his fires, and that makes him even more powerful here.”
Simon stated the obvious inference. “You do not like him Sir William.”
“I do not. It is wrong for a man like him to be able to live like a lord. He is only a commoner – I don’t even know if he’s a free man. He could well be another runaway peasant like Bruther, someone who managed to escape to the moors. Just because he has accumulated money does not make him any better.”
“He told us you were with him on the night that Peter Bruther died. What were you doing there if you dislike him so much?”
Sir William stared at him, anger flaring briefly, only to be washed away by a kind of tired acceptance. “For a guest you are very inquisitive, bailiff,” he sighed. “No matter. I was negotiating: I was there to agree terms with him so that he would not damage my lands.”
“So you went to pay him not to come here?”
“Yes. If I didn’t, he promised a small army of miners, taking my water, digging on my pastures, and cutting down my trees for charcoal. They have the right, after all. We settled on a sum.”
“I see. The men who found the body, they were riding with you, were they not?”
“Yes. But I sent them off before I went in to speak to Smyth.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to talk to him without two inquisitive men-at-arms listening.”
“Were you alone with Smyth for the discussion?”
“Apart from his man, George Harang.”
“You had no men with you?” Simon’s voice was openly amazed.
Sir William looked up, frowning. “And who should I have had with me, bailiff? A son like Robert, who loathed the fact that I must negotiate with a blackmailer? Or perhaps John and his master, who travelled with me, but… Ha! Each would prefer to slice his own throat than deal with a commoner. They left me when we arrived at the miner’s house. I sent the men-at-arms back so they would not hear what I was there to discuss with Smyth. How could I let one of my guards hear that kind of talk? It would take no time at all for news to travel all round this fort that I, the master of the Manor, was being threatened by a common tinner and forced to pay up. How could the men here respect me if they heard that?”
His wife put her hand on his shoulder and William gradually subsided, sinking back into his chair exhausted. Surely, he thought, the bailiff must understand. A fortress like this was only as strong as the men inside it. If the guards all felt unsure of their master, they might run off and desert him or, worse, decide that he was too old for his responsibilities. Weak lords did not live long – there was always someone prepared to organize a mutiny among the common guards. It was not like the old times when honorable men worked for their master for life; now castles like Beauscyr had to rely on hirelings, on paid mercenaries. That was why this castle, like so many other new ones, had dormitories for the men-at-arms separated from the solar where the family lived. In the past all would have slept in the same hall, but mercenaries were not to be so well-trusted as guards, and it was not rare for a lord to find himself having to fight his own men, defending his solar from the very soldiers he had trained for war. Surely, the bailiff could understand that, too?
His wife looked at Simon coldly. “Is it not enough that we must demean ourselves in front of this miner? Do you have to rake this up and embarrass us with it?”
“I am sorry, my lady, but though Peter Bruther was only a villein, it does seem he was murdered, and we must ask everyone who could have been involved.”
“Who could have been involved? Are you saying that you suspect my husband of involvement?” Her brows rose in angry disgust. “I do not wish to hear more, sir. You are our guests, but there is no need for us to accept insults. I would like to be left alone, now. Please leave us.”
It was not a request. Feeling ashamed, and not a little saddened at upsetting the lady of the Manor, Simon led the way from the room.
“This is how I used to feel when I was a small boy and my nurse sent me from the room for misbehaving,” Baldwin murmured to raise his spirits, and Simon smiled gratefully.
Once they had left, Matillida knelt at her husband’s feet, her hands in his lap. “You see how their minds are working? That whoreson Smyth has them on his side already. You have heard about the corruption of officials – well, obviously the bailiff thinks about his purse more than he does about justice! You must do something to make Puttock realize what a danger the miners are out there.”
Sir William looked old and tired, and for the first time she could see how the years had exacted their toll on his spirit. Resting one hand on hers, the other in her hair, he smiled weakly. “Poor Matillida! All you want is the family strong and secure, and all you find are threats on every side. What do you want me to do? Have Thomas Smyth murdered? Or maybe just have him tortured until he admits to killing young Bruther?”
“Don’t be foolish. No, we need to keep him with us, that’s certain. We cannot allow this affair to get out of proportion, to turn Smyth against us. You know that Robert is set on Alicia?”
“What! My son wants her? But he hates Thomas…”
“Of course he does, but that means nothing, not when it comes to the girl. And she would be good for him. She is intelligent and should bring a good dowry.”
He gave a harsh bark of a laugh. “A good dowry? Yes, very good! It will be our own money which is returned to us.”
“Yes, husband, but better that it should come back as a dowry than be lost to the family forever. And the girl would make him a good wife, as I say. Especially with me helping and training her. So we must ensure that her father is not at odds with us, mustn’t we?”
“But you said we need to make the bailiff realize how dangerous the miners are. How can we…”
“We must help the bailiff understand how unsettling it is to have outlaws and thieves masquerading as miners, of course. We do not object to freemen coming here and working, only the brigands and cut-throats. And if they are allowed to remain, is it surprising that people sometimes get killed by them? Of course not! That is the point you must make to the bailiff and his friend, that it is hard enough surviving here without having murderers and outlaws living nearby in a miners’ camp.”
He stood and sighed, looking down at her. “I will see what I can do.”
“You must! We have to try to keep Thomas Smyth happy so that he will smile on his daughter’s marriage to our son. It will make sense for him, to marry into a good family, and it will be good for us to have the use of his power and wealth. But he needs to be curbed a little. He must be made to realize that his power ends at the border of our lands, and he must not try to extort money from us again.” Nodding, Sir William made his way to the door, but before he could leave, her voice stopped him. “And if the bailiff listens to you, we might be able to break the power of other miners like him forever, and get control of the land for ourselves.”
9
Sir Ralph of Warton rode back slowly, his mind on the argument between Robert and John. He was fully aware how easily brothers could come close to blows. Not many years before, he had drawn sword against his own older brother, and that was over a bet on the price of a falcon. It was hardly a shock to see Robert and John so much at loggerheads – they were merely acting like brothers the world over – but he did find the degree of mutual animosity surprising in its virulence. There were undercurrents whenever either of them opened his mouth. Robert, slim, pale, weak-looking, and as a result obnoxious to the knight’s way of thinking, was still at least loyal and honorable, whereas John was openly flippant and insulting, with no regard for any man.
Today it had been Sir Ralph’s idea to go out hunting. He felt it would be good to get away from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Manor, away from the gray eyes of the bailiff and the astute questions of his friend from Furnshill. Sir Ralph had anticipated a pleasant ride out to a quiet part of the Beauscyrs’ private park where they could set the hounds at a deer. It was some time since he had been able to enjoy hunting as a pastime rather than a necessary chore, and the prospect was attractive.
The reality had been very different. They had ridden eastward, away from the moors themselves, and out into some thick woods, and almost immediately the two brothers had started at each other. One – and he was not sure
