Chapter Fifteen
Selborne Castle
Home had never looked so good to him.
Most of the snow from the post-Christmas storm had melted, leaving the land frozen and the roads soupy, so traveling home had been something of a muddy mess, but Val didn’t much care.
He’s slugged through it, pushing the men and horses, sleeping very little and stopping only when absolutely necessary.
A trip from Canterbury that, with better weather would have taken four days, took only slightly longer.
He just wanted to get home.
Even now as they passed beneath the gatehouse of Selborne, Val felt a sense of relief.
He looked up into the sky and appreciated the colors of sunset, seeing the beauty that was his ancestral home.
But he didn’t intend to stay for long; he had a trip to Winchester to make so he could inform the king of what had happened at Canterbury Cathedral.
He was certain that Henry would be furious with him for the actions of de Morville and the others, but he’d come to the conclusion that the king’s anger couldn’t be helped.
The orders had been his and Val was ultimately responsible for the men in his command, even Henry’s knights.
Therefore, he had to face Henry like a man and own up to his responsibility.
His failure.
Entering the bailey, he and his party were immediately met by several men, including Calum. Mayne was on the wall, waving down to him, and Val managed to lift a weary hand to the man. Calum came up alongside him and began stripping his saddlebags off his war horse before the animal was taken away.
“Thank God you have returned,” Calum muttered so the men around them wouldn’t hear. “A visitor has come to see you.”
Val looked at the man, seeing that he seemed rather rattled. “Who?”
Calum slung the saddlebags over his shoulder.
“The Earl of East Anglia is in the small hall with your mother,” he said.
“He arrived about an hour ago but he would not tell me why he had come. All he said was that he needed to speak with you urgently and I told him I did not know when you would return, so thank God you came when you did.”
Val’s brow furrowed. “East Anglia is here?” he repeated, puzzled. “Du Reims?”
“Aye.”
Du Reims was a man that was deep within Henry’s inner circle so the fact that he was here did not surprise Val.
Suspecting East Anglia’s visit had something to do with Henry’s command to arrest Canterbury, he wasn’t relishing what he had to tell him.
In fact, he resisted the urge to jump on his horse and ride off.
But he held his ground, taking his saddlebags from Calum.
“Very well,” he said calmly, turning for the keep. “I shall see the man. Has your brother been here, by chance?”
Calum followed him as he began to walk towards the keep. “Nay, he has not. Why?”
“Then you have not seen him since he came here to deliver Henry’s missive?”
“Nay,” he said. Then, anxiously: “Why do you ask? Has something happened?”
Val wasn’t sure how to tell Calum the truth but he wasn’t going to spare the man. He had to know what his brother had done. In his exhaustion, he sounded rather harsh as he spoke.
“I have sworn Kenan to secrecy on this and I shall swear you to it, also,” he muttered. “You will not repeat this. Give me your vow.”
Calum nodded seriously. “Of course, Val. What is wrong?”
They were nearing the keep now, the long shadows of sunset falling around them.
“I went to the inn in Canterbury that Hugh had mentioned, but Hugh and the others were not there,” he said quietly.
“It was nearing Vespers so I assumed that they had gone on ahead to the cathedral to confront the archbishop. My instincts were correct; there is no easy way to tell you this, Calum, so I will come out with it – your brother murdered Thomas Becket.”
Calum grabbed him by the arm and when Val paused to look at the man, he could see that he’d gone as pale as snow.
“Oh… God, no…,” Calum stammered. “Tell me… tell me it is not true!”
Val could see the man’s anguish. “I am afraid it is,” he said.
“Hugh told me that he had tried to arrest the man but when Canterbury resisted, your brother snapped and killed him. I found them just as they were bashing Canterbury’s brains out all over the stone.
Had I not come when I did, then I have no doubt they would have chopped the man to pieces.
Now I must tell du Reims, who has undoubtedly come on behalf of the king, that Canterbury was murdered by four knights who could not control their zealous loyalty to Henry. ”
Calum was shaking his head, back and forth, like a madman. “He did not do it!”
Val sighed heavily. “Ask Kenan if you do not believe me. I told Hugh to go back to Henry and tell him what he had done so mayhap that is why du Reims is here, but something tells me that your brother has not returned to Winchester. If he did not stop at Selborne to tell you what he’d done, then I seriously doubt he’s gone to Winchester to admit it to the king.
Any man who would murder like that… I cannot imagine he would willingly announce what he has done. ”
Calum was beside himself. “But… why would my brother do such a thing? I do not understand!”
Val resumed his walk for the keep. “Nor do I,” he said.
“But he did. There were many witnesses to it, in fact, not just my men. I brought a wounded monk with me to verify my story for Henry but the man did not live past Guildford. He died last night of the wounds he sustained in the attack. So, now it is up to me to explain what happened when I do not even understand it myself.”
Calum was following him as he took the stairs up to the entrance. “My brother,” he mumbled. “I must find my brother. If he has not come here and he has not gone to Winchester, then I can only imagine he must have gone north to my father’s holdings. He would have nowhere else to go.”
“If I were Hugh, I would flee, too. Henry’s wrath shall be severe.”
Much like Val, Calum could see the long-term implications of his brother’s actions. “Not only on Hugh but on you as well, Val. Henry will want to know… my God, I cannot fully grasp all of this.”
The entry to the keep loomed before them and Val came to a halt, putting a hand on Calum.
He could see that the man was deeply shaken with the actions of his brother, much as Val had been when he’d witnessed the bloodlust that Hugh was capable of.
Hugh de Morville had been a man of honor and trust up until that point. Now, he was a murderer.
It was difficult to take in.
“Tell no one,” Val reiterated softly. “Let me speak with du Reims and I will tell you the outcome. Meanwhile, go to Kenan and hear what he saw your brother do. He will tell you the same thing I did.”
After that, he tried to move forward but Calum wouldn’t let him. He held on to him, his features lined with grief. “I am sorry, Val,” he whispered. “I did not know my brother… I never thought he would do something like this. I am so sorry for the position he has put you in.”
Val patted the man on the cheek. “It is not your fault,” he said. “I do not compare you to your brother, you know that. Now, let me go inside and face du Reims.”
Calum let him go, watching him enter the dark keep and disappear inside.
But his movements were not those of the Val he knew; they were lethargic, dragging.
Calum didn’t blame him. But he did blame his brother.
On the heels of his deep shock came anger such as he’d never experienced before.
It was consuming as well as terrifying, especially when taken in context with what the future held.
His brother was going to sink them all.