A Mortal Bane(65)

“Blood,” Knud said. “At first all I saw was blood—blood all over, all over the man, all over the porch. I cried out and jumped back. I do not remember what I said, but it must have been that someone was hurt, or dead, because the infirmarian came running.”

“Was the blood red?”

“No. It was black.” He glanced up again, not so fleetingly this time. “I suppose it could have been red, but it is the north porch. The sun does not touch there, and it was dark.”

“But you were sure it was blood?”

“The knife was there, in his neck.”

“Who took it out?”

“I do not know. The infirmarian, I suppose, or the lay brothers who are healers. I did not touch it. I did not even look at the body again.”

“Very well. Now, after the body was carried away by the infirmarian, Brother Paulinus told you to send a messenger to the abbot. After that what did you do?”

He expected the man to say he went back to his work or his prayers; instead, the quick glance flicked at him again before the eyes were humbly lowered.

“I…I did not know what to do, and in the end, I did nothing because I am bound to obey the sacristan.” Knud’s voice was scarcely above a whisper and he leaned a little closer to Bell, his body tense. ‘I thought the bishop should be told, but Brother Sacristan does not trust the bishop.”

Bound to obey the sacristan but eager to tell tales about him, Bell thought. Was that because Knud disliked his master, or because he feared the bishop and wished to curry favor by placing the blame on the sacristan—Bell had not forgotten Knud’s initial reaction when he said he was the bishop’s man—or simply because he was a sneaking little rat who liked to make trouble? However, Bell only asked mildly, “Why does Brother Paulinus not trust the bishop?”

“He says Lord Winchester is worldly and that he prefers the secular clergy.”

[page]‘That cannot be surprising, since your order is autonomous,” Bell said. “Lord Winchester must necessarily give most of his attention to the churches and parishes under his management.”

“Brother Paulinus says that we live by harsher rules and are more pure and closer to God. Thus, the needs of our orders should come first. He told me once that the Bishop of London used to contribute a substantial sum to our priory for the maintenance of our buildings, but when London died and Winchester was appointed as administrator, he refused to continue the donation. Brother Paulinus was furious.”

Knud hunched his shoulders and Bell saw a slight movement within the sleeves of the gown, as if he had clutched his hands tighter around his forearms. Bell could not help wondering whether Brother Paulinus had beaten his assistant because he could not take out his fury on the Bishop of Winchester. If so, Bell hardly blamed Knud for making clear that he was not at fault for failing to inform Winchester of the murder. No doubt he guessed that the bishop would not be pleased to be left in ignorance.

“I will remember that you wished to inform the bishop about Baldassare’s death but had no instruction and no permission to do so,” Bell said. Knud raised his head a bit and allowed a small smile—of complicity?—to curve his lips; then he dropped his head again. He seemed to think he had made a favorable impression, implying they were in league together against the sacristan. Bell returned the smile and said, “Now, tell me where you were during the Compline service and who can say you were there?”

Knud looked up fully, mouth agape. “Where I was? Why do you ask me that?”

“I need to know where everyone was, especially at the end of Compline,” Bell said blandly.