The Elephants of Norwich

by Edward Marston

  Bruised and shaken, the hapless goldsmith started to search for his horse.

  *

  Mauger Livarot was also in the saddle. Accompanied by Drogo and with a dozen of his men at his back, he cantered over the gentle undulations of the Norfolk countryside in the direction of the coast. His steward was eager to claim his share of praise.

  ‘I told you that I spent money wisely on your behalf, my lord,’ he said.

  ‘You did, Drogo.’

  ‘I knew that it was worth having the lord Ralph followed.’

  ‘He’s a keener huntsman than Roger Bigot,’ said Livarot, eyes on the landscape ahead, ‘but will he lead us to the man we want? More to the point, will we be able to take those gold elephants for our own use?’

  ‘I hope so, my lord.’

  ‘I need more than hope.’

  An expression of grim determination was on his face. Mauger Livarot did not give his promises lightly. Since the lady Adelaide had made a request, it had to be met. She could not be satisfied with mere replicas. The joy of possession weighed more heavily with her than the knowledge that she would be guilty of sacrilege. Provided that secrecy was maintained, she wanted the gold elephants that were taken from the abbey so that she could gloat over them in private. Both she and Livarot had endowed the monastic institution in the past. Perhaps the lady Adelaide felt that her generosity absolved her from the charge of receiving stolen property. It would be the second time that the treasures would be offered to her and Livarot vowed that it would be the last. He was thrilled that she had chosen the original objects over the possibility of replicas made by Judicael. It was not simply an indication of her superior taste. It revealed an unscrupulous vein in her that boded well for their marriage.

  She and Livarot understood each other. They were two of a kind.

  The man was waiting near the derelict house where Starculf had spent the night. When the newcomers drew to a halt, he hastened over to report his news to his master. ‘The lord Ralph went this way, my lord.’

  ‘Who was travelling with him?’ asked Livarot.

  ‘His fellow commissioner and six men-at-arms.’

  ‘Nobody else?’

  ‘There was another rider whom I hardly recognised at first. He was dressed in rags and wearing a beard. I couldn’t believe that it was the lord Jocelyn.’

  ‘Jocelyn Vavasour?’ said the other with alarm. ‘What was he doing here?’

  ‘The same as us, probably,’ said Drogo. ‘Hunting for those treasures.’

  ‘We must get to them before he does!’

  ‘Yes, my lord.’

  Livarot was peremptory. ‘Ride with us,’ he ordered the other man. ‘We may need every sword we can muster. There’s no time to lose. Away!’

  Urging on his horse, he set a fierce pace for them.

  Hands still tied behind his back, Starculf rode between Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret on a horse they had borrowed in a village through which they had passed. Two of the men-at-arms led the little column, four more brought up the rear, Detached from the others by a dozen yards or more, Jocelyn Vavasour followed dejectedly, still fretting over the loss of his beloved elephants and chiding himself for lapsing so easily into violence when he captured the fugitive.

  They were moving at an easy trot. It enabled the commissioners to continue their interrogation.

  ‘Why did you get those duplicate keys made?’ asked Ralph.

  ‘To gain access to the lord Richard’s house,’ confessed Starculf.

  ‘Yet you claim that you never made use of them.’

  ‘When I learned of Hermer’s death, it became unnecessary.’

  ‘But you did plan to kill him?’

  ‘I wanted revenge, my lord.’

  ‘Why wait so long?’ wondered Gervase. ‘It was ages since you’d been dismissed by him. And why go to all the trouble of getting into the house when it would have been far easier to ambush him when he was out on the estate or visiting one of the outliers?’

  ‘It wouldn’t have been that easy,’ said Starculf. ‘Hermer never travelled alone. I’d have been one man against three or four. Besides, I wanted to deliver a personal message to the lord Richard. The best place to do that was under his own roof.’

  ‘Yet the body wasn’t found at the house.’

  ‘If I’d killed Hermer, it would have been.’

  ‘Why do you think it was left close to the castle?’

  Starculf shook his head. ‘I can’t tell you that.’

  ‘You must have some idea,’ said Ralph.

  ‘I didn’t kill him, my lord. That’s all I can say. I’d have done it very differently.’

  ‘So you plotted murder but didn’t have the stomach to carry it out.’

  ‘No,’ said the other with vehemence. ‘I wasn’t lacking in courage. I risked my life to get inside that house at night to borrow the lord Richard’s keys. That took a lot of courage. The reason I didn’t kill him was that someone got to Hermer before I did. I can’t reproach myself enough for that.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘Delaying my move for so long. I lost my prize.’

  ‘Is that what you call it?’ said Ralph, disapprovingly.

  ‘Yes, my lord.’

  Tired of riding adrift of the others, Vavasour caught them up and brought his horse alongside Ralph’s mount. The anchorite still believed that the prisoner was deceiving them in some way. He listened carefully to Starculf’s account of his movements since leaving Richard de Fontenel’s estate.

  ‘I was an outcast. The lord Richard didn’t merely hound me off his land, he threatened to have me whipped if I was ever caught in the county of Norfolk again. I went down into Suffolk to lie low for a while, working as a falconer for a new master, but I never forgot the old one. I knew Hermer feared that I might return and that kept him on his guard. I let time pass so that he and the lord Richard would think they’d seen the end of me.’ He gave a secret smile. ‘Then I went back for the keys.’

  ‘When both of them were absent from the house,’ said Gervase.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That was very convenient for you, wasn’t it?’

  ‘I knew where the lord Richard kept his keys,’ said Starculf. ‘Nobody else was allowed to use them so they’d not be missed for a few days. I chose a locksmith in Wymondham because I thought I’d never be looked for there.’

  ‘But you were.’

  ‘Unfortunately.’

  ‘Let’s go back to the theft of those keys,’ said Gervase, studying his profile. ‘I don’t think you would ride all the way up from Suffolk in the hope that the house you wanted to break into would be largely unoccupied. You knew, didn’t you? You had an accomplice who told you the exact moment to strike.’

  ‘Someone did give me a little help,’ conceded Starculf.

  ‘Who was it?’

  ‘That’s not important.’

  ‘Of course it is,’ asserted Ralph. ‘The fellow is as guilty as you are.’

  ‘No, my lord.’

  ‘Tell me his name!’

  ‘I’ll never do that,’ Starculf said, proudly. ‘The person who gave me the information had no idea what use I meant to put it to. When I broke into that house–and when I returned the keys I borrowed from there–I had no accomplice.’

  ‘What about the gold elephants?’ asked Vavasour, bitterly. ‘Did you have a confederate when you stole them?’

  ‘I’ve told you before that I didn’t steal them.’

  ‘I say that you’re lying.’

  ‘Not about the elephants,’ decided Gervase. ‘I don’t think he even knew that they existed until you mentioned them. And he’s not lying about the murder either. He’s doing something more subtle than that, aren’t you, Starculf?’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Deliberately holding back the full truth.’

  Further questioning was interrupted by the arrival of a body of riders on the horizon. Moving swiftly in pairs, twenty or more men were galloping towards them
with the sheriff at their head. Ralph moved his party forward at a canter until the groups met.

  Roger Bigot was delighted to see that they had a prisoner with them. ‘Is Starculf taken?’

  ‘He is, my lord sheriff,’ said Ralph. ‘We deliver him over to you.’

  Slapping the rump of Starculf’s horse, he sent it forward. One of the sheriff’s officers took the reins, and two other men took up their positions either side of the fugitive. Roger Bigot eyed the prisoner with a mixture of relief and curiosity. ‘So this is the man who murdered Hermer, is it?’ he said.

  ‘He denies the charge,’ said Gervase, ‘and we believe him.’

  ‘I don’t,’ said Vavasour.

  The sheriff noticed the hirsute rider for the first time. He peered at him. ‘Saints preserve us!’ he exclaimed. ‘Is it really the lord Jocelyn?’

  ‘That’s not a name I answer to any more.’

  ‘You’ve changed so much.’

  ‘For the better, my lord sheriff. I’ve drawn back from the abyss. I lead a contemplative life now instead of one dedicated to greed and warfare.’

  ‘Don’t let him give us a homily,’ implored Ralph. ‘It’s far too hot a day for that.’

  ‘This man is guilty,’ said Vavasour, indicating the prisoner.

  Starculf was adamant. ‘I didn’t kill Hermer.’

  ‘I agree,’ attested Gervase. ‘I think he’s innocent of the murder.’

  ‘So do I,’ said Ralph. ‘Guilty of much else but innocent of murder.’

  The sheriff was dismayed. Hoping that the case had finally been solved, he was faced with an unexpected setback. Starculf’s denial did not impress him but the firmness of the responses from the commissioners made Roger Bigot take the plea seriously. After staring at the prisoner, he divided a baleful glance between Ralph and Gervase.

  ‘If Starculf didn’t kill him,’ he said with exasperation, ‘then who did?’

  The sunlit afternoon encouraged them to take a leisurely walk around the perimeter of the bailey. Having been thoroughly soaked on the previous day, Golde was pleased to be enjoying less trying conditions. Alys, too, blossomed in the bright sun.

  ‘Isn’t it beautiful out here?’ she said. ‘We might almost be in a garden.’

  ‘Apart from the high walls and the guards on the ramparts,’ replied Golde with mild cynicism. ‘But it’s good to be able to stretch our legs. There’s a limit to how long I want to watch the lady Matilda work on that tapestry of hers.’

  ‘It’s such an intricate piece of work.’

  ‘I’d never dare to undertake it.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘My hands lack the requisite skill.’

  ‘Nonsense!’ said Alys. ‘They had skill enough to brew ale.’

  Golde laughed. ‘Brewing calls for rather different talents. In any case, I’ve put that life behind me now–thanks to Ralph.’

  ‘He changed your life, didn’t he?’

  ‘Completely.’

  ‘Are you ever afraid for him when he rides out with his men?’

  ‘Never, Alys. He’s a born soldier.’

  ‘Gervase isn’t,’ sighed the other. ‘I fear for his safety all the time.’

  ‘There’s no need. Gervase is well able to take care of himself. In fact …’ Golde broke off as she saw a familiar figure ride in through the main gate. ‘Is that the lady Adelaide?’ she said in surprise.

  ‘I think so,’ said Alys. ‘I wonder what she’s doing at the castle?’

  ‘Let’s find out.’

  They hurried across to the newcomer. The lady Adelaide was escorted by two men-at-arms, one of whom dismounted to help her down from the saddle. When she saw the two women approaching, she beamed regally and offered warm greetings.

  ‘I was hoping to call on the lady Matilda,’ she explained. ‘Is she here?’

  ‘Yes, my lady,’ said Golde.

  ‘Precious few of us still are,’ Alys piped up, admiring the visitor’s immaculate appearance yet again. ‘The castle is almost deserted.’

  Adelaide looked around. ‘Where is everybody?’

  ‘Joining in the search for the killer,’ said Golde. ‘The lord sheriff has set his heart on catching the culprit today. He’s leading the search himself.’

  ‘Is the lord Ralph involved in the hunt?’

  ‘Yes, my lady. My husband left shortly after dawn.’

  ‘So did mine,’ said Alys. ‘Ralph knocked on our door very early.’

  ‘Do they hold out much hope of finding the man?’ asked the visitor.

  ‘I think so,’ said Golde. ‘My husband wanted the pleasure of arresting the killer himself. He has delayed the commissioners’ work long enough. Ralph wants him put under lock and key so that they can begin their deliberations.’

  ‘All of us want the fellow arrested as soon as possible.’

  ‘I certainly do,’ said Alys, widening her eyes. ‘He not only committed murder. He stole some holy treasures that rightly belong to an abbey.’

  ‘So I understand.’

  ‘What sort of man would do that?’

  ‘An ungodly one,’ murmured Adelaide.

  ‘Brother Daniel was shocked. He’s the scribe to the commissioners. Stealing from an abbey is a most heinous crime in his eyes. I agree with him, don’t you?’

  ‘Of course, Alys.’

  ‘But you know the man responsible, I hear.’

  ‘Vaguely.’

  ‘Ralph said that this Starculf once worked as your falconer.’

  ‘My husband’s falconer,’ corrected the other with undue sharpness. ‘I had no dealings with him myself. After he went to the lord Richard’s estate, I never saw him. Starculf belongs very much to my past.’

  ‘What drove him to kill and steal, my lady?’ asked Alys.

  ‘I haven’t the slightest idea.’

  ‘It sounds to me as if you’re well rid of the fellow.’

  ‘I am indeed,’ said the other, moving gracefully away. ‘But you’ll have to excuse me. I need to speak to the lady Matilda. Goodbye.’

  They waved her politely off then traded a puzzled frown. ‘She was doing it again,’ said Golde, turning to watch the departing visitor.

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Using us to get information about our husbands. The lady Adelaide wants to know what progress has been made. Now that she knows where Ralph and Gervase are, she’ll see what she can find out from the lady Matilda about the sheriff’s movements.’

  Alys puckered her face. ‘Why is she so keen to hear about the search?’

  ‘It could just be natural curiosity. On the other hand …’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Well, the lady Adelaide is directly involved here,’ said Golde, recalling what she had overheard. ‘Those gold elephants were first offered to her as a wedding gift. Unbeknown to her, of course, they were stolen property but they must have impressed her greatly. They’re reputedly works of art. We saw how fond she was of gold when we visited her.’

  ‘The jewellery that she wears is always so striking.’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Golde as the visitor ascended the steps to the keep, ‘the lady Adelaide likes to glitter. It’s important for her to be the centre of attention.’

  Alys sighed. ‘I’m too shy to want that. I prefer the shadows.’

  ‘There’s no shadow dark enough to hide the lady Adelaide.’

  ‘Why did she stalk off like that, Golde?’

  ‘Because we caught her on a raw spot.’

  ‘I didn’t think that she had any.’

  ‘Neither did I until I mentioned the name of Starculf. Did you notice how quickly her manner changed? And she went out of her way to deny any real acquaintance with him, yet according to Ralph she recommended him to the lord Richard.’

  ‘I found that rather odd as well.’

  ‘There was something even more curious. Not in anything she said, but I saw it clearly in her eyes. The lady Adelaide gave me the impression that she didn’t actually want Starculf to
be caught.’

  Alys was silent. She blinked rapidly as if feeling a spasm of pain.

  ‘What’s the trouble?’ said Golde. ‘Are you unwell?’

  ‘No, no. I feel fine.’

  It was Ralph Delchard’s turn to be slightly baffled. When the long cavalcade reached a fork in the road, Gervase Bret suggested that they break away from the main body in order to continue their inquiries elsewhere. It was no casual suggestion. Ralph knew his friend was not given to wild impulse. If Gervase advised a course of action, a great deal of thought had gone into it. For that reason, Ralph detached himself and his men. While the sheriff took the prisoner back to Norwich castle, the commissioners plunged on into the Henstead hundred. Jocelyn the Anchorite went with them, sensing that Gervase might possibly lead him to the missing treasures.

  ‘Are we to be told where we’re going, Gervase?’ asked Ralph.

  ‘To search for the killer.’

  ‘We’ve been doing that all day.’

  ‘No, Ralph. We were looking for Starculf and he didn’t commit the murder. In thought, perhaps–but not in deed.’

  ‘I still have my doubts about him,’ said Vavasour. ‘He’s no innocent man.’

  ‘Oh, he’s guilty of abetting the murder, that much is clear. But it obviously didn’t go as planned. Starculf was saving Hermer for himself when his accomplice stepped in ahead of him.’

  ‘What accomplice?’

  ‘The man for whom he had those duplicate keys made. My guess is that they agreed to work together. Starculf needed someone to watch his back so he found a man who was only too glad to assist him.’

  ‘And who was that?’ pressed Ralph.

  ‘Cast your mind back to that visit Golde and I made.’

  ‘The one to Olova? I’ll never forget it,’ said the other with a ripe chuckle. ‘Golde was drenched by that rain. When I first saw her, I thought that she’d fallen into a stream.’

  ‘It was Aelfeva who ended up in the stream, Ralph. He found her.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘The man we’re going to see. Olova told me how heartbroken he was when he saw her dead body floating on the water. That kind of experience would embitter anyone. I can see why Skalp was fired up to attack the steward.’