The Leper's Return (37 page)

Rodde glowered at him. “Do I seem so unfeeling? You, a healthy man, can afford to be arrogant, but if you loved your own wife as I do, you’d know that to bring her down to my level would be the most bestial act! No, I didn’t mean to take her away, although if I had wanted to, I would have been within my rights. All I wanted to do was see her and reassure myself that she was all right. I never meant her to see me, for I knew that would unsettle her, but I did want to see her again, just the once, before I die. Is it wrong to love a woman so much?”

“Of course not,” said Baldwin soothingly. “But she did see you, didn’t she?”

“I was a fool. I’d hardly got here when I saw her. She didn’t recognize me—how could she when I wore all this stuff? But then one day she walked over to give me money. I tried to hide my face from her, but she recognized me somehow, gave me her whole purse. She told me to come and see her. We couldn’t talk in the street, but she promised to contrive that all the servants would be out of the house at a certain time so we could talk.”

“And Godfrey as well, of course.”

“Yes. Cecily trusted Alison, but none of the others. Any of them might have told Godfrey.”

“Including Putthe?”

Thomas Rodde grinned. “Cecily knew he’d tell Godfrey, so she decided to make sure he was busy.”

“And she was sure she could arrange for her father to be out?”

“She had to do nothing. She knew whenever Matthew Coffyn was away, her father would visit Mrs. Coffyn. All I had to do was find out when Matthew’s next journey was. Godfrey wouldn’t miss his chance of seeing Martha. I agreed to see Cecily as soon as Coffyn went on his next journey.”

“And that was the night Godfrey died?”

“Yes, sir. I stood outside the window, but Cecily was convinced we had plenty of time, and asked me inside. She’d got rid of all the servants, and there was no chance we’d be seen together. Quivil was with me, and she asked him in too. Well, we weren’t there above a few minutes, when we heard a row from Coffyn’s house. I suppose we were too busy with our own thoughts and didn’t connect the noises with Godfrey, but suddenly there he was, chortling merrily to himself. He saw me and stopped dead in his tracks. Edmund had ducked behind the door, and Godfrey didn’t see him.

“He gave a bellow, grabbed Cecily, and punched her in the face. I was furious, and was going to attack him. Godfrey held up his hand, said was I trying to ruin her as well, or something. Edmund thought he was going to attack me, so he…”

“Edmund clobbered him with his staff, just as you last night felled Jack the smith.”

“Yes. Then there were steps, and in came Putthe. He saw his master and mistress and gave a squeak of his own. Edmund didn’t know better, and he was panicking, so he knocked Putthe down as well.”

“What then?”

“Well, I made sure Cecily was all right; she was all that mattered to me. Her face was bloody, but she seemed fit enough. I was with her by the window, I never even really looked at Godfrey. Why should I, after what he did to my wife? In any case, I thought he was merely unconscious. It was Cecily who told us to flee. We nipped out through the window, because we could already hear noises from the garden as Coffyn’s men searched for Godfrey. It was only the next day we heard he was dead.

“Once outside we hurried off, but soon heard steps coming after us. We didn’t know who it could be, and after what had happened, we didn’t want to get caught in Godfrey’s grounds, so we hid, not far from John’s wall. Well, it was John himself, and he saw us, I suppose. He was as startled as us, because he ran back toward Cecily’s house. I’d heard enough about him to doubt this Irishman, and thinking of poor Cecily all alone with only her maid to protect her, I followed after him. When I went to the window, I saw him at Cecily’s side, making sure she was all right, while Alison stood near. It was obvious that John was not threatening the women in any way. It was enough for me, and I left the place. I collected Edmund and we walked up to the back of the garden—there’s a section of wall there that’s easy to climb if you know it. We got back into the street and made our way to the camp.”

“What of the silver?” asked Simon. “We know it was gone on the night Godfrey died, but it reappeared later.”

“You’ll have to speak to my wife about that,” Rodde grinned.

“So we’ve sought a murderer, when in reality it was an accident,” mused Baldwin.

“Edmund didn’t mean to kill him; the lad was no murderer. When he heard Godfrey was dead, he was as horrified as me.”

“I see. Well, I want to know what happened to the plate, so I will go and see your wife now, but I thank you for your candor.”

“There’s no point in protecting Edmund now, is there?” Rodde said sadly. “He’s already gone to a higher court than yours, Keeper.”

“Hmm. Just one quick question—how long did you say you’ve had leprosy?”

The surprised man answered him, and Baldwin nodded, but with a puzzled expression.

Cecily sat in her small solar and eyed the knight suspiciously when the two men entered. “And what do you want this time? How often must you pester me?”

“Mistress, I apologize if we are disturbing you, but we have been talking to your husband and he suggested that you could help us with one last point.”

“Thomas has told you all?” she asked, eyes round with shock.

Baldwin realized she hadn’t heard about the two deaths the night before. He explained what had happened, and told her he knew Quivil had killed her father.

In response, her eyes filled with tears, and she turned away from them. After sniffing and wiping at her face, she exclaimed: “It’s a huge relief! Oh, my God! It’s as if I have been released from a curse: unable to admit what I knew, having to hide the man who killed my father, trying to keep calm to protect my husband! Perhaps it’s odd that I should be pleased to hear that Edmund is dead—well, I am not happy at his death. But it is wonderful to know that at last I can tell the truth.”

She slumped back in her seat as if exhausted, closing her eyes a moment. When she had recovered herself a little, aided by a strong draft of wine administered by her maid, she began to speak, and her tale was identical to Rodde’s.

“It was a terrible shock to see him here after so long a separation,” she confessed. “I had almost assumed the worst, that the disease had taken its hold on him, or even that he had died. Seeing him in Crediton was like seeing a man raised from the dead.”

“You were conscious when the two left?”

“Yes. And thankfully, I could save our plate.”

“That was what I was keenest to hear about,” Baldwin smiled.

“You noticed it had gone, didn’t you? You were very quick to see that. Well, it wasn’t stolen. All that happened was, when Thomas and Edmund had gone, my maid came down and walked into the room. She screamed as soon as she saw us all lying on the ground. I called her over and told her I was all right, but while we spoke, John came in at full pelt.”

“What was he doing there?”

“Visiting my maid.”

“She was the woman John of Irelaunde was seeing! That explains a lot!”

“They had been meeting regularly for some weeks. I saw no harm in it, so I didn’t stop them. John convinced me that he wasn’t merely taking advantage of a young and impressionable girl.”

“So that evening, John ran in, thinking something was wrong with his woman.”

“Yes. I can’t think he was anxious on my own account! He came in, and went straight to Alison. When he saw me, though, he came to my side. I told him to shove as much of the plate as possible into a sack.”

“Why?”

“Father was down; I was hurt, though not badly; Putthe was unconscious and the other servants all away. There was no one to protect our silver, the best in Crediton, worth more than the plate in Exeter Cathedral! And you know as well as I how many outlaws there are—men who’d break down a door for a loaf of bread, let alone a king’s ransom in silver!”

“If you had asked John to remain there, he could have looked after it for you.”

“I couldn’t! You know the reputation John has in the town. He’s looked on as a conman and thief—how would people react to finding him in my house with two men knocked out and me feeble with a bloody mouth?”

“You could have stood up for him,” Baldwin said reasonably.

“Sir Baldwin, I felt horrible—sick, weak, with a massive headache. I was in a terrible state of shock and needed my bed. If I went up, and people came in and found John, he’d be carted off before anyone would bother to speak to me. And while he was gone, anybody could have come in and taken all the plate. No, I felt it best that the more costly items should be hidden until I knew they could be protected.”

“So John bundled up the plate and made his way home?”

“He wasn’t going to originally. I only asked him to put it all into a sack and take it up to my room, but then we heard Coffyn and his men approaching.”

Baldwin closed his eyes. “Let me just get this right,” he said. “Your father shouted, and was struck down, then Putthe ran in, and lastly John arrived. John was never left alone in here?”

“No. I was here all the time. I felt too weak to stand.”

“We know that your father returned home because of the arrival of Coffyn’s men. So in the time it took for Godfrey to come back and be knocked down, in the time it took for John to come in and find you, that was how long Coffyn and his men were running around opening all the cupboards and searching the garden. Once they had finished, they came round here.”

“That’s right. As soon as we heard their steps approaching the door, I told John to go in case he might be hurt. He wasn’t sure about it, and he wasn’t pleased to leave my maid and me alone, but we insisted, and lucidly he went. I asked him to take the silver with him, and he agreed. In the meantime I sent my maid out and told her to listen at the door.”

“But why? You were about to be safe, with Coffyn here.”

She gave him a half-apologetic glance. “That may be so, but at the time all I knew was that a man who was desperate for money, who had borrowed money from my father, was on his way. What would he do when he found all the household’s plate undefended?”

“You thought Coffyn could have tried to steal it?”

“He needs money.”

“But for all you knew, your father was only unconscious, and Putthe could have woken at any moment. Why should Coffyn steal from you?”

“Sir Baldwin, I had noticed that whenever Coffyn came here, he always used to look longingly at the plate. Now, if someone was hard up for money and they were to walk into a room in which the house-owner and his servant were knocked down, wouldn’t you wonder what they might do? As it was, when he came into the room, I saw his gaze fly to the cupboard. It didn’t take him long to see the plate was gone. Only then did he come to me and see how I was. He called my maid in, and ordered his man to help her take me upstairs. Once I was in my chamber, he sent for Tanner.”

Simon was frowning with confusion. “But all we’ve heard suggests that Coffyn is wealthy now. I thought his money problems were over.”

“Over?” Cecily laughed. “No, Matthew Coffyn owed my father a small fortune. Oh, he may have been able to keep up his lifestyle, but only with my father’s assistance. I don’t know what he’ll do now.”

“When did John bring back all the plate?” Baldwin asked.

“The night he was attacked. He was returning from delivering the plate here when he was taken, poor devil!”

Simon nodded. “And the horseshoe? You asked Jack up here that night because you didn’t want such a leper-hater to see Thomas in the street?”

“That’s right—how did you guess? Jack loathed the sight of lepers. The last thing I wanted was for Thomas to be attacked, or for rumors of his visit to be bruited abroad. Either would spell disaster. At the same time it allowed me to ensure that Putthe was out of the way as well.”

“What about Putthe?” asked Baldwin. “He seems to have been confused almost all the time. On the night your father died, he hinted that John must have stolen the plate, then that the smith was involved—was that because you told him to confuse us?”

“Putthe can be a fool on occasion. Don’t forget he knew nothing about the plate being given to John for protection. All he knew was, I was seeing someone, and then he noticed John in the yard just before he saw us in the hall. He knew of John’s reputation—who doesn’t?—and when you told him the plate was gone, he leapt to the wrong conclusion.”

“But the second time he more or less implied that the smith must be guilty.”

“By then he had been told how John had taken the plate and looked after it. He had also been told off by Alison, who left him in no doubt why John was visiting. Putthe was confused. He knew Jack and didn’t trust him. Who else should he think could be guilty?”

“I see,” Baldwin said, and stood. “And now, I think we should leave you alone. You should be resting after so much excitement.”

She smiled wistfully. “Yes, it’s been a mad time. First seeing my husband again, then my father dying by poor Quivil’s hand. My whole life appears to have changed in a matter of days. But I can’t let Thomas disappear again.”

“He may decide to go and leave you to begin a new life,” Simon pointed out.

“I cannot let him. Who else will be willing to take care of him?”

“Quite,” said Baldwin, but he said it with a distracted air, and he avoided her eyes.

27

I
n the street, Baldwin turned his mount toward the Dean’s house. There the knight and his friend went through to John’s room. John was happy enough to confirm the true events of the evening of Godfrey’s death, but Simon noticed once more that Baldwin appeared to be listening with only half an ear. His attention was elsewhere.

To Simon this was no surprise. Baldwin was betrothed, and the knight had plenty to consider. All the bailiff knew was that it was a relief Emma wouldn’t be able to poison the marriage. Some women got so attached to their maids that the possibility of discarding them was intolerable. Simon himself felt pretty much the same about his own servant, Hugh. The man was morose, sullen, and gloomy. He was slow, and often ineffectual. Yet he was a part of Simon’s household, and life without him was unthinkable.