The Elephants of Norwich Read Online Free Page A

could be clearly heard by the guards on the battlements. Richard de Fontenel was not a man to lower his voice in a public arena.
    ‘I’d not put it past him to be involved here,’ he declared.
    ‘Mauger?’
    ‘The crime has his mark upon it.’
    ‘You told me that the gold elephants were stolen by your steward.’
    ‘They were. Hermer made off with them.’
    ‘Then how does Mauger come into it?’
    ‘Hermer was acting at his behest,’ decided the other. ‘He must have been. My steward gave me very loyal service for years. Only someone like Mauger could corrupt him and turn him against me.’
    ‘Are you quite sure that your steward was the thief?’
    ‘Completely, my lord sheriff.’
    ‘How can you be so certain?’
    ‘Apart from myself, he was the only person with a key to the chest in which they were locked. Nobody else could even have got into the room where my valuables are stored. Or, indeed, into my house. Besides, the man has vanished into thin air. The facts are irrefutable. It has to be Hermer.’
    ‘I doubt very much that he was in league with the lord Mauger.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘What motive could he have to instigate the theft of those elephants?’
    ‘Spite, my lord sheriff.’
    ‘Concerning this property dispute?’
    ‘And property of a different nature.’
    ‘Ah,’ said Bigot with a knowing smile. ‘I begin to understand.’
    ‘The gold elephants were to be a wedding gift.’
    ‘The lady Adelaide has accepted you, then?’
    ‘Unhappily, no. But she will,’ added de Fontenel, defensively. ‘The lady Adelaide was enchanted by my gift. Once those elephants are back in my possession, she’ll not be able to refuse me. That’s why they must be found immediately.’
    ‘My deputy will do his best, Richard.’
    ‘Order him to arrest Mauger.’
    ‘On what evidence?’
    ‘Search his house. I’ll wager that you find the stolen property there.’
    ‘A foolish wager,’ argued Bigot. ‘Even if those gold elephants were taken on Mauger’s instructions – and I refuse to countenance that notion – he would never be stupid enough to conceal them in his own home where they might be found by a search. As you know better than anyone, Mauger is as cunning as a fox. My advice is to forget him altogether, Richard. He has no place at all in this investigation.’
    ‘But he has. He’s trying to lure the lady Adelaide away from me.’
    ‘That’s a personal matter between the two of you. What concerns me is the crime that’s been committed. If your steward is responsible for the theft, you should be looking at yourself rather than at the lord Mauger.’
    ‘At myself?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘You said a moment ago that Hermer was very loyal to you.’
    ‘He was, my lord sheriff. Unswervingly so.’
    ‘Then what happened to undermine that loyalty?’
    ‘Nothing at all.’
    ‘Nothing?’ said Bigot levelly. ‘Be honest with yourself, Richard. You’re a hard man with a rough edge to your tongue. You like your own way and you make sure that you get it, no matter how many toes you may have to trample on in the process. What did you do or say to upset your steward?’ He looked his visitor in the eye. ‘Has it never occurred to you that you may actually have provoked this crime?’
    The last few miles began to tell on the travellers. Weary from so much time in the saddle, they were finding the heat more oppressive and the terrain less diverting. When their destination finally came within sight, they heaved a collective sigh of relief.
    Gervase Bret was riding beside his wife, who was bearing up bravely.
    ‘Take heart, Alys,’ he said. ‘We’re almost there.’
    ‘Good.’
    ‘I’m sorry that the journey has