Chapter 33 #2
“It is nowhere. Otto ended up spending it all, or almost all. That was part of the display at the dinner before she was sent to the nunnery. He arranged the chest with mostly false filling, and a thin layer of gold and silver at the top. It looked to everyone as if the whole chest was filled with precious stones and metal. But it was a trick. By the time the chest was chained up and lashed to the wagon, it was already emptied of all value. It was filled with only rocks and gravel for weight.”
“This would have been revealed at the end of the journey,” said the king.
“Only if the chest reached the end,” she said meekly.
“You see, Otto planned to accuse the hired men of theft. His own man Dobson was to slip a little gold coin into all their purses, then empty the chest and leave it to be found. Otto’s word as lord would be enough to cast doubt on Sir Rafe and the three others.
It didn’t matter to Otto if they were actually convicted or not—only that everyone believed the treasure was lost. That way, no one could demand any payment from him, whether in the form of the dowry, or the gift to the nunnery, or anything else. ”
“But I woke up when he tried to get the chest out of the room while everyone else was sleeping,” said Angelet.
“And you screamed,” said Rafe. “And we all assumed Dobson was trying to steal a chest full of gold for himself. But it sounds like he never intended to kill anyone—it just got out of hand.”
“Very well,” said Drogo. “But what of the thieves?”
“Ah.” Lady Katherine now looked truly pained. “The thieves were Ernald’s idea, and Otto is innocent of that. This is what comes of pretending too well. Everyone believed that chest was full of gold…including Ernald.”
“You hag!” Ernald burst out. “I never said that!”
“Ernald, you are not nearly as subtle as you think,” his mother told him, a new tartness in her voice.
“I heard you plotting and planning at Dryton. Why do some men think that women are deaf and blind, just because we do not always speak? But I will no longer stand here and let both of you avoid justice.”
“You overheard Ernald’s plans, then?” Drogo pressed, now eager to get to the meat of the tale.
Katherine nodded. “I did. He wanted the money for himself, and he was irked at Otto for keeping him subservient for so long, even years after his older brother’s death. He plotted with his own cronies and came up with a plan to have the cortège robbed of its treasure.”
Drogo said, “This I believe, based on what I’ve learned. But Ernald was more brutal than his father—he gave instruction that all traveling with the cortège should be killed…except for the few loyal to him.”
“Even Angelet was to be killed?” It was Rafe who spoke now, just as caught up by Katherine’s revelation as everyone else. “I thought that was Bethany’s doing, because Ernald wanted to marry her himself.”
“That I could not say for certain,” Katherine admitted.
“Both Otto and I knew Ernald held a certain passion for his sister-in-law. It troubled me, and I did urge my husband to find a solution—sending Angelet to a nunnery would keep her safe from Ernald. But he chased after her. It’s possible he wanted her alive, and the maid Bethany acted out of jealousy.
Certainly, my son would be a fool to say otherwise at this point. ”
Drogo took a deep breath. “So it was Ernald’s plan to rob the cortège by force.
But Sir Rafe turned out to be a formidable opponent during the initial fight, and his decision to take Angelet and flee meant that the thieves would have had to give chase.
They might have done so….except that they had already learned the truth that the chest was empty.
No one anticipated that it would have cracked open during the skirmish—it revealed Otto’s deception.
Ernald didn’t know about the worthless chest, but his thieves assumed he set them up.
They abandoned the job and returned to Dryton to confront Ernald.
Is this what happened, my lady Katherine? ”
The woman nodded. “That was how he learned of the disaster before anyone else, and how he came to be looking for Angelet himself.”
Then, all at once, Lady Katherine put her hands to her face. “Years I have lived with them, and I tried to love them. I tried to do my duty as a wife and a mother. I kept silence for far too long, over too many things when I should have spoken out. And look what it has come to.”
She looked pleadingly at Angelet, who had no idea what to say.
Then King Stephen cleared his throat. “It seems to me that I have the answers I need. Lady Katherine, you are overwrought, and that is no wonder. You are excused.”
“Let me help her, your grace!” Angelet rose to help the older woman walk. Taking her arm, she whispered, “It’s all right now, my lady. It is over.” She glanced at Rafe as she left, and saw how still and shocked he looked.
Together, the two women left the lofty, cold room, where the king would decide the fate of the men left inside.
* * * *
Rafe watched Angelet go, wishing he could go with her. But he had no time to think about that now. King Stephen was not a man to be ignored.
“Well.” Stephen looked over the assembled group.
“I have heard enough. Indeed, too much, for it exposes the weakness of a family I counted on as allies. The young heir Henry Yarborough is innocent of wrongdoing, for he is a child, and was far away from the whole mess. Yet that means he is too young to take up the mantle. And the other generations of men have proved unworthy.”
“Another steward is needed,” Drogo said. “A neighboring baron, perhaps, one who can be trusted.”
The Lord of Braecon stood up. “Your Grace, some of my lands are not far from Dryton. I would be glad to take on the responsibility of governing the manor until the boy is of age to claim it. Perhaps Lady Katherine would be permitted to continue to live there, and be the chatelaine. There are no reports of mismanagements of the property, at least. In my experience, it is helpful to disrupt a manor’s workings as little as possible. ”
“That is acceptable, for now,” King Stephen said, nodding to Braecon.
Rafe marveled at the political shrewdness of Braecon. So that was one of the reasons he was so interested in the proceeding, and why he welcomed one side into his home.
The king was speaking again. “As for Otto and Ernald, I cannot permit them to…”
“Mercy, your grace!” Ernald burst out. “I was misled by evil women. I never meant things to go so far. Please show mercy—”
“Mercy? Here is my mercy. Your actions were selfish. Short-sighted. Cruel. Greedy. Unworthy of a man of noble blood. In short, the actions of a sinful man. If you wish mercy, there is only one path to it. You will join a monastery of my choosing, where you will live as a lay brother. You will give up all claims to inheritance, and you will pray to God for forgiveness for your sins. You may study to take holy vows, at the abbot’s discretion.
But you will never leave the monastery once you enter it. ”
Ernald looked horrified.
The king went on, “Your other option is to die by an executioner’s sword.”
“The monastery, your grace,” Ernald choked out.
“I expected so. As for you, Lord Otto. In my mercy, I offer you the same choice. What is your decision?”
“The same, your grace,” Otto said, with a more even tone. His eyes were narrowed, and Rafe suspected the man was already plotting a way out of his new situation.
Stephen gestured to his guards. “Escort these two out. They are to be confined under armed guard until escorted to their respective monasteries.”
Otto and Ernald were taken away.
“As for the matter of Henry Yarborough, I will find a more suitable place for him to be fostered, one that will benefit someone other than Otto.”
Luc leaned over and whispered something to Alric, who stood next to him. Rafe wondered what it was about, but then the king pointed to Rafe, erasing all other thoughts.
“Yes, your Grace,” Rafe said.
“One last item, while everyone is gathered here,” the king said.
“The Welsh border is still of strategic importance, and it must be defended at all costs. As you already know, it’s not a place for the weak-hearted.
Life on the marches is precarious, and we’ve lost many men and strongholds to both the damned Welsh and twice-damned English rebels.
I need reliable castellans to guard the castles I do have.
Men to hold the land, and to train new fighters for the battles ahead.
Sir Michael Corviser did such service for my father.
I think it is only right that you, Sir Raphael Corviser, will do the same for me. ”
“Yes, your grace,” Rafe said instantly.
“There is a place called Martenkeep. It is in need of some repair in addition to refortification. You’ll be given enough coin to pay for such work. And once you establish yourself there, we’ll send young men to be trained in the matters of riding, swordplay, and all other realms of combat.”
“How many can be trained there?” Rafe asked, suddenly aware of the potential enormity of what was being asked of him.
“As many as you feel you and your men can responsibly instruct.”
Rafe would have to find good people to handle some of the elements of training. At Cleobury, as many as half a dozen men served as teachers for various tasks. “I’ll confer with Lord Rainald de Vere for advice.”
“Good idea. Work quickly to make the castle properly fortified and ready to be inhabited. No woman wants to live in a half-built house.”
“Woman?”
“Certainly you don’t plan on living as a bachelor. Life in the marches can be lonely, and Martenkeep is isolated. When you’re ready, a suitable bride will be found.”
“Thank you,” said Rafe, “but I already have one in mind.”
* * * *
Angelet was sitting alone in her chamber of the home provided by Sir Luc’s family. She felt restless and ill at ease, and was startled by a knock. “Yes?”
Cecily stood in the doorway. “You have a visitor, Angelet.”
“A visitor?”