The Dragons of Archenfield: v. 3 (Domesday) - Softcover

Marston, Edward

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1906288178 ISBN 13: 9781906288174

Publisher: Ostara Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

They were shocked when they saw the scene of devastation. Warnod's house had been reduced to ashes. Only a few charred timbers remained to show where he had once lived with his doomed family. Golde let out a gasp of horror and brought her hands up to her mouth. Idwal sighed with compassion. Even Ralph Delchard was initially jarred. He walked around the perimeter of the house. "What could one man do to deserve all this?" he said. "The blameless often suffer the most in this world," observed Idwal, darkly. "Thank heaven his suffering is over!" "There were no witnesses, my lord sheriff?" "None that will come forward," said Ilbert. "An inferno like this? Think of the noise, the light." "Everyone was struck deaf and blind." "By fear?" "Or by agreement," said the sheriff.
The frontier zone of Archenfield in Herefordshire is a no-man's-land, which acts as a bulwark between Norman-controlled English soil, and the Welsh border. Soldier Ralph Delchard and lawyer Gervase Bret arrive in Hereford for what looks like one of their more straightforward assignments from the crown, to settle conflicting claims to land in Archenfield. Ralph and Gervase are shocked to discover the murder of a principal witness, a wealthy landowner who was burned alive in his own home. No clues remain except an enigmatic red dragon cut into the turf in front of the house.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

COMING
In 1086, England's mighty king, William the Conqueror, sends out surveyors and census takers to record the resources of his land and its people. Some welcome these inquisitive royal agents and their day of judgment. Others hate them. But wherever the king's men go they bring excitement *and sometimes murder. . . .
Calamity smolders on the Welsh-English frontier, where three powerful men squabble over the same rich tract of land. When King William's clever agents *soldier Ralph Delchard and lawyer Gervase Bret *arrive to settle the dispute, one of the claimants has been brutally burned alive, and the king's men are saddled with a formidable murder investigation. Before the frightful truth shines clear, everyone will be scorched by the flames of violence. . . .
"Marston is a marvel at re-creating the atmosphere of the times while constructing a fascinating murder case."

  *Anniston St

About this edition

• Publisher: Ostara Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1906288178
• ISBN 13: 9781906288174
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 190