A Bone of Contention хмб-3

by Susanna GREGORY

  ‘What have you found this time, Master Thorpe?’ he asked, his voice deliberately loud and practical.

  Thorpe favoured him with a cold stare, and answered in subdued tones that had the scholars furthest away moving closer to hear him.

  ‘We have discovered a relic of the saintly Simon d’Ambrey,’ he said, clasping his hands in front of him like a monk in prayer. ‘There can be no doubt about it this time, Doctor.’

  He met Bartholomew’s gaze evenly. Without breaking eye contact, he gestured to the Ditch, so that Bartholomew was the first to look away. Something lay on the cracking mud, carefully wrapped in a tabard to prevent the swarming flies from alighting on it. Bartholomew, aware that he was being watched minutely, clambered down the bank to examine it, while Michael, curiously silent, followed.

  Bartholomew picked up the tabard and gave it a slight shake, causing what was wrapped inside it to drop out.

  There was a shocked gasp from the watching scholars at this rough treatment of what they already believed was sacred. Michael bent next to him as he knelt, and hissed furiously in his ear.

  ‘Be careful, Matt! I do not feel comfortable here. These scholars are taking this nonsense very seriously. I imagine it would take very little for them to take on the role of avenging angels for any perceived insult to their relic. I do not wish to be torn limb from limb over a soup bone.’

  Bartholomew glanced up at him. ‘This is no soup bone, Brother.’ He looked back at the mud-encrusted object that had tumbled from the tabard. ‘This is the hand of a man, complete with a ring on his little finger.’

  CHAPTER 5

  Michael pretended to look closer at the grisly object that lay on the bank so he could whisper to Bartholomew without being overheard.

  ‘Hell’s teeth, Matt! We have been desperate to avoid a situation like this! Now there will be gatherings of people to see the thing, and fights between town and gown will be inevitable. Are you sure this hand belongs to a man? Can you not say it is that of a woman?’

  Bartholomew shook his head. ‘It is far too big. You are stuck with this, I am afraid. These are the bones from a man’s hand without question, and any other physician will tell you the same. Unfortunately, the thing even looks like a relic with that ring on its finger. What do you want me to do?’

  Michael sat back on his heels, and watched Bartholomew wipe away some of the mud from the sinister hand. ‘Take it to St Mary’s Church,’ he said. ‘The Chancellor will be able to control access to it more easily there, and the beadles will be able to break up any gathering crowds.’

  Bartholomew re-wrapped the hand in the tabard and called out to the servant, Will, who was still grubbing about in the ooze of the Ditch.

  ‘Have you found anything else?’

  Will shook his head. ‘We shall continue to look, though, sir. The rest of the skeleton must be here somewhere since we have the hand.’

  Bartholomew exchanged a brief glance of concern with Michael. Above them, the scholars muttered approval.

  Clutching the precious relic, Bartholomew began to climb back up the bank, followed by a puffing Michael.

  ‘With your permission, Master Thorpe,’ Bartholomew began, ‘I will take this to St Mary’s Church where I can examine it more closely…’

  ‘You most certainly do not have my permission,’ said Thorpe brusquely. He reached out his hand for the bones.

  ‘It was found by Valence Marie scholars, and it will stay on Valence Marie land.’

  Michael intervened smoothly. ‘It will be treated with all reverence at St Mary’s,’ he said. ‘If this really is a sacred relic, then it should be in the most important church of the University for all to see. The Chancellor will want to verify it himself. And doubtless the Bishop of Ely will want to see it, too.’

  ‘It does not belong to the University or your Bishop, Brother,’ said Thorpe with quiet dignity. ‘It belongs to Valence Marie. We found it, and with us it will stay.’ He looked around him, appealing to the watching scholars.

  Michael’s fears had been justified and Bartholomew could detect that the atmosphere had undergone a rapid transition from reverent to menacing. Thorpe was a shrewd manipulator of crowd emotions.

  Michael stepped forward as Thorpe tried to grab the bones from Bartholomew. ‘It would be prudent to allow Doctor Bartholomew to examine them more closely, Master Thorpe, so that he can attest that they are genuine.’

  ‘I need no such examination to convince me of the relic’s authenticity,’ said Thorpe, pulling himself up to his full height, and looking down his long nose at the monk.

  ‘If you wish to satisfy your heathen curiosity, Brother, you may do so. But you will do so here, at the Hall of Valence Marie.’

  Michael began to speak, but stopped as one or two scholars stepped forward threateningly. Bartholomew thought he heard the sound of someone drawing a dagger from its leather sheath, but could not be certain. The situation had become ugly: the scholars were convinced that Valence Marie now possessed a valuable relic and were prepared to go to extreme lengths to keep it. Bartholomew could already see the glitter of anticipated violence in the eyes of some students, their demeanour making it clear that if Bartholomew and Michael wished to leave the Ditch at all, it would not be with the bones.

  Thorpe leaned forward and took the relic from Bartholomew’s unresisting hands. He held the parcel in the air, and turned towards his scholars.

  ‘The bones of a martyr have been entrusted to us,’ he announced in a strong, confidentvoice. There was a growl of approval. ‘There will be many who will want to come to see them, and we must allow them to do so. But we have a sacred trust to ensure that they will always rest at Valence Marie!’

  There was a ragged cheer. Some of the scholars began to follow Thorpe as he led the way back along the bank of the Ditch to his college. Others remained with Bartholomew and Michael, and formed a tight escort that almost immediately began to jostle and shove them.

  Michael spoke rapidly in Latin to Bartholomew, trusting that his low voice and the speed of his words would render him incomprehensible to the students surrounding them. One or two moved closer to try to hear what he was saying, but most ignored him, their attention fixed on the silvery head of Thorpe leading his procession, and carrying his precious bones.

  ‘We are in a fix, Matt. Examine the wretched thing, but say nothing of what you find. It seems Thorpe has already convinced them that they have the hand of a martyr whether it is true or not.’

  Bartholomew staggered as a hefty student crashed into him, almost knocking him over. With difficulty, he refrained from pushing him back, but almost fell again as someone gave him a hard shove from behind.

  He felt Michael’s warning hand on his shoulder, and did nothing.

  They reached Valence Marie, where Thorpe laid his bundle gently on the high table and unwrapped it. He called for water, and began to clean away the remaining mud. Underneath the filth, the bones gleamed yellow- white, and the ring on the little finger glittered in the golden rays of the early evening sun that lanced through the open windows. When Thorpe held up the relic for the scholars to see, there were murmurs of awe; one student even dropped to his knees, crossing himself.

  Michael stepped forward, but Bartholomew’s arms were seized before he could follow. Michael glanced round at the sounds of the ensuing scuffle.

  ‘Might we examine the hand now that it is clean, Master Thorpe?’ he asked politely. ‘Then we will tell the Chancellor of your discovery.’

  ‘There is no need for a medical examination,’ said Thorpe, eyeing Bartholomew disdainfully. ‘It is perfectly apparent what we have here.’

  ‘But you said that any who wished to see it should be allowed to do so,’ Michael pointed out. ‘Does that courtesy not apply to Fellows of Michaelhouse?’

  Thorpe was silent for a moment as he considered. He was aware that if he refused to allow the Chancellor’s representatives to examine the bones, rumours doubting their authenticity would surely fol
low. But he was also aware that a negative verdict by the University’s senior physician could be equally damning, as it had proved to be with the bones of the child. He rose to the occasion.

  ‘You may examine the hand, as Fellows of Michael-house,’ he said magisterially. ‘But we will permit no unseemly treatment of it. No touching.’

  Bartholomew was released reluctantly, stumbling as he tripped over a strategically placed foot. He heard one or two muffled snorts of laughter coming from the students.

  ‘I see Michaelhouse has little to learn from the manners of the scholars of Valence Marie,’ he remarked coolly to Thorpe, ignoring the way the Master’s mouth tightened into a hard line. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thorpe glare a warning at the offending students, whose sniggering ceased instantly.

  The now-cleaned bones lay on the muddy tabard.

  Bartholomew leaned forward to move them slightly but was not in the least surprised to feel Thorpe’s restraining grip on his wrist. He was aware of the scholars edging towards him, mutters of anger and resentment rippling through their ranks.

  ‘You are invited to look, but I said you are not to touch,’ Thorpe said firmly.

  Bartholomew pulled his arm away, peering closely at the hand. Although the bones appeared bright and clean, they were still joined together, mostly by brownish sinews.

  Thus they were not merely a disconnected collection of small bones, but a complete skeletal hand. He moved into a different position and inspected the ring. Finally, he straightened. Michael prepared to leave, but Thorpe blocked their way.

  ‘Well?’ he asked, his eyes flicking from one to the other.

  Bartholomew shrugged. ‘It is the hand of a large man,’ he said simply.

  ‘It is the hand of a martyr,’ said Thorpe loudly, so that the hall rang with his words. ‘Why else would it be wearing a ring so fine?’

  Why indeed? wondered Bartholomew and followed Michael out of Valence Marie, into the fading rays of the evening sun. He took a deep breath and began to walk quickly back along the High Street towards Michaelhouse, suddenly longing to be safe inside its sturdy walls. For once, Michael did not complain about the rapid pace, obviously as eager to put as much distance between himself and Valence Marie as Bartholomew.

  After a few moments, when Michael was satisfied that they were not being followed by a crowd of resentful, antagonistic Valence Marie scholars, he repeated Thorpe’s question. ‘Well?’

  Bartholomew slowed his pace fractionally and looked at Michael. ‘You saw I was prevented from conducting a proper investigation but I can tell you two things. First, however much those Valence Marie servants root around in the mud, I will wager anything you please that no more of the skeleton will ever be found; and second, the hand does not belong to the martyred Simon d’Ambrey, unless he was considerably bigger than I recall and he died fairly recently.’

  Michael stopped dead, but then glanced uneasily behind him and began walking again. They had reached St Mary’s Church, near which the Chancellor had his offices. Michael took Bartholomew’s arm and dragged him into the wooden building where Richard de Wetherset sat poring over documents in the fading daylight. He was a solid man, whose physical strength had largely turned to fat from a lifetime of sitting in offices. He had iron-grey hair and a hard, uncompromising will. Although Bartholomew appreciated de Wetherset’s motives were usually selfless, and that he put the good of the University above all else, Bartholomew did not like the Chancellor, and certainly did not trust him. The Junior Proctor was with him, sitting on a stool and signing some writs, shivering in the pleasant breeze that wafted in from the window and snuffling miserably.

  De Wetherset scowled as Bartholomew and Michael entered, none too pleased that he was being interrupted while there was still daylight enough to be able to read the last accounts of the day’s business transactions. As Michael told him what had happened, the Chancellor flushed red with anger, his documents forgotten.

  ‘This is the worst possible thing that could have happened,’ he said, his voice low with barely restrained anger. ‘What does that fool Thorpe imagine he is doing? He is putting the fame and wealth of his college above the peaceful relations of the University with the town. There will be a riot for certain when this gets out: the town will demand this wretched hand for itself, and Valence Marie will refuse.’

  He sat back in his chair, the muscles in his jaws bulging from his grinding teeth as he considered the University’s position.

  Heppel watched him anxiously. ‘We must prevent another riot at all costs.’

  ‘You are right. We must inform the Sheriff immediately lest the townspeople start to gather outside Valence Marie.’

  De Wetherset stood abruptly and sent a clerk to fetch one of the Sheriffs deputies. He sat again, indicating that Bartholomew and Michael should take a seat on one of the benches that ran along the wall opposite the window.

  ‘Did you examine this confounded relic?’ he asked.

  ‘Not as completely as I would have wished, but enough to tell me that the “confounded relic” no more belongs to a man twenty-five years dead in the King’s Ditch than does my own,’ Bartholomew replied. The Chancellor, not in the least surprised, gestured for him to continue.

  ‘The hand was severed from the arm. There are cut marks on the wrist bones where the knife grazed them. And, think of the skeleton of the child, also in the Ditch for some years. It was stained dark brown by the mud. The bones on the Valence Marie hand are almost white, and I think it doubtful that they have been in the Ditch for any length of time. And finally, some care was taken to leave the sinews in place so that the collection of bones would be identifiable as a hand. Except for the little finger. There, the sinews must have broken or come loose, because the finger is held in place by a tiny metal pin almost hidden by the ring.’

  ‘A pin?’ exclaimed Heppel in astonishment. ‘Are you suggesting, therefore, that someone planted this hand for Thorpe to find?’

  Bartholomew ran his hand through his hair. ‘It is possible, I suppose. It is equally possible that he planted it himself. But all I can tell you for certain is that the hand was taken from a man – a man larger than any of us, and whether alive or already dead I cannot say – and boiled to remove the flesh. When one of the fingers came loose, it was repaired expertly with a pin.’

  Michael looked at him in concern. ‘Another murder victim? Or someone desecrating the dead? How do you know that the bones were boiled?’

  ‘Come now, Michael,’ said Bartholomew. ‘You have gnawed on enough roasted joints to know the answer to that. The bones of the relic are whitish-yellow, a colour they are unlikely to keep when embedded in the black mud of the King’s Ditch, and they have a freshness about them that suggests careful preparation. You must have noticed how easily the mud washed off when it was cleaned. Moreover, think about the choice of relic: a hand is manageable, and easily prepared – ring and all.

  It is not so repellent as, say, a skull but more inspiring than a thigh-bone or a rib. I am willing to wager anything you please that no other parts will be found until there is a market for them.’

  ‘And these bones belonged to a man larger than us?’ asked de Wetherset, frowning. ‘None of us is exactly petite!’ He glanced at Heppel, swathed in a thick cloak against nasty draughts, and wiping his long, thin nose with a pale, white hand. ‘Well, some of us are not.’

  Bartholomew held up his own hands. ‘The fingers were at least an inch longer than mine and the bones were dense and thick. I suspect a large hand was deliberately chosen to make it impossible for us to dismiss it as that of a woman.’

  ‘Is it possible that Master Thorpe did all this? ‘ wondered Heppel in revulsion. ‘Selected a large corpse, stole its hand and boiled it up?’

  Michael scratched his chin thoughtfully. ‘He was desperate to find a relic in the Ditch and was most disappointed when Matt kept pronouncing that his finds were animal bones. Valence Marie is a new college and will benefit greatly from having a
venerated relic on its premises, especially after the expense of dredging the Ditch in the first place.’

  ‘Or perhaps someone is using Thorpe’s desperation to play a cruel trick on him,’ mused de Wetherset. ‘It would not be the first time one scholar made a fool of another.’

  ‘Or a townsman made a fool of the University,’ pointed out Bartholomew.

  De Wetherset glared at him for a moment, but then accepted his comment with a resigned nod. ‘The real question is what are we to do?’

  ‘Go to see Thorpe yourself, ask to see the hand and then point out the bright, new pin,’ said Bartholomew promptly. ‘He can hardly refuse to allow you to examine his relic, can he?’

  De Wetherset agreed reluctantly and rose. ‘Are you sure about this pin?’ he asked. ‘I would not wish to be made a fool of either.’

  ‘You will see it,’ said Bartholomew, ‘especially if you pick the hand up.’

  As de Wetherset went to confront Thorpe, accompanied by a nervous Guy Heppel and two beadles, Bartholomew and Michael walked home. It was almost dark, and the curfew was in force. The streets were virtually deserted but, with relief, Bartholomew detected none of the atmosphere of anticipation he had sensed the night before.

  Doors were firmly closed, and although voices came from some of the houses, most were silent and in darkness.

  Dawn came early and the summer heat was exhausting for people who worked hard for their meagre livings. The Statute of Labour had been passed the year before, an edict that made it illegal for people to seek better-paid work by leaving their homes. The Statute had decreed that wages should remain at the pre-plague levels, despite the fact that food prices had soared since then. Unrest and bitter resentment festered, although the labourers were far too exhausted from scratching paltry livings from the land to do much about their miserable conditions.

  ‘Thorpe was very masterly at manipulating the emotions of his scholars,’ said Michael thoughtfully. ‘I wonder if he could apply that talent to incite a mob to riot.’