‘I do not like the thought of you in that house alone, so I shall come with you. I will tell a few lies about my imminent solution to Aylmer’s murder. And then I will have to go to the cathedral and do penance at the Head Shrine for bearing false witness.’
The obvious place to look for Simon was the minster, where he would soon be made a canon, so Michael and Bartholomew decided to search it on their way to see Chapman. De Wetherset escorted them to the Gilbertines’ gate, although he declined to join the hunt himself. He was clearly afraid to leave the convent, and Bartholomew hoped Michael would not pay for his greater courage with his life.
‘Perhaps I will return to the University when this is over,’ said de Wetherset worriedly. ‘Lincoln has grown dangerous, and it was uneasy politics that made me leave Cambridge. If I am to be caught up with intrigue and plots, I might as well be where there is a decent collection of books.’
Bartholomew regarded him thoughtfully. ‘Are you caught up with plots and intrigue? It is odd that you happened to select Lincoln as a haven of peace, when you are tied to it by your appointment as a juror in Miller’s trial all those years ago.’
De Wetherset’s expression was cold. ‘That was coincidence, and I resent your implication that it was anything else. I told you – it was a shock to be confronted by men I had acquitted.’
Bartholomew was unconvinced. ‘Miller tried to intimidate me when he thought I might remember the trial. Ergo, I seriously doubt you escaped with nothing said – unless he knew he could trust you to reveal nothing harmful. Now why would he think that?’
‘Matt,’ warned Michael uncomfortably. ‘De Wetherset is above suspicion.’
Bartholomew pressed on. ‘Several pieces of information have just clicked together in my mind, and I now know something you would rather keep concealed. So does Miller, which is why he does not mind you being here.’
De Wetherset glared at him. ‘And what might that be?’
‘It concerns the goods that went missing after Shirlok’s execution. We have just discussed the possibility that Shirlok may have been instrumental in their disappearance, but that is not the case.’
De Wetherset continued to glower. ‘What does lost property have to do with me?’
‘Matt,’ said Michael uneasily. ‘You are a long way from the mark with this.’
Bartholomew ignored him. ‘After Shirlok was hanged, I remember the valuables being loaded on a cart. There were a lot of people milling around in the bailey, because Nicholas Herl and several others had just been released from gaol, and Miller had hired wagons to move their possessions, too.’
‘Then you will also remember the line the sheriff drew in the mud with his boot,’ said de Wetherset. ‘No felon was permitted to cross it, on pain of death. None of them did.’
‘But “felons” did not pile the recovered goods on the cart,’ said Bartholomew. ‘You did – the only juror without an excuse good enough to let him evade the sheriff’s demand for help. You were in a hurry, determined to finish and be about your own business as soon as possible. You put at least some of the items on the wrong wagon.’
‘That is outrageous!’ De Wetherset turned to Michael. ‘If you are his friend, you will make him stop. Do not forget that I intend to be Chancellor again one day.’
‘I do not think you did it deliberately,’ Bartholomew went on, ‘but you realised what must have happened when the news started to circulate about the goods’ disappearance. You said nothing, and Miller must have had a lovely surprise when he reached Lincoln and unpacked.’
De Wetherset regarded him furiously. ‘How dare you accuse me of being party to a theft!’
Michael’s expression was troubled. ‘He is not. He is just saying that haste made you inattentive.’
De Wetherset regarded Bartholomew with dislike. ‘You cannot prove any of this.’
Bartholomew shrugged. ‘I do not want to. It is irrelevant now, and all it does is help us understand another step in the curious travels of the Hugh Chalice.’
‘Perhaps St Hugh guided your hand, forcing you to put his cup on a cart bound for Lincoln,’ said Michael, trying to pacify the furious ex-Chancellor. They had enough enemies, without making another. ‘Perhaps he did not want it to sit in quiet obscurity at Geddynge. Bishop Gynewell himself told me that holy objects make their own way to the places they want to be.’
De Wetherset regarded him doubtfully, some of his rage lifting. ‘Do you think so?’
‘Why not?’ asked Michael. ‘It makes you an instrument of God.’
De Wetherset’s temper cooled a little more. ‘You have a point.’
‘I hope you will remember who brought this to light,’ said Michael, somewhat sternly. ‘You cannot bear a grudge against Matt for pointing out that St Hugh selected you to do his will.’
‘I do not mind him saying that,’ said de Wetherset. ‘I mind his accusatory tone.’
‘It is not accusatory,’ said Michael. ‘He is just awed by the divine favour you have been shown.’
De Wetherset did not look convinced, but at least he was not scowling when they left the priory.
