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Robert De Brus had built well.  It was a stone hall and a stone priory church.  The huts in which the monks slept were made of wood but they looked to be comfortable. The prior was seated on a leather covered chair on a raised dais. He looked to be a king receiving foreign dignitaries. His pomposity was about to be pricked. He was a large overweight man in contrast to the thin and emaciated villagers we had seen.
    He frowned, "You are the Earl of Cleveland, the renegade I believe?"
    "That depends upon who is speaking.  The Empress Matilda and her son, Henry Fitz Empress believe me to be the only power in England. If you speak with the usurper, Stephen then he will call me a renegade."
    "What have you done with Sir Henry?"
    "Did your monks not tell you?  He has fled.  Guisborough is now mine."
    For the first time he looked worried.  He had not been told. His tone changed. "You are a knight of the realm and I hope that you will behave as such."
    "I am the new lord of the manor.  The Priory is on land belonging to the manor.  I am now your lord. And as I am Warlord I do not answer to any other lord in England."
    I saw him thinking of a way out of this.  He could not. He gave a thin smile, "So long as you protect this land from enemies then we are happy."
    "I promise you that the people of Guisborough will be safer in my charge than they ever were under the rule of De Brus. My men will be fed but we need somewhere to sleep.  This hall will do."
    "That is out of the question.  This is a holy place and I will not have it filled with men of war."
    It was my turn to smile.  I am sorry, did  I not make myself clear?  I was not asking; I was commanding. We will be sleeping here this night." I turned to leave and, before I did, I paused, "One more thing; I have told the people that they do not owe you a tithe any longer.  They can pay if they wish.  I advised them not to."
    He stood up and coloured red with anger, "But where do we get our money? Where will we obtain our food?"
    "If this was church land then you would be entitled to take from your tenants but this is my land now.  Have your monks grow their own food.  Other monasteries and priories do. We will return when we have eaten.  We will arrange the hall ourselves."
    Sir Edward chuckled as we left, "I thought he would erupt like a volcano back there."
    "This De Brus is a clever man.  He endows a church and then has his own people pay for it.  That way he ingratiates himself with God and the Church and yet it costs him nothing."
    "Well it is ours now."
    "I do not think we have seen the last of Sir Robert.  But we have rid ourselves of one problem; at least for a while."
     
     
     
     
     
     
     



Chapter 3
    Following our return from our successful capture of Guisborough Sir Edward's men had actively scoured the woods for any bandits or remnants of the De Brus soldiers.  My men had kept the north clear. I was still distracted by the lack of news. The Archbishop of York had sent nothing to me for many months. I trusted Thurstan but who knew if he could send a letter to me?  His nephew, Philip of Selby served me still, but the Archbishop was the most important man I knew who still lived in England and sympathised with me. He had not sent a message to me for many months.  I was blind.
    The 'Adela' returned to Stockton three weeks after we drove Henry De Brus from Guisborough.  The return of my ship filled me with joy. John my steward as well as Sir John and Father Henry waited at my dock as my battered ship came in. Gilles, my squire, was waving madly from the bows as it edged up the icy river.  Winter had not loosened its grip yet. Captain William brought the ship to a gentle halt and his crew threw lines to secure my vessel to the bank. Even though I was desperate for news of the Empress and my son I was patient. The fact that the ship was lying low in the water suggested that she was heavily laden but I was concerned with the state of the sails and the