Belaset's Daughter - By Feona J Hamilton Page 0,105
out in a threatening whisper which was somehow more sinister than a normal voice would have been. He dug his heels into his horse’s flanks and urged it through the group and out in front of them all. Then he kicked again, sending the horse into a canter, while the rest of the group sat watching him until he was out of sight.
Robert turned to Philip.
"I fear you have made an enemy," he said, soberly.
"I fear I have," agreed Philip, but with a shrug of his shoulders he continued. "We all have enemies but they count for less than friends, eh Jervis?"
"Well," said Jervis. "Now that I have seen you in action, I know which I would rather be!"
His light-hearted tone of voice broke the spell, and they all chuckled with him. Only Robert saw Jervis glance at Philip with a worried frown. He did not know who the man was that Philip had attacked. He had simply been in the group that had gathered together more as a result of the width of the path and the size of the hunting party. It might be a good idea (thought Jervis to himself) to find out something more about him, such as where he came from, and how he came to be part of the hunt.
The whole group was now trotting along the path. Philip’s action had bound them all together, somehow, in a way which was not yet entirely clear. All that Jervis could tell BOSON BOOKS
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was that the man who had been nearly throttled was not popular. Some of the group’s ill-concealed pleasure had been plain enough to him. Now they had all decided to join in the search for John de Warenne and to tell him the news of de Tourney’s death in the forest.
"There he is!" said Robert, suddenly, pointing to a small group just ahead. Jervis recognised John de Warenne, riding along with his brother-in-law, Guy de Lusignan, and with Humphrey de Bohun beside the two of them. Jervis, Robert and Philip urged their horses to a faster speed and came up behind the them.
"My Lord de Warenne!" called Jervis. "My Lord wait! Sir Roger de Tourney. . .!"
He had no breath to say more, but it was enough. The three men ahead of them halted their horses and turned in their saddles. Jervis, slightly ahead of the other two, saw de Warenne say something quickly to de Bohun, before he sat up straight in the saddle and waited, with an impassive expression on his face.
"My Lords," said Jervis, reining in his horse and bowing from the saddle to all three men, then turning to de Warenne. "I have just seen "
He got no further. De Warenne raised a hand to stop him saying more.
"You have obviously had a shock, FitzHugh," he said. "Come, ride beside me and catch your wits again. I am sure your friends are required elsewhere."
He smiled brilliantly at Robert and Philip and waited. They knew what was expected and, curious though they were to know what would happen, they had no choice but to turn away obediently.
Jervis set his horse to pace alongside de Warenne’s, and waited in his turn.
"You are about to tell us that Sir Roger de Tourney is dead, I believe?" said de Warenne.
Jervis stared at him.
"Yes, my lord," he said. "But how did you guess?"
De Warenne smiled again.
"It is not a guess, Jervis," he said. " You yourself told us of de Tourney’s trickery.
There have been suspicions and rumours for some time, but you furnished the final proof, with your tale of what happened at Merton Abbey."
"So he died at your command, my lord?" said Jervis, still dazed by what he was hearing.
"No," said de Warenne. "He died at the King’s command. So should all men who betray the King be rewarded."
"Amen to that," came from de Bohun, on his other side, and de Lusignan nodded his agreement.
"We had to choose our time," continued de Warenne. "We needed an occasion when his death could be construed and claimed as an accident. Hunting accidents are sadly frequent, as you know."
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"Yes, my lord," said Jervis.
"And this was such an accident, Jervis, was it not?" pressed de Warenne.
"Yes, my lord," said Jervis, again.
"And you saw nothing and no-one, until you came upon poor Sir Roger, sprawled dead in front of you," finished de Warenne.
"That is so, my lord," said Jervis, looking at him frankly. "But I heard the sound of two horsemen . . ."