The Case of the Tangled Maypole by Anna Castle

Author:Anna Castle [Castle, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781945382536
Publisher: Anna Castle
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

Jane worked in the shop on Monday morning. She couldn’t spend all her time questioning fairies and Puritans. The people of Ayreford needed herbs and ointments. She would be glad when her father came home next week. Tending a busy shop by herself for hours at a stretch took its toll.

She ate her dinner at the counter between customers to keep the shop open as long as possible. She’d have to close up at two o’clock to go visit Henry Chalk with John.

Chalk had been one of the hecklers on Saturday afternoon. He had also challenged Undersheriff Wragg on Sunday when the crowd came to gawk at the body. He seemed to be a central figure in the Puritan group. He might know if any of them had gone out to the maypole clearing on Saturday night, perhaps to catch youngsters frolicking in the moonlight.

Jane had never frolicked in the moonlight, now that she thought of it. That seemed a little sad. She couldn’t imagine John frolicking, under the moon or anywhere else. But she’d bet the shop Tabbart would join in with gusto. She promised herself that one silvery summer night she’d go down to the meadow and dance in a circle of leaping frogs.

When the church bell tolled the three-quarter hour, she closed the shutters across the front windows. Then she skipped upstairs to wash her face and repair her straggling hair. She donned a fresh coif and went downstairs to find John waiting outside the front door.

“Busy morning?”

Jane nodded. “I’m glad to escape, though I should open up again later. People are used to Moones’ being open all day every day except Sunday. I wish Abasi could tend the shop from time to time.”

She spoke that last part without thinking. Luckily, John took it as a joke. Which it had been, of course. The King of the Cats would never deign to handle money.

“Do we know where Chalk lives?” Jane asked.

“No, but I’m guessing the schoolmaster lodges somewhere near the school. We can ask in the Guildhall.”

The Guildhall stood at the corner where the High Street met Church Street. It was more a collection of buildings with separate functions rather than one great hall. First came the chapel with its square tower and tall windows. The school extended behind the chapel on the first floor above Church Street. This long building enjoyed no embellishments of any kind, being faced with mud-colored plaster striped with plain oak beams.

The interior was equally severe upstairs. Jane remembered bundling up to attend classes in the preparatory school, which her father had insisted she attend to learn her ABCs. She’d met John Greenslade there, though at that age he’d been more tormentor than friend.

Town officials performed their duties downstairs in the large hall or in smaller chambers behind it. A clerk stood behind a counter near the entrance. Jane had met him before. Pale, with a round belly, he loved nothing more than a chance to gossip. Jane hadn’t minded — she’d

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.