Field of Blood

stammered, refusing to glance at Mistress Vestler. 'I arrived at the Paradise Tree on Midsummer's Eve. I intended to stay three days. On the Holy Day itself I went to the fair held outside the Tower.'
    'And the day after?'
    'I went to London Bridge and returned late. I fell asleep in the outhouse. It was a beautiful night. I woke because I felt strange. The tavern was quiet, then I heard a sound in the yard. When I opened the door and peered out, Mistress Vestler was there.'
    'And what was she doing?' Whittock asked quietly.
    'She had a mattock, hoe and spade in a small barrow. I remember seeing her clearly; she had taken her shoes off and was wearing a pair of boots.'
    'And what time was that, sir?'
    'I don't know. Darkness had fallen though the night sky was clear.'
    'So,' Whittock insisted. 'Was she going somewhere or coming back?'
    'Oh, coming back. She put the mattock and the other implements up against one of the doors, wheeled the barrow away and went into the scullery.'
    'You must have thought it was strange? I mean, why should a tavern-keeper, so prosperous and with so many servants, be gardening or digging at such a late hour? That's what you thought, wasn't it, Master Biddlecombe?'
    'Yes, sir.'
    'And what else?' Whittock leaned back like a reproving schoolmaster.
    'Well, sir, she was quiet, as if she didn't want anyone to see or hear what she was doing.'
    'I am sure she did not.' Master Whittock spread his hands and looked at Hengan.
    Hengan didn't bother to rise from his stool.
    'Master Biddlecombe, how did you know it was Mistress Vestler?'
    'She held a lantern horn.'
    'Thank you.' Hengan rubbed his face in his hands, a despairing gesture.
    Whittock, however, had not finished. A tree-feller was called; he took the oath glibly and loudly proclaimed that, on the morning of the 27th of June, Mistress Vestler had hired him to go out and lop the branches on the oak tree in Black Meadow.
    'That was early, wasn't it?' Whittock asked.
    'Yes, sir. Pruning of trees is not usually done till autumn and, to be honest, I really couldn't see why she wanted to cut such a great tree. I mean, it stands by itself in Black Meadow.'
    'What's the relevance of this?' Hengan rose, his face suffused with anger.
    Sir Henry chose to overlook his discourtesy.
    'Master Whittock?' he asked.
    'Why, my lord, the relevance is quite clear. The corpses of the two victims were found beneath the oak tree. If you have a labourer moving around cutting branches, the grass and soil are disturbed, branches and twigs fall down.'
    'In other words,' Sir Henry observed, 'Mistress Vestler didn't want the oak tree pruned but rather the ground which covered the graves to be disguised.'
    Whittock bowed. 'My lord, you are, as ever, most perceptive.'
    Whittock's last witness caused a stir. Athelstan didn't recognise the name, Walter Trumpington, until First Gospel came striding out of the chamber and across to take the oath. He had the sense not to play his games here, but took the oath, gave his name and claimed he belonged to an order called the Four Gospels who had the use of a small plot of land in Black Meadow.
    'You recall the morning of the twenty-sixth of June last?' Whittock demanded.
    'Yes.'
    'Why?'
    'Mistress Vestler came down to see us. She asked if, the previous day, we had seen anyone we knew in Black Meadow.'
    'And had you?'
    'No, sir, we had not.'
    'Did Mistress Vestler often make such a request of you?'
    First Gospel, careful not to look at Mistress Vestler, shook his head.
    'She was good and kind to us but I thought it was strange at the time.'
    Hengan rose to question but First Gospel would not be shaken: he and his community remembered the incident quite clearly.
    Brabazon then called Kathryn Vestler to the stand.
    Hengan made careful play of her pious works, her good reputation and character but he could elicit nothing to shake the testimony of so many witnesses. Whittock closed like a weasel would on a rabbit, biting and tearing. Once again Mistress Vestler refused to discuss Gundulf's treasure or the allegation of smuggling. She confessed to burning Margot Haden's clothing and property. She admitted to hiring the woodcutter and, when confronted with the chapman's testimony, did not even bother to make an excuse.
    'What I do on my own property and when I do it,' she declared defiantly, 'is my own concern!'
    Nor did she deny approaching First Gospel and asking the question.
    Athelstan didn't really listen to the interrogation. He