The Guilt of Innocents (Owen Archer Book 9) Read online

  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 [email protected] 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

  Hugh and Gwenllian

  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

  1Chancellor Thomas Farnilaw

  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.