The Elephants of Norwich Read Online Free Page B

been so tiring.’
    ‘I was enjoying the ride until we met that poor man. He was all skin and bone.’
    ‘At least we were able to give him one good meal today.’
    ‘It was distressing to see someone in that terrible state,’ she said. ‘Did I hear Ralph tell you that he’d been turned out to fend for himself?’
    ‘Yes, my love.’
    ‘What kind of master could be so cruel?’
    Gervase did not answer. The name of Richard de Fontenel was already known to him because the man was involved in one of the property disputes they had come to settle. Alys was upset enough already. Her husband did not wish to alarm her by telling her that he would soon be locking horns with the very Norman lord who had treated the old man so callously. Gervase had promised himself to keep his work and his domestic life rigidly apart. His wife would hear nothing of his deliberations with his colleagues.
    He glanced across at her and was disturbed by what he saw. ‘Are you unwell?’ he said with concern.
    ‘No, Gervase.’
    ‘But you look pale.’
    ‘This heat is bothering me.’
    ‘Do you wish to stop for another rest?’
    ‘I can hold out until we reach the castle.’
    ‘It’s not very far to go.’
    ‘I long for a cool drink and a place in the shade.’
    Gervase reached out a consoling hand. ‘You’ll have both very soon.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘I hope that you don’t regret coming with us.’
    ‘No,’ she said, rallying slightly. ‘For the most part, it’s been very exciting. I am simply in need of a long rest now. I shall sleep very soundly tonight.’
    ‘So will we all.’
    The closer they got to Norwich, the more able they were to appreciate its size and character. It was the principal town in one of the most populous counties in the entire kingdom. The soil was rich, the harvest plentiful and the rivers stocked with fish. Larger boats ventured out to sea in search of even bigger catches. Extensive deposits of salt supported a flourishing trade and there were dozens of other occupations in what was the fourth largest county in England. Much of the country was plagued with drought that summer, but Norfolk seemed to have suffered less from its effects than some of the other areas through which they had travelled. Sheep and cows grazed in the fields. Pigs could be heard in patches of woodland. There was an abiding sense of contentment.
    It disappeared the moment they rode into Norwich. Eustace Coureton’s description of the place was accurate. It bore the scars of war as blatantly as Alstan bore the mementoes of his whipping. Almost ninety buildings had been destroyed to make way for the castle, creating a huge hole in the fabric of the city. Of those that remained, the best part of two hundred houses were unoccupied, abandoned by owners who had fled for a variety of reasons. The streets were full and the market was busy, but there was no zest about Norwich. Its indigenous population had yet fully to accept that it was now under Norman control. When Ralph Delchard led his party towards the castle, they gathered the usual mixture of hostile stares and muttered resentment.
    Riding beside her husband, Golde was grateful for their safe arrival. ‘The journey didn’t take as long as I’d feared,’ she said.
    Ralph grimaced. ‘The best road in Norfolk is the one that takes us out of it.’
    ‘Aren’t you looking forward to our stay here?’
    ‘No, Golde. I’d rather be at home with my lovely wife.’
    ‘Travel adds body to a marriage.’
    ‘You sound like the brewer you once were,’ he remarked with a grin. ‘What did you add to your ale to give it some sparkle?’
    ‘That’s a closely guarded secret.’
    ‘Even from your loving husband?’
    ‘Especially from you, Ralph,’ she pointed out. ‘When you