‘Delay could cost lives, my lord,’ he claimed.
‘Be silent!’
‘That message must be sent at once.’
‘I make the decisions here,’ growled Hugh, ‘and I do not need your interference. A close friend of mine was laid in his grave today, a fine man cut down by some cowardly Welsh archer. Should I not avenge the death of Raoul Lambert instead of trying to make peace with his killers?’
‘No, my lord.’
‘One person shot that arrow,’ said Gervase reasonably, ‘and not the entire population of Gwynedd.’
Hugh turned on him. ‘Who slew my messenger?’ he demanded.
‘Who gathered a raiding party outside Rhuddlan Castle? Who is threatening to attack this city? We are up against far more than one man here, Gervase.’
‘Deliver that message from Gruffydd ap Cynan,’ said Idwal, ‘and you may be up against nobody at all. You fought hard to impose peace on North Wales, my lord. Will you throw it away so recklessly?’
‘I told you to be quiet!’ snarled Hugh.
‘But I have been your mediator.’
‘ Enough!’
The force of his yell quelled even the ebullient Idwal. Hugh rose from the table and stalked off down the hall with the letter still in his hand. Gervase tried to catch the archdeacon’s eye and signal him into discretion. Having gone to such trouble to obtain the co-operation of Gruffydd ap Cynan, it would be galling to see it spurned now. Idwal bristled with disgust but held his tongue.
Earl Hugh struggled with his conscience. Though his instinct was for military action, he was keenly aware of the possible consequences and knew that he was bound to suffer losses. Even without their prince to lead them, the Welsh army would be formidable. The city of Chester would not thank him if some of its menfolk fell in an unnecessary conflict.
On the other hand, Raoul Lambert’s murder inflamed him yet and he still believed that the assassin’s arrow was really intended for his own heart. Such audacity, he felt, should not go unpunished. He glanced through the window and saw Gruffydd ap Cynan being escorted round the perimeter of the bailey by four guards and the vision swayed him. Why had he taken the man hostage if not to preserve peace? What power the prisoner still had over his people should be used to enforce a truce.
Precipitate action would serve nobody.
Turning to face the others, he held out the letter. ‘So be it,’ he said. ‘See it delivered.’
‘Praise be to God!’ exclaimed Idwal.
The archdeacon moved forward but Gervase held him back with a hand on his arm, indicating that he himself would receive the document from the earl. Before he could do so, however, there was a banging on the door and it swung open to reveal a breathless soldier in full armour. Covered with dust and perspiration, the man had clearly been riding hard.
Hugh immediately beckoned him over and withdrew to a corner to hear his tidings. His rage soon ignited again. When he swung round once more, his face was purple with fury. Instead of handing the letter to Gervase, he tore it into a dozen pieces and threw them in the air.
‘My lord!’ cried Idwal in despair. ‘You have just destroyed our one hope of peace.’
‘The Welsh army has already done that,’ retorted Hugh. ‘They have blocked the road to Rhuddlan and are gathering for attack.
We will be ready for them.’ He glanced out of the window again.
‘Suspend all privileges for Gruffydd ap Cynan. Throw him back into the dungeon where he belongs!’
Chapter Seventeen
The news hit Golde with the force of a blow. Flinging herself into his arms, she clung tightly to her husband and looked up beseechingly into his face.
‘Do not get involved, Ralph,’ she implored.
‘I may have to, my love.’
‘This is not your battle.’
‘Every able-bodied soldier will be needed.’
‘But that phase of your life is over now,’ she cried. ‘You have said so many times. You came here as a commissioner on royal business, not as a soldier.’
‘Nothing is more important than protecting the border, Golde,’
he said. ‘That, too, is royal business. You know it as well as anyone. You lived in Hereford all those years and saw the damage that the Welsh can do when they launch an attack. How can I stand aside when we are threatened by a marauding army?’
‘You are too old to fight.’
‘Thank you!’
‘It is true, Ralph.’
‘I still have strength enough to lift a sword,’ he said with a grin, ‘and energy enough for other exertions, as you can bear witness. Do not consign me to the mortuary just yet. I have a few more years in me before I expire from old age.’
‘Will nothing stop you?’
‘No, my love.’
‘Not even my entreaty?’
‘If I am called by Earl Hugh, I must go.’
‘Why?’
‘It is a question of duty.’
‘You owe none to the Earl of Chester.’
‘He is our host. I have a natural obligation.’
‘To lay down your life because he has become embroiled in a war against the Welsh?’ She clung even tighter. ‘I’ll not let you go, Ralph. I’ll keep you back by force.’
‘And shame me in front of the others? No, Golde.’
‘I don’t want to lose you.’
‘Nor will you,’ he said, holding her by the shoulders and gazing into her anxious face. ‘I was born and bred to fight, my love. I have come through a dozen battles with no more than a scratch.
Why should this one be any different?’
‘Your luck is bound to run out one day.’
‘Luck!’ He gave a mirthless laugh. ‘There is no luck in surviving a battle, Golde. It takes strength, skill and guts. I know that you fear for your husband but there is no need to insult him as well.’
‘I am sorry.’
‘Pride is at stake here, my love.’
‘I know.’
‘And my oath of loyalty to King William. What would he think of me if I skulked here in the castle while Earl Hugh was leading his army in the field? He would never forgive me. More to the point, I would never forgive myself.’
Golde sighed and pulled away. ‘She was right.’
‘Who was?’
‘The Lady Ermintrude.’
‘What did she say?’
‘That you could not resist a call to arms.’
‘It depends on who does the calling.’
‘I do, Ralph,’ she said with passion. ‘I call you to stay with your wife. You have nothing to prove to me. I saw your bravery in York, in Canterbury and in Oxford. I know that you are a fine soldier.
But the time has come to retire.’
‘I do not recognise the word.’
‘The Lady Ermintrude warned me of that as well.’
‘Then you should have listened to her.’
‘I thought that I knew you better, Ralph.’
‘Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, Golde,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Try to stop seeing this as a betrayal of you. If I do get involved in the fighting — and it is by no means certain at this stage — but if I do, I will be helping to protect you and everyone else in this city. What would happen if every husband laid down his arms and stayed at home with a frightened wife? It is not possible, my love. It is not just.’ He spread his arms. ‘It is not manly.’
She nodded in agreement and heaved a sigh of regret.
They were in their chamber at the castle. Golde had been talking with Ermintrude when she heard the agitation down in the courtyard and saw the soldiers being hastily assembled to receive their orders. Rushing back to her own apartment, she found Ralph torn between sadness and excitement, distressed by the apparent collapse of the peace initiative set up by Archdeacon Idwal yet almost exhilarated by the opportunity to take his part in the coming conflict.
For her benefit, he tried to play down the dangers he might face and to hide the inner thrill that he was experiencing.
‘It may be over in a matter of days, my love.’
‘An hour of fighting would be too long.’