The Canterbury Murders Read Online Free Page B

John’s assumption about the servant’s murder is correct, and it took place because she inadvertently foiled an attack on himself, it could be that one of Arthur’s supporters has followed the king to Canterbury intent on taking revenge.”
    Marshal shrugged. “It is possible, I suppose. But I have asked John about Arthur and he assures me the boy is alive and still in confinement. Whatever the truth of the matter, Arthur lost any sympathy I may have had for him when he attempted to take his own grandmother hostage at Mirabeau. Eleanor is a great lady, respected by the entire world; for Arthur to treat her in such a fashion was an outrage that offended all Christendom. But if the king decided to inflict the ultimate penalty on his nephew, it should have been done openly, not in secret.”
    Marshal leaned back in his chair and expelled his breath in exasperation. “If we look for the murderer amongst those whom the king calls enemy, they are legion. Apart from the Bretons, it may be that Philip of France is behind this. It would suit him well if John was dead and the final obstacle to his capture of Normandy removed. Or,” he added, “the motive could be rooted in John’s marriage to Isabella. Hugh of Lusignan was with Arthur at Mirabeau and, like him, taken captive, along with a substantial number of knights who are his liegemen; and recently John, against my advice, released him and so he is at large to wreak further havoc. Lusignan still burns with resentment against John, so it could be that an agent of his is responsible for the woman’s death.”
    Nicolaa thought this last unlikely but, as Marshal said, it was still a possibility. Hugh of Lusignan had been betrothed to Isabella before John made his bid for her hand three years before. The queen’s father, the recently deceased Aymer Taillefer, count of Angoulême, had quickly renounced Lusignan’s suit in favour of John’s, preferring that his only child and heir become a queen rather than the wife of a mere count. Lusignan had, naturally, been incensed at this reversal of his suit and, smarting from the loss of such a wealthy bride, had allied himself with his overlord, Philip of France, in the attack on John’s continental possessions. He was a dangerous and vindictive man, and would not scruple to kill John if the means could be found.
    â€œMayhap the washerwoman was murdered for a reason of her own making,” Nicolaa suggested, “and her death is not connected to any political intrigue.”
    â€œI sincerely hope that is so, lady,” Marshal replied with heartfelt emotion, “and shall pray that heaven grants us such a boon.”
    At that moment, the soldier she had seen in the conversation with Marshal in the bail when she arrived came into the hall and walked towards the dais. As he did so, Nicolaa nodded in his direction. “Is he one of the routiers John brought with him from Normandy?”
    â€œYes,” Marshal replied. “His name is Almaric Chacal, a Brabançon from Flanders. He and his small band of men were the ones on duty at the townhouse when the murder took place, and are part of a larger troupe of mercenaries that the king hired to escort him to England, under the command of Godeschal de Socienne.” The earl gave a grim chuckle. “I should imagine Chacal’s ears are still burning from the upbraiding John gave him for failing to keep the premises secure. And it is likely, once Godeschal is told what has happened, that he, too, will add his own fulsome reprimand to the king’s.”
    Nicolaa had heard of Godeschal de Socienne and the fearsome reputation he and his brother had earned as warriors. With the allegiance of his nobles wavering, it was understandable that John would put his trust in mercenaries, even if it was a fidelity that was bought and not earned. By and large, mercenaries were a