*I think he came this way, my lord,' he said.

*Someone did,' agreed Ralph. *We've no guarantee that it was Starculf.'

*Who else would be in such a remote place?'

*Another anchorite, perhaps?'

Jocelyn acknowledged the jest with a rare smile, then dropped down into the ditch. He went back along it for some way before clambering back up the bank. When he reached the others, his feet were wet but his face was glowing.

*He's definitely been here,' he announced. *There are footprints all the way along the ditch. It must be Starculf, trying to keep out of sight.'

*He's close,' decided Ralph, scanning the horizon. *I feel it.'

*So do I.'

*How far can a man get on foot in a day?'

*It depends how much guilt is weighing him down.'

*I have the feeling that Starculf is not a man troubled by his conscience,' said Ralph, mounting his horse again. *If he were, the crimes wouldn't have been committed in the first place.'

*Only a G.o.dless heathen would steal holy treasures,' said Jocelyn, pulling himself up into the saddle. *I'll read him a sermon when I catch up with him.'

*You'll be wasting your breath, my friend.'

*He must be made aware of the gravity of his offence.'

*Murder takes precedence over all else,' insisted Ralph. *That's the charge on which I'll arrest him. Save your sermons for ears that might wish to listen.' He waved an arm and yelled to his men. *Fan out and stay in line with me. He's very close. Keep your eyes open!'

The men obeyed the order, stretching the line even further than before. At a signal from Ralph, they set off again, looking carefully for any clue that might help them. They moved on until they came to the tree stump behind which Starculf had earlier hidden. It was Gervase who called them to a halt this time. He was at the very centre of the line. Ralph and Jocelyn rode swiftly across to him.

*Look,' said Gervase, pointing to the gra.s.s that had been flattened. *Somebody was here without a doubt. It's almost as if he crawled on his belly through the gra.s.s.'

*He's nearer than we thought,' said Ralph.

*He must have gone down that hill.'

*Then let's follow him!'

Taking out his sword, Ralph held it up in the air as if about to lead a charge. *Forward!' he shouted. *Starculf is here! I can smell him. I want the rogue taken alive. After him!'

When she returned to her house, she found Mauger Livarot waiting for her. The lady Adelaide needed a moment to regain her composure before she went into her parlour. Her confrontation with Richard de Fontenel had left her feeling jangled and she was not pleased to see that she had a visitor. It was an effort to manufacture a token smile. No effort was needed by Mauger Livarot. Smirking complacently, he got up from his seat to welcome her. After an exchange of greetings, he waited until she sat down before he spoke again, eyeing her possessively and standing close enough to inhale her fragrance.

*Your servant tells me that you paid a visit to the lord Richard,' he began.

*That's right,' she conceded.

*I think I can guess what sent you there, Adelaide. You learned the truth about those gold elephants, didn't you? They were holy treasures, stolen from an abbey.'

*So I hear.'

*Richard de Fontenel was trying to trick you into marriage.'

*You're not above using a trick or two yourself, my lord,' she observed, tartly. *You had a spy in his household until the man was discovered. I should imagine that he paid dearly for his betrayal.'

Livarot's face darkened. *His back was whipped to shreds.'

*You must take some of the blame for that.'

*The man was a fool to get himself caught.'

*What will you do now that you no longer have someone to report on the lord Richard? It won't be so easy to stay one step ahead of him in future.'

*Yes, it will,' he a.s.sured her. *But tell me what you said to him.'

*That was a private conversation. Unheard by any spy of yours.'

*Were hot words traded?'

*I spoke my mind,' she said, briskly. *He knows my feelings now.'

He clicked his tongue. *Only Richard de Fontenel would try to palm off stolen property on the woman he was hoping to marry.'

*Those hopes have been dashed.'

*That's why I came here this afternoon. To plead my own case.'

*I'm not in the mood for courtship, my lord.'

*I just thought you'd like to know the full truth about my rival,' he said, easily. *He still planned to ensnare you with a pair of gold elephants.'

*How? If they're recovered, they'll go back to the abbey of St Benet.'

*Not in this case.'

*What do you mean?'

*The lord Richard didn't wish to disappoint you, Adelaide. He commissioned Judicael the Goldsmith to make two replicas, exact in every detail. Fortunately, I was advised of his scheme in time to stop it.'

*Stop it?' she said with interest.

*You'd hardly wish to receive anything from the hands of a man who deceived you so cruelly. The lord Richard betrayed you. He's nothing more than a common thief.'

*Tell me about these replicas.'

*They can never be quite as good as the originals,' he pointed out, *but Judicael is confident that he can make them, given the help of another goldsmith who saw the treasures at the abbey before they were taken.' His voice was artless. *Does the idea of replicas hold any attraction for you?'

There was a long pause as she examined the implications of the question. *It might,' she said at length. *It would, of course, depend entirely on the quality of the craftsmanship.'

He moved in close. *You'll not find a better craftsman than me, Adelaide.'

*You intend to make the pieces yourself?' she teased.

*No, but I'll commission them on your behalf. Judicael can do for me what he would have done for the lord Richard. Unless, that is,' he said, searching her eyes, *you prefer to own the originals.'

*I do. Without question.'

*How would you react if they were offered to you now?'

*That's impossible.'

*Not necessarily.'

*They belong to the abbey and must be returned.'

*They could belong to you,' he suggested. *Ample recompense can be paid to the abbey. They'd not lose by it. They could purchase some other treasures.'

Her curiosity was aroused. A flame seemed to be lighted inside her. *What are you saying, my lord?'

*That it's a matter of choice. Before I knew where they came from, I vowed to recover those gold elephants for you and I'm ready to keep that vow. If, on the other hand, you'll settle for replicas made by Judicael, then I'll commission them this very afternoon. Which is it to be, Adelaide?'

*Are you suggesting that I accept stolen property?'

*I'm suggesting that you have exactly what you want and n.o.body will be any the wiser. You saw those elephants, touched them, felt their quality. Could you be happy with something of lesser excellence?'

*No,' she said, thoughtfully. *I don't believe that I could.'

Chapter Thirteen.

Starculf had not been idle. While his pursuers were inspecting his footprints in the ditch and noting the flattened gra.s.s behind the tree stump, he was burrowing deeper into the heart of the wheat field, staying very low and doing his best to create as little visible disturbance as possible. As he strained his ears for the noise of hoofbeats, another sound could be heard faintly in the distance. It was the roll of the waves on the sh.o.r.e and it took on a seductive rhythm. Surrounded by stalks of wheat, he was only a mile or more from the coast to which he had been heading. Once there, he proposed to make his way south in search of a boat that would take him to safety. Starculf had money enough to buy his pa.s.sage and reason enough to quit England for ever. All that stood between him and salvation were the nine men who were tracking him. Unable to outrun them, he had to stay where he was until they had gone past him. Patience was his watchword.

Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret also had the gift of patience. When they reached the point where the land sloped sharply away from them, they tried to work out how far a man might get on foot, and came to the same conclusion. Ralph waved his men to a halt, then nudged his horse towards Gervase so that he could have a brief conference with him. Jocelyn Vavasour came over to join them. The anchorite's suspicion coincided exactly with their own.

*I think that he may be in that field of wheat,' he said, pointing a finger.

*So do I,' said Ralph, *but I don't want to ruin the harvest by charging in there with my men. There's an easier way to draw him out.'

*Is there, my lord?'

*We ride on past the field and make for that stand of trees in the distance. Our hoofbeats will have faded by then. He'll think that we've gone.'

*All we have to do is wait,' said Gervase, surveying the field. *If Starculf is in there, he'll soon come out when he thinks he's safe. If he isn't hiding amid the wheat, we'll not have lost much time and we won't have trampled over someone's harvest.'

*True,' said Jocelyn.

*You agree, then?' asked Ralph.

*Yes, my lord.'

The plan was put into action immediately. Signalling to his men, Ralph brought them all together then led them in formation at a brisk trot. They went down the hill and on past the wheat field, skirting its perimeter without even looking at it and continuing on for over a quarter of a mile until they reached a stand of willows and sycamores. Once they went round the angle of the copse, they were out of sight of any fugitive who might be lurking in the field. They reined in their horses and dismounted. Ralph, Gervase and Jocelyn crept through the trees in search of a vantage point from which they could observe the field. It was a hot afternoon. Cooled by a breeze that came off the sea, they could hear the waves rolling behind them quite clearly. If the fugitive headed for the coast, they had comprehensively cut off his escape route.

But there was no sign of Starculf. In the field, the wheat danced in the wind and shone in the sunshine. n.o.body rose out of it to continue his bid for freedom. As time oozed slowly past, they began to lose faith in their instincts.

*He's not there,' Ralph decided.

*Give him more time,' advised Gervase.

*But he may already have reached the coast. We should be riding along the sh.o.r.e.'

*Only when we're sure he's not hiding in that field.'

*I prefer the lord Ralph's counsel,' said Jocelyn, worried. *Starculf is ahead of us and not behind us. We should mount up and give pursuit.'

*Hold here a little longer,' said Gervase, restraining him gently.

*It's a needless delay,' Ralph complained.

*Yes,' said Jocelyn. *Starculf could be getting away.'

*Not unless he has a horse hidden in that wheat field as well,' said Gervase, using a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. *I can see movement.'

*Where?' said Ralph, tensing at the promise of action. *Where is he?'

*Over to the left. Do you see him?'

Ralph let his gaze drift across to the left of the field and realised that Gervase had seen something that had eluded both him and the anchorite. No head had been lifted above the top of the stalks but a thin dark line was gradually snaking through the wheat. They were too far away to be certain of what they were witnessing. The parting of the wheat might have been caused by a dog or another animal making its way along but Ralph felt otherwise. He sensed that Starculf was about to make an appearance at last.

The fugitive was circ.u.mspect. When he had crawled all the way to the edge of the field, he did not break cover at once. Instead, he waited and watched until he was satisfied that there was n.o.body in sight. With a suddenness that took them all by surprise, he then rose up and loped off.

*We've got him!' said Ralph.

*He's mine!' declared Vavasour.

*There's no hurry,' said Gervase. *He can't possibly get away.'

But his companions were not listening. Engaged in a private race, they mounted their horses and kicked them into a gallop. Ralph's men were not far behind, spreading out in a semicircle to eliminate any hope of escape for the fugitive. When he saw them coming, Starculf changed the angle of his run, increasing his speed and aiming for the marshland off to his right, but it was a futile exercise. He was trapped. All that remained to be decided was who got to him first. Determined that he would have the pleasure of arresting the man, Ralph spurred his destrier on, but the weight of his hauberk slowed the animal slightly. It was the lighter figure of Jocelyn Vavasour, wearing no mailcoat and carrying no weapon, who surged ahead on his borrowed horse.

Reaching the edge of the marshes, Starculf zigzagged between the pools until he heard the splash of hooves in water. His flight was soon over. As he turned to see how far behind him they were, he was caught by a well-aimed foot that sent him tumbling to the ground. Vavasour was on him in a flash. Bringing his horse to an abrupt halt, he leaped down from the saddle and ran across to the man who was now struggling to get up, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him vigorously.

*Where are the elephants?'

*First things first,' said Ralph, dismounting to hurry over. *My name is Ralph Delchard,' he announced, taking hold of the prisoner, *and it's my duty to arrest you on behalf of Roger Bigot, sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk.'

Starculf was still too dazed to reply. Ralph misunderstood his silence. *Would you rather I used your language?' he said in English.

*No, my lord,' answered the other, slowly recovering. *Given the circ.u.mstances, I think I'd prefer to be arrested in French.'

*Then that's how it'll be,' agreed Ralph, reverting to his own tongue.