*n.o.body else, my lord.'

*Are you sure?'

*I swear it.'

Ralph nodded to his men and they fanned out to search the copse. Eustace Coureton joined Ralph to see what quarry he had run down. The man at their feet was a pitiful sight, cadaverous, hollow-eyed and caked in filth. His tunic was badly torn, his gartered trousers ripped in several places to expose skeletal legs. He was trembling violently, fearing for his life and wondering how a Norman lord could speak his language so fluently. Coureton looked down with sympathy at the bearded captive.

*Is this all you found?' he said.

*He stole one of our satchels,' explained Ralph, reclaiming it from the ground. *The rogue claims that he was only searching for food.'

*Then I'd say he was telling the truth, my lord. I'd also suggest that you take your weapon from his neck or he'll die of fright. Let him be. He's hardly likely to outrun mounted pursuit, and he's not armed.'

Ralph relented and sheathed his sword. The remainder of the escort was now picking its way through the copse, searching in vain for any confederates. The old man was patently alone.

Golde had instructed her husband well. His mastery of the Saxon tongue enabled him to speak to the captive on his own terms.

*What's your name?' he said.

*Alstan, my lord.'

*Where are you from?'

*Taverham hundred.'

*What are you doing here?'

*I was driven out,' whimpered the other. *When King Edward sat on the throne, I was a villein and happy to work the land for my master. Times have changed. Under the new king, I became a mere bordar, then my master treated me as a slave. When I tried to protest, he had me whipped and driven out.'

*Whipped?'

*Yes, my lord. I still bear the scars.'

Alstan struggled up into a kneeling position so that he could peel off his tunic. When he turned his bare back to them, they saw the livid wounds across the pale torso. It was surprising that the old man had survived the punishment. Coureton was shocked and Ralph felt a surge of sympathy.

*We'll give you food, then you can tell us the full story.'

*Thank you, my lord,' said Alstan, weeping with grat.i.tude.

*That doesn't mean I condone theft,' warned Ralph. *On the other hand, I don't condone savage punishment such as you've endured. Taverham hundred, you say?'

*Yes, my lord.'

*Who is this cruel master of yours?'

*The lord Richard.'

*Richard de Fontenel?'

*He drove me out to starve in the wilderness.'

*For what offence?'

*Old age.'

*Do something!' insisted Richard de Fontenel. *Summon your men and do something!'

*My deputy is already looking into the matter.'

*I don't want a mere deputy. I want the sheriff himself in charge of the case.'

*I have more important things to do than to go searching for missing trinkets.'

*Trinkets!'

*And you'll not endear yourself to my deputy by insulting him. Why not calm down, Richard? Nothing will be gained by trying to browbeat me.'

De Fontenel held back a tart rejoinder. Roger Bigot, sheriff of Norfolk, was not a man to be intimidated by a loud voice and a threatening manner. While his visitor ranted at him, he remained icily calm. Bigot was a power in the land, a man who had the King's trust and a place at his Council table. Constable of the castle, he had recently been elevated to the shrievalty of Norfolk and of its southern neighbour, Suffolk, two large counties with a healthy respect for the name and reputation of Roger Bigot. He was a tall, slim man of middle years with a sagacity and imperturbability rare in a soldier. When de Fontenel came riding angrily into the castle to harangue him, he was given short shrift.

*Return home,' advised Bigot. *Let justice take its course.'

*How can it when you stand idle here, my lord sheriff?'

*I'm never idle, Richard. In addition to affairs of state that require my attention, I have to welcome the commissioners who'll soon arrive in Norwich.'

*Not before time!' grumbled the other. *They can oust Mauger from my land.'

Bigot was amused. *Mauger is hoping that they'll shift you from what he claims is his property. Don't expect too much from the commissioners. They'll be quite impartial.'

*In that case, I'm bound to win.'

*Mauger feels the same.'

*I don't care what he feels. Mauger is a sly rogue. An unscrupulous cheat.'

They were standing in the bailey of the castle, a timber fortress that had been erected soon after the Conquest to attest Norman supremacy and to act as a bulwark against any Danish incursions along the eastern seaboard. The conversation between the two men could be clearly heard by the guards on the battlements. Richard de Fontenel was not a man to lower his voice in a public arena.

*I'd not put it past him to be involved here,' he declared.

*Mauger?'

*The crime has his mark upon it.'

*You told me that the gold elephants were stolen by your steward.'

*They were. Hermer made off with them.'

*Then how does Mauger come into it?'

*Hermer was acting at his behest,' decided the other. *He must have been. My steward gave me very loyal service for years. Only someone like Mauger could corrupt him and turn him against me.'

*Are you quite sure that your steward was the thief?'

*Completely, my lord sheriff.'

*How can you be so certain?'

*Apart from myself, he was the only person with a key to the chest in which they were locked. n.o.body else could even have got into the room where my valuables are stored. Or, indeed, into my house. Besides, the man has vanished into thin air. The facts are irrefutable. It has to be Hermer.'

*I doubt very much that he was in league with the lord Mauger.'

*Why?'

*What motive could he have to instigate the theft of those elephants?'

*Spite, my lord sheriff.'

*Concerning this property dispute?'

*And property of a different nature.'

*Ah,' said Bigot with a knowing smile. *I begin to understand.'

*The gold elephants were to be a wedding gift.'

*The lady Adelaide has accepted you, then?'

*Unhappily, no. But she will,' added de Fontenel, defensively. *The lady Adelaide was enchanted by my gift. Once those elephants are back in my possession, she'll not be able to refuse me. That's why they must be found immediately.'

*My deputy will do his best, Richard.'

*Order him to arrest Mauger.'

*On what evidence?'

*Search his house. I'll wager that you find the stolen property there.'

*A foolish wager,' argued Bigot. *Even if those gold elephants were taken on Mauger's instructions a" and I refuse to countenance that notion a" he would never be stupid enough to conceal them in his own home where they might be found by a search. As you know better than anyone, Mauger is as cunning as a fox. My advice is to forget him altogether, Richard. He has no place at all in this investigation.'

*But he has. He's trying to lure the lady Adelaide away from me.'

*That's a personal matter between the two of you. What concerns me is the crime that's been committed. If your steward is responsible for the theft, you should be looking at yourself rather than at the lord Mauger.'

*At myself?'

*Yes.'

*Why?'

*You said a moment ago that Hermer was very loyal to you.'

*He was, my lord sheriff. Unswervingly so.'

*Then what happened to undermine that loyalty?'

*Nothing at all.'

*Nothing?' said Bigot levelly. *Be honest with yourself, Richard. You're a hard man with a rough edge to your tongue. You like your own way and you make sure that you get it, no matter how many toes you may have to trample on in the process. What did you do or say to upset your steward?' He looked his visitor in the eye. *Has it never occurred to you that you may actually have provoked this crime?'

The last few miles began to tell on the travellers. Weary from so much time in the saddle, they were finding the heat more oppressive and the terrain less diverting. When their destination finally came within sight, they heaved a collective sigh of relief.

Gervase Bret was riding beside his wife, who was bearing up bravely.

*Take heart, Alys,' he said. *We're almost there.'

*Good.'

*I'm sorry that the journey has been so tiring.'

*I was enjoying the ride until we met that poor man. He was all skin and bone.'

*At least we were able to give him one good meal today.'

*It was distressing to see someone in that terrible state,' she said. *Did I hear Ralph tell you that he'd been turned out to fend for himself?'

*Yes, my love.'

*What kind of master could be so cruel?'

Gervase did not answer. The name of Richard de Fontenel was already known to him because the man was involved in one of the property disputes they had come to settle. Alys was upset enough already. Her husband did not wish to alarm her by telling her that he would soon be locking horns with the very Norman lord who had treated the old man so callously. Gervase had promised himself to keep his work and his domestic life rigidly apart. His wife would hear nothing of his deliberations with his colleagues.

He glanced across at her and was disturbed by what he saw. *Are you unwell?' he said with concern.

*No, Gervase.'

*But you look pale.'

*This heat is bothering me.'

*Do you wish to stop for another rest?'

*I can hold out until we reach the castle.'

*It's not very far to go.'

*I long for a cool drink and a place in the shade.'

Gervase reached out a consoling hand. *You'll have both very soon.'