Miriam Bibby - Mistress Meg 02 - Mistress Meg and the Silver Bell (25 page)

“I
know,” said the woman she was pressed next to on the crowded bench.
“Stinks to high heaven, don’t he?” And she put her hand over her
nose.

Ruby drew
her kerchief up over her and did her best to disappear. Surely it was too late
to bring Clink back today?

Selby
refused to listen to what the pigman was saying about how he’d been fastened up
in a pigsty until his exertions pulled the ring out of the wall so that he
could hurl himself against the door and force it open.

“Go
and clean thyself somewhat, man!” said the judge. Then, turning to the
Clerk, “It should not take long. It’s a felony of which the criminal is
accused and now that we have the victim to bear witness we’ll get through it
speedily.” The judge, getting a whiff of the departing pigman, pinched his
nose. “Let’s be od with it, od man! Phew!” He wafted a hand irritably
at one of the court servants, who handed him his tussiemussie rich with
lavender and rosemary. Ruby, taking advantage of the commotion in court,
slipped away quietly. Once outside, she started to sob, seeing no hope for
Clink now. She hurried off, not even going to find the Frog or Moll, who were
in an alehouse nearby waiting to hear news.

The pigman
returned, slightly cleaner and the case began. The Clerk called the pigman to
witness. The Clerk’s face was serious but his eyes were shining with malicious
glee. George prepared himself, because he knew what was coming.

“I
call on Barnabas Piggen to bear witness against the accused!”

There was
uproar in court in an instant, despite the presiding judge.

“Piggen!”

“Barnabas
PIGGEN!”

George
leaned forward and turned his face away, putting a hand up to hide his
laughter. Thank goodness Sim was not here, because order would never be
restored. The bench he and Richard were sitting on shook with the combined
mirth of the court officials and witnesses on it. Judge Selby rose slowly to
his feet and raised a hand to the Clerk.

“SILENCE
IN COURT!” bellowed Selby, dragging the words out. His eyes almost popped
from his head as they stared slowly around the courtroom, fixing themselves on
the worst offenders. Silence fell, save for someone murmuring, “Good set
of lungs on him, eh?”

“SILENCE!”
shouted the judge again, banging his fist on the Bench. “SILENCE, I
say!” He sat down, but continued to look around the courtroom
belligerently.

George was
put in mind of his schooldays. “I thought we were all for a caning,”
he imagined telling Sim, over a glass, later.

“Now,
man, get on with it! We’ve had to make all kinds of accommodation for ye.”
Selby subsided grumpily and the pigman began his testimony. The judge quickly
waved aside any objections from the attorneys. He evidently intended to oversee
most of the case himself to ensure a speedy conclusion.

“I am
Barnabas Piggen - ” Selby looked round the courtroom warningly. George bit
his lip. ” - a husbandman of Malton Cross, near Guildern.

“Husbandman?
Are you not a hog drover?” said the judge with a frown.

“In a
way, your honour, y’see, I have various employments, all to do with pigs, or
mainly with pigs. Now, the thing about pigs is …”

“Hmmm.
Well, never mind that now. Proceed with your tale.”

“On
Guildern Fair day, last, I was in Guildern taking a drink to quench my thirst
after a poor day’s trading. Y’see, your honours, I’d taken my best pigs to
…”

The pigman
rambled for some time whilst Selby grew more and more testy. Finally he
erupted.

“Heaven
send us, man! Get to it.”

Piggen told
of the events in Guildern leading to the cutting of his purse, the capture of
the rogues and the giving of a statement to Master Simon Cantle, Justice of the
Commission of the Queen’s Peace.

“Deposition,”
said the judge, snapping his fingers. “Brought by Sir George Paston?”
George nodded. Selby glanced down the list and handed it to the Clerk.

George
corroborated what the pigman said and recounted the disappearance of the rogues
from the Guildern lock-up.

“And
you, man!” said the judge, glancing at Clink. “What have ye to say
for yourself? Eh? Come along, this will be thy only opportunity.”

“Well
- your honour - ” began Clink, slowly, “first of all, I haven’t heard
the evidence t’say - your honour - that I cut the purse meself …”

“Ye’ve
heard the evidence given by Barnabas Piggen, ha’n’t ye?” said the judge in
a jocular fashion.

“Aye,”
said Clink, still slowly, but gathering confidence as he went on. “But
that - excuse me, your honour - is in the way of his word against mine, ain’t
it?”

“There’s
another witness to it!” shouted the pigman. “I’d never have noticed,
if me attention hadn’t been drawn to it by him! It’s in the deposition.”

“Quiet,
man!” said the judge. “But, that is so; I recall it.”

“But
that witness isn’t here - your honour,” said Clink.

“Hmmmph,”
said the judge. “Well, Parkins, if that’s truly your name, let’s have your
version of events.”

Clink took
a deep breath. “Well, sir,” he began, “finding meself in
Guildern on the day of the fair, and having transacted the business I had come
to do …”

“Business?
What business?” said the judge sceptically.

“Ermmm
- a delivery, like,” said Clink, with sudden inspiration. “A delivery
of - of - some - mended - mended - aye, that was it - some mended kettles and
the like to one of the inns …”

The judge
was regarding him through narrowed eyes.

“Which
inn?” he asked.

“I
don’t rightly recall,” said Clink, frowning and rubbing his chin.
“No, I don’t rightly recall. There’s a lot come between then and now
…”

“Hmmmmph,”
said the judge again. “Continue.”

“I met
with some new companions, like, as ye do, as your honour knows, standing on
little previous acquaintance on a fair day, when all is easy and liberal, as
your honour well knows - “

“Get
on with it,” said the judge.

“And
we agreed to stand one another a bouse - I mean, a drink - or two, in
friendship, for all our ventures had prospered that day - “

“I can
imagine,” said Judge Selby. Someone tittered at the back of the courtroom.

“And
so we found ourselves together in a boozing-ken - begging your honour’s pardon,
an alehouse, a cleanly one like, not one of your stalling-kens or the like,
where they exchange goods badly come by, as your honour knows - well, anyhow,
here we were, having a quiet bouse - drink - together, knowing it was a good
house where we wasn’t going to be robbed …”

“Get
on with it,” said the judge again.

“And
one of me new acquaintances, never got her name - she begins telling that cove
- man - there - ” Clink nodded at the pigman, “his fortune, like, but
I don’t think it was meant to be true, just in jest - but he starts to think it
true, I do believe - “

Clink
paused and glared at the pigman, who glared back.

“And
it’s then that I see that his purse strings has frayed and it’s about to break
and I’m just about to tell ‘im when somebody shouts that it’s been cut and I’m
the one that’s done it!”

“It
was
cut!” shouted the pigman. “And as for having my fortune told, I
never did believe that! I was trying to rid myself of the troublesome wench -
clinging fast to my hand, she was - that’s when you cut the purse!”

“Quiet,
man! We may give you an opportunity to question the prisoner if it seems
appropriate.” The judge turned to George. “It states in the
deposition that it was cut - was it so?”

George
stood up. “I - did not see the purse myself, Judge Selby. However, if my
cousin - if Justice Cantle - has approved the description in the deposition,
then it was of a certainty cut.”

“Thank
you.”

George sat
down again and the judge turned to Clink.

“Well?
What have ye to say for yourself?”

Clink
looked innocently at the judge.

“I’m
not sayin’ it wasn’t cut, your honour. It had that look about it, but I’m no
expert. All I’m saying is, whoever cut it, didn’t do it proper, like. They
didn’t take it. It was when I was just going to point it out to ‘im - ” he
nodded at Piggen ” - that he moved suddenly and it came away in me hand,
and the other co - man - shouted out that it was me that cut it. It’s all a
mistake, your honour. And no chance was I given to give my version of events
before being taken and dragged off to the harmans, that’s to say, the wooden
stocks.” Clink, knowing when to stop, fell silent, sniffed haughtily and
looked at the courtroom.

“Hmmm,”
said the judge. There was a pause, then Selby turned to the pigman. “Of
how much, precisely, Piggen, were you - relieved? And in what form of
coin?”

“Well,
sir,” said Piggen, “I can’t quite remember all; but ‘tis all in the
deposition, sir, initialled by Master Cantle.”

“And
it was of a certainty more than twelve pence; more than a shilling? For the
theft of a shilling’s worth of goods or money is certainly a felony.”

“Aye,
sir. Of a certainty.”

“And
this money was restored to you in its entirety?”

“Aye,
your worship.”

“Aye,”
said Selby, with relish. “To summarise; we have heard the indictment
raised against the accused by Justice Brough. For felony. We have heard from
Barnabas Piggen that he was robbed; we have heard from the prisoner that he did
not take the purse with felonious intent. Now all of this cannot be true and
will be hard to prove or disprove one way or the other, in the absence of other
witnesses to the event. And the nature of a crime, if crime there has been, is
dependent upon the degree of contact between the perpetrator of the crime and
his victim, and its nature; thus providing us, exempli gratia, with a
distinction between theft and robbery. Furthermore, the definition of a crime
is of great legal concern, as we have seen with regard to the
robber
and
murderer
Giddens.” Selby stressed the words “murderer”
and “robber” with great relish and glared round the court. Everyone
started back into life, having drifted off somewhat during the first part of
his remarks.

Clink’s
face began to look greenish.

“However,“continued
Selby, “the indictment speaks of felony, and if the prisoner did indeed
cut the purse with the intention of taking the money for his own purposes and
pleasure, then it is a felony - is it not? Well, let us see when we turn to the
full details of the deposition, since we have only heard that matter in part.
Clerk! Read us the details of the deposition, if you will.” He settled
back again and George, looking at the expression on the judge’s face, thought
that if he had been any other man, he would have been chuckling and rubbing his
hands. As it was Selby, however, he simply sat with narrowed eyes and an
unfathomable look on his face. George was immediately suspicious. Selby was up
to something - and he was enjoying it. Glancing at Clink, George saw the face
of a man who felt he was already condemned.

The Clerk
stood up and began to list the money that was in the pigman’s purse.
“Item: three pennies. Item: one groat. Item: two farthings. Item: three
halfpennies. Item: a counterstamped shilling. Item: a lead token - issued for
an alehouse? ‘Tis not clear.”

“Was
the lead token issued under local license?” interjected Selby.