Crowner's Dilemma - Part Twenty Six

[ismenin]

Hello! I am sorry it's late but I was so tired I needed a snooze before I posted it. Hope y'all forgive me.


It's coming to its end, now - I think! Never sure with my stories, but I have enjoyed it all.

Gonna waste no more time, then.

Thanks to ladysunrope for beta.


Part 26


"Sister Wilda is dead?" Dom repeated, surprised by this turn of events. "We were anxious to question her. How did she die?"

St Aubin continued eating his duck, unperturbed by the old nun's death. "She had the plague, and never recovered from the lung fever it left her with. And it seems she was much perturbed in spirit by something. The nun who returned with the news told me as much."

He smiled at Elijah. "I'm afraid, that, on occasion, even older nuns are very susceptible to the charm of a good-looking man. It was not difficult to get her confidence. A sad glance - a touch to the arm - you must know how it is?"

Elijah, who had never once thought that his face could engender any such feelings in a woman's breast, looked confused.

Dom grinned. In some things Lij is such an innocent, he thought. "I know, indeed. You are a clever man, St Aubin. I applaud you!"

Over an hour later, St Aubin had eaten enough, even for him, and Elijah ran through what they had just outlined.

"Very well, this is what we have - the tracks in the grass leading from Odilla's body only led to the abbey, or perhaps into the stream."

"A meal was eaten which was enjoyed by several people under the tree where the carvings were seen. Presumably Odilla and Matt, and one as yet unknown.

"Odilla was with child."

Here Elijah paused He had not missed the message in Dom's eyes. It would not be mentioned that the knife that had been used to kill the second girl, Claudia, had once been Dom's knife.

"When we were taken to see Odilla's body in the Infirmary, Claudia pulled the sheet over her head. It seems to me that she recognised Dom by his likeness to his brother. Or perhaps she thought it was Matt - who knows?"

"Sister Aefre hid from us the fact that Odilla was with child, but told the abbess of it."

Elijah did not mention that he had gleaned this information from the red-headed girl's report of the two nuns overheard in conversation. The abbess had confirmed this to Elijah and Dom. But Elijah knew that if he was to get any more from the young girl, he wanted to get it before St Aubin - unless St Aubin had been before him, and knew more than he was telling.

"Now we come forward a little. Claudia was found in the abbey vestibule, with a broken leg. She told everyone that she had fallen down the stairs, but she was nowhere near the stairs when she was found. There was a window open nearby, and it seems that she had climbed through it. Did she fall, or was she pushed? It seems a simple thing for a heathy, strong young maid to climb through a window like that. But more importantly, why did she lie about it?"

Dom looked up at this. Elijah had not mentioned to him this part of the story. But Dom realised that he was, at that time, much taken up by the mystery of his knife being there to concentrate on the murders.

St Aubin frowned. "Yes, I was told much the same thing. But I was also informed that it was Claudia who had shared the meal with Odilla and Matt that night under the trees."

Elijah smiled at him. "From whom did you glean that little bit of information. We have not heard it."

St Aubin met his eyes squarely. "It was Sister Conna who told me. For some reason she does not like you, my lo...sir. Can you enlighten us as to why this should be?"

Elijah shook his head. "I have not the remotest guess, Sheriff. although I have noticed this for myself." He went on to explain how the girl had given him several venomous looks when he and Dom had dined, once, in the refectory.

"It seems she wanted me to know something that you did not, sir. She also told me that Odilla kept the knife under her pillow which is odd, as you say she knew nothing of the knife at all."

Dom shifted, and lay down on the soft grass, staring up at the apple blossoms. "And we must not forget that it was Conna who found Claudia's body...Sister Conna came into the Infirmary early, and found Claudia's body. She had been stabbed in the chest by Matt's knife. Matthew told us he had given it to Odilla as a pledge, having nothing else with which to present her."

"Exactly so. So we must find out the answers to several questions. Why did Claudia lie about being out that night? Why did Wilda lie about being able to see Odilla's body from the Infirmary window? How was the person who killed Claudia able to get into the Infirmary unremarked? How did they get the knife?"

"St Aubin," Elijah said, slapping his hand on his knee. "I can see this all leading to one person. Can you see it?"

The Sheriff took a large gulp from his cup, and refilled it. "I do see it. But how can we find out more? It seems to me that there is one - maybe two - persons closely acquainted with the dead girls, and I think that there is a third girl who is afraid that she will become the next victim."

"Miss Red-Hair?" Elijah asked, watching a man coming around the corner of the abbey towards them.

"Exactly!" St Aubin grinned. "Sister Aisely, who now shares a room with Sister Conna."

It was Astin who approached them. He had brought a basket, he said, from Beauvallet. "But I see, my lord, that you have eaten well. I shall take it back..."

"No, no, indeed. I pray you, leave it. It will prove a tasty bite for me this evening. They eat the main meal early, here, and I get sharp-set by dusk," St Aubin said, quickly, anxious that such a feast should not escape him.

Dom hid a smile as Astin willingly handed over the basket, but Elijah was looking at his steward with real concern in his eyes.

"What is it, Astin, that vexes you? You look troubled."

Astin reluctantly sat where Elijah indicated. He was not used to relaxing in the presence of his betters.
Dom saw that Elijah was right. Astin did look mazed.

"The Lady has just informed me that a relative of mine has lately died. I have not so many left to me that I can lose one without sorrow." The man stared at his feet, unwilling to show St Aubin his feelings.

Elijah placed a kindly hand upon the man's shoulder. "Who was this relative, Astin? I did not know you had any left to you."

"I have three left to me, now, my lord. Wilda was the last of the old ones..."

Elijah stared. "Sister Wilda was of your family? How did I not know this?"

Astin managed a bleak smile. "I did not know you were ignorant of the fact, my lord. I assumed Wenna had told you of it. However, it seems that Dame Rowenna chose not to tell you, my lord, that her sister dwelt here at the abbey. I do not know why she did not do so. The matter was never spoken of between us. She would not enter into any discussion over it at all."

Dom suddenly realised what it was that had been pricking the back of his mind of late. Astin had told him when he voiced his concerns that Wenna had been murdered, and that he had found marks upon her arms.

"It was me who laid out Wenna, ready for burial," Astin had revealed. It has always been the steward's task to perform this ritual for the Beauvallet dead, and I knew my master would like it, as she was kin to me. My grandmother's sister."

Elijah's eyes were wide with shock. Wilda was Rowenna's sister? And Wilda had been, therefore, Astin's grandmother?

"No, I did not know. I am sorry, Astin, for your double loss. I know that I miss my Wenna more than I can say."

It was Astin's turn to offer comfort. "That is as it should be, my lord. She was ever concerned with your well-being and interests."

"I only came over to bring the food and some ink and necessaries for the abbess, my lord. If you will excuse me, I shall return to the castle, now."

Elijah nodded his assent, and as Astin strode towards the orchard gate, he sighed. "Another mystery, as if we did not have enough to contend with."

Dom saw it was plain that Elijah did not wish to speak further on the matter before St Aubin, so brought the conversation back to present concerns.

Soon, all three had decided that it was politic to visit the abbess to see if she had anything more to contribute. "For even one word can cause enlightenment in such a case," St Aubin said, as he left Astin's basket in the vestibule with orders to the door warden that it should be taken to his room.

He asked it with such charm and grace, that both Dom and Elijah could see how he managed to extract information from these maiden ladies, for even bulky Sister Placida was not immune to the St Aubin smile, for she blushed like a schoolgirl and rushed off to do his bidding.

St Aubin shrugged and smiled, and the three went off to beard the Abbess Gertruda in her den.

***

The Abbess Gertruda rose and smiled at them as they entered. Dom noted that a smile transformed the old woman's face to a remarkable degree, as she bade them sit down and offered them wine.

"I see that Sheriff St Aubin is to be inducted into the Company," she said, nodding towards him as he bowed. "Well, and I think that is an excellent thing. He has proved himself a worthy conspirator."

Elijah looked puzzled, as his aunt explained the situation to him.

"He sent his troop back to Canterbury, Lij. Did you not wonder why he had done that?"

Elijah grinned. "I believe at that time I was finding it difficult to think of anything except sweating and breathing," he said with candour.

Dom shook his head. "No, I must say it never occurred to me that it was an unusual occurrence, but now I think on it, I see that it was. Why did you do it, St Aubin?"

The sheriff scratched his nose. "Well, it seemed to me that there was a connection between Beauvallet and the abbey - between, you, Mortain and the lover of Odilla. I like you, sir. You are my kind of law officer - straight and to the point. I have only ever heard good things of you, and of you, your Grace. The Incorruptibles, they call you. Did you know that? No? It all goes to your credit, sirs. I did not wish any of my troop to discover any more concerning the case, so I used the pestis as an excuse - I'm ashamed to say - to get rid of them."

Here he looked Dom straight in the eye. "I can think of three or four of their number who would gladly have sold the information concerning your brother to the highest bidder. I did not want that."

Both men warmed anew to the man. He seemed to mean what he said. If there was any guile about him, or if he was keeping certain aspects of the case to himself, well, so were they.

Elijah turned to his aunt. "It seems to me, my lady," he said, adopting a more serious tone, "that much of this case appears to centre about the girl Conna."

His aunt looked surprised. "Conna? But she is such a quiet little mouse. Why do you say that?"

Elijah thought for a moment. "She shared a room with Odilla. She has told St Aubin that Odilla kept Matt's knife under her pillow. She denied to Dom and I that she knew anything of the knife at all. She was friendly - if you can call it that - with both Claudia and Odilla. She was very afraid when we questioned her - by what, I do not know. And she does know something, of that I am certain. She was definitely lying when we questioned her about what she might know. Have we your permission, aunt, to interview her - and Aisley - this morning?"

***

"I hope we can solve the mystery before the sergeant decides it is safe to return to, er...assist me in my endeavours," St Aubin remarked as they went to the laundry, where both girls were working that morning.

Soon the three men found themselves sitting in the same small room where Dom and Elijah had first interviewed Conna.

"Let us be firm, this time, as the abbess suggests," said Elijah as Dom drew out his notes. "We will never move forward if we do not press her a little."

But it was Aisley who entered the room first, wide-eyed and pale. She sat down where Elijah indicated, her hands clenched tightly in the lap, her face nearly as white as the cloth of the wimple that surrounded it. None of her bright red hair was on show today. Elijah wondered if she had hidden it for any reason.

"Sister Aisley, we know you have details of the death of Sister Odilla that you have not as yet publicly divulged." Elijah's voice was cool and firm, but not unfriendly. "We urge you now, to share with us all you know concerning this matter."

The words that issued from her mouth startled the men. "Will I be safe? Will you protect me?"

St Aubin smiled at her, and she was calmed a little by his look. "We will certainly protect you, Sister. But from what - or rather, whom - do you need protecting?"

She looked down at her hands. "I am not sure. But it is one of the other novices...or sisters. I was in the chapel, after Odilla was… and a voice whispered to me that I should not reveal anything I knew concerning her death, or it would go ill with me. And, no, I do not know who it was, except it did not seem like a young voice...or may be it was a young sister trying to sound older, I do not know!" She ended, now agitated, and if possible, even paler.

"What is it you know, sister?" Dom prompted, his mellow quiet voice encouraging her to speak.

"I...I was with Odilla and Matthew on the night Odilla died. It was getting difficult for them to meet. Odilla said she was being watched, but she did not say by whom. She had taken us - myself and Claudia - with her, across the stream to meet him. She was going to leave the abbey and marry him. She told me she was with child, although no-one else, she said, knew of it. Not even Matthew. She was saving that piece of news for when they could be together. It is easy to hide such things under the habit, sirs, as you can see."

She wiped a tear away with the back of her hand, and then with the corner of her white veil.

"Odilla shared a room with Conna, who knew Odilla was up to some mischief, as she called it, and she, too, wanted to come. But Odilla said that if too many went, they would draw attention to themselves."

"She promised her she should go another day, and with that Conna had to be content."

"And was she content?" Elijah probed, his voice gentle.

Aisley sniffed. "Conna is never content, whatever the situation may be. She finds fault with everything, and has a fit of the vapours if things are not to her liking."

Her face became still. "The Abbess Gertruda has put her in with me. She says I have the patience to handle her odd humours, but I have not. She always needs either placating or cheering up. It is a burden. I know Odilla found it so, too."

St Aubin had been thinking. It seemed his mind had fixed on something the girl had revealed, Elijah thought, but he said nothing.

Aisley clasped her hands closer together, and spoke again. "It was she who broke Claudia's leg. Odilla was still out with Matt, but Claudia and I decided to leave them together, and return to the abbey."

Her face became flushed as the memories returned to her. "I had climbed in through the vestibule window, which was unlatched, as that was the way we had got out. I had reached the top of the stairs when Claudia came through it. She was a tall girl, and bigger than the rest of us, but not by much. Still, it was a tight squeeze, and she got stuck, somehow. Her habit, I think, had become tangled around her legs."

"I was just about to go down to help her, when Conna rushed forward, and tugged hard at her arm, and she fell through, onto the large table, under the window, and her leg folded under her. I heard it snap from where I was. It was dreadful!"

They gave her a moment to compose herself before continuing.

"So, do you think that Sister Conna meant to harm Claudia?" Elijah continued.

Aisley shook her head. "I cannot say. She pulled harder than was necessary, but that is the sort of girl she is. Everything she does is...more than is needed."

"In any case, she ran off to fetch someone, and I, like the coward I am, rushed to my cell and got into my cot, and hid under the blankets."

"The next morning, when I went to the refectory for breakfast, I heard that Claudia had fallen down the stairs, and broken her leg. But I must tell you, sirs, as you well can see for yourselves, the window is on the opposite side of the vestibule from the stairs."

"Someone, it seems, did not want it known that Claudia had been out, I thought. This was understandable. The Venerable Lady is hard on transgressors."

Elijah could see why the girls had been afraid to admit to their night-time escapade. His aunt was a formidable presence, he thought, remembering his own childhood, and their present good relations.

"Then..." she continued, her voice suddenly hoarse, “…someone came in and announced that Odilla had been found dead beside the stream..."

Tears were tracking down her face - the memory still clear. "I was too afraid to admit that I had been with her. Too cowardly. Then, later, in the chapel, when we were praying for her soul, I was told to keep silent about all I knew - so I did. That is all I know, sirs."

Elijah leaned back in his chair. "You have been most helpful, Sister Aisley, most helpful. But, before you go, is there anything you know concerning Sister Claudia's death that might help us?"

The girl shook her head. "Nothing, except that she was killed with the knife Matt had given Odilla the week before. She treasured that knife, and it was used to kill her dearest friend - may God assoil whoever did such a foul deed."

Elijah nodded pleasantly, dismissing the girl. "You may be assured, Sister, that your confidences will be kept. No-one except the Venerable Lady Abbess will be taken into our confidence, I give you my word."

Aisley heaved a sigh of relief and left the room much more happily than she had entered it.


Before Sister Conna entered the chamber, Elijah had sent an urgent message to the abbess to attend the questioning. She came immediately, but asked no questions, merely seating herself next to her nephew and raising an eyebrow at him.

"All I ask, Venerable Lady, is that you say nothing, and attempt to show that you know all of what we speak. It is a bow drawn at a venture, but I hope it proves to be a good shot."

Gertruda nodded briskly. "That I shall do, my nephew. Carry on!"

Elijah glanced at his two fellow officers. Before the abbess had arrived, he had held a hurried discussion with them and knew he could rely on them to follow his lead.

When Sister Conna entered the room, prepared to scowl at Elijah, her face altered as she saw the abbess sitting next to him, and she allowed a meek demeanour to inform her features.

There was a slight pause as she seated herself, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her plain face framed by the white of her wimple.

"Well, Sister Conna. We have asked you here today because we need the answers to some important questions..."

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but Elijah quickly put up his hand to stop her, and she immediately fell silent.

"I must tell you, girl, that we know you killed both Odilla and Claudia, and why you did it. All we need to know, now, before you are taken before a Bishop's tribunal, is how?"