The Pillars Of The Earth Page 0,500

out." Remigius paused, then said incisively: "It did little good and much harm. The income was useful for a while, but Prior James never recovered his self-respect."

Listening to Remigius, Philip recalled the stooped, defeated air of the old prior, and at last understood it.

Remigius said: "James had not actually perjured himself, for he swore only that the cup belonged to the priory; but he knew Jack Shareburg was innocent, yet he remained silent. He regretted that silence for the rest of his life."

He would, Philip thought; it was such a venal sin for a monk. Remigius's testimony confirmed Ellen's story-and condemned Waleran.

Remigius was still speaking. "A few of the older ones here today will remember what the priory was like forty years ago: rundown, penniless, decrepit, demoralized. That was because of the weight of guilt hanging over the prior. When he was dying, he finally confessed his sin to me. I wanted-" Remigius broke off. The church was silent, waiting. The old man sighed and resumed. "I wanted to take over his position and repair the damage. But God chose another man for that task." He paused again, and his old face worked painfully as he struggled to finish. "I should say: God chose a better man." He sat down abruptly.

Philip was shocked, bemused and grateful. Two old enemies, Ellen and Remigius, had rescued him. The revelation of these ancient secrets made him feel as if he had been living with one eye closed. Bishop Waleran was livid with rage. He must have felt sure he was safe after all these years. He was leaning over Peter, speaking into the archdeacon's ear, while a buzz of comment rose from the audience.

Peter stood up and shouted: "Silence!" The church went quiet. "This court is closed!" he said.

"Wait a minute!" It was Jack Jackson. "That's not good enough!" he said passionately. "I want to know why."

Ignoring Jack, Peter walked toward the door that led into the cloisters, and Waleran followed him.

Jack went after them. "Why did you do it?" he shouted at Waleran. "You lied on oath, and a man died-are you going to walk out of here without another word?"

Waleran looked straight ahead, white-faced, tight-lipped, his expression a mask of suppressed rage. As he went through the door Jack yelled: "Answer me, you lying corrupt worthless coward! Why did you kill my father?"

Waleran walked out of the church and the door slammed behind him.

Chapter 18

I

THE LETTER FROM KING HENRY arrived while the monks were in chapter.

Jack had built a big new chapter house to accommodate the one hundred and fifty monks-the largest number in a single monastery in all England. The round building had a stone vaulted ceiling and tiers of steps for the monks to sit on. Monastic officers sat on stone benches around the walls, a little above the level of the rest; and Philip and Jonathan had carved stone thrones against the wall opposite the door.

A young monk was reading the seventh chapter of the Rule of Saint Benedict. "The sixth step of humility is reached when a monk is content with all that is mean and vile..." Philip realized he did not know the name of the monk who was reading. Was that because he was getting old, or because the monastery was so big? "The seventh step of humility is reached when a man not only confesses with his tongue that he is most lowly and inferior to others, but in his inmost heart believes so." Philip knew he had not yet reached that stage of humility. He had achieved a great deal in his sixty-two years, and he had achieved it through courage and determination and the use of his brain; and he needed to remind himself constantly that the real reason for his success was that he had enjoyed the help of God, without which all his efforts would have come to nothing.

Beside him, Jonathan shifted restlessly. Jonathan had even more trouble with the virtue of humility than Philip did. Arrogance was the vice of good leaders. Jonathan was ready to take over the priory now, and he was impatient. He had been talking to Aliena, and he was eager to try out her farming techniques, such as plowing with horses, and planting spring crops of peas and oats on part of the fallow land. I was just the same about raising sheep for wool, thirty-five years ago, Philip thought.

He knew he should step down and let Jonathan take over as prior. He