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His mouth tightened. "All he had to do was mind his own affairs."

I studied the man who'd destroyed my family. "He was minding his affairs. You were stealing from the King."

Fitzwalter's eyes narrowed. "You think this changes what you've done?"

He glanced toward Guy. "Six years of theft. Soldiers of the Crown wounded by your arrows."

"Not one of them dead."

"You're still a criminal, girl. Whatever those papers say about your father, no commissioner in England can change what you are."

I considered that. He wasn't entirely wrong. I'd broken the law. I'd stolen supplies, interfered with tax collections, and attacked royal convoys.

I wouldn't pretend otherwise.

"You're probably right," I said.

He looked almost pleased.

"But here's what has changed."

I stepped closer.

"Tomorrow, a clerk in London will examine your accounts. Next month, a court will hear Crane's testimony with Crane standing there to confirm every word."

I looked directly into his eyes.

"And for the rest of your life, whenever you want something done to another person, you'll have to convince somebody who doesn't answer to you."

His expression hardened.

"That," I continued, "is all I ever wanted."

He stared at me.

"I didn't need to watch you suffer. I needed you stopped."

One of the guards touched his arm. Fitzwalter looked as though he wanted to say something else, but the guard directed him toward the doors. I watched him leave, happy to never see his face ever again.

My own hearing took place that afternoon. I was more nervous about it than I'd been about Fitzwalter's judgment. The commissioners read through six years of accusations.

Eleven Crown convoys.

Four storehouses.

Interference with tax collections at Blyth during two separate years.

The stolen royal seal.

There was also a detailed accounting of the grain, medicine, and other supplies taken from Crown stores.

The total was large enough that someone at the back of the hall whistled.

I kept my expression neutral.

They hadn't even found everything. Then the commissioners began reading the testimony submitted on my behalf.

Nine villages had received grain we'd taken from royal convoys. Their headmen had come forward to confirm it.