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Robin frowned.

"So?"

"So Fitzwalter doesn't necessarily have to prove they're false. He can claim you forged them to clear your father's name."

"He'd be lying."

"Of course he would. But the council will still want independent evidence."

She looked down at the papers.

"Then what do we need?"

"The Crown's own records."

I pointed to the financial figures.

"If the Exchequer rolls contain these eleven warrant numbers, and the banking houses have records of those four accounts, then we'll have independent proof that the money was diverted."

"And then?"

"Then Fitzwalter will have a much harder time dismissing your father's evidence."

I hesitated. "There's something else."

Robin looked at me. "The half letter."

"Yes."

"The one you left in Nottingham Castle."

"Unfortunately."

She put both hands flat on the table.

"Tell me you're not suggesting we go back into that castle."

"Not us."

Her expression changed.

"Guy."

"I know someone who may still be able to retrieve it."

"You also knew thirty-one soldiers were waiting for me the last time."

"And I was right about them."

"That's not helping your argument."

I couldn't disagree.

I wasn't proposing another rescue attempt. What I needed was a way to contact Hugh without drawing Fitzwalter's attention.

And before I could do that, there was someone else I needed to see.

The abandoned priory outside Southwell had been falling apart for longer than I'd been alive.