Susanna Gregory: A Wicked Deed

He ran faster, breath coming in ragged gasps, stumbling as his foot caught on the root of a tree. The undergrowth was becoming more dense, so that it was harder to move in a straight line, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the robbers drew close enough to hack at him with their swords. With a strength born of desperation, he raced on, trying to force a final spurt of speed in the vain hope that his pursuers might give up the chase if he were able to increase, even slightly, the distance between them.

He saw a silvery glint as something dropped into the ferns ahead of him. One of the robbers had thrown a dagger, aiming to bring him down before they wasted more energy in tearing through the scrub. A distant part of Bartholomew’s mind supposed it was the sight of his heavy bag that made them so determined: they were not to know it contained only salves, potions and a few surgical instruments, none of which would be of much value, even to the most destitute of thieves. He plunged into the ferns where the knife had fallen, but they were tangled and thick, and he tripped almost immediately, sprawling forward on to his hands and knees.

He saw the dagger on the ground, and snatched it up as he struggled to his feet to face his pursuers. There were three of them. They slowed when they saw he was run to ground, and began to spread out, making it difficult for him to watch them all at the same time. One of them feinted to his left, while another darted behind him. Even through their bandaged faces, Bartholomew could sense they were grinning, confident that they would make short work of him and make off with the contents of the intriguing leather bag that bulged at his side.

Suddenly, one of them dropped to his knees, clutching his upper arm. An arrow protruded from it, and for an instant all three robbers and Bartholomew did nothing but stare at it in surprise. Then the stricken outlaw gave a tremendous shriek of pain and fear that almost, but not quite, drowned out the hiss of a second quiver that thudded into the ground at the feet of one of his companions. Leaving the injured man to fend for himself, the other two promptly fled, smashing through the scrubby vegetation every bit as blindly as Bartholomew had done. The wounded man staggered to his feet and followed, leaving Bartholomew alone.

‘Never run into a place you cannot escape from, boy,’ said Cynric admonishingly, as he stepped out from behind a tree, still holding his bow. ‘I have told you that before.’

‘It was not intentional,’ said Bartholomew, rubbing a shaking hand through his hair. ‘What, happened to the other two thieves?’

‘Run off down the Old Road like a pair of frightened rabbits,’ said Cynric, fingering his bow as he glanced around him. ‘We should leave here before they regroup and come after us again.’

On unsteady legs, Bartholomew followed Cynric through the woods to the small clearing where they had left their Michaelhouse colleagues. The Franciscan friar, Father William, sat with his two students — Unwin and John de Horsey — under a spreading oak, reading from a psalter in an unnecessarily loud voice. The third student, Rob Deynman, was minding the horses, while the Cluniac, Roger Alcote, who as Senior Fellow considered himself to be in charge of the deputation, paced impatiently in the centre of the glade. Lastly, Brother Michael lounged comfortably with his back against a sturdy tree-trunk, his jaws working rhythmically and the front of his black Benedictine habit sprinkled with crumbs.

With the exception of Michael and Cynric, none of the Michaelhouse scholars were travelling companions Bartholomew would willingly have chosen. In fact, he had not wanted to make the journey at all, preferring to remain in Cambridge with his patients and students. But the Master of the College had been adamant, and Bartholomew had been given no choice but to join his colleagues for the long trek to the village of Grundisburgh in east Suffolk, to the home of Sir Thomas Tuddenham. This knight had generously offered to give Michaelhouse the living of his village church, and the scholarly deputation was to draw up the deed that would make the transfer legal.

The gift of the living of a church — especially one in a wealthy village like Grundisburgh — was something greatly valued by institutions like Michaelhouse. Not only would it provide employment for their scholars — because owning the living meant that they could appoint whomever they liked as village priest — but if it chose Michaelhouse could pay that priest a pittance to act as vicar, while pocketing for itself the lion’s share of the tithes paid to the church each year. Such gifts were therefore taken seriously, and the large deputation from the College was not only to pay tribute to Tuddenham’s generosity, it was also to ensure that the transfer was completed so meticulously that no future Tuddenham could ever try to claim it back.

‘Well?’ asked Michael, looking up from the crust of a pie he had been devouring. ‘Was Cynric right? Were there outlaws on the road waiting to rob us of our meagre belongings? Or have we been lurking in this miserable hole all evening for nothing?’

Bartholomew flopped on to the grass next to him, and rubbed his face with hands that still shook. ‘You know Cynric is always right about such things, Brother. He thinks we should stay in Otley tonight, rather than continue along the Old Road.’

‘But I wanted to be in Grundisburgh by this evening,’ objected Roger Alcote, with a petulant scowl. ‘Tuddenham was expecting us to arrive there three days ago. He has been most generous in giving Michaelhouse the living of his village church, and it is ungracious of us to arrive so much later than we promised.’

‘He will understand,’ said Bartholomew tiredly. ‘It is a long way from Cambridge to Grundisburgh, and the roads are dangerous these days.’

Alcote was not in a mood to be placated. ‘Cynric said the journey would take five days at the most, and we have been travelling nine already,’ he complained.

‘That was because we spent so long in that disgracefully luxurious Benedictine abbey at St Edmundsbury,’ said Father William, favouring Michael with a disapproving glower. The austere Franciscan claimed to despise anything vain or worldly, although Bartholomew had noticed that he had declined none of the Benedictines’ generous hospitality, despite roundly condemning them for their wealth and comfort.

‘“Disgracefully luxurious”,’ mused Michael, his green eyes glittering with amusement as he tossed the remains of the pie crust over his shoulder into the bushes. ‘I found it rather primitive, personally. Particularly when compared to my own abbey at Ely.’

‘We can travel the last few miles to Grundisburgh at first light tomorrow,’ said Bartholomew quickly, before Michael could goad the humourless Franciscan into an argument. He glanced up at the sky. ‘But we should leave here now if we want to reach Otley before it is completely dark.’

‘Well, do not just sit there, then,’ snapped Alcote impatiently, thrusting the reins of Bartholomew’s horse at him. He put his head on one side in the way that always reminded the physician of a bad-tempered hen, and fixed him with his sharp, pale eyes. ‘We would have been in Grundisburgh by now if your servant had not been so nervous. We have been loitering in this wretched place for hours waiting for the two of you to come back.’

‘Lead on, Cynric,’ said Michael, as he swung himself up into his saddle with surprising ease for a man of his immense girth. ‘Let Matt and Roger stay here and argue about outlaws if they will, but take me to a decent inn where I can enjoy a good meal and a soft bed.’

‘You have not stopped eating since we left Cambridge,’ remarked Father William critically, looking around for his donkey. The brawny friar refused to ride anything except a donkey, loftily maintaining that to mount a horse, like the others, would be succumbing to earthly vanity. The animal that had been provided, however, was one of the smallest Bartholomew had ever seen, and the friar’s feet touched the ground on either side as he rode.