Michael Jecks - The Malice of Unnatural Death

The first rung on the ladder had been his acceptance as a knight of the shire when parliament had met some years ago. At the time she had thought little enough of his sudden elevation, but after his return she had realised how much itcould help them. He had been careful and cautious, measuring the influence of others, assessing the strengths and weaknessesof the different groupings, before coming to the conclusion that John of Lancaster was weak and incompetent. He would notchallenge the king in any serious manner. No, Lancaster was a petty, jealous man, driven by trivial complaints into a ridiculouscorner from which he could not retreat. As soon as he returned from that parliament, her Matthew had told her that he wouldnot support him, but instead would turn his loyalty to the Despensers, father and son, because he thought that they were ruthlessenough to command the respect of all.

And so it had come to pass. Whereas the other men in parliament were shown to be cretins or callow, the Despensers soon managedto acquire all authority under the king and with the king’s own support. They began their long government of tyranny, takingall that they desired from those who did not give them their full backing, and some of those who were more fulsome in theirpraise and support were rewarded. As was Sir Matthew.

Lady Alice had no care for politics. Hers was a world of calmness, secluded from the rude work with which men must occupythemselves, although it was true that she was concerned on occasion when she heard of those whom the Despensers had deprivedof lands, wealth — or life itself. Yet when she had met Sir Hugh le Despenser, the son, she had been entranced. There wasan aura about him, a power that filled a room without effort. There, with him, she had been convinced that she was in the presenceof a truly great man. Yes, it was easy to see how her husband had been convinced by him.

Soon Hugh le Despenser had noticed Matthew, and then suddenly their lives changed. Rather than being given somewhat demeaningfunctions, Matthew found himself with serious responsibilities, even finally receiving this post of Sheriff of Devon, withall that that conferred on him. Before that their income was limited, and they were utterly dependent upon the money thatthey got from their manor, but now all that was changed. They had much more.

But there was an aspect which Alice could not fail to notice: the power made her husband a great deal more attractive to otherwomen.

It was odd. Beforehand men had flirted with her while Matthew watched. Now their roles were reversed. Not that many of themwould dare to try to throw themselves at him. If they did, Alice would soon have noticed. But it did leave her feeling… what would the word be? Threatened? No, that was too strong. But on edge certainly. After all, she had no children yet,and that lack was the sort of thing that could make a man turn to another. And if he did, and she gave him a child in theplace of the woman he had married, then his wife’s life could grow unbearable. Especially with a strong-minded man like her Matthew. If he turned against her, she felt he would become a relentless opponent.

But even the lack of a child would not tempt him from her bed. She had received too many proofs of his adoration for her tobe fearful of that.

That foolish wench’s declaring her love for him had been proof. She had been quite ridiculous, almost demented, throwing herselfat his feet as though he had actually professed his love for her. And that was absolutely impossible. The notion that he would give himself to a lowly serving maid was risible. Quite insane.

And yet the girl had appeared to be convinced. Totally convinced. As if she really expected Sir Matthew to protect her.

On top of her brother’s arriving in town, this was one complication Alice really could live without.

Rob had followed Busse all the way to the castle that morning, and when he saw the brother leave the castle with Langatrehe immediately rose and watched the two march down the roadway, across the empty space where no buildings were allowed incase they gave succour to attackers of the castle, and down to the High Street.

Swiftly Rob was up and after them. This was more interesting than sitting back in Dartmouth and cleaning the bailiff’s roomsor preparing his meals. Usually by this time of the morning he would be growing bored, wondering where the next diversionwould be: whether he could escape the house for a couple of hours and find a game of dice to join. There was always gamblingof one sort or another going on in the town. It was the great thing about sailors, he reckoned. Where they went, there wasmoney to be traded for fun. But this was better. Being the eyes and spy of an important local official, that was even morefun.

The two men went along the road as far as Carfoix, and then walked past the cooks’ shops and thence westwards down the hill. It surprised him, for he had expected the brother to want to return to the cathedral, but no, they continued down the lanesuntil they came to a small house in an unremarkable position, and both entered.

He idled a few minutes, walking further down the lane to see what else there was, but it just carried on down to another gate, so far as he could see. He wasn’t going all the way down that hill: it was far too steep to want to descendonly to have to ascend again later. No, bugger that. Instead he looked about for a good point to stop and watch the place. There was one ideal location, but there was already another man there. And although he made a pretence of idling, he couldn’tfool an expert lounger. As Rob watched, he grew certain that the man was staring at the house with grim determination, asthough he was expecting to see his wife in there committing an act of adultery.

Rob stood staring at the house for a moment or two, but before long his interest was divided between the house and the manwho stood gazing at it with such interest, and soon he reasoned that if anything was to happen in the house, he would seeit in the man’s eyes anyway, and he gave up any attempt to view both. In preference he settled down in the angle of a housebeneath a jetty and devoted himself to watching the stranger.

He had a feeling that this man was to become useful, and he was ready to stay here and consider the fellow for as long asit proved necessary.

The man’s wife cackled suddenly, and she aimed a slap at Will’s shoulder. ‘Perhaps you fool them, but you don’t fool me !’

‘Leave him, woman,’ Coroner Richard snapped. ‘He is answering our questions.’

‘You don’t know what to ask, though, do you?’ she sneered. ‘He knows more than all this! Why don’t you ask him what he conceals?’ She stood and hobbled painfully from the room, spitting on the floor as she went, turning once at the doorway and staringat her husband for a long period, then saying to no one in particular, ‘If you take him, do it and be damned to him! He was ever a poor husband, andnow he’s nothing!’

‘Perhaps she is right. I don’t trust you,’ Coroner Richard declared when she was gone. ‘You are withholding something, I amsure of it.’

Baldwin was less convinced, but when he glanced at the watchman he saw that there was something in his eyes that he did notlike. There was a strange attentiveness and cunning there — not at all what he would have expected from a man suffering Godalone knew what torments after losing his entire family in a fire. It was almost as though he was using his grief as concealment.‘Well?’

Will had apparently believed his efforts had succeeded already, and now he gave a little start at the tone of sharpness in Baldwin’s voice. ‘Master?’

‘You are keeping something from us, are you not? We need to know what it is that you are holding back, and with the deathsalready we have enough reason to take you.’