Justice for the Damned (6 page)

"Let
us hope he is not at the inn, but, if he is, I must trust you to be as clever
and true to your vows as my niece assures me you are. There may be no ghost
abroad, but there is something malign out there. Whether it is simply
mischievous or truly evil, there must be an end to this matter."

Thomas
shifted uncomfortably under her steady gaze, before nodding his concurrence.
Although he was grateful that his prioress had given such strong witness to his
virtue, he had caught something in the aunt's tone that suggested she was not
quite so certain about him. Even though her precise words did not betray this, he
felt he was being tested.

The
assignment to find the truth behind a ghost would make his undertaking for the
Church easier, and, with Sister Beatrice's permission to leave the priory, he
would not have to sneak out or come up with some questionable disguise in order
to find this unknown manuscript thief before the Amesbury Psalter disappeared.
In order to assuage any doubt she might have, he must present his response
carefully to avoid showing any eagerness to escape the walls, an enthusiasm
that might be interpreted as worldly.

Thomas
twisted his hands nervously. "I long to obey, as my vows demand, but do
not wish to do anything that might bring dishonor to this priory. If you want
me to go into the village, I must do so with the modesty expected in one of our
vocation." He held his breath, awaiting confirmation of his hopes.

"That
I do and with a bit of coin to buy ale or otherwise ease truth's birthing
amongst those who might talk to you of local matters at the inn." Beatrice
nodded sympathetically. "Ah, Brother, I know this is not an effortless
thing I ask of you, but Satan is cunning and Man must use both prayer and
God-given wits to defeat the evil he brings to the world. While our sheriff has
chosen to visit a distant manor just now for a hunt," the novice mistress
snorted, "innocents both within and outside our walls have grown fearful
of walking abroad. We cannot allow this to continue, and we have only ourselves
to stop it."

Thomas
exhaled.

Eleanor
sat back in her chair with evident fatigue. "If you see this strange and
even unholy shade, Brother, try to note what you can but take care. If the
being is one of Satan's, it has the full power of the Prince of Darkness at its
disposal. If the creature is mortal, it may have some malign intent. I beg you
not to endanger yourself in this quest."

"My
niece has properly reminded me that there is physical as well as spiritual
danger here. I fear that I have been so blinded by my belief that the dead do
not walk the earth that I failed to issue her very wise warning. If nothing
untoward approaches you, however, a visit to the inn should prove
helpful."

Thomas
glanced over at his prioress.

She
nodded.

The
exchange was not lost on Sister Beatrice, and pride in her niece's authority
briefly shone in her eyes. "The inn is the perfect place to hear gossip,
and I will instruct our porter to let you out the gate at an hour most
religious should be in bed. This plan is a dangerous one, and I know I am
sending you into a world where Satan will delight in testing you. Your devotion
to justice and your calling must strengthen you. I trust you will remember you
are there only to serve God. Had we some other choice.. .but we do not. Surely,
if you dissemble as well as you did.

Thomas
wiped a sudden light sweat from his forehead.

"...when
you faced that murderer in Tyndal, you will be convincing as a wandering monk
with news to exchange. Some of the inn's visitors should be quite willing to
tell you things they might not a local man. With God's grace, your mission may
be quickly accomplished, and you can come back to our priory without suffering
from your experience." She raised a thoughtful eyebrow.

"I
delight in honoring my vow of obedience and am happy to do as required, praying
that my actions result in peace returning to these sacred walls." Thomas
put his hands together in the attitude of prayer and bowed his head.

"As
for your findings, do not come to me, for I fear my many extra duties keep me
from giving this matter the proper attention." Sister Beatrice drained her
mazer and smiled at her niece. "On this question of ghosts, Prioress
Eleanor shall act on Amesbury's behalf."

Brother
Thomas could barely contain his glee over this good fortune.

Chapter
Seven

The
next morning's mist was a light one. The yellow sun had already warmed the
nearby outcropping of blue and lavender flowers, soft as a bishop's linen, and
their fragrance filled the air with an agreeable scent that almost masked the
stench of rank filth and rotting weeds along the river bank. Nor did the air
bite the skin as was sometimes true before the midsummer sun finally vanquished
all remnants of the darker seasons. In sum, the day seemed quite filled with
tenderness.

Alys,
however, was unmindful of the morning's promise. Had she been passing a
dunghill, her expression could not have been more sour; her face was reddened
as if winter's chill still ruled.

"Is
it not a lovely morning for a walk, mistress?" Master Herbert slowed so he
would not outpace the sullen young woman at his side.

In
the distance, a crow cawed, the grating sound heard clearly above the rush of
the river's waters.

"My
daughter most heartily agrees!" Jhone's tone was flat with forced
enthusiasm. "And would have answered herself were she not dreaming of how
happy she shall be upon your marriage." Although she remained some feet
behind the wooing couple, the sharp rebuke in these last words was not softened
by the separation.

Alys
said nothing, and the color in her face now darkened even more. She stopped and
kicked at a rock in the path. The force sent the stone flying over the tall
grass and into the river.

Herbert
folded his arms and studied the flight of the rock with a thoughtful look. When
he saw the splash, he turned around and motioned Jhone to turn away.

"Oh!"
the mother exclaimed softly, reading his meaning well. Studying the ground as
if she had dropped something, she began to walk slowly back toward the village.

The
vintner stepped close to Alys and reached for her hand.

The
girl folded her arms into the sleeves of her robe.

He
bent to her ear and whispered: "I may be twice your age, but my breath is
still sweet and my rod can give much joy to one who has known only callow
boys."

Alys
glared, and her nose wrinkled with disgust.

"My
first wife was pleased enough with me as husband, mistress. Take heart in that.
Few of us marry as we wish, but many find joy nonetheless. You will forget
Bernard's rumblings in time."

Alys
raised her hand to strike.

Herbert
stepped back. "Ah, see how modest your daughter is!" he called out
with merry laughter. "I promise her a tender wedding night, and she
blushes with such innocence."

Jhone
turned around and waved brightly at the couple. To herself, she prayed that she
could get her still virginal daughter into this merchant's bed before the girl
gave up that virtue to her precious glover.

Alys
froze, her mouth open to protest, and her hand still raised. Then she
shuddered, spun around, and raced off toward the priory.

Herbert
watched the young woman hurry away. As his gaze dropped below her waist, his
tongue circled his lips. Although this union had been arranged for economic
benefit, he seemed to have concluded that some of Alys' other charms might be
equally compelling. He shook his head and strolled back toward the widow.

"Your
daughter is fortunate to have you as an example of wifely virtue, Mistress
Jhone," he said as he reached her side. 'You were a most worthy spouse to
your dead husband, and he spoke often of your thoughtful obedience and sweet
modesty, qualities all Christian women should share. He may have spent many
hours drinking with his friends at the inn, but he always went home to you. Not
once did he dishonor your marriage by bedding another woman, although there
were many to tempt him." He smiled down at her. "As his close friend,
I can confirm his fidelity."

Jhone
bit her lip.

"Are
you sure you will not reconsider my offer?" Herbert's breath brushed the
widow's ear.

"You
are generous to offer marriage to a poor widow of my years, sir," she
whispered hoarsely, "but I cannot remarry. To share another man's bed
would be like putting horns on my dead husband's brow. Nay, I shall go to him
at death as faithful a spouse as I have been since we wed."

"The
Church would give its blessing. Remarriage is no sin."

"To
some it is, and I am one who believes it so. Which man would I call my earthly
lord, and at whose side should I stand on Judgement Day? Nay, Master Herbert,
my daughter is the better choice and more likely to bear you sons as well.
Remember that I bore my husband only one living child and that a
daughter." She winced as if stabbed with a sudden pain.

The
vintner's palm lightly touched Jhone's waist but did not stay. "Your late
husband gave you no sons, mistress. With due respect to my old friend and your
honored spouse, my seed has proven stronger. My dead wife, may God have mercy
upon her, bore three sons for me, but they all died soon after birth. She was
weak of body, I fear. Even all the daughters failed to thrive." He rubbed
the corner of his eyes with one finger. "I wish that had not been true,
but you were her childhood friend and saw how quickly my beloved Eda grew
frail."

"She
suffered so!" An unrestrained tear slipped from the widow's eye. "No,
I could never take her place in your bed. To do so would be a betrayal."

"Betrayal?
Never! Nor would she think such a thing, even though her soul twists in Hell's
fires. Your fidelity to her memory has been constant enough to prove your
loyalty. You are amongst the few who share my belief that she was wrongly
accused of self-murder and should have been buried in sanctified ground."

"I
pray daily at her grave."

"Just
so! On my own hope of heaven, I swear it would please our Eda to see us
comfortably wed to each other. May I not persuade you to take me as
spouse?" He bent to kiss her.

Jhone
turned her head away from the vintner's lips, although the slowness with which
she did so suggested some reluctance. "You need sons, sir. Your seed
should be planted, not in the weak body of this aging widow, but in a strong
girl like my Alys..."

"...a
daughter who appears inclined to reject my suit and join this Order of
Fontevraud where Eve rules Adam. A most unnatural Order methinks, although I
believe it is much favored at the king's court." Herbert stepped away to
put a more respectable distance between them.

"Fear
not! My daughter shall take vows for cert, but they will be earthly ones as
your wife at the church door."

"So
you say, yet she continues to refuse marriage with me with unwomanly
determination."

Jhone's
face flushed. "She will be persuaded. As for her plea to become a nun at
this priory, I swear that I shall not allow such a thing."

Herbert
frowned as if deep in thought, reached for her hand, and placed it lightly on
his arm. "Nor would I, were she my child. This priory is most undeserving
of her, a cursed place I think. Although I have said that the spirit haunting
this priory must be our Eda, longing for proper burial, I cannot discount those
who say the founding queen has returned to condemn those false monastics for
their lewdness."

"Yet
the priory has been of assistance to the village. My sister's son and husband
both earn their bread there, along with many others from Amesbury. Prioress Ida
is known for her generosity to the poor, feeding their bodies and praying for
their souls."

"She
is a chaste and honorable virgin herself, but we cannot ignore with what
disgrace priory monks follow Satan's song over the broken wall to the inn where
they satisfy their unholy lusts."

"That
is surely past! My sister told me the wall has been repaired and no one has
since.

"Your
sister says? Forgive me, but I cannot give credence to her opinions. Honest
though she may be, your sister is not known for her judgement in worldly
matters. Did she not resist, like your daughter does now, when your parents
proposed an honorable marriage many years ago? Did she not instead marry a
rogue, a man who once spied on tradesmen, men traveling to make fair profit,
for the purpose of sending masterless men to rob them of their wealth?"
Herbert let his words sink in. "Nay, I am not convinced that the priory
has ceased sinning and have long questioned the competence of its leadership.
How wise was it, for example, to give work in priory fields to a man like your
sister's husband?"

"Wulfstan
was never found guilty of any crime..." Jhone quickly lowered her head as
if apologizing for her quick speech. "I thought the priory kind.

Herbert
patted her hand. "What sweet, feminine charity you show! Even though he
was never arrested for his foul deeds, most of us know your brother-in-law was
a felon." Sighing, he continued. "The old prioress, who is most
assuredly in Heaven for her charitable spirit, may have been ill-advised to
hire such a man, but I cannot dispute her soft-hearted motives in doing so, nor
yours in defending them."