The King Is Dead (16 page)

He smiled, "I know not.  I just collect it.  I was ordered to do this by the Duke or one of his officials, my lord."

"Then have you the name of the official?  It might be useful when I write to the Duke."

"I think he has left now, my lord."

He was shifty and he was lying.  Not one word was the truth. "Then who orders your tax collection now?  Who has told you what our tax is to be this year?"

He shrugged, "I was just going to take the same as last year, my lord."

"Then I will speak with the Duke.  Until I receive orders from him you and your men will continue to be my guests."

"But that may be weeks!"

"We will feed you and my men will watch you."

When the door clanged shut and was locked I said to Wulfric.  "Make sure they are good sentries and warn them of tricks.  We do not wish another incident such as we had at our castle last Christmas."

Wulfric nodded, "We will be careful."

The King and the Earl had a small entourage with them when they arrived.  He was in good spirits. "Have you seen my grandsons, Cleveland?  Henry will be a great warrior and Geoffrey has lungs like a rutting stag! They are fine boys!"

"And are you reconciled now, my liege?"

"I think so.  I thank you for your efforts.  We argued less and smiled more. Each day you rise in my standing."

"Then perhaps you will not think so when I tell you what I have done and I may fall in your estimation."

He frowned, "What have you done that would offend me, Earl?"

"I have arrested your tax collector and his men.  They are locked in my donjon."

"What?" His face changed from a smile to a scowl in an instant. This was the King men feared to cross.

"I believe he has been taking more tax from this manor than he should have.  I took it upon myself to take action."

"I hope you have good reasons.  This is tantamount to treason."

I smiled, sadly, "And when have you known me to be treasonous in any shape or form, your majesty? But if I am wrong I will submit, happily to your justice."

The Earl of Gloucester said, "But you do not believe you will have to do, do you, Alfraed?"

"No, I do not."

The King rose,  "Come then take me to these men and let us get it sorted out."

When we opened the cell door Gilles of Arromanche leapt to his feet, "Now I shall have justice! My lord, this man struck me and unjustly imprisoned me. I demand that he be punished!"

It was the wrong thing to say to King Henry. One did not demand anything of King Henry. "Sit down until we can get to the bottom of this.  Earl, you said you had evidence?"

I took the parchment which had been signed by Gilles of Arromanche.  "Here are the tax records for the last few years. The top one is the most recent one, your majesty. As you can see the amount of tax being collected has gone up year on year.  And yet the population and the salt have not increased."

The King frowned and then pointed the parchment at his tax collector, "Have you an explanation?"

The tax collector looked shifty again, "Perhaps I was asked to collect the wrong amount."

I nodded, "In which case you are innocent of any wrong doing. However a misdeed occurred.  My people have suffered because of high taxes. Are they entitled to be reimbursed, your majesty?"

He shook his head, "The money will have been spent. However that does not excuse you, my lord, from your action.  If this was the only evidence then you acted hastily."

Gilles of Arromanche said triumphantly, "He should be punished, my lord! He has acted without evidence."

I nodded, "So it would seem." I gestured to my castellan who was waiting close by. "Leofric."

My castellan handed me the parchment which Sir Henry de Varenne had sent to me.  It was a large document.  I unfurled it and showed it to the King. "This was sent from Le Mans by Sir Henry de Varenne. It is an account of the tax which was received from this manor since it became part of Normandy and Maine. As you can see the amount the Dukedom has been paid has not altered in that whole time." I turned to Gilles de Arromanche.  He was now cowering, "So where is the money you collected and did not pay to the Duke?"

"I do not understand.  It must be a mistake."

The King's face was flushed with anger, "Sir Henry de Varenne is an honourable man." He put his hand on my shoulder, "As is the Earl of Cleveland.  I am sorry I doubted you.  Where is the money?"

"I know not! It was not me! You have to believe that!"

The Earl of Gloucester said, "I have my interrogator outside.  He has not brought his tools of torture but I am certain we can improvise."

The fear and terror was written all over the tax collector's face.

"There may be an easier way, your majesty." He looked at me.  I walked over to the six guards who looked terrified. "These men have to have known what was going on.  Perhaps we could give them their freedom, if they tell the truth about their master."

The Earl snapped, "They will, of course, have to be punished.  But the loss of a couple of fingers is preferable to death, is it not?"

They looked at each other and the leader said, "We will talk!"

Gilles tried to stand.  The Earl hit him hard and he fell to the ground. "Bring the six to your hall, Earl, and we will question them individually."

We locked the door and Wulfric and my men watched the other five while we interrogated the sixth.  Their stories were all the same and so we believed them.  They had not had time to concoct them.  The tax collector had been stealing, not only from my manor, but also the other ones which had been captured from Anjou.  The money had been taken, not to Le Mans, but into France where Gilles de Arromanche had a home. The most interesting point was that they did not visit the house themselves.  Their master travelled by himself. The six thought nothing of it but to me it meant that the home was not far across the border else he would not risk the brigands who might steal his gold.  The Earl dealt with the six and sent them, horseless and weaponless on their way.

"Your majesty, I like this not."

"Neither do I. It explains the unrest in Anjou and the borders.  They see me as a tyrant who steals from them and allows this to continue."

The Earl said, "And I smell France and Fat Louis in all of this!"

The King stood, "There is one way to find out.  Fetch the prisoner and we will question him."

When he was brought before us he tried to bluster his way out of it but the King now had the evidence.  Once the Earl applied a little force he began to tell all that he knew. All that the men had told us was confirmed and then he made me sit up and take even more notice.

"Say again.  What is the name of the knight to whom you took the gold and received your orders?"

He gave me a surly look and shook his head.  Blood flicked from his broken nose. The Earl stabbed him through the palm of his hand with is dagger, "Speak!"

He screamed in pain and blurted out, "Guy de Senonches. I go to the village of Senonches."

King Henry said, "The same knight who attacked the north."

"The same."

We spent another hour extracting every piece of information from him then the King said, "Take him and hang him from the gates of the castle.  Let the people see that I punish those who would hurt them."

"But I told you all!"

"And that is why you are not being hung, drawn and quartered. I am showing mercy.  Fetch a priest to hear his confession first!"

Wulfric dragged him away.  Leofric had a priest and the man would die shriven, at least. "France, France, France, always it is France!"

The Earl of Gloucester nodded, "It will come to war soon enough."

The King closed his eyes in thought and when he opened them a fire burned.  "Earl, return to Stockton and scour the borders. I want peace burning into the land.  Robert, do the same with the Welsh marches.  When both are pacified I will send for you and we will visit our wrath upon this Senonches and hopefully stir Louis into war. We have been passive for too long.  If he wants war he can have it."

I spoke quietly and respectfully to the King about the overpaid taxes. He shook his head, "We cannot afford to pay them back.  The treasure you brought from the Archbishop is needed to lower the taxes for all.  Until we get the gold back from Louis and this Senonches then I am afraid I can do nothing."

The King was right.  The Norman lords of the manor needed something to keep them in line and on the King's side. We did not need the money.  The ransoms had been paid and I left the coin with Leofric.  He would use it wisely.

We left the same day as the King. Matilda and the Count had sent a letter inviting me to spend some time with them in Angers.  I wrote back telling them I would return the next year.  The King's command meant I would not be in England as much as I might have wished.  The King went north and we headed towards the river.  As we passed beneath the swaying corpse of the tax collector I saw William looking up in fear.  Wulfric said, "Fear not, young lord.  That is the punishment for those who are traitors.  If your heart is true you will die a warrior, on the battlefield with a sword in your hand."

"If it is all the same to you Wulfric I would just as soon live and be a great knight like my father."

Wulfric laughed, "A good choice! You are learning wisdom too!"

Our plans to use the salt barges stood us in good stead and we were soon able to hire a cog to take us all the way to Stockton.  The winter storms had not yet begun else it would have cost us a fortune to tempt a captain to risk his ship in the stormy Channel. We would be safe from pirates for the seas and the weather made visibility poor.  It took four days of hard sailing to beat up to Stockton and never had my castle looked more welcoming.  Its towers and walls now seemed reassuringly safe.

John, my squire, had shown his worth and all was prepared for our arrival. I almost wanted to run into my castle and to begin work.  War was coming.  I could feel it.  As I strode through my gates, absent mindedly acknowledging the waves of my sentries I pondered the situation. I still did not trust Stephen of Blois but even I knew that had he wanted power he and his men could have held back during our two battles. He had fought as hard as any. He was not an immediate danger.  The French were. Sir Guy de Senonches seemed central to it.  The thread from Louis led, through de Senonches, to the borders. We needed to do what we had done in the summer, take men north but this time take force and campaign hard.

John, my steward, and Alice waited for me at the door to my hall.

"My lord, welcome home."

"Thank you,  John told you of my plans for Christmas?" They both nodded but I saw the pain in their eyes at the memory of events the previous year. "This year we will be more secure and we hire no outsiders for the celebration. We make do with the servants and slaves we have.  Understood?"  They both nodded. "I wish the same guests to be invited.  See to it John.  And Alice, we have brought some spices from Anjou. Make the puddings special, eh?"

"Aye my lord! Spices! Luxury indeed." She shook her head, "When I tended swine I never thought that I would live in such circumstances. I will do all in my power to make this the best Christmas ever.  The memory of last year will disappear like the mist on the Tees."

"That is the spirit.  And, John, I will deal with all my manorial duties this week. I have visits to make before Christmas."

"Aye my lord." He turned to go and then he said, "One thing, my lord, Erre has been ill with the coughing sickness. Father Henry tended to him and he is on the mend but he is too ill to attend to his duties."

"It matters not, John.  We care for our people until the day the Good Lord takes them from us."

"Aye my lord, I know, I was just letting you know for he was keen to return to duty."

"I will speak with him."

Erre commanded the castle in my absence.  He was no longer a young man.  In fact he and the Varangians were now the oldest men in my castle but they were still doughty warriors. Turning to William I handed him sword and helmet. "I will speak with Erre.  When I return I would speak with you and John about the coming campaign. Have some wine brought to my Great Hall."

William The Mason had gradually enlarged my castle.  Each time we had coin to spare it went into a new tower or building. The outer wall now enclosed the stables, the bakery and the kitchen.  We had demolished the old wooden ones and built a larger warrior hall where they had stood. It made it less likely that the castle could catch fire but it also meant that my warriors were close to hand. William had built one on two floors.  The men at arms occupied one floor and the archers the other.  The hall was empty save for Erre and the slave who swept the building.

"Garth, go and find Father Henry and tell him I have returned and would speak with him."

Erre tried to rise.  "My lord I..." he subsided in a paroxysm of coughing.

"Lie still, that is a command." He lay back.  I brought the tallow candle closer so that I could see him better. He was thin and he was pale. He had lost weight.  He opened his eyes and I saw that they were watery. "So, my friend, the English climate has brought you to this."