Appointed to Die by Kate Charles Page B

about.’
    â€˜About Stuart Latimer? But I’ve only met him once.’
    â€˜Not about him, exactly,’ the Bishop replied. ‘About the Chapter, really. I’m rather worried about what will happen to the Chapter when there’s a new Dean in place.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’
    â€˜Well, it’s a bit delicate, John.’ Dr Willoughby drummed on the arms of his chair with his fingers. ‘It’s none of my affair, really, as you know. After all, I have to knock on the door to be admitted to my own cathedral! My business is running the diocese, not the cathedral, and I’ve always stayed out of Chapter affairs as a matter of policy. But I anticipate that there may be some major problems.’
    â€˜George is afraid that the balance of power will change, that the new Dean may be out of step with Malbury, with the rest of the Chapter,’ Pat amplified bluntly; she had always been considered an equal partner in her husband’s ministry and didn’t hesitate to speak her mind. ‘Arthur has had a free hand for so many years now.’
    â€˜The balance of power in a cathedral Chapter is always a delicate thing,’ the Bishop added. ‘Things haven’t really changed for quite a few years. As Pat says, Arthur has had a free hand – the old Dean was quite useless, and did whatever Arthur told him to do, so his death didn’t make any practical difference. And you fit in quite well, so your coming didn’t rock the boat. But a new man, presumably with modern ideas – well, I just don’t know what might happen. Perhaps I’m over-reacting, but . . .’
    Pat interrupted forcefully. ‘You’re not overreacting, George. I’m convinced that there will be conflict. But you can’t allow yourself to be drawn into it! You have no authority, and no power, and if you try to get involved it will be an absolute recipe for disaster!’
    â€˜That’s why I’ve asked John to come here,’ the Bishop reminded her.
    Canon Kingsley looked from the Bishop to his wife, puzzled. ‘But what can I do? You know that I’m always willing to do anything I can for you, George, but as you say, I’m the newest member of the Chapter. No one pays much attention to me, and as far as I’m concerned that’s fine. I don’t aspire to any power within the Chapter.’
    Dr Willoughby laughed. ‘Modest as ever, John. I’m not asking you to stage a palace coup. All I ask is that you keep an eye on the situation for me, and let me know if you see any trouble coming. I’d feel a lot easier about things if I knew that I had a reliable set of eyes and ears in the Chapter.’
    â€˜Yes, of course, if that’s what you want,’ John Kingsley assented. ‘Though I don’t know how much help I’ll be.’
    Pat lifted the lid of the teapot and inspected its by now depleted contents. ‘It looks like this might just stretch to one more cup. How about it, John?’
    CHAPTER 5
    Â Â Â Â  I will pay my vows now in the presence of all his people: right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
    Psalm 116.13
    The first event of the Malbury Music Festival, on a Friday evening near the end of August, was a performance of T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral , put on by the Malbury Amateur Dramatics Society. Appropriately, it was staged in the south transept of the cathedral, beneath the Becket window.
    The attendance was disappointing; the hoped-for last-minute rush of ticket buyers on the door had not materialised to augment the poor advance ticket sales, and the crowd in the south transept that evening was sparse.
    â€˜It’s a bit embarrassing, actually,’ Jeremy Bartlett said to Lucy and her father during the interval. A large striped marquee had been erected on the grass to the north of the cathedral, but inside there was no long queue for drinks; a handful of