There was another facet to the destruction of his Order, and that was that he had a deep and abiding loathing for any form of injustice. His Order had been destroyed as a matter of politics and greed, the King and Pope taking all they could from the Templar treasuries while burning any Templars who could not be forced to confess to sins which any reasonable man would have known to be false. It was this which had fired his determination to prevent injustices and led to his position as Keeper of the King’s Peace in Crediton. Wherever possible he tried to save men from conviction and punishment for crimes of which they were innocent; it was a novel approach in an age when most Coroners and Sheriffs were happy to imprison those people whom the local jury accused, but Baldwin preferred to investigate methodically. When possible he tried to free the innocent and only convict the guilty – a trait which had led him and his friend Simon to some surprising discoveries in the last six years; occasionally to horrific ones.
He was learning to relax somewhat at home now he was married. Since first meeting Jeanne, he had become aware of a sense of ease, a general relaxation of spirit. He was less driven, he told himself with more than a hint of smugness; less bitter, more tranquil generally.
‘What are you smirking about?’
He started at his wife’s voice but laughed when he saw how her head was tilted, her eyebrow lifted in sardonic enquiry. ‘Considering fate and marriage, my Lady.’
‘I suppose I should be glad, then, to see you wearing that hound-like expression of devotion,’ she said, returning to her chair.
‘And I should be glad too, to see how such a magnificent lady could bear to tolerate such a mean and disreputable fellow as me,’ he responded with a bow.
‘That’s all very well,’ she said, sitting slowly with a hand on her belly. ‘Ooh! That’s better.’
‘About this tournament. I hardly think it is necessary for me to attend,’ Baldwin said. ‘And I have no desire to go and display myself in shining robes at ridiculous expense just to prove my vanity.’
‘I am delighted to hear it – I wouldn’t wish to see you wasting good money in a frivolous manner. You must have taken part in many hastiludes, my love, but from what you said, you are glad to be able to avoid this one?’
‘I certainly have a dislike for being beaten about the head and body by ape-like drunks who occasionally lose their tempers and flail about them with an mace or axe. I should have thought that you would be nervous about seeing me enter the fray.’
‘As for that, I expect you would be a match for competitors half your age.’
‘Perhaps, except this would not involve only one or two single combats,’ Baldwin said, slapping the message with the back of his hand. ‘Simon says that the events will take place over three days: the first for the opening and some early jousts, the second with more individual challenges, and then a finish with a grand mêlée in which two opposing teams will try their fortune.’ He winced. ‘Think of it: two teams of knights at it hammer and tongs. Entering the ring on horseback until they are brought to the ground, then stumbling about, many of them blinded by dust and dirt and stunned by the blows raining down on them from all sides. Those who are captured will lose their horse, armour, weapons – and have to pay a ransom besides for their freedom. My God! It’s such a waste! And you want me to enter this?’
‘It always looks so spectacular,’ she told him honestly. Like many women, she enjoyed watching knights practising.
‘You want to be a widow so soon?’ he growled but then he remembered and could have kicked himself. ‘My darling, I am sorry. I wasn’t thinking.’
Jeanne was not upset. ‘I lost my first husband when he died young, Baldwin, but you know I do not regret it. I cannot lie: I hated him. It was a relief when he became ill and succumbed. You mustn’t treat everything so seriously. And I wasn’t pulling a face because I was hurt by your words; I had a twinge, that’s all.’
Baldwin felt as if the world had suddenly jolted beneath him. ‘A “twinge”? What do you mean, a “twinge”? What sort of a “twinge”?’ he gabbled.
She eyed him with amusement. ‘Baldwin, you have seen plenty of hounds give birth to their whelps, and mares deliver themselves of foals. You know what sort of twinge.’
Baldwin threw a glance over his shoulder at the door. ‘I… ’
‘Shall sit and amuse me. You don’t expect me to explode in a moment, do you? How long does a birth usually take? Sit here, hold my hand, and keep talking.’
‘You’re sure you won’t, um… ’
‘It’s the beginning, but that may mean I have another thirty hours. It doesn’t feel very urgent yet,’ she assured him. ‘Sit!’
Reluctantly he obeyed her, still gripping the message. His dog, hearing the sharp command, simultaneously squatted behind him.
‘Stop staring at my belly like that! Now, tell me what Simon plans. Why is he organising this tournament, anyway? What has it got to do with the tin miners, with the Stannaries?’
‘It is not his responsibility to arrange such events,’ Baldwin admitted, ‘but Lord de Courtenay has asked him to help. He wrote to Abbot Champeaux to enquire whether Simon could be released from his duties for a while. You may recall that Simon’s father used to be a steward in the pay of Lord de Courtenay’s father until old Lord Hugh’s death in 1292. Apparently Simon’s father was most adept at setting out the grounds and siting the ber frois, the stands. So our Lord Hugh asked that the former steward’s son should be allowed to help with his latest tournament. It is a matter of tradition – and an honour for Simon.’
‘But surely the Pope has only recently removed his ban upon all tournaments?’
‘And the King has imposed his own,’ Baldwin agreed.
‘May the Sheriff prevent it?’
Baldwin laughed aloud. ‘The good Sheriff is one of Lord Hugh’s men. If I know him at all, he’ll be chafing at the bit to be there himself! No, there is no likelihood that the King would stop it.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘If the good Lord Hugh de Courtenay considers that he can arrange to hold a spectacle, I see no reason to think he is wrong,’ Baldwin said. ‘Perhaps he has a dispensation from the King. In any case, Lord Hugh has requested and the good Abbot has enthusiastically agreed. Even now Simon is travelling to Oakhampton, I expect.’
‘Why is the Lord de Courtenay so keen to hold a tournament, I wonder?’
‘It’s probably something to do with that primping coxcomb Sir Peregrine of Barnstaple, Lord Hugh’s banneret. He is always scheming and playing political games. It is just the sort of vain, pointless affair he would think diverting.’
‘You still do not like Sir Peregrine?’ Jeanne said lightly, her hand moving back to her belly. It felt as if her pelvis was preparing to explode.
Baldwin had not noticed her wince. ‘I do not. Give me a plain enemy with a sword in his hand any day in preference to a subtle, devious courtier like Sir Peregrine.’
‘He was always polite and courteous to me.’