Chains of Folly Read Online Free Page B

assurances that she had no friend coming to visit her that night and would be glad to play any game he liked. The few glances he cast at Magdalene showed her to be perfectly expressionless. Bell had sighed and shaken his head. It would have served no purpose to return.
    With Ella free he would not have been able to discuss the woman’s murder with Magdalene and it would have been difficult to explain to Ella why he was not simply walking into Magdalene’s bedchamber to spend the night as he had been doing for months. It would have been hard to explain to his body also. And probably he could have her. All he needed was five silver pennies, which was her price. She said she was a whore. Then he could buy her like any other whore.
    Only Bell knew that was not true. Magdalene was not for sale to any man. Oddly that thought gave him more comfort than pain, but he pushed it out of his mind and stretched his long legs, cursing himself mildly for walking out the front door of the Guesthouse instead of out the back. Now he would have to walk all around St. Mary Overy priory instead of just going through the gate at the back of Magdalene’s garden, crossing behind the church, the graveyard, out the front gate of the priory, and across the road to Winchester’s house.
    When he arrived at the bishop’s house, however, he saw that arriving earlier would not have been any advantage.
    Phillipe, the scholarly and learned young clerk in minor orders seated at the table partially blocking the door to the bishop’s private chamber, shook his head at Bell.
    “I can tell him you are here, but he is deep in the affairs of London diocese with Father Holdyn.”
    Bell nodded and sat down on the stool near Phillipe’s table. “Tell him. He was so overset by finding that woman in his bedchamber that he did not tell me what more he wanted me to do today.”
    The young clerk shuddered and turned pale as he rose. “Terrible. That was so terrible. Why? Who would do such a thing?”
    “I need to discover who she was before I can hope to discover who placed her in my lord’s chamber. I have set that first matter in hand, I hope, but—” he was about to say that the women who might give him information would be occupied until the following morning, but he decided to spare young Phillipe’s blushes and went on “—my informants cannot tell me more until tomorrow morning.”
    Poor Phillipe blushed violently anyway as he hurried to enter the bishop’s chamber. Bell chuckled softly. Apparently the young man already knew to whom Bell had gone for information. But he liked Phillipe, who had his opinions but never allowed them to interfere with his duty.
    To Bell’s surprise Phillipe was back in a moment, holding the door open and gesturing for Bell to enter. He did so at once, and saw Father Holdyn gathering up and putting in order the documents that were strewn over Winchester’s table.
    Bell swallowed a grin. It always seemed so inappropriate to see documents in Father Holdyn’s huge hands. He towered over the bishop, topping Bell’s own considerable height, and he was as hard and fit as Bell too. There wasn’t a church in London that needed repairs that did not find Father Holdyn carrying stones and mortar for the walls or raising heavy beams. His lank black hair and deep-set dark eyes only added to the impression of strength and determination.
    As he straightened the documents into order, the episcopal vicar said, “What is this terrible thing I hear about your servants finding a woman in your bedchamber?”
    Winchester’s brows rose and Bell bit his lips to hold back laughter. Father Holdyn was a true ornament of the Church. He was very nearly as clever and as efficient as Winchester himself and he was much more truly pious.
    “She was in no condition to be a temptation to me, I assure you,” the bishop said dryly, and then, his eyes being drawn to Bell by the knight’s approach added, “And when I think of the appearance of some of