The place was deserted now. Ropes dangled idly and pulleys were silent. Stone lay about on the grass in abundance, some of it already dressed to shape and ready to be hoisted up into position, some of it fresh from the quarry, waiting for the mason’s hammer and chisel to fashion it appropriately. Bishop Robert loved to watch the craftsmen at work, taking an ugly lump of stone and slowly releasing its hidden beauty until it was fit to adorn the cathedral church of St John.
He was still musing on the majesty of the architecture when Archdeacon Frodo came padding across the grass.
‘Is there anything to see, Bishop Robert?’ he asked.
‘Progress. Slow, steady, unhurried progress.’
‘I will be glad when the stonemasons finish,’ said the other.
‘They have a noisy occupation. We will never hear the angels sing above the din of those hammers.’
‘Listen more carefully, Frodo.’
The archdeacon smiled. ‘I will,’ he said. ‘But I bring word from Father Ernwin. The funeral was held this afternoon and he sends thanks for the permission you kindly gave.’
‘I could hardly refuse it. Those two men who were hanged in the forest may have been poachers but they are still entitled to a Christian burial. It would have been sinful to leave them in a ditch to rot.’
‘That is what Earl Hugh intended.’
‘I am glad we were able to frustrate that intention.’
‘It was one of the commissioners who found the bodies.’
‘So I understand,’ said the bishop. ‘Master Gervase Bret. A young man of true Christian impulse. Canon Hubert has nothing but praise for his colleague and I can see why. He offered help to a family who were spurned by everyone else. Out of pure compassion, he turned Good Samaritan.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘It is a sad business, Frodo. But at least the bodies are now buried safely in the ground. They have been laid to rest. The surviving members of the family can now begin to mourn.’
‘Father Ernwin said the same in his message.’
‘He is a good shepherd and tends his flock well.’ He glanced around to make sure that they were not overheard. ‘Frodo,’ he said quietly, ‘I am sure that you appreciate how important it is to keep this from Earl Hugh.’
‘You may rely on my discretion.’
‘I always do.’
‘Father Ernwin also understands the situation.’
‘Good,’ said the bishop. ‘When he had their corpses tossed in that ditch, Earl Hugh meant them to lie there as a hideous warning to others. He would be highly displeased to hear that they had been recovered by their family and given a decent burial.’
‘He will hear nothing from my lips,’ promised the archdeacon, ‘but then, he is too busy to listen to anything that we might have to say. The murder of Raoul Lambert has blocked out all else from his mind.’
‘It troubles me as well, Frodo.’
‘There will be severe repercussions.’
‘We have already suffered one of them,’ noted the bishop. ‘Our appeal against Raoul Lambert’s annexation of Church property will now go unheard. And you will have to forgo the pleasure of exposing his rapacity to the commissioners in the shire hall.’
‘Some of our property may yet be returned, your grace.’
‘I pray that all of it will.’
‘Leave that to me and to the commissioners.’
‘I will, Frodo.’ He washed his hands nervously in the air. ‘What is the true story, do you think?’
‘True story?’
‘Of the murder in the forest. Was it, in fact, do you suppose, a bold attempt on the life of Earl Hugh?’
‘I can only guess,’ said Frodo. ‘Though I have talked with two people who were in the hunting party and they are firmly of the opinion that it was a bungled assassination. It has enraged Earl Hugh beyond measure.’
‘That is not difficult to do.’
‘This time his fury has just cause.’
‘How has it expressed itself?’
‘In prompt action,’ said the archdeacon. ‘When I went into the city, I saw extra guards at the gate. They let nobody through until they had checked his identity and purpose. It was the same at the castle. Soldiers are everywhere. The show of military strength is quite daunting.’
‘And unsettling,’ admitted the bishop. ‘Earl Hugh would not stiffen his defences in that way unless he feared some kind of attack. And there is only one place from which that would come.’
‘Wales.’
‘Yes, Frodo. I begin to tremble.’
‘Why, your grace?’
‘Because I suddenly fear for my cathedral.’
‘It is in no real danger.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Chester has a large garrison.’
‘But they are inside the castle,’ said Robert anxiously. ‘They have stone walls to protect them. We do not. We are outside the city with no fortifications to hide behind.’
‘We have God to watch over us.’
‘Yes, Frodo, but even He might not be able to stop a marauding army from over the border. It would not be the first time that a cathedral was sacked in Chester.’
‘That will not happen, your grace.’
‘It might.’
‘Only as a remote possibility.’
‘While that possibility exists, I continue to fret.’ He looked up wistfully at the building. ‘An immense amount of love and devotion has gone into the construction of this cathedral, quite apart from the money and the effort that have been lavished upon it. I hate the thought that it could all go up in smoke. I would be devastated.’
‘So would I, your grace,’ said the archdeacon, ‘but I am confident that we will never be in that predicament. Earl Hugh is reacting to a threat which may not even be there. The Welsh have been peaceful neighbours ever since their prince was imprisoned in the castle. They would never endanger his life by mounting an attack.’
‘How can you be so certain?’
‘The Welsh are very predictable.’
‘Are they?’ returned the other. ‘I disagree. Look at Archdeacon Idwal. He is as predictable as a mad dog. If he is typical of the Welsh, then we are all doomed!’
Brother Gerold listened to the request with the utmost sympathy, but he saw no point in offering his visitor false hope. His shoulders hunched into an apology.
‘There is not the slightest chance, I fear.’
‘How do you know until you ask him?’
‘Because I am privy to his mind, Archdeacon Idwal,’ said the monk. ‘Earl Hugh would not let you near his prisoner.’
‘A single hour is all that I seek.’
‘I am sorry.’
‘Half an hour?’ bargained Idwal. ‘Ten minutes? Five even? I would settle for any length of time with Gruffydd ap Cynan.’
‘You will have to settle for none at all.’
‘This is monstrous!’
‘It is Earl Hugh’s decree.’
‘Then get him to revoke it.’
Gerold smiled. ‘That is like asking me to turn the River Dee into red wine. Earl Hugh will not be persuaded.’
‘But I was told that you had influence with him.’
‘In some small way.’
‘Bishop Robert gave me to understand that you were the one person in the castle to whom he paid serious attention.’
‘At times.’
‘Then let this be one of those times.’
‘My plea would be ignored.’
‘At least make it on my behalf.’
‘It would be treated with utter contempt.’
‘Then I will make the plea myself,’ vowed Idwal, temper flaring and arms gesticulating wildly. ‘Others may quake before Earl Hugh of Chester but I do not. He may have an army but I have the might of the Welsh Church at my back. Contrive an appointment for me, Brother Gerold. I will be heard.’
‘Not by Earl Hugh.’
‘But I am an archdeacon!’
‘Even a bishop would not gain his ear at this time.’
Idwal stamped his foot in exasperation. The two of them were standing in the half-dark at the rear of the chapel. Idwal’s arrival had been unannounced but he was treated with courtesy by Brother Gerold. That courtesy seemed to ruffle rather than please the visitor, who was forced into a change of strategy.
‘Carry a message to him,’ he urged.