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They placed me in the third cell beneath the east range.

The walls were damp, and the air smelled of wet stone and old straw. The River Leen ran behind that section of the castle, which meant moisture was a constant problem.

I'd ordered repairs to those cells twice.

Apparently, nobody had gotten around to them.

Hugh arrived about an hour later, carrying the prison register beneath one arm and a lamp in his other hand.

He didn't need the lamp. There were already two burning in the corridor.

The gaoler let him through without asking questions.

In five years of service, Hugh had earned a reputation for being reliable, disciplined, and thoroughly uninteresting.

It was one of his more useful qualities.

"They've taken your command," I said.

"My keys and my command, sir. Not my freedom, which I find rather insulting."

He placed the lamp on a nearby ledge.

"Fitzwalter wants me where he can keep an eye on me. A lieutenant thrown into a cell gives the men something to complain about. A lieutenant standing around the courtyard with nothing to do is simply an embarrassment."

"Your messenger?"

"Left the first night, before any of this happened. He hasn't returned, which I'm choosing to take as a good sign."

Hugh glanced toward the corridor.

"I don't know whether Robin received the message, but I know it was sent."

"Hugh, you've served me faithfully for five years. There's no reason for you to end up hanging beside me."

"With respect, sir, I wasn't asking your permission."

"You have a family."

"And I've got a sheriff who seems determined to make himself unpopular with every powerful bastard in Nottingham."

I nearly smiled.

"That sounds like a complaint."

"It is, sir."

"Then do something useful instead of getting yourself arrested."

He raised an eyebrow.

"The ledger and the chapel inventory are still in the Locksley boxes beneath the east tower. They're the only copies we've got. If Fitzwalter destroys them, we'll have no record of what William discovered."

"He's already posted two of his men outside the muniment room."

"Then get Peverel to make copies. Have him enter them into the archive register as official transcripts, complete with the date. Once they're finished, get them out of the castle."

"To whom?"