he said no more. Regan said: "What do you mean, the best half?"
"What is more valuable-arable land or forest?"
"Arable land, certainly."
"Then you shall have the arable and I'll have the forest."
Regan narrowed her eyes. "That will give you timber for your cathedral."
"Correct."
"What about pasture?"
"Which do you want-the cattle pastures or the sheep grazing?"
"The pasture."
"Then I'll have the hill farms with their sheep. Would you like the income from markets, or the quarry?"
Percy said: "The market inc-"
Regan interrupted him. "Suppose we said the quarry?"
Philip knew she had understood what was on his mind. He wanted the stone from the quarry for his cathedral. He knew she did not want the quarry. The markets made more money for less effort. He said confidently: "You won't, though, will you?"
She shook her head. "No. We'll take the markets."
Percy tried to look as if he were being fleeced. "I need the forest to hunt," he said. "An earl must have some hunting."
"You can hunt there," Philip said quickly. "I just want the timber."
"That's agreeable," Regan said. Her agreement came a little too quickly for Philip's comfort. He felt a pang of anxiety. Had he given something important away without knowing it? Or was she simply impatient to dispose of a trifling detail? Before he could give it much thought she went on: "Suppose we go through the deeds and charters in Earl Bartholomew's old treasury and find there are some lands that we think should be ours and you think should be yours?"
The fact that she was getting down to such details encouraged Philip to think she was going to accept his proposal. He concealed his excitement and spoke coolly. "We'll have to agree on an arbitrator. How about Bishop Henry?"
"A priest?" she said with a touch of her habitual scorn. "Would he be objective? No. How about the sheriff of Shiring?"
He would be no more objective than the bishop, Philip thought; but he could not think of anyone who would satisfy both sides, so he said: "Agreed-on condition that if we dispute his decision we have the right to appeal to the king." That ought to be a sufficient safeguard.
"Agreed," Regan said; then she glanced at Percy and added: "If my husband pleases."
Percy said: "Yes, yes."
Philip knew he was close to success. He took a deep breath and said: "If the overall proposal is agreed, then-"
"Wait a moment." Regan stopped him. "It's not agreed."
"But I've given you everything you want."
"We might yet get the whole earldom, no division."
"And you might get nothing at all."
Regan hesitated. "How do you propose to handle this, if we do agree?"
Philip had thought of that. He looked at Percy. "Could you get to see the king tonight?"
Percy looked anxious, but he said: "If I had a good reason-yes."
"Go to him and tell him we've reached an agreement. Ask him to announce it as his decision tomorrow morning. Assure him that you and I will declare ourselves satisfied with it."
"What if he asks whether the bishops have agreed to it?"
"Say there hasn't been time to put it to them. Remind him that it is the prior, not the bishop, who has to build the cathedral. Imply that if I am satisfied the bishops must be too."
"But what if the bishops complain when the deal is announced?"
"How can they?" Philip said. "They're pretending to ask for the earldom solely in order to finance the cathedral. Waleran can hardly protest on the grounds that he will now be unable to divert funds to other purposes."
Regan gave a short cackle. Philip's cunning appealed to her. "It's a good plan," she said.
"There's an important condition," Philip said, and he looked her in the eye. "The king must announce that my share goes to the priory. If he doesn't make that clear, I'll ask him to. If he says anything else-the diocese, the sacrist, the archbishop, anything-I'll repudiate the whole deal. I don't want you to be in any doubt about that."
"I understand," said Regan, a little tetchily.
Her irritation made Philip suspect that she had been toying with the idea of presenting to the king a slightly different version of the agreement. He was glad he had made the point firmly.
He got up to leave, but he wanted to set the seal on their pact somehow. "We are agreed, then," he said, with just the hint of a question in his voice. "We have a solemn pact." He looked at them both.
Regan gave a slight nod, and Percy said: "We have a pact."
Philip's heart beat