shot him just as he was opening his mouth to reply.’
‘I shot him because he had a knife,’ declared Cornald. ‘He was beckoning you towards him so he could stab you. I saved your life.’
‘Did you also shoot the one I was talking to?’ Geoffrey asked him.
Cornald shrugged. ‘I may have done. It is difficult to recall what happened – it was all very fast and very nasty. I know I hit several, although I do not think I killed any others. All I can say is thank God we are almost home.’
‘Did I see you leap off your horse earlier, Geoffrey?’ asked Sear smugly. ‘You are lucky to be alive.’
‘I was trying to get answers,’ Geoffrey replied curtly. ‘Like Gwgan and Bale. I imagine we will all be safer once we know who these men are and what they want.’
‘They are just local felons,’ said Edward, coming to join them. ‘They cannot be the same ones who assaulted us before. Why would they follow us so far? It makes no sense.’
‘Unless one of us is involved in something nasty,’ said Richard, looking at no one in particular. ‘The attacks began in Brechene, so perhaps some bad business was conducted there. It was not me, because I was unwell. So was Gwgan. We had eaten that putrid fish soup.’
‘It was not me, either,’ said Sear. ‘I am not involved in anything unsavoury, because the King would expect better of me. Where is Alberic?’
They separated to look for the lost knight, and it was Richard who found him. Alberic was dead, his eyes gazing sightlessly towards the sky.
Sear accepted the death of his friend with no more emotion than a grimace, although he nodded his thanks when Geoffrey and Gwgan helped him put Alberic on the cart with Mabon. Afterwards, they all stood silently for a moment, until Roger reminded them that it would be unwise to linger longer than necessary. His warning galvanized them into action. Geoffrey, Roger and Gwgan reclaimed their horses, Leah packed away her medical supplies, and Hilde rounded up the frightened servants.
‘I say it again,’ said Edward, looking around with a shudder. ‘This would not have happened if my soldiers had been to hand. It was bad business that they were detained in Brechene.’
‘They would have made no difference,’ said Gwgan quietly. ‘These attacks have been ambushes, not frontal assaults. Your men would have done no more than provide additional targets for these archers to shoot at.’
‘You might want to talk less and ride more,’ said Richard sharply. ‘There is no more room on the cart for anyone else.’
It was good, if callous, advice. Geoffrey took up station between Roger and Hilde, ready to protect them again. The big knight was pale and quiet, a sure sign that they needed to find an inn where he could rest.
‘Did you see any of what happened?’ Geoffrey asked of Hilde.
‘Unfortunately, Leah was sobbing so loudly that I was afraid she would draw attention to us,’ said Hilde. ‘Most of my attention was on trying to keep her quiet. However, what little I did see told me that there was a desperation in them that was not present on previous occasions.’
Geoffrey looked at her. ‘I thought the same. Do you believe they were the same ones?’
Hilde nodded. ‘Yes, I do, and I would suggest their remit today was to ensure we did not reach Kermerdyn alive. They were also determined not to answer questions. One let Bale kill him rather than speak; another was too badly injured to move, and was clubbed to death by his fellows.’
‘Cornald shot a man Gwgan was trying to question,’ said Geoffrey uncomfortably. ‘And someone killed the one I was interrogating, too.’
‘It was a mess,’ said Hilde quietly. ‘It was difficult to tell what was happening, and all the time you were fighting, arrows were raining down from the trees. However, I suspect they could have dispatched Delwyn, Leah, Pulchria and me, had they really wanted. They focussed on you.’
‘On me, specifically?’ asked Geoffrey, supposing that Roger’s contention had been right that morning, and the trouble they had experienced since Brechene was connected to the letters. Or perhaps his orders to explore William’s murder and provide the King with a culprit and William’s secret.
Hilde shook her head. ‘No – on all the knights. Did you not notice that they withdrew quickly once Alberic fell?’
‘Did they?’ Geoffrey was not sure how long the skirmish had lasted, nor did he have any notion of when Alberic had died.
Hilde lowered her voice. ‘Sear did not seem overly distressed by his friend’s death, did he?’
‘It is hardly manly to wail and carry on.’
‘I imagine you would have shown more emotion, had it been Roger. You would not shed tears, perhaps, but there would be anger and vows of revenge.’
‘Not in this company,’ said Geoffrey. ‘I would keep my thoughts to myself.’
Hilde shrugged. ‘Well, let us hope we do not have to put it to the test. And if it was Alberic they came for, perhaps we shall be safe from now on.’
Geoffrey nodded to where a bridge lay ahead of them. ‘Fortunately, it does not matter any longer, because we have arrived.’
Kermerdyn nestled near a bend in the River Tywi. It comprised an ancient settlement on a rise, protected by a series of walls and ramparts. Geoffrey supposed they had been built the last time an invading army had foisted itself on the locals, which meant they were several hundred years old.
South of the town was a wharf with several piers, and Geoffrey could tell from the salty smell of the river that it was tidal to the sea. Several substantial ships were moored, indicating Kermerdyn was an important trading centre – there was certainly a bustle about the place that suggested money being made.
A second settlement was springing up in the shadow of the first, ranged along the river, and comprising warehouses and merchants’ homes. There was a wooden bridge across the river, with a tollhouse at its far end. The number of carts trundling across it suggested that the revenues from it alone would be substantial, further enriching the little town.
Just to the east was a walled enclosure dominated by a pretty church, and Geoffrey saw Delwyn cross himself when he saw it. He could only suppose it was Kermerdyn’s abbey, which he would visit when he delivered the Archbishop’s letter to Mabon’s successor.
He usually reserved judgement about the places he visited until he had had time to explore them, but there was something about Kermerdyn that appealed to him instantly. Perhaps it was the fine weather, which bathed it in a welcoming glow, or the warm grey stone from which its houses were built. Or perhaps he was just grateful to have arrived in one piece. Regardless, he found he was eager to look around it and hoped there would be time for leisure once he had finished his work.
‘Personally, I would have built my castle there,’ said Richard, pointing to the ridge above the river, just to the west of the town. ‘I think my brother made a mistake when he raised Rhydygors.’
‘Where is Rhydygors?’ asked Geoffrey, realizing it was nowhere to be seen.
Richard gestured to the east, where a third settlement had sprung up. It was some way down the river and apparently protected a ford across it. All that could be seen from that distance was a motte with a wooden tower on top of it, and a few houses scattered among the nearby trees. Some were large, and he supposed it was where Hywel’s people lived, so they would be close to hand if needed.
‘Well, your brother was a Norman,’ said Delwyn sneeringly. ‘What do you expect?’
‘What do you mean by that?’ demanded Richard, swinging around to glower at him.
‘That a Welshman would have put a fortress nearer the town,’ replied Delwyn, unmoved by his anger. ‘There is no point protecting a ford when there is a perfectly good bridge a mile away. We always thought it was odd. But, then, William was odd when he first arrived.’
‘Odd?’ asked Geoffrey.
‘He was a good man,’ declared Richard hotly. ‘No one should say anything bad about my brother, God rest his sainted soul.’
Delwyn crossed himself. ‘He was a good man, but only after he discovered his secret.’
‘There was no secret,’ said Edward. ‘He invented it to explain his change in character, because none of you would believe he just woke up one day and decided to become a better man.’
‘There is a secret,’ declared Richard fervently. ‘And I would not mind having it – I would be honoured if the Blessed Virgin appeared to me. Moreover, if I learn any of you had a hand in his death, I will kill you.’
