But she’d never know.After all, it was unladylike to gawk at strange men.
So she rode past in silence, fixing her eyes on the road before her and focusing her mind on the daunting challenge ahead.
When Hew returned to the refectory with the leg of mutton, he expected a glare of disapproval from the prior.But the prior was engaged elsewhere.The abbot had the meat whisked away to the kitchens for later use.
The meal was silent as usual.But that was fine with Hew.He’d rather not discuss the fine points of his investigation with the abbot, since his two most likely suspects so far were members of the church.
Perhaps he would mention his suspicions to the prior.After all, the prior was the one who had put their names on the list in the first place.
“Where is the prior?”he murmured to the monk beside him after they’d finished eating.
“In the infirmary.”
“Is he ill?”
“Nay.He’s lookin’ after a layman.”
“A layman?”
The monk nodded and leaned closer to whisper, “A local merchant.The physician’s been summoned.But they’re fairly certain he’ll need last rites soon.”
Hew nodded.That was one of the advantages of making generous donations to a monastery.When a wealthy man was about to die, he could call in favors from the church and live out his days in relative comfort.The infirmary had a dozen soft beds.A warm hearth.Better food than the monks got.Servants to see to a dying man’s every need.And holy men to look after the deceased’s soul.
It was a good arrangement.
“Oh,” Hew suddenly remembered, “do you happen to know what day the almoner turns over donations to Brother Cathal?”
“Thursdays.”
“And when does Father James visit?”
“He ne’er announces his arrival.Just shows up.”
That made sense.Hew’s mother never announced inspections of the armory either.It kept men honest.
Hew drank the last of his ale.Then he stifled a yawn.The lack of sleep last night and a hearty extra meal today had caught up with him.Since Brother Cathal wouldn’t come by for another few days, there was not much else he could do.He might as well take a long, leisurely nap.
In his cell, he’d just settled his head into the recess he’d punched into the pallet when his eyes flew open.
The physician.
The prior hadn’t put the physician on the list.
It was probably just an oversight, not an omission.After all, a physician would only be needed when someone was seriously ill.He would visit the infirmary, which adjoined the monastery.
The monk had told him the prior hadsummonedthe physician.So where had he come from?And could he have something to do with the missing valuables?
Hew sat up.He wasn’t going to be able to sleep now.Not with that new possibility nagging at his brain.
Emerging from his cell into the cloister, he cast his gaze in the direction of the infirmary.It was tempting to simply charge into the building and start questioning the physician.
But a man was dying there.And the infirmary was isolated for a reason.Peace and quiet.
To be fair, the whole monastery seemed peaceful and quiet to Hew.Especially compared to the lively atmosphere at Rivenloch.But he supposed interrogating a man in the infirmary would be frowned upon.
When Hew saw several of the more seasoned monks begin to file past, heading toward the infirmary, he figured the dying man’s time was nigh.
Would they send the physician home soon?And where was home?
