World Without End

Ben was holding Joseph’s club in a two-handed grip. Joseph leaped to his feet. Seeing Ben brandishing the club, he reached for his dagger. But Ben was quicker – the carter must have fought in battle at some time, Ralph realized. Ben swung the club and landed a mighty blow on the top of Joseph’s head. Joseph fell to the ground and lay motionless.

Ralph roared with rage. He drew his sword and ran at the carter.

Merthin shouted: “No!”

Ralph stabbed Ben in the chest, thrusting the sword between his ribs as forcefully as he could. It passed through Ben’s thick body and came out the other side. Ben fell back and Ralph pulled the sword out. Blood spurted from the carter in a fountain. Ralph felt a jolt of triumphant satisfaction. There would be no more insolence from Ben Wheeler.

He knelt beside Joseph. The man’s eyes stared sightlessly. There was no heartbeat. He was dead.

In a way that was good. It simplified the explanations. Ben Wheeler had murdered one of the earl’s men, and had died for it. No one would see any injustice in that – least of all Earl Roland, who had no mercy for those who defied his authority.

Merthin did not see it the same way. His face was twisted as if in pain. “What have you done?” he said incredulously. “Ben Wheeler has a two-year-old son! They call him Be

“The widow had better look for another husband, then,” said Ralph. “This time, she should choose a man who knows his place.”

27

It was a poor harvest. There was so little sunshine in August that the grain had barely ripened by September. In the village of Wigleigh, spirits were low. There was none of the usual euphoria of harvest time: the dances, the drinking, the sudden romances. Wet crops were liable to rot. Many villagers would go hungry before spring.

Wulfric reaped his barley in the driving rain, scything the wet stalks while Gwenda followed behind binding the sheaves. On the first su

At some point Gwenda realized that Wulfric was powered by fury. The sudden loss of his entire family had enraged him. He would have blamed someone for his bereavement, if he could; but the collapse of the bridge seemed a random event, an act of evil spirits or a punishment by God; so he had no outlet for his passion except work. She herself was driven by love, which was just as potent.

They were in the fields before the crack of dawn, and they did not stop until it was too dark to see. Gwenda went to sleep with an aching back every night and woke when she heard Wulfric bang the kitchen door before dawn. Still they lagged behind everyone else.

Gradually, she sensed a change in the attitude of the village towards her and Wulfric. All her life, she had been looked down upon as the daughter of the disreputable Joby; and the women had disapproved of her even more when they realized she wanted to snatch Wulfric away from A

In the end the villagers rallied around to help them. The priest, Father Gaspard, turned a blind eye to their working on Sundays. When A

A

No day had yet been fixed for the wedding. Perkin was nothing if not shrewd, and he would not let his daughter commit herself until the question of the inheritance was settled.

Wulfric had proved his ability to farm the land. No one would question that now. His age had come to seem irrelevant. The only remaining obstacle was the heriot. Would he be able to raise the money to pay the inheritance tax? It would depend how much he got for his cash crops. The harvest was poor but, if the bad weather had been widespread, the price of wheat would probably be high. In normal circumstances, a prosperous peasant family would have money saved up for the heriot; but Wulfric’s family’s savings were at the bottom of the river in Kingsbridge. So nothing was settled. And Gwenda could continue to dream that Wulfric would inherit the land and, somehow, transfer his affections to her. Anything was possible.

As they were unloading the cart into the barn, Nathan Reeve arrived. The hunchbacked bailiff was in a state of high excitement. “Come to the church, quickly,” he said. “Everybody! Stop what you’re doing.”

Wulfric said: “I’m not leaving my crops out in the open – it might rain.”

Gwenda said: “We’ll just drag the cart inside. What’s the emergency, Nate?”

The bailiff was already hurrying to the next house. “The new lord is arriving!” he said.

“Wait!” Wulfric ran after him. “Will you recommend that I inherit?”

Everyone stood still, watching, waiting for the answer.

Nathan turned reluctantly and faced Wulfric. He had to look up, for Wulfric was taller by a foot. “I don’t know,” he said slowly.

“I’ve proved I can farm the land – you can see that. Just look in the barn!”

“You’ve done well, no question. But can you pay the heriot?”

“It depends on the price of wheat.”

A

Gwenda wondered what was coming.

Perkin looked hesitant.

A

“Yes, I remember,” Perkin said at last.

“Tell Nate, then.”

Perkin turned to the bailiff. “I’ll guarantee the heriot, if the lord will let Wulfric inherit.”

Gwenda’s hand flew to her mouth.

Nathan said: “You’ll pay it for him? It’s two pounds and ten shillings.”

“If he’s short, I’ll lend him what he needs. Of course, they’ll have to be married first.”

Nathan lowered his voice. “And, in addition…?”

Perkin said something so quietly that Gwenda could not hear it, but she could guess what it was. Perkin was offering Nathan a bribe, probably a tenth of the tax, which would be five shillings.

“Very well,” Nathan said. “I’ll make the recommendation. Now get yourselves to the church, quickly!” He ran off.

Wulfric smiled broadly and kissed A

Gwenda was heartsick. Her hopes were dashed. A

Gwenda forced herself to help push the cart into the barn. Then she followed the happy couple as they walked through the village to the church. It was all over. A new lord, not knowing the village or the people, was unlikely to go against his bailiff’s advice on a question such as this. The fact that Nathan had gone to the trouble of negotiating a bribe indicated his confidence.

It was partly her fault, of course. She had broken her back to make sure Wulfric got his harvest in, in the vain hope that somehow he would realize how much better a wife she would make than A