The Pilgrim of Hate
Edith Pargeter
 In June 1141, the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of St. Winifred's casket at Shrewsbury Abbey. The monks will carry the reliquary from the small chapel at St. Giles to its altar in Abbey church. Brother Cadfael recalls the decision he made in Wales, when he alone removed Winifred's actual remains from the casket, returned them to her Welsh soil and replaced them with those of a monk who died on their mission to seek these holy bones. He shares this tale with Hugh, relieving a burden. The saint has continued to work miracles in her home in Wales, but none in Shrewsbury. Is the saint displeased with Cadfael? Abbot Radulfus returns from the legatine council in early June after 8 weeks away. Henry, Bishop of Winchester called the council as an attempt to end The Anarchy, a civil war between the forces of King Stephen, the lawfully anointed king and Bishop Henry's brother, and Empress Maud, the lawful heiress of her late father King Henry I. He is held in prison in Bristol, while she seeks the approval of London for her coronation. This dispute has the nobility and clerics of England at each others' throats; it comes to a head in Winchester on day three of the council when Stephen's wife Queen Matilda sends a message to the bishop, requesting Henry to seek release of his brother the King, enraging Henry who had turned to the Empress. Later that evening, the Queen's messenger is ambushed in a Winchester alley by supporters of the Empress. Rainald Bossard, a knight supporting the Empress, intervenes to save the messenger and is murdered for his noble efforts. The attackers slip away. Abbot Radulfus feels Bossard's death very deeply, asking the monks to pray for his soul. Pilgrims arrive in large numbers. Arriving after three weeks of walking is a middle-aged widow, Dame Alice Weaver, with a crippled teen named Rhun and his beautiful sister, Melangell. Aunt Alice has brought her nephew to pray to St. Winifred for relief from the pain caused by his clubfoot; Rhun wants his sister to find a happier life than caring for him. He accepts Cadfael's help of powerful massages, but refuses any sleep aid. Two taciturn young men arrived with them. Ciaran, who suffers from a 'fell disease', is under vow to hobble barefoot to Aberdaron in Wales to die in peace, hampered by a great iron cross around his neck and protected by a bishop's ring. His inseparable friend Matthew has vowed to see Ciaran through to the end of his penitential journey. These two groups travelled together nearing the Abbey, Matthew giving aid to Rhun on occasion, and showing an attraction to Melangell. Cadfael notices a third party of pilgrims, four merchants who do not quite suit their trades. Their suspicious actions and a tip from Brother Adam lead him to warn Beringar that they may be thieves. While Beringar sets a net to catch the thieves working the fair, he meets Olivier de Bretagne and his companions, messengers from the Bishop's conference. Proceeding to Hugh's house in town, Olivier makes his request that the Sheriff accept Empress Maud as queen, which request Beringar politely turns down. Olivier tells Hugh that while in Shrewsbury he will search for Bossard's adopted son, Luc Meverel, who is missing following his lord's murder in April. Olivier mentions he may find the monk he met at Bromfield, who was kind to his liege lord's wards. Hugh is pleased to meet by name this man with whom he had worked to save the Hugonin children. Beringar's net caught one of the thieves, and recovered the ring stolen from Ciaran. The ring was on the hand of a local goldsmith, Daniel Aurifaber, who bought it from one of the suspicious tradesmen as a side deal in a crooked dice game. Near dawn on the day of the procession, Melangell sees Ciaran who tells her that he is leaving Shrewsbury for Wales now that his "safe-passage" ring is returned to him. Melangell promises to keep his secrets. Ciaran leaves. After Mass is over at the Abbey church and St. Winifred's reliquary is in place on her altar, pilgrims line up to make their requests of the saint. Prior Robert presides. Rhun approaches on his crutches, but says he can kneel. Rhun drops his crutches; as he puts his foot to the ground and climbs the stairs to the altar, the congregation can see his leg fill out and his foot untwist. He prays in an atmosphere of complete silence; when he steps back, his foot whole and fully functional, the church is filled with shouts of praise for the saint who has performed such a miracle. At the midday meal, Matthew notices that Ciaran is missing. Melangell tries to stop Matthew pursuing Ciaran, saying Ciaran wants them to be together. He reacts with unusual rage, shoving Melangell down. Moments later he leaves the Abbey, hot on Ciaran's trail. After the meal shared with the Abbot, Olivier and Hugh seek out Cadfael from Winifred's altar, for aid in finding Luc. The presence of Olivier is Cadfael's own miracle; his saint is pleased. The description of Luc—that of a dark-haired, dark-eyed, well-bred, taciturn young man—applies to Ciaran and Matthew, who arrived together but could have met en route. The Abbott requests them to appear before him, to learn they are both gone. When Matthew left, he claimed his dagger and left a generous gift of money. On this news, Olivier leaves quickly to search for them, promising to return that evening, with Hugh as his immediate guide. Left with Cadfael, Abbot Radulfus asks if Rhun's recovery could be feigned. Cadfael replies that the boy is thoroughly honest and that his defect could not have been repaired by any doctor. Radulfus, reassured of this miracle, asks Cadfael to bring Rhun to him. They return to the Abbott with the scrip left behind by Matthew or Ciaran. Rhun states his wish to stay where the saint called him. The saddened Melangell tells Cadfael that the two young men left separately, heading out over the fields instead of along the north road. The Abbott opens the scrip, finding a book with Luc Meverel's name in it. Now is the time for quick action. Sending word to Hugh Beringar, Cadfael goes on horseback to follow the two young men on the overland route. At the edge of twilight, he hears Ciaran and Matthew in a clearing around a great beech tree some miles west of Shrewsbury. Then he hears Matthew fighting off the three felons. The felons wait for darkness to finish the fight. Cadfael, unarmed, approaches on foot, bellowing as if he is part of a large party in pursuit. He forcefully knocks down Simeon Poer. That loud cry leads Hugh and his men to light up the scene and nab the three attackers. Olivier heard it, too, and appears on scene, telling Cadfael to look round, he has won his field. In the brawl, Simeon pulled the cross off Ciaran's neck. Looking up to Matthew, Ciaran says 'I am forfeit, now take me.' Cadfael agrees gently. Matthew glares at Cadfael, looks back contemptuously at Ciaran and throws down his dagger. In a daze, he walks away with Olivier close behind. Ciaran, a man from Danish Dublin in the service of Bishop Henry, tells how he stabbed Bossard, wrongly believing that his master would condone the impulsive crime. Henry banished Ciaran from England, telling him that he must make his entire journey to Dublin barefoot while wearing a heavy iron cross. If anyone finds him wearing shoes or without the cross before Dublin, his life is forfeit. Luc Meverel overhears these words, as he followed the attacker back to the Bishop's house unseen. Luc appoints himself enforcer of this vow. Luc accompanies Ciaran under the name "Matthew", motivated by grief turned to hate and vengeance. At the crucial moment, Luc's grief softened away from vengeance. Bishop Henry would not sanction murder, rather forced Ciaran away. Hugh allows Ciaran to walk away, taking up his issues with God on his own. Olivier returns with Luc/Matthew to Shrewsbury, where Luc once again pays court to Melangell. Matthew begins life anew with confession to the Abbott, and marriage to Melangell. Rhun stays at the Abbey as a novice, while their aunt prepares to return home alone. Cadfael and Olivier talk in the herbarium, where Olivier reports he and Ermina Hugonin had married this past Christmas, as Cadfael had hoped. Arriving suddenly, Hugh has the latest news from London: the Empress Maud has lost London and retreated to the southwest. The weight of the failure rests on the Empress's shoulders, her weakness being her inability to praise her allies or ever forget a past slight, but the pressure of the Queen's army in Kent helps to change minds in London.,,, Olivier must follow his own liege lord to Oxford, leaving Shrewsbury before he wanted. Hugh and Olivier are friends but on opposite sides of this civil war, and both close to Cadfael, who will be ever neutral in these politics. Watching Olivier leave, Hugh says that he resembles Cadfael in some ways; the monk replies, no, he looks completely like his mother. "I always meant to tell you, some day," he said tranquilly, "what he does not know, and never will from me. He is my son."