“I am sorry,” he said gently, “but the murder of our companion has changed everything. Our work is in abeyance until that crime has been solved. My lord Tanchelm was here with us on the King’s business. We will not rest until his killer has been brought to justice.”
“And what of Toki’s killers?” she demanded. “Will they be brought to justice? He was murdered just as surely as your colleague but will there be any retribution?”
“I fear not.”
“Those lions should be destroyed.”
“Inga …”
“They are monsters!”
Torn between fury and despair, she began to sob fitfully. Gervase took her in his arms to comfort her and she slowly calmed. When she looked up at him, he saw the anguish in her face and realised for the first time the true hopelessness of her position. Inga’s future was bleak.
She had lost her beloved and her father’s property. If her mother’s claim was rejected by the commissioners, she and Inga might well face unpleasant repercussions. Gervase distrusted Nigel Arbarbonel. Behind the studied charm lay more sinister qualities. When the commissioners left, Inga and her mother would be at the mercy of their landlord.
Gervase was anxious to relieve her pain in some way. She broke away from him and looked back towards the grave.
“What was he doing in the castle that night?” he said.
“I wish I knew.”
“Have you made no effort to find out?”
“We have done little else since we have been in York.”
“There were two of them,” he recalled. “Toki climbed into the castle with an accomplice. The guards said that they saw someone running away. If we can trace that man, he may be able to tell you what really happened.”
“I have tried.”
“You know who he is?”
“I think so.”
“What is his name?”
Inga hesitated. “I cannot tell you.”
“Why not?”
“It does not concern you.”
“But I may be able to help you to find him.”
“How do I know you will not pass the name on?”
“Have I passed on the name of Toki?”
“No, you did not.”
“And did I keep my promise to bring you here?”
“Yes,” she said, casting her last doubts aside. “You have been true to your word. The accomplice was Ragnar Long-foot.”
“Ragnar?”
“He was Toki’s best friend. They went everywhere together. If someone else climbed into the castle, it must have been Ragnar Longfoot.”
“Have you learned nothing about him?”
“Only that he vanished the same night as Toki.”
“Does he not have a family?”
“They are as anxious to trace him as I am.”
“What sort of man is this Ragnar Longfoot?”
“Good, honest, reliable but weak-willed. He was older than Toki but let him take the lead. Ragnar will always follow a stronger man. That is why I believe that the rumours may be true.”
“Rumours?”
“They are all that I have been able to pick up.”
“And what do they tell you?”
“Ragnar has run off to join the strongest leader of all.”
“And who is that?”
“Olaf Evil Child.”
They had pitched camp in the Forest of Galtres. Ragnar Longfoot sat on the ground and stared into the embers of the fire. It had been almost a week now but the agony would not go away. His conscience was a scourge. As he gazed down, a breath of wind came to ignite the embers again. In their sudden glow, he saw the face of a dear friend, looking up at him with smouldering accusation. Ragnar shut his eyes to block out the sight. A consoling hand fell on his shoulder.
“You were not to blame,” said Olaf Evil Child.
“I was. I should have stayed.”
“No, Ragnar.”
“I ran away. I deserted Toki.”
“You had no choice. It was too late to save him.”
“I should have helped, Olaf.”
“How? By getting yourself captured? What purpose would that have served? Aubrey Maminot would only have fed you to the lions as well.
You were right to flee.”
“I was a coward.”
“Climbing into that castle took a lot of courage.”
“I only followed Toki. I fed off his courage.”
“He would not have gone without you.”
“Yes,” said Ragnar, rallied by the thought. “That is true. Toki needed me. I did help.” His guilt returned. “But I betrayed him at the end.”
“You did not,” argued Olaf. “He was betrayed by his own boldness.
Toki did not look ahead. He was too hasty. Did he not realise the danger that lay in wait?”
“No.”
“You must have known about the lions.”
“We heard they were there-who has not? — but we did not expect them to be let out at night.” Ragnar trembled. “Toki learned the truth too late. I shall never forget the sound of his cries. And all I could do was run.”
“You had to, my friend.”
“I took to my heels like a frightened rat.”
“You survived, Ragnar.”
“But Toki did not.”
“He took his chance and failed,” said Olaf, crouching beside the other. “You lived to fight another day. That is the way to serve his memory. By striving to achieve what Toki was after. By continuing the battle.”
Ragnar stared down at the fire again. The embers had lost their glow and the face had turned to white ash. He gritted his teeth and turned back to Olaf Evil Child.
“You are right, Olaf. I must fight on.”
“With us?”
“With you.”
“This is where he must have got in,” said Ralph Delchard. “And made his escape by the same means.”
“In and out in a matter of minutes.”
“With a man’s life snuffed out in the process.”
“Why were the shutters unlocked?” said Aubrey Maminot. “They are usually kept bolted from the inside. Anyone might lurk here otherwise to eavesdrop on what is being said in the room. The murderer must have slipped into the building earlier to release the bolt on the shutters.”
“Unless he had a confederate who did that office.”
“That, too, is a possibility.”
The two men were standing in the lane at the rear of the shire hall.
Like many other buildings in the city, it had a sunken floor. What was a high window on the back wall of the interior was only at chest height when viewed from outside. Entry would not have been difficult. The alley was no more than a muddied track and hundreds of feet had churned it up since the time of the murder. A search for clues was fruitless.
Men-at-arms had been stationed at either end of the alley by the deputy sheriff to question people who used it on a regular basis and to ask if they had witnessed anything suspicious taking place around the time of Vespers on the previous day. Aubrey was sceptical about their chances of learning anything.
“They are too late and too lenient,” he said. “The time to ask questions was directly after the event and the way to do it was with threats and fists. These people will never give their help willingly.”
“Someone must have seen him.”
“They did, Ralph. This alley is in constant use. Several people saw him clamber in through that window. But you will not get them to admit it. We are Normans.”
“Tanchelm was not.”
“He served the King. That is all they need to know. We may mourn a friend but the rest of the city will be rejoicing. We are an island in a sea of hatred.”
Ralph was rueful. “I helped to create that hatred.”
“So did I,” said Aubrey, “and I have no regrets. We had to crush the North and we did it in the only way that would have a lasting effect.”
“Yes, Aubrey. We saw some of those lasting effects on the way here.
They were not inspiring sights.”
“You are getting soft, old friend. Live in York and you would soon change. There is no room for softness here.”
“I will be harsh enough when we catch our villain.”
“Then let’s about it,” said Aubrey. “I need to speak to the deputy sheriff again to put a burr under his backside.”
“I would like to take another look inside.”