excuse us, ladies. This was not for your ears.' To the men, he said, 'Come; we will discuss the matter in private.' He led his party into the tent, leaving Merian and Lady Sybil to themselves once more.
'Le fantonie!' whispered Sybil, eyes wide at what she heard. 'I have heard of this. It is a creature gigantesque? Oui?'
'Yes, a very great, enormous creature,' said Merian, drawing Sybil closer to share this delicious secret. 'The people call him King Raven, and he haunts the forest of the March,'
'Incroyable!' gasped Sybil. 'The priests say this is very impossibility, nest ce pas?'
'Oh no. It is true.' Merian gave her a nod of solemn assurance. 'The Cymry believe King Raven has arisen to defend the land beyond the Marches. He protects Cymru, and nothing can defeat him-not soldiers, not armies, not even King William the Red himself.'
CHAPTER
44
]Dressed as humble wool merchants, Bran, Iwan, Aethelfrith, and Siarles swiftly crossed the Marches and entered England. Strange merchants these: avoiding towns entirely, travelling only by night, they progressed through the countryside-four men mounted on sturdy Welsh horses, each leading a packhorse laden with provisions and their wares, which consisted of three overstuffed wool sacks. Laying up in sheltered groves and glades and hidden glens along the way, they slept through the day with one of their number on watch at all times.
They arrived in Lundein well before the city gates were open and waited impatiently until sleepy-eyed guards, yawning and muttering, drew the crossbeams and gave them leave to enter. They went first to the Abbey of Saint Mary the Virgin, where, after a cold-water bath, the travellers changed into clean clothes and broke fast with the monks. Then, groomed and refreshed, they led their packhorses through the narrow streets of the city to the tower fortress. At the outer wall of the tower, they inquired of the porter and begged audience with Cardinal Ranulf of Bayeux, Chief Justiciar of England.
'He is not here,' the porter informed them. 'He is away on king's business.'
'If you please, friend,' said Aethelfrith, 'could you tell us where we might find him? It is of utmost importance.'
'Winchester,' replied the porter. 'Seek him there.'
Bran and Iwan exchanged a puzzled glance. 'Where?'
'Caer Wintan-the king's hunting lodge,' the friar explained for the benefit of the Welsh speakers. 'It is not far-maybe two days' ride.'
The four resumed their journey, pausing long enough to provision themselves from the farmers' stalls along the river before crossing the King's Bridge. Once out of the city, they turned onto the West Road and headed for the royal residence at Winchester. Riding until long after dark, rising early, and resting little along the way, the travellers reached the ancient Roman garrison town two days later. Upon asking at the city gate, they were directed to King William's hunting lodge: a sprawling half-timbered edifice built by a long-forgotten local worthy, and carelessly enlarged over generations to serve the needs of various royal inhabitants. The great house was the one place in all England the Red King called home.
Unlike the White Tower of Lundein, the Royal Lodge boasted no keep or protective stone walls; two wings of the lodge enclosed a bare yard in front of the central hall. A low wooden palisade formed the fourth side of the open square, in the centre of which was a gate and a small wooden hut for the porter. As before, the travellers presented themselves to the porter and were promptly relieved of their weapons before being allowed into the beaten-earth yard, where knights, bare to the waist, practised with wooden swords and padded lances. They tied their horses to the ringed post at the far end of the yard and proceeded to the hall. They were made to wait in an antechamber, where they watched Norman courtiers and clerks enter and leave the hall, some clutching bundles of parchment, others bearing small wooden chests or bags of coins. Bran, unable to sit still for long, rose often and returned to the yard to see that all was well with Iwan and Siarles, who waited with the horses, keeping an eye on their precious cargo. Brother Aethelfrith, meanwhile, occupied himself with prayers and psalms that he mumbled in a low continuous murmur as he passed the knots of his rope cincture through his pudgy hands.
The morning stretched and dwindled away. Midday came and went, and the sun began its long, slow descent. Bran had gone to see if Iwan had watered the horses when Aethelfrith called him back inside. 'Bran! Hurry! The cardinal has summoned us!'
Bran rejoined Tuck, who was waiting for him at the door. 'Mind your manners now,' the friar warned, taking him by the arm. 'We need not make this more difficult than it is already. Agreed?'
Bran nodded, and the two were conducted into Ranulf of Bayeux's chamber. A whole year and more had passed, and yet the same two brown-robed clerics sat at much the same table piled high with rolled and folded parchments, still scratching away with their quill pens. Between them in a high-backed chair sat the cardinal, wearing a red satin skullcap and heavy gold chain. His red hair was cut short; it had been curled with hot irons and dressed with oil so that it glimmered in the light from the high window. Three rings adorned the fingers of his pale hands, which were folded on the table before him. Eyes closed, Cardinal Ranulf rested his head against the back of his chair, apparently asleep.
'My lord cardinal,' announced the porter, 'I bring before you the Welsh lord and his priest.'
'And his English priest,' added Aethelfrith with a smile. 'Don't you be forgetting.'
'Cardinal,' said Bran, not waiting to be addressed, 'we have come about the de Braose grant.'
The chief justiciar slowly opened his eyes. 'Have I seen you before?' he asked, passing a lazy glance over the two men standing before him at the table.
'Yes, sire,' replied the friar respectfully. 'Last year it was. Allow me to present Lord Bran of Elfael. We discussed the king's grant of Elfael to Baron William de Braose.'
Recognition seemed to come drifting back to the cardinal then. Presently he nodded, regarding the slim young man before him. 'Just so.' The Welsh lord appeared different somehow-leaner, harder, with an air of conviction about him. 'Do you speak French?' inquired the cardinal,
'No, my lord,' answered Aethelfrith. 'He does not.'
'Pity,' sniffed Bayeux. Changing to Latin, he asked, 'What is your business?'
'I have come to reclaim my lands,' replied Bran. 'You will recall that you said the grant made to Baron de Braose could be rescinded for a fee-'
'Yes, yes,' replied the cardinal as if the memory somehow pained him, 'I remember.'
'I have brought the money, my lord cardinal,' answered Bran. He raised a hand to Tuck, who hurried to the door and gave a whistle to the two waiting outside. A moment later, Iwan appeared, lugging a large leather provision bag. Approaching the cardinal, the champion hoisted the bundle onto the table, opened it, and allowed some of the smaller bags of silver to spill out.
'Six hundred marks,' said Bran. 'As agreed.' He put his hand to the sack. 'Here is two hundred. The rest is ready to hand.'
Ranulf reached for one of the bags and weighed it in his palm as he raised his eyes to study Bran once more. 'That is as it may be,' he allowed slowly. 'I regret to inform you, however, six hundred marks was last year's price.'
'My lord?'
'If you had redeemed the grant when offered,' continued the cardinal, 'you could have had it for six hundred marks. You waited too long. The price has gone up.'
'Gone up?' Bran felt the heat of anger rising to his face.
'Events move on apace. Time and tide, as they say,' intoned the cardinal with lofty sufferance. 'It is the same with the affairs of court.'
'Pray spare me the lesson, my lord,' muttered Bran through clenched teeth. 'How much is required now?'
'Two thousand marks.'
'You stinking bandit!' Bran spat. 'We agreed on six hundred, and I have brought it.'
