Tevin was relieved to find an ally in Henry’s Captain of the Guard. “I agree,” he said quietly. “A day, Dacian. Give me at least that.”
Dacian simply nodded. “I will do my best, my lord.”
Tevin nodded his thanks, dashing into the darkness of the corridor and taking the stairs down to the entry level of the keep. Beyond were the vast bailey and the stables where his horsewas tethered. It took him little time to gather his belongings and depart Winchester for Selborne, a fortress that was less than twenty miles away, something that would take him most of the day to reach if he pushed his horse. He had to make it to Selborne to discover if Val knew anything about the assassination of Becket.
As Tevin cantered from the gates of Winchester, there were two predominant thoughts on his mind– if Val was, indeed, involved, he wanted to know the reasons behind it. And if he wasn’t, then someone was going to a great deal of trouble to implicate an innocent man. Surely Val, as an itinerant justice, had his fair share of enemies. Perhaps one was finally seeking revenge against him in a most audacious way. But if that wasn’t the case and Val had truly acted on his own… God help him.
God help them all.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Selborne Castle
Home had neverlooked 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, evenHenry’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.”
