‘Whose inheritance was ever what the cat left on the malt heap.’
‘He was keen to join the company, and he is a good longbow-man.’
‘Would there had never been need to recruit this army,’ I said.
Leacon looked across to the village, then round to where a long field of strips crested the downland. People were hard at work weeding their rows. He spoke with sudden passion. ‘We have to protect these people, Master Shardlake. That is why this army was levied. And now I must find where the captain has wandered off to.’ He strode away.
‘I think I offended him,’ I said to Barak.
‘He must know what people think of the war.’
‘Yet in the end he is right about the need to defend ourselves. And he and his men are the ones who must do it.’
‘Come on,’ Barak said. ‘Let’s go to the village. I wouldn’t mind a piece of bacon.’
THE VILLAGE had no real centre; longhouses of various sizes were jumbled together at odd angles, paths weaving between them. In front of the bakehouse, a low square building, a table was loaded with bacon and thick slices of ham. Several soldiers were arguing with the women who had come out to us and now stood behind it. Sulyard was at the centre of the argument, shouting. More villagers were coming out of their houses.
One of the old women was waving a coin at Sulyard with just the air of outraged fury I had seen in Cheapside ten days before. ‘This is no proper coin!’ she shouted. ‘It’s not silver! Shame on you, the King’s soldiers trying to cheat us!’
Sulyard bawled back. ‘It’s one of the new coins, you doltish country mare! It’s a testoon, a shilling!’
A tall old man stepped up to him, grim-faced. ‘Don’t you insult my wife, ape!’ He gave Sulyard a little push. Another soldier stepped forward and shoved him back.
‘Don’t you push Sulyard! Ape he is, but he’s our ape!’
Carswell, the corporal, raised his hands. ‘Come, lads. Don’t make trouble, or we’ll end marching in the jacks all day.’
‘These clods don’t understand the coinage!’ Sulyard said with a mocking laugh. The growing crowd of villagers murmured ominously. Barefoot children looked on excitedly.
‘Please,’ Carswell called out, ‘be calm! Our ape speaks true, these are the new coins of the realm!’ Sulyard gave him a nasty look.
‘Then pay in the old ones!’ a young man called out.
The young archer Llewellyn stepped forward. ‘They’re all spent. Please, Goodwife, we’ve had scarce anything but bread and cheese for three days.’
The old woman folded her arms. ‘That’s your problem, my pretty.’
‘We should send that old woman against the damned French,’ Sulyard shouted. ‘They’d flee at the sight of her.’
A couple of villagers, older men, stepped forward. Carswell looked round desperately, then saw me. He pointed. ‘See, we have a gentleman with us, a lawyer. He’ll confirm what we say.’
The villagers gave me hostile looks. I hesitated, then said, ‘There is indeed a new coinage.’
‘So soldiers take hunchback lawyers with them now to cheat folks!’ Nothing could mollify the old woman. The villagers growled agreement.
I stepped forward. ‘See, the coins have the King’s head on them.’
‘It’s not silver!’ the old woman shrieked in my face. ‘I know how silver looks and feels!’
‘It’s mixed with copper. They are worth eightpence of the old money in London.’
‘Ninepence!’ one of the soldiers called out hopefully.
‘Eightpence,’ I repeated firmly.
The old woman shook her head. ‘Don’t care. Don’t want that rubbish!’
‘Come, Margaret,’ one of the old men said. ‘We killed Martin’s pig to get this meat, we need to sell it.’
I took my purse. ‘I’ll pay, in the old money. Then the soldiers can repay me, eightpence for a new testoon.’
There was a murmur of agreement among the villagers. The old woman still looked suspicious, but said, ‘You can have the lot for four shillings in proper silver. It should be five given the insults I’ve had, but we’ll say four.’
It was a hard bargain, but I nodded agreement. The tension, which had been singing in the hot midday air, relaxed as I handed over a dozen silver groats, which the old woman examined ostentatiously before nodding and waving a hand at the meat. The soldiers took portions. The villagers returned to their houses, giving us hostile looks over their shoulders.
Carswell collected money from the recruits, then approached me. ‘Thank you, sir, on behalf of the men. Here is their money. If we’d got into a fight we’d have been in the shit with the officers.’ He hesitated, then added, ‘It would be a favour if you did not mention this to Captain Leacon.’
‘Ay,’ Tom Llewellyn added. ‘We know you are his friend.’