here of our own volition,' declared the bishop.
'These men,' the abbot said scornfully, 'have taken grave and unlawful liberties for which we expect them to be soundly punished.'
'Are you telling me you did not come here to pay homage to your king, and offer thanksgiving for his safe return?' wondered Magnus.
'Your safe return was ever upmost in our minds, of course,' confirmed the abbot. 'Even so, we were carried away by force and have been brought here very much against our will.'
'I demand you take these men at once and make them answer for their crimes.' The bishop waved his arm to include Murdo, Jon Wing, and his men, in the accusation.
The king frowned. 'As it happens, I have made it my concern to discover what has been happening in my realm while I have been away on crusade.' He drew himself up. 'I was willing to allow you a respite from the journey before bringing the matter to judgement, but you have forced my hand. Therefore, we will deal with it here and now.'
He turned and called to his counsellors to attend him. Hearing the summons, the house carles and warriors in the hall came to see what commotion was taking place outside; they crowded the doorway, spilling out around those standing judgement before the king. In a moment, Ronan and Fionn pushed through the throng and took their places either side of Magnus. 'Tell out,' he ordered. 'Tell us all what you have discovered.'
'At your command, and on your behalf, O king,' said Ronan, speaking gravely, 'we have made inquiries of your subject lords and vassals. From these we have discovered that no fewer than eighteen holdings, estates, and properties have been taken by the bishop and placed under the control of the church.'
'How so?' asked the king. 'Word of the crusade's victorious conclusion has yet to reach these shores. As we ourselves are the first to return, I cannot see how the bishop can know which of the many landholders will return to resume the possession of their lands.' Addressing the churchmen, he said, 'Enlighten us, if you can.'
The bishop grew indignant. 'Am I to be made to answer this rumour-monger's gossip?'
'Come now, Bishop Adalbert, it would be a mistake to dismiss these accusations so lightly,' said Ronan. 'I myself have spoken with more than one whose lands have been seized.'
'No one's lands have been seized,' the abbot said. 'At most, we have simply extended the protection of the church to those who, through unfortunate circumstance, required our aid.'
'Aid and protection,' sneered Murdo. 'A curious kind of protection, when you cast a mother and her newborn child out of a warm house and force them to take ship in the dead of winter. Or, perhaps it was the house and lands you were wishing to protect.'
'We acted only in accord with the provisions of the decree of remission and conveyance which Lord Brusi signed before his departure,' the bishop replied haughtily. 'You will find the documents all properly attested.'
'It was my home,' declared Ragna. 'And you took it from me.'
'You are mistaken,' said the abbot. 'You were not among the heirs listed in the decree. Your father included only your mother and brothers. An unfortunate oversight, no doubt, but that cannot be laid at our feet. As the lord and his heirs are all deceased, those lands belong to the church now.'
'But you took the estate anyway,' Murdo pointed out. 'The king himself has said it: you could not have known Lord Brusi would not return.'
'We know it now,' replied the abbot smugly. 'At the time, we were but offering the church's protection to people in need of it.'
Murdo felt his once-solid certainty beginning to crumble. The oily churchmen were squirming from their grasp.
'Yet,' replied King Magnus tightly, 'it seems to me you did act with unseemly haste to secure your right to the estate.'
'What about my father's estate?' he countered. 'Lord Ranulf signed no decree, yet Hrafnbu has fallen under the protection of the church.'
'That is a far different matter,' asserted the bishop staunchly. 'The former estate of your father fell forfeit to King Magnus himself and was given to Lord Orin Broad-Foot. It was Lord Orin who placed your lands under the protection of the church while he was on crusade.'
'Ah, now we come to it,' said Ronan. 'I have been wondering how it is that the only lands to fall forfeit to the king belonged to landholders who did not sign the pope's decree. Nor were any of the unfortunate noblemen given opportunity to swear fealty to Prince Sigurd, which would have secured their holdings. Perhaps you could explain that, bishop?'
The bishop's mouth clamped tight in a frown.
'We do not have to answer to you, heretic!' Abbot Gerardus sneered.
'Yet, I will have an answer,' said the king.
'Then ask Lord Orin,' answered the bishop. 'He was the one who took the lands, not me.'
'Very well,' agreed the king, 'we will ask him.' He nodded to Fionn, who disappeared inside the hall, returning a moment later with Orin Broad-Foot at his side.
Magnus greeted his nobleman, and said, 'We have been discussing how so many estates have been claimed by these zealous men for the church. They are telling me that you are responsible, Lord Orin. Can this be true?'
'My lord and king,' answered Orin, 'it is true that I led the seizure of certain holdings in order to gain fealty for the king and Prince Sigurd. The estates we took were those of rebel lords whose loyalty to Jarl Erlend and Jarl Paul prevented them from taking the prince to be Jarl over them.'
Murdo opened his mouth to object, but the king raised his hand to silence him, and asked Orin to continue, saying, 'How did you know these estates were those of noblemen who would not own Prince Sigurd for their Jarl?'
'Bishop Adalbert offered us his counsel,' Orin answered matter-of-factly. 'He came to us saying he feared the peace which had been long obtained on the islands would be broken if the rebel lords were allowed openly to defy the prince. He said he had learned of a plan to kill the prince and return Jarl Erlend to the throne. He urged us to act swiftly to put down the rebellion and preserve the peace at all costs.'
The bishop glared ahead in rigid defiance. The abbot, however, brow creased in thought, appeared to be composing a different song than the one he had been singing.
Turning next to Lady Niamh, the king said, 'Good lady, I would hear you speak of your husband's loyalties in this matter.'
Before she could speak, the bishop objected. 'Ask a woman? The affairs of kings and lords are beyond her understanding, certainly. She can tell us nothing.'
'I disagree,' answered the king, sobering now. 'Indeed, who knows the moods and desires of a man better than his wife?' Looking to Niamh, he said, 'What say you, my lady? Was Lord Ranulf loyal to Jarl Erlend, or was he willing to support Prince Sigurd?'
'You ask her to denounce her husband, or to condemn me,' the bishop protested. 'Which do you imagine she will choose?'
'Yet, I will hear the answer,' insisted Magnus. He nodded to Niamh. 'Proceed.'
'My lord and king,' answered Niamh, 'you ask whether my husband's loyalty to the Jarl would have prevented him from supporting the prince. In truth, I cannot say.'
'There!' the bishop cried. 'It is as I said. She knows nothing.'
'I cannot say,' continued Niamh firmly, 'for the reason that my husband joined the crusade long before the jarls were dethroned.'
'Are we to believe her?' demanded the bishop. 'She would say anything to demean us.'
'I do not beg belief of anyone,' Niamh answered, cold fury edging her voice. 'The fact is self-evident: the lords left on pilgrimage before the harvest, and Prince Sigurd did not arrive in the islands until the following Eastertide.'
'Your recollection is entirely correct, Lady Niamh,' declared the king. Turning once more to the churchmen, he observed, 'It seems to me that you have become so used to trimming the truth to fit your covetous designs, Bishop Adalbert, that you no longer know or remember its original shape.'
At last the bishop felt the sand washing away beneath his feet. He stared at the king, and at Lord Orin. 'You brought me here not to seek justice, but only to condemn me.'
