Pat McIntosh - St Mungo's Robin

‘Where?’ asked Gil, wondering if he would regret the answer.

Anselm pointed a wavering hand at the murky windows on the garden side of the hall, and smiled toothlessly. ‘Out yonder, a course. He’d to say the Intercession for the Deacon.’

‘Anselm, there was only the six of us,’ said Maister Veitch.

‘What are ye saying?’ demanded Barty.

‘There was seven, Frankie,’ said Anselm again. ‘Humphrey and you and me on the one side, Cubby, Barty and Duncan on the tither, and Andro as well. Makes seven.’ He counted the names off. Gil nodded.

‘So who was sitting beside you?’ he asked.

‘Frankie here.’

‘I sit beside him,’said Maister Veitch at the same moment.

‘And on your other side?’

The old man thought, nodding slowly, and then gave him a look through the lopsided spectacles which Gil could only describe as crafty.

‘He came in late. It wasny him, you ken that, don’t you no?’

‘It wasny who, Anselm?’ asked Maister Veitch. ‘Your friend? Was it your friend? Or was it the Deacon?’

‘There was naebody on the end,’ asserted Barty

‘No on your side. He wasny your side,’ said Anselm. ‘He was my side.’

‘But who was it?’ asked Gil. ‘Father Anselm?’

‘It wasny him,’ said Anselm, and champed his jaws at them. ‘That’s all I’m telling you. It wasny him.’

No persuasion could extract any more lucid statement from the old priest. Gil gave up when he judged that Anselm was becoming distressed, and left quietly to find Millar. He met the sub-Deacon in the narrow passageway, on his way to summon the brothers to Terce.

‘His keys?’ Millar said distractedly. ‘I can give you those after the Office, Maister Cunningham, if you wouldny mind waiting. Aye, Sissie’s laying him out the now, she was wi him when I came across the close.’

‘That’s fine,’ said Gil, aware of animated discussion from the kitchen beside them. His sister’s voice was raised among the rest, apparently trying to correct someone. ‘I’ll not hold up the Office,’ he went on, ‘I’ll get a word wi you after, if you don’t mind.’

‘Aye, gladly,’ agreed Millar. ‘The sooner this is cleared up the better I’ll like it.’ The young man Gil had seen before popped out of the kitchen doorway like a rabbit pursued by a ferret, looked at them in alarm and set off for the outer yard, head down, cooking-knife still in his hand. ‘The brethren are all overexcited, maister, and Humphrey was neither to hold nor to bind yestreen at supper, what wi the rain and his brother and everything else, though Sissie got him calmed down after it — ’

As if on cue, Mistress Mudie hurried back into the building from the yard, the young man behind her, and dived into the kitchen. Socrates followed them, but came to push his nose under his master’s hand. As Mistress Mudie passed, Gil caught a wave of marjoram and a shred of her perpetual chatter: ‘- turn my back an instant, interfering wi my kitchen, I’ll sort this — ’ He felt the old, familiar sinking sensation in his stomach. Millar, with great presence of mind, nodded to him and moved in dignified haste into the hall to summon the community to prayer. Gil, gathering his courage, stayed where he was.

His misgivings were justified. Mistress Mudie’s voice rose sharply over the argument, which had almost ceased at her entrance.

‘- and what has it to do wi you, lassie, whoever you are, coming into my kitchen and working the three of them up about witchcraft or the Deil Hisself in the close, no need of saying you was sent here, putting the blame on that man of law indeed, I never heard of such impudence and you gently-bred and all, you’ll get out of my kitchen afore I — ’

‘I never mentioned witchcraft,’ said Tib indignantly. ‘It was them. I was trying to say it couldny be witchcraft, it was cold iron stabbed the man — ’

Gil moved to the doorway. His sister was giving ground before Mistress Mudie, who was puffed up like an angry partridge and chattering on, red-faced,

‘- no excuses, encouraging them to talk when they should ha been getting the dinner on, asking questions about matters better left alone — ’

‘Mistress Mudie,’ said Gil, and she stopped briefly, staring open-mouthed at him. In the background a girl and an older woman he had not seen before had become ostentatiously busy over a basket of vegetables. ‘I’m sorry if we’ve inconvenienced you,’ he offered, ‘coming by at a bad moment. Maybe we can find another time when you’re less busy in here.’

‘- don’t know why you’re asking more questions, Maister Cunningham, indeed I don’t, you must have heard all there is to know about what happened, and as for this malapert lassie telling me sic nonsense, it’s no your own lassie, is it? I’ve heard better things o your bride — ’

‘It was the truth!’ exploded Tib. Gil put a hand on her shoulder and she ducked away and fell silent, looking warily sideways at him. Socrates growled in warning. The younger of the two maidservants shrieked dramatically, but Gil gestured with his other hand, and the dog retreated to the hallway.

‘My sister was here at my bidding,’ he said firmly. ‘I’m truly sorry, mistress, if we’ve inconvenienced you. I can see now this is no a good time to be in your way.’

‘- you should ken better by your age, though I suppose men never ken when a house is at its most taigled, but a well-reared lassie ought to ha more sense and all, and as for you, Nannie, I’ll no hear another word from you the day — ’

The older maidservant scowled at her. Tib seemed about to speak, but Gil tightened his grip on her shoulder, drawing her towards the doorway.

‘We’ll get away out your road now,’ he said. ‘I’ll see you later, Mistress Mudie, for I still have questions for you.’

‘Questions!’ She flung her hands above her head. ‘Aye questions! You’ll be lucky if I’ve an answer left. Aye, you can take that malapert lassie out o my sight, and if I never set een on her again it’s too soon. And good riddance to the pair of ye!’

They retreated in some disorder. Socrates nudged at his master in relief, but Gil pushed him away and drew Tib out into the yard.

‘Are you going to let her talk to you like that?’ she demanded in a whisper, trying to free her wrist as he towed her up the stair to Naismith’s lodging. ‘I never said any of those things, except that you’d sent me, and that was true — ’

‘I know that,’ he said, closing the door behind the dog. ‘Keep your voice down, we’re above the kitchen here.’

‘I know that !’ she said pettishly. ‘It’s not my fault if she keeps a pair of stupid women like that to work under her. As soon as I mentioned last night they started on about intruders, and worked each other up talking about it. The older one says it was witchcraft, the young one says it was the Deil in the garden made away wi the man. They’re fixed in their minds about it. And the laddie was just feart for what that woman would say when she heard them.’ She giggled. ‘He kept saying to them, What if the mistress hears you? I’ll tell her on you! And finally he did.’

‘It was a good try,’ said Gil. And how do I question them now? he wondered. Sissie will never let me near them after that. ‘My thanks, Tib,’ he added, exerting all his charity.

‘Oh, well.’ She shrugged one shoulder. ‘I’m sorry I never got what you wanted to know. But what an old harridan, scolding at me like that and never believing a word I said. And the way she spoke to you, and all!’

‘She’s anxious for her position here, since the Deacon’s death,’ Gil pointed out. ‘A new man will likely make changes.’

Tib snorted, but said only, ‘What will you do now?’