The Anger of God

CHAPTER 11

Athelstan felt sorry, for all the life seemed to have gone out of old Cranston. He just stood scratching his bald pate like a little boy caught stealing apples.

‘Come on, Sir John,’ Athelstan whispered. ‘I’ll be with you. Lady Maude will scarcely lay a hand on Holy Mother Church.’

‘Domina Maude would challenge God himself if she thought the cause was right!’

Cranston blinked, drew in his breath, pushed Leif aside and walked like a condemned felon into his house. In the doorway he stopped for one last generous swig then, raising his fingers to his lips, tiptoed down the passageway and peered into the kitchen.

‘Be still!’ The Lady Maude stood by the table. Gog and Magog sat like two carved statues before her. Domina Maud was in full spate, giving the dogs a pithy lecture about the rules of the house. Athelstan, peering over Cranston’s shoulder, could see that both wolf hounds were as terrified of Domina Maude as their newfound master was. Behind the dogs Boscombe stood fixed like a candlestick, now and again nodding his head in approval of every word the Lady Maude uttered. Cranston coughed and walked into the kitchen. Lady Maude turned. She was only just over five foot high.

Athelstan had never before met a woman who could seem to be twice her height.

‘Sir John,’ she cried sweetly. ‘I arrived home early.’

Cranston gingerly walked forward, his beaver hat clenched in his hands.

‘Lady wife,’ he stammered, ‘you are most welcome. And the poppets?’

‘Upstairs with their nurse, sleeping soundly. And no, Sir John,’ as Cranston turned, ‘you will leave them at peace. I decided to return,’ she walked forward, ‘because I missed you, Sir John.’ She smiled. ‘And good news! My brother Ralph, his wife and children might be joining us after Michaelmas.’

Cranston daren’t let his fixed smile slip.

‘Oh, rat’s arse!’ he breathed.

Lady Maude came closer. She stood on tip-toe and kissed her husband on either cheek before turning to clasp Athelstan’s hand. The friar saw the merriment dancing in the little woman’s eyes.

‘Sir John has been behaving himself, Father?’

‘A man of righteousness, Lady Maude.’

Her smile widened at the gentle sarcasm in Athelstan’s voice. Cranston stood stock-still, staring at Gog and Magog then at Boscombe. The dogs ignored him, their eyes on Lady Maude, whilst Boscombe gazed glassily back.

‘You have met our visitors, Lady Maude?’

‘Visitors!’ his wife cried. ‘Sir John, they are part of our family. Master Boscombe is a rare jewel.’

‘And the dogs?’

‘They now know their place, as should everyone in this house.’

Cranston stiffened even further at the hint of warning in his wife’s words. Maude suddenly gripped Sir John’s hand.

‘You are a kind and generous man,’ she’ whispered. ‘I would have been angry if you had done any other. How could a man like Boscombe be turned into the streets and two of God’s beautiful creatures be cruelly destroyed? I do not like my Lord Regent, and Boscombe has told me about the business at the Guildhall.’

Cranston shot a glance at him. The servant had been sworn not to utter one word about the attack in the alleyway. Boscombe, still glassy-eyed, shook his head imperceptibly. Cranston relaxed and, seeing how the wind blew, took off his cloak, threw it over the table and embraced his wife in a bear-like hug.

This was the signal for all chaos to break out. The dogs started howling, Boscombe became solicitous. The Lady Maude insisted on Cranston sitting in his high-backed chair, Athelstan opposite him, whilst she served ‘Her Lord and Master’ with suitable refreshment.

At last the confusion died down. Sir John and Athelstan exchanged news and gossip with Lady Maude. A perspiring maid brought down the two poppets to bawl lustily at their father, who dangled them on his knees, turning both even more red-faced with fury. Athelstan gazed at the strapping babies, then admiringly at Lady Maude: he secretly wondered how such a delicate little thing could have given birth to what he privately considered to be the burliest babies he had ever seen. They looked like peas out of the same pod, even more so now, with their fat cheeks and balding heads.

Gog and Magog came over to sniff, nudge and lick — until even Cranston, who revelled in such loving chaos, declared enough was enough and beat a retreat to his Chancery. Once he and Athelstan were inside what Cranston termed his ‘sanctuary’, the Coroner leaned back against the door and mopped his sweating brow.

‘God save us!’ he whispered. ‘Thank God the Domina chose to be merciful. Believe me, Brother, old Jack Cranston is afeared of nothing except Domina Maude’s fury.’

Not to mention Ferox and Bonaventure, Athelstan silently added, but kept his own counsel.

‘Now,’ Cranston declared, ‘let’s look amongst my records.’ He threw back the lid of a huge, iron-bound coffer and dug like a great dog, sending pieces of parchment flying over his shoulder. Cranston muttered to himself, cursing as he unrolled one scroll after another only to toss it aside.

‘At last!’ he crowed in triumph, squatting on the floor with his back to the wall. He read the scroll, greedily studying its contents, now and again crying out and slapping his thigh.

‘Dirty little secrets!’ He tossed the parchment down and rubbed his hands. ‘And old Jack knows them.’ He got up, threw the parchment at Athelstan and went to the top of the stairs to bellow at Boscombe.

‘Go up to the Guildhall,’ he ordered. ‘Tell My Lord Mayor and the Guildmasters that the Lord Coroner wishes to have words with them immediately about Master Sturmey’s secrets.’ He grinned at the whey-faced servant. ‘Don’t look so bloody frightened! You just tell them what I said and watch their faces. I’ll be in the council chamber within the hour.’

Cranston returned to restore order to his room whilst Athelstan sat on a stool, reading the parchment.

‘I can’t believe this,’ he muttered.

‘Oh, yes.’ Cranston grinned evilly down at him.

‘Where there’s wealth, there’s sin. And they were all involved one way or the other.’

Athelstan read on. The parchment was two foot long, the writing small and cramped: it encapsulated memoranda, reports, messages and accounts. Athelstan had to take it over to the window to study it more closely.

‘Did you notice another name, Sir John?’

‘Who?’

‘A Master Nicholas Hussey, a chorister at St Paul’s.’

Cranston went over and studied the line just above Athelstan’s finger.

‘Devil’s bollocks!’ he breathed. ‘Brother, you are right.’

Athelstan read on. Boscombe returned, grinning from ear to ear, to say the Guildmasters and the Mayor would see Sir John immediately. Cranston, snorting like a bull, seized his cloak and almost ran downstairs, shouting his farewells to the Lady Maude. He walked up Cheapside with a wicked smile on his face. Athelstan hurried behind, still trying to finish reading the report, but at last he gave up and put the scroll into his leather writing bag.

‘I am going to enjoy this,’ Cranston breathed. ‘Just watch their faces, Athelstan.’

The Mayor and Guildmasters were waiting in the council chamber. Athelstan noticed how the servants were dismissed and no refreshments were offered as Cranston and he were summarily invited to sit at the great oval table. Goodman looked even more pop-eyed and anxious. Sudbury and Bremmer were visibly sweating. Marshall scratched his bald head and wouldn’t meet their eyes whilst Denny had dropped any foppish manners and stared fixedly at Sir John like some terrified rabbit confronted by a stoat.

Goodman cleared his throat. ‘Sir John, you wished to see us?’

‘Too bloody straight I do!’ Cranston leaned his great arms on the table. ‘Let’s not beat about the bush. Master Sturmey the locksmith was hired to build a special chest to hold the gold bars. It was furnished with six different locks. Each of you held a key but the gold has been taken, Sturmey’s dead, and before you ask, yes, he was murdered because someone forced him to make a second set of keys.’ Cranston wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘Now you may ask why? What would force a reputable merchant like Sturmey to become involved in robbery and treason? The lure of gold? No, Sturmey wasn’t like that. Advancement? No, sirs. He was the victim of blackmail.’

The Mayor and Guildmasters stared at Cranston like a line of felons before a hanging judge.

‘Fifteen years ago,’ he began, ‘I was a junior Coroner in Cordwainer and Farringdon. Surely, Sir Christopher,’ Cranston smiled at the Mayor, ‘you recall my days in office, for you too were a law officer? There was a scandal, was there not? Certain allegations laid before the King’s Council about powerful merchants being involved in the carnal seduction of choir boys and pages at St Paul’s Cathedral? Surely you all remember it well?’ Cranston cleared his throat. ‘Two merchants were hanged, drawn and quartered for these filthy practices caused the death of one young boy. Now,’ Cranston leaned back, holding his hands across his stomach, ‘the investigation led to a number of well-heeled, powerful burgesses being questioned and this list included the late Sir Gerard Mountjoy, the late Sir Thomas Fitzroy, Philip Sudbury, Alexander Bremmer, Hugo Marshall and James Denny.’

‘We were innocent!’ Bremmer snapped. ‘Prattling gossip from malicious tongues!’

‘I never said any different,’ Cranston replied. ‘Except there’s one other name — Peter Sturmey, locksmith. Anyway, the investigation was eventually brought to an end, otherwise every gallows in the city would have blossomed with its rotting fruit. Now, during this investigation, Sturmey, against whom no charges were brought, revealed the existence of a male brothel in an alleyway off Billingsgate. Well, sirs, I ask you to reflect on this. First, the names I have just listed are all involved in this present business. Second, Sturmey, also involved, has been found murdered, floating off the quayside near Billingsgate.’

‘Come to the point,’ Goodman said softly.

‘Oh, I think it’s obvious,’ Athelstan spoke up. ‘Of course, everyone here was innocent of the charges levelled fifteen years ago. However, Sturmey was guilty at least in the eyes of God. Once the scandal blew over, he kept silent. He worked hard at his trade, at which he was very good, but kept up his secret life. The years passed. Sturmey’s reputation as a locksmith grew and he was entrusted with this special task. Unfortunately, someone remembered the past, kept a close eye on Master Sturmey, and realized he was still living a double life.’

‘My clerk has the truth of it,’ Cranston continued. ‘Sturmey was blackmailed on two counts: on the past but, more importantly, on the present. He probably fashioned a second set of keys out of fear and, on the day he died, was summoned to Billingsgate, a place our locksmith knew very well, for what he thought was his final meeting with the blackmailer.’ Cranston spread his hands. ‘The rest you know. The blackmailer had no intention of allowing Sturmey to talk. He had served his purpose and was brutally murdered. We do not know the name of the murderer nor how he stabbed Sturmey and tossed his body into the river.’

‘So,’ Marshall squeaked, ‘what has this to do with us, Sir John?’

‘Well, you all know the scandal lurking in Sturmey’s past. He was hired at your insistence to build the chest and fashion the locks and…’

‘And what?’ Sudbury snapped, leaning forward. ‘Are you implying, Sir John, that one of us, some of us or all, are involved in treason, blackmail and murder?’

Cranston smiled falsely. ‘Sir, I did not say that. All I am doing is describing the facts. But, yes, now you have raised the matter, I will ask you, were any of you in Billingsgate the day Sturmey died? Or did any of you visit him secretly?’

A chorus of defiant nos greeted Cranston’s questions. Nevertheless, the Guildmasters looked so relieved Athelstan suspected they had a great deal to hide whilst Goodman looked embarrassed. After all, Athelstan reflected, he had known about Sturmey’s past and yet had gone along with the rest, choosing the dead locksmith as their craftsman.

‘Other people knew,’ Denny spoke up. ‘Why question only us?’

‘Who else knew?’ Cranston retorted. ‘His Grace the King was not yet born, my Lord Regent was only a boy and the Council would protect his ears from such scandal. I have a copy of the investigation and I don’t suppose any other record exists. So, yes, please tell me, who else knew?’ Cranston shrugged. ‘Perhaps other people did but they are not powerful Guildmasters, they are not witnesses to treason, the robbery of treasure, the murder of one of their colleagues, not to mention the secret assassination of a London Sheriff.’ Cranston pushed back his chair and got to his feet. ‘But I tell you this, sirs, old Jack Cranston will dig out the truth and justice will be done.’

Once outside the Guildhall he clapped his hands with glee.

‘The buggers are frightened,’ he chortled. ‘Lord, Brother, you can smell their fear.’

‘What happens,’ Athelstan asked, ‘if these murders have more to do with ancient crimes than the ambitions of the Regent or the dark designs of Ira Dei?’

Cranston shook his head. ‘No, those men, Athelstan, are gluttons for power. They are neck deep in vice. Corruption is their second name. Old sins play a part here but only as a device rather than the cause. Mark my words.’ Cranston smiled. ‘I have shaken the apple tree. God knows what may fall down!’

The Coroner peered across the market place. ‘Let’s leave this matter,’ he breathed. ‘Tomorrow is Saturday and I must play dalliance with the Lady Maude. You have my manuscript?’

Athelstan nodded.

‘Then keep it. Study it carefully, Brother.’

Athelstan vowed he would and, with Sir John’s salutations ringing in his ears, made his way back down the Mercery, across London Bridge and into Southwark.

Benedicta was waiting for him in the priest’s house. She looked rather subdued.

‘I took the girl Elizabeth and her nurse Anna to the Friar Minoresses. The sisters were good and kind, even though the two were hysterical. Elizabeth calls her father and step-mother assassins: she claims the truth was revealed to her by her mother in a dream. Brother, what will happen to them?’

Athelstan slumped wearily on to a stool and shook his head.

‘Benedicta, I don’t know. I thank you for what you have done but only God knows what the future holds.’

She went to the buttery and brought back a flagon of ale.

‘You look tired.’ She pushed the tankard into his hands. ‘Come on,’ she urged. ‘Drink and have something to eat. You’ll have some bread and dried meat? I’ll prepare enough for both of us.’

Athelstan, embarrassed at her care and concern, mumbled his thanks and sat staring into the weak flames of the fire. Benedicta bustled around the kitchen laying the table. The widow deliberately kept up a litany of gossip about the parish in an attempt to distract Athelstan from what he so aptly described to her as his ‘sea of troubles’. During the meal he tried to respond but felt weary, his head buzzing with all he had seen and heard that day. Benedicta took her leave, saying she would see him at Mass tomorrow. Athelstan watched her go then put his head on his arms and fell fast asleep.

When Athelstan awoke it was dark. He felt cold and cramped so he built up the fire. He was about to go into the buttery when he was startled by a gentle knocking on the door.

‘Who is it?’ he called. Getting no answer, he took his ash cudgel from the corner and placed his hand on the latch. ‘Who is it?’ he repeated, trying to calm his anxieties. He strained his ears but only heard the gentle swishing of the trees in the cemetery and the ghostly hooting of an owl. He opened the door and stared into the darkness. He was about to walk out when his foot caught something. He bent and picked up a small loaf of bread with a scrap of parchment attached to it. Athelstan looked round once again, closed and bolted the door behind him, lit the candle and read the scrawled hand.

‘Incur the wrath of God and you will incur the bread of bitterness.’

Athelstan picked up the small loaf and sniffed it carefully. He could see the sprinkled salt and caught the bitterness of some crushed herb. He read the scrap of parchment again and tossed both it and the loaf into the fire. ‘The bread of bitterness,’ Athelstan muttered to himself and half-smiled at the apt quotation from the Old Testament. He sat for a while staring at the candle flame; Ira Dei had made his reply, taunting him with the knowledge that he knew Athelstan only wished to communicate with him at the behest of his enemy, John of Gaunt. The friar recalled Cranston’s confrontation with the Guildmasters earlier in the day. The Coroner probably hoped that his words might provoke Ira Dei into some stupid error.

Athelstan rubbed his eyes. ‘Ah, well!’ he muttered. ‘Cranston and I now have his answer.’ And he wearily climbed the stairs to his small bed chamber.