NO LAW IN THE LAND
Michael Jecks
Copyright © 2009 Michael Jecks
The right of Michael Jecks to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
First published as an Ebook by
Headline Publishing Group in 2014
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
eISBN: 978 1 47221 9886
HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
An Hachette UK Company
338 Euston Road
London NW1 3BH
www.headline.co.uk
www.hachette.co.uk
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
About the Author
Also by Michael Jecks
Praise
About the Book
Dedication
Glossary
Cast of Characters
Author’s Note
Map
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
About the Author
Michael Jecks gave up a career in the computer industry to concentrate on his writing. He is the founder of Medieval Murderers, has been Chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association, and helped create the Historical Writers’ Association. Keen to help new writers, for some years he organised the Debut Dagger competition, and is now organising the AsparaWriting festival for new writers at Evesham. He has judged many prizes, including the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Michael is an international speaker on writing and for business. He lives with his wife, children and dogs in northern Dartmoor.
Michael can be contacted through his website: www.michaeljecks.co.uk.
He can be followed on twitter (@MichaelJecks) or on Facebook.com/Michael.Jecks.author.
His photos of Devon and locations for his books can be found at: Flickr.com/photos/Michael_Jecks.
Also by Michael Jecks
The Last Templar
The Merchant’s Partner
A Moorland Hanging
The Crediton Killings
The Abbot’s Gibbet
The Leper’s Return
Squire Throwleigh’s Heir
Belladonna at Belstone
The Traitor of St Giles
The Boy-Bishop’s Glovemaker
The Tournament of Blood
The Sticklepath Strangler
The Devil’s Acolyte
The Mad Monk of Gidleigh
The Templar’s Penance
The Outlaws of Ennor
The Tolls of Death
The Chapel of Bones
The Butcher of St Peter’s
A Friar’s Bloodfeud
The Death Ship of Dartmouth
Malice of Unnatural Death
Dispensation of Death
The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover
The Prophecy of Death
The King of Thieves
No Law in the Land
The Bishop Must Die
The Oath
King’s Gold
City of Fiends
Templar’s Acre
Praise
‘Michael Jecks is the master of the medieval whodunnit’ Robert Low
‘Captivating … If you care for a well-researched visit to medieval England, don‘t pass this series’ Historical Novels Review
‘Michael Jecks has a way of dipping into the past and giving it that immediacy of a present-day newspaper article … He writes … with such convincing charm that you expect to walk round a corner in Tavistock and meet some of the characters’ Oxford Times
‘Great characterisation, a detailed sense of place, and a finely honed plot make this a superb medieval historical’ Library Journal
‘Stirring intrigue and a compelling cast of characters will continue to draw accolades’ Publishers Weekly
‘A tortuous and exciting plot … The construction of the story and the sense of period are excellent’ Shots
‘This fascinating portrayal of medieval life and the corruption of the Church will not disappoint. With convincing characters whose treacherous acts perfectly combine with a devilishly masterful plot, Jecks transports readers back to this wicked world with ease’ Good Book Guide
About the Book
The twenty-seventh novel in Michael Jecks’s medieval Knights Templar series.
King Edward II is furious when he learns that his wife Queen Isabella has defied him by remaining in France and abducting their son. As the unfortunate messengers of this news, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, are dismissed from court.
Returning home to Devon, they are shocked to discover that outlaws now hold sway in the land. When two clerics are found murdered, Baldwin and Simon must investigate. But the culprit is a friend of Dispenser and the King, and in taking the matter further they could be accused of treason. So they decide to leave the affair to others. Until, that is, Simon’s own daughter comes under threat, and all hell is let loose…
For Beryl and Peter
to celebrate sixty years of dogs, sons and marriage!
With loads of love from your final, perfect son!
And:
For Nick and Jo
to celebrate their wedding.
Here’s to many years of happiness!
Glossary
amercement
the fines imposed for many offences, some of which were not the fault of the persons fined – see deodand and murdrum below.
bastide
a fortified town in France.
deodand
the sum demanded for the king, based on the value of any weapon used in a slaying. The system of claiming deodand, fixed by the coroner, was not ended until the 1800s in England, as a result of lobbying by railway companies, after some very expensive accidents in which the trains themselves were claimed as deodand.
Guyenne
those lands owned by the English on the French mainland, mainly centred around Bordeaux.
hobby
a low-grade horse, a little higher than a nag, but below a rounsey, and generally good for short distances or for use as a packhorse.
leyrwite
the fine for promiscuity among men and women – commonly for adultery in men and bearing a child outside wedlock for women.
maslin
peasant bread made from mixed wheat and rye grains.
murdrum
the fine for not being able to prove ‘Englishry’. This was based on the days of conquest when, in order to quash resistance to Norman rule and halt the terrorists (or freedom fighters, depending upon your point of view) from murdering Normans, when a body was found it was assumed to be a Norman unless the local vill could prove with witnesses that the corpse was that of a local Englishman. The ‘presentment of Englishry’ was a requirement until 1340, when it was effectively abolished. So if a stranger was found dead, it would be likely to be a heavy financial burden on the local community.
palfrey
a good-quality riding horse – sometimes worth £4 or more.
peine fort et dure
the punishment for arrested men who refused to plead in court, this was a hideous and lengthy process whereby the victim was staked out on the ground so that he could not move, and weights were gradually added to his breast to make breathing harder and harder. Eventually it did lead to death, although the official line was that when a prisoner died from it, it was ‘natural causes’.
rounsey
lower-quality horse, generally robust, but cheaper.
trail bastons
early in the 1300s, these gangs of ‘club men’ wandered the country, robbing all they could from the unwary. The problem grew so acute that there were special courts set up to enquire about them.
triacleur
a ‘quack’ doctor, known to wander the country selling potions often formed solely of treacle or some similar sweet mixture.
Cast of Characters
Baldwin de Furnshill
the Keeper of the King’s Peace and an astute investigator of crimes, motivated by a hatred of any form of injustice.
Jeanne de Furnshill
wife to Sir Baldwin; widow of Sir Ralph de Liddinstone, a coarse and harsh husband who abused her.
Richalda
Baldwin and Jeanne’s daughter, now three years old.
Baldwin
Baldwin and Jeanne’s son, born Martinmas last year.
Simon Puttock
Baldwin’s friend and once a servant to the Abbot of Tavistock; now Simon waits to hear whether he will have a post since the death of Abbot Champeaux.
Margaret (Meg)
Simon’s wife, who is distraught at losing their home in Lydford due to the machinations of Sir Hugh le Despenser.
Edith
Simon and Margaret’s daughter, seventeen years old, who is now married to Peter and living in Exeter.
Peter
Edith’s husband.
Jane
maidservant to Edith and Peter.
Charles
Peter’s father.
Jan
Peter’s mother.
Edgar
Baldwin’s loyal servant, once his sergeant in the Knights Templar.
Perkin
also Peterkin, Simon and Margaret’s three-year-old son.
Sir Peregrine de Barnstaple
Known to hate Despenser, Sir Peregrine has become a coroner.
Sir Richard de Welles
loud and crude, he is the coroner for Lifton.
Bishop Walter
Walter Stapledon of Exeter, once the king’s trusted lord high treasurer and negotiator.
Raymond, Cardinal de Fargis
the negotiator sent by the pope to adjudicate between the two contenders for the abbacy at Tavistock.
John de Courtenay
a keen monk who wants the abbacy at Tavistock.
Robert Busse
the abbot-elect, who was given the post at the election, but was not confirmed, subject to the investigation of allegations made against him by John de Courtenay.
Brother Pietro de Torrino
a monk in the cardinal’s entourage.
Brother Anselm
cheerful and content, this monk lives at Tavistock.
Brother Mark
a quiet, thoughtful monk from Tavistock.
Sir Hugh le Despenser
the king’s closest friend and confidant, now the richest and most powerful man in the land after the king himself.
Sir James de Cockington
the new sheriff of Exeter.
Hoppon
peasant living south of Jacobstowe.
Roger
wandering mercenary and sailor on his way to sea to escape the violence and mayhem in France.
William atte Wattere
henchman of Despenser, a violent and dangerous felon who’ll do anything to support his master.
William Walle
nephew to Stapledon.
John de Padington
steward to Stapledon.
Bill Lark
bailiff of Jacobstowe.
Agnes
wife to Bill.
Sir Robert de Traci
once a knight in the king’s household, now Sir Robert has fallen out of favour and has become an outlaw operating from his castle outside Bow, at Nymet Traci.
Osbert
henchman to Sir Robert, his most trusted manat-arms.
Basil
son of Sir Robert de Traci, and heir to the castle of Nymet Traci.
Stephen of Shoreditch
a messenger for Despenser and the king.
Master Harold
Peter’s master while he was an apprentice.
John Pasmere
peasant of Bow.
Art Miller
peasant from Jacobstowe guarding murder scene.
John Weaver
peasant from Jacobstowe guarding murder scene.
Jack Begbeer
farmer from near Bow.
Author’s Note
This has been one of the more difficult books in the series to write. All too often an idea will come from a chance conversation, from a short passage in a reference book, or just from my imagination, and then my task is simply to elaborate on it and try to give it that feeling of logic and inevitability that is so important in works of crime fiction like mine.
However, I am getting close to that terrible period in English history when the realm was falling apart – riven by the internal disputes caused by the king and Despenser. And although I have invented much of this story, the basis of the fear that runs through the tale was genuine. The people were living through appalling times, and their suffering was not eased by the rich and powerful men whose task it was, in theory, to protect the peasants and the clergy.
Edward II had been a less than fortunate king for most of his reign. His initial attempts at pacifying the Scots led to utter disaster at Bannockburn; his reliance on one adviser, Piers Gaveston, had deeply unfortunate consequences (mainly, it should be said, for Gaveston himself) and meant that within a few years the king’s authority and power was significantly curtailed. However, by the period of this tale, he had recovered much of the lost ground. He had gathered an army and defeated all the malcontents, and then embarked on an orgy of destruction. All those who had raised their flags against him were declared traitors – he was keen on accusing people of that crime – and executed. The rank of the person involved did not matter. They were hanged, drawn and quartered, their remains put on display wherever men and women needed reminding of their sovereign.
All of this caused massive ructions in the country. There were many men who had been in the wars against the king who now found themselves declared outlaw, and who thus had lost their lands, their homes, their titles – even their families. Many left the kingdom and instead went to France, where quite a lot sought out the greatest contrariant of them all, Sir Roger Mortimer – the king’s Greatest Traitor. Their posit
ion grew more tolerable as the queen arrived with the young Duke of Aquitaine, the king’s son. Soon they would mount an invasion to overthrow the king.
Not all Edward’s enemies actually left the country. Many remained, and did indeed take on the guise of outlaws, living in the forests and on the moors. They were the reason for the sudden increase in crime in 1324–6, because they had nothing to lose. The population became increasingly alarmed by the actions of these ‘rebels’.
However, not all those responsible for the very worst crimes were necessarily the men who had stood against the king. All too often, the men who appear to have been guilty of these crimes also appear to have been friends of the king or Despenser.
Nicholas de la Beche, for example, was one of the longest-standing members of the king’s household in 1323 when he was arrested. He, and his brothers and father, rebelled in 1321, some nine years after he joined the household, and took over a manor owned by Aubyn de Clinton. They plundered it, and poor Aubyn was so terrified he didn’t dare take the matter to the local courts. He petitioned the king to help him – and was unhelpfully advised to get a common-law writ against his tormentor.*
Others behaved in a similarly appalling manner. Roger Sapy’s deputy, who was responsible for many of the contrariant castles in Wales, was attacked in July 1325. His limbs were all broken and his eyes gouged out. A half-year later it was the turn of the royal exchequer, Belers, to be murdered.
The problem would seem to have been that, for the first time in generations, the king had lost control. His household knights could not be trusted. When Sir Gilbert Middleton ravaged the north in 1317, he and his allies declared that they could not be tried in courts because they were members of the king’s household – as though that meant they were above the law. They were not, as they were soon to discover.