THE MALICE OF UNNATURAL DEATH
Michael Jecks
Copyright © 2006 Michael Jecks
The right of Michael Jecks to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
First published as an Ebook by
Headline Publishing Group in 2014
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
eISBN: 978 1 4722 1983 1
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
About the Author
Also by Michael Jecks
Praise
About the Book
Dedication
Map
Cast of Characters
Glossary
Author’s Note
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
About the Author
Michael Jecks gave up a career in the computer industry to concentrate on his writing. He is the founder of Medieval Murderers, has been Chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association, and helped create the Historical Writers’ Association. Keen to help new writers, for some years he organised the Debut Dagger competition, and is now organising the AsparaWriting festival for new writers at Evesham. He has judged many prizes, including the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Michael is an international speaker on writing and for business. He lives with his wife, children and dogs in northern Dartmoor.
Michael can be contacted through his website: www.michaeljecks.co.uk.
He can be followed on twitter (@MichaelJecks) or on Facebook.com/Michael.Jecks.author.
His photos of Devon and locations for his books can be found at: Flickr.com/photos/Michael_Jecks.
Also by Michael Jecks
The Last Templar
The Merchant’s Partner
A Moorland Hanging
The Crediton Killings
The Abbot’s Gibbet
The Leper’s Return
Squire Throwleigh’s Heir
Belladonna at Belstone
The Traitor of St Giles
The Boy-Bishop’s Glovemaker
The Tournament of Blood
The Sticklepath Strangler
The Devil’s Acolyte
The Mad Monk of Gidleigh
The Templar’s Penance
The Outlaws of Ennor
The Tolls of Death
The Chapel of Bones
The Butcher of St Peter’s
A Friar’s Bloodfeud
The Death Ship of Dartmouth
Malice of Unnatural Death
Dispensation of Death
The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover
The Prophecy of Death
The King of Thieves
No Law in the Land
The Bishop Must Die
The Oath
King’s Gold
City of Fiends
Templar’s Acre
Praise
‘Michael Jecks is the master of the medieval whodunnit’ Robert Low
‘Captivating … If you care for a well-researched visit to medieval England, don’t pass this series’ Historical Novels Review
‘Michael Jecks has a way of dipping into the past and giving it that immediacy of a present-day newspaper article … He writes … with such convincing charm that you expect to walk round a corner in Tavistock and meet some of the characters’ Oxford Times
‘Great characterisation, a detailed sense of place, and a finely honed plot make this a superb medieval historical’ Library Journal
‘Stirring intrigue and a compelling cast of characters will continue to draw accolades’ Publishers Weekly
‘A tortuous and exciting plot … The construction of the story and the sense of period are excellent’ Shots
‘This fascinating portrayal of medieval life and the corruption of the Church will not disappoint. With convincing characters whose treacherous acts perfectly combine with a devilishly masterful plot, Jecks transports readers back to this wicked world with ease’ Good Book Guide
About the Book
The twenty-second novel in Michael Jecks’s medieval Knights Templar series.
1324: The English kingdom is in uproar. Roger Mortimer, once the King’s most able commander, now his most hated enemy, is plotting his assassination. And he is not the only person with murder in mind…
When the bodies of a local craftsman and the King’s messenger are found in the streets of Exeter, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock are implored to find the person responsible. The deceased messenger was carrying a dangerous secret that could prove fatal in the wrong hands. Now Baldwin and Simon must find the murderer before he strikes again…
This is for the men of Tinners’ Morris …
Especially for Mike and Shelagh Palmer
With many thanks for all the laughs – and your patience with us!
Map of Exeter in Early 1300s
Detail of South Eastern Exeter
Cast of Characters
Sir Baldwin de Furnshill – once a Knight Templar, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill has become respected as a shrewd investigator of crimes
Simon Puttock – formerly a stannary bailiff, Simon has recently been made responsible for the Customs of the port of Dartmouth
Sir Richard de Welles – the coroner for the king at Lifton
Rob – Simon’s servant at Dartmouth, Rob is a young lad who has grown up in the company of sailors
Brother Robert Busse – a monk from Tavistock, and contender for the vacant abbacy
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Brother John de Courtenay – another monk from Tavistock, and son of Baron Hugh, John is determined to win the abbacy
Robert le Mareschal – a student of the magical arts in Coventry, Robert studies under John of Nottingham
John of Nottingham – known as a necromancer, John is feared even by the most powerful in the country
Walter Stapledon – Bishop of Exeter
Sir Matthew de Crowethorne – Sheriff of Exeter
Maurice Berkeley – the son of Lord Maurice Berkeley and brother to Alice, Maurice has been on the run after ill-advisedly ransacking Despenser properties
Madam Alice – Sir Matthew’s wife, daughter of Lord Maurice Berkeley
Sarra – a servant girl from the country north of Exeter
Jen – Sarra’s friend, Jen has recently joined her at Sir Matthew’s house
Norman Mucheton – a worker of bone and antlers in the city
Madam Mucheton – wife to Norman
Elias – a beadle
Ivo Trempole – a watchman, who lives with his mother Edie
Michael Tanner – a moderately successful tradesman, Michael rents properties to those such as his friend Richard de Langatre
Richard de Langatre – familiar to many in the city, Richard is a fortune-teller famous enough to have even monks from Tavistock come to consult him
James of Wanetynch – a king’s messenger, James has recently arrived in the city with messages for the bishop
Robinet of Newington – also known as Newt, and once a king’s messenger, Robinet has retired now, and is visiting his friend Walter in Exeter
Walter of Hanlegh – once a king’s man, Walter has retired to obscurity in Exeter
Will Skinner – the watchman down at the southern gate
Madam Skinner – Will’s wife
Sir Richard de Sowe – a knight in the king’s household who was murdered by witchcraft on 28 April 1324
Sir Simon Croyser – Sheriff of Warwick, and the main official responsible for the arrest of the men involved in the attempted assassination in Coventry
Glossary
Cokini literally, ‘kitchen knaves’, the early term for the king’s messengers. Later this was replaced by
Cursores ‘runner’, which must have seemed more suitable!
Maleficium harm done to another by the use of magic, whether necromancy, sorcery, witchcraft, or wizardry
Necromancy communicating with the dead to tell fortunes or work magic
Nuncii regis the term for mounted king’s messengers
Salsarius Purveyor of salted meats and fish within Tavistock Abbey
Schiltrom an enhancement of the Saxon shield-wall, this Scottish development involved the warriors lining up behind a solid wall of shields, bristling with long spears, which could withstand even a cavalry charge
Sorcery performing magic – usually to do harm – by the use of substances or objects which are believed to be imbued with supernatural powers, often involving certain gestures or spells spoken aloud
Witchcraft performing magic – again to harm another – by making use of powers which exist within the practitioner. Occasionally may involve the use of objects or spells, but not necessarily
Wizardry see ‘necromancy’
Author’s Note
When I try to think what actually led to a story’s forming in my mind, it is often remarkably easy. Usually the court records or coroners’ rolls lead me to a basic plot, and then the format of the story, the characters, and sometimes the location, can be conjured up.
This story was a little different. I had been hunting about for some little while for a decent concept for book 22 in the series, because I felt very satisfied with its predecessor, The Death Ship of Dartmouth. That book seemed to me to have a strong story, with some excellent action and fresh characters, and I wanted something as strong – but different.
My problem was that the next important piece of history would not be until early 1325, which was some months after the last story. I needed something to fill in the gap. By sheer good fortune, as so often happens, a strange little snippet led me straight to a new plot and the book.
I happened to read in Alison Weir’s book Isabella, Queen of England, She-Wolf of France a paragraph in which she mentioned a curious assassination attempt. The Despenser was alarmed in late 1324 and early 1325 to learn that Lord Mortimer was paying a necromancer to try to murder him with magic. This, apparently, put the fear of God into him, and he even went so far as to write to the Pope to apply for special protection – to which the pontiff somewhat testily responded that if the man would confess his sins, behave better and stop making enemies, he’d find he felt more at ease with himself. I paraphrase, but the letter’s meaning was clear.
It put me in mind of a short paper produced by that marvellous historian, H.P.R. Finberg, called The Tragi-Comedy of Abbot Bonus, in West Country Historical Studies (David & Charles, 1969), which described the dispute between John de Courtenay and Robert Busse, two monks who contested the abbacy of Tavistock in 1325. In that case, Courtenay complained about Busse’s election to the top job for a number of reasons, but one was that he had been visiting a necromancer in Exeter to make sure that he won the post.
That was enough to give me my starting-point. I began to look up necromancers in other books, and soon gained a lot of useful material, especially from Norman Cohn’s brilliant study Europe’s Inner Demons, published by Heinemann Educational and Sussex University. From that I learned much about how magicians would conjure spirits. However, it was a visit to the library and a quick look at the Selden Society books, Volume 74: Select Cases in the Court of the King’s Bench part IV, that fleshed out the story of the Despenser murder attempt.
The case was exactly as set out in my story here, so I won’t perform the tedious act of repetition. Suffice it to say that John of Nottingham never, to my knowledge, escaped from Coventry and Warwick, and I have taken the unforgivable step of suggesting that poor Sheriff Sir Simon Croyser was guilty of trying to free a felon in order to fulfil his ambition of killing the king. Oddly enough, though, other aspects of the story are correct, such as the mysterious illness and subsequent death of Sir Richard de Sowe. His death would appear to have been enough to make Despenser tremble.
As well it might.
From my point of view, only one thing was important here, though, and that was the fact that there was a story begging to be told. I just had to sit down and let the characters tell it their own way.
The subplot of the poor servant girl is one that has been in my mind for quite a while now. I first came across the sad story of Jen when I was reading Elliot O’Donnell’s A Casebook of Ghosts many years ago.
This fascinating book is the record of a ghosthunter, or purports to be. He came from a long line of illustrious Irishmen, and asserted, I seem to recall, that being the seventh son of a mother who was herself the seventh in her brood he was more than usually prey to ghostly visits. Whether or not this was so, it is certainly true that he was a keen researcher of strange phenomena, and an avid collector of stories from eye-witnesses.
Many of the stories are pleasantly gruesome, as one would hope. However, the story of the young maidservant was peculiarly sad.
He told (so I remember) of a young servant who became infatuated with a guest at the country house in which she worked. All too often in those days, visitors would come to spend a significant time with the family: you need only read Wodehouse to get a feel for the relaxed atmosphere of such places. The young visitor, so O’Donnell wrote, was probably entirely unaware of the effect he had on the young, malleable heart of the servant girl. Without doubt, he was moderately courteous to her, as a public school educated young man would have been to the servants in his host’s house, but that was almost certainly all there was to it.
But she convinced herself over a matter of weeks that he was utterly enraptured by her. She began to dream of the day that he would leave, how he would take her away from the dr
udgery of her miserable working life, and elope with her. They would marry in splendour, honeymoon in Europe, and return to a small house of their own, where they would raise their little family. All this was in her mind.
And when he left? He thanked her, along with all the other staff, and gave her as he gave all of them, a small gratuity. A coin.
She, apparently, was appalled, and stood rooted to the spot, staring at the coin, but then, as the coach door shut behind him and the horses were whipped up, she was heard to shriek. The coach moved off, and she launched herself after it, to the surprise of the others standing by to wave off the young gentleman. No one had any idea of the fixation she had with the man, and to see her fling herself down the driveway after the carriage must have had a terrifying impact. In those days, madness was viewed with horror.
So the upshot of the story was that the girl spent the whole of the rest of her life bemoaning the fact of his departure, predicting his imminent return, and keening to herself in the local lunatic asylum. And in all that time, she never once let his coin leave her hand. Such asylums in those days were not pleasant, and it is sad to consider this poor young woman walking amongst the insane, between those who stood screaming in shackles and the others who lay in their own mess, with no possibility of a cure. It would be many centuries before anyone began to think of psychotherapy.
It was said (which is why Elliot O’Donnell heard of it) that when she died she still had that coin in her hand, and an unscrupulous pair of gravediggers saw it and tugged it from her clenched, dead fist. But they were then hounded by her wraith, which sought her coin all over the asylum and in their homes, and made their lives a misery. The two returned it to her grave at the earliest opportunity, and the ghastly visitations ceased.
I can treat the story slightly flippantly now, but when I was eleven years old, reading that while listening to Neil Young’s After the Goldrush, it had a significant impact on my impressionable little mind. Neil Young’s voice and tracks from that album still have a nostalgic effect upon me.
The story may or may not be true, but I do believe that young girls, young women, call them what you will, can occasionally form these intense bonds with the concept of a man or a future. This is something which I have never seen in a male of a similar age. Perhaps it’s a gender thing.