‘Maud’s eyes,’ explained Bartholomew to Michael. ‘Lynton asked for a second opinion, because her sight was clouding and he did not know how to stop it from getting worse. And, I am sorry to say, neither did I.’
‘I will summon Magister Arderne again,’ said Isabel, speaking softly so as not to disturb the patient. ‘If I give him six gold goblets, he may agree to work one of his miracles.’
‘They will certainly encourage him to try,’ muttered Bartholomew. ‘I can give Maud something for the pain, though. She does not have to suffer like this.’
Isabel watched him dribble a sense-dulling potion between the sick woman’s lips. ‘Let us hope that will see her through until Magister Arderne arrives. Then he will cure her, and all will be well,’ she said.
Bartholomew bathed Maud’s face with a wet cloth, and after a few moments, she opened her eyes. She was smiling distantly. ‘I thought you were Master Lynton. He had a way of wiping a hot face with a cool rag, too. Arderne uses a feather to draw out poisons and reduce fevers.’
‘Yes,’ said Bartholomew noncommittally. He refrained from denigrating Arderne’s methods, on the remote chance that the man might succeed where traditional medicine failed. He knew from experience that a person who believed in a cure was more likely to survive than one who did not, and he wanted Maud to have every chance of recovery, no matter how small.
‘Hugh Candelby plans to marry me,’ she went on. The fever was making her ramble. ‘But I will not have him. He was never more than an amusing diversion, but I see now that he was only after my property – to use against the University. I will not allow that to happen.’
‘It is good to know we have one friend, at least,’ said Michael softly. ‘Thank you.’
‘I tried to talk him out of this confrontation over rents, but he would not listen. I like the University and its scholars. They are courteous, erudite and pleasant, while most burgesses are unkempt and oafish. Do not worry, Brother. I will never allow Hugh to get my houses.’
‘Brother Michael wants to know what happened on the day you were hurt,’ said Isabel quietly. ‘Can you tell him what you recall?’
Maud coughed weakly. ‘Hugh had just been telling me about his latest plan to thwart the University, which involves issuing an ultimatum and refusing to budge. He says he will break your laws as he pleases, because you cannot stop him – or force him to pay any fine you care to levy.’
‘He has a point,’ said Michael ruefully. ‘Invading his home and making off with silverware in lieu of coins will not go down very well with his fellow worthies. They will riot.’
‘That is what he hopes – such an outrage would force the waverers to commit to his cause. The next thing I remember is sitting among the remnants of his cart. Then Arderne took me home.’
‘Did Candelby have a weapon with him that day?’ asked Michael.
‘Of course,’ said Maud, surprised he should need to ask. ‘What sane man does not?’
‘Do you know what kind?’
‘He always has a crossbow – not a very large one, but one that makes thieves think twice.’
Bartholomew and Michael exchanged a startled glance. ‘Is he capable of using it on anyone?’ asked Michael, rather eagerly.
Maud shook her head, and Bartholomew saw her eyes begin to close. The potion he had fed her was sending her to sleep at last. ‘That is the ridiculous thing. It was never loaded.’
When the two scholars left Maud’s house, Isabel went with them, claiming she had shopping to do in the Market Square. Bartholomew was alarmed to see that townsmen had started to gather in sullen groups, and he did not like the way their eyes followed him and Michael as they walked. Some were his patients, folk he had known for years, but not many returned his friendly greetings. Most seemed too frightened to speak, afraid of attracting attention from those who did not approve of fraternising with the University. A few were genuinely hostile.
‘Go away,’ said Isabel, whipping around to glare at a gaggle of potters who had begun to shadow them. ‘I do not feel comfortable with you dogging my every step, so stop it. Do not stand there, gaping like cattle. Do as I say! At once!’
There was a determined jut to her chin, and it seemed to convince them that they would be wise to obey. To Bartholomew’s astonishment, they turned and shuffled back the way they had come.
‘Perhaps you should go ahead of us,’ he suggested uneasily. ‘You do not want them to take against you for keeping company with scholars.’
Isabel’s expression was disdainful. ‘I shall walk with whomever I please, thank you! I cannot imagine what has got into those boys. They are normally amiable lads, always willing to carry a basket or to run errands. I deplore this current disquiet and unease. Candelby has a lot to answer for – and so does his horrible henchman, Blankpayn.’
‘Have you seen Blankpayn recently?’ asked Bartholomew. ‘I need to speak to him.’
‘About your student Falmeresham?’ Isabel saw his surprise, and explained. ‘It is common knowledge that Blankpayn may have done him a grievous harm, and that you have been scouring the town for them both ever since. But I am afraid I cannot help, because I have no idea where the wretched man might be. I will ask the servants when I go home, and will send word if I learn anything useful.’
Michael smiled. ‘I do not suppose you would like to be my Junior Proctor, would you? I have not had a decent assistant in years.’
Isabel laughed, a hearty chuckle. ‘I would like it very much, Brother. When can I start?’
‘You have already started. You ordered those potters away, and they obeyed without question. They would never have done that for me. Students would, but not townsfolk.’
He was being overly modest, because few men – other than Candelby – ever had the audacity to oppose Michael. He wielded too much power, and while he could not fight townsmen directly, he could certainly do so insidiously. Over a period of time, he could impose fines, restrict trade, close down businesses and excommunicate serious offenders. Even the Sheriff did not have such an awesome battery of penalties at his fingertips, which was partly why the landlords’ rebellion had taken the University so much by surprise.
‘That was a waste of effort,’ said Michael, when they reached the Market Square, and Isabel had gone to buy meat and barley to make a strengthening broth for her mistress. ‘Their testimony – such as it was – confirms what we already know, but we learned nothing new.’
‘We learned that Candelby totes a crossbow around with him,’ said Bartholomew. ‘Maud said he kept it unloaded, but perhaps that was not true on Sunday. The town was uneasy, and he may have felt the need for extra precautions.’
‘If so, then perhaps he did kill Lynton. He has a motive.’
‘Two motives, Brother – jealousy of Lynton’s professional relationship with the lady he intends to marry, and anger that Lynton was able to rent his property to townsmen.’ Bartholomew was thoughtful. ‘But if he shot Lynton, then it stands to reason that he also killed Ocleye – there cannot be two killers using the same mode of execution. However, Ocleye was his own pot-boy.’
Michael did not see that as a flaw in the solution. ‘Ocleye was in the back of Candelby’s cart when Lynton was murdered – a witness to the crime. So Candelby killed him to ensure his silence.’
‘Then why is Maud still alive? If Ocleye watched the murder from the back of the cart, then surely Maud, who was sitting next to Candelby, would also have noticed something untoward?’
‘But she claims to remember nothing – probably because she is afraid that if she does, he will kill her, too.’ Michael’s expression was triumphant. ‘And do not overlook the fact that she refuses to see him. It must be because she knows he is a killer. I am right here, Matt. Candelby hates scholars so intensely that he would think nothing of shooting one, then dispatching witnesses.’