Free Heart of Ice by Alys Clare Page B

community who had already been infected away from the healthy; but then, Josse thought grimly, he did not need to.
         After quite a long time the Abbess said, ‘I understand your reasoning, Gervase, but I will not close the gates.’ Her eyes wide with distress, she said, ‘If there are to be more victims of this sickness, then it is to Hawkenlye that they will come. Our whole purpose here is to tend the sick, to allow them to avail themselves of the precious healing water and of the skill of our infirmarer and her nursing nuns.’
         ‘But—’ de Gifford began.
         ‘I know what you would say,’ the Abbess interrupted, ‘and of course I appreciate that you speak good sense. Nevertheless, sense is not the only factor in this matter; there is duty, charity, love of our fellow man and, above all, love of God. Do you think, Gervase, that our master Jesus would have me close the gates? He who went among the sick and the dying with no thought for his own safety?’
         De Gifford stared at her for some moments. Then, with a sigh, he said, ‘No. Of course not.’
         ‘We shall take what measures we can to keep the sick apart from the healthy,’ the Abbess said. She was speaking quickly, setting out her arrangements with such fluency that Josse guessed she had thought them all out beforehand. ‘The boy and the baby girl were already on the mend when they were taken up to the infirmary, so I would venture to suggest that, thankfully, no dangerous element has been introduced up here. The man Jabez – Waldo’s uncle – is being cared for apart from the community, in a corner of the sleeping quarters in the Vale.’
         ‘Who is looking after him?’ Josse asked.
         ‘Brother Firmin.’ She looked up and met Josse’s eyes.
         She has the same thought as I, he realised. She fears that this – thing – is too hungry to be content with its present tally of victims. And Brother Firmin is an old man, and not strong  . . .
         I must not dwell on that, he told himself firmly. There is work to do and I will offer to help where best I can. ‘My lady,’ he said, ‘and Gervase, I suggest that the next step is to return to Adam Pinchsniff in Newenden to ask him if he knows of any connection between Nicol Romley and Master Kelsey in Hastings. Such a connection will be reassuring because it will tell us that these cases of the sickness all stem from the one source.’ It was, he thought, unthinkable that there should be two separate outbreaks of this deadly disease. ‘And, in addition, the more we find out about Nicol’s recent movements, the sooner we will be able to discover why he had to be killed and who killed him.’
         ‘Fine optimism, Josse,’ de Gifford said with a smile.
         Josse gave a quick grin. ‘Aye, I know. But optimism and a plan of action are preferable to standing here wringing our hands and waiting for catastrophe to overwhelm us.’
         ‘Indeed,’ de Gifford murmured.
         ‘I will go back to Newenden,’ Josse said, with another grin in de Gifford’s direction, ‘for it is likely that the apothecary will be more willing to discuss the matter of his apprentice with me than – er – than with the sheriff here.’
         ‘Why—?’ the Abbess began.
         But that, Josse decided, was too long a tale to tell now and anyway it was irrelevant. With a bow, he interrupted her. ‘With your leave, my lady, I should set out as soon as possible,’ he said. ‘Horace is none too lively, given that we have only just arrived here from New Winnowlands, and—’
         ‘Take the cob,’ the Abbess suggested. ‘He has not been ridden for some time and you will go faster on a fresh horse.’
         ‘Thank you, my lady. I will return as soon as I can.’
         He hurried out of the room, only just catching the ‘God’s speed’ that she called after him.

Chapter 5
     
    The Abbey cob was hard-mouthed and not in the