The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett [473]
His fury did not abate on the journey to Bishop Waleran’s castle. In fact, as he brooded over what he had learned he got angrier. It was bad enough that the outlaws had been able to defy him; it was worse that they were led by his old enemy Richard; and it was intolerable that they should call Richard the rightful earl. If they were not put down decisively, very soon Richard would use them to launch a direct attack on William. It would be totally illegal for Richard to take over the earldom that way, of course; but William had a feeling that complaints of illegal attack, coming from him, might not get a sympathetic hearing. The fact that William had been ambushed, overcome by outlaws, and robbed, and that the whole county would shortly be laughing at his humiliation, was not the worst of his problems. Suddenly his hold over his earldom was seriously threatened.
He had to kill Richard, of course. The question was how to find him. He brooded over the problem all the way to the castle; and by the time he arrived he had figured out that Bishop Waleran probably held the key.
They rode into Waleran’s castle like a comic procession at a fair, the earl on a dappled cob and his knights driving ox carts. William roared peremptory orders at the bishop’s men, sending one to fetch an infirmarer for Hugh and Louis and another to get a priest to pray for the soul of Guillaume. Gervase and Walter went to the kitchen for beer, and William entered the keep and was admitted to Waleran’s private quarters. William hated to have to ask Waleran for anything, but he needed Waleran’s help in locating Richard.
The bishop was reading an accounts roll, an endless list of numbers. He looked up and saw the rage on William’s face. “What happened?” he said, in a tone of mild amusement that always infuriated William.
William gritted his teeth. “I’ve discovered who is organizing and leading these damned outlaws.”
Waleran raised an eyebrow.
“It’s Richard of Kingsbridge.”
“Ah.” Waleran nodded understanding. “Of course. It makes sense.”
“It makes danger,” William said angrily. He hated it when Waleran was cool and reflective about things. “They call him ‘the rightful earl.’ ” He pointed a finger at Waleran. “You certainly don’t want that family back in charge of this earldom—they hate you, and they’re friends with Prior Philip, your old enemy.”
“All right, calm down,” Waleran said condescendingly. “You’re quite right, I can’t have Richard of Kingsbridge taking over the earldom.”
William sat down. His body was beginning to ache. These days he felt the aftereffects of a fight in a way he never used to. He had strained muscles, sore hands, and bruises where he had been struck or had fallen. I’m only thirty-seven, he thought; is this when old age begins? He said: “I have to kill Richard. Once he’s gone, the outlaws will degenerate into a helpless rabble.”
“I agree.”
“Killing him will be easy. The problem is finding him. But you can help me with that.”
Waleran rubbed his sharp nose with his thumb. “I don’t see how.”
“Listen. If they’re organized, they must be somewhere.”
“I don’t know what you mean. They’re in the forest.”
“You can’t find outlaws in the forest, normally, because they’re scattered all over the place. Most of them don’t spend two nights running in the same spot. They make a fire anywhere, and sleep in trees. But if you want to organize such people, you have to gather them all together in one place. You have to have a permanent hideout.”
“So we have to discover the location of Richard’s hideout.”
“Exactly.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
“That’s where you come in.”
Waleran looked skeptical.
William said: “I bet half the people in Kingsbridge know where it is.”
“But they won’t tell us. Everyone in Kingsbridge hates you and me.”
“Not everyone,” said William. “Not quite.”
Sally thought Christmas was wonderful.
The special Christmas food was mostly sweet: gingerbread dolls; frumenty, made with wheat and eggs and honey; perry, the sweet pear wine that made her giggly; and Christmas umbles, tripes boiled for hours,