Caging the Lyon by H A Culley

Author:H A Culley [Culley, H A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orchard House Publishing
Published: 2013-08-14T23:00:00+00:00

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Richard still seethed with anger at Claire’s abduction and was determined to make Robert de Roos pay. He rode over to Carham with a large escort but he was too late; de Roos had already returned to his estates at Helmsley in Yorkshire. But Richard wasn’t going to give up that easily. He petitioned William de Vesci, as sheriff of Northumberland, for damages against Robert and cited the manor of Carham as suitable recompense. The hearing was set for the middle of June in Bamburgh Castle and a summons was sent to de Roos for him to appear to defend the action.

However, Robert de Roos sent a messenger back to William de Vesci at Alnwick in May denying that he had anything to do with Claire’s abduction and stating that business connected with his estates in Yorkshire made it impossible for him to attend the hearing at Bamburgh.

William decided to hear the case in de Roos absence and on a warm day without a cloud in the sky Richard and Claire rode over to Bamburgh with Turstin, now fully recovered, Warren, Elliot and the sergeant and the falconer who had been with Claire, all as witnesses. Several other cases were scheduled first and Richard had to curb his impatience. Claire sat impassively next to her husband on their bench and eventually told him to stop fidgeting. Relations between them had been a trifle cool since the rescue. Claire blamed Richard for allowing her brother to accompany him, however much he pointed out that Jocelyn had been left with the horses at Kielder in England. Although they still slept together the passion seemed to have gone out of their lovemaking.

Once he had tackled her about it. ‘Look, I know how upset you are about Jocelyn but there’s not much I can do about it. Don’t let it ruin our lives.’

It? He’s not an it, he’s my younger brother.’ She spat back at him, deliberately misunderstanding what he had said. ‘And there is something you can do about it. You can ask that cousin of yours at Berwick to find him.’

In fact Richard had already spoken to Guy but Liddesdale was in Roxburghshire and outside his jurisdiction. The sheriff there was Archibald, lord of Douglas, with whom Guy didn’t have a good relationship. Guy had made many complaints to Archibald about men from his shire committing crimes in Berwickshire and they were always ignored. Richard had explained this to Claire but she either didn’t believe him or chose to think Guy was being intentionally unhelpful.

When she was called Claire gave a concise account of her abduction and subsequent rescue which Richard, Warren and Elliot confirmed in turn. It was unfortunate that the one person who could have testified that the Elwood men had said that de Roos was the instigator of the abduction was Jocelyn. The only man who had heard anything was one of Richard’s knights, the nearest of the three men who were hiding in the undergrowth. The wounded Turstin

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