The Faithless Fool by Sarah Woodbury

Author:Sarah Woodbury
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Wales, scotland, medieval, middle ages, mystery, medieval mystery, sleuth, women sleuth, dane, danish mystery, godfrid, ireland, king david, historical mystery
Publisher: The Morgan-Stanwood Publishing Group Inc
Published: 2021-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-one

Day Two

Gareth

“Lord Douglas.” Rather than calling him by only his given name, Gareth chose to accord him his title, just to ensure his continued cooperation. Gareth’s promotion to Hywel’s steward, combined with the land he held now in Anglesey, had made him a lord of the same stature as Douglas, who essentially had risen to his station in precisely the same fashion as Gareth. “I was hoping to speak to you and your confederate here.”

Douglas’s brow furrowed. “I am quite busy now, Lord Gareth.” To his credit, he didn’t pause between his initial thought and saying Gareth’s name, unoffended by Gareth’s formality and returning it.

“It is regarding the body in the church.”

Douglas blinked. “Of course. It was on my duty list this morning to report to the king on the matter and then to come find you.” He looked past Gareth to where the king was deep in conversation with Earl Ranulf and Prince Henry. “The truth is, I did not find any men who had seen or heard anything amiss in the church’s vicinity last night. Even pressing them hard brought no change in their stories. Frankly, I saw no point in continuing. One can’t squeeze water from a stone.”

“One cannot. Thank you for trying.” Gareth hadn’t expected anything different, given that nobody had come forward before then, and by Douglas’s own admission, he had little experience with investigations. Gareth had other questions as well, namely about how well acquainted Douglas actually was with Aelred, but they could wait until after he’d spoken to Brian. “If I need to return to the matter with any of them, I hope I can say I have your consent.”

“You may.” Douglas jerked his head to his companion and took a step, implying that he should come with him and that the conversation was over.

Gareth, however, put out a hand. “If I may speak to—” He let the sentence hang, since Douglas hadn’t bothered to introduce him. Gareth himself had held a position similar to Brian’s for many years too and knew it wasn’t unusual to stand silently by while one’s betters talked.

“Brian MacGregor.” Douglas flapped a hand in his underling’s direction. “I use him as a messenger. He travels with me sometimes. Brian, this is Lord Gareth from Gwynedd.”

“My lord.” Brian bent in a bow.

“Thank you,” Gareth said to Douglas, not acknowledging Brian’s greeting just yet. “I won’t keep him long.”

A speculative look entered Douglas’s eyes, interested and wondering what possible reason Gareth could have for speaking to Brian. But he was too polite—and maybe too preoccupied—to ask.

Once Douglas had departed, Gareth tipped his head to indicate an empty table in the back of the hall. Nearby were a serving pitcher and two cups, and he poured out ale for both of them. Since his arrival, as with Douglas, Gareth had been more than usually aware of the status of everyone in King David’s hall, and while he didn’t want to undermine his own station, he wanted Brian at his ease for what he was about to ask him.

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