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That was a possibility to be desired. And it was why he was really here, of course.

‘Sir Baldwin.’

Baldwin turned to see Cook, the city porter, at the door.

They had been here in the priory long enough to divest themselves of their dirtier clothing, time to see that their horses were well treated, to grab a flagon of wine and drain it, and to choose the best area for sleeping on the rough floor.

‘Master Porter.’

‘No, no porter. Just an honest cook who’d prefer to be in his kitchen than defending the city against miscreants.’

‘The men you stood against were indeed rash, but not miscreants. If a man were to throw ordure at me, I, too, would deprecate his behaviour.’

‘Enough to murder three? Who are those men? They didn’t sound English.’

‘There was no murder here, Porter. Only a chance affray. But to answer you, the pair of them are Frenchmen, I think.’

‘Will they be here long?’

‘If you will permit us, we shall ride from here tomorrow early. We have to ride to the King.’

‘Well, I’ll do what I can, but I promise nothing. Those who died will hardly be missed, they were just peasants,’ Cook said with a dry smile that held no humour. He was not amused, but trying to explain to a knight how the land lay. If Baldwin was truly in the party of an emissary of the King, it was best he was not delayed or provoked. ‘But there are some hotheads who’d prefer to see some semblance of justice, even if they were all unimportant.’

‘No man’s life is unimportant,’ Baldwin said. ‘If I could, I would deliver the fools to you, but I have need of them to continue to defend my Lord Bishop. Without them, we are too few.’

‘The city could present you with some replacements?’

‘What would happen to these two?’

‘They’d be held for the coroner. That will have to happen whatever may pass. You know the law. This was a slaughter on the road. We have a duty to hold an inquest and see what the jury says.’

‘Very well. I shall inform the Bishop and see what he desires,’ Baldwin said.

Cook nodded, then gave a short grin before leaving. It was enough to make Baldwin feel a little unsettled as he walked over the floor to the door on the opposite side. He had clearly failed to overawe Cook.

Beyond the door was a little chamber which had been set aside for the Bishop’s men. The Bishop of Orange was himself in the prior’s hall. Baldwin had only been seated a short while when an anxious-looking monk arrived with the message, asking Baldwin and Simon to go with him to the abbot’s lodgings.

‘What does he want with us?’ Simon grumbled, regretfully eyeing his jug of wine as he stood.

‘He wishes to discuss the murder, I think,’ the monk said.

It didn’t make Simon feel any better about leaving his wine.

Chapter Seven

Coroner Robert was waiting in the Prior’s hall. The Bishop sat at table, noisily dismembering a chicken and paying the prior and coroner no attention while the prior introduced them. As Simon said to himself, though, the man hardly spoke any English. It was no surprise that he was silent.

The Coroner of Canterbury had met enough knights and King’s officers in his time. It was his firm belief that there were only a few different types. They all fell into one of three categories, and he was perfectly capable of recognising them all. There were those who were set upon personal aggrandisement, seeking money at the expense of all others; those whose sole ambition was to have power; and those, a form of reptile like the repellent Despenser, who wanted both at the same time. Coroner Robert had no time for any of them. Yes, in his experience all men fell into one of the three, and he wondered idly into which category these two fell.

‘You are a keeper?’ he asked of Baldwin. Hearing the response, he nodded to himself. If he had to bet, this was one of those who sought power. Clearly the other one, the former bailiff, was after money. You could see that by looking at the two of them. The better dressed, albeit with the stains and mess of the roads on his clothing, was the former bailiff, while the knight was quite shabby-looking. He clearly didn’t have any care for fashion. Presumably, the former bailiff was looking to improve his treasure so he could maintain himself in the style he enjoyed, while the knight was merely power-hungry.

Satisfied with his conclusions, the coroner felt a vague disappointment. It was a common experience for him nowadays. Everyone could be slotted into one of the three sheaths he had seen. The King was not powerful enough to control the rampant ambitions of his nobles, and in the free-for-all that was modern politics, everyone was out to grab what they could. Even when the coroner had, generously, given someone the benefit of the doubt, hoping that the fellow would not fit into the sheath of greed or power, he had, unfailingly, been disillusioned later. Now he preferred to see the worst from the first moment. It saved trouble later.

‘You are investigating the three?’ Baldwin said. ‘I am glad to see you take your job so seriously as to come here this late to investigate, Sir Robert.’

‘We are not so populous that we can afford to lose three men without noticing,’ Sir Robert said sharply.

‘I would not have thought so,’ Baldwin said with a smile. ‘I respect you for your diligence, though.’

‘Thank you. Now, these two who killed them. They are here in the priory?’

‘They will go nowhere.’

The Bishop of Orange’s words were the first the coroner had heard him speak, and he was startled for a moment. Then he bowed stiffly and thanked him. ‘I am glad to hear it.’

‘But I will have them with me in the morning when I leave.’

‘My Lord Bishop, that is difficult. I have a duty to investigate the deaths of the three outside the city gate, and-’

‘They are my guards. They must leave with me. I am on an urgent embassy to your King, and the guards fall under the protection of your King. They were set upon and attacked by a small mob. They defended themselves. That is all you need to know.’

‘With respect, my Lord Bishop, the law of my country says that I have to investigate and record the facts. And if I discover that the men were guilty of murder, I have a duty to have them held until the next court is held to hear their case.’

‘That is not possible. My men answer to me, and I will not have them left behind.’

The coroner’s hackles were rising. ‘My Lord, they must be kept here until my inquest. After that you may — may — be permitted to take them with you.’

Baldwin interjected. ‘Coroner, I think that the only issue here is the urgency of our mission to the King. If there is any means of speeding the inquest, so that it could be held in the morning, would that satisfy your need for justice and the Bishop’s need for haste? After all, it is to be hoped that the two will not be found guilty of deliberate murder. There was clearly no premeditation here, nor was it some secretive assault under cover of darkness. It was two nervous men who were assaulted, just because they were riding to the gate on the orders of the Bishop. The locals deprecated their temerity at hurrying past, and they tried to defend themselves against apparent attack.’

‘So you say. I do not know until the jury meets.’

‘But it would be possible to hurry the matter along?’

‘Not if there is any risk of an injustice.’

‘If there were,’ Baldwin said gravely, ‘I assure you, I would take a dim view of it.’

Of course you would! Coroner Robert thought to himself. Aloud, he said silkily, ‘And, naturally, you would want to see them punished if they were found guilty?’

‘Yes. I am Keeper of the King’s Peace in Devon, and I spend my life seeking the fair punishment of those who deserve it.’