De Wetherset clapped slowly and sarcastically. ‘At last! I am almost certain that Shirlok’s vessel is the same as the one Simon bought for the cathedral, although there was no talk at the trial about it belonging to St Hugh or being stolen from the friars who were transporting it to Lincoln.’
Bartholomew was thoughtful. ‘Simon says he bought it from a relic-seller. Prior Roger thinks there was something familiar about this man and his red hose, but Simon claims he is from Rome.’
De Wetherset smiled in his annoying manner. ‘Good. And now think about a fellow called Walter Chapman, as you remember him from the trial. What was he wearing?’
‘I have not the faintest idea,’ said Bartholomew, regarding him as though he were insane. ‘And I am astonished you think I should. I cannot possibly be expected to remember a man’s clothes after two decades. I cannot even recall what I wore then.’
‘I can,’ said de Wetherset. ‘A black tabard with yellow stockings. You looked like a moorhen. But I see I shall have to help your analysis. Chapman wore scarlet hose at the trial, and he still favours the fashion now. Ergo, this “Roman” relic-seller, whom Roger thinks is vaguely familiar, is Chapman.’
‘There are a lot of questions with that solution,’ said Bartholomew, unconvinced. ‘First, how did Chapman come by the chalice, since it would have been returned to its owners at Geddynge after Shirlok’s trial? Secondly, even if Chapman did manage to acquire it, why wait twenty years before selling it to Simon? And thirdly, why would Chapman peddle it to Simon, knowing Simon intends to put it somewhere where it will be open to public scrutiny? If it is not the original Hugh Chalice – and it does not sound as though it can be – then Chapman is asking to be exposed as a deceiver.’
‘Yes,’ said de Wetherset patronisingly. ‘So, ignore Chapman for now, and concentrate on the man originally charged with its theft: Shirlok. What can you deduce from his involvement?’
Bartholomew scratched his head, too interested in the connections he was beginning to see to be offended by de Wetherset’s condescension. ‘We have been told that the Hugh Chalice was stolen en route from London to Lincoln twenty years ago. Shirlok was definitely operating then.’
‘Right,’ said Michael. ‘And Father Simon told us how it was pilfered from the two friar-couriers when they rested their weary bones at Cambridge. Shirlok must have found them asleep and taken advantage of the situation. At the trial, it was claimed that Shirlok passed the chalice to Lora Boyner, but she denied knowing it was stolen.’
‘You have missed a bit out, Brother,’ said Bartholomew. ‘Shirlok must have sold it to Geddynge before giving it to Lora, because it was Geddynge’s priest who claimed he was the owner.’
De Wetherset smiled. ‘Exactly! The Geddynge priest bought the cup from a “relic-seller” for twenty shillings. At that price, obviously neither he nor Shirlok had any idea of its holiness. It was removed from Geddynge church within a few days of its purchase, because Shirlok knew that what could be sold once could be stolen and hawked again.’
‘Very well,’ said Bartholomew. ‘But then what? You have established that it was stolen from the friars, stolen from Geddynge, and recovered from Lora Boyner to appear at Shirlok’s trial. But how did it get here? After Shirlok had been convicted, it would have been returned to its rightful owner.’
‘And who is that?’ demanded de Wetherset imperiously. ‘Not the Geddynge priest, because he had the misfortune to buy purloined property. And not Lora Boyner, either. So, is the “rightful owner” the cathedral in Lincoln? The Old Temple in London?’
‘The two friars?’ asked Bartholomew. ‘I do not recall them being at the trial.’
‘Once the cup was lost to them, they returned to London with their tails between their legs,’ said de Wetherset. ‘I heard a rumour that they never arrived – God struck them down for their carelessness.’
‘Or they were killed by whoever stole the chalice,’ suggested Michael. ‘Shirlok.’
‘So what did happen to Shirlok’s chalice?’ pressed Bartholomew. ‘Was it returned to Geddynge, because it was Geddynge’s priest who reported it missing? I am sure it was recorded as his property at the trial, regardless of who has real legal title to the thing now.’
Michael snapped his fingers. ‘I remember! Everything Shirlok was alleged to have stolen disappeared into thin air when it was in the process of being returned to its proper owners. Shirlok’s treasure vanished, and no one ever found out what happened to it.’
De Wetherset was smug. ‘Precisely, Brother! So, now do you see now why I have not wasted my time examining Simon’s cup? With that sort of history, how can it be a genuine relic?’
