘Baldwin would tell us,’ Simon pointed out. ‘He hears from her fairly often, and lets us know when he does.’
‘We’re so far away though. A week’s journey, and …’
‘And there’s nothing to worry about. The trouble is, Baldwin’s busy. You know that.’
It was true. They had been used to receiving little messages every so often, whenever Baldwin could find a man travelling in the correct direction. He had been able to use Edgar to make contact, just as he had planned, and for some weeks news had filtered through to them regularly, but recently Baldwin had been called to help Hugh de Courtenay and the Bishop of Exeter to array the men of Devon and Cornwall ready to repel any possible attack. Baldwin had conveyed a message with a tranter to say that all was well, but that he had been sent with another man, by name of Peter Ovedale, to array the men at Launceston. Since then, Simon had heard nothing from him. And that had been at the time of the Feast of the Discovery of the Cross – about a month ago.
There had been times when Simon himself had wondered about that delay. It was a long time to have heard nothing from Baldwin. Usually they kept in touch each fortnight even when they were both busy, but now things were changed. Simon had occasional irrational fears that Baldwin could have grown irritated with him because of their falling-out last year, and then he grew anxious that the knight could have met with an accident. There was no logical reason to think this, but the lands west of Exeter were always rather lawless compared with the rest of the kingdom, and since the queen had lost all her lands in Cornwall the previous year, the area had grown still more dangerous.
The news from all over the realm was not reassuring. It was good to be one of the first to hear it, because as a king’s officer at the port, he was given a great deal of information daily: sailors from London with their bizarre language and tones telling of the expectation in the city itself, with stories of arms being stored in the Tower, along with barrels full of saltpetre and honey, ready to manufacture that marvellous black powder that so terrified horses and men alike in battle.
Reports from other places were no less chilling. There were tales of French troop movements all along the Guyennois border, and other reports spoke of men mustering in Hainault, as well as the accumulation of ships. If Simon believed half of the stories he had heard, England would be absorbed into France within a matter of weeks. Fortunately, he was aware that these reports were likely exaggerated.
Just then, there was a commotion from outside, and Simon lifted his eyes to the door as Perkin ran in, Hugh stomping along behind him, a fierce glower on his face.
‘Daddy!’
‘How are you, little man?’
‘I am—’
‘He has knocked over the dish with the supper,’ Hugh said, with grim satisfaction.
Chapter Fifteen
Paris
Rector Paul de Cockington was not unhappy to be in France.
As soon as his brother had been able to guarantee a safe passage for him, Paul had taken his place in a small band of wandering merchants, men-at-arms and lawyers bound for Exmouth where they intended taking a ship to Guyenne.
The past year had seen confusion over England’s control of the French possessions. There had been wrangling for a long time over the rights of the King of France to the King of England’s great Duchy of Aquitaine. The bitter enmity between the French and English sprang from ancient causes; ever since the Duke of Normandy had invaded and taken the English crown for his own, the French Kings had deprecated the presumption of England’s kings. The presumption was escalated by the warmonger Richard I, Coeur-de-Lion, who forced the French King to build his magnificent fortress, the Louvre, in order to protect his city against a potential attack from Richard’s Norman territory.
Once Richard I was dead, the French wasted no time in confiscating all the English lands in Normandy, with such efficiency and resolve that soon nothing remained.
However, this did not affect the jewel in the English crown: Aquitaine. This vast swathe of France had been given by France to England as a dower, and its loss was resented. Especially since this present English King Edward II refused to travel to France to pay homage for the territories even though he held them as a feudal lord from his liege lord. He was King of England, perhaps, but in France he was a mere duke, and he must bend his knee to King Charles IV and promise to serve his king, just a
s any man might.
The fact that King Edward II would not come served to polish the hatred that already existed until it gleamed. And so King Charles had waited until there was a pretext for war, and when it presented itself, he swiftly ordered the invasion of Aquitaine. The operation had been so well planned in advance, it took little time to overwhelm the English garrisons. In a matter of weeks, France had reclaimed the whole of the Duchy and the English were left spluttering with futile rage back in their island.
Negotiations had immediately been instigated. The Pope tried to forge an alliance between these two nations, that they might soon join and renew their assault on the Moslem hordes which had overrun the Holy Land. But he failed. It was only when Edward II’s queen, King Charles IV’s sister, travelled to France that the stalemate began to ease. Her son was sent to her, duly invested with the magnificent Duchy, in order that he might give homage for it in his own right. And the magnificent territories had been returned to the English.
So now, many officers, warriors and lawyers were hurrying to Aquitaine in the hope of enriching themselves – much like miners who had heard of a rich seam of ore. They flocked to the place in their hundreds. In a land which had recently seen war and devastation, there was always hope for lawyers and men trained in weapons, just as there was the hope of king’s officials that they might resolve disputes and accept bribes in return. Territory only recently at war was always a source of good pickings.
Except, as Paul had learned soon after arriving, a fresh dispute had arisen. The queen declared her hatred for her husband’s favourite and refused to return to England. Equally, she utterly refused to send her son home. While she wished to remain, the French king was reluctant to evict her, for he would not remove the offer of hospitality to his own sister, and thus there was a pause, while both nations stood and watched, almost as though both were holding their breath, daring the other to start the war again.
The Bishop Must Die: (Knights Templar 28) Page 14