The Merchant's Partner

by Michael Jecks

  “Harold?” There was a faint sneer on her face at this. “Oh, no. Harold didn’t tell me. No, but there’s been a few he did tell. Like Stephen de la Forte. He told me.”

  “What exactly did he say?” asked Simon gently.

  She frowned in concentration. “When was it? Oh, yes.” Her brow cleared a little and she glanced up at Simon quickly, looking as if she wanted to confirm that he was concentrating. “It was at the inn. Maybe… Maybe a month or so ago. He was laughing and joking about his friend, that is, Harold. Harold wasn’t there at the time, and Stephen said that he was out with his new lover. He said that her husband was a fool to be cuckolded like that by Harold, but he said there’s no fool like an old one. Stephen said he wished his friend good luck, and drank a toast to him. Well, as you can imagine, we all wanted to know. We asked him who it was, and at first he refused to answer, but later, when there was only a few of us left, he swore us all to silence, and then told us.”

  “He actually said who it was?” asked Simon.

  “Well, he hinted. But it was impossible to miss who he was talking about. He said it was a woman he knew, someone married to a man close to him, someone wealthy, living close to the village. It could only be Mrs. Trevellyn.”

  “Do you think it was her, then?”

  She looked up with a fire of bitterness glinting angrily in her eyes. “Who else? She hated her husband, everyone here knew that. And it’s not surprising either, the way he treated her and his servants. I’m sure she loathed him enough to kill him or to have someone else do it for her. I’m sure it wasn’t Harold.”

  “You said,” Baldwin said pensively, “that you saw them at the woods. Did Sarah?”

  “Oh yes. She must have done. And she knew what the rumours were about Mrs. Trevellyn and Harold, too. So when we saw her in the trees on the way to the witch’s house, and then him at the roadway, she went quiet. She put the two together. Why else would they be there like that?”

  Now it was Simon’s turn to frown. “I don’t understand, do you mean that she was ill and…‘

  Jennie Miller gave a sudden harsh laugh. “Ill? It’s no illness to be with child, Bailiff!”

  He stared at her open-mouthed. “You… You mean the woman was pregnant? That she… She was to have Harold Greencliffs child? They went to the midwife to get her help with the delivery?” he stammered, but it was Baldwin who answered, with a tired kind of sigh to his voice.

  “No, Simon, not like that, anyway. I should have realised. It’s obvious, now I think about it. A midwife can be useful to a woman to help in bringing a child into the world, but she can also sometimes be of help in stopping a child, too. That was why there was yew in Kyteler’s cottage. Yew can be used to make a mixture that will make a pregnant woman lose her child. It forces a miscarriage.”

  When he looked at Jennie, she nodded. “Yes. I think that’s why Angelina Trevellyn was at the witch’s house: to lose the child she and Harold had produced.

  * * *

  They were both quiet as they rode away from the mill towards the road, and they had travelled some way before Simon dared to interrupt the knight’s thoughts. When he looked over at Baldwin, he could see that the knight was deeply troubled. The evidence of Jennie Miller had thrown the whole matter into a different light.

  “Well, Baldwin?” he asked as they turned into the Cotteys’ lane. “What do you think?”

  Looking up, the knight’s face registered a bleak sadness. He felt that the evidence was so overwhelming now that there was certainly good cause to doubt that the boy had confessed honestly. But what teased at his mind was why the boy should have admitted to a crime he had no responsibility for. And whether Angelina Trevellyn could have killed her own husband. It still seemed impossible somehow that such a beautiful woman could be capable of such a deed.

  But then his mind went back to the chronicles he had seen and read while he had been in Cyprus and other countries while he was still a member of the Order of the Temple. There were many examples there of women prepared to take up weapons, from women who killed and threatened to take control of lands they wanted, to others who were more subtle and devious in their approach. Alice of Antioch was one, Constance another. Both had tried to take over lands and rule them alone. It was possible that Angelina was struck from the same mould.

  “I have no idea, Simon,” he said heavily. “All I know is that it seems that there is some reason to doubt whether the boy Greencliff was truly responsible for the murders. And we need to hear from the lady herself why it was that she went to Agatha Kyteler’s house. I don’t know.”

  They had almost arrived at the cottage now, and Simon nodded thoughtfully as they made their way to the door, through the flocks of chickens that scrabbled at the dirt for any food missed by their sisters. Dismounting, he lashed his reins to a tree and banged once more on the front door. This time there was only a short pause before it was opened to show Sarah Cottey, whose eyebrows rose at the sight of her guests.

  “Sarah,” Simon said, “we have come to ask you about the day you went to the witch’s house again, and about Harold Greencliff.” To his horror, she immediately burst into tears.

  Baldwin was still on his horse, but swung down and walked over to join them with a grimace of sympathy twisting his mouth. Throwing a disdainful sneer at Simon, who stood staring at him with frank amazement at the response to his words, the knight barged past, took the girl by the shoulder and gently led her indoors.

  “Come on, Sarah. Don’t worry, we know most of it already. He helped her to a bench at the table and sat before her, holding her eyes with his, and she began to calm, sniffling. Eventually, rubbing at her nose and drawing in gulps of air, she glanced up at Simon, then began to weep again.

  “Come now, child,” Baldwin said. “We must know what really happened. Otherwise, you know what will happen, don’t you? Harold must die. He has admitted both killings. He has confessed to them both. You can’t believe he killed them. Tell us the truth.”

  Looking up, she found herself gazing into the knight’s dark eyes. Under that solid stare she found herself relaxing, as if she was becoming entranced by their deep brown depths. “He can’t have meant it. None of it.”

  “Meant what, Sarah?” the knight asked softly.

  “What he promised me,” she said, her eyes filling again with tears, one huge drop forming in her right eye and slowly descending like a feather dropping in a clear air. “He promised me he would marry me as soon as he could.”

  “When did he promise, Sarah?”

  “Months ago. He said he loved me, that he wanted to live with me for ever. But he was lying. I heard about him and that French cow, and how they were carrying on…‘

  “Where did you hear that?”

  “At the inn. They were all talking about it up there. But when I asked him about it, he said it was untrue! He said it was all lies, that he’d never seen her, there was nothing in it. He said he still wanted me?”

  Baldwin looked at her steadily as the tears fell in a constant drizzle, but he could almost feel her pain and it was only with an effort that he stopped himself from touching her to try to offer some comfort. “What happened to make you doubt him? Why did you think he was untrue to you?”

  “Because he was there! He was at the road to that woman’s house. I didn’t realise at the time, I couldn’t really see…‘

  “Did you see the woman in the trees? Did you see Mrs. Trevellyn?” Baldwin interrupted quickly, and saw with relief that he had brought her back to her story again.

  “Her? Oh, yes, I saw her! She was there in the trees, hiding a little back from the lane, dressed so clean and expensive, like a lady, she was. But she was still there for the same reason…” She broke off suddenly, and her eyes glanced away.

  “I think we know why she was there, Sarah,” said Baldwin. “You had gone there for the same reason before, hadn’t you?”

  Her head came up once more and she looked him full in the face with a kind of prid
e as she said, “Yes.”

  “Why did you think she was there at the time? Is that what you thought immediately, or did you think she was there for some other reason at first?”

  “I…‘ Her eyes lost their focus with the effort of recollection. ”I didn’t think anything at the time. I think it was just like seeing anyone. No, it was later, when I came to the lane and saw her horse there that I knew.“

  “What do you mean? Why?”

  “I never saw Harold, he had dropped back into the trees, but he must have been there holding the horse.”

  “Why do you say that? Surely it could have been anyone there holding her horse - she might have brought an hostler to do that. Why do you think it was Harold?”

  There was withering scorn in her eyes as she sneered at him. “Why? Because I may not have seen Harry at the time, but when I spoke to Jennie later, she admitted she saw him there, before he ducked back into the trees. He hid when he saw me. I’m not surprised he wanted to stay hidden from me.”

  Leaning back, Baldwin gazed at her with doubt. “So Harry Greencliff was definitely there - but as far as you could see, he was alone? You saw no one with him?”

  “That’s right. She must have been in the trees on the way to see Agatha by then. There was only one reason for him to be there - he was there to give her comfort after she had been to see Agatha. And then she killed the poor old woman.”

  “What?“ It was almost explosive the way in which the word forced itself from his lips.

  “Well, of course she did. Just like she killed her husband. And with both killings, she tried to blame other people!”

  “But why?”

  “Why?” Again he could see the disdain in her eyes. “Because when the witch knew she was pregnant, Mrs. Trevellyn had to kill her so that her secret was kept. Then she killed her husband too.”

  “Wait!” Baldwin held up a hand and sighed. This was becoming impossible, the suggestions and allegations were flying around too quickly for him to be able to think them through. “Why would Mrs. Trevellyn have killed the old woman? Surely she could rely on her to keep the thing quiet?”

  “Oh, I don’t think so. How could she trust the poor old dear to keep her mouth shut? It’s one thing for me, an unimportant woman, unmarried, I knew I could trust her. But her? Angelina Trevellyn? She had lots to lose.” Her head tilted and she looked as if she was giving the matter judicious consideration. “I imagine she never thought of killing her husband, but then she realised how easy it was after killing old Agatha, and then I suppose the next time her husband tried to threaten her, it seemed like the best thing to do.”

  Baldwin threw a glance of desperation at his friend, and Simon leaned forward. “Sarah, when you knew Harold, did he always carry a dagger?”

  “Yes, of course!”

  “What was it like?”

  “Just an ordinary ballock dagger. A thin blade with one sharp side. The handle was wooden, I think, and the sheath made of thick leather.”

  “And he always kept it with him?”

  “Yes. Of course he did.”

  “So it comes to this, then,” said Simon at last as they rode back to Furnshill Manor in the creeping darkness of the twilight. “We know that Mrs. Trevellyn was there. We think she was obtaining the same kind of medicine as Sarah, and she had some sort of reason to keep the witch quiet.”

  “But why did the boy run off? And why would he admit to the crime?”

  “Baldwin! If you were young and in love, wouldn’t you protect the woman of your dreams, even if you did think she could be a murderer?”

  Drawing up his horse, the knight stared at him. “What do you mean? That he thought she had done it?”

  “Yes!” Simon stopped his mount and turned to face Baldwin. “If you were him, and you had gone with her to see the witch, waiting for her with her horse, only to hear later that the witch had died around then, you’d wonder, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes, I’d wonder, but I wouldn’t run away immediately, though. Why did he do that?”

  “I don’t know, but I think the second time, after Alan Trevellyn had been killed, I think that was because he found out that the man had died. Maybe he came across the body in the snow? Or perhaps she told him she had done it and that revolted him so much that he decided to leave. The fact that he admitted to doing it seems to show that he was trying to protect her. After all, if he had not run away, if he had not confessed, it would not have been long before you and I began to wonder about her, would it? We would have to begin to think that she must have been involved, surely, after hearing about the way her husband used to beat her, and the way that she and the servants suffered.” ‘But the knife? It was covered in blood!“ ’Ah! There’s a simple reason for that, I’m sure.” ‘And why confess to doing it himself? That was madness!“ said Baldwin incredulously.

  “Why confess? That’s the easy part. Because he loves her! It may be misplaced, but he wanted to protect her because he still loves her!”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Entering the hall, they found an unkempt-looking Green-cliff tied to the beam of the middle of the floor, watched by an attentive Tanner who was reflectively drinking from a large pot of wanned ale and sitting by the fire. As the two men walked in, the constable stood quickly, conscious of his position compared with the two officers. Setting his drink aside, he greeted them.

  “Hello, Tanner,” said Baldwin, acknowledging the constable’s nod before turning to the huddled form of Harold Greencliff. Striding across the floor, he carefully seated himself in his favourite chair and fixed a narrow-eyed glower on the unfortunate man. Seeing the frown of concentration on his face, Simon grinned to himself as he crossed over to a bench nearby. He had seen that expression on the knight’s face before. It looked as if Baldwin was wearing a magisterial attitude of distaste, but the bailiff was sure that it was no more than a front to hide his bafflement.

  But as he sat, he caught a glimpse of something deeper. There was pain in his friend’s eyes, a pain that struck at the knight’s very soul, and Simon realised what was so affecting him. The knight was a man of honour, who would want only to see that the law should be upheld. He would not want to convict the wrong person and he would not want to let the guilty go free. But that may well mean that he must find this farmer innocent, and if so, there was only one conclusion: Angelina Trevellyn must be guilty. The Bourc had confirmed she was there.

  “Harold Greencliff, do you know why we had you brought here?” the knight began, and the shape by the beam stirred.

  To Simon it looked as if the youth was beyond fear. His pale face stared back at the knight, but without any apparent care. He seemed disinterested, unfeeling, as if whatever happened to him was irrelevant now. Nothing could shake him more than the events of the last few days. It was as if he had already decided that his life was forfeit, and that there was no point in even hoping for any reprieve. Seeing the look in the knight’s eyes, he appeared to recover a little, though, and struggled to get up, rising from a sprawl to kneel beside the post as if he was drunk and embracing a support. He nodded.

  “You have admitted to killing Agatha Kyteler and Alan Trevellyn. Do you still affirm your guilt?”

  “Yes.” It was said with a note of contempt, as if the knight should not have harboured any doubts.

  “When did you kill Agatha Kyteler? Was it after Angelina Trevellyn went to…‘

  “Leave Angelina out of this…‘ The pain of his expression and the suffering in his voice were all too obvious, and Simon nodded to himself. That barb touched a nerve, he thought.

  “Leave her out of it?” Baldwin’s voice was deceptively soft at first, but then it hardened as he leaned forwards and continued more harshly. “How can we leave her out of it when she must bear part of the responsibility? If you killed them both, you killed them for her. You murdered the old woman so that your secret should be safe and you murdered Trevellyn so that his wife could be free of him, didn’t you?”

  The b
oy stared at him, mouth gaping in shock as he slowly shook his head from side to side.

  “We know why Mrs. Trevellyn went to see Agatha Kyteler. We know that she went to get rid of the child she did not want.”

  “No.” It came as a low moan, but Baldwin continued doggedly.

  “She went there to keep her pregnancy secret, to hide it from her husband.”

  “No!”

  “And then your knife was used to kill Alan Trevellyn as well, I suppose because he found out about the secret. We know you were there with her at the time. We followed your trail back. Your knife was still covered in blood when Simon here arrested you.”

  The knight paused. The look on the boy’s face had become contemplative, and now a faint smile tugged at his lips. He nodded slowly. “Yes,” he said. “That’s what happened. I had to kill the witch after she realised that Mrs. Trevellyn was pregnant, and I had to kill Trevellyn when he heard about our visit to the witch.”