He only shrugged.
'Very well. You have led me away from Robin Singleton again. Why did you call him perjurer and traitor?'
Again he gave that strange, savage smile. 'Because he is. He is a tool of that monster Cromwell, as you are. You all perjure yourselves and betray your due allegiance to the pope.'
I took a deep breath. 'Jerome of London, I can think of only one man who could have hated the commissioner, or rather his office, enough to devise a mad plot to kill him, and that is you. Your infirmity would prevent you from doing the deed yourself, but you are a man who would cozen another to do it. I put it to you that you are responsible for his death.'
The Carthusian reached for his crutch again and stood up painfully. He placed his right hand over his heart; it trembled slightly. He looked me in the eye, still smiling, a secret smile that made me shiver.
'Commissioner Singleton was a heretic and a cruel man and I am glad he is dead. May it vex Lord Cromwell. But I swear on my soul, before God and of my own free will, that I had no part in the killing of Robin Singleton, and I also swear I know of no man in this house of weaklings and fools who would have the fierce stomach to do it. There, I have replied to your accusation. And now I am tired, I would sleep.' He lay back on the bed and stretched himself out.
'Very well, Jerome of London. But we shall speak again.' I motioned Mark to the door. Outside, I locked it and we passed back down the corridor, watched from their open doors by the monks, who had now returned from Sext. As we reached the door to the cloister yard it was thrown open and Brother Athelstan hurried in out of the snow that still tumbled down, his habit white. He pulled up short at the sight of me.
'So, Brother. I have found the reason you are in bad odour with Brother Edwig. You left his private room unguarded.'
He shuffled from foot to foot, his straggly beard dripping melted snow onto the rush matting. 'Yes, sir.'
'That information would have been more use than your tales of mutterings in chapter. What happened?'
He looked at me, his eyes afraid. 'I did not think it important, sir. I came in to do some work and found Commissioner Singleton upstairs in Brother Edwig's room, looking at a book. I pleaded with him not to take it, or at least to let me take a record, for I knew Brother Edwig would be angry with me. When he returned and I told him, he said I should have kept an eye on what Commissioner Singleton was doing.'
'So he was angry.'
'Very, sir.' He hung his head.
'Did you know what was in the book he had?'
'No, sir, I only deal with the ledgers in the office. I do not know what books Brother Edwig has upstairs.'
'Why did you not tell me about this?'
He shifted from foot to foot. 'I was afraid, sir. Afraid that if you asked Brother Edwig about it he would know I had spoken. He is a hard man, sir.'
'And you are a fool. Let me advise you, Brother. A good informer must be prepared to give information even at risk to himself. Otherwise he will be mistrusted. Now begone from my sight.'
He vanished down the corridor at a run. Mark and I hunched ourselves into our coats and stepped out into the blizzard. I looked around the white cloister.
'God's nails, was there ever such weather? I wanted to go round to that fish pond, but we can't in this. Come on, back to the infirmary.'
As we trudged back to our room, I noticed Mark's face was thoughtful and sombre. We found Alice in the infirmary kitchen, boiling herbs.
'You look cold, sirs. Can I bring you some warm wine?'
'Thank you, Alice,' I said. 'The warmer the better.'
Back in our room Mark took a cushion and sat before the fire. I lowered myself onto the bed.
'Jerome knows something,' I said quietly. 'He wasn't involved in the killing, or he wouldn't have given his oath, but he knows something. It was in that smile of his.'
'He's so mazed after being tortured I don't think he knows what he means.'