Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake #5)(77)

‘We have, sir,’ Avery agreed. ‘A fine beast. I look forward to next Monday.’

‘The boys must be anticipating the hunt too,’ I said.

‘They are,’ Avery agreed. ‘They have come tracking deer with me. But as I said, Master Fulstowe, I would rather Master David did not come again. He makes too much noise. Though Master Hugh is a born tracker, silent as a fox. He has the makings of a fine huntsman.’ He smiled. ‘You should ask him to show you his heartstone.’

I stared. ‘His what?’

‘The piece of bone a deer has next to its heart,’ Fulstowe explained. ‘Master Hugh went on a neighbour’s hunt last year and brought a hart down with his arrow.’

Avery smiled. ‘Do you not know the old custom, sir, for the heartstone to be given to the lord who brings down the deer?’

‘I fear I am a townsman.’

‘It is said to have great healing properties.’

‘Hugh wears it in a little bag round his neck,’ Fulstowe said. His nose crinkled a little. I thought of Emma’s cross round my own neck. I took a deep breath.

‘Master Fulstowe,’ I said. ‘We would like to take your deposition now.’

‘Very well.’ He set his lips tight.



THE STEWARD said not a word more as we walked back to the house. As we neared the stables, David and Hugh passed us on horseback. Each wore a leather glove on which a hooded goshawk stood balanced. The sun emphasized the scars on Hugh’s face, and I looked away. The boys looked curiously at my serjeant’s robes, and David gave a little scoffing laugh. Hugh doffed his cap as they passed, riding away to the gate.

We entered Hobbey’s study. Fulstowe’s face showed relief as he saw Dyrick. Hobbey had left. ‘Good morning, master steward,’ Dyrick said cheerfully. ‘Do not worry, I will make sure Brother Shardlake keeps to the point.’ I saw the hourglass had been turned over again; the sand was just beginning to fall. Fulstowe sat, looking at me as steadily as his master had.

‘Well, Fulstowe,’ I began in a light tone, ‘tell me how you became Master Hobbey’s steward.’

‘I was steward at his house in London. Before Master Hobbey came here.’

‘To be a country gentleman.’

‘There is no more honourable calling in England.’ A touch of truculence entered Fulstowe’s voice.

‘You will remember when Hugh and his sister came to your master’s London house six years ago. And Master Calfhill.’

‘I do. My master and mistress treated those poor children as their own.’

Clearly there was no question of shaking Fulstowe’s loyalty. I could not catch him out either. I questioned him for twenty minutes, and his recollections echoed those of his master. He repeated that Hugh and Emma were devoted to each other, excluding all others. He recollected little of Michael Calfhill, saying Michael held himself aloof from the rest of the household. Only once did his coolness slip, and that was when I asked about the smallpox. ‘It took all three children at once,’ he said. ‘They must have been out together and caught it from the same person, there was much of it in London that year.’ His voice wavered momentarily. ‘I remember Mistress Abigail saying all the children had headaches, and felt so tired they could scarcely move. I knew what that meant.’

‘Did you help care for them?’

‘I carried water and clean bedclothes upstairs. The other servants were too frightened to help. The physician said they should be wrapped in red cloth to bring out the bad humours. I remember I had a job finding red cloth in London then, everyone was after it.’

‘I understand Mistress Hobbey insisted on caring for David herself?’

‘Yes, though she visited Hugh and Emma constantly. My mistress has never been the same since Emma died.’

‘And afterwards Michael was dismissed from the household.’

‘My master did not want him near Hugh any more,’ Fulstowe answered. ‘You must ask him why.’ He inclined his head meaningfully.

‘How much do you have to do with Hugh now?’

‘Most of my dealings are with Master David. I am trying to teach him the running of the estate accounts.’ His tone indicated he had a thankless task. ‘But I look after both their wardrobes.’

‘I see. What about Hugh’s lands?’

‘He shows little interest in them, says he will sell all when he reaches his majority. Just now he wants to join the army.’

‘So you have relatively little to do with Hugh.’

‘We all live in the same house. One thing I always do for both boys, since they were fourteen, is shave them. Every few days, and cut their hair too, for that is the fashion with archers. My father was a barber. Master Hugh will go to no barber for fear of being cut, given what his face and neck are like.’

‘It must be a very different life for you here, Fulstowe. You are a Londoner, I think, by your voice.’

‘It has taken time for us to be accepted down here. Most of the local people did not approve of the Dissolution. And the villagers suffer no master lightly.’

‘Different work too. You are responsible for managing the whole estate?’

‘I am. Under my master. But all trades are the same, blessed is the penny that gains two. That is my master’s principle, and mine.’