consent would have been required before any such agreement could
have been drawn up. Read me this riddle. How did he succeed in disinheriting
his son?”
Plainly
she did not want to volunteer anything more than she must, but she was wise
enough to know that too stubbornreticence would only arouse
suspicion. Resignedly she replied: “Edwin is my son by my first marriage.
Gervase had no paternal obligation to him. He could dispose of his lands as he
wished.” There was more, and if she left it to be ferreted out through others
it would sound far worse. “Though he had previously made a will making Edwin
his heir, there was nothing to prevent him from changing his mind.”
“Ah!
So there was, it seems, an heir who was being dispossessed by this charter, and
had much to regain by rendering it void. And limited time for the business—only
a few days or weeks, until a new abbot is appointed. Oh, don’t mistake me, my
mind is open. Every man’s death may be convenient to someone, often to more
than one. There could be others with something to gain. But you’ll grant me,
your son is certainly one such.”
She
bit her lip, which was unsteady, and took a moment to compose herself before
she said gallantly: “I don’t quarrel with your reasoning. I do know that my
son, however much he may have wanted his manor, would never have wanted it at
this price. He is learning a trade, and resolved to be independent and make his
own future.”
“But
he was here today. And departed, it appears, in some haste. When did he come?”
Meurig
said readily: “He came with me. He’s apprenticed himself to Martin Bellecote,
who is his sister’s husband and my master. We came here together this morning,
and he came with me, as he has once before, to see my old uncle in the
infirmary.”
“Then
you arrived at this house together? You were together throughout that time? A
while ago you said you came into the kitchen—‘I,’ you said, not ‘we.’ “
“He
came before me. He was restive after a while… he’s young, he grew tired of
standing by the old man’s bed while we spoke only Welsh together. And his
mother was here waiting to see him. So he went ahead. He was in at the table
when I got here.”
“And
left the table almost dinnerless,” said the sergeant very thoughtfully. “Why?
Can that have been a very comfortable dinner-table, a young man
come to eat with the man who disinherited him? Was this the first time they had
so met, since the abbey supplanted him?”
He
had his nose well down on a strong trail now, and small blame to him, it reeked
enough to lure the rawest pup, and this man was far from being that. What would
I have said to such a strong set of circumstances, Cadfael wondered, had I been
in his shoes? A young man with the most urgent need to put a stop to this
charter, while he had time, and into the bargain, here on the scene just prior
to the disaster, and fresh from the infirmary, which he had visited before, and
where the means to the end was to be found. And here was Richildis, between
holding the sheriff’s sergeant fast with huge, challenging eyes, shooting
desperate glances in Cadfael’s direction, crying out to him silently that he
must help her, or her darling was deep in the mire! Silently, in turn, he
willed her to spill out at once everything that could count against her son,
leave nothing untold, for only so could she counter much of what might
otherwise be alleged against him.
“It
was the first time,” said Richildis. “And it was a most uneasy meeting, but it
was for my sake Edwin sought it. Not because he hoped to change my husband’s
mind, only to bring about peace for me. Meurig, here, has been trying to
persuade him to visit us, and today he prevailed, and I’m grateful to him for
his efforts. But my husband met the boy with illwill, and taunted him with
coming courting for his promised manor—for it was promised!—when
have been drawn up. Read me this riddle. How did he succeed in disinheriting
his son?”
Plainly
she did not want to volunteer anything more than she must, but she was wise
enough to know that too stubbornreticence would only arouse
suspicion. Resignedly she replied: “Edwin is my son by my first marriage.
Gervase had no paternal obligation to him. He could dispose of his lands as he
wished.” There was more, and if she left it to be ferreted out through others
it would sound far worse. “Though he had previously made a will making Edwin
his heir, there was nothing to prevent him from changing his mind.”
“Ah!
So there was, it seems, an heir who was being dispossessed by this charter, and
had much to regain by rendering it void. And limited time for the business—only
a few days or weeks, until a new abbot is appointed. Oh, don’t mistake me, my
mind is open. Every man’s death may be convenient to someone, often to more
than one. There could be others with something to gain. But you’ll grant me,
your son is certainly one such.”
She
bit her lip, which was unsteady, and took a moment to compose herself before
she said gallantly: “I don’t quarrel with your reasoning. I do know that my
son, however much he may have wanted his manor, would never have wanted it at
this price. He is learning a trade, and resolved to be independent and make his
own future.”
“But
he was here today. And departed, it appears, in some haste. When did he come?”
Meurig
said readily: “He came with me. He’s apprenticed himself to Martin Bellecote,
who is his sister’s husband and my master. We came here together this morning,
and he came with me, as he has once before, to see my old uncle in the
infirmary.”
“Then
you arrived at this house together? You were together throughout that time? A
while ago you said you came into the kitchen—‘I,’ you said, not ‘we.’ “
“He
came before me. He was restive after a while… he’s young, he grew tired of
standing by the old man’s bed while we spoke only Welsh together. And his
mother was here waiting to see him. So he went ahead. He was in at the table
when I got here.”
“And
left the table almost dinnerless,” said the sergeant very thoughtfully. “Why?
Can that have been a very comfortable dinner-table, a young man
come to eat with the man who disinherited him? Was this the first time they had
so met, since the abbey supplanted him?”
He
had his nose well down on a strong trail now, and small blame to him, it reeked
enough to lure the rawest pup, and this man was far from being that. What would
I have said to such a strong set of circumstances, Cadfael wondered, had I been
in his shoes? A young man with the most urgent need to put a stop to this
charter, while he had time, and into the bargain, here on the scene just prior
to the disaster, and fresh from the infirmary, which he had visited before, and
where the means to the end was to be found. And here was Richildis, between
holding the sheriff’s sergeant fast with huge, challenging eyes, shooting
desperate glances in Cadfael’s direction, crying out to him silently that he
must help her, or her darling was deep in the mire! Silently, in turn, he
willed her to spill out at once everything that could count against her son,
leave nothing untold, for only so could she counter much of what might
otherwise be alleged against him.
“It
was the first time,” said Richildis. “And it was a most uneasy meeting, but it
was for my sake Edwin sought it. Not because he hoped to change my husband’s
mind, only to bring about peace for me. Meurig, here, has been trying to
persuade him to visit us, and today he prevailed, and I’m grateful to him for
his efforts. But my husband met the boy with illwill, and taunted him with
coming courting for his promised manor—for it was promised!—when
Similar Books
