Steward Alard looked thoughtful. "And how does this affect Mellester?" He leaned forward and whispered so only the knight could hear. "The templars have been more than generous to him."

"We believe..." Sir Peter also lowered his voice. "that the Bishop of Exeter has a personal feud with Odo Read, and this has to stop."

Steward Alard looked worried. "Then he is in peril."

"We do not know fer sure, and hoped he'd returned from his ...