Chapter One
The Lord Sheriff was, at best, an infrequent church goer. He was just as religious as most, and a good deal more so than some, but in his mind, and for the sake of Shropshire, his duty, and by extension, justice must take precedence over all. Even God. It was, therefore, slightly surprising when Abbot Heribert glanced around the congregation partway through the Sunday morning mass and spotted the tall personage of the Sheriff standing just inside the heavy doors, especially since Heribert was unaware that the Sheriff had yet returned from his pursuance of a thief in the northern part of the county. But, the Abbot pondered as he returned his mind to worship, it was not all that unusual for him to be unaware of those things taking place outside his Abbey.
Sheriff Gibbs, for his part, was very rarely unaware of anything, significant or otherwise, that happened inside his jurisdiction. It was, therefore, not all that surprising that on this particular Sunday morning in the spring of 1148, Gibbs' mind was less concerned with dutiful worship than it was with observing the strangers that he had watched arrive in Shrewsbury late the previous evening.
All that he had been interested in when he had ridden back into Shrewsbury just after sunset the previous day was a hearty meal and a night's sleep in his own bed. As much as he was devoted to his job and gladly did it in the name of King Stephen he still very much detested the time that he was forced to spend on the trail of various villains, more because of the terrible food and lodgings than because of the amount of time it forced him to be away from his house in town. A house that had been empty of all but himself and a single servant for far too long.
His plans, however, had been waylaid when his deputy had pointed out the caravan of horses and vehicles at the Abbey gate, apparently having arrived only shortly before his own party. So with a weary heart and cautious gaze he too had made his way to the Abbey to watch the new arrivals. As it was he had seen nothing of the lords and ladies themselves as they had already made their way to the St. Peters guest quarters, leaving only a handful of servants moving about by torchlight to unload luggage.
He was pleased, therefore, that morning to be able to stand at his usual spot just inside the church enclave and observe the strangers. Long ago he learned that much could be discerned about a person by the way they prayed. The five well dressed individuals that held his attention were no exception to that rule.
They sat near the altar, but not so close as to deprive the elderly and infirm of the town their usual seats. The first pair were older, but not yet elderly, both older than he. The man by an easy decade and a half, the woman by only a few years. The woman's eyes were closed, her lips moving simultaneously with the monks in reverent prayer. Devoutly pious, he surmised, or else in great earnest for a single specific event. The man kept his eyes open and forward, focused on the Benedictine brothers in front of him, but the expression on his face was one of tolerant boredom rather than devotion. A man of the world, not God. He recognizes his duty to God, but finds the comings and goings of this Earth more important than the promises of heaven. At least for now.
Gibbs noted their physical appearances and statures; the man tall and regal, his spine unbent, but his features plain; the woman also tall and elegant, and a great beauty or would have been at an earlier point in her life. His mental notation of their personage done, he moved past them. The two men that sat at the man's left side were of such height, build and age (both a decade or so the Sheriff's junior) that they could have easily been twins had their complexions not been so widely varied. The first was fair haired and pale, his skin unmarked by hard work or a difficult life. He matched the older man in height, but had not yet garnered his elder's confident posture. A man of land and wealth, Gibbs frowned slightly, he has never known field work or an empty stomach even in these troubled times. The other man, in contrast, was of a darker skin tone, his hair brown and coarse. As tall as his fair companion, but with a strength about him that suggested he'd lived a harder life. This was born out by a scar, newly formed, perhaps six months since the original wound, that traced down the side of his face from just under the right ear to just under the chin. He got that in battle I'd wager. Must have been fighting on Stephen's side to enter so easily into Shropshire. Both men kept their faces toward Father Abbot, but neither's attention was truly on Heribert's sermon. Instead they watched, out of the corner of their eyes, the fifth member of their party as if they expected her to vanish at any moment.
The last of the group caught and held Gibbs' attention in a way that few people in the world had ever done. He easily pegged her as the elder couple's child, her dark-haired beauty: a younger variation on her mother; her posture: the natural confidence of her father. She was of roughly the same age as the men beside her and her eyes, as much as he could see from where he stood, were bright and intelligent; her attention focused on the Abbot and a soft smile playing at her lips as though she had just heard an amusing joke. It was only when her eyes darted ever so quickly to the men at her side that he understood what had caused her humor. She knows they are watching her and she finds their concern on her behalf to be laughable. But why are they worried in the first place?
His musings, and his study of the young woman, were cut short by Abbot Heribert bring the service to an end and wishing his congregation a good day. He watched the small group file out through a side door that led back to their lodgings and then he himself exited into the Abbey courtyard and out into town. He would check in at the jail house with his deputies to ensure they were doing their duties and then he would return to the Abbey. He was confident that whoever the party was and whatever news they brought with them would shortly be available to him via his friend and confident Brother Donald.
A/N: Please let me know what you think so far.