Page 121 of Raven's Rise
“Very well,” said Drogo. “But what of the thieves?”
“Ah.” Lady Katherine now looked truly pained. “The thieves were Ernald’s idea, and Otto is innocent of that. This is what comes of pretending too well. Everyone believed that chest was full of gold…including Ernald.”
“You hag!” Ernald burst out. “I never said that!”
“Ernald, you are not nearly as subtle as you think,” his mother told him, a new tartness in her voice. “I heard you plotting and planning at Dryton. Why do some men think that women are deaf and blind, just because we do not always speak? But I will no longer stand here and let both of you avoid justice.”
“You overheard Ernald’s plans, then?” Drogo pressed, now eager to get to the meat of the tale.
Katherine nodded. “I did. He wanted the money for himself, and he was irked at Otto for keeping him subservient for so long, even years after his older brother’s death. He plotted with his own cronies and came up with a plan to have the cortège robbed of its treasure.”
Drogo said, “This I believe, based on what I’ve learned. But Ernald was more brutal than his father—he gave instruction that all traveling with the cortège should be killed…except for the few loyal to him.”
“Even Angelet was to be killed?” It was Rafe who spoke now, just as caught up by Katherine’s revelation as everyone else. “I thought that was Bethany’s doing, because Ernald wanted to marry her himself.”
“That I could not say for certain,” Katherine admitted. “Both Otto and I knew Ernald held a certain passion for his sister-in-law. It troubled me, and I did urge my husband to find a solution—sending Angelet to a nunnery would keep her safe from Ernald. But he chased after her. It’s possible he wanted her alive, and the maid Bethany acted out of jealousy. Certainly, my son would be a fool to say otherwise at this point.”
Drogo took a deep breath. “So it was Ernald’s plan to rob the cortège by force. But Sir Rafe turned out to be a formidable opponent during the initial fight, and his decision to take Angelet and flee meant that the thieves would have had to give chase. They might have done so….except that they had already learned the truth that the chest was empty. No one anticipated that it would have cracked open during the skirmish—it revealed Otto’s deception. Ernald didn’t know about the worthless chest, but his thieves assumed he set them up. They abandoned the job and returned to Dryton to confront Ernald. Is this what happened, my lady Katherine?”
The woman nodded. “That was how he learned of the disaster before anyone else, and how he came to be looking for Angelet himself.”
Then, all at once, Lady Katherine put her hands to her face. “Years I have lived with them, and I tried to love them. I tried to do my duty as a wife and a mother. I kept silence for far too long, over too many things when I should have spoken out. And look what it has come to.”
She looked pleadingly at Angelet, who had no idea what to say.
Then King Stephen cleared his throat. “It seems to me that I have the answers I need. Lady Katherine, you are overwrought, and that is no wonder. You are excused.”
“Let me help her, your grace!” Angelet rose to help the older woman walk. Taking her arm, she whispered, “It’s all right now, my lady. It is over.” She glanced at Rafe as she left, and saw how still and shocked he looked.
Together, the two women left the lofty, cold room, where the king would decide the fate of the men left inside.
* * * *
Rafe watched Angelet go, wishing he could go with her. But he had no time to think about that now. King Stephen was not a man to be ignored.
“Well.” Stephen looked over the assembled group. “I have heard enough. Indeed, too much, for it exposes the weakness of a family I counted on as allies. The young heir Henry Yarborough is innocent of wrongdoing, for he is a child, and was far away from the whole mess. Yet that means he is too young to take up the mantle. And the other generations of men have proved unworthy.”
“Another steward is needed,” Drogo said. “A neighboring baron, perhaps, one who can be trusted.”
The Lord of Braecon stood up. “Your Grace, some of my lands are not far from Dryton. I would be glad to take on the responsibility of governing the manor until the boy is of age to claim it. Perhaps Lady Katherine would be permitted to continue to live there, and be the chatelaine. There are no reports of mismanagements of the property, at least. In my experience, it is helpful to disrupt a manor’s workings as little as possible.”
“That is acceptable, for now,” King Stephen said, nodding to Braecon.
Rafe marveled at the political shrewdness of Braecon. So that was one of the reasons he was so interested in the proceeding, and why he welcomed one side into his home.
The king was speaking again. “As for Otto and Ernald, I cannot permit them to…”
“Mercy, your grace!” Ernald burst out. “I was misled by evil women. I never meant things to go so far. Please show mercy—”
“Mercy? Here is my mercy. Your actions were selfish. Short-sighted. Cruel. Greedy. Unworthy of a man of noble blood. In short, the actions of a sinful man. If you wish mercy, there is only one path to it. You will join a monastery of my choosing, where you will live as a lay brother. You will give up all claims to inheritance, and you will pray to God for forgiveness for your sins. You may study to take holy vows, at the abbot’s discretion. But you will never leave the monastery once you enter it.”
Ernald looked horrified.
The king went on, “Your other option is to die by an executioner’s sword.”
“The monastery, your grace,” Ernald choked out.
“I expected so. As for you, Lord Otto. In my mercy, I offer you the same choice. What is your decision?”
