Revelation ms-4

by C. J. Sansom

  'Guy,' I said. 'Thank you for coming. Have I kept you waiting?' He stood up. 'I got here early.' He smiled gently. 'The residents seem to find me interesting.'

  'Let us go and see Adam.' I stepped to the door, keen to get Guy away from those curious eyes. Then one of the card-players, a tall woman in her forties, jumped to her feet, sending her chair crashing over, making me start violently.

  'Jane—' The other woman grabbed her arm, but she shook herself free, and stood before us. To my amazement she bent, took the hem of her skirt and lifted it up, revealing her privy parts, a bush of greying hair against white skin. She leered at us.

  'Shouldn't go without seeing this.' She laughed wildly. 'Oh, shame, wicked shame,' Cissy cried from the corner. The other card-players seized Jane's arms so that her skirt fell back into place. She began laughing hysterically.

  Guy laid a hand on my arm. 'Come,' he said. We stepped outside.

  'Dear God,' I said.

  From behind us Jane's wild laughter turned to tears as the others remonstrated with her, calling her wicked, a base whore. Guy shook his head. 'I could feel the suffering in that room while I waited, behind those people's curious eyes.'

  'You're about to see worse. Shawms!' I called out.

  The keeper did not reappear, but the woman Ellen emerged from a nearby room. A bunch of keys dangled from the belt of her grey smock. She stared at Guy for a moment, then turned to me.

  'What is it, sir? What's that noise in the parlour?'

  'One of the women made—' I felt myself reddening—'made an exhibition

  'Jane, I expect.' She sighed. 'Are you here to see Adam Kite? I'll let you in, then I must go to the parlour.'

  She led us to Adam's cell, opening the viewing hatch and looking in before unlocking and opening the door. I heard the rapid murmur of prayer from within.

  'He's as usual, sir,' she said. 'And now, I must see to the others.' With a quick curtsy, she turned and walked to the parlour, cutting off a hubbub of noise as she closed the door. The Chained Scholar seemed to have gone quiet.

  'A woman keeper,' Guy said. 'Remarkable.'

  'She at least seems to be kind to the patients. She warned me against Shawms. But now, we must go inside. I warn you, this is — bad.'

  'I am ready,' he answered quietly.

  I led the way in. The notice from the court had had an effect: the room smelt better, there was a small fire in the grate, fresh rushes were on the floor, and Adam wore clean clothes. But he was as before, a creature of skin and bone crouched in a corner, his back to us, praying quickly, desperately. 'God, please tell me I am saved, saved by Your grace

  Guy looked at Adam for a second, then hitched up his robe and crouched down beside him with a litheness remarkable in a man of his age. He looked into Adam's face. Adam gave him a quick sidelong look. His eyes widened a little as he registered Guy's unusual colour, but only for a moment, then he turned his head away and began praying again.

  Guy twisted his head to try and look into the boy's eyes. He waited till Adam paused for breath, and asked softly, 'Adam, why do you believe God has abandoned you?'

  Something flickered in Adam's eyes, and I saw that a connection had been made. 'No,' he whispered fiercely. 'If I pray, abase myself before Him, He will show me I am saved!’

  'Will you not rise? I would like to talk to you and I am too old to squat on a stone floor.' Gently, he reached out to take Adam's arm. At once the boy's face set hard, he clenched his teeth and curled his body tighter. Guy released him. 'All right,' he said quietly. 'The poor old man will just have to crouch.'

  'Who are you?' A whisper from Adam, the first words I had heard from him that were not frantic entreaties to the Deity.

  'I am a doctor. I want to find out why you think God has abandoned you.'

  'He has not,' Adam said fiercely.

  'But He will not give you assurance you are saved?'

  'Not yet. I have read the Bible and I pray, I pray.' Tears came to his eyes. 'But his assurance will not come.'

  'That is hard.'

  'Reverend Meaphon prayed with me for days, he fasted me as the Book prescribes. But I only fainted.'

  'You pray so hard,' Guy asked gently, 'would you hear God if He answered you?'

  Adam frowned, looked at Guy suspiciously. 'How could I not hear Him?'

  'Because of your fear that is so strong it drowns everything. Is it Hell you fear?'

  'The eternal burning,' Adam whispered, so low Guy had to bend close to him. 'Last night I had a dream.'

  'What was it?'

  'I was in a coach, such as rich persons are driven in. A black coach, four black horses pulling it. We were driving along a country lane, the fields brown and the trees bare. I wondered where I was being taken. Then we passed through a village and the people came out to their doorsteps and said, "He is being driven deeper into Hell. Deeper and deeper. Woe for the pains he will suffer, he is so bad he must be taken to the very depths!" I looked ahead and I saw a red glow on the horizon, felt a sulphurous heat.'

  'Who was driving the coach?' Guy asked.

  'I cannot remember.' Suddenly Adam broke down, sobbing desperately, tears running down his dirty face. Guy laid a hand on his shoulder. 'Cry,' he said. 'Yes.' And I saw deep sadness in his own eyes, Guy who had been so coldly rational about Roger, who had discussed his corpse's innards with his apprentice. I felt an unreasoning stab of anger.

  At length Adam's tears subsided. Again Guy tried to coax him to his feet, but still the boy resisted. 'I must pray,' he said, in tones of desperate exhaustion. 'Please, I have wasted time talking, I have to pray.'

  'Very well. But let me ask you a question. Why do you think God visits this suffering upon you? Do you think He has singled you out?'

  'No.' Adam shook his head vigorously, though he looked at the wall, not at Guy. 'All should fear the pains of Hell as I do. Burning, in agony, for ever and ever. In our church we know the truth, that is what awaits those who are not saved, who sin.'

  'And the other believers, Reverend Meaphon's congregation, are they sinners too?'

  'Yes, but they have all received God's assurance that they are forgiven, they are among the elect, the saved.'

  'But not you?'

  'No.' He turned full-face to Guy. 'I know I am not saved. Reverend Meaphon says it is a devil inside me. I must ask God, beg Him to release me from it. Save me. Now leave me. Leave me!' His sudden shriek made me jump. Adam turned back to the wall, began his dreadful intoning again. 'God hear my prayer I beseech You hear me . . .'

  Guy rose and inclined his head to me. I followed him outside. His expression was very angry.

  'Will you fetch the keeper here?' he asked me. 'The woman, not that oaf who is in charge;'

  'Very well.' I went up the corridor to the parlour. Here all was quiet again, Cissy sewing and the card-players gaming. Ellen had joined them at the table. I saw that Jane's face was red with tears. When she saw me she buried her head in her hands.

  'Mistress Ellen, Dr Malton would like a word,' I said awkwardly. The keeper rose, keys jangling at her waist, and led me outside.

  'I am sorry for Jane's exhibition,' she said, looking at me seriously. 'She is sorry now. But I am afraid the patients' disturbing ways are a penalty of being a visitor.'

  'I understand.'

  'We will have to watch her today, or she may hurt herself.'

  Guy was in the corridor, looking through the viewing hatch. He turned to Ellen with a smile. 'My friend says you have been kind to Adam.'

  Ellen reddened. 'I try to be.'

  'He is very ill.'

  'I know that, sir.'

  'It is vital he is kept locked up, he must not get out or he would make another exhibition of himself. But it is very important he is kept clean, and made to take food even if he struggles. And try, but only very gently, to distract him with practicalities, the need to eat and keep warm and so forth.'

  'As though he were mopish or melancholy, and needed to be lifted from his dumps; Bu
t it is much worse than that with Adam, sir.'

  'I know. But can you do that; Will the other keepers help you;'

  'Some will and some won't, sir. But I'll tell Keeper Shawms those are your instructions.' She smiled sardonically. 'He is afraid of Serjeant Shardlake.'

  'Good. Thank you.' Guy clapped me on the shoulder. 'Now come, Matthew, let us find somewhere to talk. For once I feel in need of strong drink.'

  WE FOUND a tavern nearby. I went to the bar-hatch and returned with a bottle of wine and two mugs. Guy was sitting frowning, preoccupied. 'That boy Adam noticed my colouring,' he said suddenly. 'There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes.'

  'Yes. I saw that.'

  'That gives me hope, that and getting him to talk, even if only for the shortest while. Because it shows he can be distracted from that praying.'

  'It is terrible seeing him. That story of being driven into Hell. . .'

  'He is suffering as much as anyone I have ever seen. Despair.' He frowned.

  'That place . . .' I shook my head.

  'Some, if they have no family to take care of them, are better off in the Bedlam. Otherwise they would beg in the cities or roam as wild men in the woods. Enough do. And Adam would be in danger outside.'

  'What did you think of him? His case seems desperate. Hopeless.' Guy pondered again. Then he said, 'Let me ask you something. What do you think Adam Kite feels about himself?'

  'That he is abandoned by God.'

  'That is what he feels about God. But about himself?'

  'That he is unworthy of God's love.'

  'Yes. He is a self hater. And there have been self-haters since the world began, people who believe they are unlovable.'

  'We must fight such notions with reason,' I said. 'Oh, come, Matthew.' Guy smiled. 'If only it were so simple.

  Our minds are ruled by passions more than reason. And sometimes they run out of control.' His eyes went blank for a moment, as they had been when he was sitting in the parlour, as though he were looking inward. He frowned, then continued. 'And why? Sometimes we learn to hate ourselves from early on.'

  'I suppose so.' As I had learned, through insults and rejection as a child, that to many my form was frightening and shameful.

  'And these radical churchmen must hate themselves more than anyone. Despite their ranting, they feel they are quite unworthy. If they are saved from Hell it is only through God's mysterious grace.'

  'When the end of the world comes. Any minute now, a lot of them say.'

  'There have always been churchmen forecasting the imminent Apocalypse. Though many more now amongst the radical congregations. And Adam was brought up in that setting. How did his parents say his illness started?'

  I told him what the Kites had related to me, that Adam had been a happy, outgoing child, until a while ago he became increasingly preoccupied, and thus descended to his present state. 'They are good folk,' I concluded. 'They are under the sway of their minister, a canting dogmatist called Meaphon, but concern for their son is leading them towards an independent stand, especially Adam's mother.'

  ‘I should like to meet them.' Guy stroked his chin. 'Something happened, something specific brought this on, I am sure. His dream is a clue. The people he saw from that coach said, "He is so bad, he is being taken to the depths." And I think he did know who was driving that coach in his dream. If I can find out who that was, that may help us on the path to saving him.'

  'You can set too much store by dreams, Guy.'

  'They are a guide to understanding. A way.' He shook his head. 'Strange to hear that poor pallid creature was once a strong, happy youth. But madness can distort the body as well as the mind.'

  'Will you visit him again?' I asked.

  'If you and his parents wish.'

  'Yes.' I looked at him curiously. 'I did not know that you had worked with the mad.'

  'It was part of an infirmarian's duties. And diseases of the mind have always interested me. Perhaps because there are so many different types, and no clear view as to what they are. There are those who say they are caused by an imbalance in the humours, a rush of bad humours to the brain.'

  'Like corrupted black bile rising to the brain and causing melancholy?'

  'Yes. Others see mental illness as caused by physical disorders in the brain, though no one has ever found any that I know of, apart from tumours, which kill.' He took a deep breath. 'And then there are those, like your friend Meaphon, who see some madness as possession by devils, which must be driven out.'

  'And which school do you incline to?'

  'I belong to another tradition, Matthew. The tradition of Vesalius, although he has had many intellectual forebears. An approach that starts not with the theory but with the disorder; examines it, studies it, tries to understand what it is. The crazy words and actions of the mad may hold secret clues to what is happening in their minds. And even with the mad one can sometimes use reason, commonsense.'

  'That old woman we saw in the parlour, Cissy, Ellen seems to treat her in that way, trying to bring her from her inner world into the everyday one, giving her simple sewing tasks to do.'

  'Yes, that may help with melancholies. Forcing the mind away from dark thoughts, into the everyday.'

  'I wonder,' I said, 'whether Roger's killer may be suffering some form of madness. To kill someone so brutally, apparently pointlessly.' Twice, I thought, but did not say, for I knew it could be dangerous for us both if I breached Cranmer's injunction not to tell Guy about Dr Gurney.

  'It is possible,' Guy said. 'Unless Master Elliard gave someone cause to take such a terrible revenge, which having met him, I doubt.'

  'That is impossible.' There was something I could ask him about, I realized. I took a draught of wine.

  'Guy, you said some of the monastic infirmarians used dwale. Do you know of any infirmarians in London who might have?'

  'I did not know them, Matthew. Remember I came to London from Sussex when my old monastery was dissolved.' He looked me. 'You are thinking of those monks who were driven out of their wits when they were thrown out of the monasteries;'

  'Yes,' I admitted.

  'Then I should tell you that the use of dwale was mainly restricted to the Benedictines. And the only Benedictine foundation that had an infirmary in London was Westminster Abbey. But as I said before, its use is not a secret.'

  'Its expert use:'

  'There may be many healers who still use it.' I could see that Guy found the whole idea of Roger's killer being an ex-monk distasteful as well as improbable.

  'Its basis is opium, is it not: Poppies would need to be grown and cultivated. Whoever it is would need to have a garden.'

  'True. Though many grow poppies in their gardens for their bright colour. And I myself grow them in my herb garden to make opium.'

  I wished I could tell him this was not just a matter of finding someone with the motive to kill Roger. Again, I hoped fervently that Barak and Harsnet had caught him already.

  'How is Mistress Elliard:' Guy asked.

  'Bereft.'

  'You are fond of her.'

  'She has always been my friend.'

  'A woman of courage, I think.'

  'Yes, she is.' I thought, with frustration, I cannot tell Dorothy the full story either. I drained my wine.

  'I have to go,' I said. 'Thank you, Guy, for seeing Adam. I will arrange for you to see him again, and meet his parents. Will you come to the court hearing next week, give evidence as to his state of mind, asking that he be kept in the Bedlam for now?'

  'Yes, I will. May I bring Piers?' I gave him a look of surprise. 'I want the boy to see all aspects of the physician's work. I know he is only an apprentice apothecary, but he has a very good mind. I am thinking of sponsoring him to study as a physician.'

  'Could you afford that?'

  'It would not be easy. But my earnings are growing since I have been accepted as a physician myself, and I still have my pension as an ex-monk. And poor people with ability deserve to find sponsors, to f
ind patrons, do they not?' His look was challenging.

  I was taken aback. That would be a huge investment for Guy. I met his look, realizing to my shame that I was jealous. For a long time I had been Guy's only friend.

  I HURRIED HOME through the busy streets, for it would soon be curfew-time. Barak was waiting for me in chambers. He was towelling his hair, which like his clothes was soaking wet. Skelly had gone home.

  'No luck?' I asked.

  'We waited till it got dark, then came away. That bastard was crouching in those reeds all day, he's got away now.' He frowned. 'How did you know?'

  'Just a feeling.'

  'Harsnet's furious with himself, said he should have left us two there to watch and roused some of the Westminster constables to flush him out. He hadn't believed anyone could have sat it out in those cold marshes all day.' He raised his eyebrows. 'He said it was as though the man was spirited away by a devil.'

  'That's all we need.'

  'He's right that it would take something to lie out there all day without making a noise. I couldn't do it.'

  'We know how determined this creature is,' I said. 'But how did he know we would be there to look at where Dr Gurney was found; That is what worries me.'

  'And me,' Barak said with feeling.

  We sat silent for a minute, then Barak asked, 'How was Adam Kite;'

  'Mad. I hope Guy can help him, but I don't know.'

  'Well, I've some news at least. I sent word to Gib Rooke, and he sent a reply, at once, by one of his children. He'll meet us at his house tomorrow, tell us about that killing in Lambeth last winter.'

  Out on those marshes again. But the news lifted me, it was something positive to do after a day of horrors. 'Thank you, Jack,' I said. 'You should get off home. Tamasin will be worried about you.'

  'I'm seeing some old friends for a drink tonight,' he said brusquely.

  When he had gone I went into my room. Poor Tamasin, I thought. And poor Dorothy, I must look in on her before I went home. I saw a sheaf of papers with the Court of Common Pleas seal on my desk, more work. Outside the rain had begun again, pattering on the windows.