The Forest - Edward Rutherfurd [38]
Edgar had never fathomed exactly how his father came by his information. Was it the friends he had made on the royal hunts who kept him informed? Strange people with messages would appear from time to time. Or was it his monthly visits to an old friend up at the castle of Sarum? Or other sources encountered on his occasional unexplained absences? Who knew? ‘Maybe it’s the forest owls talking to him,’ Edgar’s brother had once suggested. Whatever it was, the old man heard things and during that winter Edgar could see that he was becoming worried. In November he had sent his older son to London to attend to a matter of business, which was to keep him there some months. To Edgar the old man had grunted: ‘You stay here. I need you with me.’
When Edgar had ventured, once or twice, to ask his father what was on his mind, Cola had been evasive, but when he had frankly asked ‘You fear another plot against the king?’ his father had not denied it. ‘Dangerous times, Edgar,’ he had muttered and refused to be drawn any further.
The possibilities for intrigue were so many that Edgar could hardly guess from which quarter the danger might be coming now. There were the supporters of Robert, of course; and one of these held the lands on the forest’s southern coast. But further behind might be the King of France, fearful of an attack on his own territory if aggressive Rufus became his neighbour in Normandy. Or it could be something less obvious. Only four years before there had been a plot to assassinate Rufus and put his sister’s husband, the French Count of Blois on the throne. Tyrrell’s relations, the powerful family of Clare, had been involved in that before they suddenly changed sides and warned Rufus of his danger. And as they had already been involved in other plots in the past it seemed clear to Edgar that the Clares, including their henchmen like Tyrrell, were not to be trusted. The Church, with no reason to love Rufus, would hardly be sorry to see him fall either.
But why should these great affairs worry his father so much? Whoever the next king was, he would probably be glad of the services of the expert forester and Cola had always been good at staying out of trouble. Why, then, should he be so concerned? Was he implicated? It remained a puzzle.
Edgar was a dutiful son. He did not go to Winchester. He stayed at his father’s side, patrolled the Forest and made sure that most of the deer came safely through the winter.
Towards the end of the season another rumour reached England. Robert of Normandy, on his way back from crusade – where he had fought rather well – had stopped in southern Italy. Not only was he given a crusading hero’s welcome there, but it seemed he had found a bride who would bring him a fabulous dowry. ‘Enough to pay off the loan and get back Normandy,’ Cola remarked. For some reason the Italians were also calling Robert the King of England. ‘God knows what that means,’ Cola continued, ‘but even if he pays off the loan, Rufus isn’t going to let him back into Normandy. He’ll use force. And then Robert’s friends will be after Rufus’s blood.’
‘I still don’t see why this need affect us in the Forest,’ Edgar commented. But his father only shook his head and refused to say more.
Another month passed and there was no more news from any quarter. Except, of course, the worrying news from Hugh de Martell.
When Adela saw Hugh de Martell standing at the door of her lodgings, for a moment she could not hardly believe it.
There had been a shower, which had cleared, leaving the streets glistening in the watery sun. A sharp, early spring breeze had given her cheeks a flush and made them slightly numb, as she went for a quick walk round the cathedral precincts and the market.
She gave a little involuntary gasp. His tall, handsome form was so exactly as she always saw him in her mind’s eye. She thought she would have known him even if he were halfway across the Forest. Yet he also