Page 155

I frowned.

Peverel straightened.

"I'm a clerk, Sheriff. Most soldiers don't believe we're worth searching thoroughly."

Robin smiled. "I'm beginning to like him."

I took the parchment and opened the lantern shutter just enough to read it. It was the lower portion of William of Locksley's letter.

I recognized the handwriting immediately, along with the folds I'd made before hiding it behind the loose stone in my chambers.

The letter referred to the royal council and the Michaelmas sitting.

More importantly, it contained a date.

William had written that he'd first compared the levy warrants against the garrison receipts in the spring of that year.

He'd spent five months checking the figures before reporting what he'd discovered.

Five months making certain his accusations were correct.

And once Fitzwalter learned what he knew, William had been convicted and executed in eleven days.

I folded the letter and placed it inside my shirt.

"Let's get Hugh."

They brought him up from the cells at the sixth hour.

The sky was beginning to lighten outside, although the undercroft remained dark.

I lay flat along the gallery floor and watched the escort approach. For a moment, I had to lower my head.

Hugh was walking without assistance, but that was the only encouraging thing about his condition.

His right eye was swollen shut, and one side of his face was badly bruised.

Someone had given him a plain cloak to replace his own.

From the way he held himself, I suspected he'd suffered injuries beneath it as well.

Four guards surrounded him.

A serjeant followed, with an officer leading the group.

Captain Aldric.

I was relieved to recognize him. Aldric had served at Nottingham for three years. He was competent enough with routine duties, but I'd never considered him particularly courageous.

I hoped that would work in our favor.

Below us, Peverel emerged from a side room carrying several document boxes.

He stepped directly into the narrow crossing.

Then he dropped everything.

Boxes struck the floor, and parchment scattered across the passage. Peverel fell to his knees, apologizing profusely while attempting to gather the papers. The serjeant ordered him to move. Peverel apologized again.