A Taste for Killing by Sarah Hawkswood

Author:Sarah Hawkswood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Bradecote did not rush his breaking of fast, though he did not tarry in the hope that the rain would lessen. It was a day he would get wet and he accepted it. When the pair of them left the castle, he walked beside Catchpoll, though it was the serjeant who knew where they were going, through the streets of Worcester. Catchpoll, ignoring the rain, was describing how Worcester was in its winter slæp, winter sleep, and commented that most of the crime within the walls from Advent to Lady Day was domestic, and there was little theft.

‘Folk gets short of temper and small faults becomes big ’uns, and sometimes a man, usually a man, will snap and do somethin’ as has us take ’im. There are those as says it is because of the bad air indoors, but that makes no sense. It is simple to my thinkin’ – everyone needs a mite of time and space to themselves, once in a while, and when the weather and the long-dark mean bein’ imprisoned together, bad things come to pass. Mind you, it rarely takes us long to take up who did it.’ The wily serjeant, who had sounded the voice of doom, cheered at this.

‘Well, I want this solved so I can get back where I need to be, in Bradecote. Before we speak with Herluin’s wife, is there anything particular you can tell me about her rather than her kindred?’ Bradecote wiped a raindrop from the end of his long nose.

‘Not come to my notice, but then the womenfolk of the Mercet family always hung back in the shadows. Not sure they was as innocent as claimed, and Rannulf the Counter’s wife when young, as I recalls, was like the daughter is now, shrill of voice and sharp-featured. Keepin’ on the right side of the Mercets makes sense in Worcester, unless you is me, but it is a pact with the Devil, and the price is high. If Herluin wed for lust you’d say the man was blind or soft-headed, and that is not so.’

‘And Rannulf the Counter still lives?’

‘If you can call it that. A palsy struck ’im, oh, about two years back, and there are no words from the man, not as can be understood easy, and he cannot as much as eat his pottage without it dribbles. That be worse than death, to my reckonin’, and if the name was not Mercet I would feel sorry for the bastard.’ Catchpoll shook his head. He was about to speak again when they were hailed, urgently, by Walkelin’s voice behind them. Both men turned.

‘My lord, there is somethin’ discovered as I thinks only you can find the truth of.’ Walkelin was breathless, having sought them first at the castle, and the cold air in his lungs made his chest ache. He coughed, and leant his hands upon his knees for a moment. His superiors gave him the time to recover. He straightened.

‘The potter’s maidservant says as

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.