City of Fiends
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Cast of characters Cathedral & Religious
Paffards
De Coyntes
Avices
Marsilles
Prologue
Chapter One Petreshayes Manor, Yarcombe, East Devon Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, first year of the reign of King Edward III
Marsilles’ House, Exeter
Petreshayes
Cooks’ Row, Exeter
Petreshayes
Alley beside Paffards’ house
Chapter Two Paffards’ House
Alley beside the Paffards’ House
Petreshayes Manor
Paffards’ House
Precentor’s House, Exeter Cathedral Morrow of the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Chapter Three Combe Street, Exeter
Petreshayes
Rougemont Castle, Exeter
Paffards’ House
Chapter Four Precentor’s House
Church of the Holy Trinity, South Gate
Combe Street Friday after the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Cock Inn, South Gate
Combe Street
Chapter Five Cock Inn, Southgate Street
Cook’s Row
Ottery St Mary
Paffards’ House Saturday after the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Chapter Six Taunton, Somerset
Marsilles’ House
Road south of Wellington
Chapter Seven Church near Broadclyst Sunday after the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Exeter Cathedral
Church near Broadclyst
Exeter North Gate
Cathedral Close Monday after the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Chapter Eight Rougemont Castle, Exeter
Combe Street near Paffards’ House
Alley near Paffards’ House
Road east of Exeter
Combe Street near the alley
Chapter Nine Rougemont Castle
Combe Street
Edith’s House, St Pancras Lane
Chapter Ten Combe Street
Road east of Exeter
Near alley at Combe Street
Rougemont Castle
Combe Street
Chapter Eleven De Coyntes’ House
Precentor’s House, Cathedral Close
Holy Trinity Church
Chapter Twelve St Pancras Lane
Rougemont Castle
Paffards’ House
Chapter Thirteen Paffards’ House
Chapter Fourteen Paffards’ House
Combe Street
Chapter Fifteen Cock Inn, Southgate Street
Paffards’ House
Chapter Sixteen Cock Inn
Paffards’ House
Church of the Holy Trinity
Paffards’ House
Chapter Seventeen Cock Inn Tuesday after the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Combe Street
Precentor’s House, Exeter Cathedral
Marsilles’ House
Chapter Eighteen Holy Trinity Church
Edith’s House, St Pancras Lane
Paffards’ House
Combe Street
Chapter Nineteen Road east of Exeter
Exeter Cathedral
Avices’ House
Precentor’s House
Chapter Twenty Paffards’ House
Marsilles’ House
Precentor’s House
Combe Street
Chapter Twenty-one Church of the Holy Trinity
Combe Street
Paffards’ House
Cock lnn
Paffards’ House
Chapter Twenty-two Alley off Combe Street
Paffards’ House
Chapter Twenty-three Marsilles’ House
Farm near Clyst St George
Paffards’ House
Chapter Twenty-four Paffards’ House
Exeter Cathedral Wednesday after the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Talbot’s Inn
Chapter Twenty-five Precentor’s House
Church of the Holy Trinity
Cathedral Close
Holy Trinity Church
Alley off Combe Street
Chapter Twenty-six Rougemont Castle
Alley off Combe Street
Alley off Combe Street
East Gate
Chapter Twenty-seven Rougemont Castle
Near Clyst St George
Gatehouse to Rougemont Castle
Near Clyst St George
Chapter Twenty-eight Paffards’ House
Near Clyst St George
Paffards’ House
Outside the Paffards’ House
Chapter Twenty-nine Near Clyst St Mary
Rougemont Castle
Cock Inn
Chapter Thirty Bishop’s Clyst
Cock Inn
Rougemont Castle
Precentor’s House
Chapter Thirty-one Paffards’ House
Marsilles’ House Second Thursday after the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Rougemont Castle
Chapter Thirty-two Venn Ottery
Clyst St Mary
Combe Street
Venn Ottery
De Coyntes’ House
Chapter Thirty-three Venn Ottery
Venn Ottery
Chapter Thirty-four Venn Ottery
De Coyntes’ House
Venn Ottery
Chapter Thirty-five Paffards’ House
Venn Ottery
Marsilles’ House
Exeter
Chapter Thirty-six Exeter Cathedral Second Friday after the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Paffards’ House
Paffards’ House
Exeter Cathedral
Chapter Thirty-seven Marsilles’ House
City Gaol, East Gate
Exeter Gaol at East Gate
Marsilles’ House
Chapter Thirty-eight Combe Street
East Gate
Paffards’ House
Marsilles’ House
Talbot’s Inn
Paffards’ House
Chapter Thirty-nine Marsilles’ House
Exeter Gaol
Paffards’ House
High Street
Chapter Forty Cock Inn
Paffards’ House
Exeter Gaol
Chapter Forty-one High Street
Paffards’ House
Exeter Gaol
Chapter Forty-two Combe Street
Exeter Gaol
Paffards’ House
Chapter Forty-three Combe Street
Paffards’ House
Southgate Street
Combe Street
Chapter Forty-four Carfoix
Paffards’ House
Smythen Lane
Combe Street
Chapter Forty-five Paffards’ House
Combe Street
Paffards’ House
Paffards’ House
Chapter Forty-six Paffards’ House
Paffards’ House
Chapter Forty-seven Paffards’ House
Cock Inn
Church of the Holy Trinity
Chapter Forty-eight Precentor’s House Second Saturday after the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Cathedral Close
Chapter Forty-nine Cowley Ford Second Tuesday after the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Stepecoat Street
Paffards’ House
Furnshill
Road to Bristol
Glossary
Author’s Note
The Last Templar Mysteries
About the Author
Also by Michael Jecks
Copyright
Cover
Table of Contents
Start of Content
This book is for Andy, Jenny, and all the BERTS Frangles, for ales, for Morris dancing, for cycling, and for all the fun.
You are the best of neighbours.
Cast of characters
Sir Baldwin de Furnshill: Keeper of the King’s Peace and keen investigator of felonies.
Edgar: Sir Baldwin’s loyal Sergeant.
Simon Puttock: once a bailiff of Dartmoor, now a farmer near Crediton and friend to Sir Baldwin.
Edith: Simon’s daughter.
Peter: Edith’s husband.
Henry: Edith and Peter’s baby.
Hugh: Simon’s servant.
Sir Richard de Welles: Coroner in Lifton.
Sir Reginald: Coroner in Exeter.
Sir James de Cockington: Sheriff of Exeter.
Luke Chepman: successful merchant and member of the Freedom of Exeter.
Sir Charles of Lancaster: the loyal servant of the Lancaster family, he has become a committed supporter of the former King, Edward II.
Ulric of Exeter: servant to Sir Charles.
Cathedral & Religious
Adam Murimuth: Precentor and Canon at Exeter Cathedral.
Fr Laurence Coscumbe: Vicar within the Cathedral.
Fr Paul: Vicar of Holy Trinity at the South Gate.
Janekyn Beyvyn: porter responsible for all the gates to the Cathedral Close.
Paffards
Henry Paffard: a wealthy merchant in Exeter.
Claricia Paffard: Henry’s long-suffering wife.
Gregory Paffard: eldest son of Henry and Claricia.
Agatha: the second child, with the most business acumen.
Thomas: the third child, a boy of six years.
John: old bottler to the family.
Benjamin: Henry Paffard’s apprentice.
Alice: maid to the Paffards.
Joan: younger maid.
De Coyntes
Bydaud de Coyntes: Gascon merchant.
Emma de Coyntes: Bydaud’s wife.
Anastasia: Bydaud’s eldest daughter.
Sabina: Bydaud’s younger daughter.
Peg: maid to the de Coyntes family.
Avices
Roger Avice: dealer in good wines, who has suffered from debts.
Helewisia Avice: Roger’s wife; a determined woman from farming stock.
Katherine: their daughter of sixteen.
Piers: their son, who died two years before.
Marsilles
Juliana Marsille: widow, who struggles to survive.
Philip: her eldest son, who is trying to build up his family’s business again.
William: aged sixteen, he is determined to help his brother and mother.
Prologue
Relationships are always changing. Sometimes their adjustments are so gradual, we hardly notice them; occasionally they are shattered by shocks that devastate all concerned, but whether they alter with glacial or lightning speed, the effect can be profound.
In a family, in a village, in a city, the connections that matter most are those with our nearest family and friends, yet they are the ones which are tested daily. These are the people whom we can most easily upset – and yet they are the very ones upon whom we most depend.
Disputes can occur at the drop of a hat: a misinterpreted expression, a careless word, a hand held too long – all can lead to sharp words, bitterness and rancour.
Reconciliation may be straightforward if attempted with speed, but it is less certain when allowed to fester. It is better, so they say, not to sleep on a quarrel. But all too often men and women lie weeping into the night over cruel words. Words which were uttered in the heat of the moment and which were never intended to have a lasting impact; or worse, words which were precisely considered – and all the more vicious as a result.
In the year 1327, all over the kingdom people went about their business in a state of constant worry because they feared what the future might bring.
Their King, Edward II, had been forced to abdicate.
The uncertain political situation affected everyone: the merchants and traders of Exeter, just as much as elsewhere in the realm. In such a climate, even mild-mannered people became uncharacteristically quick to take offence; disagreements abounded and could grow into outright feuds, petty disputes into fist-fights. Even murder.
In one street in Exeter that June, an argument that arose from an ill-considered reckless threat grew to dominate the lives of all about and escalated into a disaster that would overwhelm them all with hideous acts of violence. All for love, for loyalty, or for honour.
And none of those who were intimate with the victims or protagonists would be untouched by the consequences.
Chapter One
Petreshayes Manor, Yarcombe, East Devon
Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist1, first year of the reign of King Edward III
The smoke could be seen clearly from half a mile away. In the still air of the summer’s evening, the columns rose from the manor’s fires like pillars supporting the sky.
‘Hold!’ commanded Sir Charles of Lancaster, peering ahead. There was no sign of alarm. A wood on their left offered some protection, while to the right there were some fields, pasture, common land. All ideal for pursuing their victims, should they escape.
‘Here we are, boys,’ he breathed.
His men stared. There was a heightened tension, the awareness of an imminent fight. Breath rasped, and he heard the soft hiss of a blade being drawn, the jangle of bit, the squeak of leather, the hollow clop of a hoof.
‘That’s the manor,’ his guide said. Wat Bakere was a rotund, smiling man, but he wore a scowl today. ‘You’ll find it easy to overrun. Kill them all.’ He was pointing at the church and manorial buildings over at the other side of the dirt road. It curled about the line of the manor, which was a prominent landmark.
‘You’re sure they are there?’
‘Ulric told you, didn’t he? He said they would be,’ Bakere said, jerking a thumb at the lad behind him.
Sir Charles nodded.
He was a tall man, fair and handsome as a Viking, and ruthless as a berserker. During the last civil war he had fought against the King for his lord, Thomas of Lancaster, and when Earl Lancaster was executed, Sir Charles had been exiled. That was five years ago, and when he begged for a pardon for his offences, his King had been gracious. He was rewarded with positions of trust, and given a living once more.
He asked for no more; he had given his word and his hand to his King, so when Edward II was captured by his enemies, Sir Charles became a recusant knight. He would not renege on the new oaths he had given his King. Instead he left the comfortable billet in the King’s manor at Eltham where he had lived for the last months, and rode into the twilight to take up arms on the King’s behalf.
Now the King’s son had taken the throne, Sir Charles was a renegade. A felon. Because he would hold to his vow.
Today, with his band of warriors committed to the King, he would begin the fight to return Sir Edward of Caernarfon, as he was now labelled, to his natural place on the throne of England.
Sir Charles looked at Ulric of Exeter. He was more trustworthy than Wat Bakere. Bakere had been given to him by Stephen Dunheved, a man who appreciated the value of good information, but it was Ulric, the merchant’s fellow, who had brought the details. Returning his gaze to Bakere, he nodded.
‘You were the baker at this manor?’
Bakere rolled his eyes impatiently. ‘Yes. I told you – I’d been here two years when I left a fortnight ago.’
‘But even then you heard that the Bishop and his entourage were to come here?’
‘Yes.’ Wat looked up at him, his eyes creased in sardonic amusement. ‘You don’t know what it’s like. They hear their lord’s coming to vi
sit, and all hell is let loose! Rooms must be cleaned, beasts must be slaughtered, money must be counted and recounted, food stores checked so the master can see nothing’s been lost or stolen… there’s no peace for anyone. As soon as his visit was announced, the villeins were driven lunatic by the steward’s demands. So was I. I needed more flour for their food, and the steward was never willing to—’
‘What makes a man like you become disloyal to his master, I wonder?’
‘I owe them nothing!’
‘I see,’ Sir Charles said languidly. He suspected that Wat had been found with his hand in the food bin. Bakers were notorious for making undersized loaves, keeping back the excess flour to sell, or making their own loaves larger than those for others. A greedy little man, this Wat.
He turned his attention back to Ulric. The scrawny wretch was looking miserable. It was he who had brought confirmation that Bishop James Berkeley was heading this way, and now he knew the consequences of his report, he was regretting it. The lad was too young; he needed his spine stiffened.