C. Sansom - Dissolution

'Calm yourself, Brother,' I said in measured tones. 'And answer me civilly.'

'Brother Alexander was neither my friend nor my enemy; he was a foolish, lazy old man. As for poor Simon,' he gave a sigh that was almost a groan, 'yes, he befriended the girl in his first days as a novice, I think they both felt lost and threatened here. I told him he should not be mixing with servants; that it would do him no good. He said she had told him she was being pestered-'

'By whom?'

'He would not say, she had sworn him to silence. It could have been one of half a dozen monks. I said he should not become involved in such things; he should get the girl to tell Brother Guy. He had just been made infirmarian after Alexander died. Of shame,' he added bitterly.

'And then she disappeared.'

A spasm twisted his face. 'Like everyone else I thought she had run away.' He looked at me bleakly, then went on in a new voice, cold and calm. 'Well, Commissioner, I see you have created a theory that gives you a solution. So perhaps now someone will be paid to give false testimony and send me to the gallows. Such things are done these days. I know what happened to Sir Thomas More.'

'No, Brother Gabriel, there will be no false witnesses. I will uncover the evidence I need.' I stepped closer to him. 'Be warned. You are under the gravest suspicion.'

'I am innocent.'

I looked into his face a moment, then stepped back. 'I will not have you arrested now, but for the present you will not leave the monastery precincts. If you attempt to leave that will be taken as an admission of guilt. You understand?'

'I will not leave.'

'Be available to speak to me whenever I require. Come, Mark.'

I got up and strode away, leaving Brother Gabriel amidst his pile of books. Outside the church I struck the stone doorway with my hand.

'I thought I had him.'

'Do you still think him guilty?'

'I don't know. I thought if I confronted him and he was guilty he'd collapse. But,' I shook my head, 'he's hiding something, I know it. He called me a haranguing lawyer and perhaps I am, but if twenty years about the courts have taught me anything it's when a man is concealing things. Come.'

'Where now?'

'The laundry. We can check his story and see this Luke at the same time.'

The laundry was housed in a large outhouse next to the buttery. Steam issued from ventilator grilles, and I had seen servants going in and out of there with baskets of clothes. I unlatched the heavy wooden door and stepped inside. Mark closed it behind him.

Within it was warm and very dim. At first I could see only a big stone-flagged chamber with baskets and buckets dotted around. Then Mark said, 'Jesu,' and I saw them.

The chamber was full of dogs, a dozen of the great lurchers that had been roaming the yard on our first day, before the snow came. The room stank of their piss. They all rose slowly to their feet and two stepped forward growling, hackles raised and lips flickering back over yellow teeth. Mark slowly unsheathed his sword, and I grasped my staff hard.

I could hear noises behind an inner door and thought of shouting, but I had been brought up on a farm and knew that would only startle the dogs and make them spring. I gritted my teeth; we would not come out of this unmarked. I gripped Mark's arm with my free hand. I had led him to the horror in the pond; and now to this.

There was a creak and we spun round as the inner door opened and Brother Hugh appeared, a bowl of offal in his plump hands. At the sight of us his mouth dropped open. We stared at him desperately, and he collected himself and called to the dogs.

'Brutus, Augustus! Here! Now!' He tossed chunks of offal onto the flags. The dogs looked between him and us, then one by one slunk over to the food. The leader stood growling for a few seconds more, but finally turned and joined the others. I took a shuddering breath. Brother Hugh waved at us urgently.

'Inside, sir, I pray you. Now, while they're eating.'

Circling round the slobbering animals, we followed him to the inner room. He closed the door and latched it. We found ourselves in the steam-filled laundry room. Supervised by two monks, servants were labouring over cauldrons of clothes boiling over fires, or squeezing habits and undershirts out in presses. They looked at us curiously as we took off our heavy coats. I had started to sweat profusely and so had Mark. He gripped the edge of a table and took deep breaths; he was pale and I feared he would faint, but after a moment his colour returned. My own legs were unsteady as I turned to Brother Hugh, who stood bobbing agitatedly, wringing his hands.

'Oh sirs, my lord Commissioner, thank Jesu I came when I did.' He bowed at Our Lord's name, as did the others.

'We are grateful to you, Brother. But those dogs should not be there, they could kill someone.'

'But, sir, they know everyone; by your leave it was only seeing strangers. The abbot said to keep them here while the snow lasted.'

I wiped the sweat from my brow. 'Very well, Brother Chamberlain. You have charge of the laundry?'

'I do. How can I help you? The abbot said we are to assist however we can. I heard someone has drowned in the pond.' His red-rimmed eyes were full of curiosity.

'The prior will be making an announcement about that. I have come with an enquiry for you, sir. Have you a table?'

He led us to a corner, away from the others. I signalled Mark to lay out Brother Gabriel's habit and pointed to the badge.

'Brother Gabriel reported he had a habit disappear a couple of weeks ago. Do you remember?'

I confess I hoped for a denial, but he nodded promptly. 'Yes, sir. We hunted up and down for it. The bursar gets angry if things go missing, that's why I keep a book.' He disappeared into the steam, returning with a ledger. 'See, sir, there is the entry for it coming in, and that is the note of it being reported lost.' I studied the date. Three days before Singleton was killed.

'Where was it found, my lord?' he asked.

'Never mind that. Who could have had the opportunity to steal it?'

'In the day we're always here working, sir. The laundry's locked at night, but-'

'Well?'

'Keys have been lost. My assistant can be – well, a bit careless, shall I say.' He smiled nervously, running his hand over the wen on his face. 'Brother Luke, over here!'

Mark and I exchanged glances as a tall, powerfully built monk in his late twenties came over to us. He had red hair, heavy features and a surly expression.

'Yes, Brother?'

'You have lost two sets of keys since you've been with me, haven't you, Luke?'

'They slip out yer pocket,' he said sullenly.

'They do if you are careless,' I agreed. 'When was the last time you lost a key?'

'In the summer it was.'

'And before that? How long have you worked in the laundry?'

'Four years, sir. The other time was a couple of years ago.'

'Thank you, Brother Hugh. I would have a word with Brother Luke in private. Where can we go?'

Brother Luke's eyes swivelled anxiously as the chamberlain, looking disappointed, led us to an anteroom where clothes were drying. I faced the young monk sternly.

'Do you know what has been found in the fish pond?'

'They say a dead body, sir.'

'A woman's body, that we think is a girl called Orphan. We have been told that you used to trouble her.'

His eyes widened with terror, then suddenly he was on his knees on the floor, grasping the hem of my robe with thick red fingers.

'I didn't do it, sir. I sported with her only, nothing more! And I wasn't the only one! She was a wanton, she tempted me!'

'Let me go! Look at me!'

He looked up, still kneeling, his eyes wide. I leant forward.

'I want the truth. On your life. Did she tempt you, or did you trouble her?'