People were stopped in the street by the score but no one could-or would-give any information of value.”
“My lord Tanchelm’s papers were searched,” added Gervase. “Some may have been stolen. That points to one of your claimants. What was the biggest case due to come before you in here tomorrow, Canon Hubert?”
“It relates to land in the wapentake of Burghshire.”
“Can you recall the name of the disputants?”
“I fear not. A hundred names have come in and out of my head since we have been in the city. Do not ask me to pluck some more out of the air.”
“I remember a name,” piped Brother Simon.
“What is it?” asked Gervase.
“It stuck in my mind because it conjured up a clear picture of what the fellow must have looked like. He had holdings of some consequence in Burghshire when he died.”
“Who did?” said Ralph. “Give us his name.”
“Sweinn Redbeard.”
“And he used to own this land, you say?”
“Yes, my lord. It should have devolved to his son.”
“And who might that be?”
“Someone that nobody could forget.”
“Go on.”
Brother Simon savoured a rare moment when he felt he had an advantage over his superiors. It earned him a respect from all three of them that he never normally enjoyed. His time perusing the documents relating to the claims had not been wasted. It elevated his importance for once.
“Well?” prompted Gervase.
“Who is the son of this Sweinn Redbeard?” said Ralph.
“Tell us, man!” urged Canon Hubert.
“Very well,” said Simon. “It is Olaf Evil Child.”
Aubrey Maminot was dumbfounded when he first heard the news about the murder. He had spent the day visiting one of his berewics to the west of York and only returned to the city in the evening. No sooner had he ridden into his castle with his men than the captain of the guard ran up to him to pass on the tidings. Aubrey was stunned but he recovered with speed as fury built inside him. Tanchelm of Ghent was a guest at his home. Any misfortune that befell the Fleming was a reflection on his host. Aubrey was beside himself.
“I should have been here to guard him!” he yelled.
“His own men were given that duty, my lord.”
“A guest of mine murdered! I will not believe it.”
“Unhappily, it is true.”
“Has my lord sheriff been informed?”
“His deputy has taken charge while he is away. The sheriff himself has been recalled with urgency.”
“I should hope so! What steps have been taken?”
“I do not know, my lord.”
“Is the killer’s identity known?”
“Not yet.”
“God’s blood!” snarled Aubrey. “Then why have the gates been left open for him to escape? Every exit should have been sealed so that the villain was penned up inside York. Then we could have searched every inch of it until we rooted him out. The deputy sheriff is an imbecile.”
“You will have to take that up with him in person.”
“I shall, I shall!”
Aubrey let his horse feel his spurs and cantered out of the castle.
Five minutes later, he was in earnest discussion with the deputy sheriff, hearing what little progress had been made and offering an unlimited number of his own men to assist in the hunt for the killer. When he returned to his castle once more, he was still so incensed at what had happened that he left the feeding of his lions to Ludovico. His guests were his prior concern.
“I blame myself, Ralph. It was unforgivable.”
“You were not responsible for his safety,” said Ralph.
“I feel that I was. I let him down cruelly.”
“No, Aubrey.”
“He was the victim of a cunning villain,” said Gervase. “What safer place could there have been than the shire hall when armed men were within call? An attack would never be expected there. That is why he was taken unawares.”
Aubrey sighed. “Shameful, shameful!”
It was late evening and the three of them were seated alone in the hall. Two flagons of wine had already been emptied. Even Gervase, habitually quite abstemious, felt the need of several drinks. The wine began to make him feel sleepy but Ralph and Aubrey slid into a maudlin mood.
“The irony of it!” said Ralph. “Just as I was beginning to like the man, he gets himself killed.” He raised his cup. “I drink to the memory of Tanchelm of Ghent!”
“Tanchelm!” echoed Aubrey.
“May he rest in peace!” said Gervase.
They sipped their drinks and Aubrey became wistful.
“Poor fellow!” he said. “He and I sat in this very hall last night and caroused for hours. Tanchelm was a fine man. I tell you now, I do not like many Flemings and that may be accounted a prejudice in me, but he was different. He was an old soldier and that goes deep with me.
But Tanchelm was something more. He was an educated man, a well-travelled man and yet withal a humble man.” He gave a chuckle. “Nobody could say that of Aubrey Maminot. Humility is a vice to me. But I did not see it as a flaw in Tanchelm’s character.”
“I just wish that I had known him better,” said Ralph.
“So do I.”
“He was a deep man,” observed Gervase. “I think that we knew him as well as he would let us.”
“What will happen to him now?” asked Aubrey.
“The body has been examined by all who need to see it,” said Ralph.
“It has now been released by the deputy sheriff. At first light, I am having it sent back to Lincolnshire. His wife will be distraught at the news of his death. We do not want to add to her misery by keeping the body here.”
“That is very considerate, Ralph.”
“We may need to borrow one of your carts, Aubrey.”
“Feel free to take anything you wish.”
“Thank you.”
“How will his wife be informed?”
“Riders have already been sent out. This is grim intelligence but she has a right to hear it as soon as possible. On our return journey, I plan to visit his home and explain in more detail the circumstances of his death.”
“By that time, we’ll have hanged his killer.”
“I hope so, Aubrey.”
Gervase was becoming drowsy. He excused himself from the table and tottered off to bed, pausing first at the chapel to offer up a prayer for the soul of Tanchelm of Ghent.
Ralph and Aubrey continued to drink and reminisce.
“This has dealt a bitter blow to your work,” said the castellan. “That must have been the intention.”
“It has stopped us in our tracks,” said Ralph. “We will suspend our tribunal until this murder is solved.”
“Very wise.”
“It is the least we can do for Tanchelm. Finding his killer is far more important than settling property disputes. They can wait. Our colleague’s death must be answered.”
“And when the villain is caught and punished?”
“We will begin again,” sighed Ralph. “With only one tribunal, alas. I cannot ask Canon Hubert to operate on his own, however much he might yearn for such autocracy. He and Brother Simon will renew their partnership with Gervase and myself. Our progress will be slower but we will get through our assignment in time.”
“The longer you stay, the more delighted I shall be.”
“Your hospitality is like the rays of the sun, Aubrey.”
“I feel that it is somewhat in eclipse.”
“Gervase and I could not have a finer lodging. And Golde told me only this morning how she has started to settle into the castle. You have three very contented guests.”
“Yes,” said Aubrey gloomily. “But you are forgetting something, old friend. I had four.”
Philip the Chaplain had looked on death many times in his career.
There had been a period when the castle had a garrison of over four hundred, and Aubrey Maminot’s famed generosity meant that there were usually plenty of guests staying there as well. In an establishment of that size, there was a steady flow of fatalities. Soldiers might be killed in skirmishes, fever might carry off the weaker vessels and old age would reap its own ineluctable harvest. Childbirth was another ready source of death.