'He upturned my clerk's ink.'
'I saw your clerk knock it over himself …'
The two men continued to argue. Robin glanced round the barn. He was there to disrupt the proceedings but use no violence. The mole thought you could do anything by talking. At first it had worked. He'd scared Roger with his talk about Sir Humphrey and the King's Peace. But Roger had a short memory. As the mole continued to produce legal arguments, he looked like he was going to explode.
'There is, ipso facto, no sound basis …'
The mole's excursion into Latin sparked the bang.
'Get him out of here!'
Roger pointed at Robin and two men grabbed him from behind. He decided to go quietly. The barn was no place for a fight. Bystanders might get hurt. He shuffled his feet and was dragged outside. As he expected, the hitching rail was empty.
'What's happened to our horses?'
'They've been confiscated.'
'I'm not going until you give them back.'
Robin sank down on his haunches. It was a trick he'd learnt from Guy. Let them think you were a useless, whimpering kid. It wouldn't enter their stupid heads that you were out to maim them.
'Move!'
They yanked at his shoulders and Robin hurled himself up. One man was head-butted and bit his tongue. The other was kneed in the groin. A third suffered a flesh wound from Robin's dirk. The barn emptied and people scattered. Their only casualty was the mole whose nose was bleeding. His main concern was for his eyeglasses that had been trampled underfoot.
***
Robin displayed his new sword proudly. They were in the Julian with the usual crowd. Richard was there with Betty and so were Thomas Draper and John Tucker. The sword had been taken from one of Roger Knowles' men and Robin was giving a blow-by-blow account of his heroism.
'He looked real surprised when I nipped him with my blade. He thought I'd come unarmed.'
Thomas Draper grinned across the table.
'The mole would have been a bit surprised too. He'd never have guessed you had that dirk strapped under your arm.'
'Jonnie Baret wasn't. He saw I had it.'
Thomas nodded. 'He's all right, that Jonnie ... knows a thing or two.'
Betty tapped Richard's arm. 'You listen to what Tom says. I've always said Master Baret is a good sort ... no matter what you might think.'
Richard turned towards the door. An old woman was standing there with a tray of spring flowers. She was poorly dressed and seemed hesitant. He beckoned her to the table.