Michael JECKS: The Abbot's Gibbet

“It’s true,” the friar said. “I had first thought Luke was familiar when I saw him in the tavern, but at the time I didn’t realize where I knew him from – have no memory for faces. When Torre was killed, I had no inkling that Luke might be involved. And again, even when I knew who he was, I was disinclined to assume his guilt. Why should I? A man had been killed, but I had no idea the target was Lybbe. Then I saw Lybbe, and he explained about the similarity between him and Torre – that made me wonder – and when Lybbe was arrested, I knew I must tell you all, Sir Baldwin, but you had ridden off to hunt down the Camminos. I told you this morning as soon as I could.”

“I think that explains everything, my lord Abbot,” Baldwin said, and motioned toward Lybbe, who stood watching and listening. “I think this man should be freed, and so should his brother. Do you want the Camminos to be brought to you?”

“Yes, of course, Sir Baldwin. Holcroft, please go and release Elias from the jail and bring the Camminos to me. I think I owe father and son a sincere apology.”

“With your permission, Abbot,” Baldwin said, rising, “I will go with Lybbe here. I swore to him that I would see to Elias’ freedom, and to bringing Lybbe’s boy to safety. At the time I had not anticipated that Jordan would find himself in such a happy situation, but that is no reason not to carry out my oath.”

Holcroft soon had the Venetians freed, and arranged for them to be escorted to their old room to clean themselves before being taken before the Abbot. When he rejoined Baldwin and Simon, they left with the fretting Lybbe to fetch his brother; Edgar walked at Baldwin’s shoulder as always.

“Your boy, Lybbe – will he be with your stall?”

“I hope so, Sir Baldwin.”

The knight eyed the merchant sympathetically. Lybbe was eager to see his brother released, and as keen to make sure Hankin was all right. Only a short time ago he had thought he would never be freed, and that after a brief trial he would be taken out to the Abbot’s gibbet. Yet now he was safe; his life could begin again.

“Will you stay here, or go back to Bayonne?”

Lybbe didn’t meet the knight’s glance. “I don’t know, sir. After twenty years, it’d be hard to come back for good. Especially knowing what people wanted to do to me. All the folk here wanted to see me swing, and none of them would believe I might be innocent. I don’t know if I could ever be happy here again.”

Baldwin nodded understandingly. “It would be difficult to look someone in the face when you know he had expected to watch your final moment on the end of a rope. All I would suggest is that you don’t make a quick decision. Wait awhile, and rest here. You may be surprised by how understanding people are, and I know the Abbot will want to help you to try to compensate you for the loss of everything you had.”

Lybbe said nothing, and Baldwin let him be. It would indeed be hard for a man to accept the justice and kindness of another who had once already condemned him wrongly.

Simon, seeing Lybbe’s mood, was about to ask the port-reeve to confirm the good will of the Abbot, when he noticed how cheerful the official was. While the watchman at the door went inside to fetch out Elias, Simon nudged him. “Holcroft? I know it’s good that we’ve solved the murders as well as the robberies, but you look as if you’ve lost a penny and found a bar of gold.”

Holcroft nodded. “Soon I will be able to retire as port-reeve, and some other poor bugger can do it. It’ll be such a relief to be plain ‘Master’ Holcroft again, burgess of Tavistock, without all the aggravation of the port’s business.”

“My congratulations,” Simon said, but as he spoke, Elias walked, blinking, into the sunlight. “Welcome, Elias.”

Jordan stood by his brother, who stared from one to the other. It was as if the cook couldn’t come to terms with his sudden change in fortune. He was nervous before the port-reeve, knight and bailiff, as though fearful that a wrong word could lead to him being incarcerated once more.

“Come on, Elias, It’s all sorted out now,” his brother said gruffly.

“You have my apology, and the Abbot’s, for being arrested,” Baldwin said encouragingly. “It was largely for your own protection, in case your neighbors thought you might be the killer, but I know it must have been hard.”

Elias nodded dumbly, but when he spoke his voice was petulant. “So you had me stuck in there even though you knew I was innocent? I reckon I ought to be given money to pay me back for the damage done to my business, let alone to my good name.”

“That’s fine,” Holcroft said. “But while we’re looking at that, we need to see to the garbage outside your shop. Oh, and there’s the matter of knowingly talking to an outlaw, your brother here, without telling the watch or the port-reeve.”

“But he was innocent! The Abbot’s said so!”

“Yes, but you didn’t know that, did you? As far as you were aware, he was still guilty. I think that lot should add up to more than twenty shillings’ worth of amercements.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Oh, I could. But maybe if you were to forget about trying to fleece the Abbot, he’d be prepared to forget your offences,” Holcroft grinned, and the cook subsided, grumbling to himself.

As they entered the fairground, Elias left them, hurrying off to his stall. Holcroft went off to check on the larger transactions. It was down to Baldwin and Simon to accompany the older Lybbe to find his lad.

Their path took them past the glovers’ stalls, and the spicers’, and they were soon taking a shortcut through the butchers’. It was here that suddenly a small figure burst from between two stalls and cannoned into Lybbe. “Hankin? What are you doing here?”

Will Ruby leaned against his awning pole, arms crossed over his chest. “Looks like you’re his master, right enough.”

“Aye, and he should have been looking after my stall,” Lybbe said gruffly, but without real rancor, his relief was so great to see his lad again.

“Your goods are all right. I sent my own apprentice to look after it all. He’s there now, and if he’s lost anything, tell me and I’ll see he pays for it.”

“I’m grateful to you.”

“It’s nothing. If a man comes to a fair to trade, his goods must be protected. And his boy too,” Ruby added, explaining how he had found Hankin. “After the thrashing they got, the watchmen won’t have touched anything near your stall. They wouldn’t dare return.”

The butcher was right. When they checked on Jordan Lybbe’s goods, all were there, bar some items the boy had sold, the money for which he had wrapped up in a square of cloth in his purse.

“It would seem that everyone is happy with the result, then,” Simon said as they left Jordan and Hankin and began to make their way back to the Abbey.

“So far,” Baldwin said. “I will be interested to see what happens to Pietro and young Avice.”

His wish was to be granted sooner than he realized. At the Abbey, they went straight to the Abbot’s room, where they found the Camminos, freshly scrubbed and clothed in clean tunics and hose, sitting with Arthur.

“Sir Baldwin, Antonio has been explaining about his problems. It seems that it was not only the Lybbe brothers who deserve my apologies,” Champeaux said.

“With the murders, and especially with Luke changing into a monk’s habit, I suppose I shouldn’t blame you for suspecting us,” Antonio said. “But we were completely innocent.”

“Why the poor horses, then? And the warning from Bishop Stapledon?”

“It is as we said: we were robbed on our way from London some days ago. The thieves broke into the inn where we were staying and stole our horses, but they didn’t try to steal from the people sleeping there, and our money and valuables were safe – even the horses’ tack, which was kept separate.”