Dark Serpent (Hugh Corbett 18) Read online

  Corbett drank from his goblet. ‘Burghesh and Stapleton were next. They too could pose a threat to Ausel and eventually to you. Admitted, aided and supported by Ausel, you sweep like some murderous fury through that lazar hospital. You cruelly and cowardly slaughter three innocent men to provoke deep unrest at St Giles. You and Ausel deliver that message about vengeance coming. Ausel ostensibly flees into hiding. Burghesh and Stapleton, encouraged by him, seek sanctuary at Holy Trinity the Little. Ausel has sworn to return and assist them. He comes in the dead of night, when Parson Layburn is elsewhere. Burghesh and Stapleton admit him. Ausel, however, has brought his cloaked, cowled friend. He assures his colleagues all is well and, I suspect, produces a wineskin of the best Bordeaux, laced with a heavy opiate. Both men, frightened and exhausted, drink and sink into a deep sleep. You deal the killing blows, then flee. Nobody sees you except for an old woman, a Sister of the Street, but who will listen to her?’

  Corbett paused and pulled himself up in his chair. ‘And now the final chapter in your murderous progress: your attempt to kill Mistress Philippa. This proves everything I have said. In your eyes, nobody has the right to threaten you.’ He lifted his hands as he held the dead-eyed gaze of this truly murderous soul. ‘Brother Jerome, John Priknash, Gabriel Rougehead, all those demons seething within you, a veritable litany of murderers: I am going to see you all hang at Tyburn. Ranulf here will tie the knot and turn the ladder. As you dance between heaven and earth, the ghosts of your victims will gather, waiting to seize your soul. You,’ he pointed at the smirking prisoner, ‘will pay the full cost, and you,’ gesturing at de Craon, ‘will watch.’

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  The treason and treachery described in this novel is a fair reflection of the times. Philip of France was determined to shatter the Templar order and was equally set on bringing England very firmly within the orbit of his rule. Men such as de Craon are based on the personalities and actions of the ruthless and cruel group of lawyers who advised Philip and truly believed their master was both pope and emperor. The depredations of The Black Hogge also reflect the savage war waged by ships in the English Channel, where mercy, compassion and the rule of law were totally ignored.

  The use of courier pigeons is thousands of years old, and the speed and accuracy of these coursers of the air is truly remarkable. Corbett’s explanation of how they were ignored by the English Crown is certainly based on fact. Edward I loved his falcons and hawks more than life itself; certainly more than his eldest son, the Prince of Wales. King and heir became seriously alienated over the question of Gaveston, who proved to be a catalyst for further tragedy, totally engulfing the twenty-year reign of Edward II.