Sir Geoffrey reached the abandoned monastery and brought Rufus to a halt about a hundred yards from the actual buildings. Boars Reach monastery had been abandoned for four years, ever since all the monks that had lived there had been stricken down with a mysterious illness that had eventually killed them all. Now it was generally believed that God himself had cursed the place. The church had given up on it and had abandoned the site completely.
It was an attractive meeting place and hideout for outlaws who knew that no one would bother them there, partly because of its location and partly because of the general belief that it was cursed. Different bands of thugs and robbers would use it at different times. Sir Geoffrey decided that he should adopt a cautious approach and see the lay of the land before he went charging in with sword and dagger drawn. He tethered Rufus who snorted a few times as he walked away toward the ruined monastery buildings. As he approached through the forest, that surrounded the clearing in which the tumbledown buildings stood, Sir Geoffrey could hear rough sounding voices. He drew closer until he could get a good view of the clearing, treading softly as he moved, lest he should snap a twig or startle a bird from its nest.
He reached the very fringe of the clearing in which the monastery stood and from there he was able to see a group of four surly and violent looking men seated in a circle. He could hear them talking and they seemed to be discussing a bear baiting session they had recently been involved in. He looked over, to one side of the clearing, and there was a huge black bear secured by a chain that ran from a large metal ring through its nose to a wooden stake driven into the ground. The bear paced up and down, its massive head slewing slowly from side to side
and occasionally it stopped to sniff at the air. The colossal animal was covered in purple scars, some of which seemed quite recent and were only just closing over. Sir Geoffrey hated bear-baiting but it was a common enough sight. Bears were brought from the forests of Eastern Europe and bought by showmen who were little more than criminals. The animals would be taken from village to village, usually drugged with strong ale to make them more manageable, and they would be tied to poles whilst specially trained dogs were encouraged to goad them and to drive the bear into frenzy. The bear’s job was to try and catch one of the dogs and, if it did so, it would normally rip the dog’s belly out. The crowds loved this type of entertainment and would whoop and cheer on either the bear or the dog, depending on which animal their wager was riding. However distasteful Sir Geoffrey found these men they were clearly not the ones he was looking for and he felt deflated.
He moved around to confirm what he suspected and then quietly withdrew from the monastery. Although Sir Geoffrey was not worried about tackling the group in combat, he saw no reason to involve himself in a fight, for a fight there would be if he made himself known. These thugs would not be able to resist the odds of four against one and his sword, clothes, horse and saddle were items of great value. If he ended up fighting it would only delay him. He now realised that Charlie may be lost to him. If outlaws had taken him they would have done for him by now and robbed him of the few pennies that he had.
Sir Geoffrey was downcast; he felt that he had lost a friend as well as someone who was shaping up to be a good squire. Poor Charlie, the boy had an innocence about him which had not served him well, and he had now fallen foul of murderous ruffians. Sir Geoffrey had liked Charlie ever since they had first met and he had privately resolved to protect the young lad, never dreaming that he would actually become fond of him. He felt he had failed Charlie.
Now, of course, Sir Geoffrey also had to contend with the fact that he had left the castle at the crucial time of Matilda’s visit, leaving Thomas in charge of security matters. He started thinking that the only course of action left open to him was to return to Sherebrook as fast as he could and review his position there. He had always intended to return to his manor sometime soon, to retire from active service. That time, he thought, may come even sooner now.
One thing did trouble him and that was the black heart of Longhaired Nick. That damned kitchen knave had allowed Charlie to go to his doom without so much as raising the alarm. Well, he would deal with the Longhaired Nick when he returned. The bony creature would regret his choice of inactivity as far as Charlie’s abduction was concerned. The more Sir Geoffrey thought about Longhaired Nick, the more he became uncomfortable with the whole situation. Nick had been far too quick to give up his secret, even if one took the beating into account. Nick was a wiry and tough individual and would normally not have given up so easily.
The more Sir Geoffrey pondered the matter, the more uneasy he became and then it hit him like a powerful blow to the belly. What if he had been sent on a wild goose chase-a fool’s errand? Perhaps there had been no robbers at all and it had been a completely fictitious story dreamt up by the rogue in order to get him away from the castle. But for what purpose? Why would Nick send him all the way here when he could just as easily have said that he did not know where Charlie had been taken? Suddenly, Sir Geoffrey realised that there was much more to this than met the eye. He had been sent away from the castle at the very time that Matilda was to visit. It was possibly one of the most important events in years.
The knight cursed his own rashness and stupidity and knew he had been manipulated so that he would be absent from his post. But why? He could not make the leap of logic that he needed to bring reason to this puzzle and it perplexed and angered him in equal measures. Rufus neighed softly as Sir Geoffrey emerged from the bushes and the knight quickly released the tether and agilely pulled himself back up into the saddle, urging Rufus back towards the road. He whispered to his horse, “Do not fail me now Rufus. We belong at Sherebrook. I have no idea why but I feel that we may be needed!”
As soon as they were on the road he spurred Rufus on until they were at full gallop back toward Sherebrook Castle.