But first, you and I must come to an agreement. I want an answer.' Ralph did not answer. He pulled his cape around him. On the snowy road the white blur of Tinker's head-coverings and cowl looked ghostly in the pale winter light. Ralph could see the grey glint of his eyes shining over the rim of his hood. He smiled. 'Do you remember the day we first met?' Tinker said. 'You were riding north. I was riding east. You were carrying a message from your cousin John. And I was bringing a message from the Sheriff of Nottingham.' Ralph frowned. 'Yes,' he said, 'I remember.' 'You had a long argument over who was riding at the wrong way,' Tinker said. 'You told me that your kinsman was right and I was wrong. And that if I didn't repent my ways, I would die a sinner. You told me I was damned because of my pride and stubbornness, and because I wouldn't bow my head to the king. You told me I should go and serve with that rebel, Henry de Bohun. You cursed me and bade me go, curse me and curse you, for we would never meet again in this world. And that you would speak to the Sheriff about me. Do you remember that?' 'I remember,' Ralph said. 'It was the truth,' Tinker said. 'It was the truth.' The words froze Ralph. The pale sky brightened from black to pale blue. A crow swooped overhead. He could hear the soft clip of the horse's hooves on the frozen road. 'Tinker,' he said quietly, 'I think you should come down from the saddle.' 'What did you say, my lord?' Tinker said. He pulled his white cowl back over his head. 'That was one of the few times in my life I would ever tell the truth, and you heard it,' Ralph said. 'You have changed, my lord,' Tinker said. Ralph smiled. 'A sinner must not judge his brother,' he said. 'God knows that,' Tinker said. 'But we would both be sinners now, if not for our cousin John. My lord, I thank you for that. If it had not been for your cousin I would have been a sinner indeed. But God has granted me a place in this world because of him. Do you remember how John died?' 'I remember.' 'He died a martyr's death,' Tinker said. 'God will never forget the things he did for the sake of the love he bore for Our Saviour. He was burned at the stake, though he was already dead. That was the end of him, but for the love of God, he was glad to die. He had no other desire but to make the world a better place, to rid it of sin and evil. I asked God in my heart to judge me on the day I met you, that I might be forgiven for my sins and I could be worthy to come to Paradise. But God gave me strength to endure. And I was not made to be a martyr. I have suffered many things, many things, but I have paid my penance. Yet I ask God for the forgiveness I will never receive. And if I do not repent, I will be damned.' He bowed his head. 'Forgive me,' he whispered. Ralph waited, but Tinker would say no more. They were passing by the old church at Harby. A rook flew across the brightening sky. 'Why are we stopping?' Ralph said. 'Do you remember this place, my lord?' Tinker said. 'There is nothing left of it now.' They were looking at a shallow, well-shaped bowl on the side of the road. The old church, with its tower, had stood there for many years. But now the walls were fallen and all the windows broken. Rushes and weeds pushed up through the broken glass. Tinker pointed to a flat piece of ground by the side of the road. 'They dug up the bones of that holy man, Roger de Weseham, and they burned them,' he said. 'And now they are digging up the bones of another,' Ralph said. Tinker's eyes were wide. 'It is the same man?' he said. 'It is the same man,' Ralph said. There was no noise but for the crows by the side of the road and the soft clip of their horses' hooves on the snow. Ralph looked across the desolation and thought: I will not be here to help him this time, but you will be. In a moment he would see the man who had murdered him. He could not help himself: he started forward to look. 'My lord!' Tinker's hand grasped Ralph's elbow. Ralph shrugged it off. Tinker pulled him back onto the saddle. 'You cannot look, my lord,' he said. 'I must,' Ralph said. 'I must.' 'No, my lord,' Tinker said. 'It is not for you to do this thing. It is God's will.' A man stood waiting for them at the open barn doors. He looked to be in his sixties, and he wore a friar's robe, short and grey, that was torn, and his dark hair was greying, and his face was like a withered piece of leather. He looked back and forth from Tinker to Ralph. 'Do you know where I can find Father Godefroid?' he said. Tinker nodded. 'But I do not know where,' he said. 'We can find him, if you wish,' Ralph said. 'Do you think he would like to see us?' the friar said. 'I am Godefroid.' 'Yes, Godefroid,' Ralph said. 'He will be glad,' Tinker said. 'I know he will be glad.' 'I was at St Mary's on the morning of the day Father Eadred died,' the friar said. 'I went to the convent to tell Eadred the news.' 'Tell me,' Ralph said. 'Tell me all that happened. I want to hear it, so that I will know.' The friar sighed. 'I have had a happy life, thanks to Eadred,' he said. 'He saved me from the fire when I was eleven years old, and when I was old enough he sent me to school. I served as his attendant. I spent my whole life serving him. There is nothing I have not done for him. I prayed for him at his last hour.' He crossed himself. He crossed himself again. He made the sign of the cross in the air. 'He was going to be made a cardinal,' the friar said. 'I know he deserved it. He was a good man, God knows he was a good man. But it was not to be.' 'God gave him to us,' Tinker said. 'And he was God's servant.' 'Was he murdered?' Ralph said. 'Was he murdered here, on this road?' The friar looked up at the sky. 'He died as we slept. We heard a shout and we went to the window. It was that night, the night before the dawn. We were awoken by that scream. Then there was silence. Father Eadred died on the following day. Godfrey is the one who heard the first cry. He will tell you. He lives close to here.' 'And when it happened?' Ralph said. 'A man walked into the house. The house was full of servants and servants. We knew him, as he knew us. He shouted that the king had fallen into a coma, and then he shouted again, before we knew what he said. We saw he had a dagger. We tried to hold him. But he shouted at us, at us and at Eadred. And then he used his dagger on Eadred's neck. He was not a tall man, but he moved very quickly and very strongly. We were on the floor when it happened. Then he ran out of the house. We gave chase. We tracked him to the river. We followed him to the riverbank, and we killed him. He was the son of one of the greatest men in this country, so we know he had to be a great man. He must have come here to kill Eadred and then to take his own life. He ran into the river. I saw him fall.' He made the sign of the cross. 'He did not suffer. And then we called the friars and told them to bring him back. We buried him at dawn. Now we are looking for a cross to mark the grave.' He put his hand up and traced a cross on the air. 'The king will be buried here. He was fond of Eadred. I am sure of it. And the abbot wanted a great honour for us. It is no place for the king to be. But it is his right. It is his right. He is the king, after all.' 'Is there anyone here?' 'No. They are all away.'