A Murdered Peace
- Автор: Робб Кэндис
- Серия: A Kate Clifford Mystery #3
- Год: 2018
- Язык: английский
- Год: Pegasus Books
- ISBN: 9781681779270
- Жанр: Исторические детективы
Электронная книга - «A Murdered Peace». Краткое содержание книги:
England still in tumult at the start of the fifteenth century, as Kate Clifford finds herself working to prove the innocence of her longtime confidante.
It is deep winter in York, 1400, the ground frozen, the short days dimmed with the smoke from countless fires, the sun, when it shines, low in the sky. It is rumored that the Epiphany Uprising, meant to relieve the realm of the Henry the usurper and return King Richard to the throne has, instead, spelled his doom. As long as Richard lives, he is a threat to Henry. So, too, the nobles behind the plot. The ringleaders have been caught, some slaughtered as they fled west by folk loyal to Henry, and the king's men now search the towns for survivors.
A perilous time, made worse for Kate Clifford by the disappearance of Berend, her cook and confidante, shortly after Christmas. Her niece saw his departure in a dream – he said he was honor bound to leave. Honor bound – to a former lord? One of the nobles who led the uprising? Is he alive? She is hardly consoled when Berend reappears, wounded, secretive, denying any connection to the uprising, but refusing to explain himself. When he is accused of brutally murdering a spice seller in the city, Kate discovers a chest of jewels in his possession. Some of the jewels belong to her old friend Lady Margery, wanted by the king for her husband’s part in the uprising. For the sake of their long friendship, and the love she and her wards bear for him, Kate wants to believe his innocence. So, too, does Sir Elric. And he has the powerful backing of the Earl of Westmoreland. All she need do is confide in him. If only she trusted her heart.
“And you trust them with everything we might say?”
“I do.”
A nod. Kate called to Matt to join them when he was finished.
Jennet had the kitchen door opened wide. As she looked up from the three-footed pot sitting in the hearth she called out to them, “Come in, come in. I welcome the company.”
“Ale for all of us,” said Kate. “Matt will be here in a moment.”
“Ah.” Jennet wrapped a cloth round the handle of the pot and moved it to the side of the fire, then went to fetch bowls and a pitcher of ale.
Sir Elric gazed around the room as he took the seat nearest the fire. “I’ve been up and out in the cold for hours.” He nodded as Matt came in, bringing a draft of cold air with him.
“About another servant,” said Matt as he lowered himself onto the bench beside Kate and stuffed his long legs beneath the table. “Seth says his youngest brother might work mornings.”
“We will discuss it later,” said Kate. “At the moment I want to hear what more Sir Elric knows about Merek’s murder.”
They all watched as the knight sat forward, elbows on the table. He was so near that Kate could smell the anise she had noticed both he and Kevin chewed. Calm stomachs, sweet breath.
“As you know, he was murdered sometime during the night. Peter Trimlow was on his way to his bake ovens when he came upon the body near Thursday Market. Maybe an hour before dawn, he said. I examined the body – several wounds on his chest, and a slit throat. The alley where he lay is awash in blood, the melting snow churned – mud, blood, it’s impossible to tell whether it was one attacker or many.”
“How did you first learn of it?” asked Kate.
“Old Bess had a servant wake me, knowing I would want to hear of it, and wanting to know more. How she heard …” He shrugged.
“I understand the sheriffs are searching for Berend,” said Kate, watching his expression.
Elric did not look away. “The same baker claims he saw Berend and Merek arguing earlier in the evening.”
“It was Trimlow who raised the hue and cry?”
Elric nodded. “And of course he is eager to point the finger at someone else, lest he be suspected. I did speak to his wife, who swears he was abed early. But I don’t believe Berend did it. Not such sloppy work. The multiple stab wounds – that is an act of passion, not the work of a former assassin. If it were simply the throat–” He sat back and took a long drink.
“So many wounds,” said Kate. “Did you find signs of a struggle?”
“It’s clear by the types of wounds and the condition of the alley that he struggled with his attacker. There was a knife in Merek’s hand, bloodied. His attacker must be injured.” A shrug. “If it is his knife.”
Kate told him of Parr’s soiled jacket the night before, the bandage peeking from his sleeve. Left sleeve. “Was the bloodied nose part of a ruse to explain the bloodstain? Or suffered during the attack?” she wondered aloud.
“That is a good question,” said Elric. “Clever. But not clever enough.”
Clever enough to elude Jennet, Kate thought. “Why do you question whether it’s his knife?” she asked.
“It’s a common ruse for the attacker to leave his knife in the hand of the victim.”
“Those two were up to something,” said Jennet.
Elric was shaking his head. “If they were king’s men they would identify themselves to me, Westmoreland’s man. Perhaps not at once, but they would have quickly learned of my presence in York.”
“Indeed,” said Kate.
“I don’t like it,” said Elric. “Who are they? You must have a care, Dame Katherine.”
“We know that.”
“Forgive me. I know you are capable of defending yourself. But we don’t know of what they are capable.”
A fleeting regret that Kevin was no longer in their household unsettled Kate. Damn Elric for seeding doubt in her mind. But he had no idea how much trouble she harbored. She had made certain of that.
“Do not worry about us,” she said.
He looked down at his hands, as if at a loss for what to say.
Matt broke the sudden uneasy silence. “A noisy brawl in the quiet of the evening and no one looked out to see what was happening?”
“Odd, isn’t it?” said Jennet. “Only Trimlow has come forward?”
“My man Douglas saw Lionel with Merek outside a tavern on Fossgate, near St. Crux,” said Elric. “After sunset – probably after the meeting with Berend. Pity he did not think to follow him until curfew. I have Harry watching Merek’s house now.”
“Lionel.” That interested Kate. She told Elric what Thomas Holme had told her, how Merek was asking round about her brother-in-law.
“Lionel Neville, my earl’s bane,” Elric muttered. “God help me, if he’s involved I’ll–” He shook his head. “No, Lionel would not have had the courage or the strength to slit Merek’s throat. Which would mean an accomplice.”
She sensed no duplicity in his response. So Merek’s murder was as much a mystery to him as it was to her.
“A pity you and Lionel are not close,” he said to Kate.
For once Kate agreed. “Lionel stabbing wildly, then the accomplice slitting Merek’s throat. I can imagine it,” she said.
“You said whoever struggled with the spice seller was likely injured – if that was his knife. It should be simple to find out whether Master Lionel has been wounded,” said Jennet. “As Dame Katherine said, one of our intruders was. But would he be so bold as to come here after such a deed?”
“My men will track down the Lancastrians,” said Elric.
“I wish them luck,” Jennet muttered.
Elric glanced at her with surprise, but she merely shrugged. “What about Lionel?” he asked. “Someone should talk to him.”
Kate smiled. “I would not mind paying a visit to his wife. I have not been to see Winifrith and baby Simon in weeks. If she won’t confide in me, her daughter Maud might.”
“That would be helpful.” Elric looked round the table. “So Berend is in the city? You have seen him?” He turned to Kate. “Spoken to him?” When Kate said nothing, he added, “It would help to know where he has been and why, and his reason for returning to the city when he knows those seeking him will search here. If I’m to defend him I need to understand.”
Kate wanted so much to believe Elric was her ally. But to speak of her meeting with Berend felt like a betrayal. “I do not know where he has been, nor do I know why he would endanger himself by coming here.”
Elric looked away, clearly disappointed. “I mean to help. If you learn anything, I pray you trust me with it.” He sat back and lifted his bowl of ale. “Most welcome.” He took a drink.
“What did the baker Trimlow see?” Kate asked.
Elric emptied the bowl, set it aside. “He claims to have seen Berend and Merek near the market square. He said Berend pushed Merek and blocked his hand when he lifted it to strike back. Merek cursed him and turned to walk off, but Berend grabbed him by the shoulder, said something, then shook him and let him go.”
Such detail. Kate would like to talk to the baker.
“Once the sheriffs were involved it was impossible to keep it quiet,” said Elric. “So Berend will find it difficult to stay hidden, and the sheriffs will be eager to lock him in the castle.”
Kate closed her eyes against the image, but that only made it more vivid.
“I pointed out to the sheriffs that Merek seems to have fought, his knife and hand, even his wrist were bloody as if he’d gotten in at least one serious thrust. So if Berend is not wounded …” Elric shrugged. “It is all I can argue at the moment.”
“What can I do?” asked Jennet.