The Devil's Novice
Edith Pargeter
 In mid September of 1140, Meriet Aspley, the younger son of Leoric Aspley, the lord of a manor about four miles south of Shrewsbury, petitions Shrewsbury Abbey to become a monk. When he is informed that a novice must traditionally wait a year before taking full vows and joining the Benedictines, he is agitated, asking whether he cannot speed up the process. Abbot Radulfus urges him to be patient. Meriet becomes an unsettling presence in the abbey. While he performs all his studies and assigned duties with ardour, his solitary manner makes the other novices reluctant to approach him. In October, he begins saying nonsense names in his sleep, waking the entire dortoir. The superstitious other novices whisper that he is possessed, and nickname him "The Devil's Novice." Meriet has no awareness of his disruptive sleep until others tell him. Brother Paul, in charge of the novices, counsels patience. In October, Canon Eluard, an emissary of Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester, comes to the Abbey inquiring after the whereabouts of Peter Clemence, a young cleric and one of the Bishop's favorite proteges. Clemence had been sent on a diplomatic mission to Northern England, but has disappeared. Eluard questions Meriet in particular, since Clemence was last seen as a guest at Aspley Manor before setting out on his journey. Meriet tells the story of that evening and the next morning, of the unexpected visit of a kinsman of his late mother. Meriet had tended the guest's horse. His father had ridden the first mile out with his guest the next morning, on his way to Whitchurch for his next night's lodging. Sheriff Prestcote is travelling with King Stephen, leaving Cadfael's friend, Deputy Sherriff Hugh Beringar in charge of the shire. Henry of Blois had convened a council earlier in the fall, endeavouring to bring the two factions together, to no avail. His brother, King Stephen, needed to strengthen his alliances by visiting lords in the north, with his own entourage. In particular, they met with the Earl of Chester and his brother, William of Roumare, the Earl of Lincoln. Armed with the description of the fine horse from Meriet, Beringar quickly finds Clemence's horse and returns with it, in sight of the brothers of the Abbey. That night, Meriet again sleeps badly, whistling and calling out a name, Barbary. The next morning, Beringar called for Meriet to recognize the horse, which he did, even knowing its name, Barbary. At the same time, those whose sleep was again disturbed grow more afraid, and in one case, officious. Brother Jerome, Prior Robert's clerk and confessor for the novices, searches Meriet's bed to find a lock of a woman's hair tied in a ribbon. Declaring that personal belongings are forbidden in the Abbey, Jerome burns the memento in front of Meriet. Meriet launches himself at Jerome and nearly strangles him, before Cadfael restrains him. Meriet is punished by being whipped and then kept alone in a punishment cell. Abbot Radulfus asks Cadfael to visit the boy's father to learn more. Cadfael first tends Meriet's wounds from the scourging, having a probing yet fatherly talk with the still-determined novice. Cadfael visits Aspley Manor, with its two adjoining manors of the Linde and Foriet families. He meets Meriet's extended family one by one: his elder brother, Nigel, tall, handsome, and clearly the apple of his father's eye; Nigel's fiancee, Roswitha Linde, stunningly beautiful and flirtatious, whose hair colour matches the lock in Meriet's bed; Roswitha's twin brother Janyn, an easygoing man and Nigel's best friend; and finally, Leoric's ward Isouda Foriet, a young heiress to two neighboring manors. The five grew up together from children. Leoric is a stiff and upright man of rigid morals, and refuses to discuss Meriet's choice. He insists that if his son is determined to become a monk, Leoric will not have him back. Nor can he suggest any reason for Meriet's choice in the first place. As Cadfael leaves, he encounters Isouda Foriet, a girl on the verge of womanhood. She reveals to Cadfael that she loves Meriet, and will have him for her own. Her account of the visit back in September adds useful details. Cadfael asks whether Meriet was in love with Roswitha. Isouda agrees, but knows it is a passing fancy for him. Roswitha loves Nigel and the two will be married before Christmas, then live at the manor farther north near Newark that Leoric Aspley holds. Cadfael suggests to Radulfus that Meriet be assigned to help Cadfael's former assistant, Brother Mark, at the lazar house maintained by the Abbey at St. Giles, once his ten days of confinement were ended. As this would separate Meriet from the other novices, Radulfus agrees. Cadfael visits Meriet to salve his wounds, share the greetings of his brother, and in course of conversation, shares his own secret of being a father himself. Soon after, Cadfael and Hugh Beringar plumb the psychology of this boy, knowing now his standing with his parents as the unneeded second son, seeking attention by contrariness. On one of the appointed days for seeking firewood in early December, Brother Mark and Meriet lead an outing of the lepers at St. Giles to the forest. Meriet suggests that they go to a clearing he knows that was used for making charcoal. In one of the wood stacks, they discover a charred skeleton. The remnants of jewellery and clothing near the corpse identify it as Clemence's. The remains are carefully brought to the Abbey. Soon after, the Sheriff's men take a half-starved man living wild in the forest, in possession of an ornate dagger that belonged to Clemence. The man is Harald, a runaway villein farrier from a manor near Gretton to the south. He says he found the dagger in the forest, and swears he did not kill Clemence. Serving two purposes, Beringar lets it be known that Harald is taken for the murder of Clemence. When Meriet hears rumours that Harald will be condemned for murdering Clemence, he again has a troubled night. He walks in his sleep, taking a serious fall when Brother Mark calls his name. When he wakes, Meriet insists the man taken in the forest is not guilty and confesses to the killing. Brother Mark asks Meriet to confess to his priest, but Meriet refuses this. Brother Mark does not believe this admission of guilt; he may lie to man, but not to God. Meriet repeats his claims to Hugh Beringar that he shot Clemence with an arrow after he left Aspley, because Clemence tried to take advantage of Roswitha. His father discovered him trying to hide the corpse, and gave him a choice: either admit his guilt and be executed, or else give up the rest of his life for penance as a monk, thus saving Leoric's family honour. However, there is a problem over the time of the murder. Meriet says it was done in the afternoon, but the visitor left early from the manor and was found less than an hour's ride away. Near Christmas, Leoric Aspley comes to the Abbey for a stay of several days, as his son Nigel will marry Roswitha. In private, Cadfael confronts Leoric, who admits to finding Meriet with Clemence's body that afternoon, as he was out hunting with his pack of dogs. Leoric was outraged and assumed his younger son was guilty of the murder. After Meriet agreed to join Shrewsbury Abbey, Leoric and his household staff drove the horse away and burned Clemence's body in the woodstack. Cadfael points out that both Leoric and Meriet must be mistaken. Meriet is incapable of cold-blooded murder, but if he has confessed he must be shielding someone else. Leoric refuses to believe that Nigel could be the murderer. However, Cadfael reminds Leoric that both he and Meriet have overlooked a crucial point; they both believe Clemence was killed in the afternoon, yet his body was found only a few miles from Aspley. They still do not know who killed Clemence. Isouda visits Meriet at his room in St. Giles, where he is mending from his fall. She is dressed in finery, not the kind of tomboy clothing in which he last saw her. She makes the point of her friendship and times her visit well. She rejoins Cadfael to return to the Abbey, discussing how to reveal the true murderer, to undercut Meriet's false confession. "'Girl,' said Cadfael, breathing in deeply, 'you terrify me like an act of God. And I do believe you will pull down the thunderbolt.'" Isouda and Roswitha share a room in the Abbey guesthouse where both can dress for the wedding next day. Looking for the best adornments for the bride, Isouda chances on a brooch in Roswitha's possession. Roswitha disdains the unique but antique brooch. Isouda recalls where she saw it once before, when she took Clemence's cloak at Aspley Manor. She meets Cadfael to report her thunderbolt to him; he realizes the importance of the brooch being intact, unburned. She arranges for two horses to bring Brother Mark and Meriet discreetly to the Abbey, to witness his brother's marriage. Isouda plants the brooch on Roswitha's cloak. After the couple are married, they walk out into the gateway. Canon Eluard instantly recognizes the brooch on the bride's cloak as a gift from the Bishop to his late clerk. When he demands to know where Roswitha got it, she first claims that Meriet gave it to her, a lie that appalls both Nigel and Leoric. Caught in a falsehood, she admits that her brother Janyn gave it to her. Janyn has already fled the Abbey on one of Isouda's horses. As Beringar and his men prepare to pursue him, a messenger from King Stephen arrives, ordering the local knight-service to muster immediately; the two most powerful barons in the northern counties, the Earls of Chester and Lincoln have declared their independence from either side in the civil war and have set up their own kingdom in the north. Barely has the Abbey time to react to this news, when Cadfael sees that Nigel has also fled the grounds, taking Isouda's other horse. Beringar's sergeants pursue the two men, knowing now where they are headed. In the woods near Stafford, Nigel catches up with Janyn, whose horse has been lamed. Blame is traded back and forth, but Nigel says he will not abandon Janyn, and offers to carry them both on his horse. Janyn has another plan; he stabs Nigel and steals his horse. The Sheriff's men come upon Nigel ten minutes later and bring him back to the Abbey. Nigel confesses that he and Janyn were offered castles and commands by William of Rumare on their summer visit to the northern manor. Clemence erred in sharing his mission with these distant relations. Had Clemence gone to the North, he would have stumbled on a meeting of the Earls and their allies. Nigel proposed to delay Clemence, but Janyn shot him down in the forest. When he told Nigel what he had done, Nigel went to the forest to bury the body. Meriet discovered him, and heard their father's hounds approaching. He told his brother to run, knowing that Leoric would be heartbroken if Nigel were blamed, but scarcely bothered if Meriet was. Nigel repents of his treason. Once healed, he will make amends as he can. Beringar expects him to join the King's army, marching north to confront the rebels. Meriet and the villein Harald are both absolved of guilt. Harald is found a farrier job in town, where he is safe if he stays a year and a day without being taken by his brutal former master. Leoric is ashamed at having valued his handsome but weak older son over his younger son, seeing only now how similar the younger son is to himself. He confesses his sins to Abbot Radulfus, and asks him for two additional favours: first, that Leoric be allowed to sponsor Brother Mark, who has been a true friend to Meriet in his time at the Abbey, in his studies for the priesthood; and second, that the Abbott witness a new will he will draft, leaving his manor to Meriet. With Janyn gone, Nigel will inherit the Linde manor through his wife, if he makes his amends. Leoric also begs Meriet's forgiveness, and the two men reconcile. Meriet, for his part, is chagrined for having ever loved Roswitha, wanting whatever his brother had. Her lies broke her charm for him. Isouda's efforts to be noticed by Meriet as a grown woman are successful, as his childhood friend becomes a woman he might love, out in the world beyond the Benedictine monastery. He parts from Brother Cadfael by explaining how the term 'Brother' came hard to his lips in their conversations, as he wished to call him father. Cadfael accepted that of son Meriet.