‘But if he has his own proctor involved-’ Meg began, but Simon cut her off.
‘No! He has the support of two or three Brothers already, I suppose — John Fromund and Richard Mountori, certainly — but that’s not the point. Even when he’s put in his complaint, he’ll try to mobilise as many people as possible within and without the monastery to aid him. And he looks on me as having influence.’
‘Because your father used to be his father’s servant,’ Meg nodded.
‘Yes. And because he set me to spy on Busse, and will seek me to work for him again. That is why I must hide from any Abbey messengers.’
‘But it could be that it’s Robert Busse who is sending for you.’
Simon groaned. ‘In God’s name, I pray it’s not! For he’s the man whom I spied on, and I still don’t know what he has attempted in order to win the abbacy for himself. I trust neither of them, and whoever I offer support to, the other may win, and then destroy me. Our livelihoods depend upon the Abbot, whoever he may be, and to have to pick one now is a task I should much rather avoid. So if it’s a messenger from the Abbey, keep him here, Meg, please. Just give me a few moments. Tell him I’m at the castle, love, and I’ll bolt from the rear here.’
Meg shook her head in exasperation at the weakness of her husband. ‘I’ll try to, Simon, but some messengers can be most insistent.’
He looked at her, and she raised her eyebrows. ‘What?’
‘Nothing.’
He grinned to himself as she walked back to the little lean-to building which contained the copper and brewing barrels, and then turned and fled.
Tower of London
The guard at the door snapped to attention as soon as he recognised the coat-of-arms. Only a fool would not show respect to this man.
Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, half-brother to the King, barely noticed him. The discipline of a prickle-witted guard was nothing to him.
Inside the large chamber he saw the man he was expecting. ‘Well?’
‘My Lord.’
The man rose and now bowed low for him. Edmund set his teeth, but he could not in all conscience insult him for displaying the correct deference. ‘Yes, yes. Please, sit. Now, what can you tell me?’
Piers de Wrotham had been loyal to him even before he had joined the Earl at the attack on Leeds Castle. Short, with a slim build and thick black hair that was greasy and stayed plastered to his brow when he swept off his cap, he was narrow-featured, and had the look of a clerk rather than an astute spy and information-gatherer. However, the Earl knew that he could collect news more efficiently than ten of the King’s men. ‘My Lord, there are many dangerous stories. However, I fear that nothing is good for you.’
Kent growled. He had expected such news, but it didn’t make it any the more palatable. ‘Since those bastards pulled the rug from beneath my feet, they’ve done all in their power to destroy me — I’ll not accept it, damn their souls!’
Piers watched him with unblinking eyes. He had a gift of silence and stillness that was oddly owl-like. When his master had kicked a chair and slumped into it, he began again. ‘You were foully betrayed in Guyenne, and many believe that to be the case now. Yet still Despenser pours out more lies to justify his own position.’
‘He never supported us. Didn’t give a ha’penny for all the King’s lands over the water. All he wants is money. He’ll take it, too, you mark my words. He’ll bloody take it. There’s no picking so rich that he won’t get his hands on it, the bastard!’
‘My Lord, you are still young. He is a middle-aged man, while you are in your prime at five-and-twenty. You are an Earl, while he remains a knight. You have years on your side.’
Edmund gave a short laugh. ‘You think he will remain a knight? He has already been granted the Temple, and as soon as Despenser the elder dies, my brother the King will endow him with the Earldom of Winchester, whereas I’ll be left to moulder. I’m only the King’s half-brother — and the youngest of us. Sweet Christ, I’m nothing to them. No, the crafty shite will take all in the end.’
‘Not if people can be made to appreciate how badly he let the nation down in the matter of Guyenne,’ Piers murmured. ‘My Lord, you have been accused of surrender and accepting a less than adequate truce. We know that was because you received no aid from Despenser. But now there is a need for a lasting peace — and without the King losing all his territories in France. Perhaps if you could be shown to have been instrumental in preparing a magnificent arrangement with the French that protected the good King’s lands, it would enhance your reputation at the same time as damaging the Despenser’s?’
‘If you could so arrange matters, I would be even more in your debt,’ Kent said. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. ‘Could you do this?’
Piers was still again. In his eyes Kent thought he saw a little flare of contempt. Surely not. Maybe it was hurt that he could doubt his own spy-master’s ability. ‘I don’t question your skills, man,’ he said briskly. ‘Only the numbers of enemies about us. Look at the allies of Despenser …’
‘There are as many who now profess loyalty to him as used to be loyal to others. A rich man can attract allies, but once let there be a suggestion that he may lose all his money, that his power and influence are on the wane, and see how his friends will flee.’
‘Like who?’ Kent wondered aloud, for to him it was all but inconceivable that a man of integrity could desert his master or friend.
‘My Lord, you need only look at some of the men of the Church. If you were to be instrumental in winning a victory for peace with France, you would have many of them on your side. Adam Orleton, Bishop of Hereford, is already Sir Hugh’s enemy. Then there is Henry Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln, John of Drokensford, Bishop of Bath and Wells — all these could soon become Despenser’s enemies. Even Roger Martival of Salisbury could grow disillusioned with him and turn to your side.’
‘None of them have ever been close to him.’
‘No, but many have not declared for him. If Lincoln, Bath and Wells and Salisbury were to grow even more opposed to the Despensers, their weight would tilt the balance and others would grow bolder. So many are already disillusioned with the rule of these tyrants, it may take little to persuade them to turn against Despenser. But this time, no exile. The two Despensers must be removed utterly.’
‘That would be to the good of the country. But how can we do this?’
‘By the judicious use of near-truths, untruths and wholesome lies. Men are always prepared to believe lies, so long as they reinforce their own prejudices,’ Piers said with a smile. ‘All you need do is lie in the way they wish to hear.’
Queen’s Cloister, Thorney Isle
Alicia hurried along the corridor, her skirts held up to keep them away from the mess that had accumulated here. She was on her way from the Queen’s rooms to the chapel.
The Queen’s Chapel. How ironic. The one woman who was not permitted to wander freely, who couldn’t write a letter without it being checked, who had seen her children stolen from her, who was incarcerated here without even the solace of her own household — it was named for her. While the woman who had all the real power here, who held in her dainty little fingers the keys to the Queen’s chambers … she was merely termed a ‘lady-in-waiting’.
It was hateful to Alicia, this place. There was nothing here for a young woman like her. Sweet Mother Mary, how could any woman survive amongst such poison? My Lady Eleanor, wife to Sir Hugh le Despenser, was amiable enough, but she had married him, and any woman married to such an evil soul was bound to become infected.