"We are not quite certain how it happened, Your Majesty." "Whether it was a hidden rock or a storm, but there were no survivors." "Not even my son?" "I am deeply sorry, Your Majesty." "I'll marry, Father, and have a baby boy." "That's very sweet of you, my little Maud." "But I don't think I'll live long enough for him to come of age." "Who will rule once I am gone?" " There's Gloucester." " The King's bastard?" "He will never inherit." "There's the King's legitimate daughter, Maud." "A child." "And female." "Then, I suppose, there's me." "But I'm only the King's nephew." "And grandson of William the Conqueror." "This shipwreck puts you in direct line to the throne, my good Stephen, which we will support, when the time comes." "Since, unlike the King, you hold the Church in high esteem." "The Church has been very good to me, Your Eminence." "Father Waleran here can attest to that." "Still, there are whispers." "The shipwreck was quite convenient." "Rumors born of jealousy, Your Eminence." "What happened was ordained by God." "It's to the Church's benefit that no one survived." " Brother Cuthbert!" " Philip!" "A sight for old eyes!" "Not that old, my friend." "So good to see you." "So good to see you." "We didn't expect you." "I've missed you, Philip." " When did the tower collapse?" " Last winter." "Brother Remigius says we haven't the funds to repair it." " Brother Remigius?" " He's acting prior now, soon to take over." "Prior James, I fear, won't last the week." "Father, it's Philip." "Philip?" "I told Remigius to send for you." " I have something to confess." " I was sent for?" "Many years ago, the man survived the shipwreck," " but I was ordered to arrest him." " Sorry, I don't..." "He was innocent." "He was innocent." " Who?" " The Frenchman." "He saw what happened to the ship." " He knew." "He knew too much." " Welcome, Philip." "Brother Remigius." "The Prior told me he asked you to send for me." "I was about to." "Poor Father." "His mind is gone." "Some children are..." "They're born willful, my good Percy." "I must warn you, my daughter has turned down more suitors than there are stones in Shiring Castle." " You need to be more forceful with her then." " I have tried." "But I made a promise to Aliena's mother." "The girl could choose her own husband." "I've never heard of such a thing." "This marriage would be advantageous to all, Lord Shiring." " Yes." " My son would gain a title, and your daughter, some of the richest farmland." "The way to my daughter's heart is through affection, not advantage." " Isn't that true, Richard?" " Then we needn't worry." "Our sweet William will work his charms on her, and true love will win the day." "A dog will suit you better for a wife, Lord William!" "A dog, for your safety, with no teeth!" "Fighting with cats, Lord William?" "Oh, dear." "You're a fool, William!" "All this could have been ours if only you'd just..." "Hey!" " Aliena." " Father." "I love you so." "Quickly, boy!" "Quickly!" "All right, Jack, you can offload here." "Alfred, take over, will you?" "All right, men, stack them neat." "Don't just drop them on the floor." "A sloppy worksite means careless building." "Bring me an ax-hammer!" "Bring me an ax-hammer!" "How you feeling, love?" "It doesn't like hard work, that's for sure, which means it's a boy." "There's magic inside." "See?" "They're Da's tools." "We're building a grand house for Lord William, who's getting married, and my Da's building it bigger and higher than other builders would because he understands pilaster strips and counterforts and equilateral arches." "It's like they use at the big cathedral." "Pig!" "Martha!" "Teach that little bitch to watch where she's stepping!" "And pack up while you're at it." "This house is no longer needed." "Lord William, you hired us for the year, sir." "I got a look at the bride and she turned my stomach." "I have to pay my workers, sir." "I have to feed my family on what you owe us." " Let go of my horse." " Pay me what you owe me." " Walter!" " Back off, Builder." "God will see the right of this!" "You'll burn for it, My Lord!" "You will pay in Hell!" "We're safe." "I'm hungry, Ma!" "What did I tell you, Martha?" "Sing." "It'll take your mind off eating." "It's not working." "If you'd stayed at Exeter, you might have been master builder." "I twas a dull job, Agnes." "It was a castle that would have fed us for a lifetime." "Now we'll starve, unless you find food for the winter." "Don't fret, love." "You'll have nothing but curdled milk left for our babe." "I want a home, Tom." "A roof over our heads, food on the table." " There's a cathedral going up near Wells." " You and your cathedrals!" "Why can't you be content with building houses?" "Look around you." "We're in a cathedral." "Nave, columns, heavenly light." " No cathedral I've been in looks like this." " That is why I must build one." "Now, with your support, my love, your skill, Alfred, and God's good grace, it will be beautiful." "What about me, Da?" "What will I do?" "You, Martha..." "You will be the master measurementater." " The what?" " The master measurementater." " What's that?" " The measurementater?" "You will decide the height, the width and..." "And the chancel and the high altar?" "Wherever you decide it is, that's where it goes!" " Here!" " A bit further than that." " Here!" " Further than that." "Keep going about three miles." "At least it's taking her mind off eating." " No!" "Da!" " Stop!" "Jack, let's stop him!" " Martha!" " Leave her!" "Get the pig!" "Save the pig!" "Get away!" "We did it, Da!" "We fought three of them, didn't we?" "Aye, that we did, Son." " She won't live." " She'll be fine." "She'll wake up and be sick, and then she'll be fine." "We'd better get her out of the storm." "Can you carry her?" "Be gentle." "Oi, give that here." "Give that here!" "Jack." " Which way?" " Here." "I don't trust them, Ma." "She sounds like a foreigner." " My name is Ellen, by the way." " Tom." "Tom the Builder?" " You're an artist, I see." " Jack is, not me." " Your son did these?" " He was reading and writing by age 5." " Who taught him?" " Who do you think?" " Who taught you?" " My father." "He was a Saxon knight who brought me to England to improve my education." "He placed me in a convent." "I'm a renegade nun." "Novice, really." "I never took vows." "I ran away because..." "One day, on a beach, I met Jack's father." "He was a Frenchman who survived a fire at sea." "I hid him in the cloister's barn and helped him recover." "We fell in love." "They don't allow pregnant nuns in the convent." "No." " Why doesn't he speak?" "Is he mute?" " No." "Only to strangers." "When he was young, he saw a terrible thing." "Ma, Ma, Ma." "Ma, wake up." "Ma, Ma." "She's a witch!" "You mustn't leave." "She needs her rest." " We don't abide with witches." " I'm not a witch!" "It's medicine." "I used it to cure your daughter." "God help her then." "Medicine is sin." "There's work at the Bishop's Palace." "It needs repair." "It's no cathedral, but it will see you through winter." "Thank you." "Because I am weary with age and have no male heir," "I've gathered you here to swear allegiance to my daughter." "The Princess Maud and her husband expect a son, the soothsayers assure me." "I ask you, the lords of the land, to pledge before God that until this son comes of age, you will recognize Maud as your ruler." "Along with her bastard brother." " Do you swear, my good Gloucester?" " I so swear..." "I so swear, Uncle." "Lord Stephen!" "You stepped before me, sir!" "The grandson of William the Conqueror takes precedence over a bastard." "The King's bastard, whom he loves as much as the son who drowned." "How fortunate you weren't on that ship, Stephen." "I have no pretensions to the throne, cuz." "But the Church behind you does." "And with you and the Pope in power, think how the people will suffer!" "I'm cold, Da." " Where's the road?" "Are we lost?" " Hush now." "Da." "Agnes." "Agnes." " Alfred!" " Ma!" "You're all right." "You're all right." "I've got you." " What do I do, Da?" "What do I do?" " Make a bed." "Lay her down." "Right." "Hot water!" "Where's the girl?" "Deep breaths, my lady." "It won't be long." "Short breaths now, my lady." " Why didn't you say something?" " I thought it would stop." "It's a boy." "It's a boy." "You have another son." "Hold me, Tom." "I'm cold." "You're a good man." " You deserve something beautiful." " I have you." "The cathedral, build it." "Promise me." " Ma." " Ma." "You sense it, too?" "Something's wrong." "Go and find them, Jack." "Quick." "Here's to my grandson, Henry II of England." "Perhaps I'll live to see him grown." "I may even outlive you, old friend." "Lampreys!" "My favorite!" "He's so little." "He came too early." " How are we supposed to feed him?" " We can't." "No, we can't." "Alfred, will you take your sister?" "I'll join you shortly." " But you can't leave him, Da." " It's God's will." "He won't starve." "He'll just fall asleep, and his ma will take him." "You run along." "I'll be with you soon." "Go." "God keep you, Son." "You sleep with your ma." " What's wrong with him?" " Get the physician!" "Hurry!" "Make way!" "The King is dying, Your Eminence." "As Archbishop of Canterbury, you alone can crown the next king." "You will favor the Church in all your dealings." "I'll give you whatever you want." "Stay here." "I can't..." " I can't leave him." " Da?" "The King is dead." "Long live the King." "Look at him." "After 18 years, he still hasn't helped us." "He promised!" "I want a title." "Our son deserves a title." "When Waleran becomes bishop, he'll have more power, and so will we." "If he's bishop." "I'm beginning to lose faith in that fellow." "Stephen has the support of the Church and the backing of any who fear being ruled by a woman." "Which is most of the men in this country." "He's only king because your brother was drowned." "An unfortunate accident." "Unfortunate, yes!" "But an accident?" "Not, I think, an accident." "Stephen has broken his oath to you, Sister." "When kings die, oaths die with them." "Except, perhaps, here at Shiring Castle." "I loved your father." "He had my complete support." "And so, therefore, do you." "You have my word." "As do you, Gloucester." "I knew we would, Bartholomew." "We'll raise an army together and take Stephen by surprise." "And if he thinks he's fighting a spoiled princess, he's wrong." "I'm now a mother defending her son." "And her rightful realm." "Brother Francis!" "Praise God!" "It's good to see you!" "Philip!" "It's been too long." "You're well?" "The monastery's well, which keeps me busy and happy." "You?" "Well enough." "I'm Lord Gloucester's secretary." "I heard, I heard!" "Our mother and father would be very proud, dear Brother." "I need a favor, Philip, which is why I sent for you." "A new king has been crowned." "King Stephen, yes." "Opposed to him is Maud, King Henry's daughter." "A woman cannot take the throne." "Maud, supported by Gloucester and Earl Bartholomew, is secretly raising an army against Stephen to regain the throne." "Stephen must know of their treachery." "But if word came from me, Gloucester would have me hanged." "You're asking me to do this?" "I'd never get an audience." "Your bishop would." "If Maud wins, the Church will be the loser." "Politically, we must back Stephen." "But I don't believe in politics, Francis." "I believe in the will of God." "It's the Church's will, Philip." "Second to God, remember?" "Matthew Farmer, two pigs." "Widow John, three dozen eggs." "Michael Miller, a stone of wheat." " It certainly needs repair." " Lf they have money." "It's a bishop's palace, Tom Builder." "There's always money." "Ellen!" "Five jars of honey." "How are you, Martha?" "Ma died." "I'm sorry." "I've come to see the Bishop." "The sentry said he's away and I'm to speak to his assistant." "Please." " Who are you?" " I'm Philip, Father." "I come from the monastery of St." "John-in-the-Forest." "Philip of Gwynedd." "You're the Welshman that turned a monastery of lazy monks into a pious, successful business." "I merely put things in order, Father." "And who are you?" "I'm Father Waleran Bigod." "How can I help you?" "I have a message of a private nature to convey to His Eminence." "I have the Bishop's confidence." "Take a seat." "Thank you." "When will the Bishop be returning?" "The news is quite sensitive." "You can trust me, Philip." "To be blunt, the Bishop has never been the most attentive man to affairs of church and state." "That's why the Archbishop of Canterbury sent me here." "You trust him, don't you?" "Yes, of course." "Three days ago, a gravely ill soldier came to my monastery, and he had a secret that he wished to tell before he died." "His master, Bartholomew, Earl of Shiring, is conspiring with Robert of Gloucester to raise a rebellion against the new king." "Was he telling the truth?" "He was a dying man." "Who else knows this?" "No one." "See that it remains that way." "Do you go directly home?" "Yes, by way of Kingsbridge." "Prior James there is ill." "I'd heard that." "How do you know him?" "He raised my brother and I after we were made orphans in the latest war." "He was sent to Kingsbridge some 20 years ago." "After he was made prior, we followed." "Father, is there something wrong?" "I'll see the Bishop gets the message." "Good day to you, Philip of Gwynedd." "Good day." "Father?" "Those people out there, send them away." "They're not to spend the night within a mile of here." "Yes, Father." "Why turn us away?" "They have plenty of work and money." "Now we're facing a long winter." " What now?" " Here you are, Martha." "Alfred." "Why are you here?" "Because Jack needs a master builder to apprentice him." "The boy's practically mute." "But he's not stupid." "Give him a voice." " We won't be a burden." "I promise." " We?" "I'll travel with you." "I'II help you find work and food, and I'll nurse Martha back to health." "We're not married." "People will talk." "And who will tell them?" "Our hearts are pure, Tom Builder." "God, protect me from her!" "Prior James, I've come back." "Tell me, who's that fellow there with the baby?" "Johnny Eightpence." "He's the newest addition to our community." "He found the baby on a grave and brought him here, and now he's turned from thief to wet nurse." "Well, how can we be in debt?" "The priory has more land than ever." "As well as bad tenants, lazy monks, poor finances, and a church in such disrepair the pilgrims won't visit." "People come here to be awestruck by the majesty of God." "Brother Remigius couldn't care less." "Then why elect him prior?" "Who will run against him?" "Well, there is one candidate who could turn this place around, but I doubt he'd accept." "Who's that?" "You." "You grew up in a priory." "You've been running a small monastery for three years, completely reformed it." "It's clear to everyone, the hand of God is on you." "A proud monk is a bad monk, and pride is my chief temptation." "Then let me tempt you." "Prior James mentioned something about a shipwreck." "A survivor." " No names?" " No." "A delirium of death." "You were a great comfort to him, Philip, I'm certain of that." "You're a good man." "The most intelligent young priest in the diocese from what I hear." "Are you ambitious?" "To do something meaningful with my life, yes." "So what's the plan?" "You wish to, what?" "Become a bishop one day?" "No, no." "No, no, no." "That would work against everything I believe in." "Which is?" "Purifying, sanctifying God's community on Earth." "So becoming Prior of Kingsbridge would satisfy your ambition?" "Well, be direct, Philip." "As the Bishop's representative, I can sway the election." "If that's what you want from me, say so." " Yes." " Good, good." "But politics is a bargain between beggars." "When the Bishop dies here, the monks here elect the new one." "So if you make me prior," "I, when the time comes, make you bishop?" "You knew I would have made the same promise." "You owe me this, Father." "I don't like being told I owe anybody anything." "But since we're being blunt," "Philip is the better man for the job." "He's one of those rare priests who actually believes what he preaches." "I admire that." "Besides, you owe me, Remigius, remember?" "Sodomy!" "An ex-communicable offense." "And as your confessor, I hold your eternal salvation behind sealed lips." "Here's what I want you to do." "Philip is idealistic, which is generally commendable, but occasionally awkward." "You will be my eyes and ears and tell me everything." "On this day, as harvest ends and winter approaches, there's reason to celebrate, as well as mourn." "Philip of Gwynedd has been elected our new Prior of Kingsbridge, to replace the late Prior James." "May St. Adolphus, whose relic sanctifies this church, help guide him." "At the same time, sadness descends." "Our good bishop, who led his flock for so long, died quite suddenly while saying mass Saturday last." "The monks will now choose a successor." "And Prior Philip, with God's help, will show them the way." "Such a shame about William and Aliena." "What man thinks best, God knows better." "Your patience has paid off, Lord Bishop." "I'm not bishop yet." "We're still waiting for our title." "You gave us your word!" "Did I?" "I fear you misremember, Percy, but not to worry." "I have interesting news for you." "Bartholomew has sided with Maud against King Stephen." "Bartholomew's turned traitor?" "You may win that title yet." "Excellent!" "We'll arrest Bartholomew, and the King will give us Shiring." "Who needs a wife when you can have a title without her." "Do shut up, Father." "And Bartholomew will embrace the King, deny the plot, and you shall be hanged as a thief." "I hadn't thought of that." "Once again he's setting us up to test the waters, Percy." "If we sink in the mud, he stays immaculate." " So what do we do then?" " Well, we must first find proof." "We'll follow anyone suspicious leaving the castle and encourage them to talk." "With whose money?" "My dear, you don't need money to loosen tongues." "Do you, William?" "Quick as you can!" "Take them inside!" " Are you Matthew?" " Yes." "The sentry told me to find you." "I'm a mason." "These are my apprentices." " We come looking for work." " I'm sorry." "I could help repair the castle." "I could work at the quarry." "We don't need any quarrymen." "Thank you." "I hope you're not planning on doing battle soon." "Why do you say that?" "All the mortar on your keep gate is crumbling." "It'd just take a crowbar to bring that down." "A keep has an undercroft with a wooden door." "If I were attacking, I'd just set light to that." "And if you were earl, how would you prevent it?" "Well, I'd hire a mason." "I'd have him standing by with stones to block up that doorway in case of trouble." "Hire this man!" "See that he's housed and fed." "Where's my sword?" "Come on, quickly now!" " Yeah?" " A message for you from the Earl of Gloucester and the Princess, sire." "He will take my answer back to Maud." " Here, take it." "It's all I have." " It's not money we want." "This man has confessed that Bartholomew," "Earl of Shiring, is conspiring with Robert of Gloucester and Princess Maud to raise arms against the King." "Maud is going to France to gather troops." "We must defend the King!" "We will loot Shiring Castle, slaughter the men, and show the women what true soldiers are capable of!" "Saddle my horse and bring me an escort." "I'm going to the King." "Now this gate is gonna need an arch to make it stronger." "What an arch does, it distributes the weight evenly into two supports, and then down into the ground." "You understand?" "Never mind." "What I'm gonna need from the quarry is stones to match these ones already in place." "So knock out the loose ones." "If they're whole, just re-mortar them." "If they're cracked, leave them in piles every 10 feet or so." "All right?" "You heard what he said!" "Let's get to work!" "He's witched you, that's all." " Just like his ma." " Don't be a bloody fool." "Aliena!" " Who is that?" " The Earl's daughter." "I met her last night after supper." "Her mother's dead, too." "Hello, Martha." "You're up early." "Da makes me work." "Alfred, too." " He's my brother." " Hello." "Hells." " My lady, an honor." " Thank you." "And this is?" "That's Jack." "He doesn't talk much." "But look, he made a likeness of me." "It's remarkable." "Your brother's quite gifted." "Oh, he's not my brother." "Jack's a bastard." "Lunch, everyone!" "He's a gifted bastard." "Come to court again, Lord William?" "As a matter of fact I have." "Only this time, I'm courting you." "Oh, here you are." "Are you coming?" "Jack!" "Quick!" "We are under attack!" "Your Majesty!" "Your Majesty!" "I have urgent news." "Get inside, everyone!" "They must be somewhere." "Aliena!" "Percy!" "Get up!" "Da!" "No!" "Surrender, traitor!" "I'd rather die for Maud." "Then so will every man, woman and child in this keep!" "Halt!" "Halt!" "Hear me out!" "Halt!" "Halt!" "Stop the fighting, in Lord Percy's name!" "Spare my people." "Stephen knows you covet my title." "He may, therefore, doubt my guilt." "If you spare my people," "I will confess guilt to his face." "Thank you, Earl of Shiring." "Maud's fleeing to France along with her precious son." "Stop them!" "Bring them here." "I want that child dead at my feet!" "The ship's ready to sail, Your Majesty." "The messenger from Bartholomew should have returned by now." "We can't wait longer, Sister." "We must sail to France where your son will be safe." " Da!" " It's no use calling." "I saw him fall." "It'll take more than that to kill me." "Da!" " Had you scared, did I?" " Tom!" "We have to leave here as quick as we can." "One of the workers said there's a new prior at Kingsbridge." "New priors have work." "The Kingsbridge prior's dead?" " So they say." " Good." "May the Devil take his soul." " You knew him?" " Yes, I met him once." "Come." "Don't fuss." "You're getting soppy, are you, lad?"