Dead Man's Secret (26 page)

‘I have never seen him before,' said Geoffrey. ‘I would have remembered the nose.'

‘So would I,' agreed Roger. ‘Are you sure there is nothing to identify him, Bale?'

Bale nodded. ‘He did not even have any jewellery. Whoever he was, robbery did not make him wealthy. Perhaps he was not very good at it.'

‘Or he was not paid much,' said Roger. ‘But we cannot waste more time on this business. We should round up our companions and be on our way. Who knows? Perhaps when you deliver the letters, these attacks will stop.'

Geoffrey sincerely hoped so, but he had a bad feeling their arrival in Kermerdyn would just make matters worse.

They started to walk towards the door, but it opened suddenly, and both knights' hands dropped to the hilts of their swords, and Bale drew one of his sharp little knives. The priest who entered cried out in alarm and took several steps backwards.

‘Sorry, Father,' called Geoffrey hastily. ‘We came to see whether we could identify this man.'

‘I see,' said the priest, advancing cautiously. He was in his fifties with a sizeable paunch and grey hair that clung in greasy wisps around the back and sides of his head. ‘And can you? This is a peaceful village; we cannot imagine why anyone should sully it with so foul a deed.'

‘You do not know him, then?' Geoffrey asked.

The priest came to look at the body, and an expression of compassion filled his face. ‘No, but I am sorry circumstances brought him to this. I am Ninian, vicar of this parish. Who are you?'

Roger made the introductions, and Geoffrey was not surprised when Ninian was unimpressed by the big knight's ecclesiastical connections.

‘Fychan told me what had happened last night,' Ninian said, speaking good Norman-French. ‘He is distraught.'

Geoffrey nodded sympathetically. ‘I imagine it is not every day that a man dies under his roof.'

‘Or that innocent travellers are attacked under it,' added Roger.

Ninian shook his head wryly. ‘It is not that – it is that all his money was stolen. The felons invaded while he was counting it – as he likes to do each night – and did not leave him so much as a penny. He has been amassing that hoard for years, and its loss is a serious blow to him. And to my church, too.'

‘Why to your church?' asked Geoffrey.

‘Because he was going to pay for a new one,' explained Ninian. He gestured around him. ‘As you can see, we need it desperately. This building will not survive the winter, and we shall be reduced to saying our devotions under a tree if we do not raise another soon.'

Geoffrey frowned. ‘But this church looks as though it has been in decline for years, and the stones in the graveyard have been left long enough to gather moss. If Fychan was wealthy, why has the new church not been built already?'

Ninian grimaced. ‘You touch on a sore point. Fychan says we can only have the gold when he is dead. Counting it gives him so much pleasure that he wants to keep it for as long as possible.'

‘Sensible man,' said Roger approvingly.

Geoffrey was staring at the priest, his mind working furiously. ‘Does anyone else know he counts it so often?'

Ninian nodded. ‘Oh yes. He is the wealthiest man in the village, so we are all interested in the state of his finances. He is not generous with it, but we live in hope.'

Geoffrey was relieved. ‘The attack had nothing to do with us,' he said to Roger. ‘If Fychan is in the habit of poring over his money each night, and the whole village knows it, then it is hardly surprising that robbers visited his tavern.'

‘No,' countered Ninian immediately. ‘We have never had any trouble before. Prince Hywel keeps good order in these parts, fine ruler that he is.
You
must have attracted them.'

‘Attracted them?' demanded Roger, although he had said as much to Geoffrey not long before. ‘Only fools attack a company with several knights.'

‘Several knights with a baggage cart,' said Ninian. ‘Although I understand that most of it is taken up by poor Mabon. Still, outlaws will not know that. You cannot blame thieves for chancing their hand. Of course, it was rash to tackle six Norman knights, even if you
were
all drunk.'

‘None of us was drunk,' declared Roger indignantly. ‘Sear, Alberic and I were enjoying a quiet game of dice, Geoffrey and Edward were asleep, and Richard had gone to stay with friends. So had Gwgan, although he is not a Norman knight.'

‘Gwgan,' said Ninian fondly. ‘A fine man, and a wise counsellor for Prince Hywel.'

‘I thought the fighting made a lot of noise,' said Geoffrey to Roger. ‘Yet it took an age for anyone else to come and help me.'

‘Well, perhaps our dicing was a little rowdy,' admitted Roger. Then his face hardened and he lowered his voice. ‘Or are you saying that Sear and Alberic made a racket deliberately, so I would not hear you yelling? Or even that Richard and Gwgan were not visiting friends at all, but were directing assassins in the middle of the night?'

‘I do not know,' said Geoffrey. ‘But Delwyn, Edward and Cornald were not carousing
or
visiting friends. Why did they not come?'

‘You should be glad Edward and Delwyn stayed out of the way,' said Roger. ‘They are hopeless in a fight. Meanwhile, Cornald is a mystery to me. Perhaps he wanted to pay us back for sleeping with his wife.'

‘
I
have not slept with his wife.'

‘Did either of you kill this man?' asked Ninian, breaking into their muttered discussion. ‘Because, if so, the culprit had better kneel in front of my altar and allow me to bless him. Murder is not good for the soul. Of course, I see you are
Jerosolimitani
, so I imagine this death is but just one of many.'

‘Oh, yes,' said Roger, taking it as a compliment. ‘But Geoff here is responsible for this one.'

‘He was trying to kill me,' said Geoffrey defensively. ‘And my wife was in the room.'

‘Well, God will decide who was in the right,' said Ninian. ‘Kneel and let me do my duty.'

Geoffrey did as he was ordered, feeling he needed all the blessing he could get.

When Ninian pronounced himself satisfied, Geoffrey left the church and returned to the inn, Roger in tow, hoping Fychan was not so stricken by his loss that he would be unable to provide breakfast. The inn's main room was cold and empty. The fire had not been lit, the place reeked of spilled ale, and there was no sign of any of their companions. Fychan was there, sitting at a table with his head in his hands, eyes red-rimmed and puffy.

‘They took everything,' he whispered brokenly. ‘Every single penny. I am
glad
you killed one of them. I hope he burns in Hell!'

‘Were you saving the money for a reason?' asked Geoffrey. ‘Ninian told us that you intend to donate some for a new church—'

‘I saved it because I loved it,' interrupted Fychan. ‘Now it has gone, and I have nothing.'

‘You have your life,' Geoffrey pointed out. ‘They could have killed you.'

‘I wish they had,' said Fychan bitterly. ‘They have deprived me of my reason for living.'

‘Aye,' said Roger, gruffly sympathetic. ‘It must be a terrible blow.'

‘It is like having your soul ripped out,' said Fychan. ‘Much worse than when my wife died.'

‘Did you see anything that might allow us to identify them?' asked Geoffrey, trying to mask his bemusement.

‘No!' wailed Fychan. ‘If I had, I would have told you last night. You promised to take word to Prince Hywel today. He is a good man, who will see my distress and do what he can to get my money back. I would go out hunting the villains myself, but I am too ill with shock.'

‘Have there been rumours of thieves in the area?' asked Geoffrey.

Fychan shook his head. ‘None at all. This is a decent place, with law-abiding people, and Prince Hywel keeps everything in order. Indeed, were it not for the fact that you were a victim, too, I might have assumed one of your party was the culprit.'

‘Now, just a moment,' began Roger dangerously. ‘We had no idea that you had a hoard of coins for the taking. Only locals would know that sort of thing.'

He made it sound as though he
would
have launched an assault on Fychan's hoard, had he known about it in advance. But there was no more to be learned from the distraught Fychan, so Geoffrey asked him to provide breakfast.

By the time it was ready, the others had joined them. Cornald and Edward were yawning and rubbing their eyes, as if the incident had not prevented them from having a good night's sleep. Sear and Alberic were slightly green about the gills, and Geoffrey wondered whether Fychan had plied them with ale past its best once they had become too inebriated to notice. Gwgan and Richard also seemed quiet, both claiming they had enjoyed boisterous welcomes from friends.

Delwyn was aggravatingly spry, though, and talked in a deliberately loud voice that had most of the party wincing. Leah was the only one who demonstrated any concern for Geoffrey, coming to take his hands and peer into his face.

‘He is pale,' she said to Hilde. ‘And the cut on his head is nasty. Perhaps we should not leave today.'

‘He
should
stay and regain his strength,' said Delwyn immediately. ‘But the rest of us should proceed to Kermerdyn. Give me the Archbishop's letter; I shall see it delivered today.'

‘We leave within the hour,' said Geoffrey shortly. ‘Anyone not ready can travel on his own.'

‘We will be ready,' said Gwgan quietly. ‘I must ensure Hywel hears of last night's outrage as soon possible. I am sorry I was not here to help you. I should have known better than to lodge elsewhere. But we are in Hywel's domain, and I thought we would be safe.'

The wry gleam that usually danced in his eyes was gone, and Geoffrey saw the apology was genuine. He knew that Welshmen took family ties seriously; Gwgan probably
was
angry that he had not been there to defend a kinsman.

Hilde looked hard at Edward and Cornald. ‘But
you
were not lodging elsewhere. Are you sure you heard nothing? The skirmish started quietly enough, but when my husband attacked back, he issued some very blood-curdling yells.'

‘They woke me immediately,' replied Edward. ‘Unfortunately, this inn is inordinately dark, and I could not find my sword. There was no point dashing into an affray unarmed.'

‘I tried to light a candle,' added Cornald. ‘But Edward was screeching at me to hurry, and it flustered me. By the time I managed, the villains had escaped.'

‘I heard nothing until it was too late,' said Sear offhandedly. ‘And I would not have come to the rescue if I had. You should have been able to manage a few outlaws by yourself, Geoffrey.'

‘
I
would have come, had I known what was happening,' said Alberic quietly, as Geoffrey grabbed Roger's shoulder to prevent him from reacting. ‘But we were making too much noise, and by the time we realized something was amiss, the villains had fled.'

‘I heard a lot of clashing weapons, then yelling,' said Pulchria. ‘And I saw at least a dozen shadows haring off into the night afterwards. I told Sir Sear the direction they had taken.'

‘Into the woods,' said Sear. ‘It was pitch black and impossible to follow, especially as it took us a moment to arm ourselves, which gave them a good start.'

‘They looked as though they knew where they were going,' said Pulchria. ‘But if they are the same rogues who have pestered us since Brechene, then I am wrong.'

‘I woke when I heard Sir Geoffrey shout,' said Delwyn. ‘But I have learned to crawl under the bed when those sorts of things are screeched in the hours of darkness. I hid and stayed hidden until I was sure it was safe to come out. Which was this morning.'

‘You stayed under the bed all night?' asked Roger incredulously.

Delwyn nodded. ‘And I slept like a baby. I did not even hear Sear and Alberic return.'

‘
I
did not return,' said Sear. ‘I decided to stay on alert, lest the villains attempted anything else. They made off with Fychan's money, but I am not sure whether that was what they really wanted.'

‘What do you mean?' asked Edward. ‘What else could they have been after?'

‘They would not have looked in a bedchamber for him,' said Sear scathingly. ‘Personally, I suspect they intended to rob
us
, not the innkeeper. Six knights travelling together is unusual and has aroused interest; the King was wrong to think it would render us safer. It has made us a target, because greedy thieves have assumed we are protecting something important.'

‘I disagree,' said Hilde. ‘The first thing they did when they opened the door was to shoot a crossbow bolt into the bed. They were more than simple robbers. Moreover, as Geoffrey fought them, I had the distinct feeling they knew their way around – they did not stumble about blindly, like him. It gave them a huge advantage.'

‘So, they are locals, then,' surmised Roger.

‘Or strangers who had taken the time to explore the place,' said Geoffrey.

It was another clear day as the travellers rode the last few miles to Kermerdyn. It was a pleasant journey, along a path that followed the river. Fishermen bobbed about in leather-skinned coracles and raised their hands in greeting as the riders passed. Gwgan waved back and greeted several by name. They seemed pleased to see him return.

Now they were in home territory, Sear, Alberic and Richard took the lead, while Geoffrey and Roger brought up the rear. They were making good time, showing how eager everyone was to reach their destination.