The Bloodstained Throne Page 4

  ‘Who are you?’ asked Geoffrey. ‘And how do you know this coast? You joined the ship in Ireland, and it is only by chance that we landed here.’

  The man pulled himself up to his full height, which was considerable: he towered over Roger. ‘I am Magnus, eldest son of King Harold and England’s rightful monarch.’

  Despite Ulfrith carrying Edith, and Geoffrey setting a pace that had them all gasping for breath, it was pitch black by the time they reached the tower. It was not a church at all – which made him sceptical of Magnus’s local knowledge – but a fortress glowering across the heaving waves.

  ‘What place is this?’ asked Roger, studying the stalwart earthworks and ancient but powerful stone wall that ran in a massive oval around a substantial bailey. A stone keep dominated the buildings inside, standing atop a motte.

  ‘It must have been built by Romans,’ said Geoffrey, admiringly. ‘The walls have been repaired in places, but they still stand tall and strong.’

  ‘Never mind that,’ said Edith irritably. ‘My leg hurts. Tell them to admit us at once.’

  ‘God help us!’ breathed Magnus in sudden alarm, once he had come close enough to see the place through the darkness. ‘It is Pevenesel Castle! We must have fetched up farther west than I thought. It is a Norman stronghold, in the care of a nobleman named Richer de Laigle.’

  ‘You seem to know a lot about it,’ said Roger suspiciously.

  Magnus regarded him pityingly. ‘Yes. What sort of king would I be if I were unfamiliar with the defences of my enemies? But we cannot stay here. If they learn who I am, they will kill me.’

  ‘Then do not tell them,’ suggested Juhel. ‘As I always say to the Duke of Normandy, if you—’

  ‘You must find somewhere else,’ said Magnus to Roger. ‘This is unacceptable.’

  ‘Any ideas where?’ asked Geoffrey archly, gesturing around him. ‘The castle is the only thing here – except for those houses outside the bailey, and they will be inhabited by people who work for de Laigle. We have no choice but to beg his hospitality.’

  ‘And I am staying with him,’ said Roger, pointing at Geoffrey. ‘So you can stop giving me orders. I may have Saxon blood, but I do not serve any master who demands my loyalty. I only honour leaders who can pay.’

  ‘I will pay you,’ insisted Magnus. ‘As soon as I am king. But you must conduct me to a Saxon haven first – tonight. It is imperative that I do not fall into enemy hands.’

  ‘I doubt de Laigle will see you as an enemy,’ said Geoffrey, suspecting the man would probably deem Magnus insane.

  He was not sure he believed the tale himself, because Magnus did not look like the son of a great warrior, although embroidery and gold thread on his clothes indicated that he had some wealth. Tall and painfully thin, he had straggly grey hair tied in a meagre tail at the back of his head, and an enormous silver moustache – an odd fashion in England, where most men were bearded. His bony face – which still bore the scars of its spat with Juhel’s chicken – was dominated by a wedge-shaped nose and bloodless lips. Geoffrey’s father had fought at Hastinges and had often talked about King Harold’s strength of body and character. If Magnus was indeed his son, then he had not inherited his sire’s looks or his commanding personality.

  ‘I cannot take that chance,’ said Magnus curtly. ‘Lead on, Sir Roger.’

  ‘No,’ said Roger firmly. ‘I have been shipwrecked, man. All I want is meat, wine and a wench to warm my bed.’ He winked at Edith, who ignored him.

  ‘Well, I cannot walk any further,’ declared Philippa. ‘So I shall throw myself on their mercy.’

  Before anyone could stop her, she strode up to the gatehouse and thumped on the door.

  ‘What?’ came an irritable voice after she had hammered for some time.

  ‘I demand to see de Laigle,’ she shouted. ‘My . . . sister and I are shipwrecked gentlewomen in distress. Open the gate immediately.’

  There was a short silence and then a lot of coarse laughter. ‘Nice try, Mabel! You almost had us convinced. But Lord de Laigle said we were not to let you in any more – not after that trick with the onion and the candle. You will have to ply your trade elsewhere.’

  ‘I am not Mabel!’ cried Philippa, outraged. ‘Open the gate, before I tell de Laigle what a dreadful gaggle of oafs he has in his service.’

  ‘Bugger off,’ came the reply.

  ‘Open up!’ yelled Roger in a furious bellow. ‘My name is Sir Roger of Durham, Jerosolimitanus, and I demand entry.’

  This time a grille was unfastened, followed by a hasty, urgent debate inside. Some soldiers were won over by Roger’s fierce demeanour and the bright Crusader’s cross on his surcoat; others were sceptical. When Roger made some colourful threats, the gate was hastily pulled open. Geoffrey was unimpressed: they should have asked more questions before admitting strangers after dark. He saw Magnus watching in silence and wondered what they would say if they knew they had revealed their weakness to a Saxon pretender to the crown.

  Once inside, a soldier led them across the bailey to a long hall. Although it was late and snores emanated from some of the huts they passed, the hall itself was ablaze with light, and the guard opened the door to reveal a throng of people who did not look at all as though they were ready for bed. Most were brightly clad nobles who raised brimming goblets in sloppy salutes or grabbed clumsily at the serving girls, while perspiring minstrels strove valiantly to make their music heard over the racket. The chamber smelled of roasted meat, spilt wine, stale rushes and damp dogs.

  The soldier hurried to a young, jauntily dressed man who sat at a table on a dais. The fellow’s eyebrows shot up at the whispered message, and he tottered towards his unexpected guests. Several of his companions followed, including a woman dressed entirely in white. This was a poor choice of colours, since it revealed exactly where she had spilled her victuals, while manly fingermarks showed in inappropriate places.

  ‘Shipwrecked mariners?’ asked the man with supercilious amusement. ‘You do not look like sailors. And what do these women do aboard ship? Furl your sails? Or are they put to the oars?’

  His friends howled with laughter, and Geoffrey felt Roger tense beside him. Philippa and Edith seemed bewildered, and Juhel startled into silence; Magnus kept to the shadows.

  ‘I should never be able to row a ship,’ declared the woman in white. ‘So you must protect me, husband. I would not like to be carried off by pirates.’

  More laughter followed, and Geoffrey decided they were too intoxicated for sensible conversation. Explanations could wait until the next day. He had reckoned without Ulfrith, though.

  ‘Ladies Philippa and Edith are the wives of a knight, so treat them with respect,’ he said coldly.

  ‘Saxon dog,’ sneered the man contemptuously. ‘Who are you to address me, Richer de Laigle, so familiarly? Remember your place, boy, before I have you run through.’

  ‘We are sorry to interrupt your entertainment,’ said Geoffrey, before the argument could escalate. ‘We ask only for food and shelter – for which we can pay. Tomorrow we will be gone.’

  De Laigle regarded him blearily. ‘You are a Jerosolimitanus, I see. I have heard they are a vile, unmannerly breed, and now I see for myself that the rumours are true.’

  ‘Now look here,’ hissed Roger, stepping forward in a way that had de Laigle staggering back in alarm. ‘I did not come here to be insulted by some cockerel—’

  ‘Cockerel, am I?’ asked de Laigle from behind the guard. ‘Well, you are a brute.’

  He folded his arms and pursed his lips, as though he had scored some kind of point. Roger regarded him uncertainly, taken off guard by the peculiar response.

  ‘Oh, leave them, Richer,’ said Lady de Laigle, draining the contents of her cup. Another purple stain was added to her kirtle. ‘I would rather dance than exchange obscenities with ruffians.’

  ‘My guard will find you a stable,’ said de Laigle to Roger. He grabbed his wife and hauled her towards him for a long, p
assionate kiss that almost made her pass out. ‘I cannot be bothered to banter with you tonight.’

  Lady de Laigle managed to claw herself more or less upright by using Geoffrey as a prop. ‘I hate England – there are too many Saxons scurrying about with their heads down and glints of malice in their eyes. They still think the country should be theirs, you know.’

  ‘It should,’ snarled Magnus, galled into imprudence.

  De Laigle waved a finger at him, and it was only the guard’s timely lunge that prevented him from dropping into the startled Saxon’s arms like a lover.

  ‘It should be Norman, because Saxons are debauched drunkards who cannot hold their wine. But who are you, anyway? You are no Jerosolimitanus. You are too skinny to wield a sword. I, of course, leave that sort of thing to brutal fellows I employ.’

  Geoffrey hoped Magnus would be discreet, but the Saxon was buoyed up with a sense of moral advantage. ‘I am King Magnus,’ he declared. ‘Rightful monarch of England.’

  De Laigle regarded him open-mouthed for a moment and then burst into derisive laughter. His wife lurched to the nearest table, grabbed someone else’s wine and raised it in a salute before downing it in a series of determined gulps. Geoffrey watched in fascination, waiting for her to fall flat on her face. He had never seen a woman drink with quite so much indomitable resolve.

  ‘The stable,’ prompted Juhel, prudently drawing an end to the encounter.

  ‘This way,’ said the guard, stepping aside smartly as Lady de Laigle pitched towards him, landing in a way that would have hurt had she been sober. ‘Follow me.’

  ‘Stable?’ whispered Roger indignantly in Geoffrey’s ear. ‘I am the son of the Bishop of Durham, and they put me in a stable?’

  ‘It does not matter,’ said Geoffrey quietly. ‘We leave at dawn – I have no intention of being around when de Laigle wakes. Especially if he recalls what Magnus said.’

  Roger nodded slowly. ‘You are right. We do not want him telling King Henry that there is a Saxon claimant for his throne on the loose, and that I am his chief henchman.’

  ‘No,’ agreed Geoffrey vehemently. ‘We do not!’

  Three

  Geoffrey followed the guard across the bailey to a dilapidated building with a sod roof, and thought Magnus had been right in his reluctance to accept Pevenesel’s hospitality. He did not like its drunken constable, slack guards and unruly merrymaking. Or was marriage ruining his sense of fun, and he was becoming a withered old prude who frowned on the gaiety of others?

  ‘Lord!’ exclaimed Philippa, impressed. ‘They know how to entertain themselves!’

  The guard grimaced. ‘Yes, and Lord de Laigle will not like it one bit.’

  ‘But he was liking it,’ Roger pointed out.

  ‘I mean the senior Lord de Laigle, who owns this castle. Richer is his son – the youngest and most useless of his brood. The real Lord de Laigle is with the King in Winchester, discussing how the coastal castles might be strengthened.’

  ‘Is there talk of an invasion, then?’ asked Geoffrey uneasily.

  ‘There is always talk of invasion,’ said the guard with a dismissive wave. ‘But the Duke of Normandy is in St Valery at the moment – the place where the Conqueror sailed from when he snatched the English throne. Lord de Laigle wants to be prepared.’

  ‘Then he had better hope the Duke does not invade while he is away,’ said Roger. ‘Because his son will do little to repel him – except perhaps shock him with his disgraceful manners.’

  ‘He writes,’ said the guard with considerable disapproval. ‘Young Richer, I mean. He was supposed to enter the Church, so they taught him his letters. Perhaps that is what sent him sour.’

  ‘It is often the case,’ agreed Magnus, as Geoffrey rolled his eyes. ‘No good ever comes from learning. Paisnel was a clerk, and look what happened to him.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Juhel, his voice tight.

  ‘I mean he was always poring over documents and they sent him insane,’ explained Magnus. ‘Then he fell over the side of the ship.’

  ‘I suspect he was a spy,’ said Philippa in a transparent effort to provoke Juhel into saying something incriminating. ‘It would explain why he took his bag when he jumped overboard.’

  If she was expecting Juhel to confess to his friend’s murder, she was disappointed. Juhel only looked away, as if he found Paisnel’s death too painful to discuss. Philippa, seeing she was not to be satisfied, turned to the guard.

  ‘The locals were not very hospitable when our ship floundered in the storm,’ she said.

  ‘Well, you are Normans,’ said the guard. ‘And they recall what happened when the Conqueror arrived – how he destroyed all manner of villages before having himself crowned. People around here have long memories. You may think your welcome was unfriendly here at Pevenesel, but at least no one will cut your throat while you sleep.’

  With that, he opened the door to the shabby building, handed her a candle and left. A number of men were already snoring inside, so Geoffrey took two blankets from a pile near the door, passed them to Philippa and Edith and suggested they sleep in the loft. Roger and Ulfrith volunteered to accompany them there, but, wisely, Edith declined their offer.

  Philippa shot Geoffrey a smile full of invitation as she left, which had Ulfrith gaping in dismay. To allay his distress, Geoffrey suggested that he sleep at the foot of the ladder, to prevent anyone from following them. Pleased to serve Philippa, Ulfrith promptly curled around the bottom rung.

  ‘The rest of you will sleep in a circle around me,’ said Magnus. ‘It is your duty to protect me.’

  ‘I do not think so,’ said Roger, selecting a place as far away as possible. Magnus’s confident authority faltered when Geoffrey followed, leaving him with Juhel.

  ‘Have no fear,’ said Juhel, laughing when he saw Magnus’s distrust. ‘My chicken and I will look after you.’

  ‘I am uneasy here,’ Roger said to Geoffrey in a low voice, throwing his friend a blanket. ‘I distrust de Laigle and his whore wife.’

  Geoffrey grimaced in distaste when he found his blanket was damp and stank of urine. He flung it away, and his dog scratched it into a suitable shape before sinking down in abject pleasure. It rested its head on its paws, but its eyes were open and its ears flicked back and forth. Geoffrey went to fetch a cleaner one, but there were only two left: one so thick with lice that they were visible even in the faint light of the candle, the other with brown stains that looked like blood. He chose the bloody one and went to lie next to Roger and Bale. ‘It is freezing, too,’ the big knight grumbled. ‘And it is only September. Another omen against your plans, Geoff. A sensible man always pays heed to the real meanings behind unseasonable weather.’

  The words were no sooner out of his mouth than a distant howl sounded on the wind. The dog whimpered and Juhel’s chicken clucked and flapped in agitation.

  ‘That was a wolf!’ exclaimed Bale in astonishment. ‘I never expected to hear one again. They are all but gone near Goodrich.’

  ‘That was no wolf,’ said Roger with considerable conviction. ‘That was a fay.’

  ‘A fay?’ asked Geoffrey, peering at him in the darkness. ‘What is a fay?’

  ‘A fairy,’ replied Roger in a hoarse, meaningful whisper. ‘You know – a mysterious being. It is odd, is it not, that the moment I mention these omens, a fay should utter her eerie call?’

  The animal howled a second time, and Roger and Bale both sat up.

  ‘She did it again,’ whispered Bale. ‘She is warning him to heed these omens.’

  When the creature howled a third time, and Bale began to cross himself, Geoffrey lost patience.

  ‘That is a wolf, not a spirit. And omens can be interpreted in any number of ways. How do you know the signs were not telling me I should return to the Holy Land?’

  ‘Because God would not have wrecked your ship if they were,’ said Roger with finality. ‘He would have seen you safely across the water. I know what I am talking abou
t: my father is a bishop, and your head is stuffed too full of silliness from books and scrolls.’

  They were silent for a while, Geoffrey listening to the sounds of other men sleeping. Juhel lay flat on his back, seemingly asleep, but Geoffrey saw his hand edge towards his dagger when someone went to drink from a communal bucket. Juhel’s reactions were almost as finely honed as his own, and the knight wondered how a parchmenter came to be so well trained.

  ‘I do not want to travel any farther with our companions,’ he whispered to Roger. ‘Philippa says Juhel drowned Paisnel, and it would be rash to become involved with would-be Saxon kings.’

  ‘I agree,’ murmured Roger. ‘If we start early, we can be gone before they are awake.’

  ‘My father described this part of the coast to me – it was where he landed with the Conqueror. It is no great journey to Dover, which has ships leaving every day. I will make my way there.’

  ‘And do what?’ asked Roger. ‘God’s blood, it is cold in here! Move closer to me: there is a savage draught coming under that door and you will block it if you ease over a touch.’

  ‘And see what kind of berth I can buy. I did not want to travel through Normandy while Bellême is there, but I will do if there is no choice.’

  Roger gave Geoffrey a hefty shove, to place him in the path of the gale that swept under the door. ‘And how do you propose to fund this journey? By selling your dog? He is the only thing you have left, other than your armour, and you will need that.’

  ‘You will lend me some,’ said Geoffrey, moving back to his previous position.

  Roger sat up. ‘Normally you would be right: I would give you my last penny, as long as you promised to pay it back. But not this time. The omens—’

  ‘Omens!’ spat Geoffrey. ‘There are no omens. And I will not rest easy until I learn why Tancred dismissed me after so many years of faithful service. We were friends, and I do not understand why he—’

  ‘Because you used him badly,’ interrupted Roger. ‘You ignored his order to return to the Holy Land immediately and served another master instead. What do you expect? Would you accept Bale back after two years, during which he had repeatedly ignored your demands?’