Free Whited Sepulchres by C B Hanley Page A

down. He turned to the minstrel, flipping him a coin. ‘A masterly performance. We look forward to the continuation tomorrow.’ He nodded at the rest of the noble party, and they too stood, the men wiping their beards and the ladies shaking crumbs from their fine gowns, and prepared to leave. Once they had exited the hall, people began to discuss what they’d heard, arguing among themselves. But eventually they started to wind down their conversations, and some began to bring out blankets and find themselves places to sleep. Edwin rose and stretched himself, stiff after so long perching on the hard wooden bench, and staggered out into the night.
    The cool air hit him as he left the hall, and he felt somewhat revived. It was very late, but there was still a hint of light in the midsummer sky as he passed through the gatehouse and down into the village. He let himself into his mother’s house very quietly, knowing she would be asleep in the bedroom, and shut the front door behind him before barring it carefully. The fire had died down, and the last orange glimmers gave little light to see, but he’d lived in this house all his life and needed nothing to guide him as he fetched his straw palliasse and his blanket from the kist in the corner, took four steps back towards the hearth, rolled himself up and fell asleep watching the comforting glow.

    It seemed like only moments later when he was being shaken.
    ‘Edwin! Edwin, wake up!’
    ‘What?’ He stirred sleepily, wondering if he’d overslept, but it was still dark and the voice wasn’t his mother’s.
    ‘Come on, wake up!’ He was still being shaken, and as he came to himself he realised that the door was open and his mother was hovering in the background. But the figure standing over him was Adam: that roused him quicker than a dash of cold water, for there could be no happy reason why one of the earl’s squires should be here in the middle of the night.
    He sat up. ‘What is it?’
    Adam’s voice was low but urgent. ‘You have to come up to the castle. It’s Hamo – he’s dead.’

Chapter Four
    The moon was on the wane, but there was just enough light for Edwin to see his way as he followed Adam through the still, colourless village and up the path to the castle. Even at this hour it wasn’t cold, but he shivered as he remembered another occasion when he’d been woken from sleep by one of the earl’s squires with news of a death. The memory of it made him queasy, and he wondered what he was going to have to face once he got there. Had Hamo been stabbed? Would there be blood and flies everywhere? Would there … but he was letting his imagination run away with him. Better to find out the facts rather than allowing his mind to conjure up such images.
    Adam was setting a fair pace, and Edwin jogged to catch up.
    ‘So, tell me what’s happened.’
    Adam looked uneasy, and Edwin recalled that he probably had bad memories of his own. ‘Did you … I mean, was it you who found the body?’
    ‘No. It was when he went into the office – ’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘The serving man. I don’t know his name.’
    ‘And what office?’
    ‘The steward’s room. He went in – ’
    Edwin thought that he needed some clearer information before he walked into whatever situation was awaiting him. He stopped and grabbed Adam’s arm. ‘Please, just wait a moment.’
    Adam halted, and Edwin could just make out his face in the faint light. Was he paler than usual? Or had the moon drained away his colour?
    ‘Just … just take a breath and tell me, from the beginning, what has happened.’
    Adam inhaled deeply. ‘All right. But we must walk while we’re talking, or Sir Geoffrey will wonder where I’ve got to.’
    They resumed their pace and Edwin listened carefully, trying to take in as much as possible.
    ‘Some of the men who work in the kitchen were up early, as they always are, to make the bread. They also wanted to make a start on the dinner for later, as it’s