An Order for Death хмб-7

by Susanna GREGORY

  ‘They are called buttons,’ said Richard haughtily, glancing down at them. ‘Why?’

  ‘I know what they are,’ said Michael impatiently. ‘But I have never before seen such monstrous examples of them – at least, not on a man. I understand the King’s mother goes in for that kind of thing.’

  Bartholomew could see his point. Buttons had only recently gained popularity, because it was said that the King approved of them. Most were made of bone or wood and were small, unobtrusive discs that performed the function of holding two pieces of material together without the need for elaborate systems of laces. Richard’s buttons, however, were huge, almost the size of mushrooms, and were evidently made of some precious metal.

  ‘They are the height of fashion,’ said Richard defensively. ‘Do you know nothing of the King’s court?’

  ‘They are ugly,’ said Stanmore, eyeing them critically. ‘But I doubt this modern liking for buttons will last long. They will never take the place of laces.’

  ‘You should be careful if you ever need to run,’ Bartholomew advised his nephew with a smile. ‘If one of those things bounces upwards, it will take your teeth out.’

  Michael regarded Richard with arched eyebrows. ‘Do all Oxford scholars adorn themselves with these “buttons”, as well as drink liquid that would be better employed in scouring drains? Or is it just confined to those people who study law?’

  Richard bristled at the insult, but Heytesbury laid a soothing hand on his arm as he smiled at Michael. ‘It is a passing phase, no more. You will find no buttons on me. I would not have expected you to negotiate with me if I had been covered in lumps of metal.’

  ‘Speaking of our agreement, perhaps we should draw it up tomorrow,’ suggested Michael hopefully. ‘I am sure you need to be back in Oxford for the beginning of the new term, and if we finalise matters now, you will not be obliged to make a second journey.’

  Heytesbury’s smile was enigmatic. ‘Patience, Brother. There is no hurry. I will stay here for a while, and visit your halls and Colleges to see how they compare to my own. There may be things for me to learn.’

  The expression on his face made Bartholomew suspect that he had serious doubts on that score.

  ‘I am sure the Chancellor would be delighted if you offered to lecture here,’ suggested Richard. He turned eagerly to Bartholomew and Michael. ‘Master Heytesbury is one of the leading authorities on the theory of nominalism.’

  ‘I am not sure that is a good idea,’ said Michael hastily. ‘For some unaccountable reason, the religious Orders here have taken that debate very much to heart recently. I do not want a full-scale riot with the Carmelites, Franciscans and Gilbertines on one side and the Dominicans, Austins and Benedictines on the other.’

  ‘Your scholars riot over philosophical issues?’ asked Heytesbury in a contemptuous voice. ‘At Merton, we tend to fight with our wits, not our fists.’

  ‘Things have changed, then, have they?’ asked Bartholomew archly, not prepared to let Heytesbury get away with that one. ‘There was a good deal of fighting when I was a student there.’

  ‘There are fights, of course,’ said Heytesbury coolly, not pleased to be contradicted. ‘But not over issues of philosophy. What kind of world would it be if the theory that gained predominance was the one that had the most aggressive supporters?’

  ‘One that would suit a lot of the scholars I know,’ muttered Michael. ‘It would save them the embarrassment of exposing their inferior minds.’

  ‘A lecture on nominalism by its leading protagonist would be a great thing for Cambridge,’ persisted Richard. ‘It would show them the nature of real scholarship.’

  ‘We will see,’ said Michael vaguely.

  Richard was about to add something else, when there was a loud, urgent hammering at the gates. The merchant looked at his wife in surprise.

  ‘Who can that be? It is late, and I am surprised anyone in the village is still awake.’

  He stood abruptly when horses’ hoofs clattered on the cobbles of the yard outside. Bartholomew heard Hugh the steward demanding to know the rider’s business, but then there was the sound of approaching footsteps and the door to the hall was flung open. A cold draught swirled inside, making the fire gutter and extinguishing several lamps.

  ‘I am sorry to intrude, Master Stanmore,’ said Sheriff Tulyet, pushing past Hugh, who seemed about to make a more mannerly announcement. His cloak was sodden, and he was breathless from a hard ride against a fierce headwind. ‘But I must speak to Brother Michael.’

  Richard Tulyet was small, with a wispy beard that gave him the appearance of a youth unable to produce the more luxurious whiskers of an older man. Only the lines of worry and tiredness around his mouth and eyes suggested that he was loaded with the considerable responsibility of maintaining law and order in a rebellious town where a significant portion of the population comprised young men.

  ‘Me?’ asked Michael, surprised. ‘Why? What can have happened to induce the town’s Sheriff to ride through such a foul night to seek me out?’

  ‘Your University,’ replied Tulyet, grim-faced. ‘It is in uproar again. You must return with me immediately and take charge of your beadles, or we shall have no town at all by the morning.’

  ‘Who is it this time?’ asked Michael wearily, reaching for his cloak. ‘Hugh, saddle up my horse, if you please.’

  ‘The Franciscans have some Austin canons trapped in Holy Trinity Church,’ replied Tulyet in some disgust. ‘Apparently there was a dispute over who should preach the sermon. They tossed a coin, would you believe, and the Austins won. The Franciscans declined to listen to an Austin, and left.’

  ‘So what is the problem?’ asked Michael when the Sheriff paused. Stanmore poured Tulyet a goblet of wine, which he accepted gratefully. ‘If the Franciscans went home, why are you here?’

  ‘They did not return to their friary,’ said Tulyet. ‘Apparently, they made for the Cardinal’s Cap, where they spent the evening drinking the poor taverner dry of ale – for which they still need to pay. And then they headed back to Holy Trinity Church.’

  ‘Were the Austins still inside?’ asked Stanmore.

  Tulyet nodded. ‘The Franciscans claim that neither I nor my soldiers have jurisdiction over them, because they are in holy orders – under canon, rather than secular law – and refuse to go home.’

  ‘My Junior Proctor can deal with this,’ said Michael impatiently. ‘I left him in charge, and he knows what he is supposed to do if the scholars cause mischief.’

  Tulyet sighed, his face sombre. ‘That is the real reason why I am here, Brother. I am afraid I have some bad news for you.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ demanded Michael suspiciously.

  Tulyet sighed. ‘Will Walcote is dead. Someone hanged him from the walls of the Dominican Friary.’

  Chapter 3

  ONCE MICHAEL HAD LEFT WITH TULYET TO BEGIN AN immediate investigation into Walcote’s death, Bartholomew did not feel like continuing with the celebrations at Edith’s house. He offered to accompany the monk home, afraid that the murder of a close colleague would prove to be a harrowing experience, but Michael declined, muttering that he did not want to spoil Edith’s party.

  The physician did not enjoy the rest of the evening, and escaped to the bed in the attic that had been provided for him as soon as he could do so without causing offence. Meanwhile, Richard dominated the conversation, outlining his grand plans to amass wealth and fame. Bartholomew had encountered many greedy men in his time, but such brazen avarice was a quality he had never expected to see in his nephew. Heytesbury fell silent once Michael had gone, and stared into the fire, evidently lost in his own thoughts.

  The following morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten in the east, Bartholomew crept out of his room, and tiptoed downstairs and across to the stables. He thought he had succeeded in leaving the house undetected, and was surprised and not particularly pleased to find Richard waiting for him with a huge black stallion already sad
dled.

  ‘What is that?’ demanded Bartholomew, eyeing the vast beast uneasily.

  Richard seemed startled by the question. ‘It is a horse. What does it look like?’

  ‘That is no horse; it is a monster,’ said Bartholomew, hurriedly stepping back as the animal tossed its mighty head and pawed at the ground. ‘Where did it come from?’

  Richard patted the horse’s neck fondly, although the animal did not seem to reciprocate the affection. ‘He hales from the stables of the Earl of Gloucester, and has a pedigree of which any nobleman would be proud. I bought him two days ago from the Bigod family in Chesterton.’

  ‘How did you pay for such an expensive item?’ asked Bartholomew, astonished. ‘You have only been in Cambridge a week or so. I had no idea practising law could be so lucrative.’

  Richard shot him an unpleasant glance. ‘I was doing well in Oxford, as it happens, but I am fortunate in having Heytesbury as a friend. He has recommended me to several of his richest acquaintances. But never mind me, what do you think of my horse?’

  ‘Did you have to choose one that was so big?’ asked Bartholomew, taking another step back as the horse, sensing that it was about to take some exercise, headed for the open door. Richard grabbed the reins, but the animal paid him no heed, and his tugs and curses were irrelevant to the course of its progress outside.

  ‘I do not ride ponies,’ retorted Richard haughtily, still hauling on the reins. ‘And this beast suits my status as a lawyer. I cannot be seen mounted on something inferior, can I?’

  ‘I suppose not,’ said Bartholomew, saddling his modest palfrey. He hoped the looming presence of the black monster would not cause it to bolt, or, worse still, that it would not follow Richard’s lead and thunder off down the dark track towards Cambridge at a speed that was unsafe. Bartholomew did not enjoy riding at the best of times, but doing so at a breakneck pace along a frost-hardened track in the near-dark was definitely low on his list of pleasant ways to spend a morning.

  ‘The Black Bishop of Bedminster,’ said Richard.

  Bartholomew gazed at him uncomprehendingly in the gloom. ‘What?’

  ‘That is his name. The village of Bedminster, near Bristol, is where he was bred. It is an impressive title, do you not think? It is fitting for a fine animal to have such a name.’

  ‘I am sure it is,’ said Bartholomew. ‘I only hope it never runs away. I would not like to think of you wandering the town shouting “Black Bishop of Bedminster” as you try to lure it back.’

  Richard scowled, and then swung himself up into his saddle. The horse pranced and reared at the weight, and Bartholomew was not entirely sure that Richard had the thing under complete control. He watched from the safety of the stables, noting that the saddle was a highly polished affair with a pommel that gleamed a dull gold in the first glimmerings of day. Such an object would have cost Bartholomew at least a year’s salary.

  Richard’s clothes were equally expensive looking. He had abandoned the soft wool hose and buttoned shirt he had worn the previous night, and sported leather riding boots with silver spurs, a black tunic with flowing sleeves and dark grey hose, all topped off with a long black cloak that he arranged carefully over the back of the saddle so that it would show off his finery to its best advantage. The gold ring that pierced his ear gleamed even in the dim light of early morning, and the smell of the scented goose-grease, with which he had plastered down his unruly locks and beard, was strong enough to mask even the odour of horse.

  ‘What do you intend to do in the town?’ asked Bartholomew, wondering what the people of Cambridge would say when they saw such an elegant peacock strutting around their streets flaunting his wealth. Richard would be lucky if he survived the day without someone hurling a clod of mud – or worse – at such a brazen display of affluence. ‘I have to attend mass at St Michael’s Church, and then spend the morning teaching.’

  ‘Perhaps I will accompany you,’ said Richard thoughtfully. ‘Your new Master, Ralph de Langelee, has connections at court, and would be a useful man to know. He is an unmannerly lout, but I will have to turn a blind eye to that, if I am to make my fortune in Cambridge.’

  ‘It looks to me as though you have already made it,’ said Bartholomew.

  Richard grinned. ‘I will do better yet if profitable business keeps coming my way. But I doubt I will stay long in Cambridge; it is too rural for a man like me. I will go to London soon – now there is a place for a man who intends to make his way in the world! Opportunities in London are like leaves on the trees.’

  Bartholomew heartily wished his arrogant, ambitious nephew would take his black horse and ride to London that very morning. Eager to escape from the young man’s company as quickly as possible, he climbed on a bale of hay and made an awkward transition from it to the back of the palfrey. Fortunately, Michael had selected a mount that was fairly tolerant, and although it was startled by the weight that suddenly dropped on to it, it stood its ground. Hugh the steward opened the gate, and Bartholomew and Richard began the short journey to Cambridge.

  It was a Tuesday, and farmers and peasants were already making their way to the town with carts and sacks full of goods to sell in the marketplace. Six dirty-white geese were being herded along by a listless boy who wore a piece of sacking as a cloak; the birds honked balefully as faster-moving pigs were driven through their midst. Chapmen with heavy packs slung across their shoulders plodded through the mud left by the rains of the previous night, cursing as their feet skidded and slipped in the treacherous ruts that formed the road. Richard complained bitterly about the stench left by the pigs, and only stopped when Bartholomew lent him a thick bandage to wrap around his mouth and nose. Bartholomew had seen courtiers do the same, claiming to be more easily offended by unpleasant odours than the common folk. The physician supposed his nephew hoped to give the impression with his silly bandage that he, too, was nobly born.

  They were just passing the Panton manor on the outskirts of Cambridge, when they saw a small group of nuns standing at the side of the road. The nuns’ heads were swathed in white veils that were bright in the dim light, and their cloaks were splattered with muck from the road. One of them glanced up, and apparently decided that Richard’s fine horse, elegant apparel and face bandage marked him as a man of breeding and wealth and therefore someone she might ask for help. A pale hand flagged him down. Richard’s attempt to leap from his horse and stride boldly to her rescue was marred only by the fact that his spur caught in the stirrup: Bartholomew’s timely lunge saved him from a tumble in the mud.

  ‘How might we be of assistance, ladies?’ Richard enquired suavely, unabashed by an incident that most people would have found acutely embarrassing. Bartholomew envied his resilience and confidence.

  ‘It is our Prioress, Mabel Martyn,’ said one of the nuns. She was a tall woman, with dark eyes and smooth brown hair that poked from under her wimple. She looked the splendid figure of Richard up and down in a brazen assessment of his physique. ‘There is something wrong with her.’

  ‘My uncle is a physician,’ said Richard generously. ‘He will heal her.’

  ‘I thought you said physicians were charlatans, incapable of healing anyone,’ muttered Bartholomew, pushing the reins of his horse at his nephew and walking to three other nuns, who were clustered around a figure on the ground.

  ‘We are from St Radegund’s Convent,’ announced the young woman. ‘We are nuns. Well, I have taken no final vows yet, so I suppose I am not.’

  ‘I hope you do not decide upon a life of chastity,’ said Richard gallantly. ‘It would be a sin to shut away such beauty in a cloister.’

  ‘I agree,’ said the woman fervently. ‘Although better that than being married to some old man with no teeth who sleeps all the time. I do not find gums very attractive.’

  ‘Nor do I,’ said Richard, apparently unable to think of any other response to her peculiar revelations.

  She beamed at him, and Bartholomew realised that she was a little slow in
the wits and that a cloister might be the safest place for her. He turned his attention to the Prioress, who lay semi-conscious in the long grass at the side of the road. Her wimple was askew and her breathing deep and loud. The unmistakable smell of wine was thick in the air around her.

  ‘I think she had a sip too much at breakfast,’ he said carefully. His natural good manners rebelled against bluntly announcing that Prioress Martyn of St Radegund’s Convent was drunk.

  ‘But we have not had breakfast yet,’ objected the young woman, missing his point entirely. ‘So you must be wrong.’

  ‘Why are you out so early?’ asked Richard, voicing what Bartholomew had also been wondering: it was unusual to see nuns travelling towards their convent at such an hour in the morning. ‘Have you been to mass at Trumpington Church?’

  ‘We have been nowhere,’ said the young woman. ‘We are still coming back from last night.’

  Richard looked confused, and one of the others hastened to explain. She was tall and strong-looking, about forty years of age, with thick red hair and eyes that were too wise for a nun.

  ‘We were invited to dine at the house of Roger de Panton yesterday. Time passed more quickly than we thought, and we have only just realised that we need to hurry so as not to be late for prime.’

  Bartholomew pulled something from underneath the snoring Prioress and held it up for the others to see. It was an empty wineskin. He supposed that the Prioress’s last tipple was more than her constitution could bear after what sounded like a heavy night.

  ‘I told you to dispose of that, Tysilia,’ said the older woman sharply.

  Tysilia pouted sulkily. ‘I did, Dame Wasteneys. I took it when she was in the latrine.’

  ‘Perhaps she has more than one,’ said Bartholomew, hauling the semi-conscious woman to her feet. She groaned, and opened bleary eyes. ‘The walk in fresh air will do her good. When you arrive home, give her plenty to drink and make sure she has a good breakfast.’