must ask you something first. Please promise not to be offended, but we need to know. It has been said that you are doing business with Natan ben Judah. Is it true?”
Eliazar looked decidedly uncomfortable. He studied a spill of meat sauce on his tunic for a full minute, rubbing the grease in with his finger. Finally, he nodded.
“I did have some dealing with him last year,” he said. “I regretted it almost immediately but had to see the matter through. Since then, I’ve refused to have anything to do with his trade.”
Unconsciously he rubbed the left side of his chest, where the scar was still red from a knife attack the year before. Hubert watched him with growing apprehension.
“You told us that you didn’t know who stabbed you last year,” he said. “Was it Natan?”
“No.” Eliazar’s hand formed a fist. “It was a Gentile, I’m sure. And not one I knew.”
“But you think Natan was responsible, don’t you?” Hubert prodded.
Eliazar sighed. “I fear so, although not directly. He has many contacts among the lawless of the Christians. He even buys and sells among the ribaux who roam the forests and answer to no lord. I didn’t know that when I first agreed to deal with him. But I should have. I paid for it.”
“You paid, yes, but Edgar might have been killed also.” Hubert was surprised at his rising anger. He hadn’t realized he was fond of his son-in-law. “He was attacked in the streets last spring because of you, wasn’t he? He was followed from your house. And you never warned him. The man who did it could be anywhere, preparing to strike at him again.”
“No, I’m sure he won’t!” Eliazar insisted. “All that is done with. There’s been no more trouble since then.”
Baruch shook his head. “The boy should know about this before he agrees to our plan. It seems he owes you nothing, now. You saved his life only to put him in greater danger.”
“What plan?” Eliazar said. “What has that mesel, Natan, been doing now?”
Hubert answered. “We believe that there’s a group in Paris trading in stolen church objects. Several objects have been traced this far, then lost. These people melt down the gold and reset the jewels, then sell them. We want Edgar to try to discover who they are and what channels these goods are flowing through.”
“Why Edgar?” Eliazar asked. “For that matter, why you? What is it to us if the Edomites are stealing from their own god?”
“It’s a great deal if some of us are helping them,” Solomon answered. He was looking at his uncle as if he were a stranger. “We aren’t, are we?”
Eliazar covered his eyes. “Oh Solomon, how could you even ask?”
“You and Uncle Hubert have traded in enough treasure for the abbot of Saint-Denis,” Solomon answered. “I should know; you’ve sent me to Kiev and back for his trinkets. You’ve never kept any part of your business from me, until now.”
They all looked at Eliazar, waiting.
He glared back at them. “I’ve told you all I can,” he told them. “I needed something done. Natan seemed the best man to do it. I was mistaken. That’s the end of it.”
“We need to know, brother,” Hubert said. “At least enough to be sure that, if Natan is taken before the court, you won’t be called to stand with him.”
Eliazar’s chin went up and he glared at them all stubbornly. “My business was mine alone. It didn’t concern you or anyone else in the community. I have done nothing counter to the spirit of the Law. But even if I had, I would not counsel you to give up your plans to protect me. If you believe there are those among us who are endangering the community through their actions, it’s your duty to find and stop them. As for my connection to Natan, I can only ask you to trust me. You still haven’t answered my question. Why should your English son-in-law be involved in this?”
“Because he is English and we think that’s where most of this trade may be coming from,”
Eliazar looked decidedly uncomfortable. He studied a spill of meat sauce on his tunic for a full minute, rubbing the grease in with his finger. Finally, he nodded.
“I did have some dealing with him last year,” he said. “I regretted it almost immediately but had to see the matter through. Since then, I’ve refused to have anything to do with his trade.”
Unconsciously he rubbed the left side of his chest, where the scar was still red from a knife attack the year before. Hubert watched him with growing apprehension.
“You told us that you didn’t know who stabbed you last year,” he said. “Was it Natan?”
“No.” Eliazar’s hand formed a fist. “It was a Gentile, I’m sure. And not one I knew.”
“But you think Natan was responsible, don’t you?” Hubert prodded.
Eliazar sighed. “I fear so, although not directly. He has many contacts among the lawless of the Christians. He even buys and sells among the ribaux who roam the forests and answer to no lord. I didn’t know that when I first agreed to deal with him. But I should have. I paid for it.”
“You paid, yes, but Edgar might have been killed also.” Hubert was surprised at his rising anger. He hadn’t realized he was fond of his son-in-law. “He was attacked in the streets last spring because of you, wasn’t he? He was followed from your house. And you never warned him. The man who did it could be anywhere, preparing to strike at him again.”
“No, I’m sure he won’t!” Eliazar insisted. “All that is done with. There’s been no more trouble since then.”
Baruch shook his head. “The boy should know about this before he agrees to our plan. It seems he owes you nothing, now. You saved his life only to put him in greater danger.”
“What plan?” Eliazar said. “What has that mesel, Natan, been doing now?”
Hubert answered. “We believe that there’s a group in Paris trading in stolen church objects. Several objects have been traced this far, then lost. These people melt down the gold and reset the jewels, then sell them. We want Edgar to try to discover who they are and what channels these goods are flowing through.”
“Why Edgar?” Eliazar asked. “For that matter, why you? What is it to us if the Edomites are stealing from their own god?”
“It’s a great deal if some of us are helping them,” Solomon answered. He was looking at his uncle as if he were a stranger. “We aren’t, are we?”
Eliazar covered his eyes. “Oh Solomon, how could you even ask?”
“You and Uncle Hubert have traded in enough treasure for the abbot of Saint-Denis,” Solomon answered. “I should know; you’ve sent me to Kiev and back for his trinkets. You’ve never kept any part of your business from me, until now.”
They all looked at Eliazar, waiting.
He glared back at them. “I’ve told you all I can,” he told them. “I needed something done. Natan seemed the best man to do it. I was mistaken. That’s the end of it.”
“We need to know, brother,” Hubert said. “At least enough to be sure that, if Natan is taken before the court, you won’t be called to stand with him.”
Eliazar’s chin went up and he glared at them all stubbornly. “My business was mine alone. It didn’t concern you or anyone else in the community. I have done nothing counter to the spirit of the Law. But even if I had, I would not counsel you to give up your plans to protect me. If you believe there are those among us who are endangering the community through their actions, it’s your duty to find and stop them. As for my connection to Natan, I can only ask you to trust me. You still haven’t answered my question. Why should your English son-in-law be involved in this?”
“Because he is English and we think that’s where most of this trade may be coming from,”