Malcolm was awakened by the heavy tromp of feet upon the stairs. Soon, Malcolm heard the sound of a key being placed in the heavy lock outside the door. The door swung open with a loud clang, and two figures walked into the dungeon cell. One held a flaming torch aloft, as the other--a lean and gangly fellow dressed in brown and obviously one of the jailers--roughly unlocked the manacles from the ring imbedded in the wall above Malcolm's head.

Still manacled and shackled, Malcolm was roughly pulled to his feet. "Come on, Scotsman," the man sneered. "Today you face the sweet justice of Toulouse."

Malcolm remained silent.

Without further ado, the man grabbed the manacle chain and led Malcolm out the door and through the narrow hallway. The other attendant followed. The three men marched up the spiral staircase and emerged into the daylight's glare.

Two soldiers took positions on either side of Malcolm, and the group marched across the courtyard and into the great hall of the castle.

There, at the far end, sat Count Raymond on his throne, flanked by Robert of Avignon and Sir Godfrey, Guillaume's father. Count Raymond's son, young Raymond, was next to Godfrey. Guillaume and an array of other notables--some of whom Malcolm recognized from the Tournament of Song--were also in attendance.

To the left of the count, and at a distance, sat Bishop Odo, surrounded by several priests, deacons, and other functionaries of the church.

Malcolm was marched to the wooden dock in front of the count. The two soldiers remained, spears in hand, on either side of Malcolm.

A notable of the court then arose, with a scroll in his hand, and read out the following. "Hereby, in the court of Count Raymond of Toulouse, is brought forth the matter of the attack on Bishop Odo's guardsmen of four days hence, the theft of three hundred gold pieces, and the disappearance of one of their number, presumed dead. The prisoner, one Malcolm MacAlpin, a Scotsman, is hereby accused of being the perpetrator of these acts, several accomplices, at this point unidentified, being confederate with him in this crime. This matter is now brought for judgment before His Excellency Count Raymond."

Count Raymond turned to Malcolm. "How plead you to these charges?"

Malcolm looked first at the count, then across to the bishop, then back to the count. "Innocent!" he exclaimed in a loud clear voice.

A murmur rose from the gallery of spectators.

Count Raymond then turned to the bishop. "My lord bishop, where are the victims and the accusers of this man?"

The bishop nodded to one of his attendants, who hastened to a side door and opened it. In walked Bernard and the other guard who was with him on that day.

"These two men are the victims," bellowed Odo, "and they will hereby identify this felon as the one who set upon and robbed them, and murdered their companion."

Count Raymond turned to Bernard and ordered him to come forward. "Tell me your story," said the count.

Bernard then launched into his well-rehearsed story of how he and his companions had been on their way to deliver a letter and some gold to the papal legate's party, when only a short distance from Toulouse, where the road took a sharp turn and headed west, they were set upon by Malcolm and the others, knocked unconscious and robbed.

"And what happened to the message?" inquired the count.

"What message, my lord?" asked Bernard.

"The message you just said that you were carrying. Did you lose that too?"

"Uh, why no, my lord."

"And why would you be carrying a message to the papal legate?"

"It was church business, my lord," explained Bernard.

"Hmmm," said the count, with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

All this time, Odo was intently scrutinizing the count, for he realized that with all this talk of the message, the count might well betray the fact that he knew what the content of the message was, if indeed he knew. But Odo bided his time, and the count continued his questioning of Bernard.

Finally, Bernard turned and pointed at Malcolm. "This is the man, and I hereby accuse him of these crimes; and not I only, but the man--my surviving companion, who is with me at this time--can also attest that this is the scoundrel."

"Bring forward the other guard," commanded Count Raymond.

The man nervously came forward and stood beside Bernard.

"Do you also say this is the man?"

"Yes, your Excellency," the guard responded.

"And you both say, beyond doubt, that this was indeed the fellow?"

"Yes, your Excellency!"

"And could you identify any of the other assailants?"

"The others attacked us from behind, my lord," said Bernard. "We did not see them."

"Hmmm," said the count. "We have the word of two men against one. Very well, you may both step back. I will now question the prisoner." And with that, the count turned to Malcolm, still standing silently in the dock. "What were you doing on the road outside of Toulouse that morning?"

"I was going for an early morning ride, my lord," Malcolm answered.

"So, you do not deny that you were at the scene of the crime?"

"No, my lord, I do not deny that I was at the scene of the real crime."

"And what do you mean by that, Scotsman?"

"My lord, I came across these two fellows and their companion trying to have their way with a maid, down by the river."

A murmur rose from the suddenly very attentive audience. Odo's eyes narrowed and flashed at Bernard.

"Lies!" Bernard yelled out. "Those are heinous lies! He is lying to save his neck!"

"Silence!" ordered the count. "Go on, Scotsman, tell us your story."

"Well, when I saw these three brutes with the girl, I shouted at them to stop."

"What was their reaction?"

"The big fellow over there"--pointing to Bernard--"told me to be gone; that it was none of my business. But seeing that the woman was obviously distressed and being forced, I said that I made it my business; that I was duty bound as a gentleman and as a knight to defend her honor if she would choose me as her champion."

"And did you defend her honor?"

"Yes, my lord, I challenged the three of them."

"So, you challenged and fought these three men; you, one against three?"

"Well, my lord, they didn't seem too handy with their weapons."

A ripple of laughter went through the court.

Bernard fumed. "He is lying, my lord!" he said again.

"Be quiet," snapped the count. "So what happened?"

"Well, we fought, and I easily mastered the two of them, but then tripped, and that big fellow there was about to kill me, when to my surprise, someone hit him on the head and knocked him out."

"And who was this someone?" asked the count.

"A certain benefactor, my lord," said Malcolm.

"And who might this benefactor be?" asked the count.

"I cannot say, my lord," said Malcolm, "for I gave my word."

At this point, Bishop Odo interrupted. "This is a preposterous tale, Count Raymond! This man would have us believe that he fought three of my guards single-handedly in a noble effort to save the honor of some wench! He brings no witnesses, but just spins this fantastic tale. These two," he said, pointing towards Bernard and the other, "are my trusted men. They claim that this man accosted them and diverted their attention while they were set upon from behind by his fellow brigands! That is what happened, not this preposterous, fanciful tale of supposed chivalry! That man," Odo now was waving his finger at Malcolm in an ever-mounting fit of fury, "is a highwayman and a liar!"

"Hmmm," mused the count. "It is true, we have the word of two. And, as the proverb says, 'In the mouth of two witnesses shall the truth be established.' I'm afraid, Scotsman, that I cannot believe your word, for two people contradict it."

A smile flashed across Odo's face as he heard those words.

But at that moment, the doors at the far end of the hall swung open. "My lord," cried a new voice, "I will contradict those men's statements!"

Everyone in the hall turned to see who was speaking. There, with one arm around the neck of Guy and the other leaning heavily on a crutch, stood the missing member of Odo's guard.

"And who are you?" asked the count.

"I was the third member of the trio that set upon the girl that morning," said the soldier, in a quiet, steady voice.

Another gasp arose from the crowd at this coup de thu0XE9u0XE2tre. The soldier, assisted by Guy, hobbled forward to where the other attendants of the court stood.

Odo slumped into his seat in shock. Bernard and his fellow accuser were struck dumb, and for a few moments looked like two tormented specters who had returned from the grave to witness the recompense of their foul deeds while living.

"My lord count," said the third soldier, whose name was Roger, "I beg two boons from you. Firstly, what I am about to testify to will put me in mortal danger, so I beg that I be placed under your protection till the proceedings are over. Secondly, my fever has now passed and I am of a clear mind, but since my leg is still grievously wounded from the fight that ensued, may I request to sit, my lord?"

"I shall grant both your requests," said the count. "Bring the man a seat." An attendant rushed up with a stool, and Roger sat heavily upon it and began his testimony.

"The Scotsman tells you the truth, for we saw the girl swimming naked in the river, and our lusts burned within us. We planned to have our way with her that morning, before continuing on our journey. But the Scotsman came upon us, and seeing our malicious intentions, challenged us. The three of us fought him, and he did grievously wound me on my leg, so that I collapsed and passed out from the pain.

"I have no recollection of what happened from that point on, except that I awoke to find the girl, the same one whom we had sought to most grievously dishonor, nursing my wound. She told me what was to transpire today, and that is why I am here. Even though this man is the cause of my present pain and crippled condition, I cannot let him suffer so ignobly at the hands of my former companions, when it was we who did the shameful deed--or at least, sought to."

"And what of the monies that you were carrying?" queried the count.

"Monies? We were carrying no monies, my lord, just a letter to His Excellency Peter of Castelnau," replied Roger.

Odo was up on his feet now, and stormed towards Roger. "And who were these people that took care of you?" he hissed, trying to divert attention from talk of the message and the monies.

"They were the gypsies, my lord bishop!"

"The gypsies? What gypsies?"

"They were camped near to the river where we had stopped to water our horses."

"And the woman--the girl, she was a gypsy?"

Roger nodded. "And a truer Christian woman I have never met," he added.

Odo now turned to face Count Raymond. "My lord count," he said, "it is obvious that this man has been bewitched! His brain has been addled by these gypsies. They are heathens, my lord count, and are accorded no protection in Christendom. They are devotees of darkness--worse than the Cathars, who they are no doubt in league with. They have cast a spell on him, so he knows not what he says. To accord a gypsy girl the honor of being called a true Christian woman is an insult to all the noble ladies of our realm. This tale has gone too far. The words that this fool mouths are things impossible to believe. He betrays his own enchanted state."

A murmur of assent rippled through the superstitious crowd, who shared Odo's prejudice.

Count Raymond looked down at the man. "He seems in his right mind to me, my lord bishop."

"I am the judge of spiritual matters such as these," challenged Odo.

"But, my lord bishop," Raymond sternly replied, "I am the judge here. This is my court, not yours. In light of this man's concurring testimony, I can only declare the innocence of this Scotsman. Furthermore, it would appear that you have fabricated this story of monies stolen. I can only assume, then, that something happened to the message that these men were carrying, something which--I have noticed, lord bishop--you seem to prefer not to discuss!"

Odo looked fiercely at Raymond. "You have no right to accuse me! This man has been bewitched! I hereby demand trial by combat, to prove the guilt of the Scotsman!"

A smile crossed Malcolm's face, for the thought of doing combat with Bernard to prove his innocence was something he quite looked forward to.

The count turned to Malcolm. "Will you accept this trial by combat?"

"I will," said Malcolm, "for I am innocent of these charges."

"And who will be your champion?" the count inquired of Odo.

Odo turned to look at Bernard. It was obvious that Bernard was no match, for already he and his two soldiers had been beaten by this one man--or at least, almost beaten. Odo scanned the room until his eyes fell on a man in the back of the count's retinue.

"I ask for Albert of Aurillac, a noble knight and a true son of Mother Church, to hereby be the champion of the church in this matter!"

A loud murmur swept through the court. Guillaume's and Malcolm's anxious eyes met and locked. The situation had taken a dangerous turn, for Albert of Aurillac was arguably the greatest swordsman of southern France.

The count, his face notably grave, turned to Albert. "What say ye, Albert of Aurillac? Will you accept this commission?"

With scarcely a moment of hesitation, he thundered out, "I will!"

"Then," said the count, turning to Odo, "you have appealed to trial by combat, and, being a priest, it is your right to have someone fight in your stead. The two sides have agreed. Therefore, I decree that this afternoon in the royal lists, this combat commence. May truth and justice prevail, according to the laws of the Franks, which do govern our lands.

"And to the two combatants I say: Repair ye to that field at one hour past noon today, there to do deadly combat. And if either of you do not show, your guilt shall be declared, and you shall be branded an outlaw. Choose your seconds."

Albert turned to the man next to him. "My cousin Theobald shall be my second."

"And you, Scotsman, who will you choose to be your second?"

At this, Guillaume stepped forward. "My lord uncle, this man is a stranger in our lands. It would be dishonorable for him, and for us, if he did not have a second. I hereby volunteer to be this man's second, and to arrange the details of the fight."

"So be it," said Count Raymond. "This court is adjourned, and will reconvene at the jousting field at the appointed time. And may God have mercy on us all!"