"Where do you want this then?" " Lay that down here." " All right." "Steady, Brother Paul." "Afternoon, Brother." " I'm looking for the new prior." " In the church." "Don't be long." "I don't want to stay if there's no work." "What's that?" "St. Adolphus." "It's his cathedral." "Is that his real head?" "The Romans cut it off, threw it in the river." "His headless body pulled it out and carried it here." "Forgive him, Father." "He's..." "He's just a curious lad." "Which should be encouraged in the young." "How can I help you?" "I'm Tom Builder." "This is my son, Alfred." " We'd like to repairy our church." " Well, I'm Prior Philip." "And I want it repaired, but I can't hire you." "We haven't a shilling." "Sorry." "Martha!" "You!" "Get away from me!" "That man nearly killed my daughter!" "No!" "I saw him that night." "What night?" "What are you talking about?" "The night that your woman died." "He took it." "He took what?" "Please, I won't hurt him." "I promise." "I'm no good to you, am I?" "I'm no good to anyone." "He's better off here than he is with me, but I don't want to leave." "I left him once before." "I can't do that again." " You have little choice." " I know that." "You think I don't know that?" "I'm useless." "I can't support my family." "I can't stay with my son." "Why can't God give me work just this once?" "My God!" "There's a fire in the roof!" "How could this happen?" "What do we do?" "St. Adolphus, save your church!" "The roof's afire!" " God save us!" " What do we do?" "Hurry, hurry!" "Quick, quick!" "The chalices and the vesper!" "Quick!" "Quick!" "Philip!" "Philip!" "Come out!" "No, the relic!" "I must save the relic." "Philip!" "Philip!" "St. Adolphus, save your blessed church!" "This is the Devil's work." "Jack!" "What happened?" "We can stay now." "At least no one died." "I prayed for this last night." "God help me." "It was lightning." "Without a storm?" "All my life I've waited for work like this." "Now it's here, they can't afford to pay me." "We could work for free." "They give us food and lodging, you could stay with your little boy." "It's gone, smashed." "We're finished." "You can't rebuild a cathedral without its relic." "A skull's a skull, Philip." " We don't even know it was his." " What about the miracles?" "I've been praying to that skull for years to save my poor sister from the street." " Useless." " It does take belief, too." "Yes, but what if people believe another skull is his?" "One from the ossuary." "There's thousands." "And who's to say the monk whose head we choose isn't a saint?" "Because that would be a lie!" "Not a lie, a leavening, a means to an end." "And the end is God's glory." "Well, at least the crypt was spared." "You can use it for services, can't you?" "Until the new church is roofed." "What makes you think there'll even be a new church?" "Because I will build it." "You house us, you feed us, and I will defer payment." "This may be the Devil's work, but it was God that sent you a master builder." "My dear Bishop." "Undoubtedly, you have heard of our misfortune." "But God has blessed us with a rough-handed angel to help us through this crisis." "Tom Builder is his name, and he is determined to give us a new cathedral." "There is much work to be done and workmen to be hired, and, of course, this brings up the question of money." "I don't wish to burden you as you begin your office, but perhaps, with your permission, I could approach our new king and ask his favor in this trying time." "The plans for the expansion of the palace, Your Eminence." "We're repairing all of the old buildings, as well as the chapel, of course." "And we're adding an entire new wing over here." "Did you scratch it?" "Yeah." "You shouldn't wear it picking up heavy rocks." "Is it worth a lot of money?" "Hey, Jack, give it here." "I'll put it in a safe place." "Jack..." "May I speak to you for a moment?" "I want you to make a statue of St. Adolphus." "Me?" "I've never worked in stone." "That's not true." "I saw the carvings you did in the walls of the cave." "I think you'll manage." " I wouldn't know where to start." " Take your time." "Experiment." "Listen." " To what?" " To the stone." "You're a distraction, you are." "I've seen the monks watching you while they work." "They don't know what to make of you." "Oh, I think they do, Tom Builder." "Are you jealous?" "No, I'm not jealous." "We'll have a wooden ceiling, like the old church." "I'd prefer it in stone, but it's far too heavy." "Also, it's hard to find long pieces of timber, so the nave will have to be only 32-feet wide." "But it'll be high." "It'll be very high." "How will the walls support the weight?" "Well, have a look at this." "Pointed arches?" "I've never seen such a thing." "It'll bear the weight better." "Which, along with the buttresses, will allow the windows to be tall." "Tall enough to let in the light." "A cathedral..." "It's God's anteroom." "It's halfway to Heaven." "And the light..." "The light is everything." "How long will this take?" "It depends how many people you employ." "But if you were to hire 30 masons with enough laborers, carpenters and smiths to service them, that's 15 years." " Have you done this before?" " No." " How do you know it'll work?" " It'll work." "What do you think?" "I think it's extraordinary." "It's from Bishop Waleran, Prior." "He wants me to meet him at Shiring Castle on my way to see the King." "I don't know why." "I shouldn't be long, Remigius, but until I return, as subprior, you're in charge." "Safe journeys." "Where's my ring?" "Jack!" "Jack!" "I hung it around my neck, and you stole it in the night!" "Why should you care?" "You said it was worthless!" "Calm down!" "You said he took your ring." "How do you know?" "Maybe it fell off during the night." "I looked everywhere." " What's wrong?" " He took my ring!" "I don't want his bloody ring!" "Where is it?" "Look at me, boy!" "You can't witch me!" "You killed my ma and you stole my da, but you can't work your charms on me!" "Is anybody here?" " Who are you?" " Philip, Prior of Kingsbridge." "What is your business here?" "I've come to see the Bishop, on my way to the King." "Let him go, Matthew." "I'm Aliena, daughter of the Earl." "I saw you at the harvest service." "My lady." "And I'm Richard, his son and heir." "Welcome to Shiring Castle." "Does anyone know you're here?" "Why should they?" "Have you seen our father?" "I hear he's in Winchester, in prison." "He's not a traitor, you know." "He loves his kingdom as much as anyone." "Once I learn who libeled him," "I'll have the sheriff give the brute a public hanging." "How did you escape, my lady?" "Show him, Richard." "It's a secret passage." "Would you like to see it?" "No, thank you." " You're going to see the King, you said?" " Yes." "Then you must demand our father's release." "Tell him to give us back our castle." "I don't think that will be possible, my lady." " Hello, Philip." " Good morning, My Lord Bishop." "You really want to rebuild your church?" "Yes, Father, I do." "The cathedral is God's shadow over history, Father." "We..." "We live in a world that is striving for order, which is art, which is learning, which is people creating something that will bring God's heart into their community, that will survive wars and famine, that will survive history." "I thought I was ambitious." " Father, I only want..." " Philip, Philip, Philip!" "Look around you." "This is the smallest earldom in the kingdom, but it has a huge quarry which produces first-class limestone, and its forests, good timber." "If you had this land, you could rebuild your church." "Why would the King give me land instead of money?" "You unmasked the traitor." "Bartholomew confessed." "Maud and Gloucester ran away to France." "Stephen owes you his crown." "Think about it." "Why did Waleran meet the Prior of Kingsbridge in Shiring Castle?" "It's our land, isn't it?" "He should have asked permission." "Why do you say it's our land?" "You're not earl yet." "It's a mere formality." "The King will give me the title within the month." "He owes it to me." "Well then, I think we should remind the King of what he owes." "And I think we should do it soon." "She is a witch." "I saw her." "Doing what?" "Say it." "Making a potion out of dead frogs." "She gave it to my ma and it killed her." "Then she bewitched my da and made love to him on my mother's grave." "You swear to that?" "On your soul?" "Yes." "Brothers, the boy speaks true." "I knew this woman years ago, when I first came here." "She was condemned for witchcraft and a price put on her head." "She disappeared with her son, and the people said the Devil had taken them home." "It was she who started the fire." "She must burn." "Leave the talking to me, Philip." "And if the King does ask you a question, answer plainly." "Whatever you do, don't beg." "Make room!" "Here comes the traitor, Bartholomew!" " Hey!" "Shame on you!" " Traitor!" "What the devil are they doing here?" "Shame on you!" "Yeah!" "String him up!" "My Lord Bishop." "It's been a long time since our paths crossed." "Welcome to Winchester." "Who's this?" "Philip, Prior of Kingsbridge, Your Majesty." "You seem worried." "Why?" "I don't have a clean robe to wear." "Well, I like a monk to look like a monk." "I heard about your fire." "How soon will you rebuild?" "As soon as I find the money, sire." "I hope you haven't come to beg for it." "We're paupers here." "I think I have found a way to rebuild without further diminishing your coffers, Your Majesty." "Give Shiring and all its land to the diocese of Kingsbridge, and we will give you a new church." "What a clever idea." "Unfortunately, I gave Shiring to Percy Hamleigh less than an hour ago." "Well, it's not official." "Well, not yet." "Present a strong argument for your case, and I might reconsider." "We could rename the church after a saint of your choosing, Your Majesty." "St. Stephen, perhaps?" "Or St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors lost at sea." "Come back tomorrow." "You'll have my answer then." "You're working hard." "I thought you might be thirsty, Tom Builder." "Thank you." "What are they staring at?" "Their turn to be jealous." "You need to send her away." "What's that?" "Remigius says she's a witch." "He sent a letter to the Bishop last night." "Why'd he do that for?" "It's just gossip." "It's worse than gossip." "It's malicious and it's dangerous!" "He has a witness." "His Majesty will now see Lord Harefield and the Bishop of Lancaster." "Your Eminence, I'm told you're seeking an emissary to Rome." "I would be happy to volunteer." "You are too new to the post, my good Bishop." "Rome demands a more experienced politician." "Perhaps a visit to my palace would convince you." "I have worked changes to the diocese." "It's hardly a palace, when I visited years ago." "More like a ruin with a roof." "Excuse me." "Not a ruin for long." "How could you be so stupid?" "Waleran is using you and your burned down church to get the earldom for himself." " That's a lie." " Is it?" "Then why did he tell the King to give Shiring to the diocese of Kingsbridge and not the priory?" "It was a slip of the tongue." "Besides, he only means..." "What it means is that he will control the purse strings." "And believe me, monk, a church is not where he wants to spend his gold." "He's hired this man to triple the size of his palace." "Show him." "He'll need Shiring's forests and quarry to fulfill this design." "Your good Bishop doesn't care a whit for your precious cathedral." "Thank you, master builder." "William." "Side with us, monk." "We will make a generous contribution to your building fund." "No." "We go to the King instead and divide the earldom equally, with you getting the better half." "What do you mean?" "Which is more valuable, arable land or forest?" " Arable land." " Then I'll have the forest." "I need the forest to hunt." "You can hunt there, but I want the timber." "And which would you prefer?" "The income from the markets or the quarry?" "What if I said the quarry?" "You won't, though, will you?" "And when Waleran objects?" "If he's told the King that he needs Shiring to finance the cathedral, how can he object on the grounds that he wants to build his new castle instead?" "You're a keener politician than I gave you credit for." "Politics is a bargain between beggars, my lady." "And I have..." "I have one other request." "I must have protection for the lady Aliena and her brother Richard." "You've seen them?" "They're hiding in the castle, starving and penniless." "They need to be taken care of." "But of course." "We'll see to that." "Your Eminence." "Beloved Lord Bishop, we have a witch among us." "A woman, as you know, long wanted in these parts." "A witness has come forward." "Why did you say that?" "Answer me!" "Why'd you say that?" "She's been good to me, that woman!" "Better than I deserve." "Don't make me choose between you, boy." "Brother Remigius has been claiming you're a witch." "He's got Alfred here to give proof to the lie." "It's not a lie." "Not entirely." "See that this woman is arrested immediately and that she speaks to no one." "Jack's father had a secret." "Something to do with the ring he had." "He wouldn't tell me what it was." "He wanted to see the King, to tell him what he knew." "But I was only a naive novice." "How could I help?" "I hid him in a barn on our convent property, where he asked me for a quill, paper, sealing wax and ink." "I then went to my priest confessor." "I found him on the beach, Father." "He needs your help, your support." "He has a secret he will tell no one but the King." "The next day, he was taken from the barn and accused of stealing the Kingsbridge Priory's chalice." "He was tortured, confessed," "and his tongue was cut out." "He was held for nearly three years before he was brought to trial." "The prior whose chalice was stolen testified against him." "The Lord of the District served as his judge, and my priest confessor passed sentence." "Then, a remarkable thing happened." "I curse you, all three of you!" " Stay back!" " Touch me and you'll be dead by morning." "Your church, dear Prior, shall burn to the ground." "Your children, My Lord, shall die on the gallows." "And you, good Father, the confessor whom I trusted, you shall one day climb very high," "only to fall." "...only to fall." "What was the secret they didn't want him to tell?" "I never learned." "I found his ring, the one Jack wore, until it was stolen, but no paper." "So, yes, I'm a wanted woman, Tom." "I'll leave in the morning." "No argument." "You're staying here." "And you are staying with them." "I've made the decision." "My loyal subject, Percy Hamleigh, today becomes the Earl of Shiring." "He shall have the castle and all arable lands and low-lying pastures." "All other farmlands, I give to the Priory of Kingsbridge for the building of the new cathedral." " And the quarry?" " Belongs to the Hamleighs." "But you may take what stones you need." " But..." "But that's not..." " Enough." "My decision stands." "You'll pay for this, Philip." "I don't take kindly to priests who steal." "And God doesn't take kindly to bishops who lie." "I swear by all that's holy, you'll never build your church." "Open the gates, in the Bishop's name!" "I'll show you where the witch is." "Follow me." "No!" "No!" "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine..." "Allie?" "I'm over here!" "Allie!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No, please!" "Don't hurt her!" "Let me go!" "Lie still or the boy dies." "Cut off his ear, Walter!" "No!" "You see, bitch?" "I'm a better man than you deserve." "Get away from the horse!" "Fucking bitch!" "Come here." "Looks like it's your lucky night." "Look what you've done to me!" "Kill him." " You fucking bitch!" " Shut him up." "How?" "I don't know how." "Just cut off his head." "Kill him before anyone can hear." "Allie, please." "You have to do this, Richard." "Don't!" "Where is the woman?" "Locked away, Your Eminence." "As you wished." "Good." "Prepare for a trial this evening." "But we don't have a witness anymore." "The boy will not testify." "I'll be the witness." "I want this thing ended quickly." "A woman in a monastery is like a mare in heat." "Even a gelding would misbehave in her presence." "Monks may be celibate, but they can still smell cunt." " Halt, woman!" " You, too, boy." "Richard, listen to me." "You mustn't tell Father what happened." "I'll tell the King then." "He'll have both their heads." "No." "You mustn't tell anyone, ever." "Aliena?" "Father." "Philip, the Bishop is here." " And Ellen has been arrested." " Yes." "I received word on the way." " Where is she?" " In one of the basement cells." " They won't let anyone see her except..." " Where is Tom?" "In his work shed." "Waleran has us building a pyre." "We've come to see the King, to ask if he will grant mercy." "He will do nothing for me." "Listen," "I hid 50 gold coins in a belt under my shirt." "They're being held for you in safekeeping by a priest who heard my confession." "We can use it to buy your freedom." "My freedom is not for sale." "Well, is it true?" "Is she a witch?" "No." "I swear by all that's holy." "She's not the mother of your children, though, is she?" "No." "Are you living in sin?" "You can't burn her for that." "If I save her, you must marry her..." " I will." "...and bring her back to the Church." "That's her decision." "It's not mine." "It's God's will." "It's my condition." "Whatever." "Whatever you say." "Beware of the witch, Brother." "I ain't supposed to talk to you." "But Prior Philip told me to let you hold the baby one last time." "Be careful of his bottom, though." "He's carrying a bit of a load." "This woman here stands accused of consorting with the Devil." "The Bishop himself bears witness against her." "Do you want to say anything before we pass sentence?" " Such witchcraft!" " She's the Devil!" "Avert your eyes from the witch." "Piss on you, Lord Bishop!" "Don't touch her!" "Let the Devil pass out of here." "Your Eminence!" "There she is!" "Was she a virgin?" "Oh, yes." "And did she struggle?" "Frightfully." "And you showed her what a fine young man you are down there, didn't you?" "Father, just as Maud and Gloucester are raising an army to reclaim the throne, so too will I claim back what is mine, what is ours." "I swear by Jesus Christ and all His saints that I will not rest until Richard is the Earl of Shiring and lord of the land that you once ruled." "Do I have your blessing in this?" "Always and forever." "I swear, no matter where your affections fly, you shall always rule my heart," "sweet William." "We've begun."