"(Bell tolls)" "# Veni, Sancte Spiritus" "# Mentes tuorum visita" "# Amen" "(Oxen bellow)" "PRIOR ROBERT: ..in the name of the Lord" "ALL MONKS:" "Who made heaven and earth." "ROBERT:" "Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth." "MONKS:" "Serve the Lord with gladness." "Come before Him singing with joy." "The Lord's is the earth and its fullness." "MONKS:" "Come let us adore Him." "ROBERT:" "Almighty and everlasting God, to whose bounty man owes his life on earth, bless, we pray You, this plough." "May the virgin soil it turns prove fruitful to our needs." "May the seed we sow grow strong and firm, that our bodies maybe sustained by its plenty and our souls always reminded of the miracle of Thy love." "Ruald?" "What is it?" "Oh, I'm sorry, Brother." "I was thinking of my past, when I was the potter." "It's been a year now." "Come!" "Come on!" "(Grunts with exertion)" "# Miserere mei, Deus" "# Secundum magnam misericordiam tuam" "# Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum" "# Dele iniquitatem meam" "# Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea" "# Et a peccato meo munda me" "Found in the Potter's Field." "Yes." "But if burial in such a place was unlawful, it was at least reverent." "Who would bury a body with such respect?" "Her..." "Her hair, it... it's still so dark." "Did not Brother Ruald's wife have a mane of hair just as dark as this?" "(Cockerel crows)" "You are my husband, Ruald." "Does that mean nothing to you?" "Everything." "But the test is to give up what I value most." " God has called me." " God has called you?" "We were married in the presence of God." "Do you forget that?" "Does He?" "Can God be so cruel?" "You will be provided for." "Like a widow?" "An old crone?" "A freak?" "I won't be provided for!" "She will not understand, Brother." "How can a man refuse God?" "Oh, he cannot." "If he is sure it is God's voice calling and not his own." "I'm a plain man, Brother." "I'm a potter like you were once a soldier." "God speaks to plain men as well as visionaries and saints." "He spoke to you and He speaks to me." " Yes, but Generys..." " If Generys truly loved me... ..then she would accept God's will." "Father, I am aware of the doubts harboured by Brother Cadfael and by Brother Prior." "But there is no question of Ruald's vocation, and there are many precedents." "Why, the great Earl who founded this House left his lady and put on the habit before he died." "But only three days before he died." "And he had his wife's consent." "Ruald is free." "He can choose another way." "But while he is alive, the wife he abandons isn't free to choose another husband." "And it must be said, Brother Jerome, Ruald is no great earl." "He is a potter." "Do you not think, Father, that entry within these walls is a grace beyond?" "What, do you mean beyond a potter's worth?" "Forgive me, Brother Prior, but I am sure that you have not forgotten St Illtyd?" "He had a wife and was asked by an angel..." " Do not quote the saints at me, Brother." " But it is a holy precedent." "And one which puts our duty to women in its proper light." "Ruald is a good and honest man." "And his chosen path is painful to him." "A true sacrifice." "He will be an asset to our House." " See to it." " I will, my Lord." " Brother Cadfael, welcome." " Brother Cadfael." "There's a fine horse." "A real warrior." "Yes." "But destined for the farm not the battlefield." " My son would be a soldier." " Oh, as his father." "Was, but no more." "And a soldier, not a fool." " Have you not heard the news?" " No, I haven't." "While King Stephen's wasting time in London, the rebels are gaining more and more land." "Which they will lose again." "The war goes round and round and every death is pointless." "They're destroying everything in their path, monasteries as well as castles." "Nothing north of the Thames is safe." "I will not kill again, for any cause." " Someone must make a stand." " I won't." "And you won't listen." "Until Stephen brings a whole army north, any stand against the rebels will mean certain death." " God save us from the young, eh, Brother?" " Oh, from killing and futile heroics, certainly." "Now, I must see your wife." "I have a new medicine which I think may help her." " I'm obliged, Brother Cadfael." " It's little enough." " Just a few moments without pain." " The respite is most welcome." "Uncomplaining though I like to believe myself." "She's a brave lady, your wife." "She is indeed." " There's no-one more so." "WOMAN:" "I must speak with your father." "Sulien, please, I have no-one else to turn to." "Oh, my Lord Eudo, forgive me." "Lady Astola." "I come to ask... to beg your help." "You must stop my husband from deserting me." "SULIEN:" "Ruald is is still fixed on becoming a monk." "Yes." "Look at the holy Brother who advises him." "Who fills his head with piety and draws him from me." "Generys, you know that is not true." "Would he leave me if there were no abbey in Shrewsbury?" " If you and your kind did not exist?" " What would you have me do?" "He is your tenant, my Lord." "But not my serf." " I don't own him." " And nor does the Church." "God owns him as God owns us all." "But the Church does not." "Will not!" "You disturb the Lady Astola." "Out." "Outside now." "I beg your pardon, my Lord." "I truly beg your pardon." "I am at my wits' end." "You could speak to Ruald, could you not?" "If he will not heed his wife, he will not be swayed by me." "But what will become of Generys?" "How will she live and provide for herself?" "The monks will not see you starve." "And for my part, the potter's cottage will be yours as long as you want it." "Bread and shelter." "You think only of providing bread and shelter?" "What of my other needs?" "Ruald is my husband." "My man." "Surely you can do more, Brother Cadfael?" "The Abbot will listen to you." "Generys mustn't be left." "It is not my place to deny Ruald his vocation." "He's not acting on a whim, you know." "He has searched his heart." "Now, there's an end to it." "Then that end is a sin, Brother." "MAN:" "Up here by the door." "Brother Cadfael, the herbalist?" " Yes, that's me." " Badon." "The answer to your prayers." "Oh." "And a pedlar." "Purveyor of every pill, potion, lotion and charm in the known world." " And a few from the unknown world, as well" " I don't use charms." "Roots, then." "Seeds, leaves and flowers, saps and juices." "I have them all." " Yes, so have I" " See here, see here." "The most precious oil in the world." "Spikenard." "The contents of this very bottle were used to anoint the Saviour's feet." "Why, it's better than a relic." "How can a holy man such as you not wish to have this on your shelf?" "Quite easily." "You are down-to-earth, Brother, and I like you for it." "Let us deal in the realities of medicine." "Gunnild, Gunnild." "The realities of pain." "Here is an essence, nay a quintessence, of the miraculous." "The merest tincture brings relief." " This is hemlock." " It is indeed." "I don't need it." "And you shouldn't be so free in selling it." "I only sell such wares to those who are careful." "Careful?" "Your wares can kill." "If you will not spare me your coin, Brother, at least spare me your sermon." " You want nothing?" " I don't think so." "Then good day." "Pills, potions, lotions from around the world." "Come here, bring your children, your animals." "We'll cure all their ailments." "I must go now." "Father Abbot gave a time." "All this is yours to sell." "Well, it's...all yours." "The money, too." "I'm sorry, Generys." "Forgive me." "ADAM:" "Please." "Forgive me." "You may not pass." "It is not permitted!" "GENERYS:" "No!" " Come back!" "Stop!" "Come back, please!" " This cannot be God's will." " It is God's will." "It is not my doing." "I am drawn and can no longer resist." "I can't help myself." "Do you think I would leave you?" "Leave our bed of my own free will?" "How can you believe that?" "Ruald?" "For pity's sake, go!" "Leave!" "It is ended." "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No, let go!" "Out!" "Profane woman." "You should rejoice that your life has been so touched by the will of God." "You are unchristian." "Generys, let me help you." "Cowards, all of you." "Hiding behind your skirts." "I should never desert you if I were your husband." "Not even for God." "Leave me alone, Sulien." "You're a boy." "What use is a boy to me?" "(Sobbing recedes)" "(Gate slams)" "Please forgive my intrusion." "I brought you some food and a little money." "Thank you." "I didn't mean to offend you by it." "And I know it's not usual for the Lord of the Manor to come visiting." "But..." "I wanted you to know that I understand the... ..full nature of your loss." "My wife has been ill for many years." "And that makes our life together..." "When I found the cottage empty, I was afraid you'd left us." "I went to the Abbey." "To humiliate myself." "(Generys sobs)" "(Sobbing continues)" "(Knock on door)" "Father." "Brother Ruald has settled well, Cadfael." "A model of humility." "Obedient to the rule in every way." "To have turned him from us would have been wrong." " Quite wrong." " Father, might I visit the Potter's Field?" "Why?" "Do you have news of Ruald's wife?" "No." "No, no, I don't." "I..." "But um...we always need pots and bowls, and I thought if she's still selling them..." "The weeks pass and you worry about her." " Yes, I do." " As I do." "Visit her, Cadfael." "Take food and alms." "Generys?" "Generys?" "Who's there?" "What do you want?" "Oh, it's an unholy Brother." "And I know you." "Yes, I know you, too." "It's Peter, isn't it?" "I treated you last winter when you were roosting in our barn." "Mm." "And much good you did me." "A woman lives here." "Where is she?" " The dark-haired one?" "She's gone." " Gone?" "Do you think I'd be here otherwise?" "I only get what other people leave." " When did she go?" " Three days ago?" "Four?" "Five?" "Just disappeared." "The clodpoles who work the fields here say she went off...with a lover." "Godspeed and protect you, my son." "And the King also." "Thank you, Father." "(Urgent whispering)" "My Lord, what is this?" "The King brings the battle to the rebels." "But he hasn't had time to raise an army." "I mean, why fight now." "You said yourself it will be certain death." "The King is the King." "And he has summoned you personally?" "Holy Father, could I ask your further prayers for the Lady Astola who will be alone in my absence?" "Our son Sulien has already left us." " Also to fight?" " No, to become a monk." "He enters a Benedictine priory at Cambridge." "Father, in thanks for your prayers, I hereby give to the Abbey the Potter's Field." "Use it as you will." "Cadfael?" "Did you see Ruald's wife?" "No." "She's disappeared." "Did not Brother Ruald's wife have a mane of hair just as dark as this?" "Brother Ruald?" "I cannot say it is..." "Generys." "But nor can I say it is not." "You cannot say, or you cannot admit?" "A woman?" "Yes." "A woman, fully grown in her prime." "Mm-hm." " And dead a year, you say?" " Yes, about a year." "Cadfael, you know who this must be." "No other woman disappeared from hereabouts a year ago." "This is Generys." "Wife of Ruald, who is now a monk." "Hugh, many women have dark hair." "There is no proof." "There's no ornament, no jewellery." "Not even a ring." "Generys wore a ring." "There is nothing to name her." "Nothing about these pitiful remains to show me who or how." " Or why." " There is this." "Every townsman and woman will you tell you, Cadfael." "These are made by Ruald." "Or were." "But that doesn't mean to say he killed her." "Or anyone did." "There's no sign of injury." "There's no damage from a blow." " There's no knife wound." " Is it suicide, then?" "Did she bury herself as well?" "With honour?" "Where is Ruald?" "He's praying." "Let him be." "Though she died on Abbey land, Cadfael, that does not make her death beyond the law." "Nor the one who killed her." "Hugh, please, leave him a while." "There are other possibilities to be considered." "Brother Cadfael." "A pleasant surprise." "But I didn't ask to see you." "Nor should you need to ask." "It's my fault." "I've been remiss for far too long." "But now that I am here..." "You do not like what you see." "Well, you seem to be in such very great pain." "But you haven't touched a drop of the poppy juice I left you." "Why not?" "(Sighs)" "Are you still grieving so much for your poor husband that you neglect to care for yourself?" "He died bravely." "And I've seen how you honour his passing." "But there's no need for this." "Do you suppose he would wish to see you suffering in this way?" "Oh, Lady, your family is perverse." "Your husband propels himself to a..." "a pointless death, your son to a vocation for which no young man was ever less well suited, and now you yourself, you compound your suffering by enduring endless pain." "Do you have news of Sulien?" "Sulien?" "I hear nothing of him." "Or the war, isolated as I am." "Well, as I understand it, he is still settled with the Brothers in Cambridge." "As for the war, well, now the rebels are gaining ground." "It's said that they control most of the Fen country." "Is Cambridge itself threatened?" "Yes, it is." "(Screams)" "Father Prior!" "Father Prior!" "Father Prior!" "Father Prior!" "You have to escape." "Aargh!" "Argh!" "Ohh!" "Come on, Father." "Come with me, come with me." "We have to hurry." "(Bell tolls)" "You pray long and hard, Brother Ruald." "Does your soul weigh heavy?" "Brother, the truth is clear." "And God sees everything." "Ease your soul." "Confess." "Brother Jerome, this is not the place." "Now that the potter has had time to reflect, Father Abbot shall hear what he has to say." "I intended her no harm." "Yet you have caused her harm?" "Yes." "Yes, I took the breath of life from her." "Even if she lives, I did that." "You hear, Father?" "He admits himself guilty of her murder." ""I took the breath of life from her." Your very words." "Do you now deny them?" "You do not understand." "I condemned her the day I came here." "She is dead and buried by your hand, Brother." "Do not compound your mortal sin with perjury." "Prostrate yourself." "Repent." "How is Ruald to have killed his wife when he's been here with us in the Abbey all the time?" "No, but he has not, not entirely, Brother." "For I have remembered a journey that he made, back to his cottage and his wife, authorised by Father Abbot." "That is so." "Shortly after the day of his admission here." " I accompanied him." " Oh, I see." "You now remember you were witness to a murder?" "Direct your scorn at those who deserve it, Brother Cadfael." "Ruald was accompanied to the field, and he was left with the woman to make his peace with her." "He was out of your sight?" "For half an hour." "Long enough for him to have killed and, indeed, buried her." " Oh, come on." " Long enough, Brother." "You base your accusation on the fact that you didn't see any crime." "I only seek to prove opportunity was not lacking." "Enough." "Your point is well made, Brother Jerome." "Brother Cadfael, you will speak with Ruald." "Establish what you can of his guilt or innocence." " B-But the evidence..." " Is not conclusive." " But it becomes damning." " I shall be the judge of that." "And when it seems so to me," "Lord Beringar shall take Brother Ruald from us." "Not before." "(Groans)" "(Wheezes) I can't." "Here's a place, Father, come on." "Come on." "(Groans)" "Thank you, my son." "(Groans)" "Rest easy, Father." "I shall fetch help." "Trust no-one." "Not here." "We shall be betrayed." "Go only to a house of our Brothers." "(Clears throat)" "Travelling alone, Brother?" "And in such dangerous times?" " You're alone." " But a little better prepared for trouble." "Where are you headed?" " Shrewsbury." " Well, you've a way yet." "You'II not make it on those feet." "I never saw such blisters." "But fear not, rejuvenation is at hand." "For I am able to offer you the very last jar of my traveller's balm." "A felicitous mixture of comfrey, sanicle, wintergreen and goose grease - mixed in secret proportions, famous throughout the known world." "Armies march on it, pilgrims praise God for it." "Well, I've no money, but..." "The water is free, Brother, I wish you well of it." "And a safe journey." "Why have you brought me here?" "To try to find out the truth." "How long were you married, Ruald?" "Ten years." "Well, more if she still lives." " Were they happy years?" " They were." "She was the best wife a man could have." " She was faithful to you, then?" " Oh, yes." "Till I broke faith with her." "After that, I don't know." "How did you meet?" "I never knew." "At a fair in Wales, before I came here." "She was very poor and very pretty." "I fell in love with her." "Yes, but you didn't have any children." "No." "No." "I believe that to be a sign." "A sign?" "In what way?" "It was a good marriage, Brother." "I'm sure you understand." "Surely, when God withholds the gift of children it's because he's got other plans for us." "It seemed so plain to me that God had another path for me to follow." "And once I'd entered the Abbey it was like I'd come home." "Despite everything that had gone before." "But now..." "Ruald... ..did you murder your wife?" "No." "Did you bury her out there in the field?" "No." "But..." "But?" "What if I was lying to myself, Brother?" "When I left Generys to her fate to follow my path, what if it was the Devil that called me and not God?" "(Market traders shout)" "What's to become of me?" "If Generys is dead, nothing connects you with it." " Where do you think you're going?" " We'd better discuss this inside." "Not so fast, holy Brothers." "He's here!" "He's here!" "What's to be done with a man who abandons his wife out of piety then murders her?" "I did not kill my wife!" "Hand him over to the law." "He's not hiding from the law." "Lord Beringar knows he's with me." "But if you reach the Abbey gates, the law will lose him." "What's to be done with the potter?" "What shall we do with him?" "Hang him!" "Hang him!" "Hang him!" "MOB:" "Hang him!" "Hang him!" "Hang him!" "Hang him!" "I did not kill Generys!" "You put your cross in her grave." "Do you deny it is your cross?" " It is my cross, yes." " Yes, but that doesn't prove he placed it there." "Would a cut-throat lay a cross on his victim's breast?" "Would a tramp?" "Would a footpad?" "MOB:" "No!" " Would a pious man of God?" "MOB:" "Yes!" " What shall we do with him?" "MOB:" "Hang him!" "Hang him!" "Hang him!" " No!" "Please!" "No!" "What's happening?" "Somebody help me!" "No!" "No!" "Cadfael!" "stop!" "Ruald's wife is not dead." "Generys is alive." "I've seen her." "I met her on the road just two days ago." "She gave me this ring...to give to Ruald." "He is innocent." "Well, I see no cause to doubt him, Cadfael." "No." "Well, you yourself recognise this ring as belonging to Generys." "And Sulien is an honest young man of good family." "Oh, of good family, yes." "Of strange family, certainly." "Look, if Generys is alive, then Ruald is proved innocent." "That, at least, must please you." "If Generys is alive, then who is dead?" "It galls me that I can find no clue, even to identity, let alone how she died or why." "Well, perhaps there is no how or why, only a natural death." "People do die other than by murder, Cadfael." "And they're more likely to be buried reverently, as was our corpse, if their end is peaceful." " Excuse me, Brother Cadfael." " What?" "We've taken Brother Sulien to the infirmary to rest." "He can't rest too long." "We must leave as soon as possible." "Should I apply more ointment to Brother Sulien's feet?" " Yes, yes, take what you need." " You are to go back with Sulien?" "Oh, I must." "Prior Mortimer has great need of my medicines." "No, no!" "Not mustard, boy." "(Chuckles) You need betony." "Mustard is for boils." "WOMAN:" "Stop him!" "Stop him!" "He's stolen my goose!" "Stop thief.I He's got my goose!" "(Coughing and groaning)" "You're a braver man than I, Cadfael, venturing into these rats' nests." " Oh, rats aren't all bad." " No, but they are all foul." "There's the one I'm looking for." "(Coughing)" "(Laughs drunkenly)" " Peter?" " Dirty monks!" "Peter?" "Well, how is it with you?" "Oh, I've breathed another year, unholy Brother." "No thanks to your charity." "Well, I have a new preparation here which might bring you relief." "More lasting relief than this, at any rate." " Is it as cheap?" " It's free." "All I ask is that you cast your mind back a year." "Do you remember I found you at that cottage?" "Yes?" "Across the river." "A place called the Potter's Field?" "You told me that the woman who lived there had gone away." "No, no." "I told you that was gossip." " I didn't see the going of her." " Well, did you see anyone else?" "Anyone in the field or at the cottage?" "Why?" "Because if you don't tell us, I'll burst your boils one by one with my dagger." "Oh, they're spreading, these boils." "Another few days, they'll cover your face." "They'll be all over your scalp." "But if that's what you want..." "Is it Christian to drive such a bargain?" "Was there someone at the cottage?" "Oh, of course there was." "That's my fate." "Never a roof to call my own." "You..." "You have a roof, no doubt." "Snug and warm, just like the unholy Brothers." "Someone shared the cottage with you?" "(Laughs)" "Shared?" "With me?" "A hedge pig?" " No." " What then?" " Kicked me out, of course." " Who kicked you out?" "Pedlar and his girl." "(Gasps)" "You call this relief?" "You torture me." "Can you describe him?" " The pedlar?" " Vicious." "Vicious and as sharp as a weasel." "His looks." "Brown-haired." "Short." "Slim." "But above all, vicious." "CADFAEL:" "Yes, a pedlar of what?" "Potions, charms." "And no doubt balms such as yours that burn like hellfire." "I've met this man." "His name's Badon." "His girl got worse than I did, by the sound of it." "What do you mean?" " What do you mean?" " Oh, I slept close by that night, hoping they'd move on the next day." "And in the night such screams from that cottage." "They woke me." "A girl's voice." "In fear of her life, it sounded." "I kept well away." "And the next day?" "What then?" "The place was empty when I dared look." "You didn't see the pedlar leave?" "Did you see the girl leave?" "Come on." "Think, man." "Do I get to keep the hellfire?" "I've seen him since." "On the road." "Though I make sure he doesn't see me." "Yes, and what about the girl?" "Didn't see her leave, haven't seen her since." "Clearly she ran away." "What was she like?" "I only caught a glimpse of her." "Did she have dark hair?" "Dark hair." "Dark eyes." "I'll find the pedlar." "You get about your errand of mercy." "Out!" "All of you!" "Back to your duties." "This room is for respite not idle comfort." "Brother Ruald." "You..." "You may stay a little longer." "The evenings are cold." "Thank you, Brother Prior." "Unfortunate business." "With the townsfolk." "Simple, ignorant people, easily led into error." "Some people who are less ignorant made the same accusation." "Assumption, not accusation." "But we... we are sorry, nonetheless." "You must understand the very heavy responsibility that bears upon my shoulders, Brother Ruald, for the spiritual wellbeing of this House." "It is my constant duty to test and question." "True vocations are rare." "I did doubt myself." "As much as you doubted me." "Now that I know that Generys is alive and well, my path is clear." "It was God calling me." "My future is here." "I visited your mother shortly after your father's body was brought back from the war." "I wanted to tell her about what we found in the Potter's Field, but I couldn't." "She looked so frail I was afraid that another shock might prove too much for her." "Did you find her greatly altered when you came back from your father's funeral?" "Grief and pain are a heavy burden." "Oh, indeed." "She's had many shocks lately." "Not least your sudden and unexpected calling to God." "I must admit, I was shocked and intrigued by that myself." "Won't you leave your vocation, even for a little while, to look after your mother?" "No." "You do know that she refuses all relief from pain?" "She loved my father dearly." "Is it so strange to dull one pain with another?" "(Cries out)" "Wanted, am I, Brother?" "For murder, is it?" "And on your say-so?" "You're not wanted on my say-so but on Hugh Beringar's." "Beringar." "It's you who tells him who to take." "That's well known." " That's enough." " He could have killed you." "Yes, but he hasn't." "Come on, that's enough." "A woman's body has been found in the Potter's Field." "Where it's lain for a year." "Yes, I've heard the gossip." " Yes, and were you there a year ago?" " I was indeed, Brother." "And with my dark-haired girl." "What of it?" " You're no fool, it's plain enough." " Is it?" "If I've made a corpse of her, then surely she must be dead?" "Gunnild?" "And as you can see...she's very much alive." "Here." "Feel!" "Speak, Gunnild." "Wh-What shall I say?" "Why, that you are well and happy." "I am well and happy." "She disappears now and then but I always find her." "For the truth is, she needs me." "I feed her and I protect her." "Do I not, Gunnild?" "Yes." "You must find another name for your corpse, Brother." "Badon's dark-haired girl will not fit." "You cannot live like this." "My mother lives close by." " If you can escape, she'll feed and protect you." " Gunnild!" "Go to Blount Manor when you can." "Tell them I sent you." "My name's Sulien." "Does this mean we're close?" "Yes, we are close." "Don't you find it strange, Sulien?" "We now know that the pedlar's girl is alive and well." " So, by your word, is Generys." " What of it?" "Well, it means that the ploughed-up corpse belongs to yet another dark-haired woman." "Isn't that an extraordinary coincidence, that draws three raven-haired heads to the same small field?" "(To horse) Come on." "Father Prior?" "Father?" "Help me raise him." "(Cries out)" "Get the water." " We'll need a fire." " But we may be seen." "Well, we'll have to risk it." "We can't move him yet." "He's far too weak." "(Crackling of twigs)" "Brother Sulien is keeping watch?" "Yes." "I trust him." "He has a soldier's blood in his veins." "I'm glad of it." "He saved my life, you know." "Oh, he didn't say." "Not in so many words." "But I'm not surprised." " May I speak plainly?" " Mm-hm." "I was surprised when he chose the monastic life." "Well, he's a young man with fierce emotions." "And, therefore, finds difficulty in moulding himself to our rule." " So you, too, had your doubts about him?" " Oh, indeed." "But that's what the novitiate is for." "Doubt." "If it then becomes plain that a novice is more suited to be a soldier or a husband, so be it." "But let him learn that for himself." "And return whence he came and no harm done." "Has it become plain, then, with Sulien?" "Why such interest?" "Have you ever seen...that?" " I have, yes." " In Sulien's possession?" "He hides it." "Thinks it a secret." "But there are no secrets from me." "MONK:" "Bring him over." "Brother Sulien." "Welcome back." "Brother Cadfael, thank God you're safe." "And the Prior?" "Oh, he's indestructible." "He survived even my ministerings." " But he needs his rest now." " As must you, Brother." " And Father Abbot will want an account." " Which he shall have, shortly." "Well, sit yourself down." "Rest a while." "So this is your workshop?" "Where you concoct all your potions and balms?" "(Chuckles) Yes, indeed it is." " There." " Thank you." "It's also where I ponder and puzzle." "You know, something is puzzling me now, Sulien." "This ring, the one you gave Ruald as proof that his wife is still alive." " Yes?" " Yes." "You said that Generys gave it to you when you met her on the road on your way here to the Abbey." " Yes." " Mm." "That was a lie, wasn't it?" "You've had this ring for six months." "You've been wearing it underneath your habit." "Prior Mortimer confirmed it to me." "Well, why did you lie?" "Was it to help Ruald?" "Were you protecting him in some way?" "Ruald is innocent." "How do you know?" "It is Generys who died, isn't it?" "If Ruald is innocent, but Generys is dead, who killed her?" "Your silence helps no-one, Sulien, because I think no-one is going to hang for this crime." "Tell me the truth about the ring." "Generys gave me this ring." "She did not give it to you, Sulien!" "You've had it for six months." "Generys died a year ago." "Your father rode off to war a year ago." "You ran off to be a monk a year ago." "So how have you had this ring for six months?" "Because six months ago, your father was brought home dead from the war." "You recognised it among his effects." "You removed it." "After the funeral, you took it back to Cambridge with you to spare your mother the pain of the truth." "What truth?" "That her husband, your father, had taken Generys as his mistress... ..and then killed her." " Eudo murdered Generys?" " Yes." "Well, is it so strange that he should be drawn to her and they should become lovers?" "No." "But then to kill her?" "Why?" "Well, perhaps because she refused to remain quiet." "An accident, even." "But I'm sure Eudo caused her death." " Then he buried her and rode to war?" " Exactly." "Taking his secret with him, to his own grave." "And Sulien?" "Well, Sulien witnessed what happened or he already knew the truth." " He says so?" " No, he says nothing." " But his silence speaks loudly." " And that is your proof?" "You've gone mad, Cadfael." "In your desperation you accuse the dead as others accused Ruald." "Well, what would you prefer?" "That the grave should not have been disturbed?" "Generys was deserted once." "We cannot now desert her again." "You go and talk to the boy." "Sulien." "Brother Cadfael tells me that he has solved the mystery of the ring and, therefore, of the Potter's Field." "I have some information of great import." "Will the day ever dawn when you haven't?" "If this boy is being questioned on the matter of the woman's body, it is highly pertinent." "A year ago when the woman, Generys, entered into the Abbey gates and was removed..." "By you, Brother Jerome?" "..by me... he was waiting for her with words of comfort." "Words which she rejected." "Brutally." "And it was his look of hurt and anger as she left him that I have been unable to forget, and which I see before me now." "His eyes burned." "Now, I know nothing of the ways of the world, of course, but surely it is clear." "Sulien followed and struck the woman down in a rage of humiliation and then took holy orders as a means of escape." "Or, perhaps, penance." "For, as the rescue of Ruald shows, there is some good even in the worst of us." "Sulien?" "Brother Jerome is right." "I loved Generys with a passion that she just laughed at." "She dismissed me as a child." "But I'm no child." "So I killed her and buried her body in the Potter's Field." " So, Cadfael?" " If it isn't Eudo, it cannot be Sulien." "Just because Jerome says it is?" "Come on, boy." "(Abbey bell tolls)" "Brother?" "I believed Sulien." "But if, as they say... ..he only lied to save me... (Sobs) then Generys is dead." "If she is dead, it is not your doing." "You were drawn from her by God." "I know some who have caused such pain for far less exalted reasons." "But I must tell you that Sulien has now confessed to the killing." "He says he killed her because he loved her." "Not as a son loves but as a man loves a woman that he can't have." "No!" "Sulien would never hurt her." "When he was a boy and Lady Astola's pain became too much for him, he would come to us for comfort." "Generys was like a mother to him." "Well, in that case, if he's not to hang for a crime that he did not commit, you must help me." "I have searched that cottage, stone by stone, and it has told me nothing." "But you see there...that's strange in itself." "Surely there must be something there and..." "I've missed it." " Something that would name a murderer?" " Yes." "There is one thing that might show if Generys left of her own free will or was murdered." " Oh, God, that she left." " Something I have missed, then?" "Our savings." "If she left alone or with a lover, then surely she would have taken them?" " If she was murdered, they would still be there." " Where?" "In our secret place." "No-one would ever find it unless I told them." "(Jangle of coins)" "MARKET TRADER:" "Parsnips!" "Parsnips!" "Rub this under your nose and on your throat twice a day." "You won't regret it." " Badon!" " Brother Cadfael." " No cowled lunatic with you this morning?" " Do you recognise this?" "A glass vial." "I'm surprised you cannot name it yourself." " You sell vials like these." " Not as many as I'd like." "You tried to sell me hemlock like this a year ago." "How many of these have you sold since?" " How many?" " One." "To whom?" "I need to speak to him." "Well, you have your wish then, hm?" "To be treated like a guilty man, locked up." "Those, I take it, were your clothes?" "Well, if I'm to be hanged, I'd rather not disgrace the Benedictine Order." "What about your family?" "I have confessed." "There is no need for a trial or public knowledge." "And no need to cause my mother any further pain." "If Lord Beringar will grant my request and dispose of me now, then she and the world will think I've disappeared back into the cloister for ever." "Tell me the truth about the ring." "It's as you say." "I took it from my father's things." "Not to spare my mother, as a keepsake for myself." "Because you loved Generys?" "Yes." " But you didn't kill her." " Yes, I killed her." "Did your father know about your crime, hm?" "Was he a witness to it?" "Did you confess it to him?" "No." "No?" "But he must have done." "Otherwise, why the double sacrifice?" "Yours and his." "If shame didn't lead him to his death, what did?" "And why give away the Potter's Field?" "How did you kill her?" "I-I-I stabbed her through the heart." "There was a knife at the cottage on the table." "No." "She wasn't stabbed." "And I'm a fool, Sulien." "I thought of the pedlar only in terms of his dark-haired girl." "I forgot what he was selling." "I'll get your clothes." "Mother." "Sulien!" "Sulien!" "Oh." "Are you well?" "Yes, Mother." " Brother Cadfael." " Forgive us, Lady, we must speak with you." "Are you still taking nothing to ease your pain?" "I have decided to accept what suffering God offers me." "And I in my turn offer it to God until my time comes." "My expiation for a sinful life." "Well, I admire your courage." "I, myself, have grave doubts on the doctrine of suffering." "Your doubts are not mine." "When I visited you recently, I had news." "Which, in the end, I didn't tell you." "But...now I have to tell you." "A body has been found." "It's the body of a woman." "Ploughed up, quite by chance, in a corner of the Potter's Field." "I believe the body to be that of Generys, the potter's wife." "Your son has confessed to her murder." "Mm, he says he stabbed her." "But I don't believe she was stabbed." "I think she was poisoned." "And poison is not a weapon of rage, of impulse." "Poison is thoughtful." "Poison is premeditated." "And it requires no physical strength." "Do you... ..recognise this ring?" "I have seen it." "Might I ask you where?" "On the hand of Generys." "Do you think it possible that she might have given it away to...someone else?" "If you mean my husband, speak plain." "You're here to confront a jealous wife?" "A murderess?" "The pedlar sold you this, didn't he?" "He did." "No." "Oh, hush, boy." "Hear the truth." "Though I wish to God I had used this differently." "You have taken my husband as your lover." "You are mistaken, lady." "He took me." "I didn't steal him from you." "What has happened between us happened honestly." "I didn't seduce him." "I hope you've given him some comfort, though." "And he you, since Ruald turned his back on the world." "I haven't come here to fight... ..or to apportion blame." "My body is no longer of use to me." "It is certainly of no use to my husband." "He still cares for you." "Care?" "Care is for infants and old women." "Eudo has shared my bed these 20 years." "I cannot now share him." "I will not." "I think you understand." "Yes." "I would feel the same way, but he and I, we have our needs." "Our loneliness, it is beyond bearing." "It is not so simple." "Even if I were to remain silent, willingly blind, things could not continue as they are." "Eudo is a man of conscience." "His passion would dilute in guilt." "He would be torn, unhappy." "Your love blighted as my body is." "I believe you to be a woman of strength... ..as well as passion." "How strong is your resolve?" "Your need?" "Your courage?" "What is this?" "Hemlock." "Oh, Generys, you cannot have him while I live." "I cannot share him." "It must be resolved." "Let one of us be liberated by death." "Do you dare risk all?" "I risk nothing." "Only my life." "Or what God and the Church has left me of it." "Are you ready?" "(Sobs)" "Astola, what's wrong?" "This." "This is wrong." "I don't blame you for what you've done, Eudo." "And you mustn't blame me." "You were unfaithful to me." "But it's over." "I have made a wager." "And I have lost!" "Go to Generys." "Go." "Go!" "(Bird screeches)" "ASTOLA:" "Your self-sacrifice does you credit, Sulien." "But your father didn't kill Generys, only buried her with compassion and with dignity," "which was my wish as well as his." "She was a woman wronged." "Doubly wronged if she were to be condemned as a suicide and thus denied burial in consecrated ground by the Church that had already taken her husband from her." "And so if she were buried unshriven, at least she was not buried unloved." "And she would still rest in peace now... ..if our ploughman hadn't turned too close to the trees." "Eudo should never have given away the field but he could no longer bear to own it." "He was never one to think ahead." "And now I, who should have been the one to die, am the only one who lives." "And I honour Generys in the only way I can." "With my pain." "Thank you for petitioning the Abbot." "I shall never know how Generys died." "It is a comfort to know that she will have a proper resting place." "Well, a corner of our cemetery seems little enough." "You have chosen your path." "You must not flinch from it now." "Believing is a beginning, not just an end." "Listen, I know that you have seen yourself in me." "I, too, once left a woman who loved me." "Not a wife, a mistress." "40 years ago now." "But I was not drawn by God." "I was drawn by adventure and I promised to return." "I did not keep that promise." "So feelings of regret, of guilt, are in all of us." "It's something... ..that we have to live with." "# In paradisium" "# Deducant te Angeli" "# In tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres" "# Et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem" "# Chorus angelorum te suscipiat" "# Et cum Lazaro quondem paupere" "# Aeternam habeas requiem"