‘I think we must,’ said Michael. ‘Then we can blame the fact that they will not get their bonuses on Bene’t. That means we can use the money we have to repay the loans Runham took out with the Guilds of St Mary’s and Corpus Christi, and also return some to our generous benefactors – unless I can persuade them to wait a while. Oswald Stanmore will not mind us keeping his five marks indefinitely, I am sure. And if there is anything left over, we can refill some of the hutches.’
‘And what do we do with a half-built court and a half-repaired north wing?’
‘Leave them as they are,’ said Michael simply. ‘Remove the scaffolding and return to the shabby elegance we had before.’
‘That shabby elegance included leaking roofs and damp walls. And it may have escaped your notice, but a good part of the north wing is missing a roof and one room has been demolished.’
‘The workmen will have to make good the damage their careless scaffolding did when it collapsed,’ said Michael in a tone of voice that suggested he was bored with the conversation. ‘But tonight I am more inclined to think about the Bene’t murders than Michaelhouse. I feel certain I am close to solving those. De Walton will tell me all I need to know about that treacherous Simeon when we rescue him tonight.’
‘There is a lot that can go wrong with this plan of yours to save de Walton,’ began Bartholomew. ‘It is full of risks – not just to us, but to Walter.’
‘It will work,’ said Michael. ‘Walter will let us into Bene’t while Osmun and that vicious Ulfo are asleep; we will rescue de Walton from where he is being kept prisoner by Simeon in the hut near the King’s Ditch; and de Walton will tell us who killed Raysoun, Brother Patrick and Wymundham. Then we can concentrate on how to extricate Michaelhouse from the mess Runham left.’
‘I do not know how I became involved in this,’ said Bartholomew weakly. ‘It is not my place to creep around other Colleges in the dead of night looking for murderers.’
‘You would not let me go alone,’ said Michael complacently. ‘You know I need your help. None of my beadles would be good at this sort of thing, and anyway, Osmun has them all terrified out of their feeble wits.’
‘How?’ asked Bartholomew. ‘The beadles are supposed to be the law enforcers in the University. It is not for the likes of Osmun to terrify them.’
‘I agree. But when they arrested him for fighting with de Walton the other day, he put his time under lock and key to good use. He made all sorts of threats to my beadles and their families. Osmun is a violent, vengeful man, and they are all far too frightened to do anything that might attract his unwanted attention.’
‘And this is the man you want us to slip past at midnight?’ asked Bartholomew doubtfully. ‘Maybe the beadles are right to stay out of his way.’
‘They are. But is that the kind of person you want on the streets of your town, terrorising the law enforcers, assaulting Fellows and students, and generally defying the University’s authority?’
‘No,’ admitted Bartholomew. ‘Perhaps we should ask for Dick Tulyet’s help – the Sheriff’s men will not be afraid of a bullying brute like Osmun.’
‘Tulyet cannot take part in a plan to break into the University in the dead of night,’ said Michael practically. ‘And it would not be fair to ask him to do so. But we will pit wits and cunning against brute strength, Matt, and by morning we will have Osmun and that plotting Simekyn Simeon – how did he ever acquire a name like that anyway? – safely secured in the proctors’ prison.’
‘You seem very sure that Simeon is responsible for the murders of Raysoun and Wymundham, but it seems to me as though the entire College is involved. De Walton himself, Caumpes, Heltisle, Osmun and Ulfo were also present in the church when Adela saw Wymundham’s leg.’
‘Adela said Caumpes was not there.’
‘Right,’ said Bartholomew wearily. ‘Do you realise that you will make an enemy of the Duke of Lancaster by proving his henchman committed murder, Brother? I understand the Duke can be a dangerous man.’
‘Not as dangerous as my Bishop,’ said Michael smugly. ‘And I sent the Bishop a letter this evening, revealing all. If the Duke tries anything nasty on me or Michaelhouse, he will find he has a very powerful churchman to contend with. But the Duke will disclaim Simeon, if de Walton’s evidence exposes him as a killer. Loyalty to one’s henchmen only goes so far.’
‘But what will you do if de Walton declines to betray his colleague?’ asked Bartholomew. ‘He may be too frightened – like your beadles.’
‘Master Lynton says de Walton has leprosy, Matt,’ said Michael, becoming exasperated. ‘He is already a dead man in the eyes of the world, and he will tell us exactly what happened that day in Holy Trinity Church when five Bene’t men lined up to prevent Adela from seeing a body behind the altar. And he will tell me which of these five followed poor, terrified Brother Patrick and stabbed him just when he had reached the safety of his hostel.’
‘How do you know Patrick was killed just as he reached his hostel?’ asked Bartholomew sceptically. ‘Adela saw these five men with the body in broad daylight, and Patrick must have been killed in the dark, or someone would have noticed his body in the grounds.’
‘Not necessarily. Ovyng Hostel’s gardens are extensive, and, unlike Mayor Horwoode, its scholars probably do not stroll there on a regular basis. But you are throwing up problems that are irrelevant. Tonight we will solve the murders of Raysoun, Wymundham and Patrick, and we will find that the culprit is Simekyn Simeon, because he is the one who is holding his colleague prisoner in the hut in Bene’t’s grounds.’
‘Well, come on then,’ said Bartholomew, standing up reluctantly. ‘We should be on our way before Walter allows his sense of self-preservation to get the better of him and he declines to allow us past the sleeping Osmun and Ulfo.’
‘He would not dare,’ said Michael comfortably. ‘I have told him that I will ensure he remains working at Bene’t for the rest of his life unless he does as I ask. Walter will not let us down.’
With the unshakeable feeling that he was about to do something very stupid and dangerous that he would later regret, Bartholomew followed Michael across the courtyard to the front gate.
Carefully, as though the merest thud would wake the entire College, Michael removed the bar from the wicket gate and eased open the door to Michaelhouse. Both he and Bartholomew were dressed in dark clothes – Michael in his black habit and matching cloak; Bartholomew in dark leggings, a brown jerkin hidden by his tabard and a short black cloak. Bartholomew was about to precede Michael outside when he heard soft voices in the lane and saw two cloaked figures moving towards him. Stomach churning, he ducked back inside again, regarding Michael in alarm.
‘It is them! The two intruders!’
Michael took Bartholomew’s arm and pulled him into the deep shadows at the side of the gate. ‘Then let us wait here for them, and unmask Clippesby and his whore once and for all.’
‘No,’ said Bartholomew, trying to pull away. ‘They have bested me twice, and I have no wish to engage in a tussle with them a third time. I have had enough of this; I am going to bed – where you would go, too, if you had any sense.’
‘Matthew!’ exclaimed Kenyngham with pleasure, as he eased himself through the gate that Michael had just opened. ‘And Brother Michael, too! How thoughtful of you both to wait for Master Suttone and me to return from lauds and unlock the gate for us. I confess I was not sure how we were going to gain entry, given that we still have no night porter.’
‘Perhaps Walter will come back to us,’ said Bartholomew, relief flooding through him as he stood aside to allow his colleagues past.