Vestiges of Valor (House of de Nerra Book 1) by Kathryn le Veque

Author:Kathryn le Veque [Le Veque, Kathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Medieval, Romance, Fiction
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2017-04-17T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Four days later

Canterbury

The West Gate Inn was empty at this time of day, at least empty of the men Val was looking for. De Morville, FitzUrse, le Breton, and de Tracy were nowhere to be found and a particularly solicitous barmaid could only say she’d seen them earlier, returning to their rooms and then emerging again swathed in cloaks.

Although the weather was cold, there was no snow on the ground and Val wondered why they had returned to the inn for their cloaks. Men bearing mail and heavy tunics were often quite warm in these temperatures, so it seemed odd to him. It was nearing late afternoon and, soon, Vespers would be upon them at the cathedral, which meant Becket would be there to perform the mass. Val couldn’t really think of anywhere else the four knights would have gone so he and his men quit the inn, mounted their horses, and tore off in the direction of the cathedral.

Being that they were in the days approaching the Epiphany, a day that was celebrated as the Three King’s feast, there were more people gathering near the cathedral than normal. Clusters of pilgrims swathed in wool against the cool temperatures were drawn to the warmth and light emitting from the cathedral like a moth to the flame.

The city of Canterbury was walled but so was the cathedral, with a fairly large barrier that was built around it and then inside, a vast open bailey with a cloister and the massive cathedral in the middle of it. It was an extraordinarily impressive monument to England’s veneration of God and even though Val had been here before, he was still impressed with the size and architecture of the cathedral and even the surrounding city. Canterbury was a very cosmopolitan city.

The faithful were gravitating towards the entrance to the cathedral but Val paused at what was called Christ’s Gate, a massive gatehouse which had a statue of a dove representing the Holy Spirit. This was the main entry, and he plus eighteen heavily-armed men made quite a conspicuous sight. Not wanting to create a massive uproar by charging into the grounds and terrifying everyone, he turned to Kenan, the only knight that had accompanied him.

“You and I will go in,” he said. “We will take ten men with us. It should be enough to do what needs to be done. Have the rest wait out here with the horses and prepare to fend off any papal soldiers who try to intervene.”

Kenan nodded firmly, relaying the message to the soldiers behind them. A fearless man, Kenan hadn’t taken issue with Henry’s directive in the least. He wasn’t a great supporter of the church, feeling that it was more a hotbed of greed for men pretending to be pious, so he was more than willing to help Val subdue Canterbury. Once the orders were delivered and he selected the men to accompany them inside, he turned to Val.

“Awaiting your move, my lord,” he said quietly.

Val

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