Edward Marston - The Lions of the North

“Do you still wish to go in?” said Philip.

“Please.”

“Let us be quick about our business.”

“We will be.”

“It is the body on the left.”

Gervase had not realised that the morgue had another occupant.

Two stone slabs stood side by side with a tenant lying on each one. As the candle was held up to throw its light more widely, Gervase had no trouble picking out the correct remains. The body on the right was that of an old servant who died peacefully in his sleep. The shroud clung tightly enough to describe a long angular frame with two large feet that pointed up towards heaven with the quiet certainty of a welcome.

On the other slab, the body did not lie so docilely at rest. It seemed to be half the size of its neighbour and was covered by a shroud that was soaked with blood. Herbs were strewn all around it but they could do little to sweeten its noisome reek. Hell itself might reject such a foul smell. Gervase looked up at the chaplain but the latter had seen all that he wished to of the mangled remains. Eyes closed, he was reciting the Lord’s Prayer to himself in an undertone.

“ Pater noster, qui es in caelis: sanctificetur nomen tuum: adveniat regnum tuum … ”

Bracing himself for the worst, Gervase took the shroud between his fingers and peeled it slowly back. As he saw a face that was half eaten away, his stomach began to churn but he forced himself to go on.

Romulus and Remus had been voracious diners. One arm had been ripped off and both legs had been chewed down to the bone. Part of the torso had been bitten open and the chest was one huge, scarlet hole. It was a repulsive sight but Gervase kept looking as he tried to reconstruct, in his mind’s eye, something at least of the victim’s appearance.

The man had been young, healthy and fair-haired, with a lean body agile enough to bring him up over the castle wall. Though smeared with gore, the surviving part of his face hinted at good looks that would surely be missed by a sweetheart or a wife. He might be alone and deserted now but the young man exuded a strong sense of belonging to a community. Gervase was overtaken by a sudden urge to find that community so that they could be informed of the fate of the nameless figure on the slab. Pity soon gave way to crippling queasiness.

Gervase bent double and started to retch.

“Have you seen enough?” asked Philip the Chaplain.

It was less of an enquiry than a command to leave and Gervase obeyed it without complaint. Pulling the shroud gently back over the cadaver, he lurched out of the mortuary and fell against the wall for support. When he had closed the door behind them, Philip practically had to carry his visitor up the stairs.

Back in the chapel, he snuffed out the candle with absentminded skill. The incense enveloped them both and smothered the fetid stink of decay.

“Is there anything I can get you?” he said with offhand sympathy.

Gervase shook his head. “I did warn you.”

“I am glad I saw him-God rest his soul! He merits a Christian burial.”

“He will get one, Master Bret. Though I do not think that body will lie easy in its grave.”

“What was he doing here?” said Gervase.

“Trying to get into the keep.”

“For what purpose?”

“The murder of my lord Aubrey. That is what everyone is saying. It is not the first time someone has tried to kill him.” He rolled his head.

“For myself, I have doubts.”

“Why?”

“To begin with, an assassin would be better armed for his task. One dagger would not have got him anywhere near my lord Aubrey. And why try to strike when his victim was safely locked away in the most fortified part of the castle? It is suicide.”

“Did he know that the keep was guarded by lions?”

“Apparently not.”

“Then he clearly did not live in York. Their roars could be heard as far away as the minster. Everybody in the city must know there are two wild beasts in here.”

“The victim did not.”

“We have learned something else about him, then,” said Gervase.

“Little by little, I will rebuild that face and body of his until he is whole again. By that time, I dare swear, I will have found a name as well.”

“Why are you going to such trouble on his behalf?”

Gervase smiled wanly. “Because nobody else will.”

It was late. Ralph Delchard and Golde lay naked in each other’s arms, slowly getting their breath back after their exertions. Covered in perspiration, they were locked together for several minutes. He kissed her tenderly on the lips before rolling over onto his back. She nestled into his glistening shoulder.

“Are you happy?” he whispered.

“Yes, Ralph. Are you?”

“I thought I just answered that question.”

She brushed her lips against his chin. “You did.”

“Are you glad that you came to York?”

“I am glad to be with you,” she said.

“That is not what I asked.”

There was a pause. “York is a beautiful city and I am delighted to have seen it but …”

“Go on. I hear a note of reservation in your voice.”

“But …”

“Speak freely. There are no secrets between us.”

“I would rather lodge elsewhere,” she said.

“Elsewhere?” He was stunned. “ Why? ”

“Because I would be more comfortable.”

“No place in York has the comforts that this castle can offer. Aubrey has spent a fortune on the place and he is overjoyed to have us here.

We could not ask for a more attentive and open-handed host.”

“Yet I still feel unwelcome.”

Ralph gasped. “After all he has done for us?”

“My lord Aubrey has been kindness itself,” said Golde. “The same, alas, may not be said of his wife.”

“Herleve has always been a little strange.”

“She disapproves of me, Ralph.”

“No, my love.”

“She does. She is so cold and distant with me that I might almost be one of the servants. I will not be looked down on by anybody. It is demeaning.”

“Take no notice of her.”

“Why is she so full of reproach towards me?”

“Reproach towards us ,” he corrected. “We share a bed without first taking vows of marriage. Herleve is devout. She frowns on our behaviour.

In her eyes, we are sinners.”

“And in your eyes?”

“Lovers.” He kissed her. “Forget Herleve.”

“How can I when I am her guest?”

“We are the guests of Aubrey Maminot,” he explained. “A fine man and a brave soldier, who happened to choose unwisely. He should never have wed Herleve. She is more fit for the convent than for the marital couch. Rise above her reproof. Pretend that she is not here.”

“What am I to do for companionship?”

“You have me.”

“At night,” said Golde, holding him closer, “but not in the day. You warned me how busy you would be once you began the work that brought us here.”

“That is true.”

“Then I will be locked up alone in here.”

“I’ll ask Aubrey to devise entertainment for you. We’ll surround you with so many pleasures that you will beg me to stay longer when our business is completed here.”

“Do not wager on that.”

“Aubrey is an old friend ,” he reminded. “If we lodged somewhere else, it would wound him to the quick.”

She sighed. “Yes, I see that….”

“So you will stay to keep me warm?”

“Always!”

He rolled over and pulled her on top of him so that he could run his hands over her smooth-skinned body. Ralph was about to kiss her again, when a loud roar from below caused them to jerk back for a second. Romulus and Remus had been let out for the night to act as guards once more.