"(Bell tolls)" "Veni Sancte Spiritus" "Mentes tuorum visita" "Amen" "MAN:" "When I took you as wife Richildis I expected better of your son!" "WOMAN:" "Gervase I beg you" "This manor is my inheritance!" "That was the bargain, Gervase." "He's shown nothing but contempt for Mallilie." "I won't go on nursing this land for one so ungrateful." "But you have made your will in Edwin's favour." "You have named him your heir." "It is signed and witnessed" "GERVASE:" "And now revoked!" "He shall inherit nothing" "I shall oppose any such change as your son!" "My stepson, Edwin." "You've no right to oppose anything." "I will leave Mallilie to whomever I please." "Mallilie is mine and I shall have it, or as God sees me..." "I'll teach you some manners, boy!" " Gervase!" " Don't cross me!" " You're not above a beating, either." " Lay hand to my mother, I'll kill you!" "Don't you dare threaten me!" "Go on!" "Run back to your sister and her coffin -maker husband!" "You'll burn in hell for this!" "Edwin... (Horse neighs)" "Edwin!" "(Horse neighs)" "Father Abbot, whilst copying a letter of the blessed St Augustine," "Brother Urien was heard singing a song of scandalous import." "It was supposedly the lament of a Christian pilgrim imprisoned by Saracens and comforting himself by holding to his breast... a chemise given to him by the lover that he'd leff behind" "Where did you learn such a song, Brother?" "From my grandfather, who fought for the Cross at the taking of Jerusalem." "Father..." "I also recall this lament." "It was a song much favoured when I was in the Holy Land." "But I don't recall anything in the words to suggest that the woman this pilgrim left behind was anything but his wife." "That is not the point, Brother." "It seems to me the whole point." "Or are you suggesting our order should condemn the sacrament of marriage for those who do not have a celibate vocation?" "Sit down, Brother Jerome." "Sit down, Brother Urien." "W e ...if that is all the business at Chapter this morning..." "There are a few documents to be signed, Father... in particular, the guestship agreement with Gervase Bonel." "Lately retired, Master Bonel grants us his manor at Mallilie absolutely, with his several tenants, in return for one of the Abbey dwellings here in Shrewsbury... for himself his wife and his two servants" "There is a house along the Abbey Foregate most suitable for their purpose" "The details are as usual in such cases" "Each day they shall have two monks' loaves and one servants' loaf" "Two gallons monks' ale one gallon servants' ale" "A dish of meat on meat days and of fish on fish days" "Their fare is to be collected from the Abbot's kitchen by their manservant" "There is also provision for linen shoes and firing and livery for one horse" "At the death of either the other to retain possession of the house and receive a portion of all aforesaid provisions" "Except that if the wife survives she need not be provided with a horse" "These are the terms, Father." "It requires only your signature." "You are all aware that His Holiness Pope Innocent to show his support for King Stephen's claim to the throne, has sent over Cardinal Alberic of Ostia." "Yesterday, I received this instruction." "The Cardinal intends to hold a legatine council for the reform of the Church." "I am summoned to attend and give an account of my stewardship of this convent." "For the present," "I may not ratify any agreements in the name of our house until I am confirmed in office or a new appointment is made." "Whatever is now incomplete must remain so." "Father, when must you leave?" "At once" "In my absence, of course," "Brother Prior will be in charge of all things here." "Veni Sancte Spiritus" "(Bell tolls)" "I tell you, once Brother Prior gets his foot in the door, it'll take a dose of hemlock to get him out again." "(Laughs) I'll put some on the list." "Don't tempt me." "But I'll have some marjoram from you." "(Chopping)" "Yes, boy?" "My master has sent these for the Lord Abbot's table as thanks for his attention in the matter of the guestship agreement." "Guestship?" "You're the Bonels' servant, then, are you?" "My name is Aelfric." "Then we'll see a deal of one another." "I am Brother Petrus, cook to this house." "It's from me you'll collect your master's daily fare." "I know my duties, though today my mistress has a meal ready prepared." "She begs of you a little sage and basil to season her dish." "Sage she can have." "Brother Cadfael here may be able to oblige you with the basil." "What is it, Oswin?" "What have you lost?" "Old Brother Rhys is in discomfort and asks that you might physic him." "The rubbing oil is on the top shelf over there." "While you're there, you could pass me over some of that basil." "If your mistress needs any more at any time and the kitchen can't supply it," "I always keep a good stock here." "Sorry, Brother Cadfael." "Don't worry, no harm." "Oswin!" "There's another bottle up there." "No, no, we mustn't use it now." "Monk's-hood oil may be very good for a man's outside, but inside it is very bad indeed." "Right, you go on ahead." "Make a start." "I'll be along as soon as I've cleared this safely away." "Poisonous, then, is it?" "No, used as a rub to ease aching joints it's safe enough, but swallowed... no." "I'll get some more basil and bring it along to your mistress myself." "Meurig." "Speak to Edwin." "I'm sure he will be in the carpenter's shop." "Ask him, for my sake, to come here and talk to me" "If Master Bonel sees he is contrite, I am sure he will accept him back." "(Hushed conversation continues)" "He will listen to you." "Ask him to come and make peace with Gervase." "I can ask, Mistress." "Please, Master." "Come on." "No." "Who is that, Oswin?" "He was here when I arrived." "An old kinsman of Rhys's." "He offered to help." "CADFAEL:" "Did you warn him to wash his hands afferwards?" "OSWIN:" "He understands" "I've shown him where to stow the bottle when he's done." "You see?" "My kin remember me yet, Cadfael." "This is Meurig, my niece Angharad's boy." "He's taken on my work, I see." "I've worked with horses, mostly." "Out at Mallilie, I was servant to Master Bonel." "But he's a carpenter now, working here in Shrewsbury." "Journeyman to Martin Bellecote." "He's making a chest for our library." "MEURIG:" "There Pull up your gown Keep the warmth in" "Is that better?" "It prickles like nettles to start, but now there's a fine, easy glow." "Good." "Then lie down and rest." "I don't expect I'll see you again for another twelvemonth." "Back to Cynllaith, is it?" "The town, Uncle." "Remember me to your mother, boy." "To Angharad." "To Angharad" "Now there was a beauty Cadfael" "You never saw the like" "Tell her to come and visit her old Uncle Rhys." "Angharad" "He often speaks of your mother." "Will he see her, do you think?" "She's been dead eleven years." "He knows it, or knew it once." "But if she's alive to him again, why should I remind him?" "(Knock at door) RICHILDIS:" "How could you?" "GERVASE:" "This is my household!" "RICHILDIS:" "You promised affer the last time" "Must you humiliate me still?" "GERVASE:" "It is my right RICHILDIS:" "My maid is little more than a child!" "Wife or no wife scold me and you'll be sorry Richildis!" "(Door slams)" "Oh, I-I was, um... just bringing some, um, herbs for Mistress Bonel at her servant's request." "I'll make sure she receives them." "Mistress Bonel I am Prior Robert" "I have unfortunate news for your husband regarding our guestship agreement." "Sobrii estote et vigilate" "Quia adversarius vester diabolus" "Tamquam leo rugiens circuit quaerens" "Quem devoret" "Cui resistite fortes in fide" "Tu autem Domine" "Miserere nobis" "Deo gratias" "Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini" "Qui fecit caelum et terram" "(Bell tolls)" "Cadfael." "Richildis." "I thought you must have died fighting in the Holy Land." "What happened?" "Did you forget your promise?" "No... not forget." "Not that." "But whenever my thoughts strayed towards home, there was always something..." "It seemed important then." "I waited, Cadfael." "Eight years." "You vowed to return laden with honours to claim me as your bride." "(Softly) So I did." "Well, the honours were too few." "And my return was too late." "You were already married to Eward Gurney." "Eward was a good man." " Yes, he was." " He was a good husband and father." "I never thought to marry again after he died." "Well, the lord of a manor is a fine catch." "He promised, you see." "Not having children of his own, Gervase promised that if I would have him he would make Edwin his heir." "But surely your husband has gifted his manor and lands to the Abbey?" "What can this lad of yours have done to make his stepfather spite him so?" "Nothing... except that he chooses to be with simple folk and craftsmen." "My daughter is married to Martin Bellecote." "The carpenter?" "You know him?" "Well, of course!" "But..." "You have had kin here in Shrewsbury all these years?" "Yes." "I never knew." "Edwin spends more time with them than he ought and has neglected to show proper concern for Mallilie." "Gervase thinks that such company is beneath a young man with a manor to inherit." "(Bell tolls)" "Oh, I must go." "I never thought to look on your face again in this world." "You are happy?" "To have found you again, yes!" "Well, as I er... said to your servant, if you ever have need of herbs or medicines any proper cause to visit, you'll find me here most days." "The partridge are a gift for Father Abbot." "Well, in his absence such bounty should not go to waste." "As from today, Prior Robert will partake of those dishes usually reserved for the Abbot's table." "Father Prior also bids that you set aside one portion for Master Bonel and that you send it over to him with his compliments." "And does Brother Prior have a preference as to how I should prepare the partridge?" "You may prepare the fowl in your... usual manner." "(Rhys groans softly)" "Oh, dear... (Mumbles)" "Oh..." "Thank you, Brother." "(Knock at door)" "Mm, this smells good." "It's for the master after the stew." "I'll set it here to keep warm." "Edwin has been helping Meurig with the chest for the Abbey library, Gervase." "I'm come from delivering it now." "The Prior sent along a special dish for you today, Master." "For after the main, a serving of partridge with his compliments." " A small price to pay for my manor and lands." " Gervase..." "We should all be enjoying partridge now at Mallilie, if it wasn't for your son." "Is my stepfather dissatisfied with his half of the bargain?" "I'll thank you to keep silent at table." "You're here on your mother's probation and my sufferance." "Edwin, you have come here to make peace." "(Footsteps)" "Did Edwin come ahead of me?" "He's with Master and Mistress now." "Will you eat with us?" "Gladly." "I came here to make peace for my mother's sake!" "You came crawling back for your inheritance, more like!" "Devil take you, Gervase Bonel!" "I want nothing of yours!" " Get out!" " No!" "Get out!" "Let me go." "Let me go!" "You keep away from this house, Edwin Gurney!" "If I find you sniffing around here, I'll have your hide!" " Calm yourself, Master." "He's gone." " Now, come, Gervase." "Aldith, bring some more wine for Master Bonel and the partridge that the Prior sent." "Aelfric go affer Edwin Make sure he's all right" "AELFRIC:" "Edwin!" "Edwin!" "Edwin, come back!" "(Belches)" " Has that sweetened your temper?" " You're as surly-tongued as that son of yours." "What I ever did to deserve such a sco..." "(Coughs)" "(Chokes)" "Oh, Oswin!" "Brother, come quickly." "RICHILDIS:" "He was taken with a burning in the mouth and throat and then willed to vomit but could not." "Lift his head, Oswin." "Do you have a bowl somewhere?" " (Chokes)" " We must try and get it out of him, even though it may do as much harm coming up as it did going down." "(Groans)" "(Retches)" "Let him lie back." "(Groans)" "(Agonised groaning)" "(Groans)" "I'm very sorry." "He shall lie in our chapel until all can be arranged" "No." "Nothing must be removed or disturbed until the Sheriff and his officers have examined everything." "This is no ordinary death." "Master Bonel died of poison taken in food that he'd eaten recently." "AELFRIC:" "Poison?" "How can that be?" "We've all eaten the same, every one of us." "All but this dish." "(Sniffs)" "The Prior sent it over from his own table." "Oswin, run to the Prior." "Quickly, Oswin!" "We have one death here already to account for." "Pray heaven we must face no second." "How would the effect of this poison first manifest itself, Brother?" "A burning of the throat and lips and a difficulty in breathing." "Do you have any such symptoms?" "No." "No, nothing at all, but at Brother Oswin's urgings, I... rid myself of all I'd eaten." "That was well advised, Oswin." "But had you ingested the same poison as Master Bonel, the symptoms would've shown themselves by now." "You maintain that Master Bonel was poisoned?" "Oh, yes." "I could detect the smell on his lips and in the remains of the dish he ate." "The dish you sent him." "Yet I am unharmed." "How can that be, if we both ate of the same tainted bird?" "Evidently the poison was added to his portion after it was set aside." "What is this poison, that you can be quite so sure of your judgment?" "It's a rubbing oil." "I make it from the plant monk's hood." "If you can make potions from this plant, so can anyone." "Yes, but I know the odour of my own specific." "There can be no doubt." "You may put things in order here." "I've seen all there is to be seen." "PRIOR:" "Sergeant" "Brother Cadfael has asserted that Master Bonel is dead of poison." "Is there anything you've seen to support such an extravagant claim?" "Oh, it's poison, right enough." "So you'll send for Hugh Beringar?" "No need." "I shall have the murderer in custody by dark." "It's his stepson, Edwin Gurney." "He was being dispossessed by this guestship contract and had much to regain by rendering it void" "You seem very certain of his guilt." "I have sufficient evidence to stretch his neck." "He was at the infirmary this morning where the poison is kept" "He quarrelled with his stepfather and went through the empty kitchen when he stormed out." "He probably dosed the partridge then with your mixture." "Whoever stole the poison, be it from my store or the infirmary, must have brought something to put it in." "Yes, of course." "Then I suggest you pay special attention to the clothing of any man you suspect." "Are you teaching the Sergeant his business?" "I'm talking about certain peculiarities of my business, Brother Prior, which may help to prevent a mistake." "This oil leaves both stain and odour where but a drop seeps through." "By your leave, Brother, I think we'll first lay hands on the culprit." "I doubt we'll need your learned advice once we have him." "You will prepare Master Bonel for burial." "And there, Brother, your involvement in this business ends." "Is that understood?" "I'll see to it that he's laid out decently." "Cadfael, you must help me." "In the Sergeant's mind, Edwin is already condemned." "I cannot interfere." "But... for my sake!" "No, especially not for your sake." "Don't you see?" "If what we once were to each other became known, then anything I might find out to help your son would become suspect." "Then Edwin is as good as hanged!" "And you will have abandoned me again!" "SERGEANT:" "Mistress Bellecote you've a lad here by the name of Edwin Gurney?" "WOMAN:" "My brother yes but he's not home" "What do you want with him?" "At your mother's house, where he visited this morning," "Master Gervase Bonel is lying dead." "Murdered." "It is on suspicion of his murder that I want this young man." "SERGEANT:" "Is that enough for you?" "Wash him down, Oswin." "There's plenty of lavender in my workshop to perfume his shroud." " Are you not preparing him yourself?" " I have an errand in town." "Prior Robert warned you." "Master Bonel can't go to his grave without a coffin, Brother." "Master Bellecote, I am not asking you where he is, only if you think it possible that he could have done what they're urging against him." "No... it is not." "If ever a creature made his feelings known, that's my brother, and my Tom the same." "If either of them has a grievance, everyone knows it, but grudges they've never borne." "Though what concern it is of yours I do not know" "Mistress Bellecote, did you ever hear your mother speak of a young man she was fond of as a girl, who then left for the Holy Land?" "Yes." "Many times she talked of him and wondered of his fate." "I was that young man." "You?" "Yes." " Cadfael?" " Yes." "So you are here on her behalf?" "I am here to order a coffin." "But you have come in friendship to Edwin?" "To any who may fall suspect unjustly." "And I shall do what I can to uncover the guilty." "Should anyone have reason to speak to me," "I'm usually to be found in my workshop in the herb garden." "I shall be there this evening... until matins." "(Pumps bellows)" "It's all right." "I'm quite alone." "Come in." "Come over to the fire." "Let me see your faces." "Tom said you were a friend." "First answer this question, Edwin, and then we can talk." "Did you strike the blow that laid Gervase Bonel dead in his blood?" "No." "I carry no weapon." "And even if I did, why should I harm him?" "He disinherited you." "I was truly sorry to lose Mallilie, but..." "I was born to trade, Brother, not to a manor." "Whoever wounded him to his death it was not me" " Where have you been since this morning?" " He went to hide in Father's woodyard." "We always do if there's trouble" "I got him away moments ahead of the search and there are places enough to hide in town" "No-one saw you get in?" "We came by the parish and through the cloisters." "Followed our noses once we were in the gardens." "Smells good." "Not all of my medicines smell quite so appetising." "Though myself, I wouldn't even call this one... unpleasant." "Mm?" "It's powerful, certainly, but it's a nice, clean smell." "There you are." "You drink that down." "Go on." "After the day you've had, that will revive you." "I remember that smell." "Stop!" "What is it, Brother?" "What?" "Forgive me." " I wanted to be certain" " Of what, Brother?" "Your stepfather wasn't cut down, Edwin, with sword nor dagger." "He died of poison - this same oil of monk's hood - given to him in a dish of food sent by the Prior." "Poison?" "But you said..." "No, I didn't say anything." "You assumed that he was stabbed." "Of course, that you could have been feigning." "He did not know!" "All the Sergeant said was "murdered", but not how." "I knew about the dish the Prior sent" "Yes, and also where the monk's hood could be found." "You remembered the smell - that could only have been from the infirmary" "But had you known, as the poisoner certainly did, the danger to anyone who swallowed it," "I don't think you'd have been quite so eager to drain this beakerful." "(Bell tolls)" "I must go to matins." "You..." "You won't give him up?" "No, he can stay here tonight safely enough." "But tomorrow we have to get you out early to a safer hiding place." "Let me help you, Brother." "Oh, good day, Brother Porter." " Where are you going?" " Come on Oswin" "The horse-fair stables." "Brother Porter." "Brother Porter, which of the Brethren just went through this door?" "Veni Sancte Spiritus" "(Horse whinnies)" "I can't leave you the key" " I must return it - but I won't leave you locked in, either." "Go on, burrow into the hay out of sight." "You can sleep the day out." "How am I to be bettered by this, Brother?" "I can't lie hidden for ever." "The only way you can be bettered, Edwin, is by uncovering the man who did this thing that you're charged with, and that task has fallen to me." "For my own honour, as much as yours." "(Key turns in lock)" "(Horses nicker and snort)" "Ah Brother" "I've been asking the lad here if he's any idea as to the amount of monk's-hood oil in your store." " He's not been able to tell me." " Hasn't he?" "Oh, no, well, he's... very slipshod." "I'd like to know from which supply of yours the poison was taken." "Oh, yes, yes, I do see, yes." "Well, um..." "The amount needed would be very small and, as you see, my stock is quite large." "So no-one could say whether any had been taken out unlawfully?" "Well, I examined the stoppers and the necks of all these bottles yesterday and there was no trace of oil around the lip." "I mean, I doubt if a thief, in haste, would bother to wipe the lip clean before he put the stopper back in the bottle as I always do." "It's more likely it was taken from the infirmary, then." "Yes." "Yes, it is." "You've been there?" "None of them can hazard an opinion." "Among the old, the oil is in favoured use now." "Who can guess if it was used one more time without lawful reason?" "Whoever used the poison would want to dispose of the bottle as quickly and as cleanly as possible." "If I were you, I should be looking very carefully for a small vial anywhere within a modest distance of the house." "What were you doing leaving the enclave with Brother Cadfael so early before prime this morning?" "This morning?" "Yes, Brother Oswin, this morning." "I can't remember, Brother." "Are you ill?" "No, it's... it's just that I have so many tasks and... one day is very like the next." "Brother Cadfael told Brother Porter that you were headed for the horse-fair stables." "Ah, yes, of course, the stables." "You were present yesterday when I warned Brother Cadfael against involving himself in Master Bonel's death." "If I discover either of you have disobeyed me you will be given cause to regret it." "Richildis, did Gervase ever draw up the deed that made Edwin his heir?" "Yes, but the agreement with the Abbey has a later date." "But that has no validity now." "The only thing that stands between Edwin and his manor is this threat of arrest." "If he was convicted of killing your husband, what would happen to Mallilie?" "Who would inherit?" "As widow, I should get my dower, but the manor could only revert to the overlord, the Earl of Chester." " There is no other legitimate heir." " You're certain?" "No nephew, cousin, someone in the shire?" "No." "There's no-one, or he would never have promised me Mallilie for Edwin." "Oh, Cadfael." "Did you take it so hard?" "Did it have to be the cloister?" "I have wondered about you so often and for so long." "I never knew I had done you such an injury." "The whole fault was mine." "And I've wished you well, always." "As I do now." "But I must go." "(Owl hoots)" "You stayed away too long." "Good night, Richildis." "God bless you, Cadfael." "Father." "It has come to my knowledge that, before his call to this blessed vocation," "Brother Cadfael was in a relationship of worldly affection with the lady who is now Mistress Bonel." "(Shocked murmurs)" "We know he attended Master Bonel's deathbed." "We have no reproach to make on that count." "There's no question of that, Father, but only last night our valued Brother once again visited and spoke with the widow." "(Whispering)" "Is it true, Brother, that Mistress Bonel was... intimately known to you?" "If by that you mean... only well, and closely and on terms of affection... yes, it is." "Two days ago, in attending a sick man, you had a proper reason for going there." "Last night you surely had none." "I went to ask her certain questions which may have a bearing upon the murder of her husband." "That is the business of the Sheriff and his sergeants." "None of yours" "It was my preparation, intended to bring comfort from pain, that was used to bring death." "Neither this house nor I as a brother herein can be at peace until the truth is known." "As I understand it, there's no doubt who committed this act." " I think there's a very grave doubt." " Yes" "In saying so, you show a lack of faith in those who uphold the law." "It is an arrogant attitude and I deplore it." "You will confine yourself to the enclave and have no further contact with Mistress Bonel." "I shall obey the order laid upon me as I am in duty bound." "(Knocks)" "JEROME:" "You won't find any horses up there Brother!" "Now come down here at once!" "Come on!" "I knew you'd lead us to him in the end" "(Horse whinnies)" "(Horse whinnies)" "No!" "(Bell tolls)" "I know it's only Brother Cadfael's Christian duty to do his best for the lad but might it not be better to let him die?" "If he survives it'll only be to face the hangman's rope" "If he dies, Sergeant, I shall stand witness against you for unlawful killing!" "Be silent and tend your charge." "The Sergeant need have no compunction." "Such is his duty as the King's officer." "Is it his duty to kill an innocent boy?" "Edwin Gurney is not innocent." "And this boy's not Edwin Gurney." "His name is Tom Bellecote" "Brother Cadfael is mistaken." "CADFAEL:" "There's no mistake" "His mother's Sibil Bellecote daughter of Mistress Bonel, and until now he's had no part in this mischief!" "I leave Shrewsbury in your care for three days, Sergeant." "Three days." "And what welcomes my return?" "One murder, a fugitive suspect and a boy innocent of any crime almost killed at my feet!" "My Lord..." "You'll take no further part in this inquiry, Sergeant." "Now get out!" "Brother Prior." "I'd be grateful in the future if you will leave to the law that which is the law's business." ""No further part in the inquiry." Aye, well, we'll see about that." "Brother Porter!" "You think there's a doubt, then?" "Oh, I have no doubt at all." "Edwin Gurney is innocent of even the thought of murder." "I tested him myself." "He would've drunk the poison if I hadn't stopped him." "But you did stop him." "Perhaps he gambled on that." "Oh... some gamble!" "I am telling you, Edwin Gurney did not know that monk's hood could kill." "Would you accept his story so readily if he were not Richildis's boy?" "Well, I have my answer, though it's hardly the one I'd hoped for." "Wounded, my Lord?" "Brother Cadfael is doing all that can be done." "I must go to him." "If you have any idea where Edwin is, Master Bellecote, you must tell me." "Yes, my Lord." "I'm certain none of us here know his whereabouts, my Lord, as I'm also certain of his innocence." "And yet Master Bonel was poisoned." "Tell me, Meurig, were you alone at any time with the dish of partridge?" "Me?" "No, my Lord, I wasn't." "Aldith and Aelfric will witness for me on that count." "You had no quarrel with him, then?" "Well?" "He did not treat the womenfolk as a husband or a master should, but it was not my place to say so." "He always dealt with me fairly." "And yet he didn't bring you to serve him here in Shrewsbury." "Why?" "There was only room for two servants." "But he took trouble to'prentice me with Master Bellecote, and for that I'm grateful." "Meurig, should I need to question you further, you will be here?" "My Lord, I received news this morning that my grandfather is taken ill and not expected to live." "I would have left at once, but Master said you'd want to see me." "Now you have seen me." "And unless you order against it, I will go." "Tell me, Aldith, was anyone alone with the partridge for even a moment?" "Not once it arrived." "I set it on the hob to keep warm and there it stayed till I took it through." "And it was here when Master Edwin passed through the kitchen?" "Yes, my Lord." "(Chickens cluck)" "The girl - you've had her long?" "I've known her from almost a child." "I took her in when she was left orphaned two years ago." "She got on well enough with your husband, then?" " Has she said otherwise?" " No, no, no." "She's a loyal servant." "Yours was a happy marriage, then, Mistress Bonel?" "My husband was already long widowed when I met him." "Set in his habits in all things." "When we wed, Ineither hoped nor tried to change him." "That doesn't really answer my question." "It answers you very well." "You think that I would poison my husband?" "To what gain?" "I have lost my home, and if you are to have your will, my son also." "My will is to have the truth of this matter." "Now, I understand that Meurig also worked for Master Bonel" " before he went to work for your son -in -law." " His mother was maid to Gervase's first wife." "A good servant, by all accounts." "But, apparently, there was a fair and she met a young man, a cooper or tinker of some sort." "And fell pregnant?" "With his wife being so fond of her, Gervase kept Angharad on and maintained her until she died and found work for Meurig in the stables, too." "There was no bad blood between them?" "They rubbed along together quietly." "Never any sparks." "Not like with Aelfric." "Or your son, Mistress." "Master Bonel promised to grant my freedom upon his retirement, but when the time came..." "He reneged." "I went to the court at Cynllaith to plead my case." "They judged I was Master Bonel's servant until he chose to release me." "And you accepted their judgment?" "Not gladly." "But it was the law." "Tell me, Aelfric, if you were granted your freedom, what would you do?" "I suppose I should go back to Wales, find work there." "But I'm still bound until we know whether Edwin is master of Mallilie." "That depends on whether he's hanged for murder or not." "You still have kinfolk in the Borderland, Brother?" "No." "Not any longer." "Dead." "All dead." "I shall be with them soon." "You still have a niece" " Meurig's mother." "Angharad?" "Bless you, Brother." "She died many years ago... in childbirth." "The babe also." "So young, she was." "She was a maidservant at Mallilie, I understand." "A bad lot, the Bonels." "English." "You get used to most foreign families in time, but them... no." "No." "Mallilie's nothing but a thorn in the side of Cynllaith." "So..." "Angharad Cynllaith" "Even though held by an Englishman," "Mallilie is Welsh land subject to the laws of Wales." "Not Norman England." "It's Welsh and always should have been" "(Ducks quack)" "(Bell tolls)" "Plainsong" "(Bell continues to toll)" "Confiteor Deo omnipotenti" "Beatae Mariae semper Virgini" "Beato Michaeli Archangelo" "Beato loanni Baptistae..." "It was down by the edge of the pond." "Like you said, next to the house." "It couldn't have been thrown from the kitchen window as you thought." " It was too far along." " What about the window of the other room?" " Where they were dining?" " Yeah." "Yes, from there it might well have been." "Well, then, Edwin was in full view the entire meal." "No-one was alone in the room... until after Sergeant Warden had come and gone." "So if the poisoner was carrying this around all that time, leaking as it is the marks of the oil will still be on his clothing." " He might try to scrub the stain away." " He might." "But it won't be easily removed, and who can afford to discard cotte or gown?" "Brother Cadfael." "Father Prior wishes to see you." "Did you think I would forget your disobedience?" "Time and again you've disregarded my instruction... and seeking what vainglorious end I know not, have chosen to follow your own will." "I am not disposed as Abbot Heribert to indulge such worldly behaviour" "I have been lenient, but this latest outrage will not pass uncorrected." "Which particular outrage is this?" "By involving him in your meddling, you have corrupted Brother Oswin." "You will leave the Abbey tonight... and travel to the sheepfold at Rhydycroesau." "There you may contemplate your future in our order" "If you can show yourself willing to embrace the Rule... then you'll be welcome back" "If not ...there can be no place for you here." "(Rooster crows)" "You were going somewhere?" "Brother Prior, you must let me go to Hugh Beringar." "A man's life may depend on it!" "I am thinking of a man's soul." "The Rule tells us that when a brother has been corrected often for a fault, as you have, the Abbot should act as wise doctor." "Brother Cadfael has..." "Do not invoke the name of that incorrigible!" "If Abbot Heribert were here..." "Oh, yes, yes." "News from the legatine council is rather grave, Brother." "It seems that Father Heribert is to be replaced in office." "Good day, friend." "Can you tell me the road to Rhydycroesau?" " Straight down there, Brother." "A few miles." " Thank you." "Come on Come on" "Mallilie." "(Horse whinnies)" "(Chickens cluck)" "(Knocks at door)" "I'm here to speak with Aelfric." "My Lord, we have been trying to reach you since early this morning." " Ever since we found out." " Found out what?" "It's Aelfric, my Lord." "He slipped away during the night." "By running away, Edwin you've lent weight to the case against you." "Now, take thought." "Go back to Shrewsbury." "So they can deal with him like Tom?" "Deliver yourself up to Hugh Beringar." " Shh!" "SERGEANT:" "Open to the law!" " Go into the back." "(Knocking at door)" "CADFAEL:" "What?" "No Edwin!" "You've kept me from my quarry once too often, Brother, but this time I have him." "Edwin Gurney," "I arrest you for the murder of Gervase Bonel" "I know the law, Sergeant Warden." "You have no power here." "This is Welsh land." "We are not bound by English law." "Murder is murder under whatever law." "Just count yourself lucky I have to get my prisoner back to Shrewsbury, otherwise I'd drag you to commote court myself on a charge of assisting a fugitive." "Impudent bastard!" "CADFAEL:" "What brought you to this place?" "SERGEANT:" "You did Brother" "When Master Gurney here slipped the net," "I took it upon me to reason where he might run to." "And you set your mind on Mallilie?" "We watched you this morning and simply followed your trail." ""Where the one casts up," I said, "the other won't be far."" "Then Hugh Beringar didn't send you?" "No. (Chuckles) In fact, he doesn't even know we're here." "Fine surprise he'll get, when he sees the fish I've landed." "You treat him fairly Sergeant or you'll answer to me for it!" "(Horse snorts)" "How did you find us?" "Through Brother Rhys." "If you're going to lie about visiting ailing grandfathers, lad, you might make sure they're alive." "It was all I could think of." "I had to get Edwin away and I've no other kin in these parts." "What about your father's side?" "I'm a bastard, Brother Cadfael." "I don't know who my father is" "Then who sired the other baby?" "The one who died with your mother in childbirth?" "Brother Rhys told me..." "My mother died of a fever." "Rhys's mind wanders" "Christ God, why did you have to lead them here?" "Edwin would have been safe but for you!" "Sergeant!" "Where did you find him?" "Not far from Mallilie." " Brother Cadfael led us straight to the door." "PRIOR:" "How can that be?" "I ordered him to Rhydycroesau." " Then he's lost in more ways than one." "JEROME:" "Mallilie?" "From there we followed him to some old holding that belonged to Meurig's grandsire." "He was there also, my Lord." " The lad and Meurig." "PRIOR:" "This is intolerable!" "Brother Cadfael will be cast out from the Abbey for this continued disobedience!" "Warden, you transfer Master Gurney to the castle cells." "Mind you go gently this time." " Jehan, fetch my horses from the stable." " Yes, sir." " Where are you going, my Lord?" " Last night, Aelfric quit the Bonels' household." "It's my belief he headed for Mallilie." "I must find Brother Cadfael." "Plainsong" "CADFAEL:" "Neither this house nor I can be at peace until the truth is known" "RHYS:" "Mallilie is Welsh." "CADFAEL:" "But Mallilie is subject to the laws of Wales not Norman England" "RICHILDIS:" "Edwin is as good as hanged!" "You shall have abandoned me again!" "(Horse whinnies)" "All those having business at the final summer session of this court... in the commote of Cynllaith, draw near and give your attention." "My Lords..." " My name is Aelfric." " (Murmuring)" "Some of you here know me." "I've come to ask the court to grant me the freedom" " promised and then denied by Gervase Bonel." " With the court's leave..." " Meurig?" " Keep your peace for a moment longer, Aelfric." "You shall have your freedom" "Declare yourself and your business." "My name is Meurig, son of Angharad, daughter of lfor ap Morgan." "By Welsh law, I lay claim to the manor of Mallilie for by that same Angharad I am the son of Gervase Bonel, who held Mallilie while he lived." "Will the court hear me?" "We must and will hear whoever comes with an urgent plea such as yours." "The court will accept that by Welsh law, a son is a son, whether born in or out of wedlock, provided his father's acknowledged him?" "JUDGE:" "That is so." "I have here a letter given to me by my mother before she died." "The letter is written in the form of a contract." "In it, Gervase Bonel acknowledges me as his only natural son." "As for her part, my mother agreed to keep the truth of my parentage secret, in exchange for an allowance as long as she lived." "The courts will understand that I am bound by no such stricture." "(Shocked murmurs)" "We are agreed that you are who you purport to be and that you have the right to make a claim upon the land." "However, it is known there was an agreement, never completed, to hand over the manor to Shrewsbury Abbey." "Now since no notice has been given beforehand we must, for form's sake, put it to the Assembly." "If there is any here who has objection, let him stand forward now and speak." "CADFAEL:" "Yes" "There is one who has something to say before sanction is granted." "There is an impediment." "JUDGE:" "You are here to speak on behalf of your Abbey Brother?" "I am here to speak on behalf of Gervase Bonel." "I do not understand." "You said there was impediment." "I approve and endorse the law of Wales which says that a son born out of wedlock may inherit." "But not a son who has murdered his father, as this man has." "But that is a most grave charge!" "If you are in earnest, you must now make good what you have said." "Or withdraw." "That I will do." "My name is Cadfael." "I am a brother of Shrewsbury." "I am also the herbalist who made the oil with which Gervase Bonel was poisoned so my honour also is involved." "I was called to attend the dead man and I am here now to demand justice for him." "Cadfael?" "CADFAEL:" "Hugh if you have followed me to Mallilie follow now to Cynllaith" "Ever since he grew to manhood, Meurig has known his position as heir was unassailable." "That is not so!" "My father made a will naming his stepson, Edwin Gurney, heir." "You know the law better than that, Meurig." "Such a will could never have stood against the claims of a true son of the blood." "But when your father granted Mallilie to the Abbey that was a different matter." "Had that agreement been ratified at once," "I truly believe that in time Meurig would have become reconciled to his loss" "But the delay caused him to hope again and to look for some means to prevent it ever being completed." "However, it was mere chance, and that resulting from an act of kindness... that showed him where to find the means to kill" "And great pity it is, because he was never meant to be a murderer." "I could as well put forward the same story against Aelfric or Edwin." "There's little proof." "But I will not." "They, at least, had time alone with the dish in which to add the poison!" "So did you also." "Not much, I grant you, but sufficient for your purpose." "When, Brother?" "I was in plain sight from the moment I arrived till my father took ill." "It's true, Brother." "Aldith and I had just served the stew and gone out to the kitchen when Meurig arrived." "If he'd have gone near the dish, we would have seen him." "So the dish was in the kitchen?" "Warming on the hob, yes." "Brother, I didn't even know who the dish was meant for!" "When you were serving the stew, didn't you tell your master about this special dish that the Prior had sent him?" "Aldith did, but there is no way Meurig could have known" "Not at all, unless he was in the kitchen and overheard." "But he wasn't Not till some moments later" "Aldith and I saw him arrive." "The second time, yes, but not the first." "While you were serving the main meal, could Meurig not have entered the kitchen, overheard what Aldith was saying, added the monk's hood to the dish and then crept away as quietly as he'd come?" "My Lords, the Sheriff's officers have held from the beginning that my father's stepson did this deed." "If there was any proof to entangle me in such a tale" "I should have known it from the Sheriff!" "Then know it now." "My Lords, the poison that killed Gervase Bonel was carried in this small vial." "I did not find this." "It was found by an innocent young novice who has nothing to gain by lying." "It has been proved to my satisfaction that it was impossible for Edwin Gurney to have left this where it was discovered." "Now, you see the stains down the side?" "That is where the oil has leaked because it was stoppered in haste." "Yet the poisoner carried it on his person, until such time as he could dispose of it... unobserved." "Now, in that condition, oiled without as well as within, it would have left a greasy stain and a strong smell." "As I recall, Meurig, wasn't that the scrip you were wearing that day?" "Let their Lordships examine it with the vial in their hands and see whether it didn't lie within there for an hour or so before leaving its mark and odour." "No!" "Why should I submit to this indignity?" "He's the Abbey's man, sent to besmirch my claim!" "It is a reasonable requirement." "Come, unbuckle and give up your scrip." "But this is a nonsense!" "Aelfric could just as well have done this deed." "He was alone with the dish all the way down from the Abbey." "I'm sure Aelfric has no objection to delivering his scrip for examination." "Stay back, monk, or I'll make an end of you here and now." "All of you, stay back!" "You!" "(Gasps and groans)" "(Horse neighs)" "Stop him!" " Come on!" " Go affer him!" "I came as soon as I could to arrest the wrong man, it seems." " I must go." " No!" "You're not going anywhere." "Look after him till I return." " Where are you going?" " I've left my medicines at Mallilie." "I didn't come here expecting a fight." "Then I wasn't reckoning with Hugh Beringar." " Cadfael!" " Be easy." "I'll be back as soon as I can." "You knew I would be waiting." "Yes." "And yet you came back... alone." "Do you want to die?" "Perhaps my time has come." "I am prepared." "Are you not afraid of death?" "It comes to us all, Meurig." "Gervase Bonel, you, I - we all have to die." "Every one of us, sooner or later." "But we do not have to kill." "I cannot." "Oh, God!" "If I could face my own death so, for I owe it and dare not pay." "Help me to be fit to die" "You've been conscience to other men in your time." "For God's sake, hear my confession!" "I am not a priest." "I cannot give you absolution." "But you can!" "None but you, who knows the worst of me." "Listen!" "And then deliver me to be hanged." "Speak, then... if that will give you ease." "Those things you said..." ""Never meant to be a murderer."" "Haven't I just proved it?" "I'm still alive." "And it wasn't fear that stayed your hand." "There is good in you, Meurig, however deeply it may lie buried." "But Gervase also bred in you deceit and a resentful nature." "That was your true inheritance." "Oh, yes..." "I knew the sort of man your father was." "And it was that that finally led me to the truth about your kinship, because if he could ill-use Aldith the way he did, then why not some other serving girl?" "Especially one as beautiful as your mother, Angharad." "I never hated my father." "But Mallilie I truly loved." "If only I could have come by it cleanly." "But there is justice." "And I've lost." "Now... deliver me up." "Let me pay for his death with mine." "What benefit to the world would your death bring?" "What must I do, Brother?" "Give your love freely and look for nothing in return" "No man is measured by the love he gives to others but by how much he is loved." "(Murmuring)" "Brother Cadfael, what a joy to see you!" "Welcome home again." "So it seems if this reception is for me!" "Brother Cadfael!" "You dare to return on such a day as this, after all you have done?" "Father Prior, he's here." "PRIOR:" "Father you are most heartily welcome home" "There's no-one here but rejoices to see you back among us." "Indeed, Robert, I'm happy to be back with you, but I must inform all here that I am no longer your Abbot, only your brother." "It was judged best another should have charge." "So here I present to you" "Father Radulfus... appointed by the legatine council to have rule in our abbey from this day forth" "Receive your new Abbot and reverence him, Brothers, as I Brother Heribert of this house have already done." "And to you, Father Abbot, I make known Brother Robert Pennant, who has been an exemplary support to me as Prior" "I'm sure he will serve you with the same selfless devotion." "I trust all has been well here, while Brother Heribert was away?" "PRIOR:" "No, Father, it has not." "I fear there is one among us who has committed faults of so serious a nature that he no longer belongs here." " Of whom do you speak?" " I speak of Brother Cadfael Father" "He has endeavoured to corrupt novices" "He has disobeyed every order laid upon him ...and has followed his own will, disregarding the Rule." "And by so doing, he's saved the lives of three men, myself included" "My Lord Beringar, it is not your place to interfere in the business of this abbey!" "And it is not your place, Brother Prior, to speak to guests of this house in such a way." "(Murmurs of agreement)" "Furthermore, it is not your place to say who is fit to serve this house, but mine." "I will hear your complaint against Brother Cadfael and I shall decide whether he is to stay or no." "Come, Brothers." "They told me you were leaving." "Yes" "I came to thank you." "There was no need." "To say goodbye, then." "We leave for Mallilie today." "That's well" "I'm sure Edwin will prove a fine lord for the manor." "He chose wisely in picking Aelfric for steward." "I know the pains you went to on Edwin's behalf were not without cost." "I did what had to be done" "No more." "And whatever the cost, it was but little against what I owe... and well worth the paying" "You are not in debt to me, Cadfael, real or imagined" "You have delivered my son from the executioner's rope." "If there's anything owed..." "To part in friendship..." "is a reward greater than I could have hoped for." "Must it be a parting?" "Come with me." "I took my vows for life, Richildis." "But you are leaving." "Only for a few days." "One of the lay brothers at the grange has been taken ill with a chest complaint and I must medicine him before it turns into anything worse." " I thought..." " I know." "But how could I leave the herbarium in Oswin's hands?" "Oh, yes." "Let me remember you like that." "Shall I see you again?" "Under the certainty of heaven, all that we can be sure of is tomorrow." "When yesterday is already ours, what more can we ask?" "(Bell tolls)"