The Elephants Of Norwich Part 23

*They were solid gold, Master Bret, and fas.h.i.+oned in Italy.'

*Is that where you bought them?' asked Gervase, softly.

*Not exactly.'

*Then how did they come into your hands?'

*Does that matter?'

*I'm afraid it does, my lord.'

*A merchant sold them to me,' said de Fontenel briskly. *When I was in Normandy, I heard that this man had something very special to sell and it was exactly what I needed at that particular time. So I bought the elephants from him.'

*In Normandy?'

*Further south than that, Master Bret.'

*When was this, my lord?'

*Quite recently.'

*Could you be more specific, please?'

*It must have been - what? - ten or twelve days ago. I only returned to England earlier this week. The two elephants were a gift. Before I could present them to the person for whom they were intended, they were stolen and my steward was murdered.'

*Let's just concentrate on the elephants,' suggested Gervase. *Would you describe the merchant from whom you bought them as an honest man?'

*Of course.'

*You had no reason to doubt him?'

*Why should I?'

*Because what he sold you, my lord, was stolen property.'

*Never!'

*It was,' maintained Gervase, *and I think that your memory may be at fault with regard to the precise time of the purchase. Ten or twelve days ago, you said.'

*That's when it was, Master Bret.'

*Somewhere in France.'

*Do you have any proof to the contrary?'

*I don't, my lord, but Brother Daniel has.'

*Yes,' said the monk, taking up his cue. *I had the pleasure of visiting the abbey of St Benet at Holme yesterday. According to Brother Joseph, the sacristan, those gold elephants belonged to them and were regarded as holy objects. Unfortunately, they were stolen from the abbey church at the very time you claim to have bought them in France.'

Richard de Fontenel's face was ashen. There was a long pause before he spoke. *I think there's been a mistake,' he said at last. *The elephants that I bought didn't come from Holme. They may have been similar to the ones stolen from the abbey but they couldn't possibly have been the same ones.'

*We believe that they might be, my lord,' said Gervase.

*But that's impossible!'

*On the face of it, yes. The objects could hardly have been taken from the abbey and sold in France on the same day. As far as I'm aware, elephants don't fly.'

*Don't jest with me, Master Bret.'

*I'm in earnest, my lord.'

Brother Daniel nodded vigorously. *Theft of holy treasures is an abomination.'

*I didn't steal them!' shouted de Fontenel.

*n.o.body is suggesting that you did, my lord,' said Gervase. *Our fear is that you were the victim of an unscrupulous merchant. In which case, the transaction between the two of you must have taken place more recently than you have told us.'

*Well, yes, that's true,' mumbled the other. *I can't be precise about the date.'

*It would have taken days for them to reach you in France.'

*I'm aware of that, Master Bret,' said de Fontenel through gritted teeth. *But I'm still not convinced that the gift I bought in good faith came from the abbey of St Benet. Who gave you the idea that it did?'

*Judicael the Goldsmith.'

*He's never seen my elephants.'

*He hasn't seen the ones at the abbey either,' said Gervase, patiently, *but he had a very clear description of them from a goldsmith who had. That description matched in every detail the one you gave to the lord sheriff. The objects are quite unique. There's no room for error here.'

*There must be!'

*Two holy treasures are stolen from an abbey and you buy identical objects shortly afterwards? No, my lord. That would be far too great a coincidence. In any case,' said Gervase, blithely, *the matter will soon be resolved.'

*How?'

*When the elephants are recovered, the abbot and sacristan will be able to identify them as belonging to the abbey. You'll be allowed to examine them yourself, of course, but there'll be an even more important witness.'

*Witness?' echoed de Fontenel.

*Yes, my lord.'

*Who are you talking about?'

*The man who presented the gift to the abbey - Jocelyn Vavasour.'

*But he's disappeared. The lord Jocelyn has become an anchorite.'

*My colleagues are on their way to find him at this very moment.'

Richard de Fontenel was checked. His jaw tightened and his eyes darted. He was mortified by the notion that, even if they were located, the missing elephants would not be returned to him. His wedding gift would be confiscated and his plans thrown into confusion. He was caught unawares by the next question from Gervase.

*Does the name Olova mean anything to you, my lord?'

*Who?' said the other, blinking in surprise.

*Olova. She lives in the Henstead hundred. Your steward had dealings with her.'

*That may well be, Master Bret. I didn't keep track of every person that Hermer saw in the course of his duties. I've never heard of this Olova.'

*Even though you acquired land that once belonged to her?'

*It was done legally, I a.s.sure you.'

*Not in her opinion. The lady is ready to challenge you in the s.h.i.+re hall.'

*Let her.'

*She didn't speak too highly of your steward.'

*You've talked to her?'

*The lord Eustace and I rode out to see Olova yesterday.'

*Do you give preference to a Saxon?' said de Fontenel, flaring up. *The place to settle a dispute is in the s.h.i.+re hall, not behind my back. I'll register the strongest complaint about this, Master Bret. Judges should be quite impartial.'

*Olova made no attempt to influence me, my lord,' Gervase a.s.sured him.

*Then why visit the woman?'

*To seek her views on another subject.'

*You went all that way to listen to an embittered old Saxon crone?'

*Olova is half Danish, my lord. Her late husband was a thegn with estates large enough to match your own. I found Olova a woman of intelligence and determination.'

*Neither will do her any good when she takes me on in the s.h.i.+re hall.'

*Are you trying to influence a commissioner, my lord?' said Daniel, waspishly.

*Not at all,' bl.u.s.tered the other. *I didn't introduce Olova into the conversation.'

*The only reason that I do so,' said Gervase, *was that she talked about Hermer. She was less than grief-stricken when I told her of his fate.'

*I'm not interested in her, Master Bret.'

*Then let's forget her for the moment, my lord. What I wanted to ask you about was your steward's hands. Why do you think they were cut off?'

*Sheer savagery!'

*I was appalled when I saw the mutilation,' recalled Daniel.

*The hands were returned to you,' resumed Gervase. *Why was that, my lord?'

*I wish I knew.'

*Was it a symbolic gesture, perhaps?'

*Symbolic of a brutal mind. It would be typical of the lord Mauger.'

*The lord sheriff has absolved him of the crime.'

*I know,' grunted the other, *and I've learned for certain that it was not his doing.'

"How?'

*That doesn't concern you, Master Bret,' said the other, eager to move them on their way. *You come at an awkward time. I'm a busy man and have much to do. If you've told me all you came to say, I'll bid you farewell.'

The visitors rose to their feet and walked across to the door, where Gervase halted. *I believe that you once employed a man called Starculf,' he said.

*Not for long. He was dismissed.'

*What did he look like, my lord?'

*A tall, handsome, upstanding young fellow. A strong one, too, who used to be a falconer. To look in his face, you'd have thought him the soul of honesty. But he let me down, Master Bret. n.o.body does that with impunity.'

*So I understand.'

There was an exchange of farewells, then Gervase led the way out. It was only when they were riding away from the house at a trot that he spoke to his companion. *What did you learn from that, Brother Daniel?'

*That the lord Richard is a poor liar. He didn't buy those elephants in France.'

*No,' said Gervase. *He knew exactly where they came from. He may not have stolen them in person but I'm certain that he instigated the theft. Without knowing it, he may even have told us who the thief was.'

*It wasn't Starculf,' said the monk. *The description he gave of the man was nothing like the one we had from the sacristan at the abbey. Brother Joseph told us that the thief was short, stocky and thirty years or more. He was no handsome young man.'

*The sacristan was not describing Starculf at all, Brother Daniel.'

*Then who was he talking about?'

*Hermer.'

Drogo had important news to report. Expecting approval, he strutted into the house with more confidence than he had shown when he left it. Mauger Livarot was in the parlour, fastening the gold brooch that held his mantle on. He swung round on his steward. *Well?'

*I've spoken to my man at the castle, my lord.'

*What did he say?'

*There's much activity there. Ralph Delchard and Eustace Coureton rode off at dawn in search of Jocelyn Vavasour.'