Crowner's Crusade Read Online Free PDF Page B

Africa and the Levant added a Muslim flavour, the various styles of clothing of all these people making a bewildering mixture.
    â€˜No one has approached us yet,’ said Baldwin, looking around expectantly. ‘Maybe those couriers from Tancred never arrived. Shipwrecked perhaps, if they were as foolish as us to venture on the high seas at this time of year.’
    Soon the road widened out into a marketplace, even more crowded and chaotic than the main street. Amid the stalls and booths, old women sat on the ground amid piles of vegetables and fruit, donkeys and packhorses trod between them and roaming dogs and urchins added to the general confusion.
    â€˜Now where in hell do we look?’ demanded de Wolfe, stopping to view the congested square with distaste.
    A voice from his right answered him in perfect Norman-French. ‘I think you may be seeking me, sirs!’ A short man stepped out from behind a canvas booth selling fish. He was dressed in drab, but good-quality clothes, a short tunic and baggy breeches, a floppy wide-brimmed hat on his head. His light cloak carried several religious badges and he held a long staff in his hand, giving him the general appearance of a pilgrim. He had a smooth, bland face, one that John thought was instantly forgettable, perhaps an advantage in a secret courier.
    Baldwin advanced on him, glad that the quest seemed to have ended. ‘You have business with the king’s men?’ he asked.
    The man nodded and introduced himself as Brother Lawrence. ‘In spite of my appearance, I am a priest and one of King Tancred’s chaplains, though I seem to spend more time serving him than the Almighty!’ He turned and beckoned to another figure, who was still lurking behind the fish-stall. ‘This is Gilbert, a lay brother and my protector on covert missions such as this.’
    A large and ugly man appeared, grasping a cudgel and wearing a short sword on his belt. He nodded curtly, but said nothing, looking about him as if ready to fend off any attack.
    â€˜You have intelligence for us?’ William demanded of the Sicilian priest. ‘King Richard is most anxious to learn of any news about those that wish to confound him.’
    â€˜We have, sir. But this is no place to impart it.’ He looked around, just as his bodyguard was doing. ‘Since the scurrilous accusations put about by the French and the Germans, many in these islands are ill-disposed to your king. They know who you are, so I suggest returning with us to your ship as soon as we can.’
    As they retraced their steps through the crowded streets, de Wolfe was well aware of the scowls and muttering that some of the populace directed at them. As they neared the harbour, a small group of younger men shouted some unintelligible abuse at them from across the lane and then a stone was flung at them, which hit Gwyn on the leg. The big Cornishman was not one to suffer insults and with a roar, he launched himself across the street, pushing bystanders aside as he slipped his scabbard from his shoulder and pulled out his sword. The youths instantly scattered, but not before Gwyn had landed a few blows with the flat of his long blade and whacked another man with the heavy scabbard. They vanished into a side lane as Gwyn sheathed his weapon and walked back to the others.
    â€˜Well done!’ growled de Wolfe. ‘But the local populace don’t seem so pleased with us.’
    A number of the people in the crowded street were glaring at the strangers and several shook their fists and shouted, though they were careful not to come within range of Gwyn’s sword.
    â€˜Let’s get back to the ship before we start a riot,’ advised Baldwin and they moved more briskly towards the beach where their skiff was waiting.
    As they clambered aboard, several men and a couple of small boys followed them at a safe distance, shouting insults and, when the boat was safely afloat, they began throwing