If Birds Could Talk
A Further Adventure in the Adventures of Sir Lancelot
Chapter Two
By Bineshii
Greylady perched on Brian's large and gentle hand. He had been working with the bird and it showed, as Violet looked on, smiling.
"You have calmed her down after she was shouting for attention from the queen and Sir Lancelot as they ignored her while hunched over that chess board. I know they were trying to get information from her by pretending to ignore her," observed Violet.
"We did," said Sir Lancelot entering his quarters after a short time on the practice fields to see the bird calmly taking pieces of bread soaked in honey from Brian. "Brian, you can be so gentle when you want to be. I saw how delicately you held Merlin's pigeons. A knight should have his gentle side as well as a stern side when necessary."
A blush climbed Brian's fair cheeks. He wasn't sure he wanted anyone to think of him as gentle when he was trying hard to prove himself among his fellow squires.
"Both of you, stay here," said Lancelot as he exchanged his chainmail vest and sweat soaked tabard for a clean shirt and tabard. "I have been called by the king to discuss how to respond to Greylady's revelations."
Violet averted her eyes even though it was only a shirt he was changing and then looked at Lancelot with pleading in her eyes. "Oh please, if this means you will look for my aunt and uncle, I would be so happy."
Lancelot chucked her under the chin, winked at Brian and went off to meet with the king.
...
The king was pacing slowing in front of the hearth in the room in which he normally transacted private business. In our time, we would call it an office but he thought of it as his sitting room. Guinevere often came and went silently, occupying a chair near the fire with needle work. She had a sense for when Arthur needed complete privacy - either alone to work on a problem or when in consultation with someone who needed to confide something to her husband. Their sensitivity to, and respect for, each other made for a companionable marriage with few serious quarrels or misunderstandings.
Today, she was sitting quietly when Lancelot answered the king's summons because she had an interest in the mission Lancelot was about to be assigned. Lancelot entered in his usual fashion, confidently and ready to be very attentive. He nodded to her, smiling, as he walked past her to join Arthur near the fire.
"You summoned me, My Lord?"
"Yes, Lancelot. Have a seat."
They both sat in chairs arranged near the fire, but not close enough to be uncomfortably with the roaring heat.
"Now, you were present to hear the strange ramblings of this bird. While I am skeptical of such an odd way of hearing about a problem, I cannot completely discount it. This is my understanding of the situation: Sir Felix's family descends from a Roman centurion, for whom he is named, a man who upon completing 25 years with a Roman legion in Britain, was given an estate, a villa, with slaves and land enough to live off of comfortably. That was in 390, twenty years before the legions left Britain. And in this year of 511, a hundred years after they left, we still have vestiges of Rome in our country. In this case we will now discuss, I fear this legacy figures largely."
The king paused to rise and pace over to the fire and warm his hands. He walked past Guinevere, squeezed her shoulder lightly, and she smiled up at him.
The king began to speak again. "Guinevere stayed many times at the villa on her way to and from shopping trips in Lundinium and she is quite as concerned about the fate of Sir Felix and his wife as am I. Sir Felix has preserved the family lifestyle in Roman fashion even though he took up our modern ways of fighting on horseback and with our longer swords. He won many tournaments in his youth and was knighted by Sir Kay's grandfather. And he took great pride in following in his Roman ancestor's martial footsteps even if it was in a different fashion. But since he grew old and put away his arms in favor of the life as a gentleman farmer, he still has old enemies from his active fighting days. I am concerned because he refused to build a castle or even a walled compound on his land. While other villa's have been abandoned in favor of more secure living arrangements, his family has remained with minimum protection and it has made him foolishly vulnerable."
Guinevere rested her sewing on her lap and looked straight at Lancelot. "The villa is lovely, but Sir Felix's companions at arms have long ago all gone home to their own estates, or, sadly, over time, have passed away. He showed me some coins saved from his great-grandfather Felix's last Roman army pay that had been saved and passed down from father to son. They were among his most treasured possessions – a few gold coins and some bronze. Here," and the queen picked a bronze coin from her sewing box. "I have one he gave me."
Lancelot took the coin and examined it closely, turning over both sides in his hand angled so the light of the fire fell on it.
"It had a cuirassed figure – a bust of a man in body armor on one side, and the Emperor Canstans holding a 'victory on globe' on the other side," explained the queen. "The bronze coins were of lesser value than the gold, of course, which is why he so easily parted with it as a small gift."
Lancelot returned the coin to the queen as she continued "With such treasures in his home, even I could see that he was getting lax in self protection, lulled by the beauty and peace of his gardens and fields tended expertly by his field hands. But those field hands would be no match for fighting men. And it was winter when he and his wife disappeared. During winter, the field hands disperse to their native villages and Annia Amelia retained only a cook and two young people to clean and serve in the villa. Even though Sir Felix's brother had repeatedly asked him to winter in Londinium with him, Sir Felix would not leave his beloved estate."
"Just so!" agreed the king. "So half a year ago, in the dead of winter, the inevitable happened. He and his wife disappeared from their villa at a time that minimal servants were present. A cook and a maid and a man servant were found murdered in the villa but no sign of Sir Felix or Lady Annia Amelia could be found. Their money chest was found empty and some jewelry was missing. The relatives of Sir Felix have been waiting for a ransom offer which has not come. And now Lady Violet's bird, who was found alive in the villa after the murders, and given into Violet's care when the livestock was removed from the empty estate, is imitating Sir Felix's wife, Annia Amelia's voice pleading for mercy. It seems Lady Annia Amelia was asking someone to spare her husband's life."
"My Lord, I have personally heard this bird do this. It is a haunting experience," said Sir Lancelot.
"Lancelot and I heard this together, along with several of my ladies. More than enough time has passed if there were to be a ransom demand. We now fear the worst," Guinevere said in a quiet and sad voice.
The king nodded. "I fear that this is enough evidence, combined with the lack of a ransom request, to have you investigate the possible murder of Sir Felix and Lady Annia Amelia. I would like you to examine the villa, talk to Violet's father, Sir Claudius, and talk to the other brother, Master Justus, who resides in Lundinium. Justus is a wealthy merchant who has done business with many of us here in Camelot."
"Then I will leave immediately, My Lord," Lancelot said as he stood up from the comfortable chair. As he was turning toward the doorway, the king raised a hand.
"I will send a messenger to Master Justus in Londinium saying that you will be coming after you visit the villa."
"Thank you, My Lord. Brian and I will leave today. We can get to Sir Claudius's castle by tonight to interview him about the case and get permission to visit the villa. If there is not much to see at the villa, we should be in Londinium in four days time."
The queen smiled up at Lancelot "He likes to be called Sir Claude, according to Violet. He does not hold with the Roman traditions like his brothers do. I am sure this mission will please Violet who has been concerned about the fate of her aunt and uncle. She is also very fond of that bird."
"Please do tell her that we will do our best to solve this case," said Lancelot, reaching for her hand to give it a light kiss before he left the room.
...
Sir Claude was a gracious host and asked many questions about how his daughter was getting along in Camelot. He missed her greatly. Being a widower, he missed female attention so much that he wanted Lancelot to inform his brother in Londinium that he would appreciate him asking around about available widows his age who were also lonely.
"This is not the first time I have asked to be a go-between," laughed Lancelot. "As long as I do not have to act as a stand-in and read a poem or recite a message to a specific lady."
"Oh, no, I am only just starting to look for a new wife. And I would rather do it out of sight of my daughter who would certainly speak her mind on the subject," Sir Claude said sheepishly.
"Lady Violet, though yet a child, is not shy with her opinions," said Lancelot. "But she has been helpful with coxing her bird into some disturbing evidence. I hope we can help solve this mystery."
Sir Claude sat heavily at a table in his hall, indicating that Lancelot and Brian also sit. He poured them each a tankard of ale before steepling his hands and sighing.
"I have been sending some of my own livestock and extra corn to Londinium for my brother to sell in expectation of a ransom demand. Both he and I have been converting goods to coin for this purpose. I also have been feeding chickens, cattle, and horses here at our castle that belong to the villa in the hope of returning them to my missing brother. The longer we hear nothing, the worse the outcome is likely to be. I did not engage a supervisor for the farmland this summer as I was expecting my brother back. So the local people were allowed to just maintain personal gardens instead of participating in an organized planting that should be used to pay taxes to the king. The villa itself has stood empty for six months, but will need a tenet to supervise the farming of the land before next summer. Being empty and neglected, you will have easy access to it. I doubt that any new evidence will be found there, but you will be able to see the layout which may help in figuring out what happened."
"We can only try," said Lancelot. "It is a shame your brother did not provide for better protection in our uncertain times. Everyone is safer now that the king has established the Round Table and a decent legal system. But the people who still maintain open villas as if the Roman legions were still keeping order, are at high risk of sacking or worse."
"I agree. I hope that others will take precautions from the lesson of our family."
Lancelot and Brian spent a comfortable evening with Sir Claude and early the next day, left for the villa.
...
By pushing their horses they arrived late in the afternoon.
The abandoned villa was in some disrepair. Where livestock buildings had straw roofs, these had fallen in. The pergola in the garden was overgrown with grape and rose vines but less hardy domestic plants had succumbed to weeds. Lancelot and Brian left their horses in the courtyard where last year's leaves crackled under their feet. As they entered the foyer, leaves had blown in partially covering a mosaic which Brian kneeled to clean off.
"That is a portrait of Sir Felix, I think," said Sir Lancelot.
"I like the intertwining of lines around the portrait," said Brian. It reminds me of the rug in your mother's great hall at Benwick castle."
"Indeed it does, Brian. And that broken red crockery in the corner over there, my mother has a whole set of dishes like that, imported from Rome long ago."
"Sir Lancelot, are you sad that the legions left? Everyone has been saying that life was not as good after they left."
"Overseas trade fell off, Brian. And there was much fighting to fill in the gap left by Roman authority. But that has been mostly sorted out and our king has been establishing a benevolent system of order. We are creating a new order, with our own local stamp. I believe it will one day be better even than in Roman times, though there is still much to do to bring it about."
"And we are helping with that, are we not, Sir Lancelot?"
Lancelot put his arm around the boy. "Yes we are! Now let's go inside and see what we can determine about this abduction."
The atrium had an opening to the sky over what had been a pool. Presently, the pool was filled with dirt and a bed of dry leaves that had drifted in through the door and down from the opening in the roof.
"That is strange, Brian. The Queen said it was a beautiful pool with an abstract mosaic on the bottom and blue paint on the sides when she visited two years ago."
"I wonder if Sir Felix decided to convert the pool to a small garden?" Mused Brian. "How could such a nice house be totally abandoned?" asked Brian. "You would think squatters would be camped out here."
"They do camp here, Brian. But Sir Claude sends men here periodically to clear them off until his brother returns or is proven to be dead. He is storing the most valuable furnishings at his castle as well as feeding all the livestock there. I do hope this place does not become another abandoned villa to be stripped of every stone and timber and roofing tile for other farms and villages."
Brian sighed. To his peasant's sensibilities, nothing should go to waste. There were too many people in dire need of shelter. He thought it a shame that such a house stood empty, and if it never was to be lived in again, certainly the materials should be reused.
They wandered through several rooms off the courtyard, noting that wall paintings were starting to peal and fade and a few broken marble house god images lay strewn about. Brian picked up a piece of broken window glass. It would almost be worth keeping if it was not so sharp, he thought. He let it fall and it shattered into even smaller pieces.
"Brian, come look at this."
Brian walked over to stand beside Lancelot and squint in the dim light that barely penetrated into a corner of the room. He tried to read the lettering scratched on the wall. "It's in Latin," he observed.
"Read it, boy."
"Oh. Something about being a captive. Why?"
"I think it is a written cry for help. I think someone was held in this room. Probably the owner of the villa. See that part there? Where he says someone is pilfering his treasures?"
"I can't read that well yet."
Lancelot clapped Brian on the shoulder. Now you see the use of reading. You never know when it will be useful."
"Yes, My Lord," sighed Brian, prepared for another lecture from his mentor. But Lancelot headed for the entry to the room to look at the stout oak door and the locking mechanism. It certainly would be capable of keeping someone locked in that room.
After searching each room they stood in the atrium, each with his own thoughts until Brian said "well at least there are not any pots for me to trip over and break like the last time we were in a Roman house."
"Ever the optimist, my boy, or is it the humorist? I never know what you will come up with next!" Laughed Lancelot. "Humor is needed in this sad place. It would be beautiful if not so stripped and neglected."
"Right, My Lord. Do you think it is haunted?"
"Only by the living, Brian. Only by those in need who take temporary shelter until they are driven off."
Brian was not so sure. He walked around the pool, studying it and the atrium as a whole. Along the walls were benches interspersed with pots of dead plants. He broke off a stick from a dead potted tree and squatted by the pool, stirring the leaves that had blown into it.
"I wonder how deep..." began Brian.
"Pools like this are usually shallow," said Lancelot coming up behind him. "The moisture would have helped the plants and it would be easy to scoop up a jar of water to distribute among them. This was an assembly room, a place to be seen and admired by guests."
Brian stabbed the stick in a couple of places, trying to find the bottom. As he pulled the stick out, the end of a bone popped up.
Lancelot sank to his knees, his greaves going clank on the stone floor. "Brian! Pull that out, please."
Brian did, handing it to Lancelot who turned it and turned it in his hands.
"Brian, this is a human lower arm bone."
"Gods," said Brian leaning away from it. "Really, Sir Lancelot?"
Lancelot stepped into the pool and started to brush away leaves. "Find me something I can dig with, Brian!"
Brian found an old gardener's trowel beside one of the pots. He handed it to Lancelot and started shifting the decomposing matter out of the pool with his hands as Lancelot dug away at the detritus in the pool. After a half hour, they had cleaned off most of two human skeletons. The clothing indicated a man and a woman of some wealth.
"Brian, I believe these are the remains of Sir Felix and Lady Annia Amelia. They never left their villa. They must have been held captive in that room then murdered and dumped in the pool. It would have been easier to do that and fill the pool with dirt than to dig a hole outside. Since they were short handed on the estate because it was winter, no wonder only three bodies were found, and that in the kitchen area. But it is a wonder that no one looked here for the estate owners. Of course the murderers wanted to delay the finding of these bodies, but they probably thought they would be found a lot sooner than this. They got lucky. Or not, because finding the bodies means the estate inheritance can be settled and the prime suspects would be those who would inherit the estate."
Lancelot stood, arching his back which was now sore from digging. He looked around, frowning, replaying the scenario of robbery and murder in his mind. Then, spotting a piece of ripped awning that once had sheltered chairs placed outside in the courtyard, he pointed to it. Catching Lancelot's intention, Brian picked the awning up, shook it and brought it over to the pool so the two of them could cover the remains of Sir Felix and Lady Annia Amelia.
"Come. We are closer to Londinium than to Camelot. We will continue on and report what we have found to Master Justus who can send a messenger to Violet's father and to the king.
"Then what, Sir Lancelot?" asked Brian.
"Then we look very closely at the family. It still may have been a raid by marauders, but I have my doubts."