‘Who made you this promise?’ he asked.
‘I cannot say,’ said Delwyn. ‘But he is powerful and ruthless, and if you ever challenge him, he will ensure you never live to tell the tale.’
‘Then I definitely need to know,’ argued Geoffrey, ‘because I cannot live the rest of my life suspecting everyone I meet. Tell me.’
‘I shall not,’ said Delywn defiantly. ‘And you cannot make me. So let me go before I tell my abbot that you have been manhandling me and he complains to the King.’
‘The King would pay no heed to grumbles made by you,’ said Sear in disdain.
‘Take your hands off me, you ignorant, stupid Norman,’ snarled Delwyn. ‘Your loutish-’
Geoffrey leapt from his horse when he saw what was going to happen, but he was too late. Sear was not the kind of man to tolerate abuse from someone like Delwyn. There was a brief flash of steel, and Delwyn sank slowly to the ground, staring in disbelief. Geoffrey tried to stem the bleeding, but it was not many moments before Delwyn’s eyes closed in death. Geoffrey gazed up at Sear in horror, appalled that he should kill an unarmed monk.
‘He asked for it,’ said Sear defensively. ‘Indeed, he is lucky I did not skewer him a good deal sooner; he has been an aggravation ever since La Batailge.’
‘We needed him alive,’ said Geoffrey angrily. ‘Now we may never know who really ordered Hywel’s murder.’
‘The King will find out,’ said Sear dismissively. ‘But do not waste any more time. If we are to save Hywel, and rescue the King from the accusations that will follow, we must hurry.’
A week before, Geoffrey would never have envisaged riding side by side with Sear to save the life of a man he barely knew. Sear’s men were behind them, although they were an undisciplined rabble, and he did not think they would be much help in a skirmish. He hoped, although he knew it was unrealistic, that Cornald’s messengers would be successful, and Hywel’s own troops would come to the rescue.
It was not far to the castle, but dusk was falling, and the track between town and Rhydygors was rutted and uneven. To gallop along it risked tumbles for the horses. Sear slowed to an amble, and Geoffrey had no choice but to match his pace, although he chafed furiously at the lost time.
‘What is your plan?’ asked Sear, still clearly unhappy with the whole business.
‘Go straight to Rhydygors to warn Hywel. If he is not there, we will go to Gwgan’s home. Then we will stay with him until his own garrison arrives to protect him. It could be a long night.’
‘It could,’ agreed Sear. ‘Even with my men, we will be heavily outnumbered. We will be lucky to survive. I suppose Edward and his creatures may come to our assistance, but, given their bumbling attempts at ambushing, I do not think our chances will be very much improved.’
Geoffrey said nothing, because Sear’s concerns were valid.
‘I hope you are right about this,’ muttered Sear after a moment. ‘Because it is going to be very embarrassing if you are wrong, and we burst in on a friendly dinner.’
‘I am right,’ said Geoffrey. ‘It is obvious now we have all the pieces.’
‘But Gwgan,’ persisted Sear worriedly. ‘He is Hywel’s closest friend. I admire him.’
‘So do I,’ said Geoffrey, not liking to think of what Isabella would say. ‘But Richard cannot do this without Gwgan. Hywel will dine with him in his house tonight, and Richard will ambush him there. That is why Richard left Kermerdyn – not because he is afraid of being attacked, but so he will be ready to strike.’
‘Did you believe Delwyn?’ asked Sear uneasily. ‘About Eudo being under orders from someone else? Or do you think he was just trying to make himself seem more important?’
‘We may never know,’ said Geoffrey coldly, still angry about the killing. ‘However, at least I know why Eudo took so many days to prepare the letters. I doubt they contained blunt orders to kill, but were couched in terms that could be denied later, should they fall into the wrong hands.’
And, he thought, the King may have wanted to vet them, too. The fact that he had declined to let Bishop Maurice rewrite them after Eudo’s death was testament to the fact that there was something untoward afoot. Maurice had been right when he said he sensed evil in them.
And if the King was aware of what was happening, it explained his rather casual attitude to Eudo’s death. The murder was to his advantage: whether the plot succeeded or failed, Henry could blame it on a rogue clerk who dabbled in dark affairs, and Eudo would not be in a position to deny it. Of course, Geoffrey could confide none of this to Sear, because the man was likely to withdraw his support if he thought Hywel’s murder was what Henry wanted. Sear was nothing if not loyal.
‘Gwgan is clever,’ Sear was saying. ‘He will understand ambiguous commands. And he can read, so there will be no need to involve clerks or scribes. Any message will stay between him and the sender.’
Geoffrey nodded. ‘And he read Richard’s for him too. Doubtless that was also anticipated.’
‘I received some devious messages from Eudo myself, and it was fortunate Alberic knew how to interpret them, because I did not see their real meaning at all.’ Sear glanced at Geoffrey. ‘But I am still uneasy with all this. Supposing we thwart Richard, and the King is angry, because he told Eudo what to write?’
Geoffrey tried to conceal his alarm at the notion that Sear might decide to join Richard and Gwgan instead. He thought fast.
‘Hywel’s murder will throw the entire region into chaos, and Henry told me personally that he does not want trouble here. He will not condone the murder of a popular prince when it will cause untold problems among the people.’
‘The people will have to be suppressed if Hywel’s death is what the King wants.’
‘He will learn it is not what he wants,’ argued Geoffrey. ‘Welsh princes will not rally to his side if he arranges to have them killed after a couple of years. Hywel’s death will cause immeasurable damage, and the King will not want that.’
‘But his letter said I am now under Richard’s orders,’ argued Sear. ‘And if Richard is going to kill Hywel, then it is my duty to help him.’
‘But-’
Geoffrey felt the mace swinging towards his head. He ducked, but it caught him on the shoulder, and the blow was powerful enough to dislodge him from his saddle. He cursed himself for joining forces with such a man – a fool, so devoted to his King that he could not bring himself to act against him even after he had been dismissed in a demeaning manner. Did he have no pride?
Geoffrey landed heavily, then put his hands over his head to protect it when his tumble put him directly in the path of the horses behind. One hoof struck his leg and another his arm.
‘Leave him,’ yelled Sear, when one or two men reined in. ‘Dead or alive, he is irrelevant now.’
For the first time since leaving Kermerdyn, Sear urged his horse into a canter, and Geoffrey saw he had dawdled deliberately, to give his new master a chance to do what he had been ordered.
Geoffrey staggered to his feet, heartily wishing Roger was with him. Or Hilde, for that matter. His horse had gone with the others, and his left arm and leg throbbed painfully. It was dark, and he was not sure where Gwgan’s house lay. He saw the vague shape of Rhydygors to his right, with lamps lit in the tower. He began to limp towards it.
It was not easy staggering in full armour along an unfamiliar track in the dark, and Geoffrey made poor time. His breath came in gasps, but every time he looked up, the castle seemed no closer. Then he heard the thunder of hoofs.
He looked around for somewhere to hide, but the stretch of road was open, without so much as a bush to crouch behind. He braced himself to fight. He still had his sword and a dagger, but his shield had been attached to his saddle, and was gone.
It was Edward, a number of rough looking men riding behind him. Geoffrey recognized several from the ambushes. Edward reined in when he saw Geoffrey.
‘You know,’ he said, peering down in the darkness. ‘You must, or you would not be out here, unhorsed and alone. You know Gwgan and Richard mean to murder Hywel tonight.’
Geoffrey nodded. ‘And you have been doing all in your power to stop them.’
Edward flicked his fingers. One of his men dismounted and offered Geoffrey the reins of his horse. Geoffrey did not need to be invited twice. He grabbed the bridle and climbed into the saddle, then turned towards Rhydygors again, kicking the animal into a gallop.
