The chief justiciar said impatiently, “I fail to see the point of these questions, Lord Hugh.”
Hugh’s face was grave as he replied, “My lord, Bernard Radvers has been accused of murder on evidence that depends solely upon interpretation. I merely wish to show that there are other people whose actions could also be interpreted to show their guilt if one were so inclined to see them in that light.”
“Are you suggesting that one could point the finger of guilt at Sir Richard simply because he sent his squire to the Minster at the time that he did?”
“One could certainly question his actions, my lord,” Hugh returned. “It seems to me, however, that the only person whose actions have been questioned is Bernard Radvers.”
The black eyes of the justiciar bored into Hugh’s steady gray gaze. When at last Lord Richard spoke his voice was crisp. “Very well, you have made your point. Are you now finished with this witness?”
“I have just one more question, my lord,” Hugh said.
“Very well.”
Alan set his jaw, determined to say nothing that would be harmful to Richard.
Hugh said, “You told us that when you saw Bernard, knife in hand, bending over the recumbent figure of the earl, you ran down the aisle to see for yourself what had happened. Is that correct, Alan?”
“Aye, my lord. That is correct.”
“You did not think that Bernard was a dangerous man and it would not be safe for you to approach him?”
Alan hesitated for a moment, looking for a trap. Hugh’s gray gaze was cool and impersonal. At last Alan replied, “I never thought of any danger to myself, my lord.”
“In other words, you were so convinced of Bernard’s harmlessness that you approached him with no fear. Is that correct, Alan?”
“Aye,” Alan returned cautiously. “That is correct.”
“Another question, Alan. How closely did you look at the body of the earl?”
“Close enough to see the blood around the stab wound in his chest, my lord,” Alan replied spiritedly.
“Did you touch him?”
“Nay, my lord. I did not touch him.”
“Then you did not notice if he was still warm or if he was already starting to turn cold.”
Alan’s eyes dilated as he saw where Hugh was heading. “I…I could not say, my lord.”
Hugh nodded. “Thank you, Alan.” He turned back to the justiciar. “That is my last question, my lord.”
The justiciar looked thoughtful. “Have you any questions, Sir Gervase?” he asked the sheriff.
“No questions, my lord,” the sheriff replied.
“Then you are dismissed,” the justiciar informed Alan, who returned to his seat, uncomfortably conscious that everyone in the room was watching him.
As the sheriff called his next witness, Alan leaned toward Richard and whispered anxiously, “Did I do all right?”
Richard smiled and nodded. “You did very well, Alan.”
Alan was not completely reassured, however. Richard may have smiled with his mouth, but his eyes had remained cool.
As the next witness gave his testimony, Alan went over in his mind everything that he had said and couldn’t find anything that could possibly harm Richard.
The sheriff’s next few witnesses testified to the fact that Bernard had made threats against the life of the Earl of Lincoln. When the justiciar questioned Bernard about the truth of these statements, he said stoically that he could not remember making them, that he had been drunk.
“Was there any reason for you to wish the Earl of Lincoln dead?” the justiciar asked.
“None, my lord,” Bernard replied.
“If that is so, then why were you making these threats while you were drunk?”
Hugh was on his feet in a flash. “May I say something, my lord?”
The justiciar’s mouth pinched at its corners with suppressed annoyance. “Go ahead, Lord Hugh.”
“In the testimony of the witnesses, I heard no mention that Bernard ever threatened the life of the earl. The witnesses maintain that he said the earl would ‘do us a favor’ by dying. The implication of these words is that it would be good if the earl died of natural causes. That can hardly be construed as a threat.”
The sheriff leaned forward and said, “There was an implied threat, Lord Richard. Bernard knew of the betrothal of the earl’s daughter to Lord Hugh de Leon, and Bernard has long been a friend of Lord Hugh’s. He would have benefited greatly if Lord Hugh had become the next Earl of Lincoln. In order to hasten this desirable end, I believe he killed the earl.”
“If that was indeed my motivation, Sir Gervase, I would certainly not have been stupid enough to kill the earl before Hugh was married to Lady Elizabeth,” Bernard replied. His voice was level but the anger he was suppressing was evident.
“You weren’t thinking. You acted in a moment of passion,” the sheriff said.
The justiciar’s oddly husky voice interrupted. “This is hardly an act of passion, Sir Gervase. This is a premeditated act of murder. The earl was lured to the Minster for one reason only: to kill him.”
“That is so, my lord,” the sheriff returned. “But in this discussion of motive, one fact must not be forgotten. Bernard Radvers was found, bloody knife in hand, bending over the dead body of the earl. If he is not guilty, then who is?”
“My lord,” Hugh said. “I have some further evidence that may shed light on this question.”
“You will have your turn to present evidence, Lord Hugh,” the justiciar said with a frown. “At the moment, we are hearing the sheriff’s side of the case.”
Except for a single nervous twitch at the corner of his mouth, Gervase’s face had maintained its masklike look. “I have presented my evidence, my lord. Bernard Radvers was found bending over the dead body of the earl, a bloody knife in his hand. He had previously been heard by several men threatening the life of the earl. It seems to me that this is sufficient evidence to convict him of the murder of the Earl of Lincoln.”
“Thank you, Sir Gervase,” the justiciar said. He looked at Hugh. “Then you may present your evidence, Lord Hugh.”
Richard didn’t move, but Alan could feel his body stiffen. Alan’s own stomach tightened. Was this when Hugh was going to bring up the sheriff’s tax cheat?
Much to Alan’s relief and astonishment, Hugh said, “I would like to call Brother Martin to testify, my lord.”
A short, portly figure garbed in a brown robe and sandals came from the last bench to approach the witness’s place in front of Lord Richard.
“My lord, Brother Martin is one of the lay brothers at the Minster,” Hugh explained. “He is the one who laid out the earl’s body on the night he was killed.”
A noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob came from Elizabeth. Lady Sybil put her arm around the girl and patted her shoulder.
“What have you to tell us, Brother Martin?” the justiciar asked.
“My lord, I saw the earl’s body but half an hour after he had supposedly been stabbed to death in the Minster. He was cold, my lord. Very cold. Too cold to have been dead for such a short time. He began to stiffen shortly after we moved him to the mortuary chapel. I would say that he had been dead for at least an hour before he was found.”
A muted uproar arose among the watching witnesses.
The black eyes of the justiciar bored into the innocent brown eyes of the lay brother. “Why did you not come forward with this information sooner?” he demanded. “You must have known that Bernard Radvers was being held in custody.”
“My lord, I did not,” Brother Martin replied earnestly. “The day following the death of the earl, I was called to work at the hospital of Saint Mary’s in the north of the shire. I only returned to Lincoln yesterday. When I learned about the trial, I tried to see the sheriff. When he was not available, I went to Lord Hugh.”
“You are quite certain that the earl had been dead for an hour before Bernard Radvers was discovered bending over his body?” the justiciar asked sternly.