Murder for Christ's Mass

Table of Contents

 

 

Praise for
Death of a Squire

“[An] engrossing series . . . The author takes great care to detail the everyday life of the time, but weaves these details through the narrative in a very natural way. The social structure, the class differences, and daily life in a keep are very much a part of the mystery, and readers will feel that they’ve made a trip back through time to witness these events. ”—
CA Reviews

 

 

The Alehouse Murders

“An excellent mystery, very suspenseful and clever, with a sympathetic sleuth sure to captivate readers.”

—Sharon Kay Penman,
New York Times
bestselling author

 

“I loved
The Alehouse Murders
. Combining marvelous period detail with characters whose emotions and personalities would ring true in any era, Maureen Ash has launched a terrific new historical mystery series. I’ll be standing in line for the next Templar Knight Mystery.”

—Jayne Ann Krentz,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Sizzle and Burn

 

“A deft re-creation of a time and place, with characters you’ll want to meet again.”

—Margaret Frazer, national bestselling
author of
A Play of Lords

 

“A delightful addition to the medieval mystery list. It is well researched and, even better, well written, with distinct, interesting characters and plot twists that I didn’t expect . . . I look forward to more books in the series.”

—Sharan Newman, author of
The Shanghai Tunnel

“Fans of quality historical mysteries will be delighted with this debut . . . the first in what will hopefully be a long-running series of Templar Knights whodunits.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Maureen Ash masterfully creates a medieval world full of rich historic detail and peopled with fascinating characters. Her complex hero, Sir Bascot de Marins, immediately engages the reader as he tracks a ruthless killer in a mystery that will keep the reader guessing until the very end.”

—Victoria Thompson, national bestselling author of
Murder on Bank Street

 

“A perplexing mystery with its flawed but sympathetic hero . . . An enjoyable read.”—
Gumshoe Review

 

“Good, old-fashioned mystery. I look forward to more.”

—
Meritorious Mysteries

 

“Maureen Ash’s series will be very popular if the future novels are the quality of
The Alehouse Murders
.”

—
Midwest Book Review

 

“Interesting reading.”—
San Jose Mercury News

 

THE ALEHOUSE MURDERS
DEATH OF A SQUIRE
A PLAGUE OF POISON
MURDER FOR CHRIST’S MASS

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

 

MURDER FOR CHRIST’S MASS

 

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / December 2009

Copyright © 2009 by Maureen Ash.

 

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without
permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the
author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

 

eISBN : 978-1-101-15182-2

 

BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

 

 

List Of Characters

Bascot de Marins
—A Templar knight

Gianni
—A mute Italian boy, servant to Bascot

Nicolaa de la Haye
—Hereditary castellan of Lincoln castle

Gerard Camville
—Nicolaa’s husband and sheriff of Lincoln

Richard Camville
—Gerard and Nicolaa’s son

Roget
—Captain of Gerard Camville’s town guard

Ernulf
—Serjeant of Lincoln garrison

John Blund
—Secretary to Nicolaa de la Haye

Lambert
—Clerical assistant to John Blund

Everard d’Arderon
—Preceptor of the Templar enclave in Lincoln

Miles de Laxton
—A knight in Gerard Camville’s retinue

 

 

Gilbert Bassett
—Lord of Drayton in Oxfordshire

Egelina Bassett
—Gilbert’s wife

Eustachia Bassett
—Elder daughter of Gilbert and Egelina

Lucia Bassett
—Younger daughter of Gilbert and Egelina

Ralph of Turville
—Egelina Bassett’s cousin

Maud of Turville
—Ralph’s wife

Stephen of Turville
—Ralph and Maud’s son

 

 

Walter Legerton
—Exchanger in the Lincoln mint

Silvana Legerton
—Walter’s sister

Helias de Stow
—Moneyer in the Lincoln mint

Blanche de Stow
—Helias’s wife

Peter Brand
—Clerk to Helias de Stow

Simon Partager
—Assayer in the employ of Walter Legerton

Iseult Partager
—Simon’s wife

Cerlo
—A Lincoln stonemason

Warner Tasser
—A Lincoln silversmith

Roger Fardein
—Apprentice to Warner Tasser

One

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE STONE QUARRY LAY STILL AND SILENT UNDER THE
maelstrom of wind and raging clouds scudding in the skies above. The early darkness of a winter evening had already fallen and the deep pit was shrouded in gloom. At intermittent moments, the racing clouds parted for an instant and allowed the beams of a full moon to dance a chiaroscuro of flickering shadows across the steep walls of stone. The night air was cold, its intensity heightened by a bitter wind blowing from the northeast. To the man who stood at the top of the cliff face overlooking the quarry, it was an eerie scene and made him apprehensive. In the daytime, when quarrymen were at work cutting and hauling blocks of stone, the huge pit would be full of activity, but now, in the darkness, it was a lonely place. Although he was only a few hundred yards from the walls of Lincoln town, it seemed as though he were stranded in a desolate spot far from the comforting presence of civilization. He started suddenly as the distant cry of a wolf was borne to him on the gusting wind. Wrapping his cloak closer about him, he damned the person he expected to meet for being late. It must be nearly an hour past the time agreed for their appointment.

A short distance from where he stood was a small shack. It was only large enough to contain a few small tools and some coils of rope but, nonetheless, the door was fastened with a stout lock. A few flakes of wind-driven snow blew onto the man’s cheeks, stinging his exposed flesh like needles. If he was going to wait any longer, he needed to find shelter, and the shack was the only place available. Even if he could not break the lock to gain entry, there might be some relief from the wind on the leeward side of the walls.

Deciding he would wait just a few more minutes, he turned to make his way towards the shed when he thought he saw a movement on the narrow track leading from the main road to the cliff top. The shifting shadows caused by the passage of the clouds made it difficult to be sure, and he stopped and stared in that direction, shielding his eyes from the wind by cupping his hands on either side of his face. After a few moments, he decided he was mistaken. Patting the leather sack tied to his belt to make sure it was still securely in place, he resumed his steps towards the shed.