The Riverwoman’s Dragon
- Автор: Робб Кэндис
- Серия: Owen Archer #13
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: Severn House
- ISBN: 978-1-4483-0563-6
- Жанр: Исторические детективы
Электронная книга - «The Riverwoman’s Dragon». Краткое содержание книги:
When the wise woman Magda Digby is suspected of murder, Owen Archer sets out to prove her innocence in this intricately plotted medieval mystery.
May, 1375. Owen Archer returns from London to find York in chaos. While the citizens are living in terror of the pestilence which is spreading throughout the land, a new physician has arrived, whipping up fear and suspicion against traditional healers and midwives. With the backing of the new archbishop, he is especially hostile towards Magda Digby, the wise woman who has helped and healed the people of York for many years. At the same time, Magda is uneasy about the arrival of two long-lost kinsfolk. Though they say they are seeking her help, she senses a hidden agenda.
Magda’s troubles deepen when she discovers a body in the river near her home – and finds herself under suspicion of murder. Days later, fire rips through a warehouse in the city. Amongst the charred debris lies the body of a man – not burned, but stabbed in the back. Could there be a connection to the corpse in the river?
Determined to prove Magda’s innocence, Owen sets out to find answers – but the more he uncovers, the deeper the mystery becomes…
When almost level with Magda Digby’s rock they came upon the grieving clerk Carn had mentioned, sitting on a log by the side of the road as if overcome. Brother Michaelo offered a prayer.
‘A dark time for us all,’ said Owen.
The man kept his head down as he muttered a benedicite.
At the edge of the wood Owen guided his horse behind a tree so that he might watch as the mourner rose and started running toward his fellows in the cart. Seeing he meant to warn them, Owen spurred his horse to chase down the man, leaning over to grab him by the tunic and yank him up across his pommel, which pressed into the man’s middle, forcing the breath out of him. He lay quiet while Owen rode back to join Michaelo.
‘Does he breathe?’ Michaelo asked.
‘With difficulty. But he will not ride long.’
Michaelo crossed himself as he guided his horse to Owen’s blind side without needing to be reminded.
‘What am I looking for?’ he asked.
‘Tracks of a cart. Anything else that might suggest whether they are alone. If it seems of note to you, tell me.’
Not far from where he’d left Nip and the cart, Einar came upon what looked like a tall hedge of holly. As he stepped through it he experienced an inexplicable sense of coming home. The track became soft beneath his boots with a cushion of old leaves fallen from great oaks and willows. He spied two boys filling buckets at a stream.
The elder stood up sharp when he noticed Einar and demanded to know who he was.
‘I am Einar. My kinswoman Magda Digby asked me to bring this cloth to your house. Is it far?’
‘The cloth!’ The younger grinned from ear to ear. ‘We’re all to have new tunics. I’ll lead you. It’s not far.’
Attempting to run, the lad made the water slosh so wildly in the bucket that Einar offered to carry it, but the lad laughed and slowed down. The hedge and the ancient trees within encircled a glade green with grass and moss, a carpet that heaved up in the middle to create an earthen house. In front of the open doorway sat a man whittling.
‘Dame Magda sent me,’ he called out. ‘I am Einar, her kinsman, and I come bearing cloth.’
‘Welcome! My wife will be pleased. But you were not followed?’
Einar laughed at that. ‘Only if they received Dame Magda’s instructions, and believed them.’
The man nodded his head. ‘I am Fergus.’ He shifted the leg that stuck out straight at an odd angle for comfort. When Einar realized that he could not rise without the walking stick leaning behind him, he offered to carry the cloth inside.
A woman appeared at the door, older than the man, sweet of face but with frightened eyes. ‘Who is this, Fergus?’
Explaining, with Einar’s help, Fergus convinced her – Lettice, he called her – that Einar was a friend to them, and Magda’s kinsman.
‘May God watch over you,’ she said at last. ‘And may he bless you and Dame Magda for your kindness.’
She held out her arms for the cloth, which Einar still balanced on his shoulder.
‘It’s heavy. Where shall I set it down?’ he asked.
She’d begun to argue with him when a younger woman appeared in the doorway carrying an infant.
‘Do stand aside and permit the young man to place that heavy load on the table,’ she said with a smile in her voice.
Lettice obliged. Inside the doorway Einar paused, amazed by the space. A girl laughed at his expression.
‘It’s magic!’ she said as Einar set the pack on the table.
‘Now you know that Dame Magda does not like that talk of magic,’ said the woman holding the infant. As she spoke, the thin cry of another infant rose up from somewhere in the depths of the remarkable house. ‘She is jealous that I am carrying her twin sister. I must go to her. Bless you.’ She smiled at Einar. ‘I pray you give our thanks to Dame Magda. Will she be here later today?’
‘If you need her, I will make certain that she has word,’ he said. ‘I will sit with her daughter while she is out.’
‘I would be grateful,’ said the woman. ‘I pray you tell her that Helen’s milk is slow.’ She blushed to say it.
‘I will, Dame Helen,’ said Einar.
The woman thanked him and withdrew into another room. How large is this house? Einar wondered.
‘Sit with her daughter?’ Lettice said. ‘What is wrong with Dame Asa?’
‘She was beaten by the leech A– Bernard.’
‘God help us,’ she whispered. ‘Is it bad in the city?’
‘With the sickness folk are fearful. Priests have spoken out against the midwives and other women healers. Dame Asa and others have been attacked.’
‘May God have mercy on us all. Has Mistress Wilton closed her apothecary?’
‘No. And the bailiffs have men on watch to prevent more attacks.’
‘We are most fortunate to be here,’ said Fergus, leaning on his walking stick in the doorway, one arm round the young girl.
Einar apologized for speaking of trouble in front of the child.
‘No need,’ said Fergus. ‘She understands that the world is not always friendly, do you not, Tess?’
The girl nodded, but Einar saw the fear in her eyes. He knelt to her. ‘You are safe here, little one. Without Dame Magda’s instructions I would never have found you. Never.’
‘Why is she kind to us?’ Tess asked.
‘She is kind to all.’
He was rewarded with a little smile, which warmed him.
Not far into the woods Owen paused to listen, then softly made the sound of an owl. Alfred and Stephen emerged from behind a great tree, leading horses.
Michaelo sighed with relief.
‘Who is this slung across your lap?’ Stephen asked.
‘Meant trouble to Dame Magda,’ said Owen. ‘Truss him up, gag him, and leave him where you waited. We can fetch him on our return.’
The man found breath enough to cry out as Stephen yanked him down off Owen’s horse. But he was quickly gagged and bound and left to enjoy the soft rain that had begun to fall. The tree would protect him from most of the moisture.
The four continued on until they encountered a pair of woodsmen bowed beneath loads of kindling. When asked they mentioned passing several carts heading north, but only one with women.
‘Two of them, one crying so pitifully,’ one of the men said. ‘Grieving for her husband, so said the man escorting her.’
They had passed them a while back. Since then only a man and his son with a farm cart, and a young man with a donkey cart. The latter had a bow and quiver of arrows, like Owen.
Vigilant for men laboring under such heavy burdens. Owen nodded to Stephen, who moved to block their way. Alfred dismounted, handing Owen his reins. As one of the men scuttled to the side Owen caught him and shoved him to the ground. His partner tried to shrug off his load and run, but Stephen used his horse to pin the man against a tree. Alfred’s cursory search of the packs revealed bows, arrows, and torches. Within moments the pair were trussed, gagged, and tucked away, their loads sorted for items best not to leave near them.
‘We’ll need a cart for all the miscreants,’ Michaelo muttered.
‘The nights are mild. We might let them sleep beneath the stars.’ Owen handed Alfred his reins and moved on.
Michaelo hurried to join him on his blind side. ‘Am I still to be watching for signs of a cart?’
‘Yes.’
They rode in silence, Stephen and Alfred riding single file behind.
‘Why would Gavin Wolcott risk so much and involve so many merely to steal the goods that would have come to him by right?’
‘If folk guessed that the children born to Beatrice were his, not his father’s, including the one she now carries, he would lose his good standing in the city. The deaths of the two little ones in the autumn would be seen as God’s judgement.’