‘Without him we cannot continue our work.’
‘Then we will furnish you with another scribe,’ said Henry with irritation. ‘The escape of a dangerous prisoner is more important than who scribbles what on a piece of paper at the shire hall.
Boio is on the loose — a savage killer. Who knows how many other people he will murder before we catch him?’
‘He is not a violent man, my lord.’
‘Tell that to the guard whom he attacked.’
‘And he is not guilty of killing Martin Reynard.’
‘Then why has he fled?’ demanded Henry with unanswerable assurance. ‘Innocent men have nothing to fear. Only the guilty flee the rope. Even you must see that, Master Bret. When he got out of this castle last night, Boio the Blacksmith was signing a confession of guilt.’
Gervase was speechless. He watched in despair as the constable mounted his destrier then moved to address the waiting soldiers, who had been divided into groups. His voice boomed across the bailey.
‘We do not know which way the prisoner went,’ he said, ‘so we must search east, west, north and south until we find him.
Whoever first descries him will be richly rewarded. But mark this, all of you. I want Boio the Blacksmith back in this castle by nightfall. Dead or alive!’
By the time that Ralph Delchard had pulled on his tunic, the horses and hounds were streaming out of the castle. He watched them through the window with a mingled curiosity and foreboding.
‘What is going on?’ asked Golde, still half asleep.
‘The whole garrison seems to have been roused, my love.’
‘Why?’
‘I can think of only one reason.’
‘What is that?’
‘I will tell you when I get back.’
Ralph gave her a perfunctory kiss, then left. After pounding down the staircase he came out of the keep and headed for the bailey. Gervase was still standing there in a quandary. Certain that it must have been Asmoth who brought the file into the castle, he had withheld the information from Henry Beaumont and thereby effected the arrest of the innocent Brother Benedict.
He did not know whether to save the monk from the indignity of imprisonment or to protect the woman from being hunted down.
Instinct had made him shield Asmoth. If he suspected that she provided Boio with the means of escape, the constable of Warwick Castle would not let her gender restrain him from a merciless interrogation. Gervase was still agonising over the situation when Ralph rushed up.
‘Has the whole place gone mad?’ he demanded.
‘Boio has escaped, Ralph.’
‘I guessed that.’
‘There is bad news you will not have guessed.’
‘Oh?’
‘Brother Benedict has been placed under arrest.’
‘What!’
Ralph exploded with anger and it was not assuaged by Gervase’s account of what had happened. The only thing which prevented Ralph from charging off to the dungeons to demand the release of his scribe was the disclosure that the monk was in custody for a crime which Asmoth had probably committed during her visit to the castle.
‘Except that I do not see it as a crime,’ added Gervase.
‘She aided the escape of a prisoner.’
‘No, Ralph. She saved an innocent man from his death.’
‘If, indeed, he was innocent,’ said the other, stroking his chin as he reflected on the turn of events. ‘I begin to wonder, Gervase.
Attacking the guard and fleeing the castle. Are these the actions of an innocent man?’
‘Yes,’ said Gervase. ‘An innocent man pressed to the limit.’
‘Limit?’
‘Had he stayed in that dungeon, he would have been hanged later on today for a murder which he did not commit. Boio had no choice but to flee. It was his only option. As for the guard, why did Boio not kill him when he had the chance? A man with nothing to lose would not have stayed his hand. Yet the guard was only overpowered and tied up. That tells us much about the blacksmith.’
‘I prefer to keep an open mind on the subject.’
‘Would you rather he stood trial and was hanged?’
‘No, Gervase,’ said Ralph. ‘Not if he is innocent. But the prospect of a death sentence is stronger than ever now. When the lord Henry runs him to ground he may not even bother with the niceties of the law. The trial may take place on the spot and the nearest tree will act as a gallows.’
‘At least he now has a chance.’
‘Of what? Freedom?’
‘Of clearing his name.’
‘How can he do that?’
‘In the first instance, by finding the man with the donkey.’
‘Boio would not even know where to start looking for him. He told Benedict that he had no idea where the fellow was.’
‘Boio may not know — but Asmoth does.’
Ralph was about to reply when he saw Philippe Trouville bearing down on them. Their colleague brought additional details of the escape.
‘You have heard the news?’ he said. ‘I have just been talking to one of the guards. It seems that Boio was not as stupid as they all thought.’
‘How did he get out of the dungeon?’ asked Ralph.
‘By setting the straw alight. When the guard opened the door to put out the fire he was knocked senseless. Two men should have been on duty but one deserted his post to lie in the arms of his mistress. Ha!’ said Trouville with disgust. ‘The fellow will be lucky if the lord Henry does not castrate him.’
‘When was the escape discovered?’
‘Not long before dawn. When the second guard returned to his post. Unable to find his colleague, he sensed trouble and raised the alarm. They could not find the key to Boio’s cell so they had to batter down the door to get in. Once he was released from his bonds, the man left alone on duty was able to explain how the prisoner got away.’
‘Did he say at what time the escape took place?’ asked Ralph.
Trouville nodded grimly. ‘Boio was gone for several hours before they realised he was no longer in the dungeon. The lord Henry was livid.’
‘I know,’ said Gervase. ‘I spoke with him.’
‘But how did the prisoner get out of the castle itself?’ said Ralph.
‘They would hardly unlock the gate for him and let him walk out.’
‘That is precisely what they did do, my lord.’
‘I do not follow.’
‘The blacksmith outwitted the sentries,’ said Trouville. ‘When they heard a splash in the river, they thought someone had dived over the wall and into the water. So they opened the gate and went to investigate. While their backs were turned, Boio must have sneaked out.’
‘What caused the splash in the water?’
‘Some heavy rocks. When the castle was first built, they kept a supply of them on the ramparts to hurl down on any attackers.
Boio used some to cause a diversion. The sentries checked the pile of rocks and found some missing.’
Ralph had to suppress a smile of admiration but Gervase was more heartened by the news that the fugitive had a good start on his pursuers. Even on foot, he would have been miles away before his absence was discovered. Trouville took a different attitude to the escape.
‘They should hunt him down like a wild boar and kill him!’
‘Every man deserves a fair trial, my lord,’ said Gervase.
‘Not this one,’ said Trouville. ‘He has surrendered that right.’
‘Boio the Blacksmith is not the only prisoner whose fate concerns us,’ noted Ralph. ‘Brother Benedict now stands accused as well.’
‘This is the first I have heard of it.’
‘The lord Henry suspects him of taking the file into the dungeon to give to the prisoner,’ explained Gervase. ‘It is an absurd charge but our host was too choleric to listen to reason. Benedict must wait until his rage has cooled.’
‘He would never even think of doing such a thing,’ said Trouville with sudden loyalty. ‘Benedict has a Christian purity. It is one of the things about him which irritates me the most,’ he added with a lift of his eyebrow. ‘He should not be locked up. I will plead for his immediate release when the lord Henry returns.’
‘So will I,’ said Ralph. ‘I will insist on it.’