Santos clamped his jaw tightly in case Blackstone noticed his trembling lip. He nodded a bit too energetically.

Blackstone smiled at him and patted the horse’s neck. ‘Thank you, Santos, you’ve done well. Get some food and we’ll ride on.’

The look of relief on Santos’s face was clear to the men. He urged the horse away.

Blackstone looked at the men. Their doubt was as obvious as his own.

‘The wretch is lying,’ said Killbere.

‘And unless his horse stumbled with a slope on one side, then I don’t see Saustin falling,’ said Beyard. ‘He rode with me long enough – he was a good horseman.’

Meulon’s voice could boom like a war drum but he spoke softly. ‘There was no dirt on his shoulder. His beard was caked with it. It looks as though he fell face down.’

Will Longdon nodded his agreement. ‘When a man falls from a horse he reaches out with his arm or he strikes the ground with the back of his shoulder first.’

Beyard saw where the conversation was going. ‘Sir Thomas, those men shared a cell with me. Ariz and Saustin fought side by side at Cocherel. They helped each other stay alive in that stinking pit. It makes no sense thinking Ariz and Santos killed him.’

‘No, it doesn’t,’ said Blackstone. ‘Santos would sell his own children for a drink, but why would Ariz be involved? Unless we are wrong, then someone paid them.’

Beyard shook his head. ‘I don’t believe it. They were like brothers, those two.’

Killbere placed a comforting hand on Beyard’s shoulder. ‘My friend, I’ve seen family squabbles cause wars. Killing a brother is nothing.’

‘We say nothing,’ said Blackstone. ‘Let their story stand for now. We’ll find out the truth.’

Killbere’s gaze followed Ariz and Santos’s journey through the camp. ‘Santos would break with a knife at his throat.’

‘And if we’re wrong about them? Accidents happen. Horses are dumb beasts; they shy at a rock’s shadow. A sudden lurch and a man falls. It’s happened before. We’ve all seen it,’ said Blackstone.

‘We’ll see for ourselves when we get to the spot where it happened,’ said William Ashford.

‘You believe them, Sir Thomas?’ said Renfred. ‘I’ll ride with my men along the same route and see where this rockfall is.’

Blackstone thought on it but shook his head. ‘Ready the men. If there’s trouble waiting for us on that road then we’ll be prepared. I have a plan in mind. Captains, stay with your men. I’ll tell John Jacob and he will tell Meulon, and he the next captain. It is to be done quietly and Ariz and Santos must not learn of it.’

*