“I thought you might because Master Andrew Buchuinte was justiciar of London until last year. More significant to our purpose, he was a friend of Messer Baldassare. He said they came from the same city in Italy and that it was to his house that Messer Baldassare went from his ship.”
“Baldassare only arrived on Wednesday, then?”
Magdalene nodded and repeated what Buchuinte had told her about Baldassare’s arriving late and having an appointment that very night. Bell listened quietly, stopping her only when she mentioned Baldassare’s traveling companion.
“Beaumeis. Yes, You mentioned him before. He is the one who sent Baldassare here, is he not?”
“As a joke. I am sure Baldassare did not come to visit a whorehouse. Beaumeis told him this was the Bishop of Winchester’s inn. I was very angry. It was as if Beaumeis wished to besmirch Winchester’s reputation. But I believe Baldassare came here because his meeting was set in the church. He did not say so, but he asked if there was a short way from this house to the church, and when I said there was, then he asked to stay the night.”
“Even if he had a meeting there, he would not be likely to tell a whore.”
Bell was sorry as soon as the words were out. He was angry at himself because his desire for Magdalene would not be stilled, but that was no reason to insult her when she had not invited insult. However, Magdalene did not flinch. Her brows drew together very slightly, but then she smiled.
“You might be surprised what men tell whores, especially those they trust—but you are right insofar as Messer Baldassare had no reason to trust me. And, if you remember, he did not even tell Buchuinte, a longtime friend, whom he was to meet or what he was carrying. No, he did tell Buchuinte he was going to the king.”
Bell nodded. “The pope must have sent a letter stating his decision about whether Stephen was rightfully king.”
“That was what Somer said.”
“Somer?”
“Somer de Loo. He is a captain under William of Ypres. He came unexpectedly, which was a piece of luck because Master Buchuinte was too upset after hearing of Baldassare’s death to wish to go to Ella. And you know Ella.” Magdalene grimaced and Bell could not help laughing.
All he said, however, was, “The bishop thought news of that decision might have been in Baldassare’s pouch, but I cannot believe it was worth killing over. There can be little doubt that the pope decided in Stephen’s favor. After all, the papal legate approved when Stephen first claimed the throne.”
“Mayhap the bishop is thinking like a churchman, not a soldier? Somer just wondered whether those who killed Baldassare were the king’s so-called friends or his enemies.”
“If he is Ypres’s man, ‘so-called friends’ means Waleran, but I think like a soldier, too, and I cannot see any reason why Waleran should wish to keep the pope’s decision secret. And if, for some unthinkable reason the pope decided against Stephen, Waleran could not know that. I cannot believe anyone came from Rome more swiftly than Baldassare.”
Since Magdalene knew that the pope’s decision was favorable, she saw no point in continuing the conversation along those lines. “There is a thing that puzzles me,” she said. “Beaumeis told Baldassare that this was the Bishop of Winchester’s inn and that was what Baldassare asked for when he rang my bell. Yet when I told him my servant would take him to the bishop’s house, he said he had no business with the bishop.”
Magdalene now knew that was a lie. He had had the bull to deliver to Winchester, unless…she bit her lips to stop herself from asking Bell why Baldassare would say that. Was it possible that he was going to deliver the bull to someone else? To hide? To destroy? That made no sense…. Yes, it did. There was one way it did make sense. Possibly he was going to deliver the bull to King Stephen so that the king himself could give it to Henry of Winchester to soothe his anger over being passed over for Archbishop of Canterbury. And if Stephen knew that Baldassare was coming with a legatine commission for Winchester, Waleran would know also.
“But I think he did have business with the bishop,” Bell said, startling her, because her mind had wandered. Magdalene could have kissed him; she knew her surprised expression made her look more innocent. “Did you not know that the king had asked the pope to make Winchester legate?”
“Yes, I did,” Magdalene said. “William told me. He knew I was interested because I had told him how disappointed I was when Theobald of Bec was made archbishop instead of Winchester.”
Bell looked astonished. “Why should you care who was archbishop?”
“Do not be a fool. If Winchester became archbishop, who would dare speak against whores who were his tenants? Contrariwise, if we got a man like Brother Paulinus for archbishop, would he not be likely to order the bishops and deans to ‘cleanse their houses of corruption’? Even the Bishop of Winchester could not ignore an order from the archbishop.”