Two Heirs (The Marmoros Trilogy Book 1) (16 page)

There were cheers from the crowd which quickly turned into a roar of approval as the villagers surged forward and David had to signal several of the guard to steady the table and protect Evan.

“Pay them exactly what you’ve got recorded in the ledger, Evan, and then strike the entry through.”

David walked round behind the table to where Falaise was standing. “I have no idea why you think you need my help, David,” she said with admiration in her voice. “You have won over the entire village single handed. You rescued the boys…”

“No Jeren took the credit for that.”

“You returned their silverware...” she continued.

“No, that was Jeren as well.”

“And now you have returned their taxes. Can you afford to be so generous? You said yourself that you had to feed and equip your men. How can you afford to give this money back to the village?”

“Apparently I can, Falaise. I had a long talk with Evan yesterday. The Duke’s party visited three other villages before they came to you. There is much more money in that strongbox than we will be handing out this morning.”

Falaise looked puzzled. “But if they visited other villages, why did they not take any boys from those villages?”

“According to Evan that order only came through two days before they reached you. Yours was the first village they came to after they received it.”

“You said the other night that they were looking for a special boy. Was it one of ours?”

“No, I don’t believe so. I spent time with the boys on the journey back and I don’t believe the one they seek is among them.”

“But you know who they’re looking for, don’t you?”

“No, not who. Oh Falaise, how can I explain this to you? I have this…. fog in my head that I cannot see through. I know what they’re looking for but not who or why. And I don’t even know how I know this.”

“And if they find this… special boy, will the Duke then leave us alone?”

“If they find him before I do, Falaise, it will be a catastrophe. There will be war on such a scale that you cannot possibly imagine. Don’t ask me how I know this. I just do.”

“So you’re looking for this ‘special boy’ as well?”

“Yes I am. The people who sent me here believe that your people may be the key to finding him. Because your people travel so widely; because they have so many contacts in different towns and villages, they may hear or see something that will lead us to this boy.”

“How will you know when you find him?”

“I don’t know, Falaise. Oh god, I wish I did. I just know that I will know him when I come across him.”

Falaise looked at him for a long moment then raised a hand to touch him on the cheek. “I don’t know who you are, Lord David Held. You don’t belong here and yet you are a good man. You are brave, you are strong and you have a good if somewhat mercenary heart. You have served my people well. This village would have died without those boys. I have many contacts among my people; in other villages and in trading caravans throughout the regions. Anything I can do to help in your search, will be done. Now come, I believe we have two uncommitted lords to win over to our side of the table.”

Chapter 9

They set up the court using the same trestle tables outside Falaise’s wagon, so that the assembled villagers could watch the trial from the central square. Chairs for the council were placed behind the main table with Falaise in the centre, while Evan sat at the side table to record the proceedings. David had brought the entire company of men with him and posted them at regular intervals at the front and the sides to keep back the crowd and leave room for the witnesses.

All five of the councillors were present although Bardsley had again protested about the presence of Falaise until Wynter had told him to sit down and shut up. He was still blustering when Jeren stood forward and addressed the council. “My lady,” he said bowing to his mother, “my lords, we are here today to try Lord Gaelan on the charges of treason, attempted murder and other crimes against the Lyenar people. Bring the prisoner out.”

There were some mutterings from the crowd as Feynor led the way from behind the wagon with Gaelan firmly in the grip of two of David’s men, one on each arm. They half dragged, half carried him across the open space and pushed him down into a chair that had been set facing the councillors.

“This is outrageous,” he began. “Why am I here? Bardsley, what is going on here and why is that woman sitting with the council?”

“Lord Gaelan,” Falaise replied, “you are accused of treason, attempted murder, deception of the Lyenar people and treachery in your negotiations for the release of the stolen boys.”

“This is ridiculous. You have no right to accuse me of anything. I am the Regent, appointed by the council.”

“The council had no authority to go against the dying wishes of my father,” Jeren interposed. “He appointed my mother to act as Regent and I support that appointment.”

“You have no say in this, boy. You ride in here on a fancy stallion, bringing a group of brigands and murderers into this village and you think to push me aside. Well it won’t happen. I am still a member of the council and I demand to be treated as such.”

“Your membership of the council has been temporarily suspended due to the heinous nature of the crimes of which you are accused,” Falaise told him. “You will be treated as any other member of the Lyenar people. You will have the right to examine the witnesses and to speak in your defence. That is all.”

“That is not all,” he shouted. “I do not recognise the authority of this court. You have no right to suspend my membership or to put me on trial.”

“That’s not strictly true, Lord Gaelan,” Foxley cut in. “There is precedent in the law for a council member to be tried before the other members of the council. I looked it up. The last occasion was over a hundred years ago but the precedent is there.”

“I do not accept that and I do not recognise the authority of this court,” he repeated. “I am not staying here to be a part of this farce.” He tried to get to his feet but was pushed down again by the guards standing behind him.

“Lord Gaelan,” Falaise said sternly, “you will be seated and you will be silent to allow this trial to proceed. Otherwise you will be bound and if necessary, gagged.”

She nodded to her son. “Lord Jeren, please present your first witness.”

David had sent Kemon into the crowd before the start of the trial and he reported that they were almost evenly split between those who had heard Aron’s story and those who did not want to believe ill of a senior council member. David sent him back again to sense if the mood was changing as the trial progressed.

The first witnesses were the two thugs who had been lying in wait for Falaise. Cud, the older of the two, defiantly refused to testify so Falaise had him taken away to be flogged. At that, Finn, the younger one, hastily retold the events of the night. He admitted under questioning that they had not been told explicitly by Gaelan to kill Falaise but said that they would have had no choice but to kill her, in order to prevent her from talking.

Next Jeren called the scouts who reported what they had observed when Gaelan and his man entered the camp. This carried little weight as they had to admit they had not overheard any of the conversation so Jeren called Evan to testify. This was the game changer. Even without the help of Kemon, David could feel the rising anger and hostility in the crowd as Evan related the detail of the negotiations.

They had agreed a calling order for the witnesses before the trial began but, sensing the changing mood of the people, David walked casually over to Jeren and suggested quietly that he call Aron next. Jeren raised an eyebrow and then nodded.

Aron testified that he had not been seen by any of Duke Henry’s men prior to meeting Gaelan on the trail and then David’s scout and finally David himself. When he described the attack on his wagon, there were shouts of traitor and murderer from the crowd and Falaise had to call for order before Aron could continue. At the end of his story there were cheers for David but the furious crowd surged forward towards Gaelan who stumbled back from his chair in terror as David’s men formed a line in front of him to keep the crowd back.

When order had been restored, Jeren called Raslo to testify. Initially he stuck to the well-rehearsed story that he and some of the others had escaped in the confusion while his father was being attacked. When challenged to name the other boys who had escaped with him, Raslo said he could not remember because it all happened so fast.

“Raslo, you are a pathetic liar,” Jeren said.

“I object,” Gaelan shouted. “He is my son and entitled to as much respect as you are, Jeren.”

“Be quiet or you will be gagged,” Falaise ordered. “You will have your opportunity to examine the witness in a minute. Continue please, Lord Jeren.”

“Raslo, you are lying to this court. I remind you that you are giving your evidence under oath. Now you and your father made up this story because you believed that there was no chance of the other boys returning alive. But thanks to Lord Held here, all of the boys returned safely and, if necessary, I will bring all eighty three of them before this court to identify which of them escaped with you and were subsequently recaptured.

“I remind you again that you are under oath, Raslo. Now do you want to change your story?”

Raslo looked panic stricken at his father who was being held firmly in his seat by the two guards. “It… it may have been my father who a… arranged my r… release,” he stammered.

There was uproar in the court. Gaelan was shouting furiously as he struggled to get to his feet and the guards restrained him. There was a roar of disgust from the crowd who surged forward again and it was all that the line of guards could do to hold them back. Falaise and the other council members were on their feet appealing for calm but it was several minutes before they could make themselves heard. Even Bardsley was looking shocked at the evidence that he was hearing.

When they could finally continue, Jeren announced that there was only one final witness, the captain of Duke Henry’s soldiers. The captain was reluctant to testify but eventually supported Evan’s version of the negotiations with Gaelan. The crowd were mostly silent this time. This evidence only confirmed what they had already heard and they waited now to hear the judgement of the council.

David was about to signal the guards to take the captain away when he suddenly shouted out. “You’re fools, all of you. You will pay dearly for attacking Duke Henry. His men are already marching and when they get here they will destroy this so-called village. They will kill every man here and take all the women and children as slaves.”

“Wait,” David ordered. “What do you mean, his men are already marching? The Duke cannot possibly know yet about the attack. It was only two days ago.”

“You fool,” the captain sneered. “The Duke knew about the attack within hours of it happening. He ordered the troops to march yesterday morning.”

“But how? You didn’t have time to release a bird and I had archers watching for their flight. No bird flew.”

“You know nothing. You are just an ignorant savage with a sword. The Duke’s chancellor knows everything that I know, sees everything that I see, hears everything I hear. We have no need of birds.”

David staggered as a memory surfaced in his head and he turned to Ash. “Did anybody search this man when he was taken? Did he have any jewellery or anything like that on him?”

“Milord, we stripped him of his weapons and armour but you ordered there to be no looting. It may be that he wasn’t searched thoroughly.”

“Well do it now but, if you find anything, don’t touch it.”

David turned back to the council. “My lady, we may have a more urgent problem than I had anticipated. I suggest that we finish our business here and then re-convene in private.”

Falaise nodded and called the other councillors into a conference. They spoke for a few moments and obviously called for a vote. Bardsley furiously shook his head but the other four all raised their hands in agreement.

Falaise indicated that Gaelan should stand and the guards hauled him roughly to his feet. “Lord Gaelan, you have been found guilty of the gravest treachery against the Lyenar people. Your attempt to sell the sons of Aron Golder in order to obtain the release of your own son, was both shocking and despicable. You are unworthy to be a member of this council or to advise the leaders of our people. It is the judgment of the council that you be stripped of your titles and privileges. Your wealth and possessions are forfeit to the people you have betrayed. You, your family, your servant and those thugs you hired to ‘arrange my accident’, are hereby banished from this village and from all other communities of the Lyenar people. Word will be sent to all the Lyenar. No-one will give you food or shelter or aid of any form. Your name will be erased from the records of our people. You are no longer Lyenar. Take him away.”

“I protest this excessive punishment of a father who was perhaps overzealous in the recovery of his beloved son,” Bardsley said.

“Your dissent is noted, Lord Bardsley,” Falaise replied. “But I suggest you do not pursue it further unless you wish to join Gaelan in his exile.”

Further debate on the merits of the judgement was interrupted by a shout from one of the guards who were searching the captain. “Milord, he’s got a sort of amulet round his neck.”

“Don’t touch it,” David warned a moment too late as a halo of fire surrounded the guard who fell to the ground screaming. There was a moment of shock before other men leaped forward to roll the stricken soldier over and pat out the flames.

There was a smile on the face of the captain. “Now you know. I am protected by a very powerful man. You will all pay for this. You’re going to burn…”

He stopped short as David stepped forward and punched him hard in the stomach. As he sagged in the arms of his guards,
David reached for the amulet. “Let’s see just how powerful your protector is, shall we captain?”