Read No Law in the Land: (Knights Templar 27) Online

Authors: Michael Jecks

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No Law in the Land: (Knights Templar 27)

BOOK: No Law in the Land: (Knights Templar 27)
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NO LAW IN THE LAND
Michael Jecks

Copyright © 2009 Michael Jecks

The right of Michael Jecks to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

First published as an Ebook by

Headline Publishing Group in 2014

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

eISBN: 978 1 47221 9886

HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

An Hachette UK Company

338 Euston Road

London NW1 3BH

www.headline.co.uk

www.hachette.co.uk

About the Author

Michael Jecks gave up a career in the computer industry to concentrate on his writing. He is the founder of Medieval Murderers,
has been Chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association, and helped create the Historical Writers’ Association. Keen to help new
writers, for some years he organised the Debut Dagger competition, and is now organising the AsparaWriting festival for new
writers at Evesham. He has judged many prizes, including the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Michael is an international speaker
on writing and for business. He lives with his wife, children and dogs in northern Dartmoor.

Michael can be contacted through his website:
www.michaeljecks.co.uk.

He can be followed on twitter (@MichaelJecks) or on
Facebook.com/Michael.Jecks.author
.

His photos of Devon and locations for his books can be found at:
Flickr.com/photos/Michael_Jecks
.

Also by Michael Jecks

The Last Templar

The Merchant’s Partner

A Moorland Hanging

The Crediton Killings

The Abbot’s Gibbet

The Leper’s Return

Squire Throwleigh’s Heir

Belladonna at Belstone

The Traitor of St Giles

The Boy-Bishop’s Glovemaker

The Tournament of Blood

The Sticklepath Strangler

The Devil’s Acolyte

The Mad Monk of Gidleigh

The Templar’s Penance

The Outlaws of Ennor

The Tolls of Death

The Chapel of Bones

The Butcher of St Peter’s

A Friar’s Bloodfeud

The Death Ship of Dartmouth

Malice of Unnatural Death

Dispensation of Death

The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover

The Prophecy of Death

The King of Thieves

No Law in the Land

The Bishop Must Die

The Oath

King’s Gold

City of Fiends

Templar’s Acre

Praise

‘Michael Jecks is the master of the medieval whodunnit’ Robert Low

‘Captivating … If you care for a well-researched visit to medieval England, don‘t pass this series’
Historical Novels Review

‘Michael Jecks has a way of dipping into the past and giving it that immediacy of a present-day newspaper article … He
writes … with such convincing charm that you expect to walk round a corner in Tavistock and meet some of the characters’
Oxford Times

‘Great characterisation, a detailed sense of place, and a finely honed plot make this a superb medieval historical’
Library Journal

‘Stirring intrigue and a compelling cast of characters will continue to draw accolades’
Publishers Weekly

‘A tortuous and exciting plot … The construction of the story and the sense of period are excellent’
Shots

‘This fascinating portrayal of medieval life and the corruption of the Church will not disappoint. With convincing characters
whose treacherous acts perfectly combine with a devilishly masterful plot, Jecks transports readers back to this wicked world
with ease’
Good Book Guide

About the Book

The twenty-seventh novel in Michael Jecks’s medieval Knights Templar series.

King Edward II is furious when he learns that his wife Queen Isabella has defied him by remaining in France and abducting their son. As the unfortunate messengers of this news, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, are dismissed from court.

Returning home to Devon, they are shocked to discover that outlaws now hold sway in the land. When two clerics are found murdered, Baldwin and Simon must investigate. But the culprit is a friend of Dispenser and the King, and in taking the matter further they could be accused of treason. So they decide to leave the affair to others. Until, that is, Simon’s own daughter comes under threat, and all hell is let loose…

For Beryl and Peter

to celebrate sixty years of dogs, sons and marriage!

With loads of love from your final, perfect son!

And:

For Nick and Jo

to celebrate their wedding.

Here’s to many years of happiness!

Glossary

amercement

the fines imposed for many offences, some of which were not the fault of the persons fined – see
deodand
and
murdrum
below.

bastide

a fortified town in France.

deodand

the sum demanded for the king, based on the value of any weapon used in a slaying. The system of claiming deodand, fixed by
the coroner, was not ended until the 1800s in England, as a result of lobbying by railway companies, after some very expensive
accidents in which the trains themselves were claimed as deodand.

Guyenne

those lands owned by the English on the French mainland, mainly centred around Bordeaux.

hobby

a low-grade horse, a little higher than a nag, but below a rounsey, and generally good for short distances or for use as a
packhorse.

leyrwite

the fine for promiscuity among men and women – commonly for adultery in men and bearing a child outside wedlock for women.

maslin

peasant bread made from mixed wheat and rye grains.

murdrum

the fine for not being able to prove ‘Englishry’. This was based on the days of conquest when, in order to quash resistance to Norman rule and halt the terrorists (or freedom
fighters, depending upon your point of view) from murdering Normans, when a body was found it was assumed to be a Norman unless
the local vill
could prove with witnesses that the corpse was that of a local Englishman. The ‘presentment of Englishry’ was a requirement
until 1340, when it was effectively abolished. So if a stranger was found dead, it would be likely to be a heavy financial
burden on the local community.

palfrey

a good-quality riding horse – sometimes worth £4 or more.

peine fort et dure

the punishment for arrested men who refused to plead in court, this was a hideous and lengthy process whereby the victim was
staked out on the ground so that he could not move, and weights were gradually added to his breast to make breathing harder
and harder. Eventually it did lead to death, although the official line was that when a prisoner died from it, it was ‘natural
causes’.

rounsey

lower-quality horse, generally robust, but cheaper.

trail bastons

early in the 1300s, these gangs of ‘club men’ wandered the country, robbing all they could from the unwary. The problem grew
so acute that there were special courts set up to enquire about them.

triacleur

a ‘quack’ doctor, known to wander the country selling potions often formed solely of treacle or some similar sweet mixture.

Cast of Characters

Baldwin de Furnshill

the Keeper of the King’s Peace and an astute investigator of crimes, motivated by a hatred of any form of injustice.

Jeanne de Furnshill

wife to Sir Baldwin; widow of Sir Ralph de Liddinstone, a coarse and harsh husband who abused her.

Richalda

Baldwin and Jeanne’s daughter, now three years old.

Baldwin

Baldwin and Jeanne’s son, born Martinmas last year.

Simon Puttock

Baldwin’s friend and once a servant to the Abbot of Tavistock; now Simon waits to hear whether he will have a post since the death of Abbot Champeaux.

Margaret (Meg)

Simon’s wife, who is distraught at losing their home in Lydford due to the machinations of Sir Hugh le Despenser.

Edith

Simon and Margaret’s daughter, seventeen years old, who is now married to Peter and living in Exeter.

Peter

Edith’s husband.

Jane

maidservant to Edith and Peter.

Charles

Peter’s father.

Jan

Peter’s mother.

Edgar

Baldwin’s loyal servant, once his sergeant in the Knights Templar.

Perkin

also Peterkin, Simon and Margaret’s three-year-old son.

Sir Peregrine de Barnstaple

Known to hate Despenser, Sir Peregrine has become a coroner.

Sir Richard de Welles

loud and crude, he is the coroner for Lifton.

Bishop Walter

Walter Stapledon of Exeter, once the king’s trusted lord high treasurer and negotiator.

Raymond, Cardinal de Fargis

the negotiator sent by the pope to adjudicate between the two contenders for the abbacy at Tavistock.

John de Courtenay

a keen monk who wants the abbacy at Tavistock.

Robert Busse

the abbot-elect, who was given the post at the election, but was not confirmed, subject to the investigation of allegations
made against him by John de Courtenay.

Brother Pietro de Torrino

a monk in the cardinal’s entourage.

Brother Anselm

cheerful and content, this monk lives at Tavistock.

Brother Mark

a quiet, thoughtful monk from Tavistock.

Sir Hugh le Despenser

the king’s closest friend and confidant, now the richest and most powerful man in the land after the king himself.

Sir James de Cockington

the new sheriff of Exeter.

Hoppon

peasant living south of Jacobstowe.

Roger

wandering mercenary and sailor on his way to sea to escape the violence and mayhem in
France.

William atte Wattere

henchman of Despenser, a violent and dangerous felon who’ll do anything to support his master.

William Walle

nephew to Stapledon.

John de Padington

steward to Stapledon.

Bill Lark

bailiff of Jacobstowe.

Agnes

wife to Bill.

Sir Robert de Traci

once a knight in the king’s household, now Sir Robert has fallen out of favour and has become an outlaw operating from his
castle outside Bow, at Nymet Traci.

Osbert

henchman to Sir Robert, his most trusted manat-arms.

Basil

son of Sir Robert de Traci, and heir to the castle of Nymet Traci.

Stephen of Shoreditch

a messenger for Despenser and the king.

Master Harold

Peter’s master while he was an apprentice.

John Pasmere

peasant of Bow.

Art Miller

peasant from Jacobstowe guarding murder scene.

John Weaver

peasant from Jacobstowe guarding murder scene.

Jack Begbeer

farmer from near Bow.

BOOK: No Law in the Land: (Knights Templar 27)
9.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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