‘No,’ said Geoffrey, taking a deep breath and forcing his wits to work. ‘You saw how much blood was spilled. The killers would have been drenched in it, but Donan and his men were not.’
‘Perhaps they washed before we came,’ suggested Bale.
‘Their clothes were those they wore when they escaped the wreck, and they were not wet. They are not the culprits. However, that is not to say Fingar and the rest of the crew are innocent.’
‘They may be wandering along some path even now, all red and splattered with gore,’ added Bale, eyes gleaming.
‘They are,’ declared Magnus firmly. ‘And anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.’
Harold scrubbed his cheeks; he was beginning to pull himself together. ‘Ulf said he would meet me here, so I suppose I should see if he is among the dead. .’ He faltered, then looked at Geoffrey. ‘I do not suppose you would oblige, would you? He looks like me.’
Eight
Harold dropped to his knees in horror when he saw Ulf’s body, and it was some time before the round-faced pretender to the crown was able to speak. He staggered to his feet, and the others came to stand next to him in mute sympathy.
‘He is covered in blood,’ he said hoarsely. ‘How did it happen?’
‘His throat was cut,’ said Geoffrey. He did not look at Bale. ‘By a madman.’
‘Some of this blood is dry,’ said Juhel, kneeling to inspect the corpse’s clothes, ‘and some is wet. What can be deduced from that?’
‘He is a disinherited Saxon in a land inhabited by Normans,’ said Magnus harshly. ‘He was probably obliged to fight for his life at some point.’
Geoffrey looked to where Juhel pointed. Ulf must have been fighting over a prolonged period, if the stains were anything to go by. However, there were no splatters or sprays, which Geoffrey would have expected had he been involved in killing the villagers. So, if Ulf was innocent of the massacre, then it made sense to assume Fingar was responsible — Geoffrey had seen him kill two of his own men without hesitation, so villagers would present no problem. Magnus was right: the atrocity was the work of ruthless pirates furious at being deprived of their ship and gold.
‘I will ask my father to say a mass for his soul if you like,’ said Roger kindly to Harold. ‘From what I heard, Ulf will need it, and prayers from a bishop go a long way.’
‘Thank you,’ said Harold weakly. ‘We did not know each other well — fate meant we have been separated most of our lives — but he is still my brother, and I loved him.’
‘His death may be a blessing in disguise,’ said Magnus, rather baldly. ‘It means one fewer contender for the throne. And his rough temper and violent reputation might have put people off joining our rebellion. I told you to keep news of our plans away from him, and you ignored me.’
‘He has a right to be here,’ said Harold tiredly. ‘His claim is as valid as yours or mine.’
‘Shall we bury them?’ asked Bale, breaking into the discussion before Magnus could reply. ‘If we should treat corpses with respect, we had better not abandon a Saxon king to the carrion crows.’
Geoffrey saw his earnest expression and knew he was trying to make amends for what he had done.
‘Should I say a prayer?’ asked Lucian. ‘I am a monk, so I know how.’
‘Then you should not need to ask whether you should do it,’ said Geoffrey. ‘Of course you should pray. The church is a good place to start.’
‘No,’ said Lucian hastily. ‘I am not going in there. Not with all those. . No!’
Geoffrey frowned. There was no way to know exactly when the massacre had occurred, but Lucian had been alone in the woods all night. There was no blood on his habit, but that did not mean he was not involved in some way.
‘Have you been here before?’ he asked the monk, who was already kneeling.
Lucian opened one eye to look at him. ‘You know I have not: I already told you that I hail from Bath and that I have abbey business in Ribe. Why would I ever have been in Werlinges?’
Geoffrey did not know whether to believe him, but it was not the time for an interrogation.
‘Take Ulf’s body inside the church,’ he ordered Bale. ‘Then we shall seal the doors. De Laigle may have a better idea about what happened if we leave everything as we found it.’
‘Then why seal the doors?’ asked Roger. ‘He should see them as they are: smashed open.’
‘Because he may take some time to arrive, and we do not want dogs and foxes chewing the corpses. Hurry up, Bale! We should aim for the castle as soon as possible.’
‘The castle?’ echoed Magnus. ‘We are going to the abbey.’
‘We need to inform de Laigle about this — back the way we came.’ And then, Geoffrey thought, de Laigle could deal with the massacre and the rebellion at the same time.
‘We will take the horses,’ said Roger. ‘If we meet the pirates, we can ride straight through them.’
‘But those are mine!’ exclaimed Magnus indignantly. ‘If you take them, what will I ride?’
‘No one will take the horses,’ said Geoffrey firmly. ‘It is possible that the priest did not purchase them for you, and they belong to the village — or to the Crown now all Werlinges is dead. We do not want to be accused of theft, so we will leave them here.’
‘In that case, you would do better going to La Batailge,’ said Harold. ‘And ask Galfridus — the head monk — to send one of his fast messengers to de Laigle.’
‘Besides, the tide is coming in and you cannot navigate the marshes alone,’ added Magnus. ‘And I am not going with you. I am a king, and I have had enough of bogs for a while.’
‘They cannot both be king,’ muttered Roger under his breath. ‘One will be disappointed.’
‘Both will be disappointed,’ replied Geoffrey. ‘However, I am increasingly suspicious of Magnus. I do not like the fact that he says he hid behind the church while we did battle. Not only was it cowardly but it is not true. He was not hiding behind the place, but in it.’
‘Perhaps that is what made him sick — the sight of those poor devils. I cannot condemn him for that, Geoff. Even I find such sights unsettling. And I have seen them all before.’
‘His sickness came later, when the battle was over. But when he came out of the chapel, he had something in his hand. I saw him drop it in the well over there.’
‘A weapon?’ asked Roger.
‘No. It was a package — it looked like documents — and he threw it away when he thought we were all preoccupied. And then he was sick.’
‘Documents? You mean that list of names you saw — tallies of troops?’
‘I do not know. It could have been, although I was under the impression it was something he had taken from the church.’
Roger was thoughtful. ‘Does he pose a danger to us? Other than the mere fact of our association with him?’
‘No,’ said Geoffrey. ‘I think he will bide his time until he thinks he has a real chance at the throne. But then I think he will kill Harold.’
There was a bitter argument when Geoffrey ordered Magnus and Harold to unsaddle the horses. Having met the drunken de Laigle, he knew it would be unwise to remove anything from a village that might later be forfeit to the Crown, even though the Saxons assured him that the nags would be returned. He did not trust them to honour their promises, or de Laigle to appreciate the difference between borrowing and stealing. The reaction of decent men to the massacre would be horror, and he knew from experience that such emotions often led to accusing fingers being pointed at convenient scapegoats. And he had no intention of being hanged because the Saxons were too lazy to walk.
‘It is wrong to deprive me of my mount,’ muttered Magnus resentfully. ‘No one will think I had anything to do with this nasty business.’
‘I hope they do not accuse Ulf,’ said Harold unhappily. ‘He has a reputation for ferocity, but he would never become embroiled in something like this. We must make certain that the blame rests with the sailors. It was hardly Ulf’s fault that he happened to be here when they attacked.’