Susanna Gregory - The Sacred stone

‘Where did he die?’ he asked, watching the prior lay the corpse back down again. ‘You said it was last night. Was he asleep?’

‘He refused to come to the dormitory with the rest of us — said he would be safer here.’

‘He was dispatched in a church?’ Geoffrey was shocked. He was not particularly devout, but the notion of committing murder on consecrated ground was anathema, even to him.

Odo nodded. ‘As he knelt to pray in this very lady chapel. The rest of us retired to bed after compline, and we found him dead at matins. Ergo, he was struck down during the night.’

‘He sounded terrified in his letter, so I am sure you would not have left him here alone while you went to sleep,’ said Geoffrey. ‘Who was with him?’

Odo looked sheepish. ‘No one.’ He became defensive when he saw the knight’s disapproval. ‘He said he would be safe in here. We tried to persuade him to come with us to the dormitory, but he refused. In the end we gave up — we are busy men and need our sleep.’

‘Then who was in the priory, other than you and your monks?’

‘No one — the lay brothers go home at dusk. We lock the gate behind them and do not open it to anyone until the following morning. No one can come in or go out.’

Geoffrey frowned. ‘So one of your monks killed him.’

‘No! They are all as shocked by this as I am.’

‘Leger’s wound was not self-inflicted,’ said Geoffrey, ‘and clearly it was no accident. That leaves two possibilities: he was killed by a monk, or he was killed by an intruder. You say no one can come in or out…’

Odo swallowed hard. ‘What are we going to do? Leger was loved in the town, because of his kind heart. People will demand answers — but we have none to give!’

‘Do you have any idea why he suddenly became so fearful?’

Odo tried to calm himself with several deep breaths. ‘None at all, although I suppose I should not be surprised that the current feud with the castle has ended in bloodshed.’

‘What feud?’

‘Estrighoiel was a peaceful, happy town until a little more than two years ago, and we all liked Drogo de Hauteville, who was the constable. Then he “fell” over a cliff, and Satan’s spawn arrived very quickly to take his place. Immediately, things began to change. He has spies everywhere, even in the priory, and there is an atmosphere.. ’

‘Satan’s spawn?’

‘Walter de Clare — and his henchmen Revelle and Pigot. I would not be at all surprised to learn that they murdered Leger.’

‘Why would they pick on him? Did he speak out against them?’

‘He did not approve of them, certainly. And then there is Cadowan and his wife Nest. They wanted to buy Ivar’s sky-stone and were bitterly disappointed when he refused to sell.’

Geoffrey was confused. ‘What is a sky-stone?’

‘A piece of star that fell to earth in some godforsaken land to the north. Ivar brought it here, and it is said to be able to heal people.’

Geoffrey thought about what he had overheard at the market: Nest saved, but not Walter’s child. Was this why Walter and his men seemed to hate the priory? If so, it was unfair to pick on Leger. Why not Ivar, who owned the thing?

‘Where is it?’ he asked, wondering if it was in the church and if Leger had been struck down as someone attempted to make off with it.

Odo grimaced. ‘Ivar declines to say, despite my cajoling over the last two years — such a thing belongs in a shrine, not in whichever wretched hiding place he has chosen. But he maintains that God gave it to him, so he should decide its fate. It is difficult to argue with such conviction.’

‘So no one else knows where he has put it?’

‘No one. Ivar never leaves the priory these days, lest someone lays hold of him and tries to force him to tell. I do not blame him for being wary — Walter would tear him to pieces for failing to save Eleanor, while Cadowan and Nest are eager to own the stone.’

‘So these are your suspects for killing Leger? Walter and his men, and the town couple?’

Odo nodded. Geoffrey turned abruptly and walked back to the gate. It was sturdy and secured by two heavy bars that slotted into the wall on either side. Clearly, an intruder was not going to enter that way. Then he began to walk around the perimeter, and his heart sank. There were several places where an agile man could scramble across, and he saw that anyone could have invaded the monks’ domain and committed murder while Leger’s brethren slept.

‘What do you plan to do about this, Father Prior?’ he asked.

Odo shook his head slowly. ‘I do not know. We have barely had time to gather our thoughts.’

‘May I speak to the other monks?’ asked Geoffrey.

‘Why?’ demanded Odo suspiciously. ‘None of us heard or saw anything amiss.’

‘Sometimes there are witnesses — they just do not know what they have seen.’

Odo stared at him. ‘Are you saying you intend to look into the matter on our behalf?’

‘On Hilde’s behalf,’ corrected Geoffrey.

‘Then thank you,’ said Odo. He gripped Geoffrey’s hand. ‘I shall take you to see my flock now, and you may ask them anything you please.’

Odo conducted Geoffrey to a refectory, where ten monks were sitting down to a meal. Lay brothers served them, and he saw that the Benedictines had carved a comfortable existence for themselves. Their habits were made of finest wool, although a concession to poverty was made in the simple wooden crosses that hung around their necks. The only exception was Brother Marcus, one of the pair Geoffrey had seen in the market, who sported a fine gold one.

Most of the monks were in their thirties or forties and seemed sleek and well fed. Geoffrey had been expecting older men, and it occurred to him that any of those now present would possess the strength to ram a knife between Leger’s shoulder blades, despite Odo’s contention that the killer was someone from outside.

One sat slightly apart from the others, and looked as if his life had been much harder than theirs. He had a shock of prematurely grey hair, and his skin was brown and wrinkled, as if he had spent many years out of doors. Although he was now stooped, his size and shape indicated that he had once been a formidable man. The knight saw tears glittering on his cheeks.

‘That is Ivar,’ murmured Odo. ‘He was a hermit in the woods for years before taking the cowl. Ivar and poor Leger were particular friends.’

‘Ivar?’ asked Geoffrey, regarding the man at the centre of such controversy with interest.

Odo narrowed his eyes. ‘Have you heard the horrible lies Walter has spread about him?’

‘I heard his magic stone failed to save Walter’s daughter.’

Odo waved a dismissive hand. ‘Ivar has explained that — the stone can cure but not raise from the dead. And poor Eleanor was dead long before Revelle dragged Ivar from his cave to tend her. But I was not referring to those lies. I was asking whether you had heard the others — about the bad things that have happened since Ivar decided to take the cowl.’

‘Not really.’

‘Poor crops, flooded rivers and now this suspiciously nice weather. But Walter and his creatures arrived at the same time that Ivar took his vows, so I believe they are responsible for our downturn in fortunes. They say Ivar has been seen worshipping the devil, but he is a monk now, so clearly they are lying.’

‘Do you think Walter killed Leger to give credence to their tales?’ asked Geoffrey. ‘The murder of Ivar’s friend would certainly damage his reputation further-’

‘It damages them,’ declared Odo fiercely. ‘I would not have believed they would stoop to such wickedness, but perhaps you are right. They will almost certainly say Ivar did it. And their spy will fabricate “evidence” to prove it.’