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the old man still pretended he did not understand. “Now how could I threaten you with anything?”
    â€œOld man,” said Gervase at his most grim. “You know why I must leave Mailing. A few days more, a week at the outside, and I shall be strong enough to take to the roads again. If I have earned my keep here … if my sword is lost to me for good, then I will earn my living as a clerk. …”
    â€œYour sword is certainly lost to you for the time being. But why trudge the roads seeking another patron when there is one waiting for you here? Do you not feel that you owe me some return for my interest in you? Is the game not deep enough for you?”
    â€œWhat game?”
    â€œThe game of power,” said Hamo. “What else can be of interest to a man of your talents? You were a soldier once but you sold your sword. Therefore I deduce that you had no further use for it. Perhaps killing had come too easily to you, perhaps you had killed once too often. …”
    Gervase acknowledged the hit with a grimace. Yes, it had been far too easy.
    â€œWhat then remains for a man of your talents, but to serve the land?”
    Now what did the old man know of that? Had Beata been talking to him?
    â€œYes,” said Hamo. “There is your true bent; there and in the giving of justice in the courts. You seem to understand both sides of the business well. And so I offer you the post of steward to Malling.”
    The knowledge in Hamo’s mind overshadowed their conversation. The old man was really saying, “Be my assistant, and I will keep your secret”.
    â€œNo,” Gervase shook his head. “It will not do. I am not thinking so much of myself now, as of others. It is wisest I go, and go soon. You must do as you think best about that other matter.”
    A little colour came into Hamo’s pale cheeks. “I must apologise. My good friend Master Telfer warned me not to threaten you, and I see he was right. You understand that he and Captain Varons are joined with me in making this proposal?”
    Gervase rose, without haste but showing that he intended to finish the conversation. “I told you, it is not fear of the past which makes me leave.”
    â€œNow I should have thought you would be anxious to stay … to prove your devotion.”
    Gervase’s lips thinned. “If you know that,” he said, his voice harsh, “then you know why I must go.”
    â€œOn the contrary, I see no reason why you should, and perhaps – who knows? – it has been deferred a year already. …” Gervase started. “You had not thought of that, had you?” said the voice of the tempter.
    â€œThat you should even consider such a thing …!”
    â€œWhat thing?” The voice was creamy with satisfaction. The bait had been well and truly taken, and both men knew it. “Sit down again; you are as restless as a small boy. Let us consider the advantages of the position. It is true that, lacking a family of my own, I have made the proper administration of Mailing my life’s work, yet I think many a man finishes his life without having left so great a mark on the world as I will have done, when I die. More, I am a rich man, owning land given me by a grateful master. You laboured long and hard in the past, to be rewarded with kicks and blows. My Lord Henry understands the value of a good servant … are not Master Telfer and Captain Varons proof of that? More, my Lord Henry is kind enough to call me ‘friend’, and to be troubled that I am still at work when I should be ending my days peacefully sleeping by the fire. I have already written to him, saying that I believe I have found a suitable replacement. …” He indicated a letter on the stand beside him, which had certainly not been penned by Gervase.
    â€œIs there no man in Malling anxious to assume your mantle?”
    â€œNone. Or rather, none on whom both Lord