Susanna GREGORY - A Poisonous Plot

Filled with new determination, he strode the rest of the way to the convent, this time not bothering to slink along alleys. He walked openly and confidently, and those whose hearts quickened at the prospect of catching him while he was virtually alone and unprotected quickly melted away when they read what was in his face.

The priory was locked when he and Bartholomew arrived, and it was some time before his knock was answered. Then the door swung open to reveal the friars standing in an uncertain semicircle beyond, wielding an eclectic array of ‘weapons’. Most were wildly impractical, and included a ladle, a trumpet and part of a spinning wheel. Hamo, whose bulk might have been a deterrent in itself, was not among them.

‘We do not feel safe here any longer,’ said Joliet, who gripped a chair leg in his good hand; the other was still cradled in the orange sling. ‘Folk are angry that a townsman was murdered in our grounds, and we have been discussing an escape to the Fens – while we still can.’

‘There is no need,’ said Michael briskly. ‘The tension will ease. It always does.’

‘Until the next time,’ said Robert bitterly. He alone of the friars was not brandishing something with which to hit someone. ‘When it will start all over again. We are tired of it, Brother. We have done our best with alms and charity, even when it has meant personal hardship, yet still the town turns against us.’

‘Because you are suing Hakeney,’ said Michael curtly. ‘A poor man who will never be able to pay whatever the courts decide.’

‘I would withdraw the suit,’ said Joliet. ‘But the other Orders say that if I do, everyone will think that priests are fair game for robbers. They threatened to denounce us if we weakened.’

‘So?’ shrugged Michael. ‘You are an independent house. You do not need their blessing.’

‘But we do , Brother,’ whispered Joliet. ‘We would be sacked for certain if word leaked out that the other convents will not come to our aid in the event of trouble.’

‘And besides,’ added Robert, ‘Hakeney ripped the cross from my neck with considerable force. It would be cowardly to pretend it did not happen. Yet there might be a way …’

‘Yes?’ asked Michael sharply.

‘We could put the matter in the Bishop’s hands and let him decide the outcome. He is neither scholar nor townsman, and thus the perfect arbiter.’

‘What an excellent notion!’ cried Joliet. ‘I shall write first thing in the morning, with your permission, Brother.’

‘Granted,’ said Michael in relief, a sentiment that was echoed in the faces of all the Austins. ‘I shall tell Stephen to forget your case until we have the Bishop’s reply. It was criminally reckless of him to recommend this course of action.’

‘It was not just Stephen,’ said Robert. ‘There was also a letter …’

‘A letter?’

‘From someone who just signed himself as a well-wisher,’ explained the almoner. ‘Hamo found it shoved under our front gate.’

‘Prior Etone of the Carmelites had one as well,’ added Joliet. ‘It urged him to convince us to sue.’ He glanced at Robert. ‘Personally, I suspect both were from Stephen, touting for business, although he denies it, of course.’

‘Do you still have this missive?’ asked Michael urgently.

Joliet shook his head. ‘Parchment is expensive, so we scraped it clean and used it for something else. Why? Is it important?’

‘Possibly,’ sighed Michael. ‘But the reason we came was to ask after Wauter. Robert offered to find out if any of you know where he might have gone.’

‘Robert did question us,’ said a portly, balding Austin named Overe. ‘But all we could tell him is that Wauter likes the Fens. Perhaps he went there in search of serenity – something that is sadly lacking in Cambridge at the moment.’

‘Without telling anyone?’ asked Michael dubiously. ‘That does not sound very likely.’

‘Then maybe he went to find a good place for the University to settle,’ suggested Robert. ‘He would not be the first. The Dominicans have sent out a party, and the Carmelites plan to do likewise.’

‘They are wise,’ said Joliet softly. ‘I sense that the town will soon make our position untenable, and we should have some idea of where to go when they drive us out.’

‘No one will drive us out,’ said Michael firmly, but his words carried little weight when they were followed by a sudden clash of arms from the High Street. The friars exchanged grim looks.

‘You look harried, Brother,’ said Joliet kindly, ‘and in need of the peace that only communion with God can bring. Will you join us for vespers? Hamo is already preparing the chapel, so we can start straight away.’

‘Thank you,’ said Michael, and began to walk there, although Bartholomew knew it was more for the opportunity to quiz Hamo about the anonymous letter than to pray.

Night was approaching fast, and the precinct was full of shadows. All the brothers were uneasy, and each time there was a yell or a clatter from outside, they jumped in alarm. Several stopped in the little cemetery that held Arnold, though, declining to let their nervousness interfere with their obligations to a colleague’s soul.

‘Do you really think Nigellus killed him?’ asked Joliet softly. ‘He was old and in poor health, and I cannot imagine why anyone would want to dispatch a man with so little time left.’

‘The ways of felonious minds are not for us to fathom,’ replied Michael, as a roundabout way of saying that he had no answer.

They entered the chapel, the Austins carefully stacking their ‘weapons’ in the porch first. It was very dark inside, the only light coming from a candle burning on the altar. Suddenly, a huge shadow loomed, causing Robert to squawk in shock and the others to scatter in alarm.

‘Hamo!’ exclaimed Joliet, hand to his chest. ‘You frightened the life out of us! Why have you not set the altar? What have you been doing all this time?’

Hamo made no reply, and simply stood with his huge hands dangling at his sides.

‘Hamo,’ said Robert sharply. ‘The Prior asked you a question.’

‘There is something wrong!’ Bartholomew darted forward, and just managed to catch the hulking friar before he fell. He staggered under the weight. ‘Bring a lamp, quickly!’

The feeble glow from the lantern that was produced showed Hamo’s face to be unnaturally pale. It also revealed a spreading stain on the floor. Hamo had been stabbed.

‘Save him!’ cried Joliet, while the other Austins clamoured their horror and disbelief. ‘You must save him!’

But the wound, although small, had sliced deeply into Hamo’s lung, and Bartholomew could hear that it had already filled with blood. There was nothing he or anyone else could do, and he read in Hamo’s eyes that he knew it.

‘He needs last rites,’ he said to Joliet, hating to see the Austins’ instant dismay.

Hamo took a handful of Bartholomew’s tunic and tugged, indicating that he wanted to speak. Bartholomew put his ear close to the dying man’s mouth, but what emerged was so low as to be virtually inaudible. When he sat back, the others clamoured to know what had been said.

‘I am not sure,’ replied Bartholomew. ‘It sounded like “all”.’

‘All what?’ demanded Michael.

‘Perhaps he was beginning a prayer,’ suggested Robert, white-faced with shock. ‘Almighty God, have mercy upon me …’

‘Or he wanted to say aliteum ,’ added Overe. ‘Meaning a crime – because one has certainly been committed here.’

‘Fetch some water,’ ordered Joliet urgently. ‘It may unlock his throat. Hurry!’

‘Who did this to you, Hamo?’ asked Michael, ignoring the panicky confusion that ensued as the friars blundered around in a frantic attempt to locate a cup. ‘Did you see?’