It started during the last summer. She had bitterly resented his interference in her choice of a suitor, and she had become a source of disharmony in his household. Meg, his wife, and even his servant Hugh began to take her part in discussions, leaving Simon feeling like an outcast in his own home. Later in the year, she had appeared to submit to his authority, when her favourite died, and for some time thereafter she had been friendly, as she used to be, but now her attitude had suffered another reversal and she was once more froward and uncooperative.
If it were only her, he wouldn’t mind, but a sullenness had infected his wife and other members of his household. Young Peterkin sat and watched Simon and Meg whenever they were in a room together, with an oddly adult expression on his young face, as though he was gauging their mood and assessing how he might make best advantage of their mutual antipathy.
Simon sighed deeply. He knew it wasn’t Meg’s fault – it was the way that her dreams had been so rudely shattered.
The whole trouble was, Simon was being promoted. Abbot Robert was so pleased with his work that he had arranged to send Simon to the coast because at the same time as leasing the mining revenues, the Abbot had acquired the position of Keeper of the Port of Dartmouth as well. Naturally he had no intention of removing himself to a place so far from his comfortable quarters at his Abbey in Tavistock, but it was plain that he needed a representative there whom he could trust, and since the death of the previous Lieutenant, he had decided that Simon should go.
Margaret was delighted that he had won so much favour with the good Abbot, as she often said. ‘If you are happy in your work, my husband, I am happy.’
‘But you’d be happier not to move to Dartmouth,’ he had said last week when she protested her delight once too often.
She had bent her head slightly. ‘I love our home here.’
‘It took you a while to get used to Lydford, didn’t it?’
‘I adored our farm in Sandford.’
He knew that. They had married there, and set up their family in Sandford. That house was where their daughter had been born, and their memories of the place were all happy. The summers seemed longer and hotter, the winters more mild, and life itself had been simpler. ‘You were unhappy to move here to Lydford.’
‘Yes, Husband, but that was mainly because we lived in the castle itself, and that is a terrible place,’ she said with a delicate shiver. ‘The walls seem to echo with screams. I have been very happy here.’
That was obvious. Her manner had become calm again since they moved here, to the little house near the castle at Lydford. ‘Perhaps you will find it as easy to like Dartmouth,’ he said hopefully.
‘Perhaps,’ she said dully.
‘I believe it is a pleasant enough town.’
‘Filled with sailors? A nice place for Edith to mature,’ she countered.
‘We should be able to afford a good house. I believe people say that it is healthful to live next to the sea. It may be good for Peterkin.’
‘Yes, Husband. Unless pirates raid the town and fire the house about our ears,’ she retorted, and that was where they had left the matter.
Simon could have refused the post. He was almost a free yeoman, scarcely a serf owned by his master, but even an entirely free man who had taken his Lord’s livery and salt must obey his Lord’s whim. If Abbot Robert decided that Simon would be best used down at Dartmouth, to Dartmouth he must go, no matter what his wife thought, if Simon wished to remain in his service. There would have to be an overwhelming need and urgency for Simon to even postpone taking up his new responsibilities.
Meg could stay here at Lydford, but neither of them would enjoy so long a separation. Others left their wives at home when they went to their work: Hugh himself had to leave his wife and son miles away up at Iddesleigh while he worked for Simon, just as any other servant would. A household, whether it was a man’s, woman’s or child’s, would only expect men to remain to serve their masters. Women were called in for specialist tasks, for wet or dry nursing, for brewing, or for jobs where their skills were valued, such as milking, but generally a servant was a man, and he left his wife while he served his master. Women tended to be too much of a distraction and cause of dispute in a household. For that reason some poor fellows didn’t see their wives for months at a time. Simon could never leave his Meg that long.
He couldn’t refuse the post, but he knew that his wife dreaded the idea of moving so far from their home. Especially with the dangers of pirates, as she said. There were always French ships prepared to test the defences of little ports like Dartmouth.
There was no way out of it. He had already received the seal from Abbot Robert, and now he must set about packing up all their belongings on carts ready to be transported to Dartmouth.
Not that he was looking forward to informing Meg that the date for their departure was agreed.
It was almost time for their midday meal when Baldwin heard hooves ringing loudly on the cobbles outside. There was shouting, a horn was blown, and he could hear servants chattering while a horse stood blowing, clattering its shoes. Scut looked up at the door with a face filled with annoyance, which was itself enough to lighten Baldwin’s mood.
The noise was enough to persuade him that something urgent had brought the rider, although he would have been willing to break the meeting on hearing news of a wren dying, Roger Scut bored and irritated him so much. He stood quickly as the door opened to admit a servant and a mud-bespattered messenger.
‘Who are you and what do you want here?’ Baldwin demanded.
‘Sir, I am Joel, from North Tawton Hundred. Two days ago we had a messenger from South Tawton, from Sir Ralph of Wonson. He said that the cleric of Gidleigh Chapel has murdered a girl and run away.’
‘A priest? Christ’s pain!’ Roger Scut said, and crossed himself.
‘I’m sorry, Brother. He got her pregnant, I heard. Punched her or something. Probably trying to kill the baby.’
Baldwin nodded, but he could feel the revulsion in his belly. Hurting anyone unnecessarily was repellent to him, but to harm a child while still in the womb was surely the worst crime. His voice was harsh as he said, ‘It is not unknown for even a priest to do such a thing.’
‘Surely it is very rare,’ Roger Scut protested.
Baldwin ignored him. ‘What makes you think he might have come this way?’
‘There was a theft of bread from a farm,’ Joel said, then explained how he had heard that the day before, there had been another theft of food and some ale reported from a farm near Spreyton. ‘I may be wrong, but he could be coming this way, Keeper.’
‘Then we must search for him!’ Baldwin said decisively, smacking a hand against his sword hilt.
‘Sir Baldwin,’ Roger Scut said smoothly, his hand encompassing the piles of documents still lying on the table. ‘We must complete this work before you ride away.’
‘I am Keeper. I have a duty to find this man.’
‘No, he is a cleric and therefore not your responsibility. Perhaps this fellow could ride to the Dean of the church here and advise him that our Brother has gone abroad. We shall have to learn why, of course.’
Baldwin barely acknowledged him. Seeing a watchman in the doorway, he said, ‘Godwen, I shall be with you as soon as my horse is saddled. Raise the Hue with your horn and call for all the men with horses.’
‘Sir Baldwin.’ Roger Scut leaned his head back and peered at Baldwin down his podgy nose as though it was a cocked and ready crossbow. His voice was so oily, Baldwin could have used it to soften twenty-year-old leather. ‘We have much still to do. Surely a man of your importance need not ride about for no reason? Especially when we have so much ground still to cover in here.’
‘No reason?’ Baldwin gave him a look up and down, and made no effort to conceal his annoyance. ‘Brother, I am responsible for the King’s Peace. Having a man wandering the land stealing from every house he comes upon is not conducive to maintaining the Peace. Apart from his offences, this priest may be caught and disturbed while in someone’s property, and could be attacked – either he would add another murder to his crimes, or he might even die himself. I will not have that! Godwen, do as I said. Brother, I suggest you go through the cases in my absence, and we shall discuss them later.’
He spun on his heel and swept out from the room, a little ashamed at his sense of victory over the fool of a clerk, but mostly pleased to have escaped sitting in Roger Scut’s company any longer. Except, as soon as he realised the source of his pleasure, he felt himself contemptible: he was no more than a hypocrite who was willing to use his official position and arguments of protecting others to evade an afternoon spent in the company of a man like Scut.
Mark shivered and wrapped his arms about his body once more as he stumbled and slipped onwards, hardly aware of his cracked flesh, the purple colour of his fingers and toes, the shivers which made his whole body convulse like a man in his death throes. His only aim was to escape South Tawton and get to Exeter, his sole guide was the sun, but fear made him avoid roads and lanes in case he was spotted. Instead he crossed fields, concealed himself in woods, made use of narrow runs created by deer and foxes, and tried to keep out of sight of farmers and other peasants.
As he trod along yet another tortuous path at the side of a stream, he turned and stared back, still fearing pursuit; however, there was no sound but the clattering of water over stones and occasional birdsong.
It was awful. He had stolen food and drink, he had worn his feet to a blistered mess, and he had no idea what would become of him. The more he considered it, the more the hollow fear grew in his belly at the thought of telling Bishop Walter about his crimes. Tears of self-pity sprang into his eyes again, and he snivelled miserably. His life was devastated, and why? Because the Bishop had chosen to send him to Gidleigh, that’s why! It was damned unfair that he should lose his good name and honour this way. If he hadn’t been dropped in that midden of a vill, with no other monks for company, he’d never have even noticed Mary. And now look at him.
The trees were thick down here, growing close together, and as he thrust himself forward, Mark could feel the brambles catching at his habit, pulling it apart thread by thread. He had a thick stick in his hand which he had fashioned from a young sapling, and he used it to prod aside the heavier clumps and smash down the thinner, but even so his progress was slow.
God’s dear bones, but how could this have happened? All because he discovered lust after so many years. It was mad. Poor Mary! If it had been possible, Mark would have been happy to live with her, but that was impossible for a priest who intended advancement. Only a feeble-minded, semi-literate cleric of the type who would have been content to live in Throwleigh could have done that. And God preserve any priest who was found by Bishop Walter enjoying the comfort of a woman. He would soon be exiled to a much worse place – although how anywhere could be worse than Gidleigh was more than Mark could imagine.
Grimly, he recognised that Bishop Walter would no doubt find it easy. It would be either a miserable monastery on a bleak, windswept moor, or a church on an isolated island where he would be forced to live a hermit-like existence.
Well, he wouldn’t accept it. He had never committed any form of crime until he’d been forced to. He hadn’t meant to hurt poor Mary. He’d only slapped her – a little hard, yes, but not enough to hurt. Not enough to kill. Certainly not to kill, he repeated, as though his denial could reverse the events of two days ago. It was only the frustration, that was all. It had made him lash out. But he wouldn’t hurt her on purpose! Not her!
‘I didn’t mean to, God,’ he whispered, but God brought no comfort. How could He? Mark knew that behind him, somewhere, his own father was now chasing after him, bent on his capture and death. God could bring no solace that might ease that horror.
Piers the Reeve watched the Coroner leave, then hitched up his hose and belt with a grunt, making his way back along the lane to where the body still lay, her head slack and loose where her neck had been broken.
‘Come on, then. Better get her up to the chapel,’ he sighed.
There were three others from the vill still there. Huward, the miller, her father, was keeping the tears at bay, while trying to comfort his wife, Gilda. Sir Ralph had already ridden off, slashing with his whip at any folk who stood in his way, but Piers could rely on Osbert and Elias.
That poor fool Sampson had told his story haltingly. He’d seen Mark and Mary, heard Mark apparently thump her, gag, and run. That was clear enough, then. They were justified in going after the bastard. Sampson hadn’t heard the neck break, but the feebleminded dolt had probably run off after hearing the punch.
‘Let’s lift her, then,’ he said. He was glad he’d gone to the chapel before coming to this inquest. It had given him a chance to calm himself before the horror of the inquest, not that it had been his reason for going there. He’d gone to tell the men who were waiting there in case Mark should return, that they could forget their vigil. The priest had obviously made it clean away and they were needed for the jury at the inquest.
It was strange there without the young priest. The lean-to shack where Mark had lived was warm with the fire that the guards had set blazing in the hearth, but there was no comfort in the place. It was a bachelor’s house, merely a chamber in which an exhausted man could rest from his toil. Piers thought it felt too much like his own home: bleak without a woman’s touch to enliven it. Since his own wife had died, he was more aware of that lack than before. While Agnes lived, he assumed that the comfort he enjoyed was no more than that which all men had as their due, but then she died. A disease attacked her, and in the space of a few days, she was gone. Since then, he had come to realise that his contentment with her company was in reality due to her. A vast emptiness had opened in his life once she was buried. The sparkle had gone, and he thought, looking around Mark’s little cell, that there was much the same atmosphere of loss here.