Crown in Darkness

love for King Alexander. Indeed, he had good cause to benefit from his death, yet, Corbett reasoned, he was only one among many.
    It was dark when they reached the outskirts of Edinburgh. Corbett relaxed, the thoroughfare was busy as carts, traders and farmers trudged home. Suddenly there was a commotion, confusion and curses as an empty cart overturned, the horse plunging and rearing in its traces with no sign of the driver. Corbett and Ranulf, riding abreast, stopped and gazed at the chaos. Two figures who had been walking ahead of them, suddenly turned and came sauntering back. Corbett saw them and straightened in his saddle. There was something wrong. He caught a glimpse of steel. He grabbed the reins of Ranulf s garron, and kicked his own into a canter. The two men were knocked aside as Corbett swung round the overturned wagon and broke into a gallop, clinging to his horse and hoping it would keep its feet on the rough rutted track. As soon as they were amongst the shuttered houses of Edinburgh, Corbett slowed down and turned to grin at the pale, terrified face of Ranulf. 'Don't ask me who they were,' he said. 'I don't know. They may have even been friendly but I remembered the old saying, "On a dark lonely road, one never meets a friend".' Ranulf nodded and promptly vomited, leaning over his horse's head as his stomach gave vent to its sudden fear. Corbett smiled; a few minutes later he wished he hadn't, for he too was sick and was still trembling when they safely reached the abbey gates.

NINE
    The next morning the Prior brought a letter for Corbett; a simple note which said that Benstede had been attacked by unknown assailants the previous morning, that he was safe but advised Corbett to be most cautious. Corbett quietly vowed he would. He washed, dressed and took Ranulf down to the refectory for bread, cheese, a little ripe fruit and some watered wine. Afterwards, he ensured the men who had accompanied him to Scotland were well before sending Ranulf off to wash their clothes and busy himself about the abbey.
    Corbett returned to his cell, carefully bolted the door and drew from a large leather pouch, parchment, pumice-stone, inkhorn, quill pens, a long thin razor-edged knife and a wad of red sealing-wax. He unrolled the parchment, scrubbed it with the pumice-stone and gently blew the fragments away, dipped his quill into the unclasped inkhorn and began to draft a letter to Burnell. It took hours and it was not until the late afternoon that he began the final copy.
    'Hugh Corbett, clerk to Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Chancellor, greetings. I have continued to stay at the Abbey of Holy Rood involved in the matter assigned to me. Let me first say that rumour and gossip abound, many shadows but so far very little substance. Common report now believes that Alexander III, King of Scotland, accidentally fell to his death from Kinghorn Ness on 18th March 1286. The King had convened a special meeting of the Council to discuss the imprisonment of a Galloway baron in England. The meeting was attended by the principal barons, both lay and ecclesiastic, of the kingdom. The King came in, sullen and withdrawn, but his mood changed rapidly. The business of the Council was soon dealt with and merged into general feasting when the King surprised everyone by announcing he intended to join the Queen at Kinghorn. Many remonstrated with him for a howling storm was raging outside, it was night and the journey was a dangerous one. The King brushed this opposition aside and left, taking two body squires with him, Patrick Seton and Thomas Erceldoun. They rode to Queensferry and persuaded the master boatman, against his better judgement, to ferry them across the Firth of Forth to Inverkeithing. They arrived safely and were met by the royal purveyor from Kinghorn (also called Alexander) who had brought horses down to the beach for the royal party; these included the King's favourite, a white mare called Tamesin which he had left at Kinghorn for the Queen's own use. The purveyor also attempted to reason with the King but to no avail. His Grace rode off. One of the grooms, Seton (a reputed lover of the King), knew the paths well and, in the darkness, somehow got far in advance of the King and so reached Kinghorn Manor. Erceldoun fared much worse. He could not control his horse which finally bolted so he and the royal purveyor stayed drinking in Inverkeithing. Meanwhile, King Alexander reached the top of Kinghorn Ness where