The poisoned chalice

open window, staring across at the darkened mass of the forest. He shivered at the 'yip, yip' of a fox carried by the cool night wind and jumped at the screech of the huge bats which flickered up and down the castle walls. 'This,' he murmured, 'is truly the valley of death.' He sat on the edge of the bed and stared up at me.
    'You should sleep, Roger. You are going to need your rest. We are in the company of a great assassin. Mark my words: Falconer and the Abbe Gerard were murdered, and things here are not as they appear to be.' He refused to be drawn any further.
    I was young, tired, slightly drunk, and didn't give a rat's codpiece so I undressed and, within a few minutes, was lost in the sleep of the just.

Chapter 5
    We rose late the next morning. Benjamin appeared to be in better humour and chattered about the history of the chateau as we broke our fast in the great hall. Afterwards, one of the servants led us down to a vaulted cellar.
    'We must examine Falconer's possessions,' Benjamin explained. 'Perhaps the first key to this puzzle will be there.'
    Venner was already in the cellar, standing over some coffers and trunks. He grinned in welcome.
    'These are Falconer's goods,' he explained. 'But there's nothing much. We have been through them. You have just missed Sir Robert.'
    'What will happen to them now?' I asked, my eyes on a cheap silver bracelet.
    'Well, Falconer had no heirs so they go to the king.'
    I decided to leave the silver bracelet where it was; Fat Harry would skin you alive for taking a crumb of bread from his plate. Venner wandered off and we went through the pathetic pile of possessions: a counter-pane, three dirty bolsters, hose, jerkins, battered boots, more cheap jewellery, a collection of quills and a bar of Castilian soap. As far as I was concerned, the Great Killer was welcome to them. What attracted our attention was the box of pewter cups, each of the three remaining in their small, red-baized compartment. We examined these carefully, especially the deep bowls ornately carved with the appropriate scene: a large dove for Pentecost, the Virgin Mary on the Advent cup, and a child in a manger for Christmas. (You know the sort, they were quite common in England before the Great Killer smashed the monasteries. You drank from each goblet according to the season.) Benjamin sniffed each cup, then the box. 'Nothing,' he exclaimed. 'There's nothing here.'
    We went out to take the air in the inner bailey and stood fascinated as four ostlers struggled with the ropes tied to the bridle of a splendid, black war horse. They were trying to back it into a stable but the magnificent beast was all set to charge. The horse stood sixteen hands high, its jet black coat gleaming in the sunlight. Its ears were back in anger, its eyes rolled, and the horse curled its lips, revealing the foam on sharp, yellow teeth. Every so often the animal would rear, lashing out with his sharpened hooves, as the men struggled with a stream of oaths to back it into the stable. Eventually they succeeded, quickly securing both the bottom door and the top flap and, even then, we could hear the horse pounding the thick oaken panels. The ostlers, covered in sweat, walked away, still muttering curses.
    'That must be Vulcan, Sir John Dacourt's destrier,' Benjamin remarked. 'Waldegrave must be mad if he thinks he can control such a beast.' He stared across at the wing built to the right of the chateau. 'I wonder if we should visit the priest? Perhaps he can explain Falconer's macabre joke about graves?' Benjamin grasped me by the arm. 'On second thoughts, let us finish the business in hand.'
    We went back, past the hall down a long, stone passageway to Peckle's chamber. The chief clerk was working there, surrounded by a veritable sea of paper; memoranda, notes, bills, letters and indentures. He sat with his back to the door, crouched over his desk. The room smelt stale and musty with the pungent odour of the fat tallow candles placed on the desk. All the windows were shuttered as if we were in the depths of winter. Peckle hardly moved but continued to peer at a document covered in strange cipher markings.
    'Good morning, Walter,' Benjamin said, a little too loudly. The clerk looked round testily. 'Can I help?' 'Well, yes. Do you have Falconer's documents?'
    The fellow, sighing dramatically, rose wearily from his chair like an exasperated parent dealing with two naughty children. He dug amongst some papers in the corner and tossed us a