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.
“Which was why I wanted Horner’s home watched,” said Kate. “And Merek’s lodgings. Do you have someone at Merek’s?” she asked Elric.
He was not certain. He would see to it.
“I know the woman who keeps his lodgings,” said Bess. “Goodwife Mary will cooperate with you. She likes life tidy and lawful. I will send word that she tell you of anyone attempting to trespass.”
All three fell silent. Lille and Ghent shifted beneath the table, settling deeper into their slumber. It had been a long day for them.
“Berend was seen with Merek earlier in the evening, then intervened on his behalf when he found Horner attacking him,” Elric said softly, as if to himself, as he helped himself to more brandywine. “Why then would he return to slit his throat?” Settling back, he said, “I will send to Sheriff Hutton for more men. We need to scour York for Parr and Sawyer. That Jennet’s tribe has been unable to sniff them out makes me uneasy.”
“Who killed Merek, that is what we need to know,” said Bess. “And Horner. We need to prove Berend’s innocence.”
“The fact that no one has noticed blood on Berend’s clothing is not proof that he is innocent,” said Elric. “I need to examine him, see whether he is so well bandaged it does not show.”
Kate agreed. Berend might have rid himself of his bloody clothing. And what of the casket of jewels and gold that sat at Elric’s elbow?
As if he could hear her thoughts, Elric drew the casket from the leather pouch and set it on the table. “We also need to know what Berend was doing with this.”
Bess reached out to touch the casket. “You have opened this?” Elric nodded. “Berend had this?”
“I cannot otherwise explain how the hounds tracked it,” said Kate.
As Elric was describing how it had been placed in a large crate tucked back in a corner of the warehouse, out of the way, he lifted the lid, revealing the contents.
“Mary and all the saints,” Bess whispered. “I never took him to be a thief.”
“What of Merek?” asked Elric. “Is it possible that Berend found it in Merek’s belongings and hid it?”
“And the warehousemen had not noticed it?” Bess looked at him askance. “He took a risk with the men. And John Paris.”
Kate thought it time they saw exactly what was in the casket. “Is it safe to examine the contents here, with your servants coming past?” They sat in an alcove opened to the passage between the kitchen and the public room.
The old woman lifted her cane and pointed toward a folded wooden screen leaning against the far wall. “I use that to afford myself privacy when I am doing the accounts and do not wish to be disturbed. It is sufficient to hide us from prying eyes. Sir Elric?”
He had already risen, and with Kate’s help, they drew it across the opening while Bess used one lamp to light two others.
“Now,” she said, her expression one of gleeful anticipation as she plucked a cloth from a nearby shelf and shook it out, laying it on the table, smoothing it. “Let us see what we have.”
Kate, still standing, began to lift items from the casket and place them on the cloth. A gold ring, several gold chains, including the one with the swan pendant, a jeweled crispinette – diamonds, a small pouch of pearls, the bag of coins, both gold and silver, from various countries, and a small pouch bearing a crest, a trio of red diamonds quartered with green eagles.
“Salisbury’s coat of arms,” said Elric, shaking his head. “I am sorry to see this.”
So was Kate. She fumbled with the knotted leather tie, finally tipping the contents out onto the cloth. A signet ring with the initials JM, and a delicate gold ring with a ruby in a heart-shaped setting.
“A posey ring?” Kate wondered, lifting the ruby ring and holding it close to the light to read the inscription encircling it. “C’est mon désir.” She glanced up.
Bess asked if she might see the posey ring, squinting at it as she turned it this way and that, light glinting off its many facets. “A man’s ring, and his wife’s? Why would Berend have possession of these?”
Elric frowned over the coat of arms and the signet ring. “JM for John Montagu, Earl of Salisbury. He entrusts one of his men to hide a treasure that will support him in exile. It is a common practice. The posey is a love token. Included to remember his beloved while they are apart?”
“And you believe this was Berend’s mission?” asked Kate. “To hold this treasure for his lord’s son?”
“It would explain part of his travels,” said Elric. “Not all. How he managed to protect this … Fortune was on his side.”
“No longer,” Bess whispered. “This looks ill for our friend.”
Indeed it did. Kate collected the rings and pouch and put them aside, reaching for a leather bag that lay beneath the hoard. Inside was yet another pouch, this one of silk, holding …
“Lady Margery’s jewels,” she whispered, recognizing the necklaces, a ring, a bracelet, a gold circlet, two crispinettes, one gold with diamonds, one silver with sapphires. All items she remembered her friend wearing. “What are they doing here?”
“You said Berend denied being with Lady Margery?” Elric asked Kate.
“He did not admit to it.”
“He did not wish to lie to you.” Elric looked Kate in the eye.
As she disliked lying to Elric. Remorse choked her. A casket with jewels belonging to Lady Margery and to the Earl of Salisbury. What could it signify but that she or Lord Kirkby had joined the rebels? And Kate was hiding her. God have mercy. And somehow Merek and Horner discovered it?
“Is it possible that this is what Merek and Horner died for?” she asked. “The wealth in this casket, and what it might reveal?”
“People have been murdered for far less,” said Elric. “Or Salisbury might have entrusted Merek with this, to hand over to Berend, and when it came to that, he was reluctant …”
All three pairs of eyes met over the sparkling hoard. Mystified. Saddened. Frightened.
“No,” said Kate. “No. The Berend I know would not murder Merek and Horner to silence them about this.”
“Of course not,” Bess said, sounding far more certain than Kate. “We’ve no time for riddles. Sir Elric will confront Berend, find out how he came to possess this. But first we must hide it. Somewhere safe. I certainly do not want it under my roof.”
“Katherine?” Elric looked at her.
She knew of one woman adept at hiding gold – her mother. But would she agree? Even more to the point, would moving it to the Martha House endanger her mother and the beguines?
“What about the house of your cousin, soon to be mayor?” Bess asked quietly, so as not to be overheard. “They say his home is a fortress, guarded night and day, and surely he has a place where he hides the jewels Isabella so loves to flaunt.”
“I must think.” Kate put Margery’s jewels back in the silk pouch, tucked that into the leather pouch, and returned it to the casket, layering the rest on top. She closed the lid and slipped the casket into the leather pouch Elric held open.
“I will escort you home,” he said.
“My house is not far from here. And I have Lille and Ghent. You have a more pressing task – you must go to the castle, talk to Berend. He might be able to explain.”
“They will permit you to see him, won’t they?” asked Bess. “Westmoreland’s captain in the city?”
“They would not risk either the king’s or my earl’s ire by denying me,” Elric assured them. “I pray I find some answers. And no open wounds on Berend.”
“Amen,” Kate whispered.
“Find out who has murdered two men and pointed the finger at Berend,” said Bess. “And God help you if you fail, Elric of Bigod,” she growled. To Kate, she said, “Trust Sir Elric. You need his help.” With a nod, she rose, cautious not to disturb Lille and Ghent. “I would not have believed it had I not witnessed it myself. You trained them well.”