Paul Doherty: Prince of Darkness

'Be careful, Master Corbett,' she retorted. 'The Prince may have ended his relationship with the Lady Eleanor but he wished her well. The medicines were potions not poisons.'

The Prioress snapped her fingers and Dame Catherine got up and crossed to a small, iron-bound chest She lifted the lid, took out a cachet and handed it to Lady Amelia. The Prioress, her eyes fixed on Corbett, opened the pouch and poured some of the white powder into the palm of her hand, then scooped it up with the tip of her tongue, cleansing her mouth afterwards with a sip of wine.

'See, Master Corbett, I have taken the same potions the Prince sent to Lady Eleanor and I do not die!'

Corbett grimaced.

'Very well. It was you who found the body?'

'Yes, after Compline. The community and I went over to the refectory for the usual collation before we retired. As was customary, I and my two Sub-prioresses went into the convent building through the main door. The hall was dark and only one torch burnt We found the Lady Eleanor lying at the foot of the stairs.' The Prioress stared directly at Ranulf as if acknowledging him for the first time. 'She looked as if she slept' she murmured.

'But how could a woman fall downstairs and not disturb the hood on her head?' Corbett asked.

'Oh, I have heard a lot of useless speculation about that,' Lady Amelia replied briskly. 'The hood was tied tight.'

'And no one heard her fall?'

'There was no one there to do so.'

'Except Dames Martha and Elizabeth? And one of them is now dead.'

'Both of them were very deaf!' Lady Amelia snapped. 'Then what happened?'

'We sent our porter to Woodstock to inform the Prince.' 'And he did what?'

'My Lord Gaveston came down to ensure all was well as could be in the circumstances. He left some silver for the funeral and the Prince's instructions that the Lady Eleanor be buried here.' She shrugged. 'That was all.'

'Did a physician look at the body?'

'No, why should he? The Lady Eleanor was dead.'

'And who was the dead woman's closest companion?'

Lady Amelia smiled triumphantly as if she had caught the clerk out

I wondered when you would ask me that'

She nodded at Dame Frances who rose, went out, and immediately returned accompanied by another sister. The new arrival stood in the doorway so Corbett could only make out her height, her face and figure being concealed by veil and habit

'Master Corbett may I introduce our sacristan and cellarer, Dame Agatha?'

The nun came forward and Corbett remembered his manners and rose. He heard Ranulf gasp behind him. Dame Agatha was beautiful. Her face had a full fresh colour, the eyes were well spaced, calm, serene, full of laughter and good humour. She was honey-mouthed, sweet and wholesome. Her hand felt cool and dry, and as Corbett kissed it he smelt the perfume of her body – fresh, pleasant, and fragrant as a spring rose. Lady Amelia seemed to enjoy Corbett's consternation.

'What did you expect, Master Clerk?'

I expected nothing, My Lady.'

Dame Agatha studied him carefully. Was she laughing at him? Corbett wondered. Dame Frances seemed to have produced a stool from nowhere and, at Lady Amelia's insistence, Dame Agatha sat down, indicating that Corbett should resume his seat.

'You wished to question me, Monsieur?' Her voice was low, tinged with a French accent

'Yes, My Lady. You were a companion of Lady Eleanor?'

'Yes, I was.'

'You shared chambers?'

'No, the Lady Eleanor occupied one corridor of the convent building. She had the use of all the chambers there. Lady Amelia appointed me to be her companion but I slept with the sisters in the dorter.'

'You were appointed companion?'

'The Lady Eleanor asked for Dame Agatha,' the Prioress interrupted.

'And how was the Lady Eleanor the day before she died?' Corbett asked the young nun.

'Oh, quite happy but rather secretive. She insisted I go to Compline and refused to accompany me.'

'She usually went?'

'Oh, yes.'

'And, when you left her, she was still alive?'

The young nun looked sideways, warning Corbett with her eyes that she wished to say something but dare not here.

'Of course,' she replied. 'As sacristan I went to church early to prepare the altar. Dame Frances, you saw me there before Compline began?'

The tall, ascetic nun nodded. Corbett realised the implication of her question.

'Lady Amelia, when was Eleanor Belmont last seen alive?'

The Prioress paused, fingers to her lips.

'She was seen just before Compline. Yes, by the ancient ones – that is, Dame Elizabeth and Dame Martha. They were gossiping in one of their chambers which overlooks the passage to the chapel. They saw Lady Eleanor walking down the path as if she was going towards the Galilee Gate.'

Corbett raised his hand for her to pause as he tried to remember the lay-out of the nunnery. There was the convent building, to its right the priory church, behind that some trees and outbuildings, then the wall and the Galilee Gate. He smiled.

I am just remembering what I have seen. Please continue. The two old sisters who saw Lady Eleanor?' The Prioress shrugged.

'Dame Elizabeth opened her window and called out, asking if all was well Lady Eleanor turned, smiled, waved and shouted that she was going for a short walk. That was the last time she was seen alive.'

'Dame Agatha, what do you think happened?' Corbett asked.

She made a face, lifting her shoulders prettily, but again warned Corbett with her eyes.

I think she went for a walk, returned during Compline, went up the stairs, tripped, fell back and broke her neck. Poor thing!'

'But should such a fall mean immediate death?'

Corbett heard Ranulf stir restlessly behind him and suddenly realised his servant was edging slowly across the room towards some small silver figurines arranged on a gold tray on top of a chest Oh, God! Corbett prayed quietly. Please, Ranulf, not here, not now!

'It's quite possible.' Dame Frances spoke for the first time, her voice harsh and decisive. I have some knowledge of physic. When a woman suffers from a malignancy in her breast, her bones become dry as the humours of her body become juiceless. In such a state, a fall could be most grievous.'

Corbett now moved to the most important question, like a good archer leaving his most lethal arrow to the last

'So,' he said, 'the Lady Eleanor was last seen walking near the church on Sunday before Compline. Dame Agatha, you left her in good spirits?' The young nun nodded her head. 'She was seen by Dames Elizabeth and Martha?'

'Oh, yes,' Lady Amelia interrupted. 'And by the porter. He, too, saw her walking near the church before Compline, as he passed the Galilee Gate.'

Corbett cleared his throat

'Lady Amelia, I must ask you this and I ask you with the full force of the King's law, did you or any of your sisters leave the church during Compline, after Compline, or excuse themselves from the refectory?'

'No!'

'Dame Agatha, did you?'

'She certainly did not!' Dame Frances spoke up promptly. 'She was in the sacristy before Compline. I was with her.' She glanced spitefully at the young nun. 'I always have to keep an eye on Sister Agatha. I am responsible for the stores and the plates, and -' Corbett noticed the young nun blushed '- Dame Agatha can be forgetful, can't you, my dear?'

The young nun averted her gaze.

'May I see the corpse?' Corbett asked, brusquely rising to his feet 'Lady Prioress, I need to see the body. The King insists on that'

Lady Amelia drew back her head, shocked.

'Lady Eleanor, for all she might once have been, was when she died a member of our Order,' she answered.

'My Lady -' Corbett realised that Ranulf was by now very close to the silver figurines '- she was also a subject of the King's and died in mysterious circumstances. Do you wish me to produce warrants and writs?' The Lady Prioress sighed.