Read Online The Devil's Acolyte (2002) by Michael Jecks - Free Book Online Page B

will have learned its
lesson. You see? This place is calming. You sit here, and all your fears flee. It is a sanctuary. Safe from all worries: sexual, social and financial. Here, only your personal service to Christ and
God matter.’ Taking a great swallow of his drink, Mark cocked a bright, gleaming eye at the Bailiff. ‘So, was it the thefts he asked you about?’
    Simon coughed. ‘Is it common knowledge?’
    ‘Oh, Bailiff, of course it is! We have no possessions here, no money, so our only currencies are food, drink, and gossip. What else could we have? And when my good friend Augerus learns
something, he naturally shares it with me because I have the same lust for gossip, but I also have the job of looking after food and drink. With whom else would Augerus wish to come and discuss the
thefts, if not with me?’
    ‘You keep saying “thefts”, not “theft”. I have only been told of the stolen wine. Has anything else been taken from the Abbot’s stores?’
    ‘Aha!’ Mark shot him a look. ‘Maybe I should hold my tongue.’
    ‘Why? If there have been other wine barrels emptied . . .’
    Mark chuckled. ‘Bailiff, if the Abbot had other
personal
items of his own stolen, don’t you think he would have sought help before now?’
    Simon mused over that. He did not believe the Abbot to be so self-centred as to ignore other thefts and only seek the thief when he was himself the victim; but then Simon considered the boldness
of one who dared break into the Abbot’s storeroom. Maybe Abbot Robert thought that a man so fearless was more of a threat than a mere petty thief?
    ‘What other things were taken?’
    ‘Oh,’ Mark smiled, ‘I think you should ask the Abbot himself about that. It’s nothing to do with me. All I know is gossip.’
    Simon drank some more of the excellent wine. ‘Perhaps you could tell me then who you
think
might have been responsible?’
    Mark cocked his head. ‘I probably could, but that would mean breaking one of the cardinal rules of gossiping, wouldn’t it? I’d never hear another word from anyone, would I? No,
I think you should seek your thief all alone.’
    ‘At least tell me this: did you hear anything after dark any night in the last week or two?’
    ‘Well, there are always odd noises. That blasted cat, rats, wood settling, men wandering to find the privy . . . But I can say this, I have heard nothing out of the ordinary.’
    Simon looked into his wine. ‘If someone had been stealing from the Abbey, what . . .?’
    Mark hastily crossed himself. ‘Stealing from here, Bailiff? God forbid that such could be done! Holy Mother Church should be safe from the depredations of felons.’
    ‘Yet it is a fact that outlaws will often rob churches. There are rich metals and fabrics inside. Could someone have done so here?’
    ‘
No
,’ Mark said with emphasis. ‘I would have heard if someone stole from the Abbey itself, and I have heard nothing of the sort. And I assure you of this,
Bailiff,’ he added, jabbing a finger towards Simon’s chest. There was no mistaking his seriousness. Simon noticed with amusement that even the shaking had disappeared: rage had
overwhelmed his alcoholic tremor. ‘If I heard of someone doing such a thing, taking candles or plates or cloths from the church, I would denounce the thief immediately.
Immediately
!’
    ‘As a religious man should,’ Simon noted. ‘Yet you are aware of something.’
    ‘True,’ Mark said heavily, and slumped in his seat before looking up roguishly. ‘But that’s not to do with stealing from the Abbey itself. It is the taking of unnecessary
wealth. Jesus taught us that God’s bounty means all should have enough, didn’t He, and that men should give up whatever they don’t need for the good of the less fortunate. Perhaps
this is a case of that nature!’
    Simon sipped his drink. Mark was the sort of man who would hoard a secret to his bosom like a diamond, because in this environment the only currency was