I was on an errand for the empress, and she kept me about her. Mostof her household were in Devizes still, she had only a few of uswith her. Then we heard that King Stephen had brought a great hostto lay siege to the new castle, and ease the pressure on Oxford andMalmesbury. And the next we knew was of Philip sending courierafter courier to his father to come with reinforcements and saveFaringdon. But he never came. Why?” demanded Yves helplessly.“Why did he not? God knows! Was he ill? Is he still a sickman? Very weary I well understand he may be, but to be inactivethen, when most he was needed!”

“From all I heard,” said Hugh, “Faringdon wasstrongly held. Newly armed, newly provisioned. Even without Robert,surely it could have held out. My king, with all the liking I havefor him, is not known for constancy in sieges. He would havesickened of it and moved on elsewhere. It takes a long time tostarve out a newly supplied fortress.”

“It could have held,” Yves said bleakly.“There was no need for that surrender, it was done of intent,of malice. Whether Philip was in it then or not, is something noman knows but Philip. For what happened certainly happened withouthis presence, but whether without his will is another matter. DeSoulis is close in his counsels. However it was, there was someconnivance between the leaders who had personal forces within, andthe besiegers without, and suddenly the garrison was called towitness that all their six captains had come to an agreement tosurrender the castle, and their men were shown the agreementinscribed and sealed by all six, and perforce they accepted whattheir lords decreed. And that left the knights and squires withoutfollowing, to be disarmed and made prisoner unless they alsoaccepted the fiat. The king’s forces were already within thegates, Thirty young men were doled out like pay to Stephen’sallies, and vanished. Some have reappeared, bought free by theirkin and friends. Not Olivier.”