One Corpse Too Many (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #2)

by Ellis Peters

“I wish my father could have known you. And yet you are not of his persuasion, are you?” “Child, dear,” said Cadfael comfortably, “my monarch is neither Stephen nor Maud, and in all my life and all my fighting I’ve fought for only one king. But I value devotion and fidelity, and doubt if it matters whether the object falls short. What you do and what you are is what matters.

Cadfael is truly a man of character, although very real and honest about his faults.