Murder for Christ's Mass - By Maureen Ash Page 0,57
to worry, that a good discount from the supplier had enabled him to afford the new gear. She had thought no more of the matter until now. As she recalled how friendly Tasser had been on the day they passed his shop, she wondered if her husband was telling the truth.
AFTER TASSER WAS BROUGHT INTO THE CASTLE BAIL and his incarceration supervised by Ernulf, the serjeant returned to the barracks in high spirits. Gianni, who was waiting for his master in Ernulf’s cubicle, saw the smile on the serjeant’s face and gave him an inquisitive look.
“Well, lad, your master has done it again—caught a murderer. The town guards just brought in Warner Tasser and said he is to be interrogated about the murder of his apprentice. I warrant it won’t be long before the Templar has caught the miscreant that killed the clerk as well.”
Gianni clapped his hands together in delight at the news, but his jubilant mood was not wholly derived from his master’s success. As soon as the evening meal was finished, he was due to give another lesson to Stephen Turville and demonstrate some of the more complicated gestures. While Gianni was more than happy to help the young nobleman, his main interest in giving the lessons was that Lucia would be in her cousin’s company.
There had been one further learning session since the initial one and, as before, Lambert fulfilled the role of interpreter. John Blund had decided, after discussing the matter at some length with his clerk, to compile a book outlining the gestures, one that could be copied and used as a manual for pedants attempting to teach students stricken with similar difficulties to Stephen and Gianni. Both men were extremely excited about the project; Gianni merely looked forward to being in the company of the entrancing Lucia.
The boy knew the object of his admiration would never regard him in any other capacity than that of a lowly servant, but she nonetheless filled his dreams at night. When he was in her company, and close enough to see the luminous texture of her skin and smell the delicious scent of her gillie flower perfume, he thought himself in heaven. As she listened intently to Lambert’s interpretation of the gestures, tiny lines of concentration formed on the delicate arch of her brow and Gianni longed to smooth them clear with his fingers. Once the lesson was over, she would smile at him warmly and use her hands to make the gesture that said “thank you.” How Gianni wished he were older and handsome enough to make her look at him the way she did at Thomas, one of the squires. But even if he were, he would still be no more than a servant. Never would he be able to dance with her the way Thomas did or sign to her the gesture that said “I love you.” But in his dreams he did these things and when he awoke, his body was tingling with unfamiliar sensations, pleasurable ones that left him aglow with happiness. At the moment, the news that his master had caught another murderer was not uppermost in his mind nor, in fact, was John Blund’s manual.
Eighteen
THE EVENING MEAL WAS BEING SERVED AS BASCOT AND Roget arrived back at the castle. When they entered the hall the sheriff, having been informed of the silversmith’s arrest, rose from his seat on the dais and motioned for them to follow him up the stairs of the north tower to his private chamber. Once inside, he asked the captain for his report.
Camville listened in silence as Roget related how, after their interrogation of Cotty, they found stolen items of silver on Tasser’s premises and subsequently discovered the silversmith’s hiding place.
“It is also possible Tasser is involved in the murder of his apprentice,” Bascot added. “If Fardein colluded with Tasser in his illicit trade of buying stolen silver, they may have had a disagreement connected with the thievery—how the profits should be shared once it had been resold, for example—and so the silversmith felt his apprentice was a threat which needed removing. It may not have been Tasser who dealt the deathblow, but the silversmith is a man of wealth; he could have hired an assassin. If he is questioned harshly enough, we may learn whether or not he is responsible.”
Camville gave him a nod of understanding. For the moment, it was best if Roget was not made aware of their attempt to discover whether an