Dissolution

'A relative of Queen Jane, God rest her. He refused the oath, but to have him executed like the other Carthusians would have been an embarrassment. They tortured him into swearing, and then hid him away down here as a pensioner – another relative is a big landowner hereabouts. I would have thought Lord Cromwell's office would have known he was here.'

I inclined my head. Tapers get lost, I suppose, even in his office.'

'The other monks don't like him because he insults them, calls them soft and lazy. He's not allowed to leave the precincts.'

'No doubt Commissioner Singleton spoke to many of the monks to see what he could uncover. Some of those involved in the sodomy scandal would still be here?'

'The tall one with wild fair hair perhaps?' Mark interjected.

Goodhaps shrugged. 'Oh, him. Brother Gabriel, the sacrist. Yes, he was one. Looks quite normal, doesn't he? Big and tall. He has a wild look about him sometimes, though. Commissioner Singleton pressed them, but they all say they are as pure as angels nowadays. He got me to do some interviews, question some of them about the detail of their lives – though I'm a scholar, I'm not trained for that sort of thing.'

'I gather Commissioner Singleton did not make himself popular? I knew him, by the way. He had a fierce manner.'

'Yes, his brusque ways never made him friends, not that he cared.'

'Tell me how he died.'

The old man hunched his shoulders and seemed to shrink into himself.

'He had given up trying to pressurize the monks. He set me to listing all the ways a monastery may break the canon law – scraping the bottom of the barrel. He spent most of his time looking through the accounts and the archives. He was getting anxious, he needed something for Lord Cromwell. I didn't see him much the last couple of days, he was busy going through the bursar's accounts.'

'What was he looking for?'

'Any trouble he could find. As I said, he was scraping the bottom of the barrel. But he has some experience of these new Italian accounts, where everything goes in twice.'

'Yes, double-entry. He knew his accounts then, if not much law?'

'Yes.' He sighed. 'That last night we had supper on our own as usual. Singleton appeared in a more cheerful mood. He said he was going to his room to look at some new book he'd prised out of the bursar. The bursar himself was away that night – the night it happened.'

'Would the bursar be a fat little man with black eyes? We saw someone like that in the courtyard, arguing about money.'

'That's him. Brother Edwig. Arguing with the sacrist about his building schemes, I daresay. I like Brother Edwig, he's a practical man. Doesn't like spending money. We could do with someone like him in my college. When it comes to the day-to-day running of the monastery, Prior Mortimus and Brother Edwig have control between them and they run tight ships.' He took another draught of wine.

'What happened next?'

'I worked for an hour, then said my prayers and went to bed.'

'And slept?'

'Yes. I woke suddenly at about five. There was a commotion outside, then a great bang on the door – just like the prior made just now.' He shuddered. 'The abbot and a dozen monks were outside. The abbot looked shocked, startled out of his wits. He told me the commissioner was dead, someone had killed him, I must come at once.

'I dressed and went down with them. It was all so confused, everyone was babbling about locked doors and blood, and I heard someone say it was God's vengeance. They found torches and we went through the monks' quarters to the kitchens. It was so cold, all those endless dark passageways, monks and servants standing around in little huddles looking scared. And then they opened the door to the kitchen. Dear God.' To my surprise, he quickly crossed himself.

'There was this smell of-' he gave a fractured laugh – 'a butcher's shop. The room was full of candles, they'd put them on the long tables, the food cupboards, everywhere. I stood in something, and the prior pulled me to one side. When I lifted my foot it was sticky. There was a great pool of dark liquid on the floor, I didn't know what it was.

'Then I saw Robin Singleton lying in the middle of it on his stomach, his robe all smeared. I knew there was something wrong, but my eyes could make no sense of it at first. Then I realized he had no head. I stared round and then I saw it, his head, lying under the butter churn glaring up at me. It was only then I realized the pool was blood.' He closed his eyes. 'Dear God, I was so frightened.' He opened them again, emptied his cup and reached once more for the bottle, but I covered it with my hand.

'Enough for now, Dr Goodhaps,' I said gently. 'Go on.'

Tears came into his eyes. 'I thought they'd killed him, I thought it was an execution and I was next. I looked at their faces, looked to see which one was carrying an axe. They all looked so grim. That Carthusian was there, smiling horribly, and he called out "Vengeance is mine, saieth the Lord."'

'He said that, did he?'