Above all Becket was able to keep up with the relentless pace set by Henry himself. Medieval courts were itinerant affairs, travelling 20, 30 miles a day, eating in a royal forest or by the roadside. But Henry, who made a fetish of exercise out of a fear some said of growing fat, never seemed to slow down, barely arriving at one of his palaces before chasing off again. Clarendon Palace was the most magnificent hunting lodge in England. All that's left it now is this raw, ivy-covered stump of stone. But in Henry's time, the place would have been full of courtiers and dogs and hawks and horses. That's the way the King liked it, a kind of scruffy power to his entertainment. In fact, Becket saw right through Henry's game of studied informality, the way he avoided wearing the crown, his preference for ordinary riding clothes. Becket knew that when Henry extended the hand of friendship, he was capable of following it by frosty withdrawals of affection, unpredictable explosions of carpet biting, incendiary fury.


尽管如此，贝克特依旧能够紧跟亨利马不停蹄的脚步。中世纪的流动法庭，每天得跋涉三四十公里，在王家森林或路边露天就餐。而对于亨利而言，他专于锻炼，担心发胖，所以从未放慢速度，几乎刚到达一处宫殿，就匆忙赶往下一处。克拉伦登宫曾是英格兰最宏伟的狩猎场，如今只剩一片荒原与爬满青藤的残石。亨利在位期间，这里曾经朝臣满庭，猎狗，鹰隼和马匹随处可见。国王钟爱这种方式，娱乐中的尽情放纵。贝克特由此了解亨利的不拘礼节，比如他刻意不戴王冠，以及偏爱穿着普通骑马服。贝克特深知亨利何时友善，何时又热情退却，冷若冰霜，抑或是毫无预兆的怒火中烧，勃然大怒。