"(Bell tolls)" "Veni, Sancte Spiritus" "Mentes tuorum visita" "Amen" "Let the King's messenger pass!" "My Lords, a deputation has come from Stephen's camp, to parley." "Arnulf of Hesdin!" "I am charged by His Grace King Stephen to demand your immediate surrender." "Let the bastard rant all he will!" "We do not kneel before thieves and usurpers!" "You took an oath, all of you." "You all swore allegiance to His Grace." "We stand as we did, for Empress Maud - rightful Queen of England!" "You cannot hold for ever." "Come then, dig us out!" "In God's name, hasn't there been enough slaughter?" "Yield now" "Deliver the rebels Adeney and Fitzalan into the King's hands, and you may yet be spared." "You have our answer, Courcelle." "Run back to the villain you serve, and pray that he receives your report kindly." "I shall tear Arnulf's tongue from his head myself" "I give them land, position." "Fitzalan I created Sheriff of Salop!" "And now they sit in a castle - my castle - in this miserable dunghill of a town, and pour scorn on me." "Lord King, it is time to strike terror." "So you have said, Captain Ten Heyt." "Yet still, we are here and they are there." "I promise, what we have planned for the morning will get Your Grace into Shrewsbury." "Honour that promise, Prestcote, and the office of Sheriff is yours." "Be assured, Arnulf, we'll not run and leave you to face Stephen alone." "Adeney has already got his daughter safely away." "She'll be taken to the Abbey tomorrow." "But my treasury - that must now be got to the Empress Maud in France at all costs." "It contains enough silver and jewellery to raise an army ten times Stephen's strength." "My Lords I will undertake the mission." "No, Giles." "We will need every soldier here tomorrow." "I've chosen two squires to make the run." "They're completely unknown in this county." "And how will they know where to find your treasure?" "The town butcher, Edric Flescher, remains loyal." "He'll escort them to Frankwell and show them where it's hidden." "They can rest out the day there and make the run to Wales under cover of darkness." "And who are these lads?" "Halt!" "Who comes up on the watch?" "My name is Giles Siward." "I beg an audience with the King." "I'm from the rebel garrison." "Take him to the officer of the watch" "(Horses neigh)" "Come on!" "Run forward!" "Forward!" "Come on, men!" "(Shouting)" " Run!" " We're lost!" "Where are they, Hesdin?" "I fought you fair, and look to be treated with honour!" "As a nobleman of England and France, I am worth an earl's ransom." "You were foul-mouthed before." "I swore then to have your life." "No earl's ransom can buy it back." "You have my price." "I find your price too high." "Where are Fitzalan and Adeney?" "MAN:" "King Stephen commands all to provide food and lodgings for his army." "(Bell tolls)" "Et lingua nostra exultatione" "Tunc dicent inter gentes" "Magnificavit Dominus facere cum eis" "Magnificavit Dominus facere nobiscum" "Facti sumus laetantes" "Converte, Domine, captivitatem nostram" "Sicut torrens in austro" "Brother Cadfael!" "Hm?" "Brother Prior?" "You were late to God's work." "Father Abbot gave leave to take my place in the choir." "Father Abbot's mind is distracted by the strife beyond these walls." "Were it not so, he would doubtless have sought satisfaction." "What delayed you, Brother?" "An old man needed his dressing changed." "Work for an assistant, surely." "Ordinarily, yes." "But events have robbed me of my usual help, as Brother Jerome is aware." "One has left to take up arms on King Stephen's side, and the other has declared for Empress Maud and fled for his family's manor." "Is not even this holy enclave immune from such conflict?" "But why should it be?" "Like castle and town, we are also besieged." "But in our case, it's the innocent and the dispossessed." "People least able to defend themselves." "We have a duty to them." "Do you tell me?" "Our duty is first to God, Brother." "Remember that." "(Derisive laughter)" "Leave him be." "(Laughter)" "Leave him alone!" "How dare you raise a hand against this holy brother!" "Go on!" "Get back to your duties now." "Go!" "It's hard enough keeping these bastards in check at the best of times." "This morning, one of them had his throat cut." "Rebels, no doubt, fleeing for their lives." "Stephen has taken the castle?" "And those within?" "Your voice is familiar, Brother." "I feel I should know you." "So you should, Sergeant Rhys." "But small blame if my name escapes you." "40 years have passed since we last fought together." "At the fall of Jerusalem." "No!" "You can't be." "Cadfael?" "This woman and her boy have business at the Abbey." "Best let them pass." " Clear off!" "Go!" "(Dog barks)" "Brother Cadfael, I have a new assistant for you." "His name is Godric." "A good woman of the town brought him in." "Her nephew from Hencot." "Both his parents are dead, so she says." "And she asks that we take him in as novice." "I thought instantly of you, Brother - that your labours may be eased, and agree to have him." "And I bring ten shillings as a gift to the Abbey, Brother." "Well, that was very thoughtful of you, Brother." "I'm sure the boy will do very well." "Yes, well, he's in your care now, Brother." "This is my herb garden." "Between the offices of the day I prepare medicines from these plants" "For the sick from the Abbey and the town" "What is this place?" "Hm?" "My workshop." "And for the present, your sleeping place." "Certain of these medicines need tending regularly." "Some, quite early." "So, there you have your bed." "And unlike the novices' quarters, these doors can be barred." "You may shut out the world and myself also, until you're ready to come out to us daughter." "I thought I could pass all trials." "Child, I was 40 years about the world from end to end of it before I took the cowl." "What will you do now?" "What should I do?" "Help you, as best I can." "But... you don't know who I am." "A child." "Left forlorn here to weather the storm until restored to your own people." " Is that not enough?" " No." "I'm a danger to anyone who befriends me now." "Even to you." "I am daughter to the King's sworn enemy" "My name is Godith Adeney." "(Neighs)" " Nick, what is it?" "The horse is lame." "Caltrops." "The path's covered with them." "She'll never make it out of the woods, never mind to Wales." "Go back to Edric Flescher's barn and wait." "I'll try and find another mount." "I'll take the treasury." "Somebody knows our road." "Where are they?" "Answer me!" "(Grunts)" "(Cries out)" "And the rest." "How many of the garrison were taken alive?" "Apart from him, 93 in arms." "Hang them." " All, Your Grace?" " And at once." "Have them all out of the world before tomorrow." "GUARD:" "Come on." "You're next" "No!" "Not me!" "I am to be spared!" "It was promised!" "I am Giles Siward." "No!" "Nick?" "Nick, are you there?" "Nick?" "Oh, my God." "Nick?" "Nick!" "Nick!" "(Man groans)" "You sent for me, Father." "Father Abbot is going this night to ask the King's leave to give Christian burial to the dead prisoners." "94 men, Brother." "Disposed of as animals." "If His Grace consents, tomorrow we must take up their bodies and prepare them for the grave." "You have yourself been a soldier." "Will you take charge of this work?" "Yes, Father." "70, 80, 90,..." "Five?" "Goosegrass?" "Sheriff Prestcote!" "I was told 94 had been dispatched on the King's orders." "There are 95 here." "One more or less." "What does it matter?" "Traitors all, and condemned." "Am I to tear my heart out because the number does not tally?" "94 you had orders to slay But the 95th?" "No king authorised his removal." "And whoever destroyed him is guilty of murder." "An officer, in the heat of fighting, miscounts by one." "One, mark you." "And you make a murder case of it." "He rebelled like the rest." "He is hanged like the rest." "And that, I tell you, is an end of it." "He was not hanged like the rest." "His hands have not been bound like the rest." "He is in no way comparable." "Yet someone took it for granted that we'd miss this one leaf, hidden in the middle of your forest." "My Lord Prestcote, this man was murdered." "It would be well if you could at least come and look at him." "You have 95 dead here." "By my reckoning, that's one corpse too many." "These are the keys to all our estates." "My brother Giles should be here to offer allegiance but when Your Grace assumed the crown, he took the Empress' side." "It is rumoured he made his way to her in France" "Mistress Siward, no blame may light on you for your brother's..." "lack of wisdom." "I hold your loyalty dear to me as that of any baron." "Tell me what I can do to serve you." "I understand you've made no provision for yourself." "I had hoped to stay at the Abbey." "A sign of goodwill from the Abbot is long overdue." "Captain Courcelle, see that Mistress Siward is safely installed." "Gladly, Your Grace." "Hugh Beringar of Masebury at Your Grace's service, with all that I hold." "Your name, Master Beringar, is known to us." "That it was devoted to our cause was not so well known" "You have until recently been in the confidence of our vile traitors Fitzalan and Adeney." "I would be still, had they not chosen one way, and I another." "Indeed." "Strange, how many rally to the victor's side when the battle is already won." "I stand ready to prove my fealty, Your Grace." "Say only where you would have me serve and it shall be done." "No." "I think we shall consider carefully before welcoming you to our cause." "Even more so when you are betrothed to Adeney's daughter." "That arrangement was made on us when we were children." "The times have changed many plans previously made." "Should her father escape me - even at this late hour - she might prove a valuable hostage." "You say you are ready to prove your fealty" "Very well." "Deliver the girl and you will not go unrewarded." "PRESTCOTE:" "He died strangled like the others" "CADFAEL:" "But not by a rope." "Look at the thinness of the cord that took his life." "No man ever dangled from such a noose and it runs level, right round his neck." "Fine as fishing line, which it may very well have been." "Now, you see the edges of the furrow?" "See where it's discoloured and shiny?" "The cord was waxed, to make it bite smooth and deep." "Mark his nails." "He clawed at the cord that was killing him." "His hands were free." "Did you hang any whose hands were not tied?" "No." "There is nothing to be gained by making public so wild a tale." "Bury your dead, and be content." "Sheriff Prestcote gives free warranty to any who wish to claim their dead!" "Since there is one in particular whose identity is not known, he asks that all who come may view him." "Also be it known that any townsfolk found harbouring rebels shall suffer penalty of execution" "I think you found cause for distress in what you've just heard." "If I can be of service..." "This is something only I can do." "No other would know Giles' face." "He can have had nothing to make him worth killing." "Friend, there are those who would kill a beggar for the few coins he'd made during the day." "But when they see kings cut down more than 90... is it such wonder?" "Christ God!" "Aline!" "Madam!" "Should you be here, so desolate a spectacle?" "I marvel you would bring her to face a scene so harrowing." "I insisted on coming." "Since he could not prevent it, Master Beringar has kindly accompanied me." " I have a brother" " Aye, fled to Normandy, you said." "He may have reached France or taken arms on behalf of the Empress with some company closer to home." "Surely the garrison here were well known." "The proclamation mentioned one not known." "This is a most Christian service you are doing here, Brother..." " Cadfael." " Is this the unexpected one?" "So young." "I wish I could tell you his name." "Come." "Quit this sad place." "Your brother's not here." "How can I be sure unless I see them all?" "Giles!" "Oh Giles!" "Mistress?" "COURCELLE:" "Oh dear God!" "Is this indeed your brother?" "If I'd known..." "I would have saved him for you No matter what the cost I would have delivered him" "Oh, God forgive me." "You had your orders." "How could you have saved one and let the rest die?" "Wait..." "Brother Cadfael..." "I thank you for all you have done." "But now I must take my brother's burial into my charge." "Master Beringar, you have been very kind." "This was among the property left behind in the guardroom at the inn." "This clasp has the same design as his buckle." "At least let me restore this to him." "There should be a dagger." "The Flemings wouldn't be above such vile thievery." "Especially if it had some worth." "Master Hugh!" "Oh, to see a known and trusted face here now." " If you're hunted, you're welcome to shelter." " No, I'm in no danger." "No, I only came to look for Godith." "To provide for her." "Someone sent you?" "No, but where else would Adeney place her, if not with her trusted nurse?" "Now never tell me she wasn't here." "What we don't know, we can't be made to tell." "Edric!" "I'm sorry we have no better news for you, lad, but there it is." "Take that." "No enemy has laid a hand on her yet." "We pray none ever will." "Then I shall put you in no further peril." "God bless and keep you both." " Hunting for his bride!" " Shh!" "(Bell tolls)" "None have claimed your unknown yet, then, Brother?" "No." "If he was with the rebel garrison, you'll get little support from the King in seeking his assassin." "And this is the man whose cause you choose to follow?" "We make our choices and we live with them." "And you, Brother, whose cause do you follow?" "My monarch is neither Stephen nor Maud." "In all my life I've fought for one king only." "To him alone can I look for absolution" "You have no cause for reproach, surely." "I've looked on the faces of hanged men before." "And your hands restored them some... dignity." "I have looked on things today that I hoped I would never see again." "I once put all such horrors behind me." "And gladly, too." "But for all that, you would seek his murderer?" "That duty belongs to better men." "Good night, my Lord." "And if such men shrink from their duty?" "What then, Brother?" "(Bell tolls)" " Good day, my Lady." " I was looking for Brother Cadfael." "It's only, I've brought these." "My brother no longer needs them." "They're still good." "I thought someone would be glad of them." "You had a brother in there?" "In the castle?" "Oh, I am sorry." "He made his choice." "I was taught to think it was the wrong one." "But at least he stood by it to the end." " Brother Cadfael." " You should not be here, child." "Mistress Siward brought these." "(Gasps)" "You recognise him." "His name is Nicholas Faintree." "He's a squire of Fitzalan's from Ellesmere." "Ellesmere?" "What was he doing so far south?" "Fitzalan's business was almost finished in these parts." "I know of someone who may be able to tell you what he was doing here." "But if you can be sure no harm will come to them." "Abbot Heribert, there is rumour of a man found murdered amongst my lawfully executed." "I understand this rumour was..." "started by a Benedictine." "No-one's suggesting Your Grace had any part in such an act." "There's obviously been a mistake, of course." "How could there be a man dead there in some other way?" "He's there because some felon put him there!" "To pass for just one among the many." "And arouse no curiosity." "Be ashamed to make such rash accusations." "If what Brother Cadfael says is true, such a person would need to know how your traitors were to be disposed" "Most of the town - certainly all the garrison - would have known by nightfall." "And this deed was done in darkness." "And how can you say that with any certainty?" "We don't even know his name" "His name was Nicholas Faintree." "Be silent!" "No, let him speak." "Why do you say he was killed at night?" "I examined his body, Your Grace." "A man's physical appearance changes post mortem." "There were signs of stiffening of the muscles..." "Also, he had been moved after death." "Most likely slung over a horse." "His blood, you see, had settled in his hands and his feet." "All the rebels were dispatched by late afternoon and none of them conveyed anywhere by horse." "Naturally, there is nothing to implicate Your Grace." "No, no." "The murderer merely crept into your shadow." "For cover." "Unfortunately, my army moves east in four days." "I can spare neither the men nor the time to pursue this investigation." "That is indeed unfortunate, Your Grace, because the Empress Maud's faction will doubtless seize upon your inability to act in this matter and offer it as proof that..." "Your Grace cares little about justice." "Faintree, you say?" "It is possible he had come here to seek service with us." "You did right to report what you found." "Pursue such enquiries as can be made." "Abbot Heribert" "You'll present any findings at the feast on the eve of our departure." "You have four days, Brother." "The two lads came at dawn." "The day the castle fell." "There'd been a council the night before." "Fitzalan wanted his treasury taken to the Empress whether he lived or not." "Then all those who were at this council knew that there should be two abroad that night." "But not where the treasure was hidden." "Only Fitzalan and I knew that." "So if any had designs on the treasury, they would have had to waylay it on the road." "One of Fitzalan's own?" "Never." "Two men riding by night could have been taken by robbers." "No." "This was no chance attack." "Whoever killed Faintree did so close by the town, to have time and means to conceal his body among the rest." "This other lad who rode with Faintree - do you know him?" "No" "He gave his name as Torold Blund." "More than that, I cannot tell you." "You forget, Edric..." "He came" "Hugh Beringar!" "Pretending to be all concerned for Godith, and asking where he might find her." "But there could have been no mention of Faintree's mission when he came?" "Nothing that made him prick his ears?" "FLESCHER:" "No" " He's very quick that one, and very private." "Don't let my lamb get within sight of him, Brother." "As hostage for her father, she's worth a fat commission." "Never fear." "I've seen that danger." "He won't lay a hand on her." "Not if I can stop him." "Lam lucis orto sidere" "Deum precemur supplices" "Ut in diurnis actibus" "Nos servet a nocentibus" "Linguam refrenans temperet" "Ne litis horror insonet" "Visum fovendo contegat" "Ne vanitates hauriat" " Do you think he recognised you?" " No, he didn't look at me." "That one took his measure of all of us." "I have changed in five years." "So has he, the renegade." "To think we should have married!" "Well, until we know for certain why he's here," "I think it best that you stay far away from the guesthouse, stables, or anywhere he might be." "GUARD:" "Quick, after him!" "(Screams)" "How long?" "Two days." "I wouldn't give you much for his chances, Brother." "I remember he was first taken like this in the Holy Land." "If I give you instructions, can you medicine him?" "I suppose so" "But you're wasting your time." "He must be cooled when he burns, and warmed when these chills are on him." "Also... give him three drops of this twice a day." "What is it?" "Papaver somniferum - oriental poppy." "Or at least the juice of it." "Anything else?" "Yes." "You can pray for him" "A pleasant change from harvesting dead men, Brother." "I hope we've finished with that kind of crop in Shrewsbury." "You've found a name for your stranger, then." "How was that?" "All questions find their answers - if you wait long enough." "Is there something here I can help you to?" "Or are you just curious to learn about these simple herbs of mine?" "I'd hardly say it was any simplicity I came to study." "They say you had a wide-ranging career before coming to the cloister." "You must find it unbearably dull here after such battles, with no enemy left to fight." "Well, I'm not finding it at all dull these days." "And as for enemies, the devil finds his way in everywhere, even in cloister and church." "Brother Cadfael, you're the most practical of men in these parts." "Should I have need of your help, you would not refuse it without due thought?" "I hope I never do anything without due thought." "Now be easy, boy!" "Lie still while I see where you hurt." "Nothing out of joint, by the look of you." "No, nothing broken." " Where are we?" " Some small way from the Abbey." "(Groans)" "That was done by an arrow!" "You've been leading an interesting life lately!" "Who was hunting you?" "King's men." "Who else?" "I'll need to soak this bandage with betony." "It'll help make the wound knit clean." "Then you must eat something - but not too much, lest you're overweary to make best use of it" "I shall have trouble paying you back." "A straight story buys whatever hospitality we're offering." "But that can wait." "(Groans)" "My name, at least." "Your name... is Torold Blund." "The rest can wait till tomorrow." "For the present, save your strength." "Nick?" "Nick, are you there?" "God, no!" "Nick!" "Nick!" "Bad dreams, Torold?" "Or worse, memory?" "Caltrops." "I don't understand." "I have sworn to die in the Empress's service because I believe the crown of this realm is hers by right." "But you and Brother Cadfael have no such allegiance." "Indeed, the Church has taken King Stephen's side, so why help me?" "We have a Christian duty to help any who need our aid." "Then I'll not put you in further peril, Brother." "I am fit and strong!" "In my place, you'd have been out of here long before now." "I would not!" "What use would you be on the run from here?" "No weapon, your horse turned loose to battle pursuit." "How far would you get?" " You'd be carried back on Cadfael's shoulders." " Oh, would I, so?" "A ten -year-old could lay you out!" "I'll show you, Master Godric, whether I'm fit or no." "One hand of mine can more than deal with you, my lad!" "Why didn't you tell me?" "There was no need for you to know." " Does Brother Cadfael know?" " Of course!" "He at least can tell a hart from a hind." "Then tell me, mistress, who are you?" "(Barn door creaks)" "(Crunching)" "Broken off from a dagger's hilt, would you think?" "Not from yours, then?" "Mine?" "Where would a poor squire get so fine a weapon as this must have been?" "No, this is none of mine." " Nor from Faintree's?" " No." "Where did you get this?" "Flescher's barn." "I found everything just as you told me." "This must have snapped off against the ground during your struggle." " Then it belonged to Faintree's killer" " Almost certainly." "And it's the only thing we have that could lead us to him." "If he still has the dagger." "Oh, yes, I think he has." "No-one would diascard so valuable a weapon merely because one stone was missing." "He'll keep it safe until such time as he dare have it repaired." "If we find the dagger, we shall have found the murderer." "I shall be glad to be the one who avenges Nick." "Your part is to do your duty, and get Fitzalan's treasure to France." "Yes, and Adeney's treasure, too." "Take Godith with you." "Bring her safely to her father." "All I have to do is to conjure two good horses out of the air, retrieve your treasure, and see you clear of the town towards Wales." "Well, harder things are done daily by the saints!" "(Chickens cluck)" " What is it?" " Nothing." "(Shouts) Godric, I think you and I must be getting back to Vespers." "It wouldn't do to be late." "Wait here." "It has been of some service." "Very fair evening, Brother." " May we walk together?" " We're bound for vespers." "So am I." "Oh, well, you run ahead, lad." "Put that away, then come to vespers with the other boys." "Go on." "A most biddable lad you have, Brother." "A year's endowment with us, though I doubt if he's one to take the cowl." "You're at leisure today, my Lord?" "Not so much at leisure as in need of your skills and knowledge." "The King is about to order a tithe of provisions from all stores." "And all the good horses will be commandeered for Army use." "No matter who owns them." " And the Abbey will not be exempt." " Bad news for Brother Prior." "It's bad news for me." "I've four horses stabled there." "I've no intention of losing my two best." "I want them somewhere they can evade Sheriff Prestcote's foraging parties." "Only the two?" "You have more cunning than that, Brother." "If they find none, they'd hunt for all, and small chance I'd have left for Royal favour." "Brother Cadfael, you know this countryside better than any man." "Is there not a place I can lie up my horses safely for a few days?" "Now be sure to surrender them to no-one but myself or Brother Cadfael." "Well, if you're ready, my Lord, it'll be full dark soon." "We have a long walk ahead of us." "(Neighing)" "Have you ever contemplated marriage Brother?" "Yes." "Once." "Before taking the Cross." "I had thoughts to marry." "She was a very fair woman was Richildis." "But to speak truth, I forgot about her in the East, and in the West she forgot me." "I was away too long." "Have you ever seen her again?" "No, never." "Probably has grandchildren by now." "May they be good to her." "The East also had women, and you were a young crusader." "I cannot but wonder, Brother." "So?" "Wonder." "I wonder about you, too." "A natural conspirator, I'd say." "Yes, well, one knows another." "Oh Brother" "I don't know if this has any bearing on the Faintree murder or not... but they're saying before the fall a bodyguard was sent to escort Adeney's daughter out of Shrewsbury." "Why should they think that?" "The King's men hunted a squire of Fitzalan's into the river." "An archer took him." "Later, two saddled horses were found running loose, so it would seem the attempt had failed." "And the girl?" "Still missing, but thought to be somewhere close in hiding." "And they'll be looking for her, Brother." "Now more than ever." "Good night." "(Horse neighs)" "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "(Bell tolls)" "PRIOR ROBERT:" "Sheriff Prestcote!" "Why have you closed our gates?" "What is the meaning of this intrusion?" "I'm ordered by His Grace to require a tithe of your stores, and any horses not already in the use of people in His Grace's commission." "I'm also commanded to search and enquire everywhere for the girl Godith, daughter of His Grace's traitor Fulke Adeney." "There's nothing here!" "I told you, there's nothing here." "Then where are you, child?" "(Knock at door)" "Godric!" "What's the matter?" "Come, come within." "Godric?" "No, my Lady." "Not Godric." "A fine weapon." "Keen -edged." "Well balanced." " Where did you find it?" " In a fishing hut along the water meadow." "It seemed long-abandoned but there were tracks suggesting someone had been there of late." "Be easy." "She's safe." "In my house." "Praise to God." "Halt as you stand!" "Let no man move, for the lady's sake." "Be easy, Torold." "Do as he says." "Brother Cadfael speaks wisely." "What is your will, Master Beringar?" "Do you mean to stand on your rights and marry me?" "I admit." "I've never felt so tempted to marry you before..." "But no." "Then I'm just the means to buy your way into Stephen's favour?" "In a manner of speaking, yes." "You came here to find horses." "Well, here they are." "You may ride as soon as you please." "We can go?" "Yes, and swiftly if you'll take my advice." "However, you'll ride the faster if you lighten your load." "The saddlebags that Brother Cadfael's so negligently obscuring, I'll keep." "By way of memento of you, my sweet Godith." "I have mistaken you, Hugh Beringar." "You had a right to try for this prize." "It'll go some way towards blunting His Grace's rage when I tell him despite my very best efforts..." "I couldn't find you." "Well, there's no help for it." "They're yours." "Now, mount and good speed." "Brother Cadfael everything I owe to you." "She's in your care now, but as a sacred charge." "So beware of taking advantage." "You'll miss her." "Like a fibre gone from my heart." "You carried this on your back all that way?" "You saw me do it." "Here, let me give you some light." "Would you like to taste my wine?" "Oh, gladly." "And I'll drink to your better success - against all opponents but Hugh Beringar." "This at least the mercenaries missed!" "I've been commiserating with you all this time, when you had this in store for me." "What... a fool I was to think I could out-trick you." "Now I'll drink to your better success." "Against all opponents but Cadfael." "How?" "How was this done?" "I..." "I swear I never took my eyes from you." "You did draw up what Torold had drowned in the river." "I heard it rise." "So I did." "And then I let it slip in again - softly." "This I already had in the boat." "The other, Godith reclaimed this morning." "Then where is it?" "They departed empty-handed." "On the way to the grains I suggested they might sooner reach their mounts if they left their load in the stump of a certain oak." "By now, I hope, it's been retrieved and it's with them, safe, in Wales." "Where Stephen can no longer reach them." "My treasure." "I mean, the stones in sacks, that I understand." "Anything to make like for like..." "But what are these things?" "They're the clothes Faintree was wearing when he was strangled." "You put these together for me to see and recoil at my own guilt." "I understand I might well be suspect, Cadfael, but do I seem to you a man who would kill in so foul a way?" "There's little I would put out of your scope." "But killing by stealth?" "No." "That I would never look for." "No, there's nothing here to shake you." "Or for you to recognise." "Recognise, no, not that." "But this!" "This, after a fashion, I think I may know." "Yes, this came from the hilt of Giles' dagger." "Where did you find it?" "At a certain barn in Frankwell." "How did it come to be there?" "That is not certain." "Yet." "If we may keep the stone for the present..." "Hugh..." "If there's something I should know, you will tell me, won't you?" "What could I possibly hide from you?" "Giles killed Faintree?" "Must she bear that too?" "No, no, no, no." "Never fear." "There's no guilt there to touch Aline." "Her brother was already dead, several hours before Faintree was murdered." "And whoever killed him first robbed Giles's corpse, and then went to Faintree's ambush, wearing the dagger he'd stolen." "Yet how did he learn of the plan?" "Well, perhaps one of the rebels tried to buy his own life by betraying Fitzalan's treasury." "But who?" "Which of them?" "Time is against us, Cadfael." "After tomorrow Stephen marches for Worcester, and our murderer with him most likely." "Our murderer?" "I know you can work miracles, Cadfael, but even you would be hard-pressed to find this killer by tomorrow night's feast." "Now together we can cover the ground." "Believe me, once the King puts this town behind him, he's going to forget about Faintree." "Now we stand side by side on this, Cadfael, or not at all." "You go to the castle, see what you can learn." "I'll go to the siege camp and do likewise." "And remember, Hugh, the dagger." "Everything turns on that dagger." "Find it, and we've found our murderer." "Cadfael, how did I come by this cloak?" "Alms from a gentlewoman." "Then he that wore it before me is surely dead." "Yes, he is." "The lady who sent it is his sister." "And trust me, her giving blesses the gift." "I have seen him alive." "No, no... that's just an effect of the tincture!" "No, this was no dream of poppies." "I saw him - living." "This cloak about him." "I beg an audience with the King." "When?" "It was dark, and I was cold." "It seems to me the night before the castle fell... he came here." "(Chatter and laughter)" "Yes, indeed." "Giles was at the King's camp?" "In mortal dread." "He came to the besiegers, offering Fitzalan's treasure in exchange for his life." "But his treachery fell victim to a greater." "And the betrayer himself was betrayed." "By who?" "Could it have been Courcelle?" "Why do you pick his name above any other?" " He was at the camp." " So too was Prestcote, Ten Heyt, the King!" "But he can give no account for himself the night of the murder." "Nor can you." "We cannot accuse him simply because he's your rival for Aline's affection." "However... if you said Giles was brought before the officer of the watch that night to state his business and that that officer was Courcelle..." "And then if you were to remind me of the horror that fell on him when Aline found Giles among the dead, I might say you have grounds for suspicion." "You are ahead of me, Cadfael, even in this!" "Remember what he said? "I would have saved him for you, no matter what the cost."" "Oh, he realised what he'd done." ""God forgive me," he said." "But he meant, "Aline, forgive me."" "And he returned the cloak to her!" "But if he was so taken with remorse, why not surrender the dagger also?" "How could he?" "It was already broken and incomplete." "But if his eyes were on the greater prize, why should he have stolen it in the first place?" "No thief will willingly give up the chance of adding so valuable a bonus to his spoils!" "But, you see, when Torold escaped from the barn with Fitzalan's treasury..." "That dagger became Courcelle's sole reward... for murder." "Then where is it?" "I've searched this castle from bailey to dungeon." "There's no sign of the thing." " Would he keep it in hiding, or get rid of it?" " Well, whichever." "It's still our only proof." "Without it, we have nothing." "How are we to deal?" "If we accuse Courcelle and come to trial, everything will come out." "And though I have little affection for one who'd betray his comrades at the last gasp," "I would not see Aline wounded by this." "Now or ever." "And therein lies our weakness." "Yes, and perhaps our strength." "Where would he stand with Aline if ever this came out?" "No." "No." "We may only have half an attack, Cadfael, but likewise he may only field half a defence." "I do understand your preoccupation but I will not let Faintree lie uneasy for want of justice." "Brother, we are called to bring wine." "Cadfael..." "Time is running out." "Well, at worst, we can put what we've found to Prestcote, see what he advises." "But for the present, do nothing." "Your Grace." "I have a matter on which I beg you'll hear me, and do right." "Well?" "There is one in this company who has abused his position in your confidence." "By what means abused?" "He has stolen and he has murdered." "MAN:" "By Jove!" "I stand ready to prove my claim, and I offer this stone in evidence." "Silence!" "You will need to explain much, Beringar." "What is this trinket?" "It is the tip of a dagger hilt, Your Grace." "The dagger itself was stolen from the body of Giles Siward." "That stone was found at the site of Nicholas Faintree's murder." "Found?" "By who?" "By Brother Cadfael, Your Grace." "He will testify that the man who stole the dagger is the same man who killed Nicholas Faintree and that he left behind him this proof of his guilt." "This man - you say he is with us in the hall." "Your Grace, on a charge of theft and murder..." "I accuse Adam Courcelle." "What is this villainy?" "How does my name come into such a diatribe?" "The villainy is yours alone and you will hang for it." "Your Grace, these are the ravings of a man poisoned by jealousy." "He envies me both your favour and Mistress Siward's affection." "He's destined to enjoy neither" "And why should he, when the one simple task you set him - to find his intended bride - proved too difficult?" "Draw steel, Beringar, I'll kill you where you stand!" "Enough!" "Do you deny these charges, Adam?" "Absolutely, Your Grace." "If Beringar has evidence, let him produce it." "I've offered this stone in evidence!" "Courcelle has stolen..." "Oh, come!" "This bauble is nothing." "When did I ever see this supposed dagger?" "When was it ever seen in my possession?" "Search the belongings I have here." "If such a thing be found, let me know it." "Your Grace, Brother Cadfael will back me in my claim." "Is the monk present?" "Your Grace, I brought him with me." "He's obviously thought better of involving himself in such madness." "There is no dagger." "Beringar stands alone on this." "CADFAEL:" "Your Grace ...I would ask you to match stone to dagger... with your own hands." "There's no doubt this belongs." "But whose word have we this is Giles Siward's weapon?" "The word of Lady Aline herself." "A fair witness." "Why do you suppose it to be Adam?" "There doesn't appear to be a single thread to link him with dagger or deed." "I'm glad Your Grace puts so firm a finger on the crux of the matter." "There is no witness can put the weapon in my hand." "Your Grace, there is a witness." "Boy!" "Now, I want you to explain to the King how you came by your knife." "I was fishing under the castle." "A man came down and threw it in the river" "He didn't see me, but soon as he went, I dived in and got it and kept it, since he didn't want it." "Do you know this man?" "Not his name, only to look at." "Is he with us in the hall?" "That was the man!" "Move aside, Hugh." "Your Grace, this is utterly false." "You say the child lies?" "At whose instigation?" "At Beringar's, Your Grace." "He seemed as taken aback as you were" "Am I to suppose the Benedictine order procured the boy to put up such a story?" " Your Grace, I refute these allegations utterly." " I maintain them." "You have put a millstone round my neck when most I need to move fast." "Your Grace, this must be some foolish error." "What possible reason could I have to kill Faintree?" "You murdered him so that you could lay hands on Fitzalan's treasury." "What treasury?" "My Lord, I have learnt that Fitzalan sent couriers to get his treasury away to the Empress." "Faintree was one such courier" "Captain Courcelle knew the route he was going to take." "So he lined the road with caltrops" "This is a nonsense!" "How could I be privy to the rebels' plan?" "That information was given to you by one whose courage failed him at the last." " Cadfael, we agreed!" "In fear of his life, he offered up Fitzalan's treasury..." " Cadfael, I beg you." "...that he might be spared." "Your Grace, there'll be no delay if you will countenance trial by combat." "There is my gage." "I stand ready to prove my charge against Courcelle with my body." "Well since you both seem determined to destroy yourselves..." "Tomorrow, then, one or other of you in the castle courtyard shall have justice." "I knew you wouldn't fail me." "Now see that you don't fail me." "No dread." "I shall never be readier, and your arm will be seconding mine." "Yes, at every stroke." "Give him no quarter, Hugh." "And if you get the chance to finish him, strike swift and clean." "Oh, no, not with my own weapon." "(Single gasp)" "I trust I have proven my case." "Your opponent proved it for you, all too well." "But you have robbed me of a deputy sheriff." "I may take reprisal by draffing you into the vacancy" "What do you say?" "I am Hugh Beringar, Deputy Sheriff, at Your Grace's service." "CADFAEL:" "Give it to Aline yourself" "But deal generously with the boy who fished it out of the river." "Is this justice?" "To force into the light the truth of one man's sins, and cover the guilt of another?" "Aline knows half the tale already." "You might set her mind at peace with the rest." "There's no need for others to know." "Let them count Giles among the many who chose the wrong side and died for it." "We deal with what is." "Leave what might have been to eyes that can see it plain." "And none see plainer than yours." "Yet I did fear at first you mistook me for a villain." "I think we mistook each other." "I would know more of you, Cadfael." "In this new town of mine, I shall need a good friend." "And I could look for none better than a rare Benedictine." "Then in this ending, there is a beginning also." "And that is as it should be." "(Bell tolls)"