“When you read the missive, you shall see. As Henry’s law in Hampshire, he was ordered to arrest Canterbury and bring him to face Henry at Winchester Castle. There is nothing unusual about that request other than it was fabricated. Val went to arrest Canterbury but those four killed the man before he could.”
D’Vant was beside himself. “Henry must know of this,” he muttered. “Other than the missive, has Val any additional proof? Witnesses, mayhap?”
Tevin lifted his eyebrows. “Eleven men who witnessed the murder plus Hugh’s brother, Calum, who spoke to Hugh when Hugh delivered the missive. I have never seen a less ambiguous case, Dacian. Val is innocent.”
D’Vant believed him implicitly. “I must still take him to Winchester, now, to tell Henry the truth,” he said. “It is imperative that Henry know.”
Tevin nodded. “I know,” he said. “Val will be here shortly with his witnesses. He is completely willing to go to Henry and tell him everything.”
“What a quagmire this is.”
“That is an understatement.”
D’Vant abruptly caught sight of something over by the gatehouse of Selborne and Tevin turned to see men spilling forth on horseback, including Val, Kenan, and Calum. There were several soldiers with them but Val was in the lead, charging towards Tevin and Dacian. The sound of thundering hooves made some of the other horses nervous, made worse when Val finally pulled his horse to a halt and sprayed mud and rocks all over the legs of the other horses. Unhappy animals and frustrated men shuffled about, vying for control.
“Dacian,” Val greeted the man evenly. “This must be serious if Henry has sent his Captain of the Guard. I would presume you have come for me?”
Dacian was trying to soothe his excited horse. “You presumed correctly,” he said, trying to ascertain Val’s state of mind– was he angry? Relieved? Fearful? “Lord du Reims just told me what happened with de Morville and the others. Do you have the forged missive with you? Henry will want to see it.”
Val nodded, reaching over to hand Tevin his possessions. “I have it,” he said. “Did he tell you everything?”
“I did,” Tevin said as he settled his bags on the back of his horse. “He knows that de Morville delivered it to you. He knows that it was de Morville who killed Canterbury.”
Val nodded, looking to d’Vant and seeing the man’s bewilderment. “The missive was delivered by men who haddelivered such missives to me before, Dacian,” he said simply. “There was no reason not to trust them.”
Dacian could see what a terrible misunderstanding this had been, a betrayal of Val and of his reputation. “There was no reason you should have,” he said, disgusted. “That they used your trust to betray you… I am having a difficult time accepting that. These were men in my command for many years.”
“And they were my friends for many years,” Val said with a hint of regret. “But what they did… even if I am declared innocent by Henry, still, rumors are flying that I murdered Canterbury. It will take years to clear my reputation.”
That was a very true statement and d’Vant felt deeply for him. He shook his head sadly. “I am sorry, Val,” he said, his gaze moving to Calum, who was slightly behind Val. His ire rose. “Your brother did this. What do you have to say for him?”
Calum knew the anger wasn’t directed at him, personally, but he still took it that way. His brother had made him look like a fool. “Nothing,” he said flatly. “He sat with me in Val’s solar and looked me in the eye when he told me his lies and handed me the missive that ultimately sent Val to Canterbury. Never, at any time, did I see any hint of mistruth as he spoke. I am as disgusted and astonished by his behavior as anyone else.”
D’Vant didn’t say anything more; this was not the place and now was not the time. They were not going to air all of this now because Henry was waiting for Val and the truth of the matter. D’Vant turned to Val.
“I have come to arrest you,” he said. “You know this.”
Val nodded. “I do.”
“But after what I have been told, I do not feel right doing so. You are an innocent man, Val. I will not treat you like a criminal.”
Val looked at the army behind d’Vant, at least a hundred men, who were all looking at him as if he was someone of suspect. He nodded his head in the direction of the army.
“Your men may feel otherwise,” he said quietly. “Until Henry has declared me innocent, in their eyes, I am still a suspect. You had better restrain me until we reach Winchester or it may go badly for you.”
“But….”
“Carry out Henry’s orders, Dacian. You are to arrest me. Do it.”
Dacian sighed heavily and looked to Tevin, who nodded reluctantly. He understood what Val had said, that it was better to fulfill Henry’s orders for the moment. With great sorrow, Dacian then turned to the men beside him, who had heard everything. They, too, believed in Val’s innocence, but Val had a point– the rest of the army didn’t. They could certainly spread the word but until Henry absolved Val, there would still be those who would consider him a murderer. It was safer for Val if he was, indeed, treated like a criminal, at least until they reached Winchester. Therefore, the man next to Dacian reluctantly handed over a pair of shackles for Val’s wrists.
Val saw the restraints and held his big arms out, extending them for Dacian. Begrudgingly, Dacian put the shackles on– they were two horseshoe-shaped iron bars for each wrist with a bigger bar that went through the loop ends of them, secured on one end with a big iron lock so the bar couldn’t be pulled through. Everything was proceeding peacefully until another horse emerged from the gatehouse of Selborne, thundering down the road towards them.
Val and the others turned to see Vesper charging into their midst, kicking aside the men and horses that didn’t move out of her way fast enough. She was smacking rumps of the horses that didn’t move and slapping aside at least two men who tried tograb her. One man got too close to her and she clawed a hand, scratching his face.
Shocked, Val could hardly believe his eyes. He had no idea why Vesper was here, scratching and kicking men, but he soon found out. She planted herself between him and Dacian, pulling a dagger on Henry’s knight. As Dacian’s eyes widened with surprise, Vesper leveled the weapon most menacingly.
“Get away from him,” she hissed. “If you touch him, I will kill you!”
