‘Combat?’
‘I keep a spy in the enemy camp.’
‘Oh,’ she said with astonishment. ‘I see.’
‘You did ask for honesty.’
Ralph Delchard was impressed with the way that they were received. Everything was in readiness. As soon as they entered the castle, the sheriff himself greeted them. Servants were on hand to conduct the guests to their respective apartments while their escort was taken to lodgings in the bailey by one of the guards. When his wife was safely bestowed in their chamber, Ralph went off to speak at more length to their host. Gervase Bret joined the two men in the hall.
‘A fine castle,’ observed Ralph. ‘Well-sited and heavily fortified.’
‘Yes,’ replied Bigot. ‘Of necessity we keep our defences in good repair. Raiding parties have a habit of sailing up the River Yare. In time, of course, we’ll replace the timber with stone and make Norwich Castle into an even more impregnable fortress.’
‘There’s safety enough inside your walls, my lord sheriff,’ said Gervase. ‘The danger we encountered was on your threshold.’
‘Danger?’
‘Some madman tried to run us down with his horse.’
‘Yes,’ Ralph affirmed. ‘Had we not moved out of the way, we’d have been knocked from our saddles. He came riding hell-for-leather out of the castle as if the hounds of Hades were on his tail. I’ll tell you this, my lord sheriff. But for the fact that I had ladies to protect, I’d have been on his tail as well. And I wouldn’t have stopped until I’d caught up with the rogue and taught him some manners.’
‘That lesson would have been long overdue,’ said Bigot, ruefully.
‘Who was the fellow?’
‘Richard de Fontenel.’
‘No wonder he didn’t wait to be introduced.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We had already heard about his lack of courtesy,’ said Ralph, hands on hips. ‘On our way here, we met an old man who’d been a bordar on one of the lord Richard’s estates in Taverham hundred. When he was reduced to the status of a slave, the old man made the mistake of complaining to his master. The lord Richard not only turned him out of house and home, he had the poor devil whipped until he was half dead.’
Bigot rolled his eyes. ‘That sounds like Richard de Fontenel.’
‘We offered to bring the man to Norwich,’ explained Gervase, ‘so that we could intercede on his behalf. But he was too terrified to come anywhere near the lord Richard. So we gave him food and directed him to a church we’d passed earlier. The priest will take him in and show him a kindness he never got from his master.’
‘Kindness is not one of the lord Richard’s virtues.’
‘Does he have any virtues?’ wondered Ralph.
‘You might well ask.’
‘I will, my lord sheriff. He’s due to come before us in a property dispute. I’ll tax him with his rudeness and beat an apology out of him. He had no cause to scatter us all over the street like that.’
‘The lord Richard will claim that he did,’ said Bigot, wearily. ‘What’s more, he’ll point an accusing finger at me.’
‘At you?’
‘Yes, my lord. A robbery occurred at his home. Something of great value was taken. When the crime was reported, I ordered my deputy to investigate but that only served to enrage the lord Richard. He accosted me here and demanded that I abandon all my other commitments to take charge of the inquiry myself. When I refused, my angry visitor leaped on his horse and galloped out of here. I’m sorry that you met him at such a bad time.’
‘I’m sorry that we met him at all,’ said Ralph.
‘What was stolen from his house?’ asked Gervase.
‘Two elephants.’
‘Elephants? Here in Norwich?’
‘They were not live animals, Master Bret, but gold miniatures.’
He gave them a full account of the crime and explained its significance. Ralph had no sympathy for the victim, hoping that the theft would at least rescue the lady Adelaide from the fate of marrying him. Gervase’s ears pricked up at the mention of another person.
‘The lord Mauger is a suspect?’
‘Not in my estimation,’ said the sheriff. ‘But he and the lord Richard are arch-enemies so he takes the blame for everything that upsets his rival. The truth of the matter is that each man is as bad as the other.’
‘Which one will the lady Adelaide choose as a husband?’ said Ralph.
‘Neither, if she has any sense.’
‘And does she?’
‘Oh, yes. She’s a redoubtable woman.’
‘Then why does she let them court her?’
‘You’ll have to ask her that, my lord,’ said Bigot with a note of sadness. ‘Geoffrey Molyneux was her first husband, as decent and upright a man as you could wish to meet. Compared with him, her two suitors are arrant rogues.’
‘Rich ones, however,’ commented Gervase. ‘I went through the returns for this county with great interest. The names of Richard de Fontenel and Mauger Livarot crop up time and again. They have substantial holdings.’
Talk turned to the work that had brought the commissioners to Norwich. Roger Bigot could not have been more helpful. He gave them friendly advice and told them of arrangements he had already made on their behalf. Ralph and Gervase were grateful. Other sheriffs had been more grudging in their hospitality, trying to hurry their guests on their way and resenting what they saw as interference. Bigot seemed genuinely interested in the disputes that had come to light during the visit of the earlier commissioners. Unlike most people, he did not view the Great Survey as an odious imposition.
‘It helps to clarify the situation,’ he decided.
Ralph chuckled. ‘That’s a polite way to describe it, my lord sheriff,’ he said. ‘Most people call it the Domesday Book, for it represents a Day of Judgement. Our job is to lift stones so that the truth can crawl out into the sunlight. I’m afraid that there’ll be a lot of stones to lift in the county of Norfolk. And I’m not only referring to men like Richard de Fontenel and Mauger Livarot.’
‘No,’ said Gervase, taking a signal from Ralph. ‘The Church’s hands are not entirely clean in this county. Bishop Alymer set a bad example. When he succeeded his brother, Stigand, he seized manors such as Thornage, Hindringham, Hindolveston, North Elmham and Helmington in addition to outliers like Colkirk and Egmere. Other prelates followed suit with a vengeance.’
Gervase rattled off a score of misappropriations and left the sheriff gaping in admiration at his mastery of detail. He had already been struck by Ralph’s air of authority. It was the lawyer’s turn to impress him now. Bigot could see that the two men would make a formidable team when they sat in judgement.
‘What manner of man is your colleague?’ he asked.
‘Eustace Coureton will make a fine commissioner,’ said Ralph. ‘He’s a shrewd man who’ll show neither fear nor favour. All we have to do is to ensure that he’s not allowed to quote Greek and Latin authors at us.’
‘Is he a scholar, then?’
‘His only fault.’
‘I see it more as a strength,’ argued Gervase.
‘You would.’
‘A Classical education is a source of joy.’
‘Not for the person on the receiving end of it, Gervase. For several miles, I had Eustace riding beside me. It was purgatory. How would you like to have someone called Horace poured relentlessly into your ears?’
‘I’d love it, Ralph.’
‘Well, it gave me a headache.’
‘ Vos exemplaria Graeca, nocturna versate manu, versate diurna. ’
‘Now you’re doing it!’ wailed Ralph.
‘Horace gives sage counsel.’
‘What’s the translation?’ asked Bigot. ‘My Latin is a trifle rusty.’
‘Our colleague, Eustace Coureton, has been doing what Horace urges. “For your own good, turn to the pages of your Greek exemplars by night and by day.” Do you hear that, Ralph?’
‘I hear it and I ignore it,’ said the other. ‘Keep your Greeks and your Romans. I’ll do my duty by day and turn to my wife at night.’