‘We go to bed,’ replied Geoffrey. ‘And, at first light, we shall visit the King’s agent — who has been monitoring this business from the start.’
Ulfrith gaped at him. ‘The King has an agent watching? Who is it?’
‘Come with me tomorrow and you will find out.’
The hours of darkness passed slowly as Geoffrey considered the solutions he had uncovered. Some were so obvious he wondered he had not seen them before, whereas others were more complex and he was not surprised it had taken him so long to find answers. His thoughts were full of Godric, too, and his vainglorious lies. Eventually, the grey light of dawn began to fill the sky, and he slipped out of the hospital, Ulfrith at his side and his dog at his heels, both panting from the brisk pace he set.
‘Philippa really did murder Edith,’ he said, bracing himself for trouble. ‘There is no question.’
‘I know,’ said Ulfrith softly. ‘I followed her after you tackled her yesterday, and eavesdropped on her confession to Brother Wardard. He urged her to give herself up, but she told him she was free of sin now she had made her act of contrition. She is evil, Sir Geoffrey.’
‘No, just misguided,’ said Geoffrey. ‘But I am sorry you had to learn-’
‘I almost killed you in order to get her,’ interrupted the squire. ‘I did not mean to, but that does not make it right. I should have thrown my potion away when I saw what was happening, and I am sorry. . To make amends, I vow never to fall in love again. It is too dangerous and painful.’
‘Do not make promises you will not keep. There will be other women — better than Philippa.’
‘But love hurts,’ moaned Ulfrith.
‘I know,’ said Geoffrey softly. ‘Believe me.’
‘I suppose you are in love with Lady Hilde.’ Ulfrith shot Geoffrey a puzzled glance, as if he could not imagine why, but wisely changed the subject. ‘Where are we going?’
‘I owe Juhel an apology.’
As they approached the hut, Juhel was sitting outside in the semi-darkness, watching his chicken scratch in the grass. Geoffrey’s dog promptly slunk away. Juhel stood as they approached, and Geoffrey noticed he held a long hunting knife.
‘Delilah likes to be up early,’ Juhel said, smiling a cautious welcome.
‘Have you been here all night?’ asked Geoffrey.
Juhel laughed. ‘What a curious question! Of course. I woke a few moments ago, when Delilah clucked to say she wanted to be let out.’
‘Your boots say otherwise. They are covered in wet mud. Have you been watching Magnus?’
‘Why would I do that?’ Juhel’s expression became far less friendly.
‘Because those are your orders. King Henry is too cautious to allow pretenders to his throne to wander freely around his domain. He would set intelligencers to watch them — to follow them from Ireland and to report on them here.’
‘And you think I am one of these agents? I am flattered!’
‘The story about Paisnel being a spy for Belleme was a lie, designed to lead me astray — which it did, of course. However, it does not make sense. Why would Paisnel travel from Dublin to Ribe, if he was to carry information about England’s defences to Belleme?’
‘Poor Sir Geoffrey,’ said Juhel, gentle and solicitous. ‘Your wits are still awry from-’
‘You are an excellent agent — as shown by the fact that no one has guessed who you are — but Paisnel was not. He gave himself away almost immediately, and you argued about it on the ship — you were seen quarrelling by most of the passengers and some of the crew. You were friends, but his amateur carelessness was endangering your mission.’
‘You give me too much credit,’ said Juhel, shaking his head. ‘I am just a simple parchmenter.’
‘You even declined to leave the sinking ship before Magnus. You watched him go overboard and only then jumped yourself. But a current dragged you away and it was some time before you found him again. And you have been monitoring him ever since, including at Werlinges, when Roger and I could have done with your help.’
‘I am no fighter. I would have been in the way.’
‘Not so. Bale witnessed your talent with knives, and you fought off Fingar’s men single-handed. You also demonstrated a soldier’s reactions in the stable at Pevenesel, and there is your skill at picking locks — an odd talent for a merchant. And you know virtually nothing about parchment. I saw you fold letters when they were damp — they will rot — and Breme overcharged you. If you were a real parchmenter, you would know a fair price.’
‘This is arrant nonsense-’
‘Breme said you wrote him a letter of introduction to a Winchester clerk, but I imagine it was actually a report to the King. So Henry will have two: one from you and one from me, both delivered by Breme.’
‘Yes, you told me you had sent one.’
‘You were pleased,’ said Geoffrey. ‘Now I know why: we are on the same side.’
Juhel sighed. ‘Damn you, Geoffrey! I thought I had been careful. I even let you accuse me of murdering Paisnel and poisoning you in order to conceal my true work.’
‘For which I owe you an apology. You did not kill Paisnel — Magnus did.’
Juhel stared at him. ‘Yes — but how did you guess?’
‘Chicken scratches. They appeared on Magnus’s face the day after Paisnel disappeared. Delilah liked Paisnel — perhaps she tried to defend him. Poor Paisnel probably gave himself away, and Magnus dealt with him ruthlessly — just as he dealt ruthlessly with his own servant, Simon. You threw Paisnel’s body overboard to make sure your own identity was not exposed.’
Juhel sighed unhappily. ‘Magnus caught Paisnel going through his bag. He died in my arms — or I thought he did. I dropped his body into the sea because I could not have Magnus accused of the crime. And any fool would have been able to link a fatal wound in Paisnel to the fact that Magnus was suddenly minus a knife — he lobbed it overboard after the murder, in a panic.’
Geoffrey was puzzled. ‘Why did you want him to evade justice?’
‘Because my orders were to learn who was helping him and how far the sedition had spread. I could not have done that if Fingar had ordered him hanged.’
‘Are you surprised by the scale of the preparations?’
Juhel shook his head. ‘Fortunately, these would-be rebels are supremely incompetent. Gyrth bungled stealing Roger’s gold and let himself be dispatched by a squire, and the troops and supplies they gather at night are hardly discreet.’
‘But what happened at Werlinges? I know Gyrth and other Saxons killed the villagers.’
‘That was another mistake on their part. They remembered that Werlinges had collaborated with the Normans after Hastinges. Gyrth offered the village a chance to make amends by giving him everything they owned. But some of the booty went missing, so Gyrth and his men killed the entire settlement, to show what happens to traitors. He was a fool — the incident will attract attention that will threaten his cause.’
‘It was stolen by that “shepherd”, I suppose?’
‘Almost certainly — a greedy Saxon betraying his own people. And despite the evidence you found that suggested Ulf was innocent of the actual killing, he would certainly have been involved, perhaps by giving orders. It is good that Bale killed him, because he was irredeemably wicked. It is hard to believe he was Harold’s twin.’
‘Did Magnus fight him? Is that how he came by the cut on his arm?’
‘Yes — in the church. I was on the brink of dashing in to rescue him, but he managed to escape on his own.’
‘Later, I saw Magnus throw a bundle down the well. Did it contain evidence of the rebellion? And was it those documents you were drying when I burst in on you?’
‘Some words are still legible. It is a list of men and troops promised. He has the original, but I do not blame him for not wanting duplicate copies floating around.’
‘And your “Danish” letters were cipher — coded messages to the King. Paisnel wrote some, and you composed others. You took them before you. . after he died.’