About the Book
Winter 1372, York.
A man has drowned in the River Ouse after a skirmish with boys from St Peter’s School. It soon becomes clear that his death was not an accident – but why would a humble pilot on the river be killed for possessing a young boy’s purse? Suspicion falls on Father Nicholas Ferriby – Vicar of Weston and master of a small grammar school – who has already offended many with his unpopular beliefs. But is he really a murderer?
One-eyed spy, Owen Archer, Captain of Archbishop Thoresby’s guard and noted for solving many crimes, is quickly brought to the scene by his adoptive son, Jasper. Clear that the pilot has been killed for more than a purse, an increasingly cantankerous Thoresby reluctantly agrees to let Owen investigate the man’s murder. Torn between solving the crime and looking after his wife, Lucie, who is expecting their long-awaited third child, Owen is soon taken away from home. When another body is found in the river and Owen and Jasper get nearer to the truth, they find their own lives in jeopardy …
Acclaim for Candace Robb
‘It’s … the Machiavellian intrigue that makes this such an enjoyable read. When the iron curtain came down people said the spy-thriller genre was dead. They were wrong. This is as full of intrigue as a Deighton or a Le Carré’ Guardian
‘A superb medieval mystery, thoroughly grounded in historical fact’ Booklist
Fiction
9780434015467
www.randomhouse.co.uk
www.candacerobb.com
THE GUILT OF
INNOCENTS
CANDACE ROBB
This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Epub ISBN 9781446439173
www.randomhouse.co.uk
Published by Arrow Books 2008
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Copyright © Candace Robb 2007
Candace Robb has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
Apart from references to actual historical figures and places, all other names and characters are a product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
First published in Great Britain in 2007 by
William Heinemann
Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London SW1V 2SA
www.rbooks.co.uk
Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm
The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9780099497899
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER
ABOUT THE BOOK
TITLE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACCLAIM FOR CANDACE ROBB
ALSO BY CANDACE ROBB
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LIST OF CHARACTERS
GLOSSARY
MAPS
PROLOGUE
1 Best Intentions
2 Puzzling Connections
3 Journeys
4 Floater
5 The Charm
6 A Riddle of a Man
7 Secrets of the Heart
8 Scapegoat or Criminal?
9 The Miller’s Son
10 Snow and Ashes
11 Covetousness
12 A Length of Silk
EPILOGUE
AUTHOR’S NOTE
FURTHER READING
DEDICATION
As I was completing this book, I learned of the sudden death of a dear friend’s grandson, from diabetic ketoacidosis, and I knew that I wanted to dedicate this book to his memory.
Andrew Kyle Henderson,
15 April 1985–9 December 2005
‘Full of zest and the joy of life, he laughed often and had a wonderful sense of humour. From his earliest years he quickly caught on to jokes and enjoyed making them. He was loving, and had the gift of attracting very good friends. Young men are so much more vulnerable than they know – or would be willing to admit.’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Candace Robb studied for a Ph.D in Medieval and Anglo-Saxon Literature and has continued to read and research medieval history and literature ever since. Her Owen Archer series grew out of a fascination with the city of York and the tumultuous 14th century; the first in the series, The Apothecary Rose, was published in 1994, at which point she began to write full time. The Guilt of Innocents is the ninth in the series. Published worldwide, she is also available in the UK on audiobook and in large print. In addition to the Owen Archer novels, she is the author of three Margaret Kerr Mysteries, set in Scotland at the time of Robert the Bruce.
To find out more about Candace Robb’s novels, read the Candace Robb Newsletter. For your free copy, email enquiries@randomhouse.co.uk with ‘Candace Robb Newsletter’ as the subject.
ACCLAIM FOR CANDACE ROBB
‘It’s … the Machiavellian intrigue that makes this such an enjoyable read. When the iron curtain came down people said the spy-thriller genre was dead. They were wrong. This is as full of intrigue as a Deighton or a Le Carré’
Guardian
‘A vivid portrait of fourteenth-century England which gives us a hero who is cunning and capable, whether navigating the Court or the open moors’
Time Out
‘A superb medieval mystery, thoroughly grounded in historical fact’
Booklist
‘Enthralling and evocative … Candace Robb recreates medieval York with ease’
Yorkshire Evening Press
Also by Candace Robb
THE OWEN ARCHER MYSTERIES
The Apothecary Rose
The Lady Chapel
The Nun’s Tale
The King’s Bishop
The Riddle of St Leonard’s
A Gift of Sanctuary
A Spy for the Redeemer
The Cross-Legged Knight
THE MARGARET KERR MYSTERIES
A Trust Betrayed
The Fire in the Flint
A Cruel Courtship
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to thank historians RaGena D’Aragon, Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran Cruz, and Compton Reeves for their generous help, and the wonderful gang on Chaucernet for all sorts of incidental information and inspiration; Joyce Gibb for a careful first reading of the manuscript; the members of Medfem for feedback on birthing crosses; Kate Elton and Georgina Hawtrey-Woore for asking all the right questions, and all the talented people at Heinemann and Arrow who work behind the scenes.
Special thanks to Charlie for the 24/7 support and tlc he provides. I’m a lucky woman.
LIST OF CHARACTERS
Owen Archer (Captain Archer)
captain of guard and spy for Archbishop of York; steward of Bis
hopthorpe
Lucie Wilton
master apothecary; Owen’s spouse
Nicholas Wilton
deceased, Lucie’s first husband, master apothecary
Owen and Lucie’s natural children
Jasper de Melton
Owen and Lucie’s adopted son and Lucie’s apprentice in the apothecary
Dame Phillippa
Lucie’s aged aunt
Alisoun Ffulford
nursemaid to Owen and Lucie’s children
Kate
Lucie’s housemaid
Bess and Tom Merchet
owners of the York Tavern
Edric
apprentice in the apothecary
Magda Digby (aka the Riverwoman)
midwife and healer
1John Thoresby Brother Michaelo
Archbishop of York personal secretary to Thoresby
Drogo
pilot; abbey bargeman
Cissy (Cecilia) Hal, Bart, sly Pete
Drogo’s wife fellow abbey bargemen
George Hempe 1Master John de York
city bailiff grammar master for St Peter’s School
Dame Agnes
housemother at the Clee, lodgings for the grammar school
Geoffrey, Ned
scholars of St Peter’s
Hubert de Weston
Jasper’s schoolmate
Aubrey and Ysenda de Weston
Hubert’s parents
Brother Henry
infirmarian, St Mary’s Abbey
1Master Nicholas Ferriby
vicar of Weston and master of private
Peter Ferriby
grammar school mercer; brother of Nicholas
Emma Ferriby
Peter’s wife, Lucie’s friend
Osmund Gamyll
son of Sir Baldwin Gamyll
Sir Baldwin Gamyll
Aubrey de Weston’s lord; father of Osmund, husband of Janet
Abbot Campian
abbot of St Mary’s Abbey
Alfred
member of archbishop’s guard, Owen’s second
Rafe, Gilbert
members of archbishop’s guard
1Dean John
dean of York Minster
chancellor of York Minster; in charge of the schools
Canon William Ferriby
member of minster chapter, brother of Nicholas and Peter; actual name John (see Author’s Note)
Nigel
journeyman goldsmith
Edward Munkton
goldsmith, Nigel’s master
Alice Tanner
tanner’s wife
Dame Lotta
Nigel’s landlady
Robert Dale
goldsmith
1 real historical figure
GLOSSARY
churching
a woman’s first appearance in church to give thanks after childbirth
mazer
a large wooden cup or bowl, often highly decorated
mystery
craft, or trade, particularly used in connection with craft guilds
pandemain
the finest quality white bread, made from flour sifted two or three times
scrip
a small bag or wallet
staithe
a landing-stage or wharf
toswollen
pregnant
PROLOGUE
York, late November 1372
The tavern noises swirled above Drogo’s bent head, but he found them easier to ignore than the constant chatter of his daughters and wife in his tiny home. He loved them more than his life, but when he was home they could not let him rest. After a week piloting ships on the Ouse he was weary to the bone but they thought he was home to make repairs and listen to their tales of woe. So he’d come to the tavern intending to drink himself into a comfortable stupor and then stumble home to pass out, blissfully oblivious to all.
He had just begun his first ale when the man he least wished to see appeared at his table.
‘Behind the tavern,’ was all the man said before turning sharp and walking back out into the chilly afternoon.
Fearing him too much to ignore him, Drogo gulped down what remained in his tankard and pushed himself from the table, clumsily spilling the drink of the well-dressed man across from him.
‘Watch what you’re doing,’ the man muttered.
Drogo apologised aloud, but beneath his breath he cursed as he walked away. ‘Mewling merchant. Thinks he’s the centre of God’s kingdom on earth. He can afford to spill ale.’
Outside the wind encouraged Drogo to duck quickly into the narrow alley. The overhanging roofs blocked what little light remained in the sky, and Drogo had not yet adjusted to the dark when he felt a sharp blade slice across his cheek. ‘For pity’s sake!’ He flung up his hands to shield himself but too late to prevent another cut, this one on his neck.
‘I warned you what would happen if you crossed me,’ his attacker growled. ‘Thieving and telling tales.’
Another flick of the blade sliced Drogo’s hands.
‘Keep your cursed money!’ Drogo shouted. ‘I wash my hands of you.’
He turned and bolted down Petergate and through Bootham Bar, the streets blessedly empty, not looking back until he stumbled just without the city walls. The bastard was not following. Drogo slowed his pace and hurried on towards the Abbey Staithe and the safety of his fellow bargemen.
‘Dear Lord, I swear I’ll stick to my proper work from now on, I’m a pilot and a bargeman, not a trafficker. I swear.’
One
BEST INTENTIONS
The Benedictine Abbey of St Mary dominated the northern bank of the River Ouse just upriver from the city of York, and it also owned extensive lands throughout Yorkshire and elsewhere in the realm whose rents and crops supported the community of monks. Its staithe, or dock, at the foot of Marygate served as the hub for moving the abbey’s products, supplies, and personnel, as well as the frequent visitors both clerical and noble. A group of liveried bargemen operated the staithe, chosen for their strength and knowledge of the river and its moods, not for their education or piety.
At St Peter’s School, the song and grammar school of York Minster, Master John de York presided over twelve endowed choristers and at least sixty paying young scholars, many of whom lived in the Clee, a house owned by the minster although attached to the Almonry of St Mary’s Abbey in Marygate, not far from the Abbey Staithe. The high-spirited boys often tangled with the bargemen. The bargemen taunted the scholars for their privileged lifestyle and useless learning, and the boys retaliated by clambering about the landing place and sometimes onto the barges wreaking innocent havoc. Occasionally, the uneasy relationship erupted into violence …
As was his custom, Jasper de Melton had lingered in the classroom after the lessons ended for the day to copy an additional reading into his precious notebook of old parchment scraps that Captain Archer had bound for him. Master John hummed as he tidied the room, occasionally stealing a peek at Jasper’s work. The grammar master’s interest annoyed Jasper a little because he did not want to feel rushed. He’d make a mistake for sure, tired as he was by this time of day, and he hated scraping and recopying. That would be one less layer for a future reading. He sighed with relief when he came to the end of the brief passage. Even without the master he would have felt the urge to hurry this afternoon, for he wanted to accompany his fellow scholars to the Abbey Staithe.
Frosty air shocked him out of his late afternoon drowsiness as he pushed wide the door of St Peter’s School, and it momentarily killed his enthusiasm for the coming drama, an attempt by his fellows to recover a schoolmate’s scrip, or purse, from a less-than-honest abbey bargeman named Drogo who had just been seen back at the staithe. Jasper must head to the staithe now if he meant to participate, and then board the barges anchored there. The mere thought made him shrug up his
shoulders to protect his neck and ears in anticipation of the cold – it was a week past Martinmas and winter had taken hold. He’d forgotten his cap this morning, and his hands, which stuck out of his sleeves, were already stinging from the icy air. He’d suddenly grown quite a bit. His foster mother Dame Lucie said that it was his recent burst of growth that caused his legs to ache at night, waking him, not unusual at the age of fourteen. A restless night was certainly the cause of his oversleeping this morning and then, in his hurry to be on time, forgetting his cap and gloves.