JENNIFER was getting ready for bed when Lady Godiva entered the room. She had the look of distress on her face.

“My lady,” asked Jennifer, “what’s wrong?”

“My husband.”

“What about him?”

“I can’t get him to change back to the man he was unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless I ride through the streets of Coventry naked.”

So it’s true. said Jennifer to herself, She does ride through the streets of Coventry naked. “And what did you say?“ asked Jennifer.

“I told him it was outrageous.” said Godiva, “And now he’s going to raise the taxes a lot higher while you’re in Shrewsbury.”

“He is?” asked Jennifer.

“Yes.” said Godiva, “You see I tried to convince him that the only way you could stop questioning the peasants and leave him alone was to lower the taxes and become the man he was. That’s when he told me that he could only do it if I rode naked through Coventry.”

“So you want me to stay.” said Jennifer.

“No.” said Godiva. She paused for a minute as if she was thinking over something and said “Go to Shrewsbury. I can handle this.”

“You can?”

“Yes I can. Now get some sleep. You’ll need to rest up for tomorrow.”

They embraced each other and Godiva left.

++++++

Jennifer woke to a smell of cigar smoke. She looked around and saw Lt. Colombo seated in a chair.

“Lt. Colombo.” asked Jennifer, “What are you doing here?”

“I heard that you’re investigating Leofric.”

“That’s right.” said Jennifer, “How did you know?”

“Does it matter as long as your doing detective work just like I do?”

“That’s right. You’re a detective too.”

“That makes the two of us. Jennifer have you decided on what kind of a future you want?”

“Not really. But I’ve got a boyfriend who wants to be a rock star.”

“He does. You know, that’s what my wife wanted me to be but I chose the police force.”

Jennifer smiled at this. “So you’re suggesting that I should be a police officer.”

“No. Unless you enjoy dangerous work. But what did your friend Doc Brown say? Oh yeah ‘Your future is whatever you want it to be.’”

“That’s right. That’s what he said.”

“Good. Now get some rest.”

“Thank you.”

Jennifer was about to go back to sleep when Colombo said “Just one more thing.”

Jennifer sat up and asked “Yes?”

“Earl Leofric and his men have been searching your room. I’d suggest you start taking some of that futuristic stuff with you with you on the journey. You don’t want anybody from the year 1057 to be expose to all that technology.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Good then. Good night and good luck.”

“Good night.” said Jennifer.

After that, she went back to sleep.

Jennifer was awaken early to be given a bath. During her breakfast with the couple the servants readied the carriage with provisions for the long journey to Shrewsbury. After breakfast, Jennifer was ready to go.

As the carriage pulled out Leofric said “So she’s going to do it. She’s going to Shrewsbury and I increase the taxes. Let it be on her head.”

“No you’re not.” said Godiva, “I made my decision.”

“You have?”

“Yes. This Saturday, I’m going to ride naked through Coventry on a bareback horse.”

Leofric looked at her in disbelief and said “No.”

“Yes.” said Godiva, “The deal is if I ride naked through Coventry, you would lower the taxes. So I’m going to do it.” She motioned to a scribe and said “Take this down.”

And the scribe did.

++++++

An hour later the town crier read the proclamation.

“This Saturday, The Thirty-first of May in the year of our Lord 1057, in an attempt to get my husband Leofric, the Earl of Mercia to lower the taxes I shall ride naked through Coventry starting at noon in the marketplace. All citizens of the hamlet are to go inside and close all the windows and doors as to not look outside and behold my nakedness.”

Sir Thomas Capps was among the throng and couldn’t wait to see Lady Godiva naked.

++++++

It was almost dusk when Jennifer arrived in Shrewsbury. Going to the address given by Lady Godiva, the carriage arrived at an ancient castle. She was given an escort into the castle where an elderly Anglo-Saxon woman greeted her.

“My name is Gwendolyn.” she said, “I understand that you’re related to my daughter-in-law, Lady Godiva.”

“I am. My name is Jennifer.”

“Glad to meet you, Jennifer.” said Gwendolyn, “Tell me how is my son, Leofric?”

“Like he’s two different people.” said Jennifer, “During the past year he’s hiked the taxes, given none of them to the churches and the king has received nothing.”

Gwendolyn looked down as if there was something she knew that Jennifer didn’t.

“That’s not my son.” she said, “That’s someone else. I thought he was…”

“Who?” asked Jennifer.

“One of my sons.” said Gwendolyn, “Leofric is the sole survivor of the family.”

Jennifer looked at the old woman and realized that she was onto something.

“Tell me about it.” she said.

“My husband’s name was Leofwine and we had four sons together: Northman, Edwin, Godwin and Leofric. Forty years ago our eldest son Northman was killed in one of losing battles against Cnut. Edwin was also killed albeit twenty-two years later and against Gruffydd ap Llywelyn who ruled Wales and Godwin, they told me died sometimes last year.”

“What about your husband?”

“He died twenty-nine years ago never having seen his youngest son become the Earl of Mercia or the woman he married.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that.” said Jennifer, “Was he famous?”

Gwendolyn gave Jennifer a peculiar stare and asked “You mean you never heard of Leofwine of the Hwicce?”

“No not really.” said Jennifer, “I’m only new here. Go on.”

“Leofwine was Leofric’s predecessor as the Earl of Mercia.” said Gwendolyn, “They had a close relationship and Leofwine assured Leofric that he would be Earl over his brother Godwin much to the chagrin of the brother.”

“Why Leofric over Godwin?” asked Jennifer, ‘Surely there has to be more that just a close relationship between father and son over the other son.”

“You’re right.” said Gwendolyn, “There is. “Godwin was the untrustworthy one. Leofwine feared that Godwin ruled Mercia like a tyrant plus he was jealous of his brother Leofric because of his marriage to Lady Godiva.”

“Did he also look like Leofric?”

“The spitting image of Leofric.” said Gwendolyn, “You couldn’t tell them apart.”

“Like they’re practically twins.” said Jennifer, “But one good, the other bad.”

“Precisely.”

Jennifer began to fit the pieces of the puzzle together now: There were two Biff look-a-likes here. One good the other bad. The good one is the Earl of Mercia which is supposed to be Leofric whose turning to evil coincided with the disappearance or death of Godwin. And Leofric not remembering that he was in the mutton trade. Could it be that the Leofric of the past year is really Godwin and the true Leofric had been kidnapped and has been incarcerated somewhere? Perhaps behind that door in Leofric’s castle that she has apparently been forbidden to look inside of? What is behind that door a dungeon or something?

Jennifer wanted to continue the questioning but she began to feel tired and Gwendolyn noticed it.

“You must be tired my child.” she said.

“I am.” yawned Jennifer, “It’s been a long trip.”

“I’ll get the servants to prepare the guestroom for you. And you could return to Coventry tomorrow.”

“No need.” said Jennifer, “I’d like to stay a day here before going back.. I want to talk to everyone who knew your sons and their father.”

“Very well, then.” said Gwendolyn, “The townsfolk knew my two boys very well.”

“Good.” said Jennifer.

Gwendolyn rang for the servants and instructed them to take Jennifer to her room.

Leofric awoke to stick his hand out where his wife Godiva was but she was gone. After getting out of bed and getting dressed he looked around for her and spotted her in the courtyard holding onto a horse.

“My lady.” he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Just taking a horse for a ride.” said Godiva, “After all, I’ve got till Saturday to get ready.”

“On no you don’t.” said Leofric, “I forbid this.”

“Why?” asked Godiva, “Because if I do you have to lower the taxes? Ha! You shouldn’t of made that deal in the first place.”

“And you shouldn’t of sent your kinswoman to Shrewsbury in the first place.” said Leofric as he made a lunge for the strap that his wife had attached to the horse..

“Let go.” said Godiva