himself. The loan of it to Huon de Domville, who held manors in Shropshire,Cheshire, Stafford and Leicester, was partly a friendly gesture towards AbbotRadulfus, and partly a politic compliment to a powerful baron whose favor andprotection, in these times of civil war, it would be wise tocultivate. King Stephen might be in firm control of much of the country, but inthe west the rival faction was strongly established, and there were plenty oflords ready and willing to change sides if fortune blew the opposite way. TheEmpress Maud had landed at Arundel barely three weeks previously, with herhalf-brother Robert, earl of Gloucester, and a hundred and forty knights, andthrough the misplaced generosity of the king, or the dishonest advice of someof his false friends, had been allowed to reach Bristol, where her cause wasimpregnably installed already. Here in the mellow autumn countryside everythingmight seem at peace, but for all that men walked warily and held their breathto listen for news, and even bishops might need powerful friends before all wasdone.

Beyond the bishop’s house the road opened between trees, leaving the townwell behind; and at the fork, a bow-shot ahead, the long, low roof of thehospice appeared, the wattled fence of its enclosure, and beyond again, thesomewhat higher roof of the church, with a small, squat turret above. A modestenough church, nave and chancel and a north aisle, and a graveyard behind, witha carven stone cross set up in the middle of it. The buildings were setdiscreetly back from both roads that converged towards the town. Lepers, asthey may not go among the populous streets of towns, must also keep theirdistance even to do their begging in the countryside. Saint Giles, theirpatron, had deliberately chosen the desert and the solitary place for hishabitation, but these had no choice but to remain apart.

It was plain, however, that they had their fair share of human curiosity