excited tones. He met my eye and looked away.
Master Stannard nodded. 'If we have to, we will crush them by sheer numbers. And I shall lead my militia. Today will be good practice, perhaps I shall take down the stag and gain the heartstone.'
Young Stannard turned to Hugh. 'You gained the heartstone at my father's hunt two years ago, did you not? At only sixteen.'
'I did,' Hugh answered with pride.
'It can heal many ills, I am told.'
'Normally I wear it round my neck. But today I brought it to show you.' Hugh took off his gloves and reached into the pouch at his belt. He took out a tiny leather bag with a cord attached, opened it and tipped a small, round whitish object into his palm. Barak wrinkled his nose with distaste, but the boys studied it with interest.
'Even should I gain another, I will always keep this one,' Hugh said with quiet pride. The boys looked impressed.
Dyrick stepped up to me. 'I see the horse you have been riding has been brought out for you. He looks a steady beast.'
'He is.' I looked at Dyrick in surprise. For once he was making amiable conversation.
Hobbey called out, 'All of you that are going on the hunt, over here please!' He waved an arm, and the male guests and the Hoyland men walked across to him. Dyrick put a detaining hand on my arm.
'Brother Shardlake,' he said quietly, 'Feodary Priddis and his son will be here this afternoon. You will have a chance to take young Priddis to view the woods. But afterwards I would ask you to agree that we leave tomorrow. The case I sent Feaveryear away to deal with is difficult. I should be there.'
'A Court of Wards matter?'
'An injunction.' He took a deep breath. 'And if we leave tomorrow, Master Hobbey has agreed each side in this matter will pay their own costs, out of court. It is a very pretty bargain for your client, you must agree. But otherwise,' he resumed his usual aggressive manner, 'I promise we shall press for full costs in court.'
'Hobbey has agreed this?' I asked, astonished. It was a very good offer, not one a lawyer would normally make when his opponent's case had effectively fallen apart.
'He has. He wants you gone. Christ's blood, man, has he not enough trouble?' Dyrick spoke with unusual passion.
I considered. There was only one reason for Hobbey to make this offer; he wanted to make sure David's condition was not made public in London.
'My client is not here,' I said.
'Come, man, you can agree informally. She will do what you advise. She and the Queen,' he added bitterly.
'I will consider, once I have viewed Hugh's lands with Priddis.' I looked up, to see Hobbey staring at me intently. 'Come. We should join the rest.'
WE GATHERED round the tree trunk, and Hobbey introduced Dyrick and me briefly to his new guests as his lawyers. I glanced at Avery. The young man was dressed in leaf-coloured green, a silver hunting horn slung from a baldric round his neck. He had a new air of authority about him as he pointed at the map.
'This is how we plan to conduct the hunt.' The map showed the rectangular hunting park, pathways through the trees sketched in. Avery took a piece of charcoal and drew a cross near the outer edge. 'We are here,' he said. 'We will all ride along this path until we reach this track, which turns off. When we are riding, gentlemen, it is important to be as quiet as possible so as not to startle the deer, which are here.' He drew a circle at a point some way up the track. 'My men have been tracking them constantly; this is where they lay down to rest last night.'
'And then we will have them,' Hobbey said with quiet satisfaction.
Avery looked at him seriously. 'Not quite, sir. That is when the real hunt begins. Then, and only then, may you forget about silence. The dogs will be loosed, and all the riders must concentrate on separating the stag from the does and fauns, which are only a secondary quarry.'
'The rascal, as they are called.' Corembeck smiled knowledgeably. 'It is all right, sir, I have been hunting many a time.'
'But if you will excuse me, sir,' Avery said, 'not everyone present has.' He looked around the company, his expression serious. 'This stag is large, perhaps seven years old, with ten tines on his antlers. It is important to guide him onto the path we wish him to take, but not to get too close lest he turn at bay. As for the rascal, set the dogs on them, with six of the Hoyland villagers to ride after them. The rest of you villagers should wait by the hurdles set across gaps in the trees on the main path, and shout to scare the stag should he try to break through. There are only eight does and some fauns among the rascal, the dogs should bring some down and you men can finish them off with swords or bows.' Avery studied the villagers. 'Master Clements, you are in charge of the dogs.'
The young cottager he had addressed smiled broadly. 'I am ready, sir.'
'The rest of you, is there anything you do not understand?'
'If we kill a doe or faun, do we get a choice of the best meat?' a villager asked.
'You have been told so,' Hobbey answered sharply.
'We'll take a haunch back for Master Ettis,' another said, and they laughed. Even among the men Hobbey had recruited, it seemed, there was a rebellious mood. Abigail, sitting on her cushions, turned and glared at the villager who had spoken. 'Nicholas,' she called, 'see that man gets no meat for his rudeness.'
'Gentlemen!' Avery slapped a gloved hand on the map. 'Please, your attention! We will be dealing with a strong and fierce beast!'
'My apologies,' Hobbey said. He glared at Abigail. 'My wife will ruin all with her tongue.'
There was a gasp of indrawn breath among the women at Hobbey's public insult to his wife. Abigail flushed and turned away. A muscle twitched in Hobbey's cheek. Then he looked back to Avery. 'Continue,' he snapped.
The huntsman took a deep breath. 'Once the stag is roused out, the hunt proper will begin. We chase him back to the main path, then on to where the archers lie in wait. You men at the hurdles must do your job well, not be frightened if the stag rushes towards you. Away from the path, in the wood, a stag is far fleeter than a horse.'
'That is right,' Corembeck agreed portentously.
Next Avery drew five crosses at points well up the path. 'The archers will be waiting here—Master Hugh, Master David, Fulstowe and our two young guests. You set off ahead of the rest. To one of you will go the honour of loosing the fatal shot, bringing down the stag.' He looked at the archers. 'Remember, find good cover and a clear line of shot. And keep still.' He surveyed the company. 'As the stag is driven to the archers I will sound my horn— like this—to warn them to be ready. If I need to summon the archers for any reason I will blow my horn thus.' He sounded a different note. 'Now, is all clear?'
There was a chorus of assent. Avery nodded. 'Very well, sirs, to your mounts. Handlers, keep careful hold of the dogs!'
WE WATCHED AS David and Hugh, Fulstowe and the two other boys rode into the wood in single file. A few minutes later Avery gave a signal and the rest of us followed. The only sound was the occasional jingle of harness, quickly silenced. The dogs, though straining at their leashes, knew to be silent. I was between Barak and Dyrick, just behind Hobbey, who rode with Corembeck. At the head Avery set a slow, steady pace. I sensed Oddleg was uneasy at this strange, silent progress and patted him gently.
After half an hour Avery raised a hand and pointed down a narrow side track. It was hard to make no noise as the horses rode along it, brushing against the branches which grew to the edges. And then, as suddenly as when Barak and I had stumbled upon the doe, we were facing a clearing full of deer. It was as Avery had said, several does and fauns, and a large stag too, all feeding peacefully. The animals turned, tensing instantly. The stag raised its head.
And then it began, the rush of quickening blood and the pell-mell chase we had been waiting for. In an instant the does and fauns had turned and fled. The hunting dogs, loosed, sped past us. Six riders rode after them, crashing through the wood.
The rest of us faced the big stag. On my one previous hunt, long ago, I had not seen the stag until it was dead. This one was bigger, the great antlers with their sharp points waving menacingly. It lowered its head at
