The Butcher of Avignon

Book Six – THE BUTCHER OF AVIGNON

King Richard can trust no one. His uncle, the ambitious and brutal Thomas Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, is in alliance with the earl of Arundel, brother of the newly appointed archbishop. They accuse Richard’s closest allies of treason for which the penalty is a barbaric butchering. Where can Richard go to find allies? The Prioress sends Hildegard to Avignon to find out what the schismatic Pope Clement thinks. Whose side is he on? He lives like a Renaissance prince in his gothic and labyrinthine palace. But when Hildegard arrives she is put in more immediate danger by the discovery of a body in Clement’s secret treasure store. Like Richard, who can Hildegard trust? There is no-one – until Abbot de Courcy arrives with his two supporters, military monks, seasoned veterans on the road to Jerusalem. But can she even trust Hubert? What is he doing here in the enemy camp? When she encounters a man from her worst mightmares on the soaring roof of the palace is this the one she cannot survive? Surely now there is no escape?