‘D’you mean William Rufus?’ said Dan.
‘Yes,’ said Puck, kicking a clump of red toadstools off a dead log.
‘For example, there was a knight new from Normandy,’ Sir Richard went on, ‘to whom Henry our King granted a manor in Kent near by. He chose to hang his forester’s son the day before a deer-hunt that he gave to pleasure the King.’
‘Now when would that be?’ said Puck, and scratched an ear thoughtfully.
‘The summer of the year King Henry broke his brother Robert of Normandy at Tenchebrai fight. Our ships were even then at Pevensey loading for the war.’
‘What happened to the knight?’ Dan asked.
‘They found him pinned to an ash, three arrows through his leather coat. I should have worn mail that day.’
‘And did you see him all bloody?’ Dan continued.
‘Nay, I was with De Aquila at Pevensey, counting horse-shoes, and arrow sheaves, and ale-barrels into the holds of the ships. The army only waited for our King to lead them against Robert in Normandy, but he sent word to De Aquila that he would hunt with him here before he set out for France.’
‘Why did the King want to hunt so particularly?’ Una demanded.