The Prince of Darkness (29 page)

He knew now that the moment had come. All he had to do was give the order and merely stand by and see it carried out.

He shut himself in his bedchamber. He knelt and cried out to God to show him a way out of this terrible situation in which he found himself. But there was no way. He tried to persuade himself. John was right up to a point. There could not be peace while Arthur lived – but if he were a poor maimed creature no one, not even the Bretons, could wish to see him on the throne.

Better for the boy to die, a thousand times better.

There was no way, of course. That was clear. He had no recourse but to carry out the King’s orders.

He sent for two attendants, loutish men who would perform any deed for money. He knew that they had been used before for brutal tasks and found a certain pleasure in performing them.

They would do their work and do it quickly, which was best.

He spoke to them and told them what the King’s orders were.

‘’Tis so, my lord,’ cried one. ‘And not surprised am I. I’ve been waiting for it.’

‘When the deed is done,’ said Hubert, ‘you two will go from here. You will not mention a word of what has happened. You know the punishment for such as you who think fit to chatter.’

‘We’ll be silent as the grave, my lord. When should the work be done?’

‘Soon,’ said Hubert firmly. ‘Let us have done with it.’

‘We’ll do it with the irons, my lord.’

Hubert was shivering.

‘Go to,’ he said turning away. ‘Be ready and wait upon my call.’

He went to his room; he knelt and prayed for strength.

‘I would I had died before I were called upon to do this,’ he whispered. Then he rose and went into that room which was now a prison cell and which he feared would shortly be the scene of the greatest tragedy of his life. It would haunt him for ever more, and make him wish he had never been born to play a part in it.

‘Hubert, ’tis you then. Welcome. Come, take off my fetters. Is it to be chess? Why, what ails you?’

‘My boy, I feel unwell today.’

‘You are ill? What is it? Tell me. Something terrible has happened. They are going to take you away. I shall never see you any more.’

Hubert sat down and covered his face with his hands.

‘It’s true,’ cried Arthur. ‘I shan’t allow it, Hubert. Let’s run away from here, together. We’ll escape to Brittany. High honours shall be yours. We won’t worry about the crown and John and all that. We’ll just be friends as we have been here.’

Hubert did not answer.

‘Hubert, Hubert, look at me.’

He pulled Hubert’s hands from his face and stared at him aghast.

‘I never saw such sorrow in a face,’ said Arthur.

Hubert put him from him and stood up. He clapped his hands and the two men came in with the brazier and the irons.

‘What means this?’ cried Arthur shrilly.

Hubert did not answer. The tears had started to fall down his cheeks.

‘Oh God, have mercy on me. Oh God, help me. Hubert, they are going to burn out my eyes.’

One of the men said: ‘Ready, my lord?’

‘Not yet,’ said Hubert quickly. ‘One moment yet.’

Arthur had fallen to the floor; he clutched at Hubert’s legs. ‘Hubert, my friend Hubert,’ he cried. ‘You can’t let them do this to me. You are my
friend
.’

‘Arthur …’

‘Yes, Hubert, yes?’

‘These are the King’s orders. I am his man. I must obey.’

‘Not this, Hubert. You could never do this. If you did you would kill yourself because you couldn’t bear it. You’d jump from the tower and take me with you … because neither of us could bear to live … like that.’

‘Mayhap you are right. I could not endure it … but do it I must.’

‘You cannot … Hubert. You cannot.’

‘The irons are hot, my lord,’ said one of the men. ‘Shall we bind him now? ’Tis hard to do when they struggle.’

Hubert put up a hand to silence them. He knelt beside Arthur on the floor. Arthur took his hand and lifted his face.

‘Look at my eyes, Hubert. Do not flinch. Look at them and remember that we love each other. You cannot let them do this. I would never let them do it to you. I promise you that. If they tried to, I would kill them rather. Not my eyes, Hubert … anything but my eyes. Have you ever thought what it would be like never to see the sky again and the grass and the walls of a castle, the flint glistening in the sun? Have you thought what it would be like never to look into the face of a friend, to see him smile, to see his eyes light up at the sight of you? You couldn’t rob me of that, Hubert, could you?’

‘I must,’ cried Hubert. ‘I must.’

‘You
could
not. I know you well. You will not, Hubert.’

How long the silence seemed to go on. Then Hubert stood up. His voice rang out clear and strong. ‘Take away those things. We shall not be using them.’

The men trained to obey without question immediately started to remove the brazier.

They had gone and the silence went on and then suddenly Arthur and his jailer were sobbing in each other’s arms.

‘We must think now how best to act,’ said Hubert.

‘Oh, you are indeed my friend,’ cried Arthur.

‘We are in danger; you must know that well. Thank God I was the one given this foul task. I was sad once because it was given to me but if it had been given to another …’

Arthur shivered. ‘None but you would have been brave enough to defy John,’ said Arthur proudly.

‘Let us not forget that we have defied him. He must not know.’

Arthur clung to Hubert’s arms. ‘I do fear him, Hubert. I boasted and said I didn’t. But I do. I do. I believe Satan is kinder than he is and all the devils in hell less cruel.’

‘You may well be right. I shall have to tell him the deed is done, for he will be sending soon to know that it is.’

‘What if he comes to look at me? He will. I know he will. He will not be able to resist taunting me.’

‘I had thought of that. I must say that you died while it was being done. We must find a hiding place for you, where you can live in peace until the time shall come when you can be free.’

‘Where, Hubert, where?’

‘’Twere safer in this castle for a while. If I can remain here … its custodian … and why should I not? … we can keep our secret.’

‘We will do it, Hubert.’

‘And I will say that you are dead and buried.’

‘Where should I be buried?’

‘I must think of that. But in the meantime I must bribe those ruffians.’

‘Can you trust them?’

‘By paying them well and threatening them with what I will
have done to them if they betray us. They are safe enough, for no one will know that they were here. It is a good plan and I think it will work. I have good friends in a Cistercian abbey not far from here. They will help me in this and I shall tell the King that I had you buried quietly there.’

‘We can do it, Hubert,’ cried Arthur excitedly.

‘We must do it,’ replied Hubert.

In one of the lower rooms of the castle to which only Hubert had the key, Arthur spent his days. Hubert visited him frequently and only a few of his trusted friends knew that the boy still lived.

A coffin said to contain the body of the young Duke of Brittany had been taken from the castle to the Cistercian abbey and there buried in a secret place.

Hubert decided that he could not trust an account of what had happened to the messenger and would see the King himself.

John received him with alacrity.

‘What news?’ he cried. ‘Is the deed done then?’

‘’Tis done, my lord.’

‘So now he is without his eyes and the outward sign of manhood.’

‘My lord, during the operation the boy has died.’

John caught his breath. ‘How was this? The men were clumsy.’

‘The boy struggled. It often happens like this … He did not survive.’

John nodded. ‘Fate has taken a hand then,’ he said. ‘What of his body?’

‘Buried, my lord, in a secret grave.’

‘So be it,’ said John.

‘My lord, I suggest it would be better if I returned to Falaise and lived there quietly for a while until the noise which this will inevitably make blows over.’

John nodded. ‘Go back to Falaise. It would be well to keep Arthur’s death a secret for a while.’

‘I will do so, my lord, with all speed.’

So far, so good. How long can I hope to keep the truth secret? he wondered. And then what will become of me? Oddly enough he didn’t care. He was in a state of exultation which he had not known since the day John had ordered him to put out Arthur’s eyes.

Chapter X

T
he news that Arthur was dead was spreading through Brittany and the Bretons were forming an army to come against John whom they suspected of murdering their Duke. Arthur had been John’s prisoner; he had been in the charge of John’s men; and now it was being said that he was dead and they wanted to know how he had died.

In the castle of Falaise Hubert heard the news and in the secret chamber where Arthur now lived he told him about it. The excitement of the adventure was wearing off and Arthur was having to face the difficulties of living in cramped quarters. He could only emerge from his room by night when he might go out on to the parapet, ever watchful that he might be seen. Hubert could not visit him as frequently as he would have wished for he feared to attract attention by doing so. The days were therefore long for Arthur and the nights were terrifying, for he often dreamed that he was bound fast while cruel men came to him with hot irons in their hands.

He longed for the coming of Hubert and knowing this Hubert could not resist taking certain risks, and he came more often than he knew he should.

He told him that the people of Brittany were incensed and that they were determined to avenge him.

‘I knew they would,’ cried Arthur. ‘They will march against John – and what joy there will be when they know that I am alive and unmaimed. I shall never forget what I owe to you, Hubert.’

‘Let us pray,’ replied Hubert, ‘that one day you will be at peace with your own people.’

‘I shall never forget what my uncle would have done to me. He is a wicked man, Hubert. That he takes my crown I understand, for many ambitious men would have done that, but to give orders to put out my eyes – that I shall never forget. He is bound for hell surely, Hubert, and may it be that the gates of that place soon open to receive him.’