“Surely that at least is clear. You were meant to take the blame for de Beauté’s death.”
“I don’t know if that is the case,” Bernard returned slowly. He shifted a little on the chest, as if trying to get more comfortable. “You must understand, Hugh, that it was a complete accident that Richard’s squire should have found me the way he did. Richard had sent the boy to the church to retrieve his dagger, which he had left in the vestibule. The boy had no reason at all to come inside the church. He was supposed to collect the knife and return home.”
“Why did he go into the church?”
“Apparently he decided that, since he was there, he would stop and say a quick prayer.” Bernard frowned. “I have been thinking about this, and it seems to me that if someone went to such trouble to get me to the Minster at that precise hour, he would have made a more foolproof arrangement to ensure that I was discovered.”
Hugh continued to look at Bernard. “Perhaps he did make such an arrangement, and the squire foiled it by appearing when he did. I rather think that if the boyhad not turned up, someone else would have come into the church to find you.”
Once more, Bernard rubbed his forehead. “Perhaps that is so. On the other hand, perhaps I was only meant to discover de Beauté’s body and sound the alarm. Perhaps it was purely an accident that I came to be suspected of the murder myself.”
“That is a possibility, I suppose.”
Hugh did not sound convinced.
He returned his gaze to his hands and stared at them intently. “Let us assume for the moment that you were meant to be found and blamed for the murder. In order to make you appear a likely culprit, a motive was needed. Do you know who first advanced the notion that you killed de Beauté in order to facilitate my claiming the earldom?”
Bernard shook his head. “I don’t know whose idea it first was,” he said. “But I can tell you that within hours of the murder, it was going around the castle like wildfire.”
There was a long silence. Then Hugh leaned his head back against the stone wall and half closed his eyes. “There is one key question we must ask ourselves in all this. Who profits by the death of Gilbert de Beauté?”
Bernard stared at Hugh’s perfectly chiseled profile, and did not reply.
Hugh answered his own question. “The most obvious person, of course, is the sheriff himself. With de Beauté dead, he no longer has to worry about eviscerating the shire’s defenses.”
From the look on Bernard’s face, it was clear that he had thought of this, too. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “Gervase is not the sort of man who would stoop to such treachery.”
“If it was possible to tell what a man was capable of from his outward guise, we could dispatch with all evildoers before they act,” Hugh said practically.
Bernard blew through his nose and mumbled a reluctant agreement.
“Gervase had the motive, and he had the opportunity,” Hugh said. “He is one of the few people whom de Beauté would go to meet in the Minster. And let us not forget that it was a message from Gervase that put you into the unfortunate position in which you now find yourself.”
“I know,” Bernard said unhappily.
“So then, we must consider Gervase as a likely suspect.” Hugh’s eyes were still half-shut. “Who else besides the sheriff might profit from de Beauté’s death?”
“I have been thinking and thinking, and I can’t come up with anyone else,” Bernard admitted.
“I can,” Hugh said.
A cold wind blew in the open window, and Bernard coughed and clutched his blanket tighter. “Who?” he demanded.
Hugh opened his eyes and turned his head so that he could look directly at Bernard. “While he was in Lincoln, Gilbert de Beauté raised two issues that were sure to upset the political power base of the shire,” he said. “The first we have discussed—his challenge to the sheriff’s authority.”
“And the other?”
“I don’t know if that is the case,” Bernard returned slowly. He shifted a little on the chest, as if trying to get more comfortable. “You must understand, Hugh, that it was a complete accident that Richard’s squire should have found me the way he did. Richard had sent the boy to the church to retrieve his dagger, which he had left in the vestibule. The boy had no reason at all to come inside the church. He was supposed to collect the knife and return home.”
“Why did he go into the church?”
“Apparently he decided that, since he was there, he would stop and say a quick prayer.” Bernard frowned. “I have been thinking about this, and it seems to me that if someone went to such trouble to get me to the Minster at that precise hour, he would have made a more foolproof arrangement to ensure that I was discovered.”
Hugh continued to look at Bernard. “Perhaps he did make such an arrangement, and the squire foiled it by appearing when he did. I rather think that if the boyhad not turned up, someone else would have come into the church to find you.”
Once more, Bernard rubbed his forehead. “Perhaps that is so. On the other hand, perhaps I was only meant to discover de Beauté’s body and sound the alarm. Perhaps it was purely an accident that I came to be suspected of the murder myself.”
“That is a possibility, I suppose.”
Hugh did not sound convinced.
He returned his gaze to his hands and stared at them intently. “Let us assume for the moment that you were meant to be found and blamed for the murder. In order to make you appear a likely culprit, a motive was needed. Do you know who first advanced the notion that you killed de Beauté in order to facilitate my claiming the earldom?”
Bernard shook his head. “I don’t know whose idea it first was,” he said. “But I can tell you that within hours of the murder, it was going around the castle like wildfire.”
There was a long silence. Then Hugh leaned his head back against the stone wall and half closed his eyes. “There is one key question we must ask ourselves in all this. Who profits by the death of Gilbert de Beauté?”
Bernard stared at Hugh’s perfectly chiseled profile, and did not reply.
Hugh answered his own question. “The most obvious person, of course, is the sheriff himself. With de Beauté dead, he no longer has to worry about eviscerating the shire’s defenses.”
From the look on Bernard’s face, it was clear that he had thought of this, too. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “Gervase is not the sort of man who would stoop to such treachery.”
“If it was possible to tell what a man was capable of from his outward guise, we could dispatch with all evildoers before they act,” Hugh said practically.
Bernard blew through his nose and mumbled a reluctant agreement.
“Gervase had the motive, and he had the opportunity,” Hugh said. “He is one of the few people whom de Beauté would go to meet in the Minster. And let us not forget that it was a message from Gervase that put you into the unfortunate position in which you now find yourself.”
“I know,” Bernard said unhappily.
“So then, we must consider Gervase as a likely suspect.” Hugh’s eyes were still half-shut. “Who else besides the sheriff might profit from de Beauté’s death?”
“I have been thinking and thinking, and I can’t come up with anyone else,” Bernard admitted.
“I can,” Hugh said.
A cold wind blew in the open window, and Bernard coughed and clutched his blanket tighter. “Who?” he demanded.
Hugh opened his eyes and turned his head so that he could look directly at Bernard. “While he was in Lincoln, Gilbert de Beauté raised two issues that were sure to upset the political power base of the shire,” he said. “The first we have discussed—his challenge to the sheriff’s authority.”
“And the other?”
Similar Books
