The Killer of Pilgrims by Susanna Gregory

Author:Susanna Gregory [Gregory, Susanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General
ISBN: 9780748124510
Google: m2Wzngo8UFIC
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2010-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

It felt like an age until a bell rang to announce the game was over. The uninjured players – down to about ten per team – left the field slapping each other’s shoulders in manly bonhomie. Langelee, smeared in blood, though none of it was his own, came to greet his colleagues with a beaming grin.

‘By God, I enjoyed that,’ he declared. ‘I am sorry about Poynton, though. Was his neck broken or was he crushed? I have known both to happen before, which is why I am careful never to end up on the bottom of those piles.’

‘You enjoyed it?’ cried Thelnetham in disbelief. ‘But our team lost! You only managed three goals, whereas the Carmelites scored ten. It was what is known in military terms as a rout.’

‘Rubbish!’ cried Langelee. ‘We were the better players. Goals are not everything, you know.’

‘I think you will find they are,’ countered Thelnetham. He brushed himself down fussily, and Bartholomew wondered again where he had been earlier, when his brethren had been praying over Poynton’s corpse. ‘At least, they are if you are trying to win.’

‘Were there goals?’ asked William. ‘I did not see any. And to be honest, I would not have known who had won, either, if Prior Leccheworth had not announced the result. As far as I could tell, it was just a lot of skirmishing. Indeed, I am not even sure the ball was involved in the last part. It seemed to be lying forgotten at the edge of the field.’

‘Did any of you see what happened to Poynton?’ Michael asked.

‘He caught the ball, and went down under a wave of men,’ replied Thelnetham promptly. ‘The first four to reach him were Master Langelee, Yffi, Neyll and Heslarton.’

‘Heslarton?’ asked William. ‘But he was on Poynton’s side! Why should he join the scrum?’

‘One forgets these niceties in the heat of the moment,’ explained Langelee. ‘But do not ask me about it, Brother. There were so many scrimmages today that I cannot recall one from another.’

Michael walked to where Yffi was standing with his apprentices, being commiserated because his team had lost.

‘At least we killed one of the bastards,’ Yffi was saying viciously. ‘And I am not sure I believe Prior Etone’s claim that his team got ten goals, because I did not see any of them. Of course, I did not see the three we had, either …’

‘You were among the first to reach Poynton when he caught the ball,’ said Michael, launching immediately into an interrogation. ‘Tell me what happened.’

Yffi scratched his head with a rough, callused hand. ‘Langelee, Neyll and I raced to get it back. So did Heslarton, although he was on Poynton’s side, and was supposed to be protecting him. But it is difficult to remember who is who on these occasions, so you should not hold it against him.’

‘Right,’ said Michael, thus indicating he would think what he pleased.

‘Then others hurled themselves on the pile, and I suppose Poynton could not breathe under the weight of the bodies,’ continued Yffi.

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.