Raymond de Merville had lived within a disguise most of his life.  His current one of dutiful son, cloaking his own ambitions, was only the most recent.  And now there was an additional layer due to the unexpected appearance of the man, apparently mute, who was accompanying the monks.

Covertly, de Merville watched the Mute as he protected the young novice, Brother Diarmuid.  He wondered whether there was more to the relationship, but he could not sense anything.  And surely, even after five years, he would have spotted something.  The Mute, too, was good at disguising his feelings, but not so well de Merville wouldn’t know.

De Merville looked around him.  Satisfied his men were all engaged with their own occupations, and the monks, included the hateful Geraldus, were busy with their prayers (and didn’t those words of piety so often disguise unholy actions), he made his way to a small clearing in the woods.

There he waited, hand on his sword, listening for any sound to indicate someone was approaching.  A short while later he heard the crack of a breaking twig and the Mute entered the clearing.

De Merville glared at the other man.  He wanted to shout, but he didn’t dare draw attention to himself.  Instead he channelled all his anger into a low voice.  “How could you?  How could you, after all we’ve seen, all we’ve gone through, all we’ve been forced to hide?  Yet you’re now living with monks, working for monks.”

The Mute looked at him impassively.

“No wonder you’re a mute,” de Merville spat out.  “As soon as you said a word you’d have been condemned out of your own mouth.”

The Mute remained silent, and instead opened his arms slightly.  De Merville felt their pull, but stood his ground, breathing heavily.

The Mute took a step towards him.

“I thought you were dead,” de Merville said.

The Mute shook his head and smiled.

De Merville flung his disguise away and stepped into the Mute’s arms, laid his head on the man’s shoulder and started to sob.  “I’m already condemned by the church for who I love, what difference will it make if I take their relic too?”