March 1347

Dunwich, Suffolk

 

Prior Jacob stood on the cliff and looked out to sea. Today it was still, the gray expanse flat and lifeless. A few boats dotted the surface, eager fishermen taking advantage of the calm to catch some fish to sell at the market. It was difficult for the poor during the winter months when they couldn’t supplement their meager diets with produce from their vegetable patches. Some were fortunate enough to have a fruit tree that yielded free apples or pears in the autumn. There were a few apple trees growing on the priory grounds, and Prior Jacob always enjoyed an apple or two while he picked the fruit for stewing and making jelly. The crisp sweetness filling his mouth made him feel almost guilty, as if he were doing something wrong. But surely it wasn’t wrong to enjoy God’s bounty, not when it would only go to waste if not harvested.

The prior was distracted from his thoughts by the approach of one of the younger friars. Friar Matthew had joined the order only a year ago, and was still more boy than man. Sandy fuzz covered his cheeks and upper lip and his hazel eyes shone with purpose. Unlike some of the other friars who still viewed Prior Jacob with suspicion, Friar Matthew was full of loyalty and a desire to prove himself useful.

“You wished to see me, Prior?” Matthew asked as he joined Prior Jacob on the clifftop.

“Have you done what I asked?”

“Yes.”

“And have you learned anything?” Prior Jacob asked. Matthew was unusually tight lipped, his gaze scanning the horizon as if he were searching for something.

“Father Avery leaves the grounds after Evensong on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He walks into town, toward the harbor. I think he visits someone.”

“Whom does he visit?”

“I don’t know. The house looks abandoned. He stays for about an hour, then leaves.”

“I want you to get closer, Matthew. I need to know whom he is visiting and why,” Prior Jacob said, wishing the boy would show some initiative rather than wait to be told what to do. Father Avery was not a parish priest, so would have no reason to visit the sick or dying. Father Avery wasn’t doing anything outwardly wrong, since he wasn’t one of the friars and was free to come and go, but something about his behavior was furtive and suspicious. And then there was the boy, Edwin. What was Father Avery’s connection to him? Why bring Edwin to the Priory? Father Avery said the boy expressed an interest in joining the order, but Edwin had not approached Prior Jacob as of yet, and seemed happy enough to leave after his work was finished and return to his family.

“I saw a woman,” Friar Matthew suddenly said. His eyes never left the sullen vista in front of him, but his voice changed. He wasn’t comfortable spying on a man of God, and with good reason. The friars were loyal to each other, their trust in their brothers absolute. Father Avery wasn’t of their order, but he was still one of them, a man who chose to serve God above all else. He’d forsaken his parents’ hearth and the promise of a wife and children and chosen the often-lonely path of holiness. The camaraderie and loyalty of like-minded men made the burden a little easier to bear at those times when a man craved more than divine sustenance, and they all did, even if they chose not to admit to it. Their longing made their devotion to God all the more meaningful and sacred.

Prior Jacob rearranged his face into one of bland patience. “Friar Matthew, the reason I asked you to follow Father Avery is because I’m worried about him. He seems distracted, conflicted even. I only wish to help him, but I can’t do so unless I know what’s troubling him. Can you tell me about the woman?”

Friar Matthew shrugged. “She wears a hooded cloak, so I’ve never seen her face. Sometimes she comes, and sometimes she doesn’t. Father Avery waits for a while, then leaves. He looks disappointed when she doesn’t show.”

“I’d like you to continue watching Father Avery. It’s our duty to bring him back to God if he has strayed,” Prior Jacob said.

“Yes, Prior Jacob. It makes me feel better knowing I’m doing God’s work,” Matthew said, smiling for the first time. “I know in my heart that Father Avery is devout, but if you think he has doubts, then of course, we must help him find his way back to the Church.”

“God will reward you for your diligence, Friar Matthew. He values every member of his flock. Now, go back to your chores, or you will be missed.”

Friar Matthew turned and wordlessly walked away, disappearing through an arched doorway in the wall surrounding the priory. It was his job to tend the animals, and that’s what he liked doing best. Perhaps it reminded him of his father’s farm, and brought a little piece of home to the priory, offering the young man the best of both worlds. Prior Jacob clasped his hands behind his back and began to walk along the cliff. He’d grown cold standing still for so long, and could do with some exercise. Besides, walking helped him to think more clearly and he still had a half hour before Sext.

So, Father Avery has a lover, Prior Jacob thought as he strode along, paying little attention to the gathering clouds on the horizon. They looked like bales of dirty wool, but the air was fresh and invigorating, and Prior Jacob increased his pace as his mind picked apart this new information. He imagined that he’d be happy to learn something disparaging about his rival, but all he felt was a deep sense of unease. For a man of the cloth to take a lover was an affront to God. Prior Jacob knew that there were many, especially those higher up in the Church, who kept not only lovers, but secret families. The thought infuriated him. How could God allow such debauchery to thrive? These men had sworn their allegiance to the Church, had devoted themselves to the service of God, and all the while they were indulging in carnal pleasures, sacrificing nothing and showing a false face to the world. It was a sin to lie with a woman, a sin that should not be ignored.

Prior Jacob had never known carnal love. He’d joined the order when he was fifteen and had still been pure of heart and body. It was wrong to offer yourself to the Lord if you’d been soiled by fornication. His brothers tried to take him to a brothel once, but Jacob refused, disgusted by their base needs, which they satisfied at every opportunity. Jacob loved his mother and the Virgin Mary, and those two women were more than enough for him. He found women to be repulsive, truth be told. Their smell and wanton sexuality unsettled and disgusted him. He approved of marriage of course, for the purpose of procreation and propriety, but relations outside of the holy bounds of matrimony were not to be tolerated.

Jacob had chosen to join the Franciscan monks rather than pursue the priesthood because he wished to be shuttered away from the real world and not have to deal with the sordid lives of parishioners, who indulged in sinful behavior and thought that confessing their sins to a priest could wash away their guilt. The priests gave them penance, but Jacob thought that wasn’t enough. People had to suffer for their sins, not just say a few Hail Marys and consider themselves absolved. No, he didn’t have the temperament to deal with a congregation. He wished only to live in peace, his days structured and uncomplicated, devoted to worship and work. But ambition had its price, and in gaining the priorship, he’d lost the peace and simplicity of monastic life. Now he had to safeguard his position and protect his men from unholy influence. Father Avery was proving to be a worm in Jacob’s apple, a snake in the Garden of Eden.

Prior Jacob turned his face into the wind, watching as white caps appeared on the surface of the sea, the placid water suddenly coming to life and beginning to rock the boats on the horizon. The clouds had grown darker, their underbellies swelling with unshed rain. Was this a sign of God’s displeasure?

“I won’t let you down,” Prior Jacob spoke into the wind. “I will eradicate all sin.”