Paul Doherty: The Straw Men

‘Why should I kill Eli?’

‘First, he had sheltered beneath a table near the rood screen. Did he see something untowards, Rachael? Something he mentioned to you?’ She did not answer.

‘Secondly, Eli was a member of the troupe who spied for Thibault and brought about your beloved’s death.’ Rachael blinked and glanced away. ‘I will be brief.’ Athelstan hurried on. ‘You made sure there was no sign of you being there. You probably drank from the same goblet as Eli, a token of your loving pledges to him. Eli must have been delighted. You were acting the fair damsel in considerable distress, shocked by the hideous death of poor Barak.’

‘Eli died in a locked, barred chamber.’

‘I agree. You left that chamber like the amorous wench you pretended to be. You told Eli to lock and bolt the door, to take great care; after all, a killer did stalk the Tower. You then drew him into a loving but deadly game. Once outside the chamber, the door secured, you picked up that small arbalest and knocked on the door. Eli would hear your voice and pull back the eyelet shutter — he may have even offered to let you in but you teased and flirted. The hour was late, you’d return soon enough. I do not know what lies you spun but you asked Eli, peering through that shutter at his new-found love, to close his eyes.’

‘Why should he do that?’

‘Oh, come, Rachael! Lovers often close their eyes when they kiss. Are there not games when you tell the beloved to close his or her eyes to wish and, if they do, you’d tell them a secret, some promised pleasure at the next tryst? Rachael, the possibilities are infinite. Eli was staring through that eyelet at this beautiful young woman who was promising to be his. He’d do anything — certainly some innocent lovers’ game, or so he thought. All aflame with the wine he’d drunk and the prospect of impending seduction, of course he agreed. You played the game. You whispered that he should keep his eyes closed, not to open them until you said. You brought up that small crossbow. You released the bolt as fast as a bird across the briefest of distances; it sped through that eyelet, smashing into Eli’s face. Stricken, dying on his feet, Eli stumbled away and collapsed to the floor.’ Athelstan turned to Sir John. ‘My friend, calculate the time it would take: Eli peering out through that squint, eyes firmly closed, the crossbow coming up, the release of the bolt only inches from its victim’s face?’

‘A few heartbeats,’ the coroner agreed. ‘Eli would never suspect.’

‘Eli died,’ Athelstan continued. ‘You then took that pot of glue, the same substance you use in creating and setting up scenery. A few drops on the old dusty shutter and, by the time the alarm was raised, the eyelet is stuck fast. The glue had hardened, the shutter just another task waiting to be done, an ancient piece of wood in an ancient door in an ancient place.’ Athelstan pointed at Rachael. ‘You are not only a very skilled mummer, you are also a weaver of dreams and illusions.’ Athelstan sat staring at the young woman’s face. ‘Very soon afterwards you removed all the evidence, didn’t you?’

‘What evidence? Brother, what are you talking about?’

‘Well, not you precisely — Rosselyn saw to that. I checked with the surveyor of the King’s works here in the Tower. Our late departed captain of archers was most insistent that the door to Eli’s chamber be mended. He personally supervised it, including the eyelet. He himself freed it with his dagger, thus removing any evidence of what had actually happened.’

‘Rosselyn was no friend of mine.’

‘Of course he wasn’t. You have more than proved that but, while he was alive, he was a useful foil for you.’

‘When?’ she protested. ‘How?’

‘I was attacked near Saint Peter’s ad Vincula, when you were close by. The same is true when Maximus escaped and the Upright Men attacked the Tower.’

‘Are you saying I had a hand in those assaults, that I even freed the bear?’

‘Oh, I’m sure you did. Your accomplice, Rosselyn, probably helped you. He had no choice. The Upright Men, as I have said, ordered him to assist you. He had a foot in either camp. The Upright Men probably despised him for that; they wouldn’t really trust him. However, for the moment, he was useful to you as well as to them. On one occasion Rosselyn took the lead. That arrow attack on us near St Peter ad Vincula? Rosselyn loosed those bolts from his hiding place near the White Tower then later appeared as the concerned, loyal captain of archers.’ Rachael simply glanced away, scratching her brow.

‘And the bear?’ Rachael peered at him from under her hand.

‘Artorius would have nothing to do with the likes of Rosselyn but he’d be very susceptible to your flirtation. I suspect Rosselyn, in this dark, freezing narrow place, let you slip down Red Gulley to Saint Thomas’ Tower. You’d be all simpering and pretty-faced as you knocked on that door. In a matter of seconds your charms and a little silver persuaded Artorius to allow you in to view Maximus. The door closed behind both of you. He would lead you off down the narrow aisle. He’d feel your hand on his shoulder and, when he turned, you loosed that bolt straight into his forehead. You took his keys and opened the cage door. You hastened out but not before you released the bear chain on the bar of the cage and left the door to Red Gulley open.’ Athelstan gestured to the bailey outside. ‘Maximus would be curious. He’d smell the blood of his keeper. You realized he’d soon find his way to the gore-drenched corpse of his former master then make his way out. The great snow bear Maximus was free to prowl; there was only one way for him to go but, by then, you were busy with the next part of your plan.’ Athelstan shrugged. ‘Either you, Rosselyn or both, once Maximus was on the loose and the alarm raised, opened the postern gate near Bowyer Tower.’

‘But the Upright Men would be vulnerable to a rampaging bear.’

‘I don’t think so!’ Cranston spoke up. ‘The royal beastmaster and his retinue had one task: to check and drive back that bear. While all this was going on the Upright Men also had one task: to storm Beauchamp Tower, release the prisoner and, using the mayhem as a shield, withdraw as swiftly as they’d entered.’

Rachael stared down at her feet, tapping her ankle-length boots against the floor.

‘Surely,’ she glanced up, ‘if Rosselyn was a traitor, why didn’t he inform the Upright Men that Thibault was bringing down war cogs as a defence against any attack?’

‘Very sharp!’ Athelstan retorted. ‘There are two possibilities. First, as with the assault on the Roundhoop, Rosselyn dare not inform the Upright Men; the number of people who knew about that would be very limited. Rosselyn was frightened that the finger of suspicion might be pointed at him. Secondly, perhaps Thibault decided to inform nobody in his entourage about what he was planning. After all, there was a traitor in his camp. Thibault is no fool; he’d have his own suspicions that something was wrong.’

‘Or Rosselyn was just unfortunate,’ Cranston declared. ‘He was never given the opportunity. Nevertheless, the Upright Men must have been furious.’

‘Oh, I suspect they were. Rossleyn’s days were numbered.’ Athelstan rose to his feet. ‘Such is the problem with traitors.’ He sighed. ‘Judas discovered that, in the end, nobody really trusts you and nobody allows you back. Rosselyn wasn’t your concern. You were looking after yourself. How would anyone possibly suspect the fair Rachael, who was always close by, the distressed maiden when these assaults occurred?’ Athelstan picked at a loose thread on his robe, rolling it between his fingers, ‘And, of course, there were other occasions when you couldn’t possibly have been involved, or so you would have everyone believe.’