King's Gold

Heavy. Coin was heavy. Gold was heavy. Could it be that the priest had something valuable to carry? What could a priest have that was worth anything, she scoffed. But there was a niggling suspicion at the back of her mind. Was that why Father Luke was so determined to tell her nothing about Ham? Poor Ham! What had happened to him?

‘Ma?’ Jen said.

‘Don’t worry,’ Agatha said. ‘I think there’s something the Father forgot to tell us.’

Furnshill

Baldwin stared in astonishment. ‘At Kenilworth? They must have been mad!’

‘It was a bold attack, from all I have heard. No subtlety, just a simple assault. They almost reached Sir Edward, but then they were repulsed and several killed.’

‘And?’

‘And all the Keepers of the King’s Peace are expected to be alert for any signs of such malefactors in their areas, and should arrest all those who appear to have plotted or who may plot the escape of Sir Edward of Caernarfon, lately King of England.’

Baldwin nodded, but did not react. Sir Peregrine knew that Baldwin had been an enthusiastic supporter of the King. No matter. So had many others.

‘I shall be vigilant,’ he said.

‘Sir Baldwin, I am sorry, but I do not think you understand my mission. I was sent here by the guard at Kenilworth to ask you to join him.’

‘What? At Kenilworth, you mean?’

‘Yes. Sir Edward is to be taken away from that castle and installed in another. He is distressed. He believes his life is in grave danger, and he has asked that two men whom he can trust should go with him.’

‘Not I?’

‘I fear so.

Baldwin was about to sneer at his words, when he saw the sympathy in Sir Peregrine’s eyes. It was enough to stifle his response. ‘Aye, well.’

‘Not you alone, though. I believe you know Sir Ralph of Evesham?’

‘I do. He was with me when the King was captured. He and I were among the last knights in his service.’ Baldwin nodded his gratitude.

Sir Peregrine said nothing more, but both men knew that a fence had been leaped and both felt better for it.

It was obvious that Jeanne did not understand the undercurrent, but Baldwin could not explain. Not now.

King Edward II had been Baldwin’s King for these twenty years past. Oh, Baldwin knew that his monarch had been foolish occasionally, but Baldwin was an intensely loyal man, who felt the solitude of his royal master’s position keenly. Fractious barons, the Scots, and an inclination to unsuitable pursuits had all conspired to bring him low in the nation’s esteem. Even merchants and peasants felt ashamed of a King who liked to join fishermen, who enjoyed swimming and acting, rather than more regal past times. In the eyes of his peers, he was foolish.

However, during all the long years since Baldwin and Sir Peregrine had first met, Baldwin had known that Sir Peregrine desired the removal of King Edward’s adviser, Sir Hugh le Despenser. The latter was detested all over the realm, and yet Baldwin would not join with any plots to bring about such an outcome. He remained true to his oath.

That Baldwin had served his King was a source of pride, because he believed in the importance of oaths and he had given his word to his King freely; yet the realisation, when he was captured, that he could be executed along with any who sought to defend the King had forced him to look back on his life and reconsider some of the decisions he had made.

If he had died, his wife and children could have become destitute. It was not a thought which had troubled him before, because a man in full strength rarely considers his own destruction, but now, more and more, he was aware of this concern. He imagined his wife being evicted, probably raped and beaten before being thrown out on the road with only the sobbing of their children to accompany her.

He felt as though, in seeking to serve his King, he had betrayed his own family. He could not do that again.

Willersey

The way that he tried to scurry from the church as soon as his service was over was enough to convince her.

‘Father,’ Agatha called. ‘Father!’

He was already at the door, and seemed on the verge of bolting – but then she was at his side and he deflated like a punctured bladder.

‘I want to know the truth,’ she said grimly. ‘What has happened to him?’

‘Mistress, I don’t know,’ he protested weakly.

‘I don’t believe you!’ She thrust her face forward. ‘You wanted Ham to take something heavy, and so valuable that you didn’t dare leave it to him alone. You had to go with him, didn’t you? That’s what you were saying when you spoke yesterday. The money you mentioned, that Ham could have taken – did you put it on his cart?’

Luke stared past her towards the cross. He did not know whether to tell her all, or even a part of what had happened. Surely to divulge her husband’s flight would be more cruel than allowing her to think that she was widowed? She could forget her man, continue with her life – perhaps find another husband.