Ralph had heard the last remark and, after a hasty greeting, waved them towards the keep. ‘The sheriff went to Tiverton yesterday, he dare not neglect Lady Eleanor any longer. He said he would be back in the morning.’
With the two squires in tow and the men-at-arms taken off to barracks to eat and drink, the party made their way to the keep, through a ragged line of soldiers and their families, who came out to doff their caps, touch their foreheads and even give an odd cheer, as William Marshal had long been a popular figure in the land, especially among the military. Now in his late forties, he had already served two kings well — and if the future could have been foreseen, was to serve another two, as well as becoming Regent of England. He had a long face, like his younger brother, Bishop Henry Marshal, who owed his ecclesiastical promotion to royal gratitude for his sibling’s ability.
They went into Morin’s chamber at the other end of the hall and sat down, servants crowding in after them with wine, ale and food. There were too few seats for everyone and the squires, silent young men with blond hair, went back out into the hall to take their refreshments.
‘I’ll arrange for your accommodation, though this bloody place is so small,’ apologised Morin. ‘You can have my quarters, Lord William, and I’ll find somewhere for you, Sir Walter.’
The Devon-bred baron held up a hand. ‘No, we’ll not stay here. I’ve been to Exeter often enough as a commissioner or a justice to know that the New Inn is the best place, not this miserable stone box. It might have been good enough for William the Bastard years ago, but times have moved on!’
William Marshal agreed, after sinking at least a pint of ale in one long swallow. ‘In any case, I don’t feel it politic to share our lodgings with the man we’ve come to investigate.’
As the ale and wine flowed and the plates of meat pastries and chicken legs emptied, John learned how these two senior men had come to travel to Exeter at his behest.
‘Your letter arrived and thankfully Hubert Walter was still in Winchester. He thinks well of you, John, and knew that you were not one to cry “wolf” where there was no real need.’
Walter de Ralegh, another tall man with iron-grey hair, took up the tale. ‘The justiciar called me to him and told me to get down here to see what was going on, as I am familiar with the area and certainly have my own knowledge of de Revelle from some of his past escapades. Hubert said he would have come himself, but he was committed to going to Northampton and then on to London and Canterbury this week.’
The Marshal’s cool grey eyes fixed on the coroner. ‘You are well known for your faithful service to King Richard, de Wolfe. You proved this in Palestine and when you did your best for him in Vienna. Not many men would have got the Chief Justiciar to consider coming at your call.’
John warmed at the words, but they prompted a question. ‘Thank you, but how did you become involved in this?’
William gave a wry smile. ‘By being in the right place at the wrong time, I suppose! I am with the King in France for most of the year, but try to get back to Chepstow now and then to see my wife Isobel and attend to my lands in Wales. I was just returning to Normandy, having to go to Winchester on the way — and walked into this problem of yours. Hubert suggested that I take the sea route from here or Plymouth, instead of Portsmouth, so that I could accompany Walter here on his mission.’
‘And maybe call upon your brother at the same time,’ added de Ralegh, rather mischievously.
William grunted. ‘I’ll call upon him, surely. But in the course of duty, rather than fraternal affection. Henry and I do not often see eye to eye.’ He belched after his hasty consumption of rich food and ale. ‘In fact, I will call upon him this evening, to see what the fellow has been up to this time, before we begin our deliberations tomorrow.’
For the next hour, de Wolfe recounted all that had been happening in Exeter over the previous few weeks, repeating and expanding upon the facts that he had given in his letter to the justiciar. The two barons listened gravely and had a number of penetrating questions for John, which showed that they were well aware of the seriousness of the situation. At the end, when they were ready to go down to their lodgings in Exeter’s largest inn in the high street, William Marshal leaned forward and tapped de Wolfe on the knee. ‘Crowner, I think you should get this knight, Henry de Furnellis, along in the morning. It looks to me as if by tomorrow Devon might be needing a replacement for its sheriff!’
The proceedings on that fateful Monday were fragmentary, as the varying issues needed different people at different venues.
They began in the morning with William Marshal and Walter de Ralegh going to see the bishop. This was a private meeting at the bishop’s palace behind the cathedral and although John de Alençon and several other canons, including the precentor, succentor and treasurer, were called in later, the coroner could only guess at what transpired. Even his good friend the archdeacon was placed under a constraint of confidentiality, so that he could not divulge anything to de Wolfe. One result of the meeting was that Gilbert de Bosco was forced to appear at the coroner’s inquests later in the day.
Richard de Revelle rode in during the morning and though de Wolfe deliberately kept well clear of him until the formal proceedings began, he learned later from Ralph Morin that the sheriff was shocked to learn that no less a notability than the Marshal of England had arrived to enquire into his misdeeds, together with a senior royal justice.
De Revelle attempted to speak privately with them, but like the coroner, they declined to compromise themselves with him until the matters were dealt with officially. Richard then shut himself in his office with Roscelin de Sucote and refused to see anyone.
At breakfast, John told his wife about the arrival of the men from Winchester, but the news seemed to send her deeper into her apathetic gloom. Normally, the arrival in the city of a baron as famous as William the Marshal, especially as he was brother to the Lord Bishop, would have made her demand of him every detail of his dress, his appearance, his entourage and any other titbit of gossip, so enamoured was she of the Norman aristocracy. But now it was as if she realised the enormity of her brother’s problems, that such exalted figures should be sent to investigate him.
William Marshal and de Ralegh came back to the New Inn around the tenth hour, having completed their business at the cathedral. They sent a message for de Wolfe to meet them there and within minutes he had made the short walk down the hill to their lodgings. In a room set aside by the innkeeper, they sat with some wine and told John that the inquest into the fire at the Bush and the death of Lucy could go ahead, as Canon Gilbert would now appear before them. As members of the Royal Council and as King’s judges, both were also de facto coroners, but they directed him to preside over the proceedings.
‘Once that’s complete, then we will be in a better position to decide how we view the behaviour of both this damned priest and your dear brother-in-law,’ explained Walter.
John had already primed Gwyn to get everything ready for an inquest in the Shire Hall immediately after the midday meal and when he returned to his chamber he sent his officer with messages to the sheriff’s steward and down to Canons’ Row to demand the attendance of both, on pain of the King’s displeasure. The archdeacon had already called on Gilbert to deliver the bishop’s orders and though the canon still pleaded sickness, de Alençon made it crystal clear that this was a command that could not be disobeyed, even if they had to carry him to the court on a hurdle.
As always in Exeter, news travelled not just fast but almost instantaneously and a large crowd had converged on Rougemont by the time the inquest began. The sergeant-at-arms called out all his men to keep order and a line of soldiers pressed back the onlookers inside the court, so that a large enough space was left in front of the platform for jurors and witnesses. Another row of helmeted men blocked the arched entrance to keep out those who clustered around to listen from outside.