“You would not say that if you’d been in a war,” William answered. “There aren’t any great lessons to be learned there. Those that survive rarely do so because of their skill.”

“And you do not consider that knowledge valuable?” Roger raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat again. He peered into his empty glass and then over to a nearby girl who was currently failing to refill it.

“How is Warwick?” de Lacy asked.

“The pride of England, when I left her,” Waleran boasted. “But I came from York.”

De Lacy’s eyes opened wide, then disappeared behind bushy eyebrows. “Interesting. We’d best rush through the pleasantries, then?”

“Please.” Waleran nodded.

“Your health?”

“Consistent.”

“Your children?”

“Unremarkable.”

“And wife?”

“Still living. And here, actually.”

“How unfortunate. I’m surprised she’s not here now, then.”

Waleran shuddered at the thought. “I do what I can to contain her. Women and politics are like two very opposite concepts that would make for a witty analogy if only I had the time to craft one.”

De Lacy smiled. “I’m going to steal that. But it’s cruel.”

“Not at all. If I were prone to cruelty, I would wad her dress up in my hand and shovel it down her mouth until she suffocated.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Of course not. The union of our two families is very slightly more valuable than the fleeting joy of throttling her to death.”

De Lacy pointed a finger. “There. You’ve just described the precarious balance that keeps the entirety of England alive. Are you taking notes, William?” Before he could answer, the Sheriff turned back to his visitor. “Alright then, that was delightful. You’d best explain whatever brought you here.”

“As I say, I bring troubling news from York. John Marshal has been deposed.”

De Lacy frowned, but did not seem to take it as a surprise. William, meanwhile, had no clear idea how to react. He was still struggling with the local politics.

“The High Sheriff of Yorkshire,” de Lacy explained. “An insatiably just man, one of the few sheriffs whom I would argue was fit for his post, myself excluded. Hardly unexpected, after that business with the Jews last year.”

“What incident?” William asked.

“You don’t know? All the time you spent with King Richard and you never talked of such things?” De Lacy puckered his lips and grumbled heavily. “Surely you’re familiar with the rumor that your friend, our king, ordered the seizure of all Jewish property and land to fund his war?”

William was absolutely familiar with last year’s heinous rumor. “Which was an utter lie.”