Free The Elephants of Norwich by Edward Marston Page B

himself would come in search of the malefactor. It was Richard de Fontenel who eventually gave way and averted his gaze. The sheriff issued a stinging reproach to his uninvited guest.
    ‘Take care, my lord,’ he said, confronting him. ‘Offend anyone else beneath my roof and you’ll pay dearly. The banquet you so rudely interrupted this evening was held in honour of important visitors. It was arranged days ago and could not be cancelled at the last moment because of a sad turn of events. No disrespect was being offered to your steward. As you saw, his body was treated with care and respect. Its very presence in the morgue ensured that little merriment took place in my hall this evening.’
    ‘I can vouch for that,’ Ralph confirmed.
    ‘There was no excuse at all for your boorish behaviour,’ continued Bigot, glaring at de Fontenel. ‘It disgusted me, upset my wife and outraged my guests. While I’m sheriff here, I’ll obey nobody’s wild demands. Mark that well, my lord. The next time you ride unbidden into my castle with a troop of men at your back, I’ll have each one of you clapped in irons. Is that understood?’
    ‘Yes,’ murmured the other.
    ‘Speak up, man!’
    ‘Yes, my lord sheriff. I was perhaps a little intemperate.’
    ‘Is that all you have to say?’
    Richard de Fontenel shifted his feet and threw a hostile glance at Ralph, annoyed that he was being reprimanded in front of the commissioner and reluctant to yield up the apology that was being asked of him. Cold facts had to be accepted, however. In the county of Norfolk, the power of the sheriff was paramount. It was backed by the King’s own writ and it was fatal to violate that.
    ‘I crave your forgiveness, my lord sheriff,’ he said at length.
    Bigot was brusque. ‘Some things are unpardonable.’
    ‘I was crazed by the news about my steward.’
    ‘That’s not how my deputy viewed your response. Olivier tells me that you seemed more concerned about the loss of your gold elephants than you did about the murder of your steward. Have you no loyalty to the men you employ?’
    ‘I’m their master,’ retorted the other. ‘It’s they who owe loyalty to me.’
    ‘What sort of man was Hermer?’ asked Ralph.
    ‘A good one until he was corrupted by Mauger.’
    ‘You’ve firm proof of that, my lord?’
    ‘I will have,’ vowed de Fontenel. ‘When I shake the truth out of him.’
    ‘You’ll do nothing of the kind,’ said Bigot, peremptorily. ‘The lord Mauger is under my protection. I’ll conduct any interrogation that is called for and I’ll do so at my own discretion. I’ll not be stampeded into action by you.’
    ‘Besides,’ said Ralph, mischievously, ‘if memory serves me aright, the lord Mauger has more knights at his beck and call than you. If you try to threaten him, he’ll beat you all the way back to your manor house.’
    ‘There’ll be no violence between the two of them,’ continued the sheriff. ‘This county is subject to the rule of law and I’m charged with the duty of enforcing that law.’ He gave de Fontenel a meaningful look. ‘Do you still intend to go your own way?’
    ‘Not if you apprehend Mauger.’
    ‘That’s not the answer I look for, my lord. You warmed the ears of my deputy with a blunt message for me. You swore to take the law into your own hands. Are you still of the same mind? If you are,’ Bigot said, unequivocally, ‘I’ll give you time to reflect on your stupidity in one of the dungeons. Is that what you want?’
    ‘No, my lord sheriff.’
    ‘Then repudiate your boast.’
    There was a long pause. ‘Perhaps I spoke in haste,’ conceded the other at length.
    ‘Spoke in haste and acted in fury.’
    ‘I’m sorry about that.’
    ‘Rein in your temper,’ ordered Bigot, ‘and say no